It's The End of the Road for Windows XP, Office 2003, IE8

[burkhartmj]

I guess I'm too old and ignorant on todays systems. I can't stand seeing 600MB of memory being hogged on and idle Win7 desktop vs 80MB for the same on XP, and not knowing where it's all going even after disabling similar services & background processes. I guess I'm too used to the old days when machines behaved like machines. I just hate it when I try to do some file delete/copy/cut/paste/rename work, and often win7 explorer denies access to some file, until I leave it idle for many minutes, as if it's doing a lot scanning or some such garbage in the background, even though I have no indexing, virus-scanning ... etc. or anything. It's a been a sad dark age for computers ever since you can repeat the same steps twice and not see the exact same results every time.

Can't speak to age, but you're definitely ignorant. Windows Vista, 7 and 8, do application caching, so a lot [not all] of that 520MB difference [assuming you're correct, never had an 80MB idle XP myself] is actively speeding up the responsiveness of the OS. On the flipside of that, I haven't seen a computer with less than 2GB of memory since late XP days, so probably around 6 or 7 years, so 600MB isn't going to kill you. As to your other assertions, I'll take active measures to maintain system and file integrity over a little less annoyance on rare occasions any day. The fact of the matter is that computers are complex machines, and while you may be repeating the same action twice, the computer is doing other things for the sake of self-maintenance and security.

On a separate note, I don't understand this obsessive love for XP that everyone on Tom's seems to have, nor do I understand why y'all expect a for-profit company to support a 12 year old operating system indefinitely. We've known since it was released that it had an expiration date, because it's software made by a company. As of 7 years ago we KNEW that expiration date [which got pushed back like 3 years because people wouldn't get their butts in gear]. Does Apple support OSX 10.1 [spoiler alert: they don't support anything older than 10.7, which came out in 2011]? Hell, is there a Linux distro out there from around 2001 that's still supported? No, because it's insane to expect any software to be supported that long.

 

[ss202sl]

I'm running a Dell Inspiron 1720 from 1998 with Core 2 Duo T7500 2.2ghz, nVidia 8600m GT 256mb, and 4gb DDR2 667mhz, with Windows 7 64-bit and can run games like Starcraft 2, Diablo 3, and Rift, on medium settings. The only upgrades I have done has been from 2gb to 4gb RAM, Windows Vista 32-bit (didn't know i could opt to keep XP at the time) to Windows 7 and a SSHD.

Don't be so quick to discount that laptops capabilities, a few upgrades and you're good to go.[/quote]

This is funny because the Core 2 Duo T7500 wasn't released until 2006, and the Dell Inspiron 1720 wasn't out until 2007.

 

[wardler]

What several of you aren't seeing is that there are legitimate business cases where some companies anchored to Windows XP CANNOT move on.

Quck and to the point, imaging running machinery that costs millions to replace that relies on NetBEUI to be programmed and updated. It is cost prohibitive for some of these companies to continue to exist with the necessity if installing IP-compatible hardware based on programming languages that may not even exist anymore by former companies that created them. In a lot of industrial companies, obsolete is how they make their ends meet and pay their staffing. Some of these companies are stuck with XP. The dollar requirements to upgrade would force them to close their doors.

And those businesses have failed to prepare. They will not make that mistake again if they survive it this time. Even the IT strategy taught at community colleges and high schools across the globe constantly preach being ready for growth and changes. We should know by now that tech is changing massively every year and CIOs for these huge industries should know a lot better than I do! Manufacturing equipment can be modified.

The real tragedy here is that in the US these ignorant companies will most likely get BAILED OUT on our dime so they can do the same thing again 10 years from now. Companies that make astronomical failures need to disappear. Others will take their place that are more prepared to provide that service or industry.

 

[Master467]

Good riddance, it was nice that Microsoft supported XP that long, but it's time to move on. The transitioning period for everyone has passed.

If you cannot pay 100 dollars for Win7 or Win8 for the next 4-6 years there is something definitely wrong. If you really NEED XP for some reason use a virtual machine with your copy, but I really doubt that anyone NEEDS XP.

For those saying they need to get new computers to upgrade, you don't - Win 8.1 (I know, I resisted as long as possible too..but once you install Classic Shell it's pretty good) is running just find on my Atom convertible tablet with a 1.33ghz proc and 2 gb of ram and a 64 gb ssd - and it will even run Office 2013 pro.

Think about all the old x64 CPU's out there that can't run even vista. These are generally the PC's that company's use, because they are cheap as dirt.

This whole thing is blown out of proportion, though. Its not a big deal at all. Don't download stupid things and you won't get viruses. Its STILL that simple.

 

[red77star]

Last Night i got shit load of security updates for Windows 7 meaning your Windows and Office according to MS is never secured therefore makes no difference. I almost believe that Tuesday Security updates are nothing but smoke and mirror to make Customers think they need to upgrade or *downgrade in case of Windows 8.

 

[red77star]

Speaking of IE8. It is a shit to start with from day 1 along with IE9 and IE10. IE11 is better so i recommend Firefox and Chrome anyways. Office 2003 is by mile better than Office 2013 which has the most useless interface ever. Windows XP runs all the latest software and games just fine, i still prefer Windows XP x64 which in my book is the best OS ever release along with Windows 2000 Professional.

