Windows XP build 2202

Windows XP build 2202 is the earliest leaked build of Windows XP. This build identifies itself as SD Windows 2000 Professional on the desktop watermark, where SD refers to the Source Depot version control system that Microsoft was deploying at the time.

Ties to Neptune/Whistler projects
For some time there has been a debate on whether this is a post-RTM build of Windows 2000 or a very early build of Whistler. Many system files in this build contain strings beginning with, which indicates the source tree from which this build was compiled was initially located in the NTC2 folder. Considering it was compiled after the cancellation of the Neptune project, which had the source tree named NTC, it seems logical to assume that NTC2 refers to Whistler.

The Additional Drivers dialog in the Printers control panel also contains options for "Windows 2001" on AXP64 and IA64-based machines. All this rules out the possibility of this build being a post-RTM build of Windows 2000.

In addition, support for NDIS 3.0 was removed from this build. This has been verified by viewing the exports of. Other than this, it's still largely the same as Windows 2000.

"Comments?" link
The "Comments?" link from Neptune and later builds of Whistler can be added via a registry modification. To enable it, go to  and add the DWORD value   and set it to 1. The text of the link can be changed via a  string key. After adding the registry entries, log off and back on and open any application to get the link. The link does nothing when clicked in this build.

Installation and upgrading

 * The unmodified version of this build can't be installed via booting from the CD due to a BSOD error during setup. To install, the user must use a Windows boot disk, partition/format the drive, and then run setup from there. The modified version fixes this BSOD error, but replaces mentions of "Windows 2000" during the first stage of setup with "Whistler".


 * It is possible to upgrade to this build from Windows 2000 build 2195.1. However, setup will crash and restart the computer when entering the GUI portion of setup unless the problematic USB device has been unplugged.

Drivers

 * VMware graphics drivers newer than version 7 cannot be installed on this build since they cause a BSOD at resolutions higher than 640x480.
 * Some USB devices will prevent this build from starting up. To fix, simply unplug the offending device until you are in Windows.

Stability
This build can randomly crash and doesn't really have a very good graphics rendering engine as windows that are closed will still sometimes appear on the desktop.

Closing Windows
Sometimes, the regular method of closing windows doesn't work. Windows have to be closed by right clicking on their title bar or the taskbar and closing them.

File differences
The following files have been introduced or removed compared to build 2195.1 Professional: