WINDOWS XP

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For more information:
Rapid Response Team
Waggener Edstrom, (503)443-7070 rrt@wagged.com
The
User
Experience
Windo
Microsoft®
wsTM®xp
R e v i e w e r s G u i d e / A u g u s t 2 0 0 1
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This document was developed prior to the product's release to manufacturing, and as such, we cannot guarantee that all details
included herein will be exactly as what is found in the shipping product. The information contained in this document represents the
current view of Microsoft Corp. on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because Microsoft must respond to changing
market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the
accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication. The information represents the product at the time this document
was printed and should be used for planning purposes only. Information subject to change at any time without prior notice.
This document is for information purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, IN THIS DOCUMENT.
Complying with all applicable copyright laws is the responsibility of the user. Without limiting the rights under copyright, no part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), or for any purpose, without the express written permission of Microsoft Corp.
Microsoft may have patents, patent applications, trademarks, copyrights or other intellectual property rights covering subject matter in
this document. Except as expressly provided in any written license agreement from Microsoft, the furnishing of this document does not
give you any license to these patents, trademarks, copyrights or other intellectual property.
The example companies, organizations, products, people and events depicted herein are fictitious. No association with any real
company, organization, product, person or event is intended or should be inferred.
©2001 Microsoft Corp. All rights reserved.
Microsoft, Windows, the Windows logo, IntelliMirror, ClearType, Windows NT, Windows Media, Direct X, Active Directory, MSN, the MSN logo,
the Windows Start logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Microsoft Corp. • One Microsoft Way • Redmond, WA 98052-6399 • USA

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Microsoft ®
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Reviewer s Guide / August 2001
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table of contents
1. Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
A. Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
B. Design goals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
C. What’s new. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2. Design gallery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
A. Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
B. Dazzling new look. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
C. Personalized and easy to use. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
D. New Visual Design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3. Setup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
A. Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
B. System recommendations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
C. New Windows XP PC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
D. Upgrade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
E. Easy to use. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
F. Setting up a home network. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4. Digital creativity and entertainment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
A. Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
B. Pictures: the windows of life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
C. Digital music and video. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
E. Making movies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
G. Superior game platform. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
I. Making personalized CDs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
J. Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
5. Online experience. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
A. Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
B. Windows online. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
C. Internet Explorer 6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
D. Microsoft Network. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
C. Web publishing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
6. Dependability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
A. Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
B. Reliability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
C. Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
E. Safety and security. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
7. Help and supportability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
A. Help and Support Center (hsc). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
B. Unified self help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
C. Tools and troubleshooters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
D. Handy services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
E. Easy-to-use assisted support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
F. Effortless updates for the Windows XP system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
G. Supportability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
8. Windows professional. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
A. Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
B. Desktop management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
C. Advanced security. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
D. Advanced networking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
E. Power-user features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
G. User interface and design features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65
9. Glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69

