XP's Gotchas

Let's Get Compatible

Like previous Windows upgrades, the new OS lacks support for many legacy devices, particularly printers and scanners. Windows 2000 drivers available from manufacturers' Web sites work well in many instances, though not in every case. But even when Windows XP does support a particular device, the driver may be capable of only bare-bones performance or compatibility (especially if it's a driver for a graphics adapter). That's why it's always a good idea to check Windows Update or the manufacturer's Web site for more-recent XP-compatible versions after you upgrade.

Though most 32-bit Windows programs do run under Windows XP, a few of them--notably, antivirus software, CD-burning tools, and drive-partitioning and -imaging utilities--won't work with Windows XP unless you upgrade them. As we went to press, a handful of major programs remained partly or completely incompatible. Roxio's Easy CD Creator 5.0 is among the most notable examples. Even though Roxio itself wrote the CD-RW driver built into Windows XP, the company had not yet posted the promised XP-compatible update for the basic version that ships with many new PCs (though an upgrade for the Platinum version sold in stores finally appeared in early November).

Complicating the issue are Microsoft's own application compatibility updates. One of Microsoft's October 25 patches was a 2.2MB download that made XP compatible with applications such as McAfee's VirusScan 4.5, 5.16, and 5.21; Roxio's Easy CD Creator 4.02 (that's right, Microsoft made a fix for the earlier version but not for the later one); and Symantec's Norton AntiVirus 2001. The update also solved a heartbreaking problem for young media hounds: In its shipped form, Windows XP is unable to play Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs DVD (a problem that to Microsoft's knowledge does not affect other DVDs).

Though most compatibility upgrades are free, some are not. And if you rely on Symantec's WinFax Pro 10.02, PowerQuest's PartitionMagic or Drive Image, or a few other programs that need costly upgrades, your software bill for achieving Windows XP compatibility could run hundreds of dollars beyond the cost of the OS itself.

The Kinks Continue

Microsoft has yet to address several reported bugs. Many upgraders report that Windows Messenger's voice chat feature fails to connect, even when other instant messaging programs, such as Yahoo Messenger or an earlier version of MSN Messenger, work fine. Numerous other Windows XP users report that the operating system forgets your Explorer window view preferences (so you have to reenter them every time you launch Explorer), and that the Taskbar tool tips (such as the one that shows you the date when you hold the mouse over the clock) display behind the Taskbar instead of on top, where they would be readable. Others report that Windows Update itself is forgetful, offering users patches that they have already downloaded.

Like many previous Windows versions, XP occasionally freezes when shutting down. As we went to press, Microsoft's Knowledge Base reported that an interim fix was available only by calling the company's product support number. And although the dreaded blue screen of death has been swept under the rug, Windows XP is not crash-proof. If a deadly driver or application incompatibility crashes the computer, the OS simply reboots by default (nostalgic users can revert to the old blue screen via a Control Panel/System setting). I met with this problem when I tried running non-XP-compatible versions of ZoneAlarm Pro and Easy CD Creator.

Early XP adopters have run into a few other glitches that don't quite qualify as bugs. The most prevalent is a simple problem afflicting Outlook Express users: In many cases, the upgrade process fails to transfer existing mailboxes to the XP version. The mailboxes from the old setup are still on the computer, but users must either move them to the current message store location manually or reconfigure Outlook Express to look for the files where they stand.

Same Old Same Old

What do all these pitfalls add up to? A version of Windows that is starting to look a lot like previous ones, upgradewise. Interface glitches, incompatible applications, missing drivers, shutdown problems, crashing--these classic upgrade snafus have plagued just about every version of Windows that Microsoft has produced.

And just as with previous versions, Microsoft has indicated that a follow-on to Windows XP is in the works. The ETA: no later than 2003.

Can you say Windows XP Second Edition?