Secrets of Microsoft Windows XP. Secrets of Microsoft Windows XP Folder or File CON

Every computer user remembers the beloved Windows XP OS, which was the perfect example of what a real operating system should be. Convenient, intuitive, fast, not overloaded with unnecessary and completely unnecessary functions. Unfortunately, today Microsoft has stopped supporting this version of the OS, since three more versions have already been released after it, but XP still has an impressive army of fans - this is an indisputable fact. As well as the fact that this operating system will go down in history as one of the best.

Using XP

You may be surprised, but today there are 500 million copies of this OS in active use - and these are only official licensed copies. There are likely even more pirated versions.

Just like XP

Those users who had to upgrade the system to the eighth version, or who have already bought a device with a pre-installed OS, are now actively looking for ways to make this operating system look as similar as possible to XP. To do this, you can even download a special program from the Internet.

IRS

Many government agencies, such as the IRS, still use Windows XP - in most cases this is due to the incompatibility of the software used with other versions, but it is also a sign of the reliability of this OS.

Photo

Everyone knows the original Windows XP screensaver, which depicts hills. This photograph sold for over a million dollars and is considered the second most valuable photograph in history.

ATMs

PC users may well have changed their operating system, but most ATMs still use Windows XP.

Age

Windows XP is an incredibly old operating system. You won't believe it, but it was released back in 2001.

Protection errors

Despite the fact that Windows XP is one of the most beloved operating systems, it has very serious security holes. If you use this OS, the likelihood of being hacked increases by about six times compared to modern systems.

IE versions

The popular Internet Explorer browser of more modern versions simply will not run on XP - this operating system only supports IE 8 and lower.

Piracy

Today, support and sales of Windows XP have been discontinued, but people continue to actively download and install pirated versions of this operating system.

CON folder or file

It's quite strange, but in Windows XP you cannot create a folder or file called CON - such a file already exists on the system, it is extremely important, and it cannot be accessed.

Upgrade speed

Many companies that still use Windows XP report that they do not upgrade to the new version, not because of the cost, but because of the time it will take to migrate all the software to the new operating system.

XP is experience

Windows XP is one of the last systems to use letters rather than a serial number to designate versions. And behind the letters XP is the English word eXPerience, which translates as “experience”.

End of support

As mentioned earlier, support and sales of this OS have ended, and this was announced in 2014, that is, quite recently - Windows XP lived for 13 long years.

Decorations

If you wish, you can decorate folders and replace icons with other pictures - this is a useless, but extremely nice feature.

TweakUI

Use TweakUI - this tool was designed specifically to personalize your version of the operating system.

Two versions

If you have two hard drives, then you can install two versions of the operating system at the same time - there are detailed step-by-step instructions on how to do this on the Internet.

Limited cart

In this operating system, the Recycle Bin is limited in size - it can only hold 10% of the hard drive on which the system is installed.

Beta version

The beta version of the operating system, which was supposed to replace Windows 98, was called Windows Whistler - after the ski resort in British Columbia, where many of Microsoft's leading employees went on vacation.

Falling sales

XP support ended in 2014, but sales of the OS fell significantly and did not pick up again in 2008.

Number of security breaches

The number of problems with privacy protection of this operating system was accurately calculated - the total number exceeded seventy.

Windows XP(code name during development - Whistler; internal version - Windows NT 5.1) - operating system (OS) of the Windows NT family of Microsoft Corporation. It was released on October 25, 2001 and is an evolution of Windows 2000 Professional. The name XP comes from the English. eXPerience(experience).

Unlike the previous Windows 2000 system, which came in both server and client versions, Windows XP is a client-only system. Its server counterpart is Windows Server 2003. Although Windows Server 2003 is built on the same code as Windows XP, almost entirely inheriting its user interface, Windows Server 2003 still uses a newer and redesigned version of the NT 5.2 kernel; which appeared later had the same kernel as Windows Server 2003, and received the same security updates, as a result of which it could be said that their development proceeded in the same way.

Options

Windows XP came in many flavors:

Windows XP Professional Edition was designed for businesses and entrepreneurs and includes features such as remote access to the computer's desktop, file encryption (using the Encrypting File System), central management of access rights and support for multiprocessor systems.
Windows XP Home Edition is a system for home use. It is released as an inexpensive “stripped down” version of the Professional Edition, but is based on the same core.
Windows XP Tablet PC Edition is based on the Professional Edition and contains special applications optimized for stylus input on tablet personal computers. The most important property is understanding handwritten texts and adapting the graphical interface to display rotations. This version is only sold with a matching computer.
Windows XP Media Center Edition is based on the Professional Edition and contains special multimedia applications. The computer is usually equipped with a TV card and a remote control (RC). The most important feature is the ability to connect to a TV and control the computer via the remote control thanks to the simplified Windows control system. This system also contains functions for receiving VHF radio.
Windows XP Embedded is an embedded component operating system based on Windows XP Professional Edition and is designed for use in various embedded systems: industrial automation systems, ATMs, medical devices, point-of-sale terminals, gaming machines, VoIP components, etc. Windows XP Embedded includes additional embedding functions, including a write protection filter (EWF and FBWF), booting from flash memory, CD-ROM, networks, using your own system shell, etc.
Windows Embedded POSReady is a specialized operating system based on Windows XP Embedded, configured for point of sale and optimized for the retail and service industries. Based on this platform, you can create an ATM, payment terminal, gas station, cash register, etc. Additionally, Windows Embedded for Point of Service includes POS for .NET technology for the rapid development of trading applications and support for trading peripheral equipment.
Windows XP Professional x64 Edition is a special 64-bit version designed for processors with AMD64 Opteron and Athlon 64 technology from AMD and processors with EM64T technology from Intel. This system does not support processors from other manufacturers, nor does it work with the Intel Itanium processor. Although the first 64-bit processors appeared in 2003, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition was released only in April 2005. The main advantage of the system is its fast work with large numbers (Long Integer and Double Float). Thus, this system is very effective, for example, in performing floating-point calculations required in areas such as special effects for films and 3D animation, as well as the development of technical and scientific applications. This system supports mixed mode, that is, simultaneous operation of 32- and 64-bit applications, but for this all drivers must be 64-bit. This means that most 32-bit applications can run on this system. The only exceptions are those applications that are highly dependent on computer hardware, for example, antiviruses and defragmenters.
Windows XP 64-bit Edition - this edition was developed specifically for workstations with IA-64 architecture and Itanium microprocessors. This edition of Windows XP has been discontinued since 2005, after it ceased development of workstations with Itanium microprocessors. Support for this architecture remains in server versions of the Windows operating system.
Windows XP Edition N is a system without Windows Media Player and other multimedia applications. These versions were created under pressure from the European Antimonopoly Commission, which demanded that Windows XP be “lightened.” Currently, this distribution is aimed at developing countries. If desired, the user can download all missing applications from the Microsoft website for free. Available in both Home and Professional versions.
Windows XP Starter Edition is a highly functionally limited version for developing countries and financially weak regions. In this version, only 3 applications can run simultaneously, and each application can create a maximum of 3 windows. The system completely lacks network functions, does not support high resolution, and also does not allow the use of more than 512 megabytes of RAM or a hard drive with a capacity of more than 120 gigabytes. The system can run on Intel Celeron or AMD Duron processors.
Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs is a stripped-down version of Microsoft Windows XP Embedded Service Pack 2, designed for legacy computers.

New compared to Windows 2000

Some of the most notable improvements in Windows XP over Windows 2000 are:

Graphical User Interface

New start menu when using the Royale theme

Selection in Windows Explorer is made by a transparent blue rectangle.
Falling shadow from shortcuts on the desktop.
A sidebar focused on performing tasks in the Explorer window (“common tasks”).
Grouping the buttons of one application on the taskbar into one button, with a certain number of different applications running, which often avoids the need to “scroll” it.
It is now possible to lock the taskbar and auxiliary panels to prevent them from being accidentally changed.
Colorizes items in the Start menu that belong to recently added programs.
Menus cast shadows (in Windows 2000, the mouse pointer cast shadows, but not menu items).

