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Product Information

System Requirements

Posted: May 30, 2001

The recommended system configuration to use Microsoft Office XP is Microsoft Windows® XP Professional¹ on a personal computer with a Pentium III processor and 128 megabytes (MB) of RAM. Below are the minimum requirements your computer needs to run each suite of Office XP. Some Office XP features have additional requirements.

If you are looking for previous version information, visit the system requirements pages for Office 2000, Office 97, and Office 95.

Minimum Requirements
Computer/Processor Computer with Pentium 133 megahertz (MHz) or higher processor; Pentium III recommended
Memory For all Office XP suites:
RAM requirements depend on the operating system used:
  • Windows 98, or Windows 98 Second Edition
    24 MB of RAM plus an additional 8 MB of RAM for each Office program (such as Microsoft Word) running simultaneously
  • Windows Me, or Microsoft Windows NT®
    32 MB of RAM plus an additional 8 MB of RAM for each Office application (such as Microsoft Word) running simultaneously
  • Windows 2000 Professional
    64 MB of RAM plus an additional 8 MB of RAM for each Office application (such as Microsoft Word) running simultaneously
  • Windows XP Professional, or Windows XP Home Edition
    128 MB of RAM plus an additional 8 MB of RAM for each Office application (such as Microsoft Word) running simultaneously
For information on memory requirements for Office XP Developer, see our Office XP Developer system requirements page.
Hard Disk Hard disk space requirements will vary depending on configuration; custom installation choices may require more or less. Listed below are the minimum hard disk requirements for Office XP suites:
  • Office XP Standard
    210 MB of available hard disk space
  • Office XP Professional and Professional Special Edition²
    245 MB of available hard disk space
An additional 115 MB is required on the hard disk where the operating system is installed. Users without Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows Me, or Office 2000 Service Release 1 (SR-1) require an extra 50 MB of hard disk space for System Files Update.

For information on hard disk requirements for Office XP Developer, see our Office XP Developer system requirements page.
Operating System Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows Millennium Edition (Windows Me), Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 6 (SP6) or later,³ Windows 2000, or Windows XP or later.

For information on operating system requirements for Office XP Developer, see our Office XP Developer system requirements page.
Drive CD-ROM drive
Display Super VGA (800 x 600) or higher-resolution monitor with 256 colors
Peripherals Microsoft Mouse, Microsoft IntelliMouse®, or compatible pointing device

1. Windows XP Home Edition is the recommended operating system for the Office XP Standard for Students and Teachers suite.
2. Office XP Professional Special Edition includes Microsoft Publisher version 2002 and Microsoft FrontPage® version 2002. Find additional system requirements specific to those programs on the Publisher 2002 system requirements page and the FrontPage 2002 system requirements page, respectively.
3. Systems running Windows NT 4.0 SP6 must have Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 SP1 or later.
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Additional items or services required to use certain features:

  • For multimedia and sound:
    • Accelerated video card or MMX processor for improved graphics rendering
  • For speech recognition (available for U.S. English, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese only):
    • Pentium II 400-MHz or higher processor
    • 128 MB of RAM or more
    • Close-talk microphone and audio output device
    • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 or later
  • Microsoft Exchange, Internet SMTP/POP3, IMAP4, or other MAPI-compliant messaging software required to use e-mail
  • Microsoft Exchange Server required for certain advanced collaboration functionality in Microsoft Outlook®
  • Collaboration features compatible with Office 97 or later
  • Some Internet functionality may require Internet access and payment of a separate fee to a service provider; local or long-distance charges may apply
  • 14,400 or higher-baud modem
  • Graphics tablet recommended for handwriting-input features
  • Microsoft Windows Media® encoder-compatible video camera for broadcasts including video; Microsoft Exchange Chat server to enable chats during live broadcasts; Windows Media Server to enable multicasts of live broadcasts to more than 10 audience members
  • 100 MB of additional hard disk space for installation of Office XP Media Content
  • 50 MB of additional hard disk space for each additional language interface installed
  • To use Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer¹ with the scroll wheel and all the programmable buttons, you also need:
    • Microsoft IntelliPoint version 3.0 software
    • Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows NT Workstation 4.0 with SP3 or later operating system
    • 30 MB of available hard disk space
    • Round mouse port (PS/2-compatible) or USB port (connection using USB port on a PC requires a computer running Windows 98)
    • CD-ROM drive

¹ The zoom function works only in Office 97–compatible or later applications.

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