Changes to Windows XP Home Edition K and Windows XP Professional K from earlier versions of Windows XP

On February 24, 2006, the Korean Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) ordered Microsoft to modify certain Microsoft Windows XP operating systems that are currently available in the Republic of Korea. In response to the KFTC order, Microsoft created new versions of Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition and Microsoft Windows XP Professional for distribution in the Republic of Korea.

The new versions that contain “K” in the name include links to Web sites that contain links to software downloads. These downloads are for third-party media player software and instant messaging software that are available to Korean consumers.

This document describes the differences between Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional and Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition K and Microsoft Windows XP Professional K. These changes are based on requirements that were provided by the KFTC.

This article describes changes in features and functionality in the English and Korean language versions of the following two operating systems:

• Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition K
• Microsoft Windows XP Professional K

These operating systems have been changed from earlier versions of Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional.

Overview

The K versions of Windows XP provide the same functionality as Windows XP, except that the K versions include the following changes:

• Branding elements have changed.
• A Windows registry entry has changed.
• Two new links in the Windows All Programs menu have been added.

Changes to branding elements

The operating system name that appears on the General tab of the System Properties dialog box has been changed. The following changes have been made to reflect the K branding:

• Windows XP Home Edition has been changed to Windows XP Home Edition K
• Windows XP Professional has been changed to Windows XP Professional K

To view the System Properties dialog box, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click System.
2. Click the General tab.

Changes to the Windows registry

The K versions of Windows XP contain the following registry subkey:The following registry entries are associated with this subkey:

Value name: KWeblinks
Value type: REG_DWORD
Value data: 0

These registry entries are used to identify Windows XP K SKUs. When it is present, the KWebLinks=dword:0 registry entry identifies the Windows XP operating system as a K version.

Note In earlier versions of Windows XP, the KWebLinks=dword registry entry is not present, or the registry entry is set to a value of 1.

Changes to the "All Programs" menu

As required by the KTFC, two links have been added to the All Programs menu of the K versions of Windows XP. These two links are named Media Player Center and Message Center. These two links connect you to Web sites that contain links to software downloads. These downloads are for third-party media player software and instant messaging software.