Windows XP. End, or what?

[Sea Chief]

Chaps,

anyone know about Windows XP? Ive heard it will 'end', or something, but cant get basic clarification on what exactly is going to happen on www (its all company based Q/A's, or complicated stuff).

Ive been running XP for nr 10 yrs, its just fine for me. I know how it works. And, as Ive recently got an older silversurfer up and running with XP after painstaking days & days worth of pg1 tutorials as its nice and basic layout.. so I was dismayed to hear (from him!) 'XP is gonna end in April'. He thinks Ive fobbed him off.

But what is going to "happen" (anything at all/ is it a scare story?) to my/ our computers?? will it still work?

thx SC.

[Mark Hammer]

It means Microsoft is not going to engage in any more effort to provide patches, or security updates, or bug workarounds. Essentially, their shift is over and you're on your own. If you can manage that, then the announcement is no big deal.

[Sea Chief]

I had no idea 'patches, or security updates, or bug workarounds' were ever applied to my XP. I know it occasionally said 'windows is updating' and then an hr or so of god-only-knows-what I waited for, or just left it to its own to do.. so what was this doing? (bug workarounds.. what on earth is this? I know I added Microsoft Security Essentials myself which I assume is a bug thing, so what is bug workarounds?). Chrissakes this is doing my nut in.

[Jazz P Bass]

MicroSoft is ending the 'support' of the XP operating system.

In a nutshell, if you go on the internet, you should upgrade to a newer operating system.
I have been on web pages (Fender for one) that will not even let you in if you are running XP with IE version 8.

XP, as good as it is, is getting a bit long in the tooth.

When they came out with Vista & Windows 7, the 'security' of the operating system itself, as far as hackers getting in to your sytem, was vastly changed.
There was a total rewrite of the system.
Unfortunately XP can not be 'updated' to this level.

As XP has been in service for more than a decade, hackers have a field day with breaking into it.
It's kind of like Hacker 101 uses XP to learn on.

Get a copy of Vista or Windows 7 & you will not have to worry (as much) about getting hacked.

[soundguruman]

FIRST: you were always on your own. I never saw an "update" to anything to improve XP. The updates made it SLOWER, not faster!

One of the "first things" we learn, is SHUT OFF automatic updates. Or suffer...

SECOND: Updates basically make the XP OS -- inoperable. Stops your CD drive from working, causes blue screen of death, disables audio, stops the printer from working...I am so glad I never used them.

What we did establish, is that a third party security system (panda or Kaspersky, etc..) made the computer more secure than ANY "update." and caused far far less problems. We wanted to USE the computer. What we did not want to do, is spend all the time fixing problems created by "updates."

So I would gather, that provided you install a good security program, you can keep right on using XP.
And you probably won't notice any difference either...

Windows 7? the video quality is better.
Other than that, I might as well be using XP. I don't see any significant difference between the two.
XP allows me to keep using OLD hardware...
Windows 7 makes my old hardware obsolete. That's what we would have expected.

Internet Explorer?
Even NASA stopped using it years ago. Ever heard of Firefox?Firefox is sooooo much better, I can't even imagine why anybody would use IE.

[Sea Chief]

Hi JazzP, thanks for that.

Ok I get the basic gist of the support becoming n/a, but one thing is Ive had this old dell '98 ish laptop + XP, with a basic free AntiVirus (MSEssentials) thing added + my basic enough useage (ie no games, movies or super-tecchy stuff).. its run completely and utterly problem-free for 5 years, as well as my fab old vw golf. It just simply works/ a vg comparison.

So Im loathed to change anything whatsoever purely because its been (to me) completely stalwart fine... unless I have to. I dont undertand about 'XP is old and easy to hack and virus here there and everywhere'. IMHE my experience with XP couldnt be further from this appraisal. Chalk and cheese.

So assuming as Id be loathed to (but have to) 'upgrade my XP to whatever the most simple/ most sensible/ cheapest alternative is' what is the cost involved? how do I do it? what is it exactly, cd's I insert? does it mean therefore all my Favourites list, my photos, my configured bars etc ALL are redundant/ I have to do all this from scratch again?? f**k no pls pls pls.

