Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs ("WinFLP") is a thin client

Thin client

A thin client is a computer or a computer program which depends heavily on some other computer to fulfill its traditional computational roles. This stands in contrast to the traditional fat client, a computer designed to take on these roles by itself...

 operating system

Operating system

An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...

 from Microsoft

Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...

, based on Windows XP Embedded, but optimized for older, less powerful hardware

Computer hardware

Personal computer hardware are component devices which are typically installed into or peripheral to a computer case to create a personal computer upon which system software is installed including a firmware interface such as a BIOS and an operating system which supports application software that...

. It was released on 8 July 2006. Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs is not marketed as a full-fledged general purpose operating system, although it is functionally able to perform most of the tasks generally associated with one. It includes only certain functionality for local workloads such as security, management, document viewing related tasks and the .NET Framework. It is designed to work as a client–server solution with RDP

Remote Desktop Protocol

Remote Desktop Protocol is a proprietary protocol developed by Microsoft, which provides a user with a graphical interface to another computer. The protocol is an extension of the ITU-T T.128 application sharing protocol. Clients exist for most versions of Microsoft Windows , Linux, Unix, Mac OS...

 clients or other third party clients such as Citrix

Citrix Systems

Citrix Systems, Inc. is a multinational corporation founded in 1989, that provides server and desktop virtualization, networking, software-as-a-service , and cloud computing technologies, including Xen open source products....

 ICA

Independent Computing Architecture

Independent Computing Architecture is a proprietary protocol for an application server system, designed by Citrix Systems. The protocol lays down a specification for passing data between server and clients, but is not bound to any one platform....

.

History

WinFLP was originally announced with codenames

Code name

A code name or cryptonym is a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage...

 "Eiger

Eiger

The Eiger is a mountain in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland. It is the easternmost peak of a ridge crest that extends across the Mönch to the Jungfrau at 4,158 m...

" and "Mönch

Mönch

The Mönch is a mountain in the Bernese Alps, in Switzerland. Together with the Eiger and the Jungfrau it forms a highly recognisable group of mountains visible from far away....

" (names of mountains in the Swiss Alps

Swiss Alps

The Swiss Alps are the portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position within the entire Alpine range, they are also known as the Central Alps....

) in mid-2005.

The RTM version of Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs was released on 8 July 2006.

Technical specifications

Microsoft positions WinFLP as an operating system that provides basic computing services on older hardware, while still providing core management features of more recent Windows releases, such as Windows Firewall

Windows Firewall

Windows Firewall is a software component of Microsoft Windows that provides firewalling and packet filtering functions. It was first included in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003...

, Group Policy

Group Policy

Group Policy is a feature of the Microsoft Windows NT family of operating systems. Group Policy is a set of rules that control the working environment of user accounts and computer accounts. Group Policy provides the centralized management and configuration of operating systems, applications, and...

, Automatic Updates, and other management services. However, it is not considered to be a general-purpose OS by Microsoft.

Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs is a Windows XP Embedded derivative and, as such, is optimized for legacy PCs. It requires significantly fewer system resources than the fully featured Windows XP. It also features basic networking, extended peripheral support, DirectX

DirectX

Microsoft DirectX is a collection of application programming interfaces for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft platforms. Originally, the names of these APIs all began with Direct, such as Direct3D, DirectDraw, DirectMusic, DirectPlay,...

, and the ability to launch the remote desktop clients from compact disc

Compact Disc

The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

s. In addition to local applications

Application software

Application software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...

, it offers support for those hosted on a remote server using Remote Desktop

Remote Desktop

Remote Desktop may refer to:* Remote desktop software** Apple Remote Desktop** Remote Desktop Services** Remote Desktop Protocol* Desktop sharing...

. It can be installed on a local hard drive, or configured to run on a disk-less workstation.

The installer for Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs uses an image-based installation system similar to Vista

Windows Vista

Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...

's installer.

Advantages

In addition to giving better performance on older machines, the reduced number of files increases boot speed, and the reduced number of services also improves security and responsiveness. People with old hardware unable to run an updated version of Windows XP usefully have the opportunity to use a more secure version of Windows than the older, unpatched OSes.

Hardware requirements

Despite being optimized for older PCs, the hardware requirements are similar to Windows XP, although, it is faster running on slower clock speeds than Windows XP.

Issues and limitations

Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs, as the name suggests, has a smaller feature set than a full Windows XP install. For example, some software, such as Outlook Express, is unavailable, even with a full install. Some system tools are also excluded from WinFLP; however, these utilities are rarely used by end users, and are generally replaceable with free tools (or potentially with files from a full XP install). In addition, the operating system does not include full support for terminal-based connections. Another limitation is the absence of the Compatibility tab in the properties for executable files.

Software

WinFLP does not normally include several applications, such as Solitaire and other games, or MSPaint, but does include the Calculator, Wordpad

WordPad

WordPad is a basic word processor that is included with almost all versions of Microsoft Windows from Windows 95 upwards. It is more advanced than Notepad but simpler than Microsoft Works Word Processor and Microsoft Word. It replaced Microsoft Write....

 and Notepad.

Availability

Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs is exclusively available to Microsoft Software Assurance

Microsoft Software Assurance

Microsoft Software Assurance is a Microsoft maintenance program aimed at business users who use Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, and other server and desktop applications...

 customers, as it is designed to be an inexpensive upgrade option for corporations that have a number of Windows 9x

Windows 9x

Windows 9x is a generic term referring to a series of Microsoft Windows computer operating systems produced since 1995, which were based on the original and later modified Windows 95 kernel...

 computers, but lack the hardware necessary to support the latest Windows. It is not available through retail

Retail

Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...

 or OEM

Original Equipment Manufacturer

An original equipment manufacturer, or OEM, manufactures products or components that are purchased by a company and retailed under that purchasing company's brand name. OEM refers to the company that originally manufactured the product. When referring to automotive parts, OEM designates a...

 channels.

On 7 October 2008, Service Pack 3 for Windows Embedded for Point of Service and Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs was made available.

External links

• Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs home page on Microsoft's official site