Windows XP Going Away April 8th What to do?

[ronchp]

I have an older personal laptop that came with Vista. After years of use it had reached the point that it would take almost 15 minutes to book up. About 3 years ago, after talking to some friends, I switched to Liunx Mint which i find just as easy to use as any Windows OS and much quicker for older machines. It boots and is ready to use in 45 seconds. I initially installed it dual boot so that i could run either Linux or Windows, but then decided to completely load the machine with Linux Mint because i was never loading Windows. There are very few Windows programs that there is not a Linux subsitute or will not run using the windows emulator named Wine, but I'm sure there are some out there that won't run correctly. Never had any problems converting from an Word or Excel file to the Libre Office that comes with Linux Mint. I am not a computer guru, yet once I read the instructions on how to download the iso dvd and install it, I had no problems installing it. And did I mention they request a donation, but the entire OS can be downloaded for free so all it really costs is the price of a dvd.

 

[deerseeker001]

I liked XP it was easy to use but they keep bringing new system and upgrades and after so long they are not going support the old ones.i have had 7 now 8 customize it so it looks like 7 works great little time to get use to.

 

[Arky217]

I have an older personal laptop that came with Vista. After years of use it had reached the point that it would take almost 15 minutes to book up. About 3 years ago, after talking to some friends, I switched to Liunx Mint which i find just as easy to use as any Windows OS and much quicker for older machines. It boots and is ready to use in 45 seconds. I initially installed it dual boot so that i could run either Linux or Windows, but then decided to completely load the machine with Linux Mint because i was never loading Windows. There are very few Windows programs that there is not a Linux subsitute or will not run using the windows emulator named Wine, but I'm sure there are some out there that won't run correctly. Never had any problems converting from an Word or Excel file to the Libre Office that comes with Linux Mint. I am not a computer guru, yet once I read the instructions on how to download the iso dvd and install it, I had no problems installing it. And did I mention they request a donation, but the entire OS can be downloaded for free so all it really costs is the price of a dvd.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[ultrarunner]

I'm still using Win98 first edition at the cabin for email and pictures... still works!

Everyone told me I would not be able to use it... I guess that will be true someday.

Having problems with XP and Mcafee... stop doing real time scanning... no idea why.

Have an energy management system on Win2000 pro and hope to keep it as long as possible..

Bought a $199 laptop with Win7 and its been satisfactory... just never did buy Office for it so I've limited myself.

 

[Bird]

I have Win 95 files I use on Win 8. Files are backward compatible. Not sure what he is talking about. Excel, Word, etc. will open older files, may lose some formatting, but they load.
IE favorites, etc. work also on the desktop IE just fine.

I've used Quicken for many, many years; still have files back to 1996 and every time I've gotten a new version of Quicken I've had to convert all those files; currently using Quicken 2013. And I've used Microsoft Works for database, spread sheet, and word processing for years; still have files back to 1989. When I went to Windows 8.1, I downloaded a conversion program that converted those files to Excel and Word in Microsoft Office.

 

[WM75Guy]

Probably programs or drivers.

Aaron Z

My thoughts too. Some programs like the HP Toolbox for my LaserJet 2605DN will not load on Win 7 nor is there anything but a generic driver for it. Data files are the same, there are some old file types no longer in use or supported by programs. I suppose at some time Office will no longer support the 97-2003 file format.

 

[Jimh4662]

First off. Check windows website for software that checks your system for compatibility. Real good chance your hardware wont be supported. You also may not have the horse power to run Vista/Win7. Win7 is 64 bit processing. Most software today is designed around it. The Win7 operating system has ability to run in older software in compatibility mode. I found this to be more hype than reality. Most off the shelf hardware drivers are slim to nonexistent for older operating systems.
You are opening your self up for a load of headaches, trying to move forward by adapting old with the new. If you have the ability to go to a computer store not Walmart. Tell them you want to (A) - Have a duel operating system. Or (B) - have your existing data/software copied to a secondary drive. Tell them you want the most bang for your buck in a bare bones system. You may be surprised as to the cost. And and this point your not out anything. You can use Win8 without touch screen. Touch screen monitors are more expensive and you'll need boxes of dust free screen wipes. Keep notes on your conversation computer store staff. Re-qroup and think things over. Beware of the OBE's.

 

[WM75Guy]

If you decide to upgrade your operating system (OS) your hardware may run it but will you be happy with performance? Win 7 has both a 64 bit and a 32 bit version so check before you buy. While they say 32 bit programs will run on the 64 bit OS that's not always the case. It's even worse going the other way, trying to run a 64 bit program on a 32 bit OS. If you are running an older computer that came with XP other than PRO odds are your processor is 32 bits and there is from 512 MB to 1 GB RAM if you have not upgraded it. Win 7 64 bit needs 2 GB RAM minimum and at least 4 GB of RAM to really take advantage of the 64 bit OS. Win 7 in XP mode takes another 1 GB RAM and 15 GB of hard drive space. Since XP 32 bit versions maxed at 4 GB of RAM the older motherboards will usually not support more than 4 GB RAM and some stopped at 2 GB, especially in laptops. Just some more reasons to consider a hardware upgrade if you upgrade the OS.

 

[WM75Guy]

You can use the Microsoft Upgrade Advisor to check to see if you can run Win 7.

Download Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor from Official Microsoft Download Center

 

[RalphVa]

In my experience, Windows XP was one of Microsoft's bombs. Windows 7 was MUCH better, but required a lot more memory. Maybe even Windows XP would work better with the memory that 7 requires; don't know. Just know that Windows 7 works a lot longer than XP ever did before it would lock up or grow very slow. It seems that Windows XP would sit there and accumulate junk and go to a crawl all by itself, even letting the computer sit turned on without doing anything on it. Windows 7 does this, too, but takes a lot longer.

Ralph