|  | Planning an Installation of Microsoft Windows XP Professional Checking System Requirements
Before installing Windows XP Professional, it is important to make sure that your system meets the minimum requirements. The following table lists the minimum system requirements and the recommended system levels for Windows XP Professional.
|  | Component |  | Minimum system requirements |  | Recommended system levels |  |
|  | CPU (up to two) |  | P2 233 megahertz (MHz) or equivalent |  | P2 300 MHz or equivalent |  |
|  | RAM (minimum and maximum) |  | 64 megabytes (MB) / 4 gigabytes (GB) |  | 128 MB / 4 GB |  |
|  | Hard disk space |  | 2 GB hard disk with 650 MB free space (additional if installing over a network) |  | 2 GB free hard disk space |  |
|  | Maximum hard disk space on partition |  | 2 terabytes |  | 2 terabytes |  |
|  | Partition size |  | 1.5 GB |  | 2 GB |  |
|  | Display |  | VGA-compatible or higher display adapter; monitor capable of 600X800 display |  | SVGA -compatible display adapter |  |
|  | Accessories |  | Keyboard and mouse or other pointing device |  | Keyboard and mouse or other pointing device |  |
|  | For CD-ROM installation |  | CD-ROM drive |  | 12x or faster CD-ROM drive |  |
|  | For network installation |  | Network client or boot disk |  | Network client or boot disk |  |
The recommended additional free disk space on the partition on which you install Windows XP Professional is used for optional components such as user accounts, logs, future service packs, and also for the paging file used by the operating system. A partition is a dedicated space on the hard drive. The recommended 2 GB partition allows for additional space for files that applications installed on the computer may require in the Windows directory.