Everyone’s always looking forward to the April 15 tax deadline, right? Well, this coming April brings another lovely deadline, only this is for people using computers running Windows XP. As of April 8 of 2014, Microsoft will no longer provide support for Windows XP.
What does this mean exactly, and why should you care?
Second question first: you should care if you (or a friend or loved one) uses a Windows XP PC, because what this means is that as of 04/08/14, Microsoft will no longer provide:
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- Security updates
- Non-security hotfixes
- Free or paid assisted-support options
- Online technical content updates
The big one here is no more security updates. You do NOT want to be running an XP machine on the Internet without the latest security updates (and if you do, we need to talk).
What to do, what to do?
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For most folks, the most logical option is to upgrade to Windows 7. Windows 7 is the true successor to Windows XP. Like XP, it’s solid, stable and easy (and fun) to use.
You can upgrade to Windows 7 on your current PC or by purchasing a new PC. Unfortunately, there are issues either way.
Upgrading your existing PC to Win 7 requires installing from scratch, which means your hard drive gets wiped clean. So you’d need to back up your data, do the Win 7 upgrade, then re-install your programs and restore your data once the upgrade is complete. Cumbersome, but do-able.
Another issue: any PC running XP is likely to be very, very old in 21st-century technology terms. Running Windows 7 on an old, old PC is a recipe for frustration. Good luck streaming video on that rig. You’ll think you’re back in dial-up mode.
So yes, the best of all possible worlds here is a new PC running Windows 7. But it’s not that simple. The great majority of the new PC’s sold today come with Windows 8 installed, not Windows 7, and Windows 8 is radically different than Windows 7 (or anything else, for that matter).
Windows 8 was built with touch-screen in mind (think iPad), and does not play well with a keyboard-and-mouse configuration. You don’t want to buy a Windows 8 machine without having taken it for a good test drive anymore than you want to run XP without the latest security fixes.
(That annoying background clamor you’re hearing is a bunch of Apple fan-boys going “Get a Mac! Get a Mac”. Yeah yeah, we know. But they do have a point. Macs are very nice machines, easy to use and less hassle. But cheap they ain’t. Premium Blend.)
So is it impossible to run trusty Windows 7 on a new PC?
No, it’s not and yes, you can.
A common-sense “hybrid” solution to run Windows 7 on a new PC would be to purchase a new PC –- with Windows 8 -- but then install Windows 7 over it, effectively ‘downgrading’ it to Windows 7. After that you would then install your programs and then copy over your data from the old XP PC.
All things considered, this is what I would recommend to my friends and loved ones.
And to you. Season’s Greetings!
Helpful links:
Richard Vaughn is a Computer Specialist in the Physics and Astronomy Dept. at Rutgers University.
