Windows XP Home Edition: The Missing Manual

What’s New in Windows XP

Windows XP is the most dramatic Windows overhaul since the introduction of Windows 95. As noted in the Introduction, Microsoft’s goal in creating XP was gigantic: It wanted to merge its home line (the friendly but cranky Windows 95, 98, and Me) with its corporate line (the unattractive but rock-solid Windows NT and 2000) into a single, unified operating system that offers the best of both.

But this flowing of two streams into a single mighty river is only the beginning. Some of the following features will seem new only if you’re used to Windows 2000, and others only if you’re coming from, say, Windows Me. The rest of this section is an overview of the other goodies Windows XP offers.

Stability

The biggest news in Windows XP is that it’s based on Windows 2000. Its features, including protected memory (if one program crashes, it isn’t allowed to poison the well of memory that other programs use) and strong network security features, give you vastly improved stability. In fact, it’s possible to go for weeks without having to restart a crashed PC (as opposed to days or, well, minutes with Windows Me). That’s not to say that individual programs don’t still bomb now and then—they do—but they no longer take down your whole computer.

Here’s what else Microsoft has done to make your PC more stable:

• System File Protection. Before Windows XP (and Me), the installer for some new piece of software might have replaced some important Windows file with an older version, resulting ...