Windows XP RTM

Windows XP RTM

Windows XP RTM includes previously released updates for the OS and also a small number of new updates. The current timeline for XP RTM availability is as follows: Release to the Web (RTW) on April 29, 2008. Once released to the web, the final service pack will be available for download via Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center. Automatic Update Distribution for users at home is scheduled for the early part of this summer

The release of a Service Pack is a significant milestone. There are some enhancements to Windows XP RTM such as Network Access Protection (NAP) that will make it easier for enterprises to co-manage Windows XP and Windows Vista systems during their phased rollouts of Windows Vista. A couple of things to note when installing XP RTM– if you installed one of the XP RTM Release Candidate (RC) builds on your XP system, you will need to uninstall the RC build before installing the final version of the service pack.

Below is a table that outlines previously released functionality available to Windows XP in stand-alone updates. These features are included in XP RTM by default.

Finally – there are two important things to note:

• Windows XP RTM does not include Internet Explorer 7.
• Windows XP RTM is for x86 (32-bit) versions of XP only.  Windows XP Professional x64 editions are serviced by Windows Server 2003 SP2.  For more details see the information on Windows Server 2003 SP2

UPDATE – 4/30: As many of you have seen on various news websites, the release of Windows XP RTM to the Web has been delayed.  This was due to a compatibility issue that was discovered between Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System (RMS) Windows XP RTM, and Windows Vista SP1.

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