Windows XP Starter Edition

Windows XP Starter Edition
	Version of Microsoft Windows
OS family	Windows NT
Version	5.1
Architecture	x86
Latest build	5.1.2600.5512
Release date	2004-08-11
Support end	2014-04-08
Based on
	Windows XP Home Edition
Replaced by
	Windows Vista Starter

Windows XP Starter Edition is an edition of Windows XP, released on 11 August 2004. It is a stripped down version of Windows XP Home Edition that was released internationally for a very cheap price or bundled with low-cost low-end OEM PCs in developing countries including (but not limited to) Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Russia^[2], India^[3] and certain Latin American countries^[4]. Most of the localized versions are extremely rare, to the point that they remain undumped. Furthermore, some versions have been mentioned in news articles but it is uncertain if they were ever released, such as versions for China and Egypt.

Differences from other SKUs[edit | edit source]

The Luna theme cannot be activated since the tab to change the theme is removed. However, the file is still available and can be used via registry modification.
The user cannot run more than three programs or three sessions of a program. Terminating Windows Explorer bypasses this limit.
This version will not boot on a faster CPU, as it will result in an "Unsupported state" error message that results in a system crash. For VMware, there is a workaround listed here, otherwise, using 86Box or a similar emulator instead is recommended.
- Alongside, it will not recognize more than 512 MB of RAM (256 MB for most international releases).
A permanent watermark is added on the bottom right of the screen, which will still appear on top of everything as long as Explorer is active.
It uses large icons and mouse cursor by default.
There is only one wallpaper that is used by default. However, localized versions have a small selection of wallpapers corresponding to the version's region, an example being that the Russian version features a wallpaper depicting the Cathedral of St. Basil titled St_Basils_and_Kremlin.
It contains a very different File Protection; if there are any user modifications in the registry or system files, then an "Unsupported state" error message will appear and then winlogon.exe will get terminated, more than likely leading to a system crash. Certain procedures, which include disabling system protection services, are required to circumvent the problem.
Classic View in the Control Panel is missing, however it can be restored via logging in as a SYSTEM or NETWORKSERVICE account privilege.
There is a 1024x768 screen resolution limit, although a few graphics card drivers can bypass this limit.
It is not possible to access the right click menus for the taskbar or the start menu.