Microsoft Windows XP (Beta 2) Review
InstallationThe upgrade from Windows Me to Windows XP went pretty smoothly. Windows XP includes a new Active Setup. This enables the setup program to connect to the Microsoft Web site, to check for the latest updates before setup starts (Figure). This should guarantee that you have the most up-to-date files when you start the upgrade process.
My computer is an aging Pentium II (350MHz) with 256MB RAM (Asus P2B) and a 6.4GB Western Digital (5,400RPM) hard disk. I have two ATI 3D Rage Pro PCI video cards with 8MB RAM driving two 17" Panasonic SL70i monitors. I've also got an Intel PRO/100+ PCI network adapter, connected to a Alcatel Speed Touch Home ADSL modem. Other devices are: Creative AWE64-Value sound card, Microsoft USB IntelliMouse Explorer, LS-120 floppy disk drive, Toshiba 32x CD-ROM drive, and a 3COM USR 56K internal modem.
The upgrade took around 80 minutes, and all my hardware was detected flawlessly. The settings for my ADSL connection were also preserved, but as with the Windows 2000 upgrade I had to change the security settings to send my password unencrypted before my connection would work again.
Next came the product activation. First Windows XP complained that it couldn't detect my Internet settings... well, they were there, so I elected to connect manually and run the product activation. After a few seconds it told me that my copy was activated.
So I was quite surprised when Windows XP product activation popped up again a few days later. I choose to activate again, and got the same "Congratulations! Windows is now Activated" message.
Well, you might have guessed it: After the "free" period of 14 days (30 days in the shipping version) ran out, Windows XP insisted on being activated before allowing me access to my system. Again it failed to detect my Internet settings, and since there's no way to get into Windows, I had no choice than to press the "Telephone option" button, and spend a long distance call to the UK (I'm located in Malta) to get my copy "activated." Took me a total of around 4 1/2 minutes to get it done (you have to read an Installation ID (44 digit) to the person on the other end, who reads you back an activation ID (42 digits) which you then have to enter.
Anyway, so I got back down to business....