What you need to know about Windows XP
Windows XP is retiring at the end of the month, like all its predecessors. After seven years of service, Microsoft is ending sale of the operating system to PC manufacturers. It sounds scary but every dark cloud has a silver lining.
The news comes as a big disappointment to those of who have come to trust the system, which we have grown to love and still favor over the troublesome Microsoft Vista. Since its release, the average user has spent 8000 hours in front of their PCs connected to the Internet.
If you are not prepared to go down the path of upgrading to Windows Vista, what are you options after the cut-off date other than switching to Mac OS X or Linux?
Getting Support for Windows XP Problems
There is some hope that Windows will continue to offer support for the numerous technical issues that users face everyday with XP, until 2014. However, support may just be the bare minimum and difficult to get hold of.
You may want to purchase a premium tech support service to get around this problem or purchase software to keep your registry in tact. Or you can search on tech forums as there is a good chance if you have a problem that other users will also have the same problem far easier than asking Microsoft for support
Acquiring XP on New PC
If you have your heart set out for a XP after the deadline , you will still be able to purchase a machine with it preinstalled despite Microsoft’s cut off date.
Smart vendors who have an inventory of unused licenses, and same goes for other retailers, will still be able to sell you machine with XP preinstalled.
Juggling Operating Systems
A second alternative method of getting XP on a new machine is through the peculiar practice of downgrade rights. In this way a PC manufacturer who has the permission of Microsoft through downgrade rights, can sell you a machine with XP installed on it. Technically this is done where the machine previously had Vista on it, but was then downgraded to Vista before it was sold
If this is the case, you’ll be supplied with the discs for XP and it’s drivers, as well as the same discs for Vista, so you can re-upgrade at a later date if you decide to. Dell have confirmed that they will make this option open to customers, but it only lasts out until January 31st next year.
‘Limited Hardware Capabilities’
There is an alternative legal way of getting your hands on XP. That is purchase a PC that has ‘limited hardware capabilities,’ a term that Microsoft has phrased for machines that lack the muscle power such as slow processor or limited memory, to run Vista. Laptops such as the Asus EEE lack both processor power and hard-disk space to run Windows Vista. Instead these machines must run XP.
XP Still Has Life Yet
To tell the truth, XP lives on. You can still buy it until at least June 2010, which will probably be extended, and you’ll still get support until 2014. That’s a long time to say goodbye to your favorite operating system, although you need to be aware that eventually you’re going to have to make the switch.
Last 5 posts by Kay Brenner
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