10.2 Migrating to Windows XP
Migration is typically a
term used by system administrators to describe the lengthy process of upgrading
some or all the computers in an organization to a new software product, but
nearly all of the issues faced apply to anyone upgrading to Windows XP from an
earlier version.
While the previous section covered issues dealing with the
actual installation of Windows XP, the following topics discuss the steps you
may need to take after the upgrade has taken place.
10.2.1 Casualties of the Upgrade
As you've probably discovered on your own, there are a number
of hardware and software products that simply won't work with Windows XP. Some
of these products are simply awaiting driver updates from the respective
manufacturers, while others have been abandoned by their manufacturers with no
hope of future support.
If you haven't yet upgraded to Windows XP, it's best to first
check with the manufacturers of each and every card, drive, printer, input
device, and other peripheral you use to make sure your devices are supported
under Windows XP, either out of the box or via a driver update. Naturally, it
wouldn't be the least bit practical to try and list each individual incompatible
device here, but the following list should give you an idea of the types of
products that may cause problems with Windows XP (or any new operating system,
for that matter).
Also available is the Microsoft Windows Upgrade Advisor (MSUA),
mentioned in Section 10.1.2, earlier in this chapter. The MSUA scans your system
and compares it with a list of devices and software known to cause problems with
Windows XP. While its internal list is far from complete, it will certainly warn
you of any incompatibilities of which Microsoft is aware. Start it by inserting
the Windows XP CD and clicking Check system
compatibility and then Check my system
automatically. You can also download it from
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/upgrading/.
As with the move to any new operating system, there are some
software and hardware components that either won't be compatible with the new
version, or are version-dependant, and must be updated to work with the new
version.
Any versions of the following products not specifically
designed to work with Windows XP will most likely need to be updated or removed:
-
Any software that works with settings specific to any
single version of Windows, such as Microsoft TweakUI (versions 1.33 and
earlier). See Appendix A for details.
-
Older backup software, such as Veritas Backup (all
versions) and Seagate Backup Exec. However, any backup software made for
Windows 2000 should work in Windows XP equally well. This is of special
importance, because whatever software you use to backup Windows before
upgrading will need to be supported in Windows XP. Otherwise, the backup you
create will most likely be inaccessible.
-
Antivirus and low-level disk utility software, such as
Norton Utilities and Norton Antivirus, tend to cause problems when used in any
operating system other than the one for which they were specifically designed.
-
CD burner software not designed specifically for Windows XP
may interfere with the built-in CD burner features in Windows XP, or may stop
functioning because of said features. Examples include Roxio Easy CD Creator
(versions 5.0 and earlier) and Adaptec DirectCD.
-
Games, especially the more graphic-intensive and
3D-accelerated ones, frequently have problems with newer versions of Windows,
especially those based on Windows NT (such as Windows 2000, and yes, Windows
XP). While you won't have to remove these games before you upgrade to Windows
XP, you may need to contact the manufacturers of any games that won't function
in XP for any patches, updates, or special settings required for their games
to run on Windows XP. Since games are rarely updated to work with newer
versions of Windows, you may need to set up a dual-boot system (as described
later in this chapter) just to run older games.
-
Any software that requires that you boot directly into DOS
will not function on a Windows XP system, as DOS is no longer part of the
operating system. Try launching the program in compatibility mode, as
described in Chapter 6.
-
Certain types of hardware are more dependent on features
found in specific operating systems, and are less likely to be supported under
newer versions of Windows. Such devices typically include TV and radio cards,
webcams, video capture devices, digital cameras and memory card readers,
flatbed scanners, film scanners, synchronization cradles for handheld
computers, older digitizers (tablets), oddball printers and pointing devices,
CD changers, and DVD decoders. If you can't obtain newer drivers and software
for any of these less-common peripherals, they may not work in Windows XP at
all.
If you find that one or more software or hardware products
won't work in Windows XP, setting up a dual-boot system with an older version of
Windows, as described later in this chapter, may be the answer.
10.2.2 Adjusting Windows XP to Smooth Out the
Migration
Aside from the hardware and software incompatibilities
discussed in the preceding section, the task of undoing some of the changes made
by Setup is what will be on most users' minds right after upgrading to Windows
XP. Fortunately, there are several things you can do to ease the transition.
Additionally, there are a few finding the features that have
been moved (or removed) from previous versions.
- Visual style of screen elements
-
Make Windows XP look more like previous versions of Windows
by going to Control Panel
Display
Appearance tab, and choose
Windows Classic style from the
Windows and buttons list.
