Access to 9x/NT updates was removed circa 2011, as Microsoft switched off Windows Update v4. Servers require maintenance you know...

Windows 2000 can use the final version of the Windows Update Website, but it is a pain to get going due to the certificates being out of date. And you need to get onto Windows update to get the certificate update.... Took me hours to find the manual download.

We do not know how long Microsoft intend to keep the Windows Update website online. Presumably until the servers running it need a major overhaul, and are simply shut down.

I was talking about a few people I know in real life One refusenik I know only recently upgraded to XP from Windows 98! I am not kidding! He still has the 98 PC and he uses it. He also uses dial up internet as well. Honestly, is he living in 1999 or 2014? He knows about XP support ending but refuses to do anything about it and he's afraid of any modern technology. Last year he took the Windows 98 PC to a local independent computer shop to be repaired. They must have been laughing their heads off They only recently bought a flat screen TV; their old telly was a 1980s one that was so small you needed a pair of binoculars to watch it.

The End Is Nigh for Windows XP: These Anti-Virus Software Products Will Continue to Protect XP after the End of Support
On 8th April 2014, the time will finally have come for Microsoft to stop its support services for Windows XP and cease to provide security updates and other forms of assistance for the operating system. Nevertheless, a large number of providers of security software will continue to support Windows XP after this date. The following article tells you which products will continue to provide support, how long they plan to do so and what you need to look out for when it comes to protecting your XP system!
http://www.av-test.org/en/news/news-...tect-xp-after/

If anyone's still using XP then it's worth having a look at that article above because some antivirus providers will be ending support for XP as early as next year, e.g. Avira, so alternative protection will have to be obtained. In the longer term, the number of antivirus providers will diminish so it's worthwhile starting to considering alternatives to XP such as Linux (like Zorin and other variants), Apple computers, Windows 7 (supported up until 2020) or Windows 9 when it arrives. I did a search earlier on and I could only find one reference to support being offered for Windows 98.

If anyone's still using XP and really hasn't considered the alternatives or workarounds yet, they can't really blame anyone but themselves for their predicament.

Yes, Vista users, we are looking at you next. Tick-tock.

If you don't plan on replacing that machine in the next three years, what are you going to do?

tl;dr version: install Avast

Linux works and no 3rd party can write off your machine like Microsoft try to.
The weird thing is that as Microsoft market share goes down planned obsolescence might accelerate.

I'm sure that for consumers the W8.1 tablet farce is also part of that plan.
At least for now, with so few people using it, it has not yet got enough share to be financially worthwhile making obsolete.

I''ve been looking into upgrading Vista to Windows 7 but I've see how expensive it is and I'm put off from buying it.I've also read about fake product keys, buying from third party sellers can be dodgy etc.I just want to upgrade but I chicken out.Where's the best place to buy an upgrade that's a reliable seller and not too expensive?

Any suggestions would be welcome

That's true and it's good to see that some antivirus solution providers are going up to 2017-2019 before stopping support for XP. That said, that time ought perhaps to be used as an opportunity to find a new OS because the lack of antivirus and firewall support really will kill off XP in the end.


Here's Microsoft's obsolescence timetable http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/lifecycle and my own view is that the successful OSes, XP and Win 7, ought to have their lifespan extended by 3 years to make up for the complete clusterf_cks of Vista and especially Win 8 although I don't expect they'll do that. Indeed, that Microsoft are still having to sell Win 7 Professional to business clients illustrates the complete mess that they've made in the transition over to the relatively unpopular Win 8.


Here's a guide on how to do it http://www.pcworld.com/article/24740...windows_7.html and you can get the upgrade DVD or download from sources here https://www.google.co.uk/#q=upgrade+...ows+7&tbm=shop although you'll have to ensure that you get the correct 32 or 64 bit version (here's how to tell http://pcsupport.about.com/od/window...bit-64-bit.htm). Alternatively, you could ask a local PC repairer in your area to source and install Windows 7 for you. Like XP, it's a good operating system and I've found it easy to use.

Similar considerations apply to doing an XP -> Windows 7 upgrade but that's best done with a clean install after backing up folders and settings, etc.

My main computer is Windows 7 and i currently have my XP computer networked with it. I will be replacing XP with Linux, will i be able to interact with the Linux OS via Windows 7 as in having it part of a network???

For those keeping XP for the time being I've found Belaric Advisor very useful -
http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

This not only does a complete audit of you machine and gives you a record of all the software licences but importantly will tell you which applications are not at the latest versions. This then allows you to ensure you have the latest security fixes in place to reduce the risk of exploitation.

They already did that more-or-less with XP (two and a half years). It should have died originally in about October 2011.

[quote=alanwarwic;72136951]Every new OS since XP was simply a corporate method of increasing sales.[quote]

Of course. Microsoft is a commercial software company. If they don't keep producing commercial software they will die.


Obviously. The idea is to offer something new that Microsoft thinks is better and then hope that consumers agree. Sometimes this works, sometimes not. When it doesn't Microsoft then has to refine to something that matches or more closely matches what consumers want. All perfectly rational.

