Fat bottomed girls make the rockin' world go round! 1551 Posts 5/09
Posted - Jan 25 2010 : 3:40AM
Just a question. For those of us with Windows XP OS, will it be subject to problems after Microsoft shuts down the updates by May 2010? I know Microsoft wants all of us who have Windows XP to obtain Windows 7.
My past is a foreign country. Most things are different there, including word usage. 503 Posts 12/06
Posted - Jan 25 2010 : 1:30PM
I've been using Windows XP for more than a year with 'Updates' turned off. What do they need to up-date on a O/S that is older than dirt. Of course I don't use my PC as a VOD machine, radio, chat room or any of those other 'killer apps' that have been developed since XP Service Pack 2. I think the 'risk' you run not moving up to Windows 7 is a new 'killer app' that won't run under XP. One you just have to have. They only time that happened to me was years ago when the IPod was introduced and the software you needed to be able to load music on the stupid machine from a non-Mac system was Windows 2000 or better. I opted for ME at the time. Still not sure it was worth it. For me changing your O/S is something that you do when you have no alternative and lack of support is not one of them. As for problems, I would think you will have more problems by changing than staying with an O/S that seems to be pretty stable.
They are not discontinuing support for Windows XP. Rather, they are discontinuing support for XP versions through XP Service Pack 2. Windows XP SP3 will continue to be supported through 2014.
I have a never-installed old XP disc; never needed to use it yet. If I were to install it on a computer after May 2010, would MS not let me activate it? What does "no support" really mean? I've been getting plenty of Windows-related assistance at MSFN FORUMS.
"No support" means at least two things: no further updates, and no help from MS. MS had to continue supporting XP SP3 through 2014, due to all the businesses who continue to use it (many of which are paying for support packages from MS). Does "never installed" mean a retail version of the OS (or the back-up disk that came with a computer)? If a retail version, I'm sure MS would allow it to be installed and registered. However, that does not mean it will be "supported." It still might be worth your while, though, as a registered version of Windows qualifies you for upgrade pricing to a newer OS. (Do people really pay full-retail for a Windows OS?) And, I mean if you need to install Windows on a computer that doesn't already have it. As, theoretically, only a retail version can be installed on a computer it didn't come with. Will XP SP3 even operate one of today's new computers and hardware? Maybe if you installed it on a clean hard-drive (with no Windows 7 OS already on it), and it is a full-retail version? I don't know.
It's a retail version. I would be installing it on a blank hard drive in a homebuilt computer. It will probably be a P4-based system, since that's the parts in my junk box. This would just be a clunker computer for basic messing-around and non-critical tasks. Might experiment with making a fileserver or something. I'm not sure yet. Mainly I wanted to know if the XP disc will soon become useless or not.
