Some months back XP was pissing me off and I tried running Puppy from a thumb drive. Something went wrong and I could no longer boot XP, so I offloaded my files and deleted the XP partition, believing at the time that Ubuntu could solve my every problem, like fanboys claimed. Nope. Linux is still the amateurish piece of shit it always was, and it’s slower, with weird spells where everything stops and the screen goes dark monochrome for a minute or two. This is bullshit.
I got my computer used, so of course there’s no backup disk. HP doesn’t have a way to legitimately download the files that I’ve found, so I may be forced to use alternate channels. But then can I use my perfectly legit XP serial numbers on the sticker on the computer, or am I stuck using some bogus crackz number? And is the real reason Linux has few viruses because the shit’s already so buggy that nobody would notice?
The serial number should work with any XP windows disk. I’ve bought newer editions of Windows with the latest service packs and installed with my old serial number. worked fine and it validated.
But, I’m pretty sure you can’t change versions. A XP serial number won’t work with Win 7.
I always understood that one of the strengths of Linux is if anything went wrong or you didn’t like a feature or found a bug, it was easy-peasy to write some code and apply the fix. That’s why Linux was the desktop of the future that would bring Microsoft to it’s knees.
If you can find an OEM install disc from HP, you can probably get it installed. The activation keys (for XP, at least) were different for different manufacturers and for the retail versions.
But why!? It’s unsupported, unsafe, unpatchable, etc.
Simple: it works and I have a licence for it. In Ubuntu’s case, I have spent the afternoon just trying to create a bootable backup disk using the tool that came with it.
I never noticed any such problems when I ran Fedora Linux on four or five different machines.
I’ve given up on Linux for other reasons – the installation and interface are too constipated and, AFAICT, Fedora for Toshiba has no support for slowing the clock speed, an intolerable omission