John:
The single largest issue with XP now is a lot of it's parts, like Explorer, can be an issue...
The advice on where you need to be and might be able to get to with JMRI... it's version and the Java needed to run it is good.
Where you might have a problem is will XP let you download the Java version or JMRI version needed. Do you have access to another machine with newer Windows (or a Mac) that would let you download the offline version of Java and then "sneaker net" it onto the laptop via a USB stick?
If so then I think we can get you up to date.
Jim Albanowski
