I just got word today that the end of WindowsXP will expire in the year 2008. Is this true? I hear that Microsoft will be forceing everyone to switch to Vista. Please anyone with any info let me know. My new computer isn’t even a year old when I got it. And now Microsoft wants to change everything to the new Vista format. Thanks,Allan.
Don’t panic. As usual, rumors abound.
You have another two full years – at least – to get support from Microsoft – but Windows XP will be operating computers long after the one you now have has become obsolete.
“Microsoft appears to be making an exception to the way it normally treats “consumer products,” and has explicitly extended Windows XP Home support to “two years after the next version of this product is released,” that is, two years after the release of Windows Vista. Microsoft has also extended the Mainstream Support lifespan of other products that were on borrowed time, including Media Center Editions 2002, 2004, and 2005, and XP Tablet edition. They will all also get the two year extension, which by our estimates means that they will receive support until the end of 2008. Windows XP Professional will see support well beyond 2011.”
My Dell laptop is more than 3 years old but it can be upgraded to Vista should I want to do that. It has a P IVm chip with 1G or RAM and I believe the video card is 128 mb. I may have to upgrade the video card but all other components should work at the bottom end of the compatability ladder. So you can wait for a while, like until the Vista SP1 comes out and then do a BIOS upgrade to your computer and install the Vista software. Your newer computer should have the horsepower to use the new software. I believe if you go to Micro$oft.com you can find some software to download to your computer which will check the hardware and installed software to tell you what you might need to upgrade if you chose to install Vista.
But what about Windows updates for my computer?
Might be a good time for my use of Windows to expire as well… [}:)]
I stayed with Windows 98 too long. I had purchased software that would not load in WindowsXP. When I bought the new computer I had extra expense in new software. Sometimes I miss the old stuff that could not be updated.
Vista will have so many problems that it will be best for people to stay with XP for at least a couple years after that while they wor kout the bugs, XP will be here for a good while still.
When the support ends the updates from MS will stop. Perhaps if some security fault becomes obvious MS will put something out but there will be no operational improvements. XP is a pretty mature OS and it works reasonably well so you will not likely see much need for updates. When you do it will be when the rest of the world moves to Vista as their primary OS and then you should too.
There are still a large number of users browsing on 486 computers with Win 98 and getting along pretty well. If you want to do more than e-mail and limited browsing you will need a good set of outdated but functional software or you need to consider an upgrade which would involve hardware as well as software.
Thanks everyone. I guess you can say. Well,where on our own now. I did own my own Windoes98 untill it totaly crashed on me. Then I was forced to get WindowsXP. Loved it since. Allan.
Like was said before: WinXP will be updated and supported for at least 2 yrs after Vista’s release. Also see: http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/?p1=3223.
I wouldn’t jump on Vista anyway unless you have a good reason to do so. I’ve found most Windows OS’es become stable enough for intensive use only after the first Service Pack has been released. That’s normally the point I (and we in the company I work for) switch to the new OS.
I will be running XP for a good while into the Vista lifecycle. For the first 6 months at least Vista will only be running in test environments here at our company. Too many old apps that need to be tested before the big switch…[banghead]
Your only real problem comes when you want to install software that won’t work with XP. Since software companies want you to buy, they will continue to make software that runs on XP as long as they can. As others have noted you’re good with MS for two more years and in practical terms for at least a year or two after that. If you don’t upgrade software, you can go for many years after that.
Enjoy
Paul
Windows XP will have a long life, mainly because upgrading your OS, can be a pain. Where I work, we use Windows XP, Windows 2000, and even DOS 6.22… believe it or not. (our CAD system runs on a pair of 286-based computers, I kid you not) Anyway, I have done OS upgrades for people who were going from Windows ME or 9x, and it was always a pain… you have to have updated drivers, and software, and etc… but, maybe with VISTA all of the drivers will be native to Windows, and that will eliminate the whole hardware-qualifying thing. Well, who knows at this point. I am sticking with XP for now…
The “don’t worry” message works for me.
For the last couple years my desktop gets older and older.
I came very close to buying a replacement new deskop last summer. I was prepared knowingly to commit to XP for a good long time. The selection just didn’t get made, and now I’ll probably wait a good long time before letting vista onto my desk.
For myself, I think such a large system should be widely tested and publicly reported to be competant. THEN I’ll let it into my life. These public reports are just now beginning to appear.
John
Another option, which I have considered…
If you act now, you can buy a computer “Designed” (or more properly, outfitted…) for vista, but with XP actually installed, and a certificate for upgrading to Vista. (Some merchants are charging a nominal fee for that, but check around…)
Then, you get new hardware which is capable of running vista, but loaded with a stable system.
If I take this option, I would exercise the option to “Obtain” Vista before too long, but not install it untill SP 1 or 2 is available.
Just remember, you typically need twice what the minimum hardware, especially memory, recommendation from M$ to run the OS without performance penalties.
Or, if your interest in computers runs deeper than User, you can install Linux on your older machine and use that instead. BUt be advised, it does need operation intervention to get everything you can get from windows pretty much by just installing it. So if you arent interested in fiddling with the works, then dont bother.
SOftware wise, there are a lot of solutions available for free for Linux, such as Open Office, a MS Office work a-like, and others. There is also a program which is supposed to let you run WIndows based games in Linux, also, but I have not tried that yet.
I just ran the Vista Advisor program to see how my two-year-old system would fare. Everything is basically okay except for the disk space. I have my disks partitioned, and I will have to repartition in order to get enough disk space for a Vista upgrade. Other than that, I’m good to go. Not that I plan on going anytime soon…[#dots]
Just how much Disk space?
I have over 5GB of free disk space on my C: drive where XP is installed. Vista wants 15 GB of space for the upgrade - that’s over and above what XP already uses. Vista says that it prefers a partition with at least 40GB of space.
That isn’t a problem for me, but I will have to reorganize my partitions if I ever decide to upgrade to Vista on this system.
Well then Microsoft can just take their so-called vista and shove it where the sun don’t shine. LOL. My computer has a 100GB Hard drive. I hate useing Hard drive space. The more you use,the more your computer is much slower.
Not true. Only when your HD is maybe 85 to 90 percent full (depending on the size) will it slow down, and only in certain RAM-hogging apps. Just make sure you defrag your HD when needed and use a disk cleanup program frequently as well. Your Internet pages will also load faster if you regularly delete Temporary Internet Files.