Why do people still use XP?

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It's almost 2011 now. Why do people still use XP on their powerful monsters?
I have an old computer (Pentium 4@ 1.5GHz Overclocked to 1.8 GHz, with on board graphics, and just 256MB of DDR1 RAM, don't want to upgrade hardware because I'm poor and unemployed) and I have a reason to use XP, but I've seen people with super configurations and 8 GB+ RAM use XP64. Why? I thought Windows 7 looks much better than XP (even after installing 3rd party themes on XP), is more secure than XP (at least microsoft claims this), is faster or at par with XP in most operations (google search about XP vs Win7 benchmarks reveals this), and can run almost all of XP software.
Just curious :)
 
A lot of people like to stick with what they are comfortable using. I'm sure that some were concerned with driver and software support. And frankly, it's not cheap to buy a new operating system. Unless you have have to buy a new OS anyway, there's not a necessity to shell out the money to upgrade.
 
Windows 7 is written for people that are too retarded to own a computer but bought one anyway. :pt1cable:

Windows 7 is written to keep stupid users away from property settings that can disrupt the normal operation of the computer if set incorrectly.

Windows 7 was written with a more colorful user interface so women would like it, "because it's pretty."

Windows 7 was written so ignorant people wouldn't need to learn anything about how to use a computer, but could still get it to do something useful.

Windows 7 is designed to hide your daily activities using the computer better.

Windows 7 was written to boost the Microsoft bank accounts by billions of dollars.


Windows XP has most settings available with only a right-click.

Windows XP allows talented people to customize their machines easily, and it will still work.

Windows XP "Windows Explorer" shows you your drives and contents with one click.

Windows XP won't waste your whole day trying to setup a simple home network, that works.

Windows XP can be setup with "pretty colors" too.

Windows XP isn't making Microsoft any more money. :cry:




 
It's almost 2011 now. Why do people still use XP on their powerful monsters?
I have an old computer (Pentium 4@ 1.5GHz Overclocked to 1.8 GHz, with on board graphics, and just 256MB of DDR1 RAM, don't want to upgrade hardware because I'm poor and unemployed) and I have a reason to use XP, but I've seen people with super configurations and 8 GB+ RAM use XP64. Why? I thought Windows 7 looks much better than XP (even after installing 3rd party themes on XP), is more secure than XP (at least microsoft claims this), is faster or at par with XP in most operations (google search about XP vs Win7 benchmarks reveals this), and can run almost all of XP software.
Just curious :)

Well I use XP today for various reasons, I actually presently dual boot between WinXP Pro 32bit and WinVista Home Premium 64bit, I've also ran the Win7 32bit and Win7 64bit beta test program, and even though I dual boot between Vista and XP I use XP 95% more than Vista.

For my purposes Vista 64 is dedicated to playing DX10 games and pretty much that's all I use it for, my experimenting with Win7's flavors did not impress me to the point of spending money on that operating system, maybe after service packs are released for it, that will change.

WinXP is much more forgiving when overclocking.

If it all goes south, WinXP is easier to repair-reinstall, loose no files, and be back in business.

For me it's just the operating system I prefer to use, and that's not because I'm afraid of change, I repair and upgrade machines all the time running Vista and Win7.

As far as my machine being a powerful monster, well it can play any game I play without me having to compromise my eye candy settings, so for some using WinXP is simply a matter of choice, it's what we choose to do.

And WinXP is still a very competitive operating system, IMO it's only drawback is it cannot run DX10 or DX11, if it could, Microsoft could keep the new offerings as far as I am concerned, and WinXP would have stomped them into their graves.

Microsoft is not stupid though, and as far as DX10 and DX11 we all will have to downgrade our operating systems in the future!

I hope this helps your understanding of "Why do people still use XP? "


 
I still use Win XP 'cause it handles everything I need my PC to do.

Not a big gamer anymore. Last game I bought was Fallout 3 on release date; it is a DX9 title. The next game on my list is Fallout: New Vegas and is based on the same engine as Fallout 3; therefore it will be a DX9 title.

The only DX10 game title I bought was Crysis. It was fun, but I really have no interest in playing it another time to see the graphics in DX10 mode.

I believe Office XP is not 100% compatible with Win 7, therefore the cost of the latest and greatest Office will need to be added to the cost of a retail version of Win 7.

 
I fix PCs for a living and after the Vista fiasco, I'm not yet ready to advise my customers to move to W7, particularly if they have upwards of fifty systems to upgrade at considerable cost. Once the first Service Pack comes out and addresses a few problems, I might feel able to do so but whilst XP remains supported until 2014, I'm not in a rush to commit myself to giving an opinion I may regret later.

In my opinion, XP will remain the OS of choice for existing business users for a few more years yet.
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I currently have built and maintain twenty (yes twenty) personal computers. Ten at home of which six are Windows 7 64 and four are Windows XP. Then ten more workstations at the offices. Nine are Windows XP and one is Vista 64. Two of the twenty we use daily are notebooks I did not build.

