Windows XP Professional

The Computing and Communications Center (CCC) now fully supports Windows XP.

Please be aware that Windows XP Home Edition is NOT intended to work in a networked environment and will not be supported at WPI.
If you would like to upgrade to Windows XP Professional from Windows XP Home Edition please visit our upgrade guide.

Availability

Information on how to obtain the Windows XP Professional media is available at the Microsoft Campus License Agreement page.

Using Your PC-LAN account with Windows XP Professional

To setup your computer to login to a domain (either STUDENT or ADMIN) please visit our Network Setup Guide

The new VPN Client for off-campus access also works with Windows XP Professional.

Note to Faculty/Staff: Faculty and/or staff who wish to run Windows XP Professional on an on-campus computer should contact the Helpdesk at x5888 to ensure the proper configuration for working within our administrative systems infrastructure.

Potential Problems You May Encounter Running Windows XP Professional:

Never enable the bridging feature of Windows XP because it will lock out your network port.
Using the "Share Your Internet Connection" feature in XP will result in your port being shut down for AUP violations. In order to use more than one machine on the network, you must register each system with NetOps
Some applications may not work with the security features in Windows XP.
Firewalls cause more problems than they are worth. We don't recommend installing them in Windows XP, or using the built in one in XP's Advanced Network Settings window. If you are concerned about network security, please don't hesitate calling the CCC Helpdesk or e-mailing us at helpdesk@wpi.edu

Still Deciding?

If you are considering upgrading to Windows XP, it is important that you do some research beforehand to be sure that it will run on your computer. To assist you, we have compiled some resources that should help facilitate the decision-making process.

Here is some reading we suggest prior to upgrading to Windows XP Professional:

Check out Evaluating Windows XP Professional found at Microsoft's web site. Here you will find a list of Features, System Requirements, and other helpful information.
There is also available the Hardware Compatibility List.

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Last modified: Nov 14, 2005, 16:59 EST