XP System Requirements

[Cris]

I am thinking about purchasing the XP Home Edition but am
concerned about my system being able to support it. I was
told by someone (Best Buy technician) that it may not
support it.

I ran a diagnostic on my system and according to the
information, I should be able to run the program. My
processor speed is 600 MHz, 384 Megabytes of memory, 30 GB
hard drive (Drive C: 25.212 with 22.107 GB free and D:
2.721 with 1.586 GB free).

Can someone tell me if my computer meets XP's
requirements? I don't want to make a costly purchase if
it will not work. Thanks.

Cris

 

[Mike Brannigan [MSFT]]

The requirements are published at
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/evaluation/sysreqs.asp
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/evaluation/sysreqs.asp

--
Regards,

Mike
--
Mike Brannigan [Microsoft]

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights

Please note I cannot respond to e-mailed questions, please use these
newsgroups

 

[Dean-MN]

Win XP should work just fine. I had XP Home running on a 533MHz with 384MB
memory. The video was a bit slow using the 8MB onboard graphics but nothing
serious. Windows would leave a trail when moved across the display.
Dean

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

Your system exceeds the minimum system requirements for WinXP.
You should find it's performance satisfactory unless you're a heavy
gamer. However, a PC's meeting the minimum requirements is no
guarantee that WinXP will work on that specific system -- there may be
other issues, such as hardware and software compatibility.

Have you made sure that your PC's hardware components are capable
of supporting WinXP? This information will be found at the PC's
manufacturer's web site, and on Microsoft's Hardware Compatibility
List: (http://www.microsoft.com/hcl/default.asp)

You should, before proceeding, take a few minutes to ensure that
there are WinXP device drivers available for all of the machine's
components. There may not be, if the PC was specifically designed for
Win98/Me. Also bear in mind that PCs designed for and sold with
Win9x/Me very often do not meet WinXP's much more stringent hardware
quality requirements. This is particularly true of many models in
Compaq's consumer-class Presario product line or HP's consumer-class
Pavilion product line. WinXP is quite sensitive to borderline
defective hardware (particularly motherboards, RAM and hard drives)
that will still support Win9x.

This would be a good place to start:

HOW TO Prepare to Upgrade Win98 or WinMe
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q316639

And you've just learned another valuable lesson: Never, ever go
to Best Buy for computer advice.

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:

 

[Ken Blake]

I am thinking about purchasing the XP Home Edition but am
concerned about my system being able to support it. I was
told by someone (Best Buy technician) that it may not
support it.

I ran a diagnostic on my system and according to the
information, I should be able to run the program. My
processor speed is 600 MHz, 384 Megabytes of memory, 30 GB
hard drive (Drive C: 25.212 with 22.107 GB free and D:
2.721 with 1.586 GB free).

Can someone tell me if my computer meets XP's
requirements? I don't want to make a costly purchase if
it will not work. Thanks.

The components you've supplied information about are more than
sufficent. No problem at all. But to be sure, go to
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/upgrading/advisor.asp

 

[Donald Link]

Some of the Best Buy technicians are not that smart and part of their job is
get you to buy equipment. Your machine will run Windows XP if the video
subsystem is supported. The biggest concerns would be that your printers,
scanner, cdrom drives and such have xp support. Check first and make sure
you have the latest drivers on all equipment on cd or disk prior to even
buying XP. If you are satisfied they will then you could do the upgrade
although there should be a reason not just to upgrade to the latest and
greatest. Also, note that your machine is marginal, including memory and
hard drive and the reasons for normally upgrading is for things like video
editing, broadband and internet stability, and USB 2.0 support. You have to
need to upgrade, unless you either buy or build a new machine. Trying to
upgrade your current system would be a waste of money since new machines
with lots of memory, hard disks, etc can be had dirt cheap with xp
installed. There is quite a difference of not being able to run XP as to
whether you should or not.