Windows XP analyzes system performance with certain visual effects and, depending on this, activates them or not, taking into account a possible drop or increase in performance. Users can also change these parameters using settings dialogs, and they can either flexibly choose the activity of certain visual effects, or leave it to the system to control it, or choose maximum performance or the best look of the graphical interface.

Some effects, such as translucency, etc., require a powerful graphics subsystem; on older video cards, performance may drop significantly and Microsoft recommends disabling these features in this case.

Windows XP introduced the ability to use Visual Styles, which allow you to change the graphical user interface. Luna is a new style of graphical interface included with XP and is the default interface for computers with more than 64 megabytes of RAM. It is possible to use other Visual Styles, but they must be digitally signed by Microsoft (as they are important in the functioning of the system).

To get around this limitation, some users use special software such as TGTSoft's StyleXP, and sometimes a modified version of the uxtheme.dll library.

There is also a "Classic" style that replicates the Windows 2000 interface style (which uses 4 MB less memory than Luna), as well as numerous styles created by third-party developers. For the Media Center version, Microsoft developed a Royale "visual style" that is included in this version of Windows XP and is available for installation in other versions of XP.

More than 100 icons have been created for Windows XP by The Iconfactory, known for its set of free icons for the Mac OS X operating system

Command Line Interface (CLI)

	Declared as minimum	Featured
CPU	233 MHz	300 MHz or higher
RAM	64 MB (some capabilities may be limited)	128 MB or higher
Video adapter and monitor	Super VGA (800×600)
Free hard disk space	1.5 GB or more
Optical storage	CD-ROM (required for installation)	CD-ROM or DVD-ROM
User Interface Devices	Keyboard	Keyboard and mouse
Other devices	Sound card, speakers and/or headphones

In addition to these requirements, Service Pack 2 requires that you have at least 1.8 GB of available hard disk space at the time of installation.

Service packs and support

Update Pack 1

Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1) was released on September 9, 2002. The most important innovations were support for USB 2.0, a utility that allows you to select default programs for Internet browsing, mail, instant messaging, and various implementations of the Java virtual machine. Starting with SP1, the EFS encryption file system was able to use the AES encryption algorithm with a 256-bit key.

Starting with SP1, support for LBA -48 is enabled by default, allowing the operating system to work with hard drives with a capacity of more than 137 GB.

Service Pack 1a was released on February 3, 2003 and removed the Java Virtual Machine from the system. Microsoft has not recommended that users who already installed SP1 install SP1a.

Support for Windows XP Service Pack 1 and 1a ended on October 10, 2006.

Update Pack 2

Service Pack 2 (SP2) (codenamed Springboard) was released on August 6, 2004. SP2 added new features to Windows XP, including an improved firewall; support for Wi-Fi with a setup wizard and Bluetooth, as well as improvements in Internet Explorer 6 - for example, the ability to block "pop-up" windows. This service pack has made significant changes to the security of Windows XP. Thus, the built-in firewall has undergone significant changes, which has been renamed Windows Firewall and is now activated for all created connections by default. Expanded memory protection has appeared, in particular, against buffer overflow attacks using “NX-bit” technology and a number of other techniques. Changes also affected services - services such as telnet and the messaging service are disabled by default, a number of services are launched with reduced rights, etc. Security changes also affected the Outlook Express mail program and the Internet Explorer browser. Windows XP Service Pack 2 includes Security Center, which makes it easier to monitor system security by monitoring and reminding the user to install or update an antivirus and its databases, activate a built-in or third-party firewall, update the operating system, or change web browser settings . Third-party antiviruses and firewalls have the ability to interact with it using the API. The autorun functionality when inserting a CD or connecting flash cards and similar devices has also been improved.

