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Thanks, and perhaps before I retire it will be necessary. I have found that the 'latest' just means paying to beta test someone's stuff, getting bit by the 'stinker' versions (Windows ME, anyone?), and that it is gobs cheaper to hang back one or two waves from the cutting edge. I have nine computers running XP Pro, and replacing them will take time, cross platform jumps will cost money, and I just. don't. have. the time to reinvent the wheel.

Frankly, most of the whistles and bells in later versions won't help me any, and in my profession, I don't want connectivity beyond what I have now. Forget the cloud, neither I nor my clients want all that data out there where it can be hacked.

Currently, windows keeps updating XP, and until I can't get the job done with it, I'll be using it.

It is amazing how much has changed, but most of that is aimed at the send video/facebook/piddling on the web crowd and not just working (at least not the kind of work I do), and really isn't useful to me. I prefer the more boilerplate menus and formats because they are easier to work with when you are on your eighth straight twelve to fourteen hour day with an average of four hours of sleep.

Much of what may have to be converted to carry it over is archived on thumb drives and large backup drives already. As for the machines, internal hard drives are cloned and replaced every two years, (MTBF in my case proved to be about 2 yrs, eight months, and I can do without that stress.)

I have replaced cooling fans, drives, displays, inverter boards, power boards, memory, batteries, AC adapters, and even hinges, ('board' replacement level repair isn't hard--but anyone who can fix the boards has my respect) and the machines keep on going--and the parts are affordable because there are enough machines out there being cannibalized to keep mine up.

It's better to upgrade to a newer system while both systems are working. I'm sure you understand the value of this, being able to get use to the new system, while still using the old system.

True, and eventually I will make the jump, but that won't get the job done tomorrow.

I'm waiting for a system that gets the reviews XP did, and by then it'll be a quantum leap.

I'll have to reinvent the wheel, but it'll be on a system which people will want to stick with as much as XP, so it will be around another decade or more--by then, I'll likely be retired or dead, so beyond that it won't matter.

First let me address your 25-pin problem.
Take a look at 6' USB to Parallel DB25 (25-pin) Adapter - Add a Parallel Port to your PC via USB! (Silver/Blue)

I'm changing over tax information and need to keep a working copy of Windows XP on my iMac, and I'm also looking at another laptop or iPad.
I've been told that Windows 7 has an XP generator that will allow programs that worked with XP to function with Windows 7.
But I haven't verified that, yet.
I really am sick of the virus and malware problems with Windows
and with all my military friends and retirees, I finally got convinced that the move was worth the cost.
I'm happy I made the move.

"I have replaced cooling fans, drives, displays, inverter boards, power boards, memory, batteries, AC adapters, and even hinges,
('board' replacement level repair isn't hard--but anyone who can fix the boards has my respect)
and the machines keep on going--and the parts are affordable because there are enough machines out there being cannibalized to keep mine up."

Look, I've still got an 11 year old Toshiba laptop in for repairs.
My brother and I did a mother board replacement and it worked for a couple of years.
But the dust trashed out the fan cooler vents, and after my last disassembly and reassembly, I couldn't get it to come back on.
The shop says I bent some pins on the CPU chip, and they've ordered a new one.
But I'm moving on, and I'll probably buy a new Apple laptop or an iPad to replace it.
I understand "making do" and I understand being tight on money, more than you can imagine.
But your time is worth something. And sooner or later your vision will start to give you trouble.
Seriously, start saving your money to make the move. You don't have to buy new.
Take a look at Apple Certified Refurbished Laptops. They advertise

I'm not a salesman, just a military retiree living off of about $1300 a month.
You really should give this some thought. Your time IS money.