WiFi Finder
Locate wireless services by a specific address, city, state, country, airport, or zip code.
Step-By-Step: Master the Windows XP Upgrade Process
Thinking of moving to XP? Here's our guide to the ins and outs of installing Microsoft's latest operating system.
Stan Miastkowski
With HP wireless printers, you could have printed this from any room in the house. Live wirelessly. Print wirelessly.
Microsoft hype to the contrary, deciding whether to upgrade your current version of Windows to Windows XP isn't exactly a no-brainer. Certainly, XP has some neat new features and is more stable than its predecessors, but it requires you to have fairly heavy-duty system resources, and it's incompatible with some older hardware and software. And then there's the expense: The upgrade version of XP Home will cost you $99; the upgrade to XP Pro will set you back $199.
Assessing the merits of an XP upgrade involves answering several questions, not only about whether you should upgrade, but also about whether you can upgrade your existing PC. Even if you can, you must consider whether the prospective benefits are worth the potential hassle--especially if you have an older system.
The bottom line: Before upgrading to XP, you must do some homework. We've assembled an overview of the decision points involved in the upgrade process. For detailed information on the new OS, see November's " Windows XP Inside and Out".
Stan Miastkowski is a contributing editor at PC World. Send him questions at stan_miastkowski@pcworld.com.- Page 1 of 8
- Next ยป
Laptop Showcase
Webcast: Going Green
Related Upgrading Articles
- Five Insane Upgrades That You Should Never Do (and How to Do Them!) Feeling a bit nutty? These five upgrades are a little risky and time-consuming--but if you're up for a challenge, you could end up with the coolest rig on the block.
- Wi-Fi Tweaks for Speed Freaks How to get the most out of your home or small-business wireless network.
- Maximize Your Laptop With Cool Accessories These accessories and add-ons will have your old laptop doing brand-new tricks in no time.
- Replace Your Laptop's CPU Upgrading your laptop to a faster, more powerful processor can extend its life span and boost your productivity--but it isn't a project for the fainthearted. We show you how to do it.
- Upgrading Your Laptop's Graphics Card Upgrading your laptop's graphics card is no walk in the park; in fact it's something more akin to open heart surgery. But it can be done, and the rewards can be well worth the trouble and risk.
PC & Notebook Memory
Dominator 4GB PC2-8500 DIMM Memory KitPrice: $129.99
1GB PC3200 DDR DIMM MemoryPrice: $34.25
1GB PC4200 DDR2 SODIMM MemoryPrice: $19.00
512MB PC133 SDRAM DIMM MemoryPrice: $16.00
512MB PC800 RDRAM RIMM Dual Channel MemoryPrice: $59.95
2GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SODIMM MemoryPrice: $40.35
-
CDW Virtualization Center What is Virtualization and how can it help you save money? Click here to find out.
-
Asus Laptop Showcase Ultra-fashionable thin and light notebooks with SmartLogon Face Recognition. Find out more...
-
HP Ink Center Bring improved color and brilliance to your printed material. Visit the Resource Center for more info...
PC World's Marketplace
PC World's Free Whitepapers
