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Questions tagged [windows-xp]

For questions specific to Windows XP. Use [windows] instead for questions involving Windows in general.

Questions with this tag should refer specifically to versions of Windows XP. Anything related in general (non-version specific) to Windows OS should be tagged with .

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Additional Info

  • The name "XP" is short for "eXPerience."
  • During development, the project was codenamed "Whistler", after Whistler, British Columbia, as many Microsoft employees skied at the Whistler-Blackcomb ski resort.

  • Three service packs were released for Windows XP, containing various bug fixes and the addition of certain features. Each service pack is a superset of all previous service packs and patches so that only the latest service pack needs to be installed, and also includes new revisions.

    Service Pack 1

    Service Pack 2

    Service Pack 3

Popular Questions

9228 questions
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How do I delete a 'locked' file?

On Windows XP, when I try and delete a specific file it says: Cannot delete blah.blah: Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected and that the file is not currently in use. How can I go around this warning and delete it anyway?
Ron Tuffin
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12 answers

Deleting files in Windows XP extremely slow

When I delete even the smallest of files on windows xp the operation takes 3-10 minutes to complete. I have read this can happen when the recycle bin has alot of items in it, and XP has to iterate through all the files. So I set the space usage to…
Dan
  • 770
22
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8 answers

How to delete a folder containing trailing spaces

I have a bunch of folders on my hardrive that have trailing spaces in them (I have no idea how they got there). I need to rename and/or delete them, but Windows won't allow me to do this. Is there a way around this problem? I've tried to delete it…
SuperFurryToad
  • 615
15
votes
12 answers

Erase just the free space on my hard drive

I'm about to give away an older computer with just the Windows XP operating system intact and all other programs uninstalled. However, upon peeking at the "free space" with software called "Recuva", I notice lots of deleted things that could be…
Patriot
  • 661
15
votes
2 answers

So a user hid a folder and now he can't find it?

I have a user who hid a folder in XP, after they did this the folder no longer showed up in the directory. They thought this was a great feature and persisted to do this to a few personal folders and files on there work computer so that they would…
Cody Brown
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Am I missing out on anything by sticking by Windows XP?

I've seen Vista come by, and while it looked cool, I assumed that it would run slower on my machine with the Aero theme. I also run my XP with animations, shadows and the like turned off, and also set to Windows Classic theme. With Windows 7 on the…
alex
  • 4,302
9
votes
4 answers

Is Windows XP free yet?

Can we ever expect to be? Will Microsoft continue to renew a copyright on software they are no longer are willing to supply? When will I be able to ask where can I download XP bundled with every sp and update ever released? Are the updates all…
Mazura
  • 281
9
votes
2 answers

How do I repair a missing Windows Explorer Address bar?

Recently after a chkdsk and reboot I lost the address bar in Windows Explorer and could not add it back. How do I bring the address bar back?
Philippe Monnet
  • 271
8
votes
2 answers

Deleting files in the windows installer folder

How do you clean up the windows/installer folder on a xp machine. I looked on different forums, but the tool many mention is no longer officially supported and from what I understand not specifically for this task. Also, I was confused on which…
qw3n
  • 185
8
votes
4 answers

Where does Windows store its wallpapers?

I run Windows XP and the wallpaper I used to have got lost. I have backups of the system itself, so if I knew where to look, I could find a copy of the old wallpaper. I have some idea of the original filename (searching now), and I recall it saves…
Journeyman Geek
  • 129,178
8
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3 answers

Find out who logged in on a windows PC

Is there a way to get a list of the users that logged in last on a Windows XP machine. What I want is basically what the unix command last does on windows. The machine is in a domain, I have local admin rights. EDIT: The answers from Chris, Molly…
user1863
  • 214
7
votes
6 answers

How to fix a PC that won't boot after a virus/malware scan?

My Dad's PC will not boot up! He has a Windows XP Pro SP2 machine and was running a manual scan with either Super AntiSpyware or MBAM (he does not remember which). Anyway, it found some 'stuff' and did a quarantine & immediate removal, then went…
Cindy
7
votes
1 answer

What can cause an executable to exit immediately after being opened unless I use Run As?

We have a user who is unable to open some .exe files by any means except for right-clicking on the file and selecting "Run as...", and specifying login info. I've tried opening the file a number of ways. By default, it should be launched by another…
Rachel
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votes
3 answers

Change left side link of the Save As Dialog for a DropBox one?

I would like to add a Link to my DropBox folder to the frequent locations pane in the Save As dialog. Is there a way to modify this screen? See the screenshot below, I have highlighted the section where I would like to have a link to the DropBox…
Patrick Desjardins
  • 1,679
7
votes
2 answers

How can I change the default file presentation for Windows XP

Many tools raise a common Windows XP file chooser dialog. This dialog offers various views: Thumbnails, Tiles, Icons, List, Details. By default, I always get the List view, however, I almost always want the Details view. Is there a way to make…
WilliamKF
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