SC

[big_teee]

If you don't want to spend any money on an old machine?
Try downloading a FREE live linux CD, or DVD, and see if it will run on your system.
If it will boot and run all of your hardware, you may want to load a free linux OS.
On older computers you will probably need a 32 bit version instead of a 64 bit.
With Linux you will get a new free Office Suite, that is compatible with MS Office programs.
I would try one of the Ubuntus.
There is regular Ubuntu, Lubuntu, Kubuntu, and my favorite Mint.
They are easy to load run great, and can be configured to look a lot like XP.
DistroWatch.com: Put the fun back into computing. Use Linux, BSD.
Good Luck,
T

[soundguruman]

Will Linux run Visio, my CAD programs? Will it run Firefox?
You just about convinced me, already.

[big_teee]

Will Linux run Visio, my CAD programs? Will it run Firefox?
You just about convinced me, already.

It's strong points is web surfing.
It comes with a built in firewall, you do your daily updates, and run no processor robbing Virus or malware programs.
It is usually faster than the commercial OS's.
Most of the Linux Distros comes with a free LibreOffice full office Suite.
You can save your documents in any compatible file format.
My pick if you like a classic windows layout is Mint 16 Mate desktop.
Distribution Release: Linux Mint 16 (DistroWatch.com News)
It's like anything it takes a while to adapt, and adjust, but now I will never go back.
Don't know about your CAD programs, you will want to keep a windows box around, probably?
But, Linux gives some good alternatives, and an option everyone should consider.
With your computer background, if you gave it a chance, you would eat it up!
T
** Edit
Yes it uses firefox, Opera, Chrome, and others.
I use Firefox, and Opera.
With Firefox, I use Addons Do not Track me, and Adblocker Plus
I suggest downloading and burning a Free DVD and Temporarily Boot to it and run it for a little while.
When your done, take out the DVD, and power cycle, and it's gone, and back to windows.
Don't forget you can dual boot from widows to linux, but you need the windows DVD, when you load and setup your system intially.

[guitician]

The Internet is the only thing driving new OS's. If your using a PC "stand alone" it can be run as it was out of the box just fine. I have a dual boot win98/XP box that I use because the software only runs on those OS's and they doi just what they were designed to do, off the Internet. Linux just as a browser/cloud computer makes sense. And now there's the phone with OS's of their own.

[Sea Chief]

If you don't want to spend any money on an old machine?
Try downloading a FREE live linux CD, or DVD, and see if it will run on your system.
If it will boot and run all of your hardware, you may want to load a free linux OS.
On older computers you will probably need a 32 bit version instead of a 64 bit.
With Linux you will get a new free Office Suite, that is compatible with MS Office programs.
I would try one of the Ubuntus.
There is regular Ubuntu, Lubuntu, Kubuntu, and my favorite Mint.
They are easy to load run great, and can be configured to look a lot like XP.
DistroWatch.com: Put the fun back into computing. Use Linux, BSD.
Good Luck,
T

Thanks for that.. but Ive absolutely no idea what any of it means. (An 'old machine': are you implying buying a new machine, or that mine is an old machine -which indeed it is, I guess, but its been superb & more than fine for me. Onwards from there Im afraid its undecipherable).

Can anyone tell me, afaict a 'next step' to XP might be what a Windows 7? Lets assume so, so I can get my head around the basics of this change- to me its like the rug is being pulled & Ive no idea what, exactly was built on it to begin with.

1. Is a Windows 7 still useable? or is this old and no updates too.
2. Is this change something to do with cd's installing?
3. Is it free? I google windows 7 and asap I see even on the dedicated Windows site indeed it says plain as day 'download windows 7 for free' (but of course Im sceptical, esp if cd's are involved it surely, cannot be free).