When the system loaded, the subheadings with the name of the edition disappeared; the loading bar in the Home and Embedded editions changed from green and yellow to blue, as in the Professional edition.

Support for Windows XP Service Pack 2 ended on July 13, 2010.

Update Pack 3

In early August 2007, Microsoft began beta testing SP3 with a limited group of beta testers. Despite the fact that the beta version was distributed only to a select few, its distribution appeared on peer-to-peer networks. Since December 12, 2007, version RC1 SP3 is available for download and testing to everyone.

The final version of Windows XP Service Pack 3 was released on April 21, 2008, but only to business customers such as OEMs and MSDN and TechNet subscribers. Other users were able to obtain the third service pack from the Windows Update online service or through the Microsoft Download Center on May 6, as well as using the automatic update service in early summer.

The package can only be installed over Service Pack 1 (SP1) or Service Pack 2 (SP2), and is only available for the 32-bit version.

The package includes all updates released since Windows XP Service Pack 2 was released in August 2004, as well as a number of other new items. Among them is the Network Access Protection function and a new activation model, borrowed from Windows Vista, in addition, there is an improved function for detecting so-called “black hole” routers, etc.

As of July 1, 2008, Microsoft stopped selling Windows XP SP2 to its suppliers. Until mid-2010, Windows XP SP3 was supplied in OEM and BOX deliveries, for Windows Vista Business a free downgrade is possible, and the Get Genuine Kit Windows XP SP3 is also on sale, intended for licensing installed pirated software, as part of corporate licensing the Get Genuine package Solution Windows XP.

Windows XP Service Pack 3 is also distributed as part of the optional Windows 7 feature Windows XP Mode.

Support for Windows XP Service Pack 3 ends on April 8, 2014.

Criticism

Despite some advantages over Windows Vista and even Windows 7 in performance, for which users value it so much, Windows XP (SP1, SP2, SP3) has a characteristic drawback:

When installing the system, the user is prompted to create an account with administrator rights, which leads to the system's potential vulnerability to viruses. Despite the fact that this problem is solved by creating and using a separate account with limited rights, many users do not use this approach for various reasons, including ignorance. In subsequent versions (Vista and older), this problem was solved by the User Account Control component. Also, statements “about Windows XP being less secure” have now become less relevant than at the time of Vista’s release, due to the development of antiviruses and their heuristic abilities.

The launch of Windows XP took place in New York just a month and a half after the attack on the Twin Towers and began with the Evangelical Church choir singing "America the Beautiful."
It is possible to run Windows XP on smartphones or PDAs using BOCHS (Android) and QEMU (Windows Mobile), but the device resources will not be enough for fast work.
At the end of support (April 8, 2014), Windows XP will be just under 13 years old. This will be the longest time in the history of Windows.

Notes

Literature

Woody Leonard. Microsoft Windows XP SP2 for dummies. Complete Reference = Windows XP All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies. - 2nd ed. - M.: Dialectics, 2007. - 720 p. - ISBN 0-7645-7463-9
Paul McFedries. Microsoft Windows XP SP2. Complete Guide = Microsoft Windows XP Unleashed. - M.: Williams, 2006. - 880 p. - ISBN 0-672-32833-X
Proffitt Brian. Windows XP. Self-instruction manual. - M.: KUDITS-PRESS, 2006.

Links

The Windows XP operating system has become a real breakthrough in the OS family from Microsoft. It has a huge number of functions and system settings, which may take you months to learn. However, we bring to your attention a description of the most interesting, in our opinion, points that will be of interest to any Windows user.

Checking the operating time without loading.

Windows XP has an interesting feature that allows the user to view information about how long the OS has been running without rebooting. To do this, you need to go to the command line, which can be called with the Win+R key combination, and enter the systeminfo command. In the window that appears, you will find a large amount of useful information, as well as its uptime. If you want to save this information to a text file, type the command systeminfo > info.txt.