- Overly-complex Start Menu
-
To revert to the simpler single-column Start Menu found in
earlier versions of Windows, go to Control Panel
Taskbar and Start Menu
Start Menu tab, and select the
Start menu option.
- Animation and other eye candy
-
The animation and other eye candy used with windows, menus,
lists, and even your mouse cursor is more prevalent in Windows XP than any
previous version of Windows. See Section 5.1.1 for details.
- Categories in Control Panel
-
The categories in Control Panel, which are somewhat
superfluous, can be removed by opening the Control Panel window (not the
Control Panel menu in the Start Menu, nor the Control Panel folder in Windows
Explorer, however), and clicking Switch to Classic
View in the Common Tasks pane. If Control Panel appears as a menu in
the Start Menu, you can open it in its own window by right-clicking the
Control Panel item and selecting
Open. If you don't have a Common Tasks pane,
see the next topic.
- Common Tasks pane in Folder Windows
-
The Common Tasks pane is supposed to show links to
additional programs and features, depending on the folder currently being
viewed, but most of the time, it's just unnecessary clutter. If you prefer the
simpler, cleaner folders found in earlier versions of Windows, go to
Control Panel
Folder Options
General tab, and select the
Use Windows classic folders option.
- Hijacking of File Types
-
Every time you run Windows Setup, it will reclaim a bunch
of different file type associations without asking. For example, your default
applications for .html files (web pages), .jpg images, and
.zip files (archives), are all forgotten in favor of Microsoft's
replacements. The fact that Windows doesn't preserve your associations, or at
least ask before overwriting them, should be attributed to nothing more than
laziness on the part of Microsoft's developers.
See Section 4.3 in Chapter 4 for details. See Section
4.3.8, for more information on the treatment of image files in Windows XP.
To turn off Windows built-in support for
.zip files, wherein they're treated like
folders instead of files, see Section 2.2.7 for more information.
- New Search Tool
-
See Section 2.2.7 to workaround the consequences of the
changes in Window XP's Search tool from previous sections.
- Icons for system and desktop objects
-
The icons used for the system objects, such as My Computer
and the Recycle Bin, have a new look in Windows XP. If you prefer the icons
used in earlier versions of Windows, see Section 4.1.1 in Chapter 4. Note that
nearly all of the older icons can be found in the file,
\Windows\System32\SHELL32.dll.
10.2.2.1 Where to find it in Windows XP
A common problem encountered by those who are new to Windows
XP, yet are familiar with a previous version, is that some features are no
longer found in the same places or simply have different names. The following
lists some of the more major components that have been moved or renamed:
- Network Neighborhood
-
This is now called My Network Places, and works pretty much
the same (albeit a bit more reliably) than in earlier versions of Windows.
- My Computer icon on the desktop
-
By default, the My Computer icon is not shown on the
Windows XP desktop, but all the entries it contained can be found in both the
Start Menu and Windows Explorer. To put the icon back on the desktop, go to
Control Panel
Display
Desktop tab
Customize Desktop, and turn on the
My Computer option.
- Control Panel in My Computer
-
By default, Control Panel no longer appears in the My
Computer window, but it's still available in the Start Menu. You can also go
to Control Panel
Folder Options
View tab, and turn on the
Show Control Panel in My Computer option.
Confusingly, it will still appear under the My Computer branch in Windows
Explorer, regardless of this setting.
- Dial-Up networking
-
Dial-up connections are now considered ordinary network
connections, and can be found in the Network Connections window.
- DOS
-
Although some earlier versions of Windows (e.g., Windows
9x/Me) relied on the old DOS operating system (described in Appendix C),
Windows XP is based instead on the more robust Windows NT kernel. This means,
among other things, that you'll no longer be able to boot directly to DOS,
unless you've set up a dual-boot system, as described later in this chapter.
Fortunately, booting to DOS is really not necessary any more. See "Creating a
Bootup Floppy," later in this chapter, for applicable alternatives.
- Boot disk
-
Mostly because of the absence of DOS, Windows XP has no
provision for making a bootable floppy, although it can be done.
- Web View
-
The Web View, at least as it existed in Windows 98, Me, and
2000, is thankfully gone in Windows XP. Although it can't be customized in the
way that the Web View could, the Common Tasks pane (described in "Adjusting
Windows XP to Smooth Out the Migration," earlier in this chapter) accomplishes
most of what Microsoft originally intended the Web View to do. And
fortunately, Common Tasks can be switched off much more easily than the Web
View ever could.
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