Windows® XP Embedded Information

Introduction

Windows XP Embedded, or XPe, is the componentized version of Microsoft Windows XP Professional. XPe is based on the same binaries as XP Pro, but XPe is marketed towards developers for OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers), ISVs (Independent software vendors) and IHVs (Independent Hardware Vendors) that want the full Win32 API support of Windows but without the overhead of Professional. It runs existing Windows applications and device drivers off-the-shelf on devices with specifications lower than what Professional requires.

The devices targeted for XPe have included ATMs, slot machines, cash registers, arcade machines, industrial robotics, thin clients, set-top boxes, network attached storage (NAS), time clocks, etc. Custom versions of the OS can be deployed onto anything but a full-fledged PC; even though XPe supports the same hardware that XP Pro supports (x86 architecture), licensing restrictions prevent you from deploying it to standard desktop/laptop PCs.
Key Features

XP Embedded has a number of key features and advantages over standard XP:

* Reduced boot and log on time
* Just choose the components that you need - XP Embedded separates Windows XP into blocks of functionality (called components). A developer can use the tools that are included with Windows XP Embedded to choose only the components that support the functionality they need. This lets them remove the "bulk" of extra components, reducing disk and memory requirements.
* XPe allows for images from 8MB on up; XP Pro is 1.5GB minimum
* XPE has the same binaries as XP - so you can use all drivers and applications which are written for XP
* Same features as standard Windows XP - USB2, DirectX, Multi-user environment, auto-updates, Windows Media Player, Internet Explorer 6 etc (as long as the component for that feature is included).
* EWF (Embedded Write Filter) - EWF is a storage filter driver that can be configured to protect one or more volumes from any unwanted writes. All changes to a protected volume are filtered by EWF, which then stores them in RAM rather than writing them to the disk. Upon system shutdown or reboot, changes can be either committed to the volume or discarded. This is ideal for media, such as flash drives, which have limited write cycles.
* Ability to run in headless (i.e. no video, keyboard or mouse) as long as hardware supports this
* XPe is priced lower than Pro

What Is Needed To Create an XP Embedded Installation?

* The Microsoft Windows XP Embedded Toolkit. This features:
o Target Analyzer: Use to quickly create a base run-time image that is built specifically for your target hardware. Works by automating the collection of hardware-specific data.
o Target Designer: Use to rapidly develop, customize, and build embedded run-time images.
o Component Designer: Provides an environment where you can define custom components to use in your embedded run-time images.
o Component Database: Provides a storage area for component-level information during embedded run-time image development.
o Component Database Manager: Use to manage component-level information, such as the component database and underlying repositories, during development.
* Hardware capable of running XP embedded
* Either:
o Standard Windows XP Drivers for the hardware used
o XP Embedded Drivers for the hardware used
* A Windows 2000/XP Desktop machine to run the Microsoft Windows XP Embedded Toolkit