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Question

system restore but MS Update no longer supports XP

Apr 11, 2014 2:16PM PDT

I am having sound problems with my PC and want to use system restore to find out if it solves the issue. But Windows Update no longer supports XP: System restore will mean going back enough that recent updates will be gone. How can I get those updates if System Restore solves the sound problem?

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Sure it does
Apr 11, 2014 10:30PM PDT

Sure it does. Support in this case means no NEW updates and you can't call up Microsoft on the phone to get help, but all existing updates will be available for quite some time. It was getting to be the twilight years of Windows 2000 and I remember there was still one old NT4 box sitting in a corner somewhere where I worked at the time. NT4 had been EOL for a good year or two by this point, but I still started downloading updates from Windows Update for it until my boss at the time said he was intentionally leaving it unpatched in the hopes it would die a quicker death that way and give him an excuse to replace it.

However, it would still be a wise decision to have a migration plan worked out that will see you off XP by the end of the year if not sooner. As of Tuesday the 8th of April, 2014, it was officially open season on XP from now until it's ultimate extinction. The longer you stick around in XP land the more likely it is your system will be co-opted for some nefarious purpose.

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Answers my question but I have a related question
Apr 13, 2014 11:53AM PDT

Thanks JG! But I mentioned that I was diagnosing sound problems; I was advised elsewhere to delete all drivers in Sounds and Audio Devices, and after getting your reply did so. I was told that the drivers would reinstall on restart: all but one did. At least this shows that you were correct about XP support in this sense.
But I'm left without the one that did not install: Audio Device on High Definition Audio Bus. I now get a "found new hardware" message to install it, but the wizard could not find it. Any idea how to get it installed?

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First off
Apr 13, 2014 12:04PM PDT

First off, never, Ever, EVER accept driver updates from Windows Update. That way lies nothing but ruin and sorrow. Always, at a minimum, grab the latest drivers from the PC manufacturer's website. If you know the manufacturer of the specific bit of hardware, they frequently have more recent drivers that you can get.

So you need to figure out what bit of hardware is in your system that didn't get picked up, unless everything you care about is working already, in which case who cares about that last driver? Going to the manufacturer's site to get some idea of what audio devices are in your specific computer is a good first step.

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Answer
MS is no longer creating updates after 04/08
Apr 13, 2014 11:14PM PDT

but the ones already created are available.