Windows XP Professional: Product Features

Feature Description Benefit

Reliable

Built on the Built on the proven code base of A dependable computing experience new Windows Windows NT & Windows 2000 – with for all business users. engine a 32-bit computing architecture and a fully protected memory model.

Enhanced Building on the device driver verifier Device drivers that pass these tests device driver found in Windows 2000, Windows XP will be the most robust drivers verifier Professional will provide even greater available - ensuring maximum stress tests for device drivers. system stability.

Dramatically Eliminates most scenarios that force Users will experience higher levels of reduced reboot end users to reboot in Windows NT system uptime. scenarios 4.0 and Windows 95/98/Me. Also, many software installations will not require reboots.

Improved code Critical kernel data structures are Rogue applications cannot adversely protection read-only, so that drivers and affect core operating system areas. applications cannot corrupt them. All device driver code is read-only and page protected.

Side-by-side Provides a mechanism for multiple This helps to address the "DLL hell" DLL support versions of individual Windows problem by allowing an application components to be installed and run written and tested with one version of "side by side." a system component to continue to use that version even if an application that uses a newer version of the same component is installed.

Windows File Protects core system files from being By safeguarding system files, Protection overwritten by application Windows XP Professional mitigates installations. If a file is overwritten, many of the most common system Windows File Protection will restore failures encountered in earlier the correct version. versions of Windows.

Windows A system service that helps users Will help minimise user downtime and Installer install, configure, track, upgrade, and increase system stability. remove software programs correctly.

Enhanced Provide administrators with a policy- Can contribute to improved system software driven mechanism to identify integrity, manageability, and, restriction software running in their environment ultimately, lower cost of PC policies and control its ability to execute. This ownership. facility can be used in virus and Trojan horse prevention and software lockdown.

Pre-emptive Designed to allow multiple Run your most demanding multitasking applications to run simultaneously, applications while still experiencing architecture while ensuring great system response impressive system response time. and stability.

Scalable Supports up to 4 gigabytes (GB) of Users who need the highest level of memory and RAM and up to two symmetric performance will be able to work with processor multiprocessors. the latest hardware. support

Encrypting File Encrypts each file with a randomly Highest level of protection from System (EFS) generated key. The encryption and hackers and data theft. with multi-user decryption processes are transparent support to the user. In Windows XP Professional, EFS can provide multiple users with access to an encrypted document.

IP Security Helps protect data transmitted across IT administrators will be able to build (IPSec) a network. IPSec is an important part secure VPNs quickly and easily. of providing security for virtual private networks (VPNs), which allow organisations to transmit data securely over the Internet.

Kerberos Provides industry-standard and high- Windows XP Professional will offer support strength authentication with fast, single logon for end-users for single logon to Windows 2000 based resources and supported applications enterprise resources. Kerberos is an hosted on both Windows 2000 and Internet standard, which makes it our next-generation server platform, especially effective for networks that Windows .NET Server. include different operating systems such as UNIX.

Smart card Smart card capabilities are integrated Smart cards enhance software-only support into the operating system, including solutions such as client support for smart card logon to authentication, interactive logon, terminal server sessions hosted on code signing, and secure e-mail. Windows .NET Server-based (the next-generation server platform) terminal servers.

Easy to Use

Fresh visual While maintaining the core of Allows the most common tasks to be design Windows 2000, Windows XP exposed easily, helping users get the Professional has a fresh visual design. most of out of Windows XP Common tasks have been Professional. consolidated and simplified, and new visual cues have been added to help users navigate their computers more easily. Administrators or end users can choose this updated user interface or the classic Windows 2000 interface with the click of a button.

Adaptive user Adapts to the way an individual user A cleaner work environment allows environment works. With a redesigned Start menu, the user to be more efficient. Users the most frequently used applications can find the crucial data and are shown first. When you open applications they need quickly and multiple files in the same application, easily. All of these settings can be (such as multiple e-mail messages in controlled using Group Policy, so IT the Microsoft Outlook messaging and administrators can decide what collaboration client) the open features are most appropriate for windows will be consolidated under a their environments. single task bar button. To remove some of the clutter from the notification area, items that are not being used will be hidden. All of these features can be set using Group Policy.

