Windows XP upgrade

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So, uh, I finally upgraded my system to Windows XP. For whatever reason the "Upgrade" option didn't work for me, so I ended up doing a full install on my primary OS drive. Which is probably a good thing. I have noticed a huge improvement in system start-up and shut-down time. And it is nice to have a fresh system, unfettered by neglected games and applications. Yes, only the cores applications thus far on this system: Firefox, Google talk, putty and StarCraft.

The one hiccup I encountered was that I didn't have my on-board audio drivers handy. Or rather, I had the ones from my previous motherboard, but I mistakenly thought they were my current one's, which led to several hours of fist-shaking frustration. After taking a break, I downloaded a motherboard diagnostic application, Everest, which is pretty damn cool if you're into inspecting the internals of your computer without having to open up the awkward thing.

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