 

[RCguitarist]

I am keeping my pc dual boot with XP and 7 because I have older games that don't work well with 7. Also because I like to organize my music files in a way where I want to move them around in folder and have them sitting in different clusters. Win 7 forces you to keep them all lined up in it's choices of order that it forces you to choose from. You can't just have files floating around in the folders.

 

[red77star]

Here is truth nobody can deny not even MS. If DX11 was magically available for Windows XP/ XP x64 market share of Windows XP from 29% would go up to 50%. The rest would be Windows 7 running by businesses and marginal % for a flop called Windows 8.x.

 

[red77star]

Whoever tells you that 2GB is enough for Windows 7/8x is absolute bullshit. Once you start running apps or games it is effin slide show.

 

[Cryio]

Wait wait. So Microsoft pulled the plug on IE6, 7 and 8 on one go?

And if yes, IE7 and IE8 retired from Vista/7 too?

 

[burkhartmj]

Whoever tells you that 2GB is enough for Windows 7/8x is absolute bullshit. Once you start running apps or games it is effin slide show.

Any issues you run into with 2GB on Windows 7 or 8 are the same issues you'd run into on XP. If you try to open huge Illustrator files or play modern games then 2GB won't be enough, but that has absolutely nothing to do with the operating system. My first computer build in highschool was a Core 2 Duo with 2GB of RAM and it ran Win7 just fine until I added more memory for games and VM's. The vast majority of users with only 2GB of memory won't need more than Word and a browser open at a time. Anyone who needs more than that can throw down the 30 bucks to get 2 more gigs.

 

[razvan_mz]

I simply don't care, and on a very old sempron, doing updates took a very long time. I'm glad I don't have to install them regulary, every time I start that old PC.

 

[notsleep]

win 8.1 with update 1 + classic shell = desktop heaven. who needs xp anymore?

 

[koss64]

So yesterday I installed windows 8.1 fully updated with all the previous users data in less than two hours. On XP starting from scratch(SP2) and installing all the updates and service packs, software etc. is a full day or day and a half. XP is now a pain in the ass that is slow and most of the internet is slowly phasing it out(just try and use IE8 and go on yahoo and Gmail). On the note of security , woe onto the persons that wish to bury their heads in the sand and claim that all they have to do is change their antivirus and not go on certain sites to stay safe, you can only patch a leaking boat so much before it sinks. Ask yourself this question, if all of your online accounts or locally stored data were compromised right now, what would the cost be to get back some normalcy in your life? Weigh that with a new computer.
Also the person with the $6000 plotter, your organization needs to but fire under HP's ass ,move on or, take those computers off the network and use it locally, last thing you want is those computers compromising your entire network.

 

[anonymous_user]

Gotta buy a new laptop just to switch out of XP kind of sucks. My laptop is over 6 years old with old with Core 2 Duo @ 2.53 ghz and 2 Gb ram really can't handle vista nor 7 because the increased ram and cpu usage.

I'm calling BS on that. I am able to run Windows 8.1 just fine on my desktop with an Athlon 64 X2 4200+ (socket 939) and 2GB of DDR RAM.

 

[FFH]

XP was the first windows OS that I really liked. My first computer had it, and the UI was a nice change from the windows 98 computer I used before. I'm using windows 7 now, so I'm not concerned about this problem.

 

[holyknight1121]

Gotta buy a new laptop just to switch out of XP kind of sucks. My laptop is over 6 years old with old with Core 2 Duo @ 2.53 ghz and 2 Gb ram really can't handle vista nor 7 because the increased ram and cpu usage.

I'm running a Dell Inspiron 1720 from 1998 with Core 2 Duo T7500 2.2ghz, nVidia 8600m GT 256mb, and 4gb DDR2 667mhz, with Windows 7 64-bit and can run games like Starcraft 2, Diablo 3, and Rift, on medium settings. The only upgrades I have done has been from 2gb to 4gb RAM, Windows Vista 32-bit (didn't know i could opt to keep XP at the time) to Windows 7 and a SSHD.

Don't be so quick to discount that laptops capabilities, a few upgrades and you're good to go.

Yeah, that's pretty good. Maybe my cpu is really burnt out or something. I can barely watch Twitch on vista 32-bit and my cpu starts at an idle 78 C. Yeah just Twitch on Chrome. After about 5 minutes my cpu temp reaches around 94 C. I also probably a graphics card that's worse, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3300.

 

[koss64]

What several of you aren't seeing is that there are legitimate business cases where some companies anchored to Windows XP CANNOT move on.

Quck and to the point, imaging running machinery that costs millions to replace that relies on NetBEUI to be programmed and updated. It is cost prohibitive for some of these companies to continue to exist with the necessity if installing IP-compatible hardware based on programming languages that may not even exist anymore by former companies that created them. In a lot of industrial companies, obsolete is how they make their ends meet and pay their staffing. Some of these companies are stuck with XP. The dollar requirements to upgrade would force them to close their doors.