OTOH, if consumers still don't care for what Microsoft has to offer they are free to look elsewhere - as many have done and do.

Yes Not as easily as XP & Win7 but I have recently got a Ubuntu-based Linux system working quite happily with Win7 systems ... including printing and file-sharing

setting up filesharing so a windows box can get stuff off a linux box isn't mega hard but its a bit more involved as you'll need to install samba and mess with the config file but i'm sure theres nice tools available to reduce the pain

...and here are some relevant links:

https://www.samba.org/
http://www.howtogeek.com/74459/how-t...-the-easy-way/

That said, if only the Win 7 machine is being used to access the internet (and possible source of threats), is there really a need to change the operating system on the old XP machine if it's only ever going to share files on the internal home network?

Windows XP upgraders - watch your peripherals drivers!

This has probably been covered already, I'm not familiar with the thread. But either way, upgraders to Windows 7 or Windows 8 need to check their peripherals drivers especially if upgrading to a 64 bit version.

When I upgraded from XP recently, I discovered that my aged but excellent Epson Perfection 2450 scanner has no driver support for Windows 7 or 8 64 bit and will not work. Being a miser, I was unwilling to purchase either a new scanner or a third party driver costing £40, so I reinstalled Windows 7 as the 32 bit version to make it work (Dual booted with Windows 8 64 bit).

So watch out, upgraders, as the Windows 7/8 upgrade tools won't necessarily tell you about your external peripherals. If in doubt, install the 32 bit version to have a better chance of getting compatible drivers.

it just takes a bit of arsing to get that scanner working with win 8 see http://www.forumswindows8.com/archive/t-8363.html

When I bought my current PC a few years ago, it had Windows 7 32 bit installed, and 4GB of RAM (3.25 usable), but it also came with a copy of Windows 7 64 bit. I recently decided I might as well up the memory to 8GB and install the 64 bit OS (along with Ubuntu 64 as a dual boot).

I have an Epson Perfection 2450 Photo which was originally installed on XP, and worked fine on Windows 7 32, so I was a bit dissapointed when it failed to install automatically, even though it doesn't get much use these days (I find a digital camera is often more convenient!).

However, although Epson don't tell you, the Epson Perfection 4990 64 bit driver works. I can't say for sure that everything will work exactly as before (I don't use it enough), but I have tried it both as a normal scanner and as a transparency scanner, and it all seems fine. I'm guessing that there is a reasonable chance this driver would also work under Windows 8, but I'm not letting that abomination anywhere near one of my PCs!

Thanks for the info guys, that may come in handy! I just wanted to flag up a few of the risks in upgrading from XP (which is normally 32 bit) to 7 or 8, especially the 64 bit versions.

I too don't often use the scanner but when I do, it doesn't take long to do a reboot into W7/32 where I've also installed my photo/scanner software. I have Linux on a bootable disc too, and needed it recently!

Scanners and webcams are the worst offenders when it comes to getting driver upgrades IMHO. Also, if you have bought a cheap no-name USB peripheral, don't expect driver support in Windows 7 or 8.

That reminds me - some older motherboards made by some manufacturers won't recognise the boot sector on the Windows 7 DVD (you get a Code 5 error). But they will recognise the boot sector on a Windows Vista disk. It's not a driver issue, it's a CMOS issue. The way round it is to make a copy of the Win 7 disk, and make it bootable with the Vista boot file. It's not a common problem but it's worth mentioning.

If your using an up to date distro, like Mint or Ubuntu you very rarely need to worry too much about Samba nowadays.
It's usually a matter of right clicking a folder that you want to share and going into the sharing options. If Samba isn't installed already it usually will install it there and then, and configure it for you.

It's only in less 'worked on' distros that you need to guddle about in config files yourself.

Mind you, some regard guddling about as half the fun of using Linux.

Not sure about printing, as I haven't tried to print anything from a Linux machine for years?
Back in the day you had to mess around with CUPS, but I'm sure things have moved on here as well?

They have The hardest thing I found (sharing Win printers on a LINUX box) was getting the right driver for LINUX. But even the manufacturers' websites solved that one (Samsung and Canon for me). You may also have to get LINUX to remember your (Windows) credentials on a permanent basis ... or set up a separate user id just for your LINUX box :-p

Sounds like another trick to hurry people along.

http://mobile.eweek.com/security/bug...-machines.html

However the side swipe caught out hundreds of payment machines.

Hmmm. I'm not sure what to make of that one. If it was done deliberately then it was a highly cynical and deeply irresponsible thing to do. They're now trying to quietly kill off Vista as well. For example, Office 2013 will only work with Win 7 and Win 8.

Microsoft pushed out a bad update to its Security Essentials software, crashing Windows XP machines and underscoring the fragility of the Windows XP ecosystem.
An update to Microsoft Security Essentials, the software company's free anti-malware software, crashed Windows XP computers last week, causing business disruptions to customers still relying on the outdated—and, in many cases, now-unsupported—operating system. The update caused a variety of Microsoft operating systems to restart and then fail to reboot, displaying an arcane "MsMpEng.exe application error" message, according to online posts by affected users.
http://mobile.eweek.com/security/bug...-machines.html