Windows XP for Home Users, Service Pack 2 Edition

Since Windows XP was first released, Microsoft has upgraded the operating system with two major service packs, dubbed Service Pack 1 (or just SP1, for short) and Service Pack 2 (SP2). You don't have to install both service packs; SP2 includes all the bug fixes and new features of SP1, plus its own fixes and features. (My favorite fix is for the extremely rare problem of "Calendar Type May Change to Japanese Emperor Era When Outlook Runs." But then again, maybe that's not as big a problem if you live in Japan…)

If your PC already has SP2 installed, it will say so when you open My Computer and select Help, About Windows. If you don't have SP2 installed, you need to do so at your earliest possible convenience.

You have the choice of downloading SP2 (okay if you have a broadband connection; out of the question if you have a dial-up connection) or ordering it on CD-ROM. You can learn more about SP2 and either download it or order the CD from Microsoft's Windows XP Service Pack 2 Web page, located at www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sp2/.