Windows XP Does anyone plan on dropping XP?

NOW FOR THE HELP I NEED:

I own a copy of XP Pro. unfortunately, it is a very early copy without any of the major updates, or Service packs. I back up my computers regularly, and when a computer starts to slow down, I strip it and reload the OS. Is there any way for me to download, and save all the service packs and updates, so when I need to reinstall XP I can update it to the point where support stopped. I'm not a company, I don't keep secure information or handle financial transactions. I'm keeping it for functionality, and because I like it. Microsoft has claimed to listen to people when designing their UI's. I don't believe that. Your help in spite of comments about your favorite OS, and unfavorable MS remarks would be appreciated.

I am not sure if it is possible to do it on XP but this is what I do on both Win 7 and 8.
Perform the last update and clean up your XP installation and clone it to another HDD (Try Macrium Reflect Free for cloning. I don't know which one works for XP). Use the cloned one on your PC and keep the original "clean" installation (with all your programs installed) as a back-up that you can re-clone again when problems arise. But you have to make sure that the HDDs are of the same capacities as trim is not supported on XP.
 
If you have Windows XP it is possible to copy most of the XP software. Such as Windows Movie Maker 2.1, Windows XP Games, Pinball and Solitaire, and also Windows XP Sound Recorder from XP onto Windows 8.,as I did. Yes they all work. Most of the software from Windows XP works on Windows 8.

Of course you can still use Windows XP after support ends in April. But the problem is that you won't get anymore updates and Windows Update will stop working after this time. So if you have to re-install your OS I don't know how you would be able to install all of the first time updates. Which you have to do after a re-install.
 
No one can learn linux easily, its all the matter of choosing the right one.

As for windows 8 being Microsofts best?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!! thats a good one, what with its crappy interface that is only good with a touchscreen and the need of third party software just to get a proper start menu, yeah real great OS there.
But I will get into why windows 8 sucks if you really want me to

Except the bold text is false. Windows 8.1 is not only good on a touch screen (it's fine on non-touch, as well) nor does it need any 3rd Party start stuff. It is , also, faster & easier to use than OSs before it. Knocking something arbitrarily is not, really, all that productive or informative.

Cheers,
Drew
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... I don't really need all the memory and features of the Surface 2 Pro vs the Surface 2 and at twice the weight, a person should really have a need for those features to buy the Pro, most would be better off with the plain Surface 2. ...
WOW! Someone actually likes the Surface 2 with Win 8.1 RT?
 
Apparently, yes. Myself, I'd want the Pro although, @ a higher price point but... One must hold to 'different strokes for different folks'... it's a truism. It's why there is variety on a shelf (so to speak) & (yet) it ALL finds a buyer.

There's several clichés for this ;)

Cheers,
Drew
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WOW! Someone actually likes the Surface 2 with Win 8.1 RT?
Yes I never thought I would say it., but it is the Wardens tablet. I switched it to Korean for her, and she uses it mainly in the kitchen to watch Korean news and YouTube. She likes that it is nearly "Instant On" with no prolonged start up. It is thin and light and has that Kickstand.

My Pro version is heavier, has a fast, but still noticeable start up. I have a full Office suite and really a lot more capable. But I am not on the road as much as I used to be and so some of that is just wasted.

Hers (64 GB) was $550 and mine (256GB) $1300
 
I like the Pro but not it's price tag so I went with a Dell Venue 8 Pro, $300 for the 64GB model. It runs the full version of Win 8.1 and even included Office 2013 Home & Student.

Note: Edited to correctly say I went with a Dell Venue 8 Pro which I previously left off. The Venue 8 is an Android device while the Venue 8 Pro is a Win 8.1 device.
 
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WOW! Someone actually likes the Surface 2 with Win 8.1 RT?

Surface 1 & 2 is like a giant Windows Phone minus the phone capability. So basically, it's like a glorified android tablet. I made a mistake of buying the RT too and got too disappointed with the very limited use and returned it the next day. I got an ASUS T100-TA ( a 10-incher) instead that runs Win 8.1 out-of-the-box with pre-installed MS Office (full version). It runs legacy x86 programs and came with a keyboard dock as well. Great stuff!!! (Not because it's Win 8, but what the device can do. :) )

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"I like the Pro but not it's price tag so I went with a Dell Venue 8, $300 for the 64GB model. It runs the full version of Win 8.1 and even included Office 2013 Home & Student."

That sounds like a good bang-for-the-buck.

Drew
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Surface 1 & 2 is like a giant Windows Phone minus the phone capability. So basically, it's like a glorified android tablet. I made a mistake of buying the RT too and got too disappointed with the very limited use and returned it the next day. I got an ASUS T100-TA ( a 10-incher) instead that runs Win 8.1 out-of-the-box with pre-installed MS Office (full version). It runs legacy x86 programs and came with a keyboard dock as well. Great stuff!!! (Not because it's Win 8, but what the device can do. :) )

1392628410.jpeg

I have a friend in Tucson bought one of these recently. She absolutely loves it.

As an aside, I'm a big fan of ASUS & I will readily recommend the brand to my clients.

