Microsoft Windows XP - Professional

CNET Editors' Rating 8.0/10 Excellent Editorial policies >>
Average user rating from 189 users 6.5/10 Good Read user opinions >>

Product Summary

The good: Streamlined interface; better performance on many systems; easier and more capable networking; integrated CD-R/RW playback and burn features; Remote Assistance tool aids troubleshooting and control of remote PCs.

The bad: You can install XP on only one machine; piddling discounts for additional PC licenses; nags you to sign up for Passport Web account; heavy system requirements.

The bottom line: Windows Professional boasts serious corporate administration tools--it's a trustworthy upgrade from Windows 2000.

Specs: License qty: 1 user; License type: Complete package; Min hard drive space: 1.5 GB See full specs >>

Price range: $117.99 - $224.63

See all products in the Microsoft Windows XP - Professional series

CNET editors' review

Reviewed by: Matt Lake
Reviewed on: 09/03/2001
Updated on:11/14/2002

After a buildup of Hollywood proportions, Microsoft released its final cut of Windows XP, promising that the "biggest release since Windows 95" would end the stability woes of Windows 95 and temper the unfriendly interface of Windows 2000. We found the first release of XP expensive and occasionally annoying--nagging screens and pop-up bubbles galore--and chafed at the new license restrictions. But XP Pro offers powerful Remote Assistance tools, administrative controls, and security, and it wraps up the best features of Windows 2000 in an easier-to-navigate package. It's a must-have upgrade from Windows 95/98, but even stolid NT/2000 admins should give the new order a try. After a buildup of Hollywood proportions, Microsoft released its final cut of Windows XP, promising that the "biggest release since Windows 95" would end the stability woes of Windows 95 and temper the unfriendly interface of Windows 2000. We found the first release of XP expensive and occasionally annoying--nagging screens and pop-up bubbles galore--and chafed at the new license restrictions. But XP Pro offers powerful Remote Assistance tools, administrative controls, and security, and it wraps up the best features of Windows 2000 in an easier-to-navigate package. It's a must-have upgrade from Windows 95/98, but even stolid NT/2000 admins should give the new order a try.

This major upgrade at long last ends the distinction between the corporate (and more stable) NT/2000 Windows and the consumer-oriented Windows 95/98/Millennium. XP provides similar variations of the same OS for both home and business: XP Home and XP Professional editions. On the outside, XP looks radically different from any previous Windows version. It's spiffier, with both aesthetic and functional redesigns, and features login screens for home and corporate systems alike--something many Windows 95/98 users have never seen.

Like any radical overhaul, XP takes some getting used to--we often lost patience with it--but, after time, it's hard not to like the new design. While its new, hand-holding "task-oriented" design may annoy experienced users, Microsoft nevertheless managed to create an OS that works equally well for novices, corporate users, and enthusiasts. Despite hefty system requirements (a Pentium II-300 or faster, 128MB of RAM, and 1.5GB of free disk space), onerous product activation, and some not-so-obvious touting of Microsoft's business partners, you'll want to consider an upgrade--if not immediately, certainly the next time you buy a PC.

User opinions

6.5/10 Average user rating from 189 users Good

WRITE YOUR OWN REVIEW How would you rate this product?

10/10 Perfect August 9, 2006

by microsoft* (see profile)

"Amazingly better than apple os" Read more >>
9/10 Spectacular January 24, 2007

by BrianED (see profile)

"Soooo much better than OS X" Read more >>
7/10 Very good November 3, 2006

by jmcglynn (see profile)

"Better for those who need more." Read more >>
WRITE YOUR OWN REVIEW See all 189 user opinions >>

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