We terminate the process from the command line.

In Windows XP, users now have the ability to terminate processes directly from the command line. To do this, simply enter the taskkill /pid command and the task ID. To find out the task number, enter the tasklist command. This way you can not only find out the numbers of all processes, but also get a lot of information about what is happening in your system.

How can I run programs as another user?

An excellent feature that allows you to run programs as any other user without leaving your current profile. This is especially convenient if you are working in a profile with limited rights and you need to install a program. To do this, there is no need to quit and log in under the Administrator profile. Simply right-click on the program shortcut and select “Run as”. Next, select a username and enter a password.

Local network operation indicator.

If your system unit is under the table and you don’t see the network LED on the network card, it’s not a problem. Windows XP has a feature that will help you always monitor the presence of network traffic. To activate it, go to the “Network Neighborhood” menu, right-click on your local network connection icon and click on the “Properties” button. Check the box “When connected, display the icon in the notification panel.” Now, when the network is active, you will always see the icon blinking in the system tray.

Change the opening time of the Start menu.

In Windows XP, by default, the Start menu appears with some delay, which is often not pleasant for users. In order to correct this annoying oversight of the developers, we need to go into the registry. You can do this by opening a command prompt and entering the regedit command. After this, we find a key in the registry called HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Control Panel/Desktop/MenuShowDelay and set its value to 0.

Deleting files bypassing the trash.

By default, all files deleted in the Windows XP operating system are placed in the Recycle Bin. This is supposedly done for the safety of users, so that they do not unknowingly delete important files and always have the opportunity to restore them. However, once sent to the trash, the files do not disappear anywhere and continue to take up space on your hard drive. To solve this problem and immediately delete files permanently, go to the command line and type the command gpedit.msc. In the new window, select “User Configuration”, then “Administrative Templates”, then “Windows Components”, then “Windows Explorer Options” and check “Do not move deleted files to the Recycle Bin”. In the Group Policy menu, which you opened using the gpedit.msc command, you can find many useful system settings. But change them carefully, since incorrect editing can lead to unstable operation of the system. Please note that these settings are only available in Windows XP Professional Edition.

Correct removal of system utilities.

Windows XP implements a mechanism to prevent the user from deleting a number of system utilities, such as Windows Messenger. If you firmly decide that you do not need this program and want to remove it correctly, any text editor, for example, Notepad, will help you. Find the system file sysoc.inf, which is located in the windows/inf folder, and open it using a text editor. In it you need to find the line with the program that you want to uninstall and remove the word hide from it. After that, go to Control Panel - Add or Remove Programs and select Add/Remove Windows Components. There you will find the program you need and can remove it correctly.

Locking the computer.

In Windows XP, the user has the opportunity to instantly lock his computer in case, for example, he needs to urgently log out. To do this, you can create a shortcut and enter the line “rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation” in the “Working folder” field. Give this shortcut any name and place it in a place convenient for you - for example, on your desktop. Double-click on this shortcut and a welcome window will appear on the screen, where you must enter the user and password to log into Windows. At the same time, all programs that were launched will continue to work. The same function is performed by the Win+L key combination.

ClearType font smoothing.

Built-in ClearType font smoothing technology significantly improves the perception of text on a computer monitor. By default, this feature is disabled in Windows XP. To enable it, you need to click the mouse, or rather, right-click on the desktop, select “Properties”. In a new window, open the Appearance tab, then the Effects menu. In the second drop-down menu, select "ClearType" and enable this feature.

Removing temporary Internet files.

The Internet Explorer 6 browser built into Windows XP creates a large number of temporary files during operation, which over time begin to take up too much space. To resolve this issue, you need to delete these files after closing your browser. To have Internet Explorer perform the deletion automatically, go to the “Tools/Internet Settings” menu in the browser, select “Advanced” and in the “Security” section enable the option “Clean up the directory with temporary Internet files when the browser is closed.”

