Microsoft Windows XP - Home Edition

• Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 2425 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars

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• 8 stars

  Fixed Annoying Problems

  by on January 10, 2004

  Pros: Once upgraded, ALL Windows 98 lock-up problems went aways and have never came back (2 years now). Very easy to use. Faster cable internet performance. Compatable with all my hardware in a built pc. Boot time went down about 40%. Well worth the money

  Cons: ----Product Activation---- It really makes formatting a pain. I was forced into upgrading Norton AV and Easy CD Creator(hated the built in cd burner) which was for the best because I was running older versions anyway. Have seen some wierd problems when

  1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 1 stars

  Switching to XP was the worst computer decision I ever made

  by on February 6, 2003

  Pros:

  Cons:

  Summary: XP refuses to allow me to install programs I need to conduct business, even after following all supplied instructions.

  Summary: XP refuses to allow me to install programs I need to conduct business, even after following all supplied instructions.

  3 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.

• 8 stars

  Very good operating system.

  by domenicofavotto on March 8, 2008

  Pros: windows xp is the best os

  Cons: nothing nothing nothin

  Summary: the best os ever

  Summary: the best os ever

• 2 stars

  Can't find anything

  by rampfod27 on December 16, 2007

  Pros: Looks cool

  Cons: Can't find anything, far from simple

  Summary: Frustrating does not begin to describe the system. Upgrades in standby programs make using them impossible, hard to understand, obviously developed by a computer dweeb who spends too much time ...

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  Summary: Frustrating does not begin to describe the system. Upgrades in standby programs make using them impossible, hard to understand, obviously developed by a computer dweeb who spends too much time worrying how this system will work with the most recent edition of Warcraft and how he can fathom moving out of his parent's basement and eventually speak to a woman. Sadly, an example of nerds in control.

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• 3 stars

  I can see if you have 2000 or 98.

  by gilgo09 on July 3, 2007

  Pros: Better then previous versions

  Cons: Out of date even for its time.

  Summary: All it did was fix a few minor things and give you an ugly interface.

  Summary: All it did was fix a few minor things and give you an ugly interface.

• 2 stars

  Terrible - Unless you enjoy wasting hours scanning for spyware

  by esperanto_ on February 18, 2007

  Pros: Plays Windows-only Video Games (That's the only advantage. If you don't even play computer games, don't bother with Windows)

  Cons: Everything: Security, relaibility, childish interface, bare-minimum included software, inept security, does nothing that Apple wasn't doing better 5 years ago

  Summary: Buy a Macintosh, unless you enjoy wasting hours of your time scanning for spyware.
  
  The extra $200 or so for a Macintosh is a no brainer, considering all the time
  
  ...

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  Summary: Buy a Macintosh, unless you enjoy wasting hours of your time scanning for spyware.
  
  The extra $200 or so for a Macintosh is a no brainer, considering all the time you will save not dealing with viruses, and myriad other advatages. Windows is amateurish in nearly every respect.

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• 4 stars

  windows xp is still windows

  by kevink523 on February 17, 2007

  Pros: easy to use, de facto desktop os - a lot of software titles

  Cons: hardware/driver problems, stability, reliability, security

  Summary: Windows XP Home Edition might be better than previous versions, but it's still Windows. No, it does not have to do anything with Microsoft as a company, but this ...

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  Summary: Windows XP Home Edition might be better than previous versions, but it's still Windows. No, it does not have to do anything with Microsoft as a company, but this is some poor code that's being distributed around the world. Windows might be easy to use and have wizards for complicated tasks, and these days you'll be able to run all the popular software titles as it is the de facto operating system for desktops, but you just cannot rely on it as you will come across a ton of problems. Hardware and driver compatibility, security issues, bugs, etc, etc, etc. If Linux still confuses you, go for the Unix-based Mac OS X instead.

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• 9 stars

  Works for me

  by 214968510754136076221267265594 on December 5, 2006

  Pros: Reliable (if used correctly)

  Cons: Need to be experienced if you need to keep computer up to scratch

  Summary: OK, I've noticed that security issues is a big problem in Windows. I will openly admit that, but, there is a way to significantly decrease the chances of catching ...

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  Summary: OK, I've noticed that security issues is a big problem in Windows. I will openly admit that, but, there is a way to significantly decrease the chances of catching dangerous viruses. If you go into the control panel, and click on "user accounts", create a new user and set it as "Limited". The good thing with the Limited account is that when you install a new program, it denies access to the installation/uninstallation program. The same goes with viruses, when a limited account tries to download something, the computer will just turn around and say "no". (Don't get me wrong, you still need Anti-virus software to completely illiminate viruses, but using a limited account is the first step to blocking them - I would suggest using the internet on a limited account even with anti-virus installed).
  
  OK, maybe the reason why peoples computers are so "slow" or slowing down is because they're simply writing data to the hard drive. There are several tools on Windows to help keep it in good shape. There is the defragment tool, the check disc tool and the disk cleanup tool. If you go into the "system tools" in accessories on the start menu, you should find these 3 accessories there.
  
  Over time, files on your hard drive become split up and scattered, which then means that your computer has to find each fragment (section) individually, hence, slowing down the computer. Defragment finds these split up files and places them back togehter again.
  
  The Check Disc basically roams around your hard drive looking for errors, and when it has found one, tries to correct it. These are usually boot problems or general program issues.
  
