Question for the Computer OS Nerds

Dave Hoskins

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Parker County, Texas
I have been contemplating for several days about my operating system. I have the ability to go back to WinXP Pro. I know Microsoft stopped support of it, but if all the anti-virus software out there supports it, and you keep the machine maintained (defrag, etc.) then what's the big deal? I have the Service Pack 3 so that is the best of it available, I think. I have also been looking hard at PC-BSD. All of the reviews I have read (which can probably be dangerous) seem to say it is good and reliable. I'm looking at the pc version, not any of the server or other versions. Some feedback will be helpful and I will be grateful.
 
The big deal is any fixes after service pack three are not available. Any security issues that may be uncovered with Windows, could effect 10 all the way back through XP, but there would be no fix for XP. Then you also have to worry about the software your wanting to use with it, and do they support XP.
If this is a legacy machine (not connected to the net, using the same software you have old XP copy for, example one person I know still maintains an investment log on one system, that is only done for that purpose so they can answer tax questions), then it would be fine.
Otherwise, it will be like asking Apple for Itunes software and help with installing it on an unsupported OS.
 
I am NOT in any way shape or form any kind of a computer software geek.

I am just a computer user.

There is nothing wrong with staying on XP. I liked XP, and I also had the service paks. When the XP ran slow I would just reformat the drive and reinstall. I created a backup system with all the programs I ran and reinstalled everything all at once. Easy Peasy. I think even networking home computers was a lot easier than todays awful stuff like win 7 and win 10 - horrible - horrible - horrible. Oh but it is well protected. It's SOOOO well protected that the user cannot even get into it. I HATE networking 3-4 simple home computers on the horrible new stuff. I never had any issues with XP networking once set up.

Of course the software does not support that notion, they make money on software upgrades and there is more built in obsolesce in software than anything else in existence. With THAT said - there WILL be a point where new software upgrades, of other stuff will not work on XP. Stuff like CAD, Sketchup, Quicken, Corel, and whatever you use regularly.

Then, there ARE little niceties in the new operating systems. You get used to the new stuff and don't really notice is until you go back sometimes. I did go back to XP to get my OLD CNC machine ready to sell. That's when you notice a lot of stuff.

Internet is not going to be very tolerant of XP any more. Some of the new web sites are going to build to run on new operating systems and may not work on XP.

The really big deal on the internet is the adware, and spyware. THAT stuff is gonna kill ya. It will get into you computer and get into every little nook and cranny in grind your computer to am absolute stand still. That alone will force you into a reformat and reinstall every month or so.

All in all, yes I agree, the old worn out shoes ARE comfortable, and I am a CHEAP CHEAP New England Yankee. I absolutely HATE to support computer software upgrades - BUT - they DO have us over a barrel. Microsoft claims that Win 10 is the LAST upgrade? No such luck. Will will upgrade to Win 399 some day.

Soo - from a NOT a geek perspective - Go with the upgrades - you are going to do so someday anyway. In the long run you will be better off.
 
hehe Leo, I can be a cheap, cheap Texan! I do get aggravated with upgrades. Especially when they say they listened to the people and this is what they asked for. Holey Smokes!!! Wonder who they talked to. Certainly not me or anyone I know. That's one of the reasons I mentioned looking at PC-BSD which everything I have read is a good reliable open source OS that rivals anything out there. If it is, and I can get Windows off my machine, then I will be a happy camper. All of the software I use now I used with XP. I have a spare hard drive that I can put in my machine and load this PC-BSD and see how it does. I know it supports Firefox. Have to see what else. Anyway, time will tell what time tells.
 
another reason to upgrade, is when you pick up a new software package, there may come a time that xp will not be listed in the system requirements. so, if there is that new whiz-bang woodworking program that you are drooling over, and you check to see what os supports it, and you don't see xp, you might feel a bit silly for not upgrading.
 
What operating system are you running now & what are your reasons for wanting to switch back to XP ?
If this is a machine that you are using on the internet then your biggest problem is most probably going to be finding a browser that will run happily under xp, because the operating system is no longer supported by Microsoft then any browser development won't take xp into account, developers are quick to take advantage of changes within operating systems & make changes, guessing Microsoft edge probably won't run & the lattest versions of Chrome & other browsers may not run either. Just something to think about before making any changes that are difficult to reverse :)
I actually still run both XP & Windows 98 (SE) but they run on a virtual machine under windows 7 & the machine is not connected to the internet when either of those is open, I have been told it is OK to do so but just don't want to take any chances, reason I still use them is because of old software that I have & still use, couldn't afford to keep some of it up to date with upgrades as operating systems changed especially when there were no new features added that I would use.
 
I'm currently running 7, but the support time on it runs out in a couple of years or so. I already did the 10 upgrade and hated it. Made me even balder! My sister has 8 and has issues with it all the time. I loved XP. Shoot I remember loving 98SE and even 95 was clunky but alright. 3.1 was a real clunker as I remember but totally functional in my primitive mind. When they pulled the legs out from under XP just because they could it rather made me mad. I don't run any computers in the shop. I also don't use IE, in fact I have it totally disabled. But, my reasons may seem silly or even childish to some and that is fine. I just get really, really mad at Microsoft. If this PC-BSD works really well, it will be bye bye MS.
 
