Windows XP build 2250
| Build of Windows XP | |
 | |
| Release name | Technical Beta |
|---|---|
| OS family | Windows NT |
| Version number | 5.1 |
| Build number | 2250 |
| Build revision | 1 |
| Architecture | x86 |
| Build lab | main |
| Compiled on | 2000-06-28 |
| Expiration date | |
| Timebomb | +180 days after original install date |
| SKUs | |
| Personal Professional | |
| About dialog | |
  | |
Windows XP build 2250 is a build of Windows XP, released to attendees of the PDC 2000 conference on 13 July 2000.[1] This was the first build of Whistler to be released to testers and is often referred to as the Technical Beta build, although the operating system itself does not include any such branding. The build was released in both Personal and Professional editions; however, the Personal SKU has since then been considered to be lost.
Microsoft was quietly working on several hidden features. One of them being the Start Panel, which was going to be a replacement for the classic Start menu. This build also featured a hidden active desktop-based Start Page, continuing the work started in Windows Neptune. Despite that, setup and many parts of the OS retained Windows 2000 and Windows Me branding. This is the last build to use the Windows Classic theme by default, as the next build changes it to Watercolor. It is also the last known build to use the "Windows 2000" branding on the boot screen.
New features and changes[edit | edit source]
Setup[edit | edit source]
An option to use Express Setup has been readded after it was removed during Windows NT 4.0 development, which lets the setup assume default values for most settings. This option was eventually removed in the lead up to the RTM. The default target directory has also been changed from \WINNT to \WINDOWS. Support for upgrades from Windows 95 and Windows NT 3.51 has been dropped.
A preliminary implementation of setup billboards, similar to the ones shown during Windows 9x setup has been added. Compared to later builds, only three phases are used in this build: "Preparing for installation", "Installing Windows Whistler" and "Completing Installation". The billboards themselves, i.e. a slideshow of pages promoting the new features in the version of Windows that's being installed, are only shown during the first phase of upgrading from Windows 9x. Furthermore, the support for reporting progress on the billboard screen has not been implemented yet, therefore the setup wizard window is visible during the entirety of the setup process.
The wallpaper used when setup billboards are disabled (e.g. after using SysPrep) has been updated in line with the other branding changes.
OOBE[edit | edit source]
The Out-of-box experience now uses the appearance seen in the final build of Windows Me (while using Whistler branding), alongside with Merlin now working.
User interface[edit | edit source]
The user interface received some major overhauls. Most Windows 2000 references were changed to Whistler, like in the setup or winver. The new Professional theme, ( still internally named Business), can now also be activated with a new UI within Display Properties. The "Comments?" link is now also present on titlebars of Windows, however it isn't present on windows using the aftermentioned theme.
[edit | edit source]
The start menu banner has been changed from "Whistler 2001" to "Codename Whistler". A new "Start menu properties" option was when right clicking the Start button, however, the Start portion of said menu is still unfinished and contains only 2 options.
Start Panel[edit | edit source]
A new Start Panel has been added, making it easier for users to access frequently used programs and various folders of the system. It can be enabled by going to the Start menu properties dialog and pressing Alt+D, and then applying the settings. It can be disabled by pressing Alt+D again after the Start Panel has been applied.
It can also be enabled by navigating to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StartPage\ and creating a DWORD called StartPanelUI_Visible and setting it to 1.
Hardware Update[edit | edit source]
The Hardware Update Wizard was updated. Instead of an exclamation mark, a CD is displayed instead. A new page was added in the custom portion, having options to install from a specific location or from a list of drivers.
Login screen[edit | edit source]
The login screen received a major overhaul. The 4 circles colored after the Windows logo were removed and replaced with the Windows logo, which has been moved to the left of the Welcome text. The text itself has been made orange and moved to the left, the "Click on your user account to log on" text has been moved under the Welcome text as well. The blue sidebar has also been made thinner, with the power button option being moved down. The aftermentioned button no longer reacts upon pressing the Shift or Ctrl key, as the shut down dialog itself contains the option to restart and sleep. Lastly, the text "To manage or change user accounts, go to the User Accounts control panel from the start menu" was added to the bottom right of the login screen. This same design also appears when logging in or shutting down the computer.
The login screen is now based on DirectUI instead of HTML and therefore no longer relies on Internet Explorer components. Animations using DirectUI have also been implemented.
Explorer[edit | edit source]
Explorer received an overhaul. Most folders and disks now include a blue top bar with the folder or disk's name, with tasks, other places and details on the sidebar. Removable media and local drives are now also separated.
Control Panel[edit | edit source]
Control Panel received a major overhaul, with it now being separated into 10 categories. The Windows Me logo in the bottom right corner was removed, with the addition of the Automatic Updates applet. Game Controllers was renamed to Gaming Options, now including Voice Chat, Disk Usage and Installation options.