  And Disc Cleanup finds unneccesarry files on your hard drive and removes them (these usally include Internet Cache, recycle bin and temporary files).

  Updated
  I thought I would add another thing to my previous summary thingy: With Microsoft Windows XP, for all those older computers, you have the ability to disable things such as animated windows. Also, for all those people that think that the interface is "really hard", 9 out of 10 times, there is an option that resets it to previous interfaces (like the control panel, for example. You can change it from the category view to the good old basic view).
  
  Anyway, to disable things such as animation settings, go to run and type in "Control" (or click on "Control Panel"). Click on "System", then click the tab that says "Advanced". Then click on "Settings" under the subcategory of "performance". Then all you need to do is check "Adjust for best performance".
  
  Thanks for reading.

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• 2 stars

  Windows XP cliche, but yes it sucks

  by ahawkeyes on November 20, 2006

  Pros: you can run alot of software

  Cons: it just so happens one half of them are viruses

  Summary: yeah, its cliche by now but yes XP sucks the operating system is heavy and unwieldy and it just doesn't feel natural like OS X and it jets viruses ...

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  Summary: yeah, its cliche by now but yes XP sucks the operating system is heavy and unwieldy and it just doesn't feel natural like OS X and it jets viruses lots
  I just hit the tip of the iceburg but i hope it helps

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• 5 stars

  Just not good enough

  by meisinscotland on November 16, 2006

  Pros: Looks nice, easy to use, system restore

  Cons: Not as stable as Windows 2000

  Summary: I bought a laptop with Windows XP on it a few months back and after loads of problems and a reinstall I decided to dump it for Windows 2000 - ...

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  Summary: I bought a laptop with Windows XP on it a few months back and after loads of problems and a reinstall I decided to dump it for Windows 2000 - my best ever decision.
  
  It looks nice and works well but for me it has never been able to stay up for more than 3 days before becoming seriously unstable. Windows 2000 is way more stable, and the fact that my uptime was at 21 days once testifies to that fact. I had to crash Windows XP and restart I'd say on average 5 times a month - I've had to do that once with Windows 2000 because of a resume-from-standby error.
  
  The only good thing is that on my laptop it ran MS Virtual PC good, and the same machine with Windows 2000 froze when I tried to run MS Virtual PC. For Home users who switch off their PC every night (or don't mind constantly restarting) and use lots of apps, yeah, go for it. But it isn't for me I'm afraid, even though I own a legal copy!

  Updated
  ...I obviously wasnt doing something right, because, after a long period on Windows 2000 (Damn good OS, but just too obsolete), I decided to stick on my XP Home that came with the laptop originally. By god am I happy! It is so stable, and I can run all modern apps like WLM, WMP11 and IE7, and I no longer feel left out.
  
  Not only that but I like the portability of this OS, as in, it hibernates in a flash (as opposed to the length of time it took in Windows 2000) when I hit 2 hotkeys, and it wont ***** if suddenly I have to yank out all my peripherals and grab the lappy!
  
  Also, I like the warm theme that greets you as you log in from the welcome screen and apart from disabling automatic standby/hibernate (because its a laptop), and altering a small few things about the interface (translucent selection rectangle and exploding windows, as well as the start menu) I found I did not want or need to change any other settings - they are just perfect.
  
  Perhaps my pervious problems were bad third party software, most of which I have eradicated and only use a trusted set of CDs.
  
  To avoid system bloat you might want to turn off Automatic updates (and then tell the security centre to stop nagging you about it). Another notable thing is for me, Zonealarm ANYTHING and XP Home just dont go, it was blue screens galore. But, using the integrated firewall and some decent antivirus and spyware apps (all of mine are free) you can achieve a great amount of layered security. I proved this by leaving my machine on in Student Acommodation and attempting to access it via various networking tools in Windows XP on the same network - and failed. All in all, VERY pleasing.

  Updated
  ...I obviously wasnt doing something right, because, after a long period on Windows 2000 (Damn good OS, but just too obsolete), I decided to stick on my XP Home that came with the laptop originally. By god am I happy! It is so stable, and I can run all modern apps like WLM, WMP11 and IE7, and I no longer feel left out.
  
  Not only that but I like the portability of this OS, as in, it hibernates in a flash (as opposed to the length of time it took in Windows 2000) when I hit 2 hotkeys, and it wont ***** if suddenly I have to yank out all my peripherals and grab the lappy!
  
  Also, I like the warm theme that greets you as you log in from the welcome screen and apart from disabling automatic standby/hibernate (because its a laptop), and altering a small few things about the interface (translucent selection rectangle and exploding windows, as well as the start menu) I found I did not want or need to change any other settings - they are just perfect.
  
  Perhaps my pervious problems were bad third party software, most of which I have eradicated and only use a trusted set of CDs.
  
  To avoid system bloat you might want to turn off Automatic updates (and then tell the security centre to stop nagging you about it). Another notable thing is for me, Zonealarm ANYTHING and XP Home just dont go, it was blue screens galore. But, using the integrated firewall and some decent antivirus and spyware apps (all of mine are free) you can achieve a great amount of layered security. I proved this by leaving my machine on in Student Acommodation and attempting to access it via various networking tools in Windows XP on the same network - and failed. All in all, VERY pleasing.

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