List of features removed in Windows XP

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Windows XP

As the technological successor to Windows 2000, Windows XP introduced many new features but it also removed some others. Following is a list of these.

Shell features

  • The Address bar toolbar on the taskbar was removed for legal reasons, according to Microsoft.[1]Windows Desktop Search is touted as a replacement.
  • The Line Up Icons command on the desktop is no longer available. It is replaced by the Align to Grid option.[2] Due to this being a toggle, simply aligning desktop icons once without further constraining their placement requires an extra click.[3]:47
  • The Media Bar, which replaced the Radio Toolbar in Internet Explorer 6,[4] is no longer available in the bundled version of Internet Explorer 6.[5]
  • The Minimize all windows command on the taskbar is hidden.[3]:76 The purported replacement, Show the desktop, co-existed with this feature on Windows 2000 and in any case only hides windows temporarily instead of actually minimizing them. It is still accessible through the ⊞ Win+M keyboard shortcut but it is not available through the mouse.
  • The Directory icon was removed from My Network Places.[6]
  • Web view in folders was disabled by default but can be reinstated by editing the registry. Additionally, the Customize This Folder Wizard was removed.[7] Due to the removal of Web view, pie charts showing disk space are no longer available immediately upon opening a drive.[8]
  • The default sort order in Windows Explorer has changed but can be restored by editing the registry.[9]
  • The status bar no longer shows the free space remaining on the given disk when browsing through folder paths on network shares, removable drives, and shell namespace extensions when the navigation pane (Folders) in Windows Explorer is turned on, unlike in Windows 2000. It continues to show the free space remaining only for paths on local drives.[10][11][12][13] In combination with the Web view-related lack of pie charts previously mentioned, this means it is no longer possible to immediately view the amount of space remaining in these three cases.
  • Links to Phone Dialer[14] and NetMeeting[15] were removed from the Start menu.
  • In the Command Prompt, QuickEdit mode and Insert mode are disabled by default and can only be re-enabled per window title.[16]
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Personalization

  • Small Icons view is no longer available in Windows Explorer.[17]
  • The option to select a Pattern under the Background (2000)/Desktop (XP) tab of Display Properties was removed.
  • The option to display the special Internet Explorer icon on the desktop was removed.[18]
  • The 3D Maze (possibly due to the Windows logo having been changed, although the Wingdings font with the old Windows logo is still present) and Channel Screen Saver screensavers were removed. The 3D Pipes teapot easter egg also no longer works on Windows XP.
  • The Show icons using all possible colors option in Display Properties is no longer available. Icons are always shown using all possible colors. Microsoft states that this is by design.[19]
  • With the Desktop Themes utility in 2000 becoming the Themes tab in Display Properties in XP, the Rotate theme monthly option in Desktop Themes, which was introduced in Microsoft Plus! 98 and later included in Windows 2000, and both the options to select what parts of a theme to apply and the previews for parts of a theme were removed.
  • It is no longer possible to save or delete schemes under the Appearance tab of Display Properties.
  • The Energy Star logo in the Display Properties dialog was removed.[20]
  • The VGA screen resolution and 8-bit color depth options have been removed from the Settings tab of Display Properties. It is still possible to select these options using the Advanced button available under this tab, but Microsoft states that this workaround is unsupported.[21]
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Bundled applications

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Protocols

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Subsystems

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Hardware support

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Features removed in later versions

