HP Presario 2700 Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition (SE) and Windows NT Works - Page 5

WINDOWS 98 SE AND NT 4.0 RETIREMENT(cont.) ... Frequently Asked Questions Microsoft Announcement 1. Microsoft is retiring Windows 98 SE and NT 4.0 in the multi-national OEM channel on July 1, 2002. Why? Windows NT 4.0, first introduced in 1996, is a six-year-old operating system that does not support many of the hardware features available today. Windows 98 SE is about four years old and it also does not support some of the latest technologies. Microsoft has since released major advances to desktop operating system environments, including Windows 2000 and XP Professional. The recent introduction of Windows XP Professional adds key features designed for the business environment and is reliable, stable, and cost-efficient. According to Microsoft's operating system lifecycle guideline, systems that are older than three years enter the "extended phase." In this phase, Microsoft will discontinue providing any further development. Support and quick fix structures also change. Please refer to http://www.microsoft.com/windows/lifecycle.asp End of life of older operating systems allows Microsoft to enhance the features and reliability of the newer operating systems such Windows 2000 or XP Professional. New enhancements and features in Windows XP and Windows 2000 maximize the client operating system environments. These include enhanced security, reliability, scalability, ease of use, and manageability. For more details please refer to http://www.microsoft.com/windows . Operating System Migration 2. If I buy Compaq computers preinstalled with Windows XP Professional, can I change the operating system preinstalled on my computer? Yes. The End User License Agreement (EULA) for Windows XP Professional allows for downgrade to Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows NT Workstation 4.0 or Windows 2000 Professional. Main benefit: Customers can later reinstall the Windows XP Professional Edition on their hard drives at no additional charge. * This downgrade provision is not applicable to any other operating system. 3. How do I reinstall Windows XP Professional at a later time? The Compaq Restore CD that is shipped in the computer box can be used later to restore the original Windows XP Professional factory-installed image from Compaq. 4. Will the Windows XP Professional EULA (End User License Agreement) allow me to downgrade to Windows 95 or Windows XP Home? No, the Windows XP Professional EULA doesn't allow for downgrades to these operating systems. 5. If I want to downgrade, does Compaq provide the alternate operating system? No, the Windows XP Professional EULA specifies that neither Compaq nor Microsoft will provide the alternate OS version. Customers can use applicable retail operating system versions, system builder DSP operating system versions or versions obtained through volume licensing agreements held with Microsoft. 5 April 2002