Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

Resolved Question

Windows XP? When is MS going to stop supporting this OEM?

May 3, 2012 11:32PM PDT

I have a lap top that has XP on it and am confused regarding the news that Microsoft will no longer support this Windows system. Does anyone know the date and what will happen when this happens?
Also, I have been getting lots of lots of offers to upgrade to Windows 7. If I do purchase this upgrade, how can I be sure Microsoft will support it?
I had a problem in the past when I upgraded my desk from XP to Vista. Microsoft said they couldn't support that when I ran into some issues and called them.
I would appreciate any and all information regarding this subject. Thank you.

Discussion is locked

rogerpaul has chosen the best answer to their question. View answer

Best Answer

- Collapse -
XP Support
May 5, 2012 8:33AM PDT

Microsoft will stop supporting Windows XP SP3 on April 8, 2014. However, what they mean by support is no more security updates, no free or paid support options, and no more online technical updates. There also may be hardware and software companies that make products that run on Windows, that will no longer provide support for this version either.

You can still use it on your PC, however with no security updates and patches, you run a much higher risk of security problems on your PC. You will be at higher risk for attaches, viruses, etc. You might have a company that makes keyboards, for example, and when you buy a new one, that keyboard might not be compatible with Windows XP, or some software program might not be able to run on Windows XP. So it may become harder to find programs and hardware that are compatible.

If you do decide to go with Windows 7, make sure you go to Microsoft's website to their "Upgrade Advisor". It will check your PC to see if it can be upgraded to Win 7 or not. Also, I believe the upgrade would actually be a clean install...you would be basically starting over from scratch installing the newer OS. It will not preserve any info you have on your PC. Make sure you print out and read all the instructions beforehand, and make backups of everything you want to put back on your PC.

- Collapse -
Answer
My question is
May 4, 2012 1:34AM PDT

"What support did you need?"

I've seen folk ask this question but only one of them called in for support. If the system is working, you can ignore this and keep using it till it stops working. And MSFT never offered support for the OEM to us. We would have to call the laptop maker or just reload the OS.

There are a lot of other support systems and folk out there (like this forum.)
Bob

- Collapse -
Support
Jul 20, 2012 12:54PM PDT

As someone mentioned, good luck with needed patches. Those won't be available for XP at some point. It's so hard these days finding patches for Windows NT and 98 SE!

Some, might not care about the patches, but newer products will eventually stop running on XP. No driver support. It's like trying to find anything for an older machine now running early Windows versions. If the computer is working now.. well, 2014 is going to have a lot of newer stuff that probably will make his PC obsolete by then anyway. I agree with you, though. I'd just keep going for now and lets see what happens after Win 8 is out.

- Collapse -
Answer
Another Two Cents
Jul 20, 2012 12:48PM PDT

I agree fully with the other two answers, but let me post just a few thoughts, if I may. The world is going to end on December 21, 2012 and Microsoft will stop supporting XP in 2014. So, why worry about it? Heh! A lot of people run right out and buy something new as soon as it comes out. It doesn't matter if they are Apple fanbois or Windows. If you are a geek, having the latest and greatest is very important to some. However, there are things to consider. First of all, unless Windows 7 comes on a new PC you technically have to purchase it. Would it be easier just to upgrade your whole system? Maybe. It is something to consider.

The part that bothers me most, is you mentioned upgrading XP to Windows 7. Technically, there is no such thing. There really is no "upgrade" from XP to win7. You have to wipe your entire hard disk and start from scratch. You can't just pop in the CD and answer messages and then you are upgraded. It's a wipe-and-reload deal. Now there are some software utilities to help out in this situation but the bottm line is you are still wiping off your computer so make sure you know what data you are going to keep.

The next issue will be drivers. A lot of proprietary hardware drivers won't 'upgrade' to Windows 7. So, as long as you are going to wipe the drive, you might want to make sure that you have all of the hardware drivers in order and ready to go.

I think that the most important thing to consider is to look at your PC for a little windows sticker. If the sticker says something like "Compatible with Windows 3.0" (OK, MAYBE it will say compatible with XP, or windows 2000 then, technically, your computer may or may not work so well with Windows 7. There are tests you can run on the Microsoft website to see if your computer is compatible and with what "flavor" of Win7. I strongly suggest you run it just to make sure your expectations will be met. In many cases, Windows 7 will run fine. You will also have to decide on whether or not you want Windows 32-bit or 64-bit. Again, you will need to check hardware (driver) compatibility with 64-bit. This should help you break out beyond the 4 GB barrier if you want more memory.

Personally? I think I'd like to see the dust settle a bit with the Windows 8 upcoming release and then find out what I can do if I really don't like the metro interface. I know I don't want to use a touch-screen unless I'm dealing with a laptop. I have a few months to decide on all that and I'll probably just buy a new PC anyway.

Good luck.