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Showing Original Post only (View all)To XP or not to XP . . . ? [View all]
As Windows XP nears its much-ballyhooed end-of-life on April 8, many of us will need to decide whether and how to keep using it. Basically there are 4 options:
1. Keep it: Hang the torpedoes and just keep running it on whatever its installed on;
2. Replace it: Buy a new PC with Windows 8/8.1 and say goodbye to XP forever (XP wont install on newer hard drives, see below);
3. Dual-boot it: Install XP alongside Vista/7/8 on a new or used PC in a dual-boot arrangement;
4. Run it in a VM: Install XP in a virtual machine (VM), or emulator, in a regular Windows 7/8 partition. Popular VMs include Oracles "VM Virtualbox," discussed in several threads below, Microsofts Virtual XP (for Win 7 only), and MS Hyper-V (for Win 8 only).
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And here are the basic pros, cons, how-tos and recommendations for all 4 options:
1. Keep it: Or, if it aint broke, dont fix it. A perfectly reasonable option. MS will keep activating and updating MSE for XP until July 2015 at least.* (see link below)
Recommended: Get SP3 and all available updates before April 8.
2. Replace it: Hard drives in new PCs are formatted using GPT partitioning, which XP cant boot from. (64-bit versions of XP can read data from a GPT partition, but 32-bit flavors cant. To install XP on a GPT drive, you need to wipe the entire drive, reformat it using MBR, install XP, and then reinstall Win7/8 from a full backup. Lotta work.)
Recommended: Get a new PC before your old one is completely hosed so you can retrieve data and run XP as necessary.
3. Dual boot it: Possible on pre-2012 MBR-partitioned drives, or on newer GPT drives that have been wiped and reformatted MBR (above). Several steps are involved, and you might need to install a boot loader, so unless you have a taste for bricolage (tinkering) and a lot of time, or need XP for a critical application, it might be better to avoid the trouble.
Recommended: Get a full-retail copy of XP with a valid licence from ebay or elsewhere, as an old OEM back-up disk will balk if you use it to install XP on a different machine.
4. Install it on a VM: This involves downloading and installing an emulator (virtual machine) on your hard drive, and then installing XP into the emulator. This saves the hassle of reformatting your drive and finding drivers to run XP on newer equipment, which it wont without a lot of help. However, VMs are not a perfect solution, because a VM is basically one huge file with everything in it, including your data, and if anything goes wrong and XP wont load, well, there goes the ball game. So you need to treat it gently, don't save any files you need on it, and be ready to reinstall if it goes south. And at some point it probably will.
Recommended: Go easy on the updates (forget Windows Live for example), back up your VM frequently (as a .vpi file for example), and use it only as needed, not as your primary OS.
So thats it in a nutshell: how to handle Micro$hafts latest Y2K crisis. Im going to ask Steve if hell pin this thread so we can add links to previous discussions and additional info, updates, downloads, and help files as needed. Thanks Steve!
p.s. good luck and slaínte!
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* ZDNet, March 14, 2014: "Microsoft will continue to make all patches and fixes made to Windows XP up until April 8, 2014, available to users via Windows Update. 'There are no current plans to remove existing Windows XP security updates from Windows Update after end of support on April 8, 2014,' a spokesperson confirmed." link: http://www.zdnet.com/xp-sp3-download-it-while-you-still-can-7000027323/
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It's a good idea if you have Virtualbox to do the last updates while you can.
Spitfire of ATJ
Mar 2014
#34
Great post. And I agree heartily with the Linux Mint recommendation below it. n/t
jtuck004
Mar 2014
#11
Of course the WSJ wants you to spend money for something you most likely won't need.
hobbit709
Mar 2014
#24
Windows XP support is ending on April 8 and scammers from India has become hyperactive!
David_ness
Mar 2014
#32