Hello TechNic and welcome to the board.

XP uses batch files just fine. XP automatically expands the %0 variable which makes it operate different then what some expect.

A Logon Script Does Not Work If %0 or %0\..\ Calls Multiple Commands (Q318689)

Once you get started using KiXtart, you will soon wonder how you ever did without it. I have written many, many batch files over the years (and I still do for small tasks), but the power of KiXtart and the things you can do both locally and remotely are amazing.

Batch files are not dead in XP, but KiXtart is MUCH better then batch alone.