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General discussion

Windows XP support has ended

Apr 9, 2014 7:41PM PDT

I have an 8 year old Dell Dimension 3100 desktop computer which has Windows Home XP. Now that support and security updates have ended for Windows Home XP what should people like me do who still have a computer with Windows Home XP? Can you install a more up to date operating system on a desktop computer that currently has Windows Home XP or not?

Discussion is locked

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I'm going with Windows 7 upgrade on this desktop.
Apr 9, 2014 8:39PM PDT

Should work with little problem. You could buy a new desktop box also, but the upgrade might work fine and be less money. My desktop still works fast and fine, so I'm going with the upgrade for now.

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Forgot link
Apr 9, 2014 10:25PM PDT
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Re: I'm going with Windows 7 upgrade on this desktop.
Apr 9, 2014 11:59PM PDT

I have never upgraded any OS on any of my computers. How old is your desktop PC and will I have to uninstall my WIN Home XP before upgrading to WIN7?


Big Steve
04/10/14

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No "in place" upgrade from XP to 7
Apr 10, 2014 4:40AM PDT

You're best option is to save all of your data, wipe the drive clean, and install 7 from scratch. You'll want to visit the manufacturer's web site before doing anything else. Download all the Win 7 drivers you'll need for the version you choose. Put those drivers on CDs, DVDs, flash drives or whatever. The reason to do this in advance is that you could find yourself unable to get on line with the laptop after Win7 is initially installed. Be prepared for a long session. If you get Win 7 installed, drivers loaded, etc., install your AV program and do all the Windows updates. Once done, you get to reinstall all of your programs. You can put your data back in the documents folders later. Get ready for a long session. Good luck.

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My XP system was home built about 10 years ago.
Apr 10, 2014 7:21AM PDT

Check the link above, it should help you figure out if you want to upgrade to 7 or buy a new box with 7 or 8.1 installed already.

I have Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 on other systems, so I'm looking at my options for the XP system. I'll probably just build a new system

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I'm not even sure what safe and legitimate copies
Apr 10, 2014 7:34AM PDT

of Win7 are still out there. As I understand, MS only offers OEM (system builder) versions of Home and Pro. This makes them not really legal for users to perform upgrades to their systems. Upgrading from XP to Win7 probably means looking into secondary markets or finding a retired copy that will still activate.

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Amazon sellers still have new & used retail copies
Apr 10, 2014 9:20AM PDT

but with high prices. I always buy oem copies, so I haven't been looking for retail copies. With that said, it's probably less expensive to get a new box, then finding & buying a retail copy of 7.

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Agree.
Apr 10, 2014 9:25AM PDT

I would, get a new box, but what about Win 8 with classic shell?

Dafydd.

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Just to kind of summarize
Apr 10, 2014 9:48AM PDT

Just to kind of summarize, at 8 years old it's a wonder the capacitors on the motherboard haven't already started to fail, but odds are they will start at pretty much any moment. There's plenty of other hardware in that thing that's probably living on borrowed time as well. For better or worse, computers just aren't built to last more than a few years. It's not really worth spending any money trying to upgrade something that old.

So considering you'd basically have to start from scratch upgrading to Windows 7 or 8 anyway, may as well just use it as an excuse to get a new system or even a chromebook or tablet if you don't need a full fledged computer anymore.

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Re: Just to kind of summarize
Apr 10, 2014 10:31AM PDT

My 8 year old Dell Dimension 3100 desktop PC is used primarily for word processing; some Quicken and I do very little web surfing on it. This Dell Vostro 1510 laptop computer that I'm on right now which has Windows Vista; I'm online with it a lot. If I disconnected my Dell Dimension 3100 desktop PC from the internet could I continue to use it as a word processor and do some Quicken reports or will me no longer being able to receive support from Microsoft for my Dell Dimension 3100 desktop PC since it came equipped with Windows Home XP still be a problem if I disconnected the desktop computer from the internet but continued to use it strictly as a word processor?


Big Steve
04/10/14

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Sure
Apr 10, 2014 11:25AM PDT

Sure. If it's not connected to the Internet it's virtually no threat of any kind. The worst you have to worry about is something nasty transferring the old fashioned way, via a USB drive or some such. It is still at the point where it will likely start suffering catastrophic failures at any moment, but by all means keep using it for those limited functions for as long as it runs and/or you have use for it. Just keep it off the Internet.

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Re: Just to kind of summarize
Apr 10, 2014 12:31PM PDT

Thanks.

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Yes, especially if you go Linux
Apr 11, 2014 12:08AM PDT

Here's a video showing a low power 32 bit Mint 14 Linux system, yet able to run two simultaneous streams of 720p HD from youtube or a single 1080p video using FLASH in Firefox browser. There's a CPU chart showing the demand on the 3 Ghz single core AMD Sempron 145 processor and also the usage of 4GB RAM. Imagine the possibility of using a 4-6 core processor, utilizing a 64 bit Linux system with 8 to 16 GB RAM! Remember, at the time this computer was using Mint Linux 14 and Firefox browser and was also recording the desktop at 720p to create the video. Remember to set the youtube video to 720p if your current XP computer and broadband connection can support that to get the full clarity of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpMfT_zgVyI