Cheers,
Drew
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I bought the Surface 2 as Win 8.1 and the Surface 2 was released, not a lot of research on my part. The same is true when I bought the Pro, The Warden liked hers so well that I just bought a Pro again with no real research. I both case I might have made a different choice had I been more tablet savvy at the time. I just did not realize there was a reasonable alternative for a Win 8.1 tablet. I was leaving Apple and iPhone and had already had frustrated friends with Androids.
I am happy enough with my choices. They are good equipment, maybe not "Bang-for-the-Buck" candidates, but very usable and come with great support.
 
"Nobody should have to go out and get third party software just to make a UI friendly and usable."

Nobody does (have to).

Cheers,
Drew
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Hehehe, I suppose that's keeping things real. The trouble is, even after using the Win 8 UI for a while, "I" still find it miserable. Friends, Family and IT pros I have talked to do also. For those of us in that category, 3rd party software is a must. It sure makes the Win 8 UI easier, and more friendly for us.

I could be real specific, but this isn't a Win 8 bashing thread. I am just comfortable with XP, and miss the options, features MS took out. Is there anywhere I can go to download and keep the files I would need to reinstall XP to this date?
 
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... The missing up arrow in Windows explorer was another feature campaigned for. I still use third party software to keep that small bit of functionality. ...
This complaint always cracks me up. Don't you realize that the "up arrow" from XP has been made completely obsolete by far superior navigation abilities in the Explorer used in Win 7 & Win 8?
XP:
xp_expl.PNG


Win 7:
w7_expl.png


Win 8.1
w81_expl.png


The address bar in Win 7 & Win 8 now contains active links that allow you to very quickly navigate, not only 1 folder up, but to any other folder in the hierarchy. I bounce around everyday between XP, Win 7 and Win 8 and I dislike having to give up that feature when using XP. If you want to go up from CodeIntegrity to System32, simply click on System32 in the address bar. In order to quickly navigate to another folder within System32, click on the little arrowhead and a dropdown allows you to choose which. I find this feature immensely useful.
 
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Hehehe, I suppose that's keeping things real. The trouble is, even after using the Win 8 UI for a while, "I" still find it miserable. Friends, Family and IT pros I have talked to do also. For those of us in that category, 3rd party software is a must. It sure makes the Win 8 UI easier, and more friendly for us.

I could be real specific, but this isn't a Win 8 bashing thread. I am just comfortable with XP, and miss the options, features MS took out. Is there anywhere I can go to download and keep the files I would need to reinstall XP to this date?

Well, I guess it depends on the degree of awareness & understanding amongst those polled as to what feelings, attitude or statements one receives. I happened to be an IT Pro who has, colleagues, friends, family & clients; none of whom find Win 8.1 "miserable", quite the opposite including that adding 3rd Party software, of this ilk, is, indeed, not a must, @ all. The fact is, Win 8.1 is easier & quicker to navigate that any Windows OS before it. And that's w/out adding unneeded 3rd Party stuff.

As for retaining, clinging to or re-installing XP, as this point in time is blind stubbornness, a bit ridiculous, not smart and compared to Windows 8.1, makes no logical, good, sense.

No offense or insult meant, just stating fact.

And 'strollin' makes an absolutely, valid point, too. There is no loss but, lots of gain in Win 8.1. Things may be different but, nothing suffers and though some differences, end result is as good or (usually) better and improved.

Cheers,
Drew
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Addressing the original question of this thread about plans to drop XP, I started upgrading all of my XP machines to Win 7 right after Win 7 came out. The last XP machine I had was an Acer Aspire One netbook. I upgraded that from XP Home to Win 8.1 Pro when 8.1 was first released. It runs Win 8.1 better than it ever ran XP.

I no longer have any physical machines running XP, I only have XP on a couple of VMs for testing purposes. I have a mix of Win 7 & Win 8.1 machines now. I don't plan to upgrade any of my Win 7 machines to Win 8 because the 2 OSes are similar enough that I don't feel compelled to do so. I have 2 machines that were purchased with Win 8 & 8.1 and have no problem with them so no compulsion to downgrade them to Win 7.
 
I gave away my XP machine to someone in need when I got a Windows 7. I just feel bad about the person I gave it to because of this issue. He needs a PC badly but he can't afford to get one. I think the other sentiments other people is having is not only losing their favorite OS but also losing their favorite software that work flawlessly with XP and for their purpose. So, it's not about just embracing the latest in OS.
 
I had to take my sister to the ER today and the hospital is still using mostly XP and very few Windows 7. This seems to be common with bigger business around here also. I wonder if MS may extend the date for XP again since Windows 8 is a flop I think XP still has a market share of around 29% and it is on most ATMs.
Joe
 
For me I feel this is going to cause pure chaos here soon, with some small businesses, hospitals and government offices this could lead to some bad juju almost on par to what could have happened with Y2K
 
I would not be so sure, after all small business run web servers and if those servers run on XP it could cause severe damage.
My biggest worry is with state funded facilities that use XP as a server and primary desktop, such places are a hackers paradise getting things like medical records and social security.
 
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