Not all XPs are Created Equal...

I have recently come to terms with the fact that not all versions of Windows XP are equal. I have been blissfully unaware for the past couple years that Windows XP Media Center Edition is the ugly stepchild of the XP world. Yes, that's the OS I have been running. Somehow I have managed to keep myself on versions of Windows that are the least desirable for years. Before the Windows XP Media Center Edition, I had Windows ME. Oops.

So what does this have to do music? Simply put, it means everything. I have yet to find music production hardware or software that doesn't single out WinXP MCE as being not supported. It gives you a sinking feeling when you have a piece of software (or hardware) that runs on basically everything from Windows 95 to Vista, but doesn't run on this one version of XP.

What's So Special?
Windows XP MCE is a somewhat stripped version of Windows XP Pro, with the addition of the "Media Center" features. Those features are really only useful if you have your computer hooked to your main TV and feel like using your computer with a remote control. For the record, I am not one of those people. From what I understand, WinXP MCE lacks class-compliant audio drivers, which hurts some processes. It also is running their "Media Center" services, which I understand have the potential for clashes with audio processes.

The Straw That Broke...
For me, the last straw that made me decide I needed to fix my OS "problem" was when I changed my PC audio from using the onboard audio to a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 card. As soon as I switched sound card drivers, my MIDI keyboard quit being recognized. The PC told me it was there, but it didn't want to believe it was a valid MIDI interface! After some poking around, I found I could make it work again by disabling the Gameport/MIDI port that's on my Sound Blaster. I'm sorry - that makes no sense that I have to disable one MIDI port to make an unrelated USB MIDI device recognized. This was caused by XP MCE's audio compatibility problems.

What Can I Do?
You've got two options if you're running Windows XP MCE, as I see it: you can try to trick your system into behaving less like MCE, or you move to another OS. As far as tricking your system, there are forum posts out there that claim to give a list of registry keys to edit to disable the MCE features, which some people claim helps with SOME problems. But you are still left with the "it might work, it might not" status with every item you're drooling at in the latest Musician's Friend catalog or at your local music store.

Run Away...
I took the latter option: I have actually moved my home studio forward by downgrading my PC to use Windows XP Home Edition. Since I'm (ahem) frugal, I have an extra PC that was a hand-me-down from a friend who was going to throw it away. It had XP Home Edition installed. So I backed up everything from both systems onto CD and DVD, wiped the hard drives, and started over with fresh installations on both machines: XP Home Edition on my main computer, and XP MCE on the hand-me-down. It took a week to back up everything I needed, and a weekend to get the machines scrubbed and rebuilt, and a few more days to get all the apps in place and configured the way I want them.

Last Thoughts
If you're running XP MCE, don't let this scare you too badly. A lot of audio gear I was using worked fine. REAPER was rock solid. The Lightsnake, despite the interference, worked normally under XP MCE. But if you keep growing your studio based on XP MCE, be aware that you're rolling the dice each and every time you invest in new gear. But if you choose to move to another OS, I would advise XP Home or XP Pro, since Vista is also fairly well unsupported by a lot of companies at this point.

(Before I get the Mac contingent on me, yes, OS X is more stable for audio apps, but having to re-buy your apps on another OS is really counter-productive to being frugal.)