The Network Identification tab in the System applet has been renamed to Computer Name, while Exception Reporting has been added in the Startup and Recovery section of the Advanced tab. Exception Reporting generates a report whenever an application crashes, though the user is able to set exceptions for specific files and programs. It was renamed to Error Reporting in build 2267, and should later form the base for the final implemetation of Windows Error Reporting.
Shutdown dialog[edit | edit source]
The shutdown dialog now resembles the final design. It includes Sleep, Shutdown and Restart options, as well as a blue topbar with the classic Windows logo in the top left corner.
Notifications[edit | edit source]
If the icons in the notification area aren't used for a while, a notification will pop up saying "Where did all the icons go?", telling the user that the icons dissapeared because they weren't used for a while. Items can be permamently displayed if selected to do so. The icons can be shown using the "<<" or ">>" button.
Display Properties[edit | edit source]
Display Properties received a major overhaul. The "Effects" tab was moved to the Advanced option in the Appearance tab. The Themes tab can set a Windows theme, however the theme preview is not yet implemented. The Appearance tab also received a major overhaul, with window coloring options only present in the "Theme Settings" option of the Themes tab. Here the user can set the Visual Style, Color Scheme and Font and Window Size. Wallpapers can now also be set without having to enable Active Desktop.
Internet Explorer and Outlook Express[edit | edit source]
The About box of Internet Explorer 6 now uses the bitmap used in the final release of Windows XP. Along with this, Outlook Express has been updated to use the version string of Windows instead of the final Internet Explorer 5 build.
Remote Desktop Connection[edit | edit source]
The Remote Desktop Client application has been added. It utilizes Whistler branding with the "i" being formed as a ski jumper (as a reference of the Whistler mountain being a ski jumper resort).
DirectX Diagnostic Tool[edit | edit source]
Testing AGP texturing through the DirectX Diagnostic Tool is now possible.
System Information[edit | edit source]
System Information (msinfo32) now opens in the Help and Support Center application.
Miscellaneous[edit | edit source]
- Windows Installer has been updated to version 1.5.
- The Neptune references in the "File a bug report" tool have been replaced by Whistler.
- This is the first build to no longer support the 486 processor.
- Imaging has been removed and replaced with what would become the "Windows Picture and Fax Viewer" in later builds.
- Added the
The fileobject passed to IoCancelFileOpen is invalid. It should have reference of 1. The driver that called IoCancelFileOpen is at fault.(0xE8) bugcheck code, which was later renamed toINVALID_CANCEL_OF_FILE_OPEN. - The system now generates a complete memory dump if a system failure occurs rather than a small one.
Findings[edit | edit source]
Start Page[edit | edit source]
This build includes the remains of a Dell OEM Start Page. The page is located in C:\WINDOWS\Web\StartPage. The startpage.htm file can be set as an Active Desktop, but many parts of it no longer work because most of its files have been removed at this point of development. Paul Thurrott has shared an image of a completed Start Page.[2]
Bugs and quirks[edit | edit source]
Upgrade[edit | edit source]
On some machines when upgrading from build 2223, the system will bugcheck after the text mode phase of setup. Omitting the /debug parameter from any entries in boot.ini fixes the issue.
Control Panel[edit | edit source]
When clicking on Profiles in Speech 5.0, an assertion error will pop up. Clicking either option will cause the program to crash.
Theming[edit | edit source]
The "Comments?" link is not present on title bars when using the Professional theme.
Start Panel[edit | edit source]
If transitions for menus and tooltips are disabled, the new Start Panel will contain rendering issues.
DirectDraw[edit | edit source]
Because of DirectDraw's expiration date using the system with current date is nearly impossible due to explorer.exe crashing everytime after the Beta DirectDraw error appears.
An easy fix for that is renaming ddrawex.dll to something else.
File differences[edit | edit source]
The following files have been introduced or removed compared to build 2223 Professional:
Gallery[edit | edit source]
Setup[edit | edit source]
Autorun
Upgrade setup
Setup
Professional SKU[edit | edit source]
Boot screen
Login screen
Logging in
Professional theme and Start menu
Windows Classic theme and Start menu
Help and Support
Windows Explorer
Internet Explorer
Control Panel
System Properties
Crash when clicking on Profile in Speech
Default Start Page
Completed Start Page
Comments?
User Account settings
OOBE
Start menu
Shutdown window
Shutting down
Safe to shutdown screen
Start menu bug
Personal SKU (unleaked)[edit | edit source]
Demo
Internet Explorer
My Pictures
Help and Support
Remote Desktop Connection
Connecting to a remote share
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Thurrott, Paul. The Road to Gold: The development of Windows XP Reviewed. Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows.
- ↑ Thurrott, Paul. Introducing the Whistler Preview, Build 2250, Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows. 17 July 2000. Archived from the original on 26 June 2003.