Whistler Build 2531

Whistler Build 2531

Crusty Windows bootleg
The desktop of Whistler Build 2531
Original OS	Windows XP Build 2531
Release date	2001
Author	?
Language(s)	English
Architecture(s)	x86 (32-bit)
File size	493 MB
Download link	Whistler.ver.5.1.2531.English.iso
Date added	January 18th, 2022

Whistler Build 2531 (not to be confused with the Whistler build of the same name) is a bootleg of Windows XP build 2531 created by an unknown author, and is probably the first XP bootleg ever created and released.

Description

The bootleg is based on a Release Candidate 2 build of Windows XP, and notoriously had several things added to it that weren't in the original build, such as TweakUI, extra backgrounds, and the removal of the timebomb and activation. It is unclear why exactly the leaker released it like this, but a rumor suggests the author was unhappy with the beta leaking scene at the time and did it out of spite. For many years, this was the only release of Build 2531 available until a team on OSBetaArchive later restored the ISO to its original state, and the unmodified build finally would leak in June 2022.

Other than these changes, the build is the same as the leaked version.

Changes from Windows XP build 2531

• Several additional backgrounds have been added.
• The default background has been changed from the default blue Windows XP background to a colored version of the painting "Reptiles" by M. C. Escher.
• Command Prompt has had its default black and white color scheme replaced with a white and blue color scheme. The text is also larger.
• The timebomb and activation has been removed.

Gallery

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  Installation

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  First boot

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  Empty desktop