Is it just the Internet Explorer section of the XP that is 'updated'? and if so could therefore the cheapest, and least complicated, and so maybe I could keep my stuff/ info.. can anotgher browser be used instead with XP as it is? ie could a simplest solution simple be 'install firefox'? surely a solution cant be that simple, can it?

[eschertron]

Hi JazzP, thanks for that.

Ok I get the basic gist of the support becoming n/a, but one thing is Ive had this old dell '98 ish laptop + XP, with a basic free AntiVirus (MSEssentials) thing added + my basic enough useage (ie no games, movies or super-tecchy stuff).. its run completely and utterly problem-free for 5 years, as well as my fab old vw golf. It just simply works/ a vg comparison.

So Im loathed to change anything whatsoever purely because its been (to me) completely stalwart fine... unless I have to. I dont undertand about 'XP is old and easy to hack and virus here there and everywhere'. IMHE my experience with XP couldnt be further from this appraisal. Chalk and cheese.

So assuming as Id be loathed to (but have to) 'upgrade my XP to whatever the most simple/ most sensible/ cheapest alternative is' what is the cost involved? how do I do it? what is it exactly, cd's I insert? does it mean therefore all my Favourites list, my photos, my configured bars etc ALL are redundant/ I have to do all this from scratch again?? f**k no pls pls pls.

SC

I have a computer that came with Win XP "Media Center Edition" (whatever that means) dating from 2005. Apart from getting a third-party antivirus (as recommended above) and shelling out for Office 2010, I have been quite the cheapskate on maintaining the unit. It is fine for browsing the internet, downloading schems, email, all that sort of stuff. I won't think of getting a new OS for it, the bloat of a modern OS would slow it to a crawl.
ff topic: Speaking of cheapskate, for my music recording I use a Mac that I got off ebay (used) about 8 years ago. Its HW is not compatible with any Mac OS that requires the Intel chipset. So it, too, is running just fine with an older system. When will I update? When the computer bursts into flames...
I have NO problems with either computer using the internet. Losing regular updates to your computer's OS may be a big thing if it's a business machine with sensitive data on it, for me the third-party antivirus will keep me going for some time into the future (I hope!).

[big_teee]

I was referring to older machine, or computer.
If you use Windows 7 now, I think you have to buy a separate license for each computer you load it on.
These guys can tell you that.
I'm retired and with linux, I buy no software.
Everything is under a free license.
Sounds like you are self taught, and isolated.
Maybe the linux at this time is not for you.
But, there is lots of info on the web to read about if your interested.
Good Luck,
T

[big_teee]

Here is a screenshot of my Desktop.
Thought some of you may want to see the look.
I have mine setup similar to XP.
Notice the QuickLauch bar on the bottom left similar to XP.

[Sea Chief]

I have a computer that came with Win XP "Media Center Edition" (whatever that means) dating from 2005. Apart from getting a third-party antivirus (as recommended above) and shelling out for Office 2010, I have been quite the cheapskate on maintaining the unit. It is fine for browsing the internet, downloading schems, email, all that sort of stuff. I won't think of getting a new OS for it, the bloat of a modern OS would slow it to a crawl.
ff topic: Speaking of cheapskate, for my music recording I use a Mac that I got off ebay (used) about 8 years ago. Its HW is not compatible with any Mac OS that requires the Intel chipset. So it, too, is running just fine with an older system. When will I update? When the computer bursts into flames...
I have NO problems with either computer using the internet. Losing regular updates to your computer's OS may be a big thing if it's a business machine with sensitive data on it, for me the third-party antivirus will keep me going for some time into the future (I hope!).

Same as me then being the cheapskate (but if no rreason not to, whyany doifferent). And as I said I have no issues at all with using it (old dell laptop + XP) with the internet. But the Q is to do with when XP 'ends' ie on April 8th it will end, or become unupdatable and so not.. erm.. I still dont exactly know what tbh. Will it work or not? Will it start flaming?

Q: can I still use XP after April 8th? as said I dont do fash-bang-wallop stuff like games or movies or download loads of stuff at all.