• December 9, 2002 •
Microsoft Posts Free Windows XP Winter Fun Packs
By: Arie Slob
Microsoft today released a series of Winter Fun Packs for Windows XP, to help you have fun with your computer and Windows XP this holiday season. They include a wide range of winter-themed content designed expressly for Windows Media Player 9 Series, Windows Movie Maker 2, and Windows XP Digital Photography, Communications, and Browsing.
| Note: While the Winter Fun Packs are unsupported, Microsoft reports having taken great care to ensure that they operate as they should. For this reason, Microsoft Technical Support is unable to answer questions about the Winter Fun Packs. The Windows XP Winter Fun Packs are for Windows XP only. |
While these Winter Fun Packs are still available for download, on November 13th 2003, Microsoft released three new digital media Fun Packs for Windows XP. More info here. |
The hardware and software requirements for Microsoft Windows XP Winter Fun Packs are as follows:
- Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition or Windows XP Professional
- A 350 megahertz (MHz) processor
- 64 megabytes (MB) of RAM
- 300 MB of free hard disk space
- VGA video resolution monitor
- CD-ROM or DVD drive, keyboard, Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device
- An Internet connection may be required for some features.
- Windows XP-compatible sound card and speakers or headphones
- 256-color video card
- 3-D graphics acceleration and 16 MB or more of video memory is required for some features. The video adapter must be compatible with Windows XP. Please see the below recommended system configuration for more information.
Note: You can confirm that your video adapter is compatible with Windows XP by reviewing the Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) page at the Microsoft Windows Hardware Quality Labs Web site. Type the video adapter manufacturer name in the Search box, and then select Display from the list of hardware types.
Recommended:
- A 500 MHz or faster processor
- 128 MB or higher of RAM
- Super VGA (800 x 600) or higher video resolution monitor
-
A video display adapter with hardware 3-D graphics acceleration and 16 MB or more of video memory, including the following:
- Matrox G400 and G450
- SiS300
- Trident BladeXP 128
- 3Dlabs Permedia 3
- Video cards using the ATI Radeon and Rage 128 chipsets
-
Video cards using the NVIDIA RIVA TNT2 and GeForce chipsets
If you are using a video adapter containing the ATI or NVIDIA chipsets, we recommend you download and install the latest video card software drivers from the manufacturer's Web site.
Four Fun Packs are available, including:
- Digital Music with Windows Media Player 9 Series Winter Fun Pack (wmpfunpack.exe [4.8 MB]). New skins, Auto Playlists, and Visualizations make it more fun to enjoy your music with Windows Media Player 9 Series.
- Digital Video with Windows Movie Maker 2 Fun Pack (mm2funpack.exe [14.04 MB]). Check out this expansive collection of wintery sound effects, holiday music, titles, video titles, and cut scenes. Whatever the occasion, there's something here that will help you make your home movies even more creative and professional looking (more information about Windows Movie Maker 2. You can download Windows Movie Maker 2 here [11.9 MB]).
- Digital Photography, Communications and Browsing Fun Pack (dpfunpack.exe [2.25 MB]). Discover a fun set of Internet Explorer holiday favorites and use the Fun Pack templates to create custom greeting cards.
- Winter Fun Screensavers (screensaverfunpack.exe [6.12 MB]). Check out these cool screen savers with vivid 3-D and interactive sound effects.
Microsoft also posted a number of "How-To's":