Win XP Pro for home computing. 

Microsoft abandoning Window XP

I have a nice Pentium class machine that just keeps running.  It is loaded up with tons of software.  Of course, to upgrade to any new windows platform, Microsoft has very strongly recommended a "clean install".  The clean install has been the main reason this machine has never been upgraded!  All those aps, and Microsoft office 03, which for years now, Microsoft has insisted is an illegal copy, one which I received with my machine when I bought it from Gateway.  I have the disks for office, will office 03 install in windows 8.1?  Probably not, so more money is needlessly lost.  I could go on and on!  Then there is the long term security issue.  Whenever MS releases an update to win 8.1, hackers can reverse engineer a crack in windows XP.  They will probably succeed eventually.  This hardware and software are not really that old.

And finally Windows 10 seems like a security and privacy nightmare; everything is being migrated to the cloud!  Microsoft says just open an account, what?  I want my cloud in my basement, where I can smash it with a baseball bat!

Is this page and topic obsolete?

This area is dedicated to the WIN XP ( windows XP ) home computer user.  A big note, from all I have read, try to buy Windows XP Pro versus Windows XP home, if, you have any plans of being a "power user".  As a Win XP Pro user I am satisfied with the basic product, but as a software development professional ( a PRO ) I am quite disappointed.  Microsoft® has hacked the entire Internet Information Server (IIS) component of Win XP.  Also they appear to be limiting the "Windows XP Professional" from ever upgrading to the 6.0 version of IIS.  These hacks lead to inconsistencies in the user interface for IIS.  In Internet Information Services manager you see a folder called "Web Sites" but you can only have one.  Microsoft's online documentation is so inconsistent, they are proliferating so many configurations of Windows even though Win XP was the final integration, the version that would eliminate all the versions (DOS, Win 95, Win 98, Win ME).

1. You can have multiple virtual web servers if you know the right guy (not Bob) !  See BobsHowTo.com - Win XP Multiple Web Sites.
2. If you are new to Win XP or Windows in general a powerful source of information is the Microsoft Developers Network Website.  http://msdn.microsoft.com/.
3. Make sure you install all the updates to Windows XP from the Windows Update Site.  If you do not your system is probably pretty vulnerable, especially if you are going to run a personal home web site.  http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com.
4. If you do not have a virus detection software package get one now.  If it has a firewall use it.  Win XP does come with a built in firewall but you must turn it on yourself.  You can do this through your connections properties dialog box.
5. I have really tried to make Win XP IIS GZIP data compression work, and seem to have failed.  It seems others have reached the same conclusion, it is broken.  You do get the compfilt.dll and it is installed.  If you use the Microsoft Meta Editor for IIS you can find fields that enable compression but it seems to not work.

Windows Vista

Well it appears Microsoft has sort of shafted Windows XP users if you use "roaming profiles".  Roaming profiles make it easy to move from one computer to another and still use exactly the same desktop, favorites, email, etc.  A portable computing environment.  With the release of Windows Vista, Microsoft has made design changes which prevent XP and Vista from easily sharing profiles.  Talk about cutting the cord!

Network performance enhancement Windows Vista, Windows Server 08

I hope this performance enhancement is for real.  It seems to me Windows network performance has always been very slow.

1. Microsoft Document 207180.  Network performance enhancements.

Just some random ramblings about Windows XP Pro, and now Windows Vista, hope they help.
Thanks, Bob.

Date created: 23 Jun 2003

Date revised: 04/03/2017

BHTGGLTooShort.