by Rosemarie Makhmaltchi

Created on: January 13, 2007   Last Updated: April 19, 2007

There aren't many differences between Windows 2000 Professional and Windows XP Professional. Some of the differences are discussed in this article. The minimum hardware requirements for Windows 2000 Professional are: a CPU with 133 MHz clock speed, 64 MB of memory, and 650 MB of free disk space. The minimum hardware requirements for Windows XP Professional are: a CPU with 233 MHz clock speed, 64 MB of memory, and 1.5 GB of free disk space.

IME. Microsoft's IME is a program that enables users to input symbol-based languages, such as Chinese and Japanese, using an Western-style keyboard. There are slight differences in the versions of IME for 2000 and XP. In Microsoft's Pinyin IME for Simplified Chinese, a newer version (IME 3.0) is used in XP. The Windows 2000 version is called Microsoft-Pinyin98. The language bar by default floats at the top of the screen in XP, while in 2000 Professional, it is a language button located on the right side of the taskbar. Windows XP's language bar can be changed to a language button by clicking the minimize button in the upper-right hand corner of the bar. In XP, the IME option menu rests on the language bar at the top of the desktop. By default, the toggle button for changing between simplified and traditional is not visible in XP, but it does appear by default in 2000. You must click the select button in XP in order to enable the toggle.
There are also slight differences in using Microsoft's IME for Japanese. A newer version (IME Standard 2002) is used in XP, and the language bar in XP floats at the top of the screen while in 2000, it is a language button that sits on the right side of the taskbar.

VPN Client Wizard. The VPN Client Wizard helps users easily configure the VPN Client in Windows 2000 Professional and XP Professional. The process of starting the client is slightly different in 2000 and XP. In 2000, go to the Start menu, point to "Settings," then "Network and Dial-Up Connections," and click "Make New Connection." In XP, click on the Start button, point to "Control Panel," click "Network," and "Create a connection to the Internet Connections Network at your Workplace." In Windows 2000, after you have completed the Wizard, a pop-up window will appear with which you will initiate the VPN connection. Press the "Connect" button after typing in your username and password. You can also press the "Cancel" button if you want to close the window and start the VPN connection later.

New Features Of XP. Many new features have been

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