Post by wadmodderpudu on Jan 28, 2020 15:21:56 GMT
Alot of you guy may have or may have not heard about this version of Windows XP called Starter Edition. It is based on Windows XP Home Edition with a unique twist. It was mostly designed for emerging markets and countries that sometimes had rampant software piracy as a low-cost version of Windows XP. Some limitations have also been introduced specially for this version of Windows XP: such as only allowing 3 programs open at a time, removal of desktop theme support, 512 MB RAM limit, 120 GB disk size limit, & a 1024x768 screen resolution limit.
Starter Edition was released in the following countries according to the Wikipedia page on Windows XP editions: Thailand, Vietnam, Turkey, Indonesia, India, Philippines, Russia, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Mexico, Ecuador, Uruguay, Malaysia, and Venezuela.
Some of these releases included country-specific desktop wallpapers & screensavers included with those releases from those countries.
While many of these can easily be found on some abandonware websites such as Internet Archive or videos on YouTube (with links to Dropbox, MediaFire, Google Drive, OneDrive, & most commonly Mega.nz), the others either are rare or are hard to find, and as such do not exist or haven't been uploaded in .iso format.
If anybody has these releases or if they ever pop up on Ebay and/or Amazon, let me know, as many of these foreign releases of Windows XP Starter Edition are rare and hard to find.
Also, according to the Windows Wallpaper Wiki, there is mentions of 2 unknown releases of Windows XP Starter Edition listed for the Sub-Saharan African and Egyptian markets, but it is unknown if they were ever released or not.
Also, can we have a new category for this wiki for "Lost Software" in a future update for this wiki? The reason I want such a category on this wiki is to mainly allow that category to focus mostly on unreleased operating systems & rare software releases, both as free downloads & physical disc releases. In addition, I also want this wiki to include a few articles on unreleased operating systems, rare versions of Microsoft Windows officially released by Microsoft (Not counting unofficial versions of Windows released by other people), as well to expand the amount of Computer-related stuff beyond PC Video Games.
If your interested in buying the remaining versions of Windows XP Starter Edition online, let me know so that we can complete this archival hunt for the rare foreign releases of Windows XP Starter Edition.
Youtuber Michael MJD made a video about this on his channel and he has a copy of the Russian version. youtu.be/3nOO4TcawtA - overview with other xp products youtu.be/9LqNA7qsc-o - full video just about Windows XP Russian Starter Edition
Post by wadmodderpudu on Nov 30, 2020 23:02:41 GMT
Here's the list of foreign releases of Windows XP Starter Edition to indicate what developing/emerging country got Starter Edition, including their status of ISO being dumped & what foreign releases need to be found:
In addition to ISO dumps of these foreign releases, I want to know if there are any CAB files that contain Wallpapers related to these foreign releases, Here's a link to these CAB files that contain wallpapers:
Also, given the rarity of Windows XP Starter Edition in those developing/emerging markets where the operating system was sold, and the fact that Microsoft continues to DMCA some abandonware websites (although very rarely) carrying every edition of Windows XP (including Home, Professional, Embedded, Media Center, Tablet PC & Starter), it's unlikely these foreign releases will ever resurface.
I know we aren't technically an abandonware discussion forum, but I want to see these foreign releases of Windows XP Starter Edition have an article on this Wiki, probably for the Partially Lost Media, Miscellaneous Lost Media & Historic categories for right now.
Just this recently, the Malaysian release of Windows XP Starter Edition was uploaded on Internet Archive so there is addition chances for the other foreign releases of Windows XP Starter Edition to also resurface on Internet Archive.
Also according to the Windows Wallpaper Wiki, a Chinese version was planned but was likely cancelled, probably because Microsoft wanted to focus on the development & release of Windows Vista. It is also unknown if other developing countries got Windows XP Starter Edition for right now, according to the Windows Wallpaper Wiki.
Last Edit: May 24, 2021 2:54:06 GMT by wadmodderpudu
Post by wadmodderpudu on Jul 25, 2021 21:12:44 GMT
Just recently another version of Windows XP Starter Edition was uploaded to Internet Archive, this time it's the Indonesian version, so far there is progress to preserve these foreign releases of Windows XP Starter Edition.
Decided to create my own custom theme pack for the other editions of Windows XP that mimics the aesthetics of Starter Edition. Had to use the official screenshots taken from the BetaWiki article and using the Latin American Region Customization Pack CD as reference point creating them.
I might update this theme pack once the Thailand and Vietnam releases ever get found.
There's a mention of a OEM Serbian release on the MyDigitalLife forums, but it only has just the generic wallpaper used in the most common variant available, so it probably was just an OEM import copy rather than a true localization.