windows xp is
09-25-2013, 02:39 PM
#3
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: kershaw,sc
Posts: 334
it says you can add 1 gb of ram thats what mines need and you can upgrade some of the hard drive. i have about six months to do alot of research on this. i am new to computers too. look under windows xp and it will come up and you can go into site and download what your computer needs to get it ready for windows 8 or the like..
09-25-2013, 04:23 PM
#7
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Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: The middle of an IL cornfield
Posts: 7,014
You will still be able to use it. It will just no longer be supported by Windows. No new "fixes" will be released. Your anti-virus/anti-malware software should still protect you. New programs may not run on it, but unless you are doing software upgrades it will not be a problem for a long time.
Don't panic. Do some research. Many of the IT sites are recommending home computers just not worry about it.
Don't panic. Do some research. Many of the IT sites are recommending home computers just not worry about it.
09-25-2013, 04:34 PM
#8
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Myrtle Beach, SC
Posts: 8,095
Most things will work for awhile. As technology moves on, though, software companies will eventually stop supporting XP versions of their products.
I have my nephews XP from 2001. It has not been used, and therefore also not updated with automatic downloads, since about 2003. When I tried to update it this past summer, I couldn't. The version of XP on the pc is so old it can't process the updates and web pages don't load correctly. If it had been automatically updated all along, it would probably work just fine now. It doesn't matter to me - I got it for my Grandson (10) who is always fooling with the settings on the computer and going places on the internet he's not supposed to go. He can play games on it and change settings (and then forget what he did) to his hearts content, because it's not hurting anything/anyone but himself if he wrecks it. It has no internet connection available to it where I put it. (Note: He has Aspergers syndrome and truly doesn't understand why he shouldn't do what he does on the computer. That, coupled with being intellectually very bright can be a problem.)
Eventually, you will have the same kinds of problems with your XP, but it should take a couple of years to reach the state that my grandsons' pc is in.
********
Your biggest short term issue will be security, especially once the security software makers decide that they don't want to support XP anymore. As long as everything else is working on your pc and software security still supports XP, you can use the XP. After that, it's time to get a new pc.
********
You can use software that is loaded locally on your pc, like Word and Excel, until the pc breaks down. ("Locally" means that you have your own licensed copy of the software on your pc AND you can use it without ever turning the internet on.)
NOTE: While you may still be able to run your pc well enough and connect to the internet after security software no longer supports XP, I don't recommend that you do so. Hackers will be quick to exploit that 'opportunity', and nothing on your pc will be safe from them.
I have my nephews XP from 2001. It has not been used, and therefore also not updated with automatic downloads, since about 2003. When I tried to update it this past summer, I couldn't. The version of XP on the pc is so old it can't process the updates and web pages don't load correctly. If it had been automatically updated all along, it would probably work just fine now. It doesn't matter to me - I got it for my Grandson (10) who is always fooling with the settings on the computer and going places on the internet he's not supposed to go. He can play games on it and change settings (and then forget what he did) to his hearts content, because it's not hurting anything/anyone but himself if he wrecks it. It has no internet connection available to it where I put it. (Note: He has Aspergers syndrome and truly doesn't understand why he shouldn't do what he does on the computer. That, coupled with being intellectually very bright can be a problem.)
Eventually, you will have the same kinds of problems with your XP, but it should take a couple of years to reach the state that my grandsons' pc is in.
********
Your biggest short term issue will be security, especially once the security software makers decide that they don't want to support XP anymore. As long as everything else is working on your pc and software security still supports XP, you can use the XP. After that, it's time to get a new pc.
********
You can use software that is loaded locally on your pc, like Word and Excel, until the pc breaks down. ("Locally" means that you have your own licensed copy of the software on your pc AND you can use it without ever turning the internet on.)
NOTE: While you may still be able to run your pc well enough and connect to the internet after security software no longer supports XP, I don't recommend that you do so. Hackers will be quick to exploit that 'opportunity', and nothing on your pc will be safe from them.
09-25-2013, 04:46 PM
#9
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Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: western NY formerly MN, FL, NC, SC
Posts: 51,433
this is all very interesting. i got xp after win7 came out because i have some software programs that will not work on versions newer than xp. i sure hope i can still use them for a long time as some of them do not even have upgrades available.
09-26-2013, 03:31 AM
#10
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Northern Indiana
Posts: 2,680
All of you that have windows xp that is going away, just pray that unless they do a lot of fixing, you don't have windows 8 to learn. We went from xp to windows 8, and there can be one h**l of a learning curve. First couple of weeks was enough for me to want to pick the whole thing up and throw it out the window. It's getting easier, but still frustrating at times.
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