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Microsoft says: Don't wait for XP, just buy an XP-ready PC.

Eager to prop up computer sales in the months prior to the October launch of Windows XP, Microsoft and PC vendors such as Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and Compaq are launching this week a "Windows-XP-ready" campaign. It will promote sales of PCs with the chops to run the system-hogging new operating system.

To meet the minimum Windows-XP-ready requirements, a PC must have a Windows 2000 Professional or Windows Millennium Edition operating system and 128MB of memory, according to a Microsoft spokesperson.

According to early reports from beta testers and some PC manufacturers, however, PCs actually need 256MB of memory for optimum Windows XP performance. Those same testers and vendors suggest PCs should meet the performance requirements of Windows 2000, which include at least a 300-MHz Pentium III or comparable processor.

"Let me just stress that these are the minimum requirements which have been determined after exhaustive beta testing," the spokesperson says. "At this point in the beta testing process, we have not released requirements for the speed of the PC, be it 233MHz, 300MHz, or 600MHz. And if other beta testers discover conditions which they believe necessitate a change in the requirements, they should contact us and we will certainly look into it," she says.

XP-Ready PCs May Still Need Drivers

The software giant pointed out that some of the PCs may need additional drivers to meet the minimum hardware requirements for running the Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Home Edition operating systems. Those drivers will come from PC vendors after the Windows XP release, the spokesperson says.

Compaq's Windows-XP-ready PCs will be available beginning in "late June," and the company is also launching an upgrade program for all Windows-XP-ready PCs purchased in the next six months, the Compaq spokesperson says.

All of Compaq's consumer PCs and existing business PCs will be made Windows-XP-ready, with the exception of the Presario 800 notebook line of consumer PCs and select Deskpro EX or EXS and IPaq models in the business PC line.

PC makers Gateway, EMachines, Lan Plus, MicronPC, Premio Computer, and Systemax are also part of the Windows-XP-ready program, Microsoft says.

"The program is mainly a marketing effort. The program is to allay any fears buyers may have when buying a new PC that it wouldn't be able to run Windows XP," the Microsoft spokesperson says.

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