For your purposes, something like PC-BSD (aka TrueOS) or one of its Unix/Linux brethren might be a workable alternative to Windows. It really depends on what other software you use on your computer. For me, I rely too much on software that only runs on Windows (or Mac), and I have too many years invested in learning Windows to go learn something else. Personally, I'd only run Windows XP (which I loved) on a machine that's never going to be on the Internet.

...When they pulled the legs out from under XP just because they could it rather made me mad...

OK, I complain about Microsoft about as much as the next guy, but they didn't pull the legs out from XP "just because they could". They had a 13 year old OS with outdated technology and more vulnerabilities than they were willing to throw development time and money at. I can't fault them for that. Also, as fewer and fewer people use any version of an OS, it becomes less and less cost-effective for a company to maintain and support it. In 2014 would you expect all the Chevy dealers in the nation to still keep unique body parts in stock for a 2001 Avalanche? And lastly, like any corporation, MS has to make a profit. There is no profit in supporting and maintaining software. Some might consider it corporate greed, but I see those profits as providing a comfortable living wage to somewhere between 60,000 and 100,000 people. And it's not just the OS. All of the third-party software makers are also not likely to want to throw development and support money maintaining products for a (now) 17 year old OS.


Disclaimer: I've made a comfortable living wage for about 20 of the past 25 years in the third-party software development business, primarily working on software that runs on Windows, so I'm a bit biased. But I also have a good working knowledge of the economics involved. ;)
 
Vaughn, some of your thoughts ring true. Like most I think about the inconvenience of the end user and not the developer. And, the time we have invested in learning Windows. I guess I might be a kludge. Windows is more and more looking like a big phone app than a computer operating system to me. Again I might be a kludge because I only use my phone as a phone. It can do all that internet and texting and so on, but I use it as a phone. Can't see the point in all that other stuff. I'm not necessarily great with software anymore. I do still build my own desktop when I need to do that, or when I want to. From the ground on up, which is not as hard as folks make it out to be. Anyway, I am going to put this blank hard drive in most likely tomorrow so all is isolated and load the PC-BSD and see what will and will not work. It's supposed to start raining tomorrow is why I am picking then. I'll let you know what I figger out about it.
 
As others have said, it pretty much will come down to the software you use. If it's web browsing and office docs, the experience should be much the same, but if it's netflix or windows specific apps, you'll probably need to run a virtual environment or emulators on the linux box to use them. I've had to do that with really old software even on windows. It's when you get to some of the usb connected devices that you may have to find drivers that work with linux, a lot do anymore, so may not be all that big of deal. I wouldn't recommend running XP and doing much on the internet at all, at least anything that uses personal information, email, or credit cards.
 
Two of the seven PCs on our home network MUST run XP (which I love), due to hardware limitations. Microsoft says just replace the display adapter, but those two are laptops where the display adapter is integrated into the mother board.

A couple of the mid-age computers have a license for something newer but are still running XP because it has worked so well for us.

Three of our computers are on Win 10, which takes a while to get used to, but isn't all bad. Periodic updates work more smoothly (other than trying to run at the most inconvenient time possible). As hard as it was, I finally got all 7 computers integrated in our home network, and all are on the internet. And some of our software requires Win 10.

BUT the big thing to consider, the world wide hack in the past week primarily impacted Win XP and newer machines which had not been kept up to date. Hospitals were most affected since they run scared of doing routine updates. This has left me scared of my mid-life machines which could be updated but have not been.
 
Well, putting that PCBSD on that blank hard drive was an interesting experience. It loaded just fine. The first problem I ran into was trying to figger out all of the names of their apps. Too many for each category I think. Wish it was otherwise. But, it did not want to let go of the hard drive very easily when I decided to get rid of it. It managed to put a lock on the drive which I ended up using Western Digital's Lifeguard tools to remove everything. It was an experiment which was something I guess I just don't want to repeat today or tomorrow. Might play with it again later one. Not sure. Gots to thunk on that one.
 
I've not used PCBSD, but typically will load up Ubuntu (https://www.ubuntu.com/desktop) and have also used Elementary (https://elementary.io/) which is very mac like and seemed to be well organized. Linux Mint (https://www.linuxmint.com/) is another I've tried and liked. I still don't run any linux pcs full time, usually I load them in VirtualBox and run them on my windows pc as a virtual pc.
 
Well, I dunno. I tried Linux based software quite a while back and really thought it was ok. Never had the time to play with it. Must have been about 3 years ago before I built this machine. Gave the old one to my son who needed something bad. Should have keep it for playing with open source with. But at least Linux didn't put a lock on the drive like PCBSD did. That was weird. Never had an open source do that. Might have been the way it loaded. There were 7 options displayed for the loading but didn't give me enough time to read them all. Started loading whatever was default before I could do anything. Anyway, I will probably go Linux next time. I hear they have done some good stuff this past couple of years or so.
 
Microsoft did release an update for XP to address this latest problem. Can get it here, http://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB4012598 Or here https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=55245

Thanks for posting, Scott. I had heard about Microsoft rescuing us XP users, but hadn't found it - no surprise, since the version I got was dated May 16.

As many know, the last few "automatic upgrades" to XP actually were to downgrade it, so I was worried about letting them at my XP systems again. (I had to back out their final few automatic fixes.) I tested it on a machine at end of life, and it ran fine, so I felt okay installing it on several other XP machines.

Thanks for posting
 
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