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Microsoft's widely anticipated new operating system, Windows XP, won't be available for purchase as either an upgrade or for a new computer until October, but it's not too soon to think about making a change. Over the coming weeks, I'll be looking at some of the issues that could influence whether you decide to upgrade an existing computer or wait until you replace your hardware to get the new operating system.
For now, I'll look at a very specific point: The structure Windows XP uses to store files and the challenges it poses for anyone upgrading from Windows 95, 98, or Me. (Windows 2000 uses the same structure as XP, so no problem there.)
The difficulties arise from the fact that Windows XP, like 2000 and NT before it, is a true multi-user operating system. All users get their own file-storage areas, and each is off-limits to other users. Programs are stored in a common area, so you need only one copy of each application regardless of how many users share a computer.
Each user gets an individual set of preferences, which can cover everything from the number and arrangements of icons on the desktop to the default font in Microsoft Word to the high score in Solitaire. Each gets to set up a mail program with individual accounts and a browser with a personalized set of bookmarks and cookies.
WHOSE DOCUMENTS? That's the good news. But under Windows 98, Me, Microsoft Office, and many other applications, users store files in a folder called My Documents or subfolders within it, such as My Pictures. XP appears to do exactly the same thing, but something very different is going on under the covers.
In Windows 98, these files are kept in a directory called C:\My Documents. In XP, each user gets a My Documents folder, but it's actually a folder called C:\Documents and Settings\currentuser\My Documents, where "currentuser" is the login name of the active user. (Note: The top-level folder is "Documents and Settings" -- Windows allows spaces in file and folder names). You may experience momentary panic when you click on the My Documents icon and discover that the folder is empty. Your original C:\My Documents folder is still there and intact, but it's no longer connected to the My Documents icon. (I warned you this would be tricky.)
One thing you'll want to do after upgrading to XP and setting up users is to distribute the contents of the old common My Documents folder to the individual user folders. To do this, you'll either have to be logged on as Administrator, who exists by default on all XP installations, or as a user with full administrative rights. Under XP, not all users are equal. An Administrator has complete access to all directories and can transfer files and subfolders to the appropriate new places. Once that's done, the individual users can also share folders with others, but I'll save that complexity for another time.
CLEAN START. Program preferences can be handled in a similar way. When you upgrade a computer that has Microsoft Office installed, the existing settings are transferred to the user logged in during setup, normally Administrator. When you create additional user accounts, each will start with a clean Office installation as though the software had just been installed. If you want to transfer old settings or get copies of personalized templates, it can be done, but it's less than straightforward.
As in the case of distributing files from My Documents, you want to move copies of files, such as Normal.dot, which defines preferences for Word, from the new XP directory C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates to the corresponding directory for each user. But XP sets up an additional roadblock. By default, the Application Data directory and all of its subdirectories are invisible. So first you have to open the "View" tab of the Folder Options control panel and turn on the "Show hidden files and folders" options.
This isn't a chore for the faint of heart. Indeed, if you haven't done extensive customization, it's probably easier to recreate your settings than to transfer them. Microsoft makes the job of moving to a new XP computer somewhat easier by including something called the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard. But it doesn't do you any good in transferring the settings on a computer that has been upgraded.
By the time Windows XP is available, third-party software vendors may have come up with utilities to make the job easier. For now, it looks like making sure your files end up in the right place when you switch to XP is daunting enough to make you think twice about upgrading an existing machine.
Wildstrom is Technology & You columnist for BusinessWeek. Follow his Flash Product Reviews, only on BW Online Edited by Beth Belton
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