Service Pack 3

Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005

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See also

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References

  1. ^ Microsoft (May 6, 2008). "The Address toolbar no longer appears on the taskbar after you install Windows XP". Microsoft Support. Retrieved November 7, 2012. 
  2. ^ Microsoft (January 27, 2006). "Line Up Icons Command Is Missing on Windows XP Desktop". Microsoft Support. Retrieved November 7, 2012. 
  3. ^ a b Karp, David A.; O'Reilly, Tim; Mott, Troy (2005). Windows XP in a Nutshell (2nd ed.). Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly Media, Inc. ISBN 0596009003. Retrieved November 7, 2012. 
  4. ^ Microsoft (January 31, 2007). "The Radio Toolbar Is Unavailable in Internet Explorer 6". Microsoft Support. Retrieved November 8, 2012. 
  5. ^ Microsoft. "Media Bar". Microsoft Developer Network. Retrieved November 8, 2012. 
  6. ^ Microsoft (March 15, 2005). "The Directory icon in Entire Network in My Network Places is missing". Microsoft Support. Retrieved November 8, 2012. 
  7. ^ Microsoft (October 26, 2007). "Windows Explorer no longer displays Web view templates or HTML customizations (using Folder.htt)". Microsoft Support. Retrieved November 7, 2012. 
  8. ^ JCMIT (September 6, 2004). "Free space pie chart missing?". Annoyances.org. Retrieved December 15, 2012. 
  9. ^ Microsoft (August 28, 2007). "The sort order for files and folders whose names contain numerals is different in Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 than it is in Windows 2000". Microsoft Support. Retrieved December 4, 2012. 
  10. ^ jack (December 10, 2002). "disk free space and the windows xp status bar". Annoyances.org. Retrieved December 12, 2012. 
  11. ^ gene (January 17, 2003). "Windows Explorer in XP does not show disk free space for a removable drive". Annoyances.org. Retrieved December 9, 2012. 
  12. ^ aeneas kaolin (December 29, 2004). "'Disk Free Space' not displayed in Windows Explorer UNLESS viewing files under Desktop > My Computer > C:". Annoyances.org. Retrieved December 11, 2012. 
  13. ^ ranvel (June 11, 2006). "Free space no listed in status bar for removable drives". newsgroups.derkeiler.com. Retrieved January 22, 2013. 
  14. ^ Microsoft (January 15, 2006). "Phone Dialer Is Not Available in the Communications Menu". Microsoft Support. Retrieved January 26, 2013. 
  15. ^ Microsoft (May 7, 2007). "NetMeeting Is Not Available on the Windows XP "Communications" Menu". Microsoft Support. Retrieved January 26, 2013. 
  16. ^ Microsoft (January 15, 2006). "Command Prompt QuickEdit Mode Is Disabled by Default in Windows XP". Microsoft Support. Retrieved January 26, 2013. 
  17. ^ Paul Thurrott (October 6, 2010). "Windows 7 Feature Focus: Windows Explorer | Windows 7 content from Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows". Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows. Retrieved November 30, 2012. 
  18. ^ "Restore Missing or Disappeared IE (Internet Explorer) Desktop Icon in Windows XP". Tip and Trick. May 11, 2008. Retrieved January 22, 2013. 
  19. ^ Microsoft (January 15, 2006). ""Show icons using all possible colors" Option Is Not Available". Microsoft Support. Retrieved November 7, 2012. 
  20. ^ Microsoft (September 23, 2011). "List of fixes that are included in Windows XP". Microsoft Support. Retrieved November 7, 2012. 
  21. ^ Microsoft (January 15, 2006). "Cannot Change Display Setting to 640 X 480 or 256 Color". Microsoft Support. Retrieved January 26, 2013. 
  22. ^ Tom Koch (April 29, 2006). "Inside Outlook Express - Files and Setttings - Maintenance Part I". Inside Outlook Express. Retrieved November 7, 2012. 
  23. ^ Microsoft (January 29, 2007). "Unable to Locate Either CD Deluxe or CD Player Playlists in Windows Media Player". Microsoft Support. Retrieved November 7, 2012. 
  24. ^ Paul Thurrott (June 25, 1998). "Plus! for Windows 98 Review". Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows. Retrieved November 7, 2012. 
  25. ^ Microsoft (March 22, 2007). "Kodak imaging for Windows is not included with Windows XP". Microsoft Support. Retrieved November 7, 2012. 
  26. ^ Ilixis Solutions. "Kodak/Wang Image OCX Controls | Some History". Retrieved November 7, 2012. 
  27. ^ a b Microsoft. "Understanding Application Compatibility". Microsoft TechNet. Retrieved November 8, 2012. 
  28. ^ Microsoft (June 23, 2005). "How to install NetBEUI on Windows XP". Microsoft Support. Retrieved November 8, 2012. 
  29. ^ Microsoft (October 11, 2002). "The DLC Protocol Is Not Available in Windows XP". Microsoft Support. Retrieved November 8, 2012. 
  30. ^ Microsoft (October 18, 2001). "The AppleTalk Protocol Is Not Available in Windows XP". Microsoft Support. Retrieved November 8, 2012. 
  31. ^ a b c Microsoft (January 13, 2003). "Kernel Enhancements for Windows XP". Microsoft Developer Network. Retrieved November 7, 2012. 
  32. ^ Microsoft (January 27, 2006). "SCSI Host Adapters Removed from Windows XP". Microsoft Support. Retrieved November 8, 2012. 
  33. ^ Microsoft. "Source: Tcpip ID: 4226 (Windows Operating System ) - Events And Errors Message Center: Message Details". Retrieved November 8, 2012. 
  34. ^ a b Microsoft (December 1, 2007). "Non-Plug and Play Network Device Support in Windows XP". Microsoft Support. Retrieved November 8, 2012. 
  35. ^ Microsoft (October 16, 2012). "TCP/IP Raw Sockets (Windows)". Microsoft Developer Network. Retrieved November 7, 2012. 
  36. ^ Microsoft. "Installing Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3)". Microsoft TechNet. Retrieved November 7, 2012. 
  37. ^ Microsoft (June 12, 2012). "Windows XP Service Pack 3 installation fails with an error message, and the following error is logged in the service pack installation log: "8007F0F4 - STATUS_PREREQUISITE_FAILED"". Microsoft Support. Retrieved November 7, 2012. 
  38. ^ Microsoft (January 18, 2010). "After you create Windows XP Service Pack 3 slipstreamed media, your product key is not accepted". Microsoft Support. Retrieved January 22, 2013. 
  39. ^ Microsoft (September 23, 2011). "You cannot join your computer to a domain in Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005". Microsoft Support. Retrieved November 7, 2012. 
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Last modified on 23 May 2013, at 08:20