Minimum computer for XP Pro SP2?

[Guest]

Greetings. I have a pentium 3 500mhz with 256M of RAM. I have Windows 98SE.
What is the minimum computer for Windows XP Pro SP2? Can I install it on my
system?

 

[Leonard Grey]

"System Requirements for Windows XP Service Pack 2"
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sp2/sysreqs.mspx

Bear in mind that these are the minimum requirements needed for XP to
work -- you'll get much better performance with better hardware. Most
people find they need at least 512MB of RAM for acceptable performance
with XP. However, you also have a slow processor and probably a slow
video subsystem, neither of which are cost efficient to upgrade.

If you upgrade your RAM and have realistic performance expectations you
can upgrade to XP. However, there is another consideration: software.
You'll want to be sure that all your software and drivers will work with XP.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Greetings. I have a pentium 3 500mhz with 256M of RAM. I have Windows 98SE.
What is the minimum computer for Windows XP Pro SP2? Can I install it on my
system?

Yes, you can. Leaving aside the official minimums, which will not
provide acceptable performance for anybody, you are essentially just
about at the minimum practical configuration for XP.

You can run it on such a machine, but realize that, depending on what
apps you run, you can almost certainly expect performance to be poorer
than under Windows 98SE.

My wife ran Windows XP on a 400MHz PII with 256MB of RAM for several
years. Her computing needs are very light--essentially E-mail, a
little web browsing, and an occasional word processing document. Slow
as the machine was, she found it met her needs and resisted my offers
to upgrade her.

 

[Grand_Poobah]

The computer I am on right now for emails, Newsgroups, browsing,
scanning, and IM is just a Pentium III @ 450Mhz with 256Mb of RAM. I
leave it on 24/7 and have had no problems with it (other than a bit slow
at times) for over three years.

GP

--->

 

[Ron Martell]

Greetings. I have a pentium 3 500mhz with 256M of RAM. I have Windows 98SE.
What is the minimum computer for Windows XP Pro SP2? Can I install it on my
system?

The hardware meets or exceeds the minimum specs for Windows XP, except
possibly for hard drive space which you did not mention.

However with that hardware I would tend to use the term "walk slowly"
rather than "run" when describing how Windows XP will work on it. The
one single thing you could do to improve the situation would be to at
least double the amount of RAM.

Good luck.

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2008)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."