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Overview
T h e U s e r E x p e r i e n c e
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Overview/WINDOWS XP REVIEWERS GUIDE August 2001
Windows XP overview
Introduction
Welcome to the newest Microsoft® Windows® operating system, Windows XP. Get ready to
embark on an exciting experience with a truly remarkable operating system for both home and
business users. It looks great, it is easier to use, and it is dependable. Microsoft Windows XP is
powerful enough to handle the most demanding applications without missing a beat.
Rich, complete experiences enabled by Windows XP unlock the power of the PC. These
experiences let users stay connected to friends and family, and through a host of other
services, assist with setting up a home network and sharing experiences over the Internet.
Because Windows XP is powered by the new Windows Engine, it will provide the most
dependable Windows user experience ever. This is also the first time home users get the power
and reliability that business users have enjoyed using Windows 2000, along with enhanced
ability to use their PC for creative and entertainment activities.
Rich,
Windows XP enables each experience to be simpler, yet more meaningful and powerful. The
complete
new experiences that Windows XP offers to both business and home users bring a new level of
enjoyment and productivity to the PC. The following are some of the experiences that Windows
experiences
XP enables:
enabled by
• Photos - Windows XP enhances PC users’ ability to share experiences with friends and
Windows XP unlock
family by making it easy for them to enjoy their digital memories, and to save, share and
publish them online.
the power of the
• Video
Video – Windows XP provides the tools users need to create, share and enjoy videos on
PC.
their computer.
• Music
Music – Windows XP makes it much easier for home users to find, acquire and organize
their music and videos, enjoy them on the PC and play them on a wide range of devices.
• Help and support
Help and support – Windows XP unifies the support experience for many people by
offering a variety of rich online and integrated self-help and assisted support features.
• Mobility
Mobility – Windows XP lets users connect back to their desktop from almost anywhere. It
makes it easy to keep in touch with what is important and it adapts to almost any network.
• Connected home
Connected home – The Windows XP connected home experience makes it easier to
network PCs and devices; it allows users to make PC resources and information accessible
to everyone.
• Real-time communications
Real-time communications – Windows XP provides an intuitive, personal
communications experience, bringing together voice, video, instant messaging, collaboration,
notifications and more; all in one place to make rich communications via the PC a
mainstream phenomenon for users and a compelling new opportunity for the industry.
Windows XP enables users to enjoy a new world of experiences through the PC. These
experiences help users accomplish the things that are most important to them, quickly and
easily. The experiences work across the following:
• Multiple Devices
Multiple Devices – Such as digital photos and video cameras, music players, PDAs and
scanners
• Web Services
Web Services – Including publishing, storing and sharing information such as pictures,
documents and videos on the Web
• Applications
Applications – Thousands of the most popular applications
Built to exceed all earlier Windows reliability standards, Windows XP is a powerhouse in every
aspect of dependability. The technology platform is based on the proven, industrial strengths of
the Windows 2000 Professional business operating system. It includes improvements to the
great features and ease-of-use that consumers have come to appreciate for entertainment,
home networking and other purposes such as enjoying pictures, music, videos and games on
their PC. And the ever-expanding possibilities of the Web are made more intuitive and secure
with the enhanced online capabilities.
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Overview/WINDOWS XP REVIEWERS GUIDE August 2001
Windows XP is available in two editions; Windows XP Home Edition for home use and Windows
XP Professional for power users and businesses of all sizes. Windows XP Professional includes
all the capabilities of Windows XP Home Edition plus important features to meet the demanding
needs of business and power users in areas such as mobile computing, networking and security.
In this document, “Windows XP” refers to both editions. Otherwise, “Windows XP Professional”
and “Windows XP Home Edition” are used when differentiating between the two versions of the
operating system. Images in this document reflect the latest screenshots at the time of
publication.
Design goals
• New look –
New look – Improve usability through a new visual design and task-oriented approach
• New experiences –
New experiences – Lay the foundation for new and better experiences through improved
functionality
• New Windows Engine –
ws Engine – Enhance the core dependability of the operating system with the
new Windows Engine
What’s new
Here are some highlights of the key enhancements Windows XP brings to consumers, power
users and businesses of all sizes.
Exciting New Look
Windows XP provides Windows with a brand new visual design that combines a sleek look, clean
lines and appealing colors with a task-oriented design and exceptionally streamlined navigation.
• Elegant
• Simple
• Intuitive
• Inviting
This new design helps new users get productive fast; experienced users benefit from both new
design features and the ability to customize their own preferences.
Easy to Set Up and Use
With Windows XP, users are up and running fast with less effort.
• Windows XP requires less effort to set up so users can get started quickly
• A new friendly Welcome Screen offers easy access to the computer
• Multiple user support with Fast User Switching makes it easy for several people to share a
computer and quickly switch between users
• Fast Internet connection, including cable or DSL connection, is supported
• The Files and Settings Transfer Wizard helps users move documents and settings from an
existing PC to the new Windows XP-based PC so they can easily transfer information across
PCs or operating systems
• With Dynamic Update, users can download the latest in hardware and application support to
the PC when running Setup
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Overview/WINDOWS XP REVIEWERS GUIDE August 2001
Enhanced Connectivity and Online
Windows XP maximizes users’ online experience with improved features that make the Web
more simple, secure and convenient.
• Enhanced ease-of-use with the latest Microsoft Internet Explorer technologies that enable fast
and stable browsing; plus, new, enhanced toolbars that improve usability
• New support for online privacy standards
• Internet Connection Firewall for improved network security and protection
• New Search Companion for more intelligent searching
• Streamlined security using Microsoft Passport integration
• Quicker and easier Web-publishing of pictures, videos and more
• Network Setup Wizard for faster setup with other PCs and hardware
Superior Dependability
Windows XP is the most reliable Windows operating system
• Exceptional dependability and robust features
• Based on the industry-proven Windows 2000 foundation
• Improved compatibility with broader application and hardware support
• Support for the latest set of devices such as digital cameras, printers, joysticks, music players,
PDAs and keyboards
• Enhanced Internet security features to protect user privacy and valuable data
• Personalized login with added levels of security
Windows XP Professional Advanced Capabilities
Windows XP Professional is the best choice for mobile users, power users and businesses of all
sizes. It includes enhanced networking, security, management and support capabilities.
Advanced features designed to help improve these areas include the following:
• Networking – Ability to belong to a domain and be centrally managed
• Corporate security – Domain authentication, Encrypting File System, auditing tools
• Corporate management – Group policy support, IntelliMirror® management technologies‚
software management technology, improved scripting support and management interfaces
• Mobile computing – Offline Folders and Encryption File System
• Advanced/power user features– Backup utility, two-processor support, Remote Desktop
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Design Gallery
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Design Gallery/WINDOWS XP REVIEWERS GUIDE August 2001
Windows XP
presents Windows in
a brilliant new light
Introduction
Welcome to the new Windows XP visual design. Get ready for a whole new Windows. Windows
XP has a sleek, elegant look that’s as efficient as it is attractive. Users will appreciate how the
brilliant new design supports an experience that’s personalized, intuitive and comfortable from
the minute they start using Windows XP.
Dazzling new look
The striking new visual design combines style and straightforward design to give the Windows XP
desktop a friendly, up-to-date look that’s easy on the eye and a breeze to use. An uplifting
assortment of backgrounds provides a dual sense of functionality and simplicity. Fresh new
icons on the Start menu identify key areas and applications.
The sleek,
More than skin deep
elegant look of the
new Windows XP
The new look of Windows XP complements many aspects of its new features, from the easy new
Setup program all the way through to the most sophisticated tasks. The user interface has been
visual design is as
made so much simpler and more intuitive that even complicated tasks, such as setting up a
home network, can be accomplished effortlessly.
efficient as it is
attractive.
Personalized and easy to use
The new Windows XP visual design makes it easier for users to get the job done. They will value
the organization of the design as they move intuitively from task to task. Gone are the The
design changes and usability enhancements make Windows XP easy to pick up in just a few
sessions. Even expert users will enjoy the logic and functionality behind the Windows XP visual
design.
[INSERT LOCAL DRIVE SCREENSHOT]
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