Work with rich Windows Media Player for media Windows XP is the first player to combine all of your common digital media activities into a single, easy- to-use player. The player makes it easy for you to:

ƒ View rich media information, for example, virtual company meetings or "just-in-time" learning. ƒ Receive the best-possible audio and video quality, because the player adapts to network conditions. ƒ Tune in to nearly 3,000 Internet radio stations. ƒ Create custom CDs up to 700 percent faster than other solutions. ƒ View DVD movies.

Context- When a file is selected in Windows Common tasks that were hard to find sensitive task Explorer, a dynamic menu appears. in previous versions of Windows are menus This menu lists tasks that are exposed for easy access. appropriate for the type of file selected.

Integrated CD Support for burning CDs on CD-R and Archiving data onto CD is now as burning CD-RW drives is integrated into easy as saving to a floppy disk, and Windows Explorer. does not require an expensive third- party solution.

Easily publish Files and folders can be easily Users will be able to publish information to published to any Web service that important information to Web servers the Web uses the WebDAV protocol. on the company’s intranet.

Dual view A single computer desktop can be Users will be able to maximise their displayed on two monitors driven off productivity by working on multiple of a single display adapter. With a screens, while removing the need for laptop computer, a user could run the multiple CPUs. internal LCD display as well as an external monitor. A variety of high- end display adapters will support this functionality for desktops.

Trouble Helps users and administrators Enables users to be more self- shooters configure, optimise, and troubleshoot sufficient, resulting in greater numerous Windows XP Professional productivity, fewer help desk calls, functions. and better customer service.

Advanced Tools at Your Fingertips

Feature Description Benefit

Revolutionises the Way Remote Users Work

Remote Allows users to create a virtual Allows users to access all of their Desktop session onto their desktop computers data and applications housed on their using the Microsoft Remote Desktop desktop computers from another Protocol (RDP). computer running Windows 95 or later that is connected to their machine via a network.

Credential A secured store for password Users who are not connected to a Manager information. It allows users to input domain, or who need to access user names and passwords once, and resources in multiple domains without then have the system automatically trust relationships, will be able to supply that information for easily access network resources. subsequent visits.

Offline Files and A user can specify which network- Users can work with documents while Folders based files and folders she needs disconnected from the network in the when she disconnects from the same manner they do when they’re network. Offline folders can now be connected. encrypted to provide the highest level of security.

ClearType A new text display technology that Microsoft ClearType display triples the horizontal resolution technology offers a clearer display of available for rendering text through text on a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) software. screen.

Offline viewing Makes entire Web pages with Customers can view critical Web graphics available for viewing offline. pages while disconnected from the Internet.

Synchronisation Lets users compare and update their After working with files and folders Manager offline files and folders with those on offline, the changes will be the network. automatically replicated back to the network, ensuring the latest version is always available.

Improved By intelligently monitoring CPU state, Users will be able to work longer on power Windows XP Professional can reduce battery power and more accurately management the amount of power it is using. The forecast how long their batteries will operating system will provide more last. accurate data on the amount of power left; this will prevent the system from shutting down prematurely. Also, by allowing for the system to wake up as the battery nears a drained state, the computer can be put into hibernation, and save work in progress. Power management can now be set for each computer, or each user on a computer.

Hibernate After a set period of time, or on Users can maximise battery life, and demand, Windows XP Professional will still be able to quickly resume save memory to disk, and shut the working where they left off, reducing power down. When power is restored, downtime. all the applications are reopened exactly as they were left.

Hot docking Lets you dock or undock your Laptop users can move easily notebook computer without changing between docked and undocked hardware configuration or rebooting. configurations without rebooting the system.

Advanced Provides the latest in power Provides key features for mobile Configuration management and Plug & Play professionals including Plug & Play, and Power support. hot docking, and full power Interface management support. (ACPI)

Wireless Provides secured access, as well as Makes it much easier for users who networking performance improvements, for need to move between wireless support wireless networks. networks, while supporting high levels of encryption to enhance security.

Network Provides an underlying service that Applications and network services can Location allows the operating system and be written to react intelligently when Awareness applications to determine when a a network location change is machine has changed network detected. For example, an application locations. could connect an end user to a closer server if that user moved from one building to another.

Easier remote Guide users through the steps for Make it easier to connect to a access setting up remote access to a corporate network or the Internet. configuration network or virtual private network wizards (VPN).

