XP ending
- Thread starter pidgeon1
- Start date
If there's nothing wrong with your existing machine then stick with it. How many times in the past 7 years have you contacted MS for technical support.
The main ramification from they no longer supporting it is that they will no longer bother you with "pointless" updates.
XP was a pretty good operating system and Vista and its followers simply prove just how reasonably good it was.
My old machine still chugs along quite happily on XP.
The main ramification from they no longer supporting it is that they will no longer bother you with "pointless" updates.
XP was a pretty good operating system and Vista and its followers simply prove just how reasonably good it was.
My old machine still chugs along quite happily on XP.
We had a info message from Windows pop up.
Offering a upgrade to windows 8
After the checks our machine coulds take this, would it be worth the money to upgrade or stick with XP ??
Dell Dimension C521 only failed twice in the 7 years.
Cheers
Offering a upgrade to windows 8
After the checks our machine coulds take this, would it be worth the money to upgrade or stick with XP ??
Dell Dimension C521 only failed twice in the 7 years.
Cheers
I would be very surprised if a 7 year old machine would run Win 8 all that well but I suppose it depends on what the spec of that machine was.
Ok.. I just googled your machine... Geez it's only got a 3800 and a X1300 and ONE gig of RAM in it.
UP to you if you want to Guinea Pig yourself, Your wallet etc.
Personally I wouldn't bother.
Run it till it dies and then stick a Linux distro (they're free) on it !
Ok.. I just googled your machine... Geez it's only got a 3800 and a X1300 and ONE gig of RAM in it.
UP to you if you want to Guinea Pig yourself, Your wallet etc.
Personally I wouldn't bother.
Run it till it dies and then stick a Linux distro (they're free) on it !
This what the machine has
Dimension C521
Service Tag
Express Service Code -
Processor AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5600+
Processor Speed 2.74 GHz
Memory (RAM) 2048 MB
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Operating System Version 5.1.2600
Dimension C521
Service Tag
Express Service Code -
Processor AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5600+
Processor Speed 2.74 GHz
Memory (RAM) 2048 MB
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Operating System Version 5.1.2600
My inclination, with a machine of that age and specification, would be to stick with XP. If you can get hold of a "used" Certificate of Authenticity for WIN7 (around £40 on e-bay) then that might be worth a punt, but £100 or thereabouts for WIN8, no chance!
BTW, with only 2GB RAM, I would stick to a 32-bit version of the O/S. I only go 64-bit if the machine has over 3GB RAM. You may even find that the COA on e-bay may have come from a Dell PC!
BTW, with only 2GB RAM, I would stick to a 32-bit version of the O/S. I only go 64-bit if the machine has over 3GB RAM. You may even find that the COA on e-bay may have come from a Dell PC!
There is nothing wrong with XP per say. The problem you will have is when a serious flaw is patched in Vista / Win7 / Win8.
Hackers reverse engineer the fixes to find the exploit, then will see if it affects XP.
Get a good AV product, as that will offer you some protection, but be more cautious if you do online banking for example.
I'd suggest you ditch IE and switch to firefox / Chrome as IE is constantly being patched
Hackers reverse engineer the fixes to find the exploit, then will see if it affects XP.
Get a good AV product, as that will offer you some protection, but be more cautious if you do online banking for example.
I'd suggest you ditch IE and switch to firefox / Chrome as IE is constantly being patched
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Rumor is 9 to be released in 2015, I was going to hang on but after reading up on the risks of continuing to use XP I bottled it and went for 8. Not intuitive by any stretch of the imagination and simple things like right clicking to print have gone, but the new pooter is a dream to use, boots up in less than a minute unlike my old one where you could boil the kettle while you waited 
I hope that when Windows 9 does appear, it will be a big improvement on 8. My wife got a new laptop, so I've had the chance to try it, and I think it's cr@p.
Mine uses Windows 7 which, again, was a big improvement on Vista. XP was good too but, of course, support is ending.
What is it with Microsoft?
XP - good
Vista - bad
7 - good
8 - bad
9 - ?
Mine uses Windows 7 which, again, was a big improvement on Vista. XP was good too but, of course, support is ending.
What is it with Microsoft?
XP - good
Vista - bad
7 - good
8 - bad
9 - ?
Thanks, JBR for reminding me. Funny how history repeats - and Micro$oft never seem to learn!
DOS 3.3 GOOD
DOS 4 Rubbish
DOS 5 GOOD
DOS 6.0 BAD
DOS 6.2 GOOD
We are talking here 1986/7 to 1994 approximately.
DOS 3.3 GOOD
DOS 4 Rubbish
DOS 5 GOOD
DOS 6.0 BAD
DOS 6.2 GOOD
We are talking here 1986/7 to 1994 approximately.
There used to be a rumour that the version number for Windoze NT X was the number of processors it would scale to.
Your PC is easily capable of running either Windows 8 or Windows 7.
I would advice you to upgrade to Windows 7 (not
.No advantages, really, to Win8 unless you have a touch-screen (which you don't), quite the reverse, if you don't - it's a bit of a ruddy nuisance.
XP has always been my preferred OS but, since MS stopped their Service Upgrades, it is becoming a nightmare. More security holes in it than a Swiss-Cheese. And it is being attacked, accordingly, by the "Bad-Guys".
I have a network of 6 PC's. 4 used to be XP (with one Win7 and one Win8 (but I always used XP for my work, the 7 and 8 machines being purely for investigative purposes, with regard to client problems) - (I'm a computer technician since 1982). Now, 4 on my network are Win7, one Win8 and only 1 WinXP (further, I will not allow the XP machine Internet access. Sad but true). To allow it Internet access would be like sending the British Tommy's over the trenches like a line of dominoes, as in WW1, to face the Hun's machine-gun nests.
Replace your XP with Win7.......
NOW!!!
(otherwise you will just end up paying someone like me to sort it out for you and we are not cheap).
Why do I offer this advice, which is counter to my interests?
1) You are not in my jursidiction and there exists no "Brotherhood" of IT Technicians.
2) If you are "normal", you will either ignore the advice or keep putting it off "until tomorrow" and end up in the mire, in any case.
Do it.
Hope that helps you. A Windows 7 upgrade is cheaper than a new PC (of your specifications. It's a good machine).
I would agree with an earlier poster in that you should stick with the 32Bit version, due to your RAM (Win7 32Bit runs fine on 1Gb for most stuff so your 2Gb should be more than fine. If you are a serious Gamer, it's probably not enough....But if you were a serious Gamer, you would be advising me, not the other way around).
Best intentions in my reply as I just received stellar advice from some guys in the Auto section and like this site with its pooled experiences aimed at helping out each other.
If you need any further help, please ask.
Best wishes.
Jib.