Windows XP still does very well around the offices as workstations. We have an XP based lab computer used to process digital clinical photography. Then at home a Windows 7 64 quad core machine to photoshop the photography and create professinal quality color photographs and CD's. So, my family uses Windows 7 64 at home for thier personal computers and around our work environment Windows XP is still a solution that gets the job done for us. No need to upgrade around the office...yet.

The college kids/employees that come and go are familiar with Windows XP as well as the older employees are. So, Windows XP still has it's place in my life, I am constantly troubleshooting it as well as maintaining the systems. But Windows 7 64 is my preference and the system I enjoy sitting at the most. The most powerful monster I have XP installed on is an AMD 4800X2 dual core socket 939 used in the lab. Most of my XP workstations are old, slow single core systems that still serve their purpose these days. Sit all day working at a socket 754 with a 2.2GHz. single core and a gig of RAM all day. The Windows 7 64 with a 3.2GHz quad runs pretty fast when you go home at night and flip it on.
 
After years of using and learning XP, I am very confortable with it. 3 of my home systems use XP: 3 x86 (Dell laptop, X48/E8600, and a P4). One of the x86 systems has run a 24/7 security system for several years that can only be used on XPx86 systems.

I use W7x74 on my gaming system, and X48/Q9650). I've spent a great deal of time learning W7, but have no plans to use W7 on the other three systems because there is no real benefit and I don't want to spend the money to install W7 on them.

When I build my next system, I will use W7 for the OS.
 
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So, the main reasons to stick to XP (in no order) are as follows:-

1> Win7 doesn't offer a lot extra other than DX10 and eye-candy
2> Win XP is easier to fix if something goes wrong
3> Win7 has known issues which won't be addressed until SP1
4> Win7 hates overclocked machines
5> Win XP is built for business and Win7 is built for home
6> Some people like XP approach of getting things done and don't like the Win7 approach
7> Old hardware (in some cases) is still capable of getting a job done but Win7 forces an unnecessary hardware upgrade
8> Win7 is expensive
9> Win XP allows user more control over the computer
10> Some (old) software aren't 100% compatible with Win7

Thanks everyone for your valuable opinions :)
 
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Oh, I'm sorry mate, I wasn't very precise with that "win 7 is expensive" argument.
My logic was the total cost of owning a baseline windows 7 machine (hardware+software) is more than that of owning a baseline Windows XP machine(hardware+software).
Windows 7 is, nevertheless the fastest selling MS OS ever (source: google) and a lot of people seem to like it.
And Win7 offers DX11, righto :)
 

dmroeder

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I personally use W7 at home, but I use XP at work. There are software packages that I use that require XP Sp2 or earlier. The software manufacturer is now 2 OS' behind + one service pack.

The automation industry is largely XP because a lot of software manufacturers are not developing for new OS'.
 
I work at a bank, and a lot of our software isn't W7 supported yet. Not only do our internal workstations have to stay on XP, but our clients who have remote deposit have to stay on XP. Until our software vendor has software that supports W7, we have to stay with XP.
 

JenniferArden

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We have 3 pc's and 3 laptops with XP Pro SP3 all networked (wireless peer to peer) One PC P4 3GHz HT 3GB DDR II is the file/print/internet server. We have no problems whatsoever. We also use Office 2007 and some other applications without any issues. The user interface has been upgraded with a modern substitute to provide a pleasant user experience.

XP is super stable and compatible with current hardware. I recently bought an ACER 7740G laptop supposedly not possible to install XP on it, I integrated the AHCI drivers into XP, installed XP without a glitch and downloaded and installed the drivers for all components and happily using XP without any issues on my ACER 7740G :kaola:

I love XP (best desktop OS MS ever created) Vista and 7 is the same thing with a few small changes not justifying an upgrade unless you need DX11. I use post SP3 update pack to keep my XP as updated as possible and BitDefender Total Security and common sense to keep XP safe. My replacement visual style is available for free at http://www.mediafire.com/?09n8vo77986ncz7
 

fraz_30

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I have a desktop on xp and a laptop i just bought 6 months ago that is preinstalled with win 7 starter and another laptop running on linux ubuntu
I noticed with win 7 its harder to change things on your settings,and the page and program load speed is slower than xp. Its made for people who dont know anything about computers and for women who want something to look nice. I think XP is better than win 7, despite what the windows salesmen say, and its easily adaptaple. I have 3 browsers and 2 virus software on my Xp and heaps of other programs, it can handle so much variety of programs and can be altered alot , and alot of games and programs run o nit, so many people still like it. Its a good reliable os so why change it, ill keep my xp until 2015 when win 9 comes out

I m new to linux but it is an eye opener, linux os helps you to learn computing, and has a different design, so im still newbie on linux , and dont know enough yet to comment on it.
 
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