Improved Help The Help and Support Centre Users can quickly and easily find the and Support combines features users are familiar answers they need, reducing help Services with from previous versions of desk calls and increasing user Windows (such as Search, Index, and satisfaction. Favourites) with content from the World Wide Web to give users more chances to get the help they need when they need it. If the content in the Help and Support Centre doesn't answer their question, it can be used to contact a friend, a support community, or a professional to get assistance. Tools such as My Computer Information and System Restore are also available to diagnose and fix common problems.

Remote Remote Assistance enables a user to Will reduce the amount of time Assistance share control of his or her computer system administrators spend at users' with someone on a network or the desks. Many administrative and Internet. An administrator or friend troubleshooting tasks can now be can view the user's screen, and done from the administrators' own control the pointer and keyboard to desks. help solve a technical problem. IT departments can build custom solutions, on top of published APIs using HTML, to tailor Remote Assistance to their needs, and the feature can be centrally enabled or disabled.

System Restore The System Restore feature enables If users experience system failure or users and administrators to restore a another significant problem, they can computer to a previous state without use System Restore from Safe Mode losing data. System Restore or Normal Mode to go back to a automatically creates easily previous system state, restoring identifiable restore points, which optimal system functionality. System allow you to restore the system to a Restore will not revert user data or previous time. document files, so restoring will not cause users to lose their work, mail, or even browsing history and favourites.

Recovery Provides a command-line console for In the event of errors that prevent Console administrators to start and stop Windows XP Professional from services, format drives, read and starting, administrators can boot the write data on a local drive, and system to a command console and perform many other administrative potentially repair the operating tasks. system.

Device Driver When certain classes of new device If a new device driver is causing Rollback drivers are installed, Windows XP Windows XP Professional to Professional will maintain a copy of malfunction, an administrator can the previously installed driver, which easily reinstall the previous driver. can be reinstalled if problems occur.

Windows The easy way to communicate with Provides users with great platform for Messenger your customers, partners, friends, online conferencing and collaboration. and family in real time. Will keep you updated with your contacts' online status. Choose text, voice, or video and experience the best online voice and video quality. Collaborate with contacts, transfer files, and share applications and whiteboard drawings.

Internet A firewall client that can protect small Small business owners will be able to Connection businesses from common Internet securely connect their Windows XP Firewall attacks. Professional computers to the Internet. Network Setup Makes it easy for a small business Small businesses can get a Wizard owner to set up and manage a productive and secure network up network. The wizard walks through and running without relying on key steps, such as sharing files and network experts. printers, sharing the Internet connection, and configuring the Internet Connection Firewall.

Network Bridge Simplifies the setup and configuration Small businesses have more flexibility of small networks that use mixed when choosing network media and do network connections (such as Cat-5 not need to purchase extra Ethernet and wireless) by linking the equipment, such as bridges and different types of networks together. routers.

Internet Connects a small office network to Small business owners can connect Connection the Internet, using a dial-up or their computer systems to the Sharing (ICS) broadband connection. Windows XP Internet with a single Internet Professional can provide network connection, resulting in potential address translation, addressing, and savings in ISP and hardware costs. name resolution services for all computers on a small business network to share a single connection.

Peer-to-peer Enables Windows XP Professional to Small business owners can easily networking interoperate with earlier versions of integrate Windows XP Professional support Windows on a peer-to-peer level, into existing peer-to-peer networks. allowing the sharing of all resources, such as folders, printers, and peripherals.

Advanced Management, Deployment, and Support Tools

Feature Description Benefit

Application We've provided fixes to hundreds of Users will experience increased compatibility applications that didn’t run on application compatibility when Windows 2000 Professional to run on compared with Windows 2000 Windows XP Professional. As new Professional, and as more application application fixes are published, we fixes are rolled out, they'll be will make them available via the automatically available. Windows Update service. Application compatibility modes will In addition to the application fixes, potentially allow thousands of Windows XP Professional has a applications to run that don't have mechanism that allows the user or IT applications fixes on Windows XP administrator to specify if an Professional. application needs to run in either Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 95/98 or Windows Me compatibility mode. In this mode, Windows XP Professional system DLLs provide appropriate responses to the running application, allowing it to execute appropriately without a noticeable loss of performance.

User State Helps administrators to migrate a IT administrators can reduce the Migration Tool user's data and application/operating number of help desk calls after a system settings from an old migration, and end users will have computer to a new Windows XP less downtime because they will Professional desktop computer. retain their familiar operating environment.

