With cake walk do i need anything else on my computer besides Windows xp to run it? Do I need anything else to run it better? Should I have internet access through the computer for upgrades?
It depends on what you will do with Cakewalk... but first of all, what version of Cakewalk ? Sonar ? HomeStudio ? Do you work with MIDI ? Soundcard ? Do you need 24 bit 96 KHz ? How many input ? etc... etc...
Maybe yes... but may be not... some of us used separate PC for DAW and Internet activity. Some other used their DAW to surf also... Keep in mind that (whatever your connection) having internet acces will give you bunch of beneffit...
Like James said, it's hard to give you specifics without a little more info. But if all your trying to do is get started recording, then any decent computer + Cakewalk + A few Mic's will get you started ( a mixer is nice to ) Go for it! There are lots of helpfull people here that can speed up your progress.
You just need a mic to get started. A decent mic and mic. preamp.
And by the way Cakewalk makes different programs. You should decide how much money you want to spend and what you want to do, and then pick a program and equipment.