Still on Windows XP? Here’s Some Bad Advice

YAHOO tech ^ | Mar 28, 2014 | Rafe Needleman

[Las Vegas Dave]

Windows XP is dying. On April 8, Microsoft will stop supporting the ancient operating system that was released in 2001 — and at one point was used by 400 million people.

You might think that an operating system that was actually engineered in the late 90s would be fully obsolete and unused by now. After all, since XP came out, Microsoft has released several major replacement versions: Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 (recently upgraded to Windows 8.1).

But there’s something about Windows XP. It’s basic, stable, fast enough, and good enough for a lot of people. It’s still running on more than 10 percent of the world’s computers, and it’s huge in China.

Still, it’s time. It’s hard to keep an operating system this old up to snuff in today’s online environment. XP works, but it’s not built to the same security level as modern operating systems. Microsoft doesn’t want to keep writing new security upgrades for it, so on April 8, it’s stopping. No more security updates. No more support. Your XP computer will still work, but Microsoft won’t help you anymore. Microsoft is pretty harsh about it: “XP cannot be considered safe to use after support ends.”

ends.”

Microsoft urges you to upgrade. There’s even a site that tells you when your XP world will end: AmIRunningXP.com. Microsoft also has more info on what "end of support" means. To be fair, moving off XP would be a smart thing to do. Newer operating systems are easier to use (at least most of them), they run the cool new apps, and they’re definitely safer. But how do you move from an old computer that’s running XP into the modern era? I’ve heard a lot of advice on how to make the transition. Not all of it good.

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/still-on-windows-xp-heres-some-bad-advice-80911845810.html

[Westbrook]

> Don’t forget to turn off sharing and other stuff and do not
> allow it to share your other resources. Also make it a part
> of a different workgroup.

Excellent advice!

Any sharing you need to do can be done over the network using rsync with -c option (checksum).

Nice thing about Apple OS is that it’s Posix compliant, so any Linux scripts you have that are Posix compliant will run on the Apple. Very nice.

For the Windows guest, use Cygwin (FREE! at http://www.cygwin.com/ ), which gives you basically the entire Linux command line to run in Windows, including bash scripting and development software (gcc, g++, make, etc).

[ducttape45]

I have a tower with hard drive racks installed. I have interchangeable hard drives. One is XP with all the current updates, one is W7. I use the XP hard drive for just a few items, most notably scanning since my old Fujitsu scanner will only work on a 32-bit OS. I don't go on the Internet unless absolutely necessary.

I use the W7 hard drive for everything else. Might be something worth looking into.

[Carriage Hill]

I enjoy these threads.

[SpeakerToAnimals]

My 2004 XP laptop is only used for tuning the tecGT engine management on my MR2. I turned off the wi fi so there is no security threat. My Win 8.1 tablet is used for everything else.

[molson209]

buying memory for an older computer can cost almost as much as buying a new computer ,so don’t fall into the money pit

[WilliamofCarmichael]

RE: ". . . anti-virus and malware companies are unable to block the attacks, until after the attack has occurred and a counter-measure has been created."

In general isn't that the way it's been always?

[SunTzuWu]

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I don’t like having to learn new tricks just to be trendy.

Not so much trendy as it is an arms race and XP is being left behind.

It’s hard to keep an operating system this old up to snuff in today’s online environment. XP works, but it’s not built to the same security level as modern operating systems. Microsoft doesn’t want to keep writing new security upgrades for it, so on April 8, it’s stopping. No more security updates. No more support. Your XP computer will still work, but Microsoft won’t help you anymore. Microsoft is pretty harsh about it: “XP cannot be considered safe to use after support ends.”

[discostu]

In the world of computers that’s 3 generations back. Most great grandfathers are ancient.

[Leaning Right]

Novice questioner here. You said your XP in now running Windows7. How did you do that? Did you just buy a Windows7 disk and install it on your computer?

And what happened to all the programs, files, etc. that you had on that computer? Does a Windows7 install wipe everything clean?

[Westbrook]

> You said your XP in now running Windows7.
> How did you do that?

See ... http://ww35.virtualbox.com/

> Does a Windows7 install wipe everything clean?

Not if your XP is running as a virtual guest on your W7 system.

[SunkenCiv]

I remember the stink that arose when XP came out, people swearing to stick with 98 or 95, bitching about problems, driver failures, etc. MS would be hard pressed to have a more successful OS rollout, in retrospect.

[SunkenCiv]

XP Embedded will be supported for a while yet.

[hattend]

Where can I get a free copy of Win7 upgrade?

[Abby4116]

I bought an upgrade disc (3 user) but did a clean install on a new drive. You do have to reinstall your programs if you do it that way but the only program that I could not install was my old MS Office 97 (it can't be installed on any later versions of windows - they want you to buy newer Office). My files were still on the old drive but after I installed the programs I could move the files over.

[woodenickel]

Computer repair shop owner here. Tips and advice:
1 Yes you need to upgrade or replace your XP machines. The security issues will prevent you from logging into your bank or purchasing things online.

2 You can not upgrade from XP to 7. You will need to save your data and do a clean install.

3 If you machine has a dual core processor (or better) and 2 GB of ram it will run great and you will be a happy camper. Microsoft says you can get by with a much slower processor and only 1 GB of ram, but it will not be a pleasant experience.

4 For Windows 8 users. Check out a program called “Classic Shell” it’s free (you can donate to the developer and I do every time I install it on a customers computer). It allows your windows 8 machine look and act like Windows 7 or XP.

[ConservativeInPA]

In general isn't that the way it's been always?

That is correct. What is different about this situation is that the bad guys are waiting to launch their attacks and there is no support from Microsoft. If an OS update us required to remediate the attack, many users are hosed. Their fix is to move to a new OS after the attack. A lack of support from Microsoft also effects the anti-virus companies. With that said, I am not super concerned with migrating home users. In the business world there are different issues; some not even security related. For instance, the cost to support a single desktop platform vs. multiple desktop platforms.

[Georgia Girl 2]

I’m upgrading to Windows 7. I hear 8.1 is a pain.

[Abby4116]

buying memory for an older computer can cost almost as much as buying a new computer ,so don’t fall into the money pit

Through upgrading anything on that pc. It is an Abit board, P4 2.8 with 4 g ram. Have 3 hard drives installed in a tower case but don't use dual boot. Bios changes with SATA drives works fine. My son uses it to surf the net and watch Netflix.

I'm using a Toshiba laptop with win 8.1.

[shooter223]

I have an old compaq desktop. Intel Celeron 2.70GHz 376MB of RAM. Will win7 run on my machine?

[Organic Panic]

Microsoft can buy me all brand new CNC and various other engineering, lab, and shop equipment then I will buy a new window 8 crap box. But since no one who tells me to upgrade wants to buy me 500,000 bucks of new shop machinery I will be sticking with XP.