Automatic With the user's permission, Windows Users will automatically receive Updates XP Professional automatically critical updates without impacting downloads critical and security their ability to use network updates in the background when the connections. user is connected to the Internet. These downloads are designed to minimise the impact on Internet browsing, and the update automatically resumes upon reconnection if the computer is disconnected before the download is complete. Once the update has been downloaded, the user can choose to install it.

Windows As application compatibility updates, The operating system updates will Update new device drivers, and other always be available to ensure the improvements updates are released for Windows XP most reliable and full-featured Professional, they become available computing experience. on the Windows Update Web site. (Users can also find critical and security updates here, if they choose not to use automatic updating.) Administrators can disable user access to Windows Update. The Windows Update Catalogue is provided for administrators to download updates and deploy them as appropriate in their organisations.

Support for Windows XP Professional supports the Will support the latest hardware latest hardware latest hardware standards. It standards, and be optimised for the standards supports UDF 2.01, the latest latest applications. standard for reading DVD discs. It also supports the formatting of DVD- RAM drives with the FAT32 file system. Microsoft DirectX® 8 API support will be included, and Windows XP Professional fully supports standards for Infrared Data Association (IrDA), Universal Serial Bus (USB), and the high-speed bus known as IEEE 1394.

Setup with The Setup routine ensures that the Will ensure that you install the most Dynamic Update operating system files are up to date. recent updates to the operating Before any files are installed, system for the best installation Windows XP Professional checks the experience. Web for critical system updates and downloads them for installation.

Unattended Provides the ability to specify a Allows administrators a greater installation greater number of options than degree of flexibility in scripting previous versions of Windows, and unattended Setup routines, ensuring allows for a greater degree of the most flexible installation options security by encrypting passwords in available today. the answer files.

Internet Internet Explorer 6 is more Administrators have a greater degree Explorer 6 customisable using the Internet of flexibility in deploying Internet Administration Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK 6), Explorer 6. Kit so it's easier to deploy and maintain the browser. Version 6 of the IEAK adds control over new features such as the Media bar, Auto Image Resize, and the Personal bar.

System SysPrep helps administrators clone SysPrep will allow administrators to Preparation tool computer configurations, systems, reduce the number of operating (SysPrep) and applications. A single image, system images they maintain, while which includes the operating system reducing the time it takes to deploy a and business applications, can be typical desktop system. restored to multiple different machine configurations.

Setup Manager A graphical wizard that guides It’s now easier to create answer files administrators in designing for unattended installations. installation scripts.

Remote OS Windows XP Professional can be Saves time and reduces deployment Installation installed across the network costs by allowing administrators to (including SysPrep images). standardise desktop environments to match organisational requirements. Note: This feature requires the Active Directory service.

Multilingual Allows users to easily create, read, IT administrators will no longer need support and edit documents in many to deploy multiple localised versions languages with the English version of of the operating system. This will Windows XP Professional. The speed deployments, reduce operating Multilingual User Interface Pack, an system images, and lower cost of add-on pack to the English version of ownership. Windows XP Professional, lets you change the user interface language for each user.

Windows Provides a standard infrastructure for Allows system administrators to Management monitoring and managing system monitor and control the system using Instrumentation resources. scripting and third-party applications. (WMI)

Safe Mode Allows Windows XP Professional to Provides a means to boot the system start-up options boot the system at the most basic into the GUI so that IT professionals level, using default settings and can repair the operating system. minimum device drivers. Group Policy Group Policy settings simplify the As users move from location to administration of users and objects location, they still have access to by letting administrators organise critical data, and they maintain their them into logical units, such as own customised work environment. departments or locations and then assign the same settings, including security, appearance, and management options, to all employees in that group. There are hundreds of new policies available for Windows XP Professional, in addition to those provided for Windows 2000 Professional.

Resultant Set of Allows administrators to see the Administrators can more easily Policy (RSoP) effect of Group Policy on a targeted implement and manage Group Policy user or computer. With RSoP, using the new RSoP tool. administrators have a powerful and flexible base-level tool to plan, monitor, and troubleshoot Group Policy.

Microsoft Provides a centralised and consistent IT administrators will be able to Management environment for management tools. create customised application Console (MMC) consoles.