Dedicated industrial controller systems such as those shouldn't have access to the Internet anyway, so the lack of security updates shouldn't effect those systems anyway. The problem is companies that still have their office workstations running Windows XP, and those systems are connected to the Internet. Microsoft warned that they were pulling the plug on XP 7 years ago, that was plenty of time to either upgrade your software or explore virtualization or emulation options if you did have software that couldn't run in any environment newer than Windows XP.

If you absolutely must run XP natively for some piece of software to work, then your best option now is to run it on a computer in an isolated network segment that can't be accessed from the outside. Otherwise, you can do what some big corporations and governments are doing and buy extended XP support from Microsoft, though that will cost a pretty penny and is really only a stop-gap measure to buy you some time until you can complete your migration to Windows 7.

I agree if the computer has to have XP then keep it offline and control access as it has now become a security liability. The last thing that company needs is to have their name plastered in the papers like Target because they were hacked through an outdated unsecure system.

 

[holyknight1121]

Gotta buy a new laptop just to switch out of XP kind of sucks. My laptop is over 6 years old with old with Core 2 Duo @ 2.53 ghz and 2 Gb ram really can't handle vista nor 7 because the increased ram and cpu usage.

I'm calling BS on that. I am able to run Windows 8.1 just fine on my desktop with an Athlon 64 X2 4200+ (socket 939) and 2GB of DDR RAM.

IONO maybe my cpu is just really burnt out. It runs up to 94 C when I open Twitch on vista 32-bit.

 

[Cryio]

Gotta buy a new laptop just to switch out of XP kind of sucks. My laptop is over 6 years old with old with Core 2 Duo @ 2.53 ghz and 2 Gb ram really can't handle vista nor 7 because the increased ram and cpu usage.

Your PC/laptop could handle W8.1 easily even if was 10 years old. And I'm being serious here.

 

[koss64]

"On Tuesday Microsoft released the last of its updates for Windows XP and Office 2003. From here on out, customers still clinging to the decrepit software will have to rely on third-party products to keep them somewhat safe from hackers."
And how much is that going to cost tax payers?

Not true. FREE support has ended. Several organisations are continuing to get updates from Microsoft, we just have to pay for them (mine included - NHS in Britain. I understand the Dutch government has done similar).

 

[edogawa]

@belardo Your business has had many years to invest into a new and better plotter with support for the latest operating systems.

 

[jase240]

Gotta buy a new laptop just to switch out of XP kind of sucks. My laptop is over 6 years old with old with Core 2 Duo @ 2.53 ghz and 2 Gb ram really can't handle vista nor 7 because the increased ram and cpu usage.

I'm running a Dell Inspiron 1720 from 1998 with Core 2 Duo T7500 2.2ghz, nVidia 8600m GT 256mb, and 4gb DDR2 667mhz, with Windows 7 64-bit and can run games like Starcraft 2, Diablo 3, and Rift, on medium settings. The only upgrades I have done has been from 2gb to 4gb RAM, Windows Vista 32-bit (didn't know i could opt to keep XP at the time) to Windows 7 and a SSHD.

Don't be so quick to discount that laptops capabilities, a few upgrades and you're good to go.

Yeah, that's pretty good. Maybe my cpu is really burnt out or something. I can barely watch Twitch on vista 32-bit and my cpu starts at an idle 78 C. Yeah just Twitch on Chrome. After about 5 minutes my cpu temp reaches around 94 C. I also probably a graphics card that's worse, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3300.

I'm sorry but you're on vista?? If you're on vista and want to say you need a new computer to upgrade you are way off.

Vista uses more resources than windows 7 and windows 8.

 

[jase240]

Here is truth nobody can deny not even MS. If DX11 was magically available for Windows XP/ XP x64 market share of Windows XP from 29% would go up to 50%. The rest would be Windows 7 running by businesses and marginal % for a flop called Windows 8.x.

The XP market share was at 49-50% just less than a year ago. DX11 isn't a big factor, most games still use DX9.

Most people got scared by MS to upgrade and the smart ones now have Windows 7.

In my opinion Windows 7 would be today's version of XP.
Both OS's have proven themselves worthy and I regret that XP has to fall. But I say Windows 7 isn't far from what XP felt like.

 

[Martell1977]

I'm running a Dell Inspiron 1720 from 1998 with Core 2 Duo T7500 2.2ghz, nVidia 8600m GT 256mb, and 4gb DDR2 667mhz, with Windows 7 64-bit and can run games like Starcraft 2, Diablo 3, and Rift, on medium settings. The only upgrades I have done has been from 2gb to 4gb RAM, Windows Vista 32-bit (didn't know i could opt to keep XP at the time) to Windows 7 and a SSHD.

Don't be so quick to discount that laptops capabilities, a few upgrades and you're good to go.[/quote]

This is funny because the Core 2 Duo T7500 wasn't released until 2006, and the Dell Inspiron 1720 wasn't out until 2007.

LOL, meant 2008, not sure what I was thinking when I wrote that. What I get for typing while distracted.Bought the computer in January 2008. DOH!
(went back and corrected it...)