Windows XP Resources

This isn’t comprehensive per se, but it should suit most people’s tastes.

This page is a work-in-progress!
Last updated 21 January 2023, 12:40 EST

Software & drivers

Selected period-accurate (specifically ≈2006) programs and the like for Windows XP. Some larger pieces of software (namely office suites) are contained on somewhat large ISO files and necessitate something like Daemon Tools to be mounted/read.

Compatibility & bugfixes

The vast majority of compatibility issues can be fixed using Legacy Update, a service which enables Windows XP to browse and receive still-available Windows Update updates. I highly recommend using this over downloading individual update files from all over the Web.

File	Description	Download
POSReady Registry Hack	Tricks Legacy Update into thinking you're running POSReady 2009, enabling updates as recent as 2019 (e.g. TLS 1.2 support).	{1}

Drivers

Following are some rather generic drivers applicable to a wide range of and/or particularly common hardware. Keeping a respectable nonexhaustive list of WinXP-era/-compatible drivers would fill up my server, though I do have some rather specific 9x drivers over on my Compaq Presario 4112 page that might apply to you.

File	Description	Download
Sound Blaster Live! Driver Pack	Drivers for the titular sound card.	[1] {2}
SPICE Guest Tools	Enables resizing of display when using QXL within an emulator such as QEMU.	{1} {2}

Internet access

File	Description	Download
K-Meleon 76 RC	Modern Gecko fork with TLS 1.2 support, enabling connection to modern HTTPS sites.	[1] {2}
America Online 9.0 Optimized	Shockingly still signs on via TCP/IP if you have an AOL account (I’ve kept mine for fifteen years and counting).	{1}
MSN Messenger 7.5 (Escargot)	Patched version designed to operate with Escargot.chat, a contemporary implementation of MSNP services.	[1] {2}

For the latest Internet Explorer, see Legacy Update.

Document readers, word processors & office suites

File	Description	Download
Microsoft Office 2003 Professional Edition	What it says on the tin.	[1]
Microsoft Office XP	The version I grew up using, thus its inclusion on this list.	[1] {2}
Microsoft Works 7.0	2002 edition of Microsoft Works, a scaled-down office suite offered as a cheaper alternative to Office.	[1] {2}
Acrobat Reader 7.0.8	Period-accurate version of Adobe Acrobat for reading PDF files.	{1}

Utilities

File	Description	Download
Daemon Tools	Enable mounting of ISO images.	{1}

Multimedia

File	Description	Download
QuickTime Player 7.02	Plays QuickTime files as well as certain Flash games. Required for a lot of interactive Web content from the Y2K era.	{1}
Macromedia Flash Player 9	Good ol’ Flash Player.	{1}