Group renaming of files.

You can rename a group of files directly in Windows Explorer. To do this, you need to select a group of files, click on one of these files with the mouse (right) and select “Rename”. Specify a name for this file, after which all files that have been selected will be named with the same name with an individual number in brackets.

Login with administrator privileges.

This vulnerability was fixed only with the release of Service Pack 3 for Windows XP. This update is still not available on all computers running this operating system, and therefore it can be successfully applied. First, we need to log into Windows under any account with any rights, most often such access is available for the “Guest” user. After that, go to the folder C:\Windows\system32. In this directory we find the files logon.scr and cmd.exe. Just in case, make a backup copy of the logon.scr file to another directory, and rename the cmd.exe file to logon.scr. After this, we reboot and wait for the window to enter the username and password to appear. We do nothing and wait for the screen saver to appear. When Windows tries to launch screensaver after a certain time, the cmd.exe file we renamed will launch and we will see the command line. If you now enter the explorer command, Windows Explorer will start with Administrator rights. If something goes wrong and Explorer does not start, enter the regedit command. Having gained access to the registry, you can perform manipulations that grant Administrator rights to any user.

Speed up the interface.

If you have a not very powerful computer, it makes sense to disable the visual effects of Windows XP and thereby increase the speed of the OS. To do this, right-click on the “My Computer” icon, then select “Properties” from the drop-down menu. In the dialog box that appears, go to the “Advanced” tab and select “Options” in the “Performance” section. In the “Performance Options” window, open the “Visual Effects” tab and check the “Ensure the best performance” checkbox. After the OK button is pressed, the appearance of the operating system will change to a simpler and more ascetic one, but at the same time, this will free up some of the precious system resources for your tasks.

Reducing the space occupied by Windows XP.

If you have an urgent need to free up space on your hard drive, you can slightly reduce the space occupied by the operating system. First, you can delete the Windows\DriverCache\i386\ folder, which contains a set of Windows drivers. If you do not plan to change the hardware of your computer in the near future, feel free to delete this folder, because all the necessary drivers are already installed. If there is an urgent need to reinstall any drivers, it will be enough to simply insert the Windows installation disk into the computer drive. Secondly, the operating system has a protected cache, where it stores copies of important system files in case the originals are damaged. To set the size of this cache to zero, you need to enter “sfc cachesize =0” on the command line. After this, you can delete the cache. Thirdly, Windows XP has a system restore feature that allows you to roll back to a stable state after a failure. At the same time, up to 20% of the space on each logical drive can be reserved for the needs of this function. This space is reserved for storing system restore points. You can free up this space by completely disabling the System Restore feature. To do this, go to the properties of "My Computer". In the new window, go to the “System Restore” tab and check the “Disable System Restore on all drives” option, then click OK.

Automatic completion of stuck tasks.

Windows XP does not have a feature to automatically terminate frozen processes. If a program stops responding to the user's actions, it will still remain in RAM until the user forces it to end using the Task Manager. However, it is possible to force the system to forcefully terminate processes that do not respond to user requests for a certain period of time. To do this, you need to go to the registry and find the HKEY_CURRENT_ USER\ Control Panel\ Desktop branch. It contains several keys, working with which will be useful for us. The HungAppTimeout parameter is responsible for the time after which the program is considered to be frozen if it does not respond to requests. By default it is 5000 milliseconds or 5 seconds, set it to the desired value. The WaitToKillAppTimeout parameter specifies the time the system waits before closing a hung application. By default it is equal to 20,000 milliseconds, it can also be changed to the desired value. The last key, AutoEndTasks, allows the system to automatically terminate hung processes; to do this, you must assign it a value of 1. You should avoid setting delays for these keys that are too small, since even a correctly running program may not respond to requests for some time due to the heavy load on the computer. If you set the delay to a small value, Windows may begin to forcefully terminate completely stable processes, which will lead to unpredictable consequences.