Windows XP

Windows XP
Windows XP
Version of the Windows NT operating system
	Screenshot of Windows XP running the Luna visual style, showing the start menu, taskbar, and My Computer window
Developer	Microsoft
Working state	No longer supported
Source model	Closed-source; Source-available (through Shared Source Initiative);
Released to; manufacturing	August 24, 2001
General; availability	October 25, 2001
Final release	Service Pack 3 with May 2019 security update (5.1.2600.7701) / May 14, 2019
Marketing target	Consumer and Business
Update method	Windows Update; Windows Server Update Services (WSUS); System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM);
Supported platforms	IA-32, x86-64, Itanium
Kernel type	Hybrid (NT)
Userland	Windows API; NTVDM (IA-32 only); SFU;
License	Proprietary commercial software
Preceded by	Windows 2000 (1999) (professional client); Windows Me (2000) (consumer client);
Succeeded by	Windows Vista (2006)
Official website	Windows XP (archived at Wayback Machine)
Tagline	Yes you can
Support status
	Excludes Itanium and some embedded editions:; Mainstream support ended on April 14, 2009.; Extended support ended on April 8, 2014.; ; Exceptions existed until May 14, 2019.; (see § Support lifecycle for details)

Windows XP (stylized as Windows^xp) is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25 that year. It is a direct successor to Windows 2000 for high-end and business users and Windows Me for home users.

Development of Windows XP began in the late 1990s under the codename "Neptune", built on the Windows NT kernel, and explicitly intended for mainstream consumer use. An updated version of Windows 2000 was also initially planned for the business market. However, in January 2000, both projects were scrapped in favor of a single OS codenamed "Whistler", which would serve as a single platform for both consumer and business markets. As a result, Windows XP is the first consumer edition of Windows not based on the Windows 95 kernel or MS-DOS.

Upon its release, Windows XP received critical acclaim, noting increased performance and stability (especially compared to Windows Me), a more intuitive user interface, improved hardware support and expanded multimedia capabilities. Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 were succeeded by Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, released in 2007 and 2008, respectively.

Mainstream support for Windows XP ended on April 14, 2009, and extended support ended on April 8, 2014. Embedded versions of Windows XP received support up until 2019, with Windows Embedded POSReady 2009, based on Windows XP Professional, being the last version to receive updates until April 2019. Unofficial methods were available to apply the updates from the embedded versions to other editions of Windows XP, however Microsoft has discouraged this practice, citing compatibility issues. All other security updates for Windows XP past the end-of-support date were released up until May 14, 2019.