Windows XP

Windows XP is one of the most successful Microsoft operating systems, intended for use on personal computers, home and business desktops, laptops, and media centers. The "XP" is an abbreviation for "eXPerience". Windows XP follows Windows 2000 and ME, and is Microsoft's first OS built upon the Windows NT kernel. It was released in October 2001, and in the following years was a large commercial success, with over 400 million copies being sold by 2006. Succeeded by Windows Vista in 2007, it is still very much in use today, and with the comparative disappointment of many customers in Vista's performance, it can be expected that it will stay in use for quite a while still - at least until Windows 7 becomes widespread.

The common version are Windows XP Home Edition, which is targeted at home users, and Windows XP Professional. The latter has various additional features such as support for Windows Server domains and two physical processors, and is targeted at power users, business and enterprise clients.