Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 - End of Life April 2014

Natakuc4,

You bring up a very valid point and it’s good to see a post like this on the forums.  The Windows XP End of Support date is on April 8, 2014.  Once this date
passes there will no longer be any security updates, non-security hotfixes, support options or online technical content updates.

It is strongly recommended to make the move to a modern operating system such as Windows 7 or Windows 8.  Upon doing so, users will have several more
years of support available from Microsoft as well as independent software vendor and hardware manufacturer support.

A recent Springboard blog post written by Stephen Rose covers what end of support means and has many helpful links to the free tools that will be needed
to migrate from XP to a modern operating system, whether it be Windows 7 or Windows 8.

Another resource to consider is the Springboard Series on TechNet which contains articles and videos to assist with an operating system migration
as well as manage the new environment once it is in place.

Mike

Windows Outreach Team – IT Pro

Mike

I was wondering when Microsoft are going to put something through Windows Update regarding the year count down. I think the vast majority of users on XP are relatively happy and won't look around Dell/Microsoft based forums unless they have a problem...

I don't want the forums flooded with users having Malware/Virus problems in a year time because they didn't know.

It would be good if there was an automatic update which included the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor and left the compatibility report on the Desktop.

Also can the price of a Windows 7 upgrade license be reduced? From a quick look on Amazon the Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade costs twice as that of the Windows 8 Professional Upgrade. The Windows 7 professional upgrade costs over 3.5 times that of the Windows 8 professional upgrade.

Desktop users (a high fraction of XP users) are totally unsatisfied with Windows 8 and the Metro interface aswell as the lack of a proper Start Menu and Start Button. Windows 8 has lost too many features, Start Button, Start Menu, Games, Desktops Gadgets. Desktop users don't like Windows 8 and the Metro interface and are avoiding it like the plague. In fact user reviews for popular Desktop popular Dell Desktops sold with Windows 8 i.e. the XPS 8500 and Inspiron 660 have a large majority of users mentioning Windows 8 listed as a con.

Can you bring the price for Windows 7 Home Premium down? Also can Microsoft alter downgrade rights for Home Users of Windows 8. This thread here is again of an Inspiron 660 and users are stating that they would rather downgrade to XP than use Windows 8 (of course they are happy with the idea of going to 7). I have seen multiple similar ones throughout the Dell Forums. As mentioned users are in general happy on Windows XP and Windows 7 and greatly unsatisfied on Windows 8 and Windows Vista. Many Desktop users going from XP to 8 will see it as a hindrance, few will see XP to 7 as a hindrance.

Also can Microsoft sell Windows 7 once again through the Microsoft store. I think their current policies of enforcing Windows 8 is only driving Desktop users away from Windows and actually preventing XP users from upgrading.

I constructed a poll near the Windows 8 launch and while it may not be accurate as more people come to my guides that have problems than those without but it is practically 75 % of users in favour of Windows 7 over Windows 8. Windows 7 or Windows 8? What do you prefer? We are also pretty fed up recommending a long list of third party add-ons to restore Windows 7 functionality in the reduced functionality of Windows 8.

I would recommend against downloading SP's 2 and 3 from any place but Microsoft:

windows.microsoft.com/.../service-packs-download

"Hundreds of megabytes of hard drive memory" is hardly significant with today's storage amounts and prices, so my advice would be to INSTALL IE8 or not use IE at all (by using Chrome or Firefox).

I found Service Pack 2 and 3 on Brothersoft.com and on Softonic.com. You have to weed thru the advertised downloads, scroll down until you see no advertised downloads.Be aware that some downloads might include certain toolbars, or pesky un-wanted software. I go to these 2 sites because I have an official Microsoft Windows XP Professional installtion disc. My newly installed hard drives will not even browse the internet without adding Service Pack 2 or 3. It's often hard with a new XP reformat to browse without error meesages that keep knocking me off of the internet. After SP 2 and 3 are installed, there's at LEAST 178 updates for XP that need to be downloaded. However, once I get to the prompt to install Internet Explorer 8, I go to Custom Microsoft Updates, and I un-click the box to install IE8. Why? Because  IE8 is a hog of hundreds of megabytes of hard drive memory. So, I choose IE7, Opera, Firefox, Google Chrome, Maxthon 3, FlashPeak Slim Browser....in fact....I recently learned, that there are many internet browsers besides the most famous ones. These work very well.Maxthon, Flash Peak Slim Browser, Opera, and one called Comet are exceptionally good browsers for playing web videos with less choppiness.

Here are the links to the major XP Updates:

• Windows XP Standalone Service Pack 2
• Windows XP Standalone Service Pack 3
• Internet Explorer 8
• Windows Media Player 11
• Microsoft .NET Framework Version 2.0
• Microsoft .NET Framework Version 3.0
• Microsoft .NET Framework Version 3.5
• Microsoft .NET Framework Version 4.0
• Microsoft Security Essentials
• Microsoft Security Essentials Latest Definition (32 bit)

These are direct from Microsoft and there is no need for Brothersoft.com or Softonic.com or other potentially malicious websites.

You should follow Windows Reinstallation Guide/nLite Update your XP Installation CD in my Windows Reinstallation Guide (page 334): http://philipyip.wordpress.com/dell-community-forums/

Slipstream SP2 and SP3 at least. You likely do not need to bother with SATA Drivers in your case.

Note: I would recommend having IE8 installed opposed to IE6 or IE7 as there are a number of security improvements and it will slightly improve your baseline security. If you persist on using Windows XP after its End of Use Date you should switch from IE8 to Firefox or Chrome, depending on how long the Mozilla or Google will continue support Windows XP. You will also need to use other security software opposed to Microsoft Security Essentials as MSE will likely cease to update. 

You can ask in the Virus & Spyware Forum for more information, I'm sure XP End of Life will be a hot topic for security.

dont you guys find it sad? because i still remember much time before i downloaded many apps for Windows XP from www.softdownfast.com because there are many available apps for XP but now all of a sudden XP is going to end its life....oh...it has been with so much time and i'm very accustomed to use it...omg

how was it?

www.softdownfast.com

"dont you guys find it sad?"

Not at all.  XP was overly ripe to be replaced even before Vista hit the shelves.  Even Vista, in its original form, was an improvement.  

"all of a sudden"

?!  It's been 13 years in coming!  It did not suddenly happen.

ya ya..it's true...i dont know i still find it difficult to accept this truth because i really love it and it reminds me of so many moments shared with my friends and families..

ya ya..it's true...i dont know i still find it difficult to accept this truth because i really love it and it reminds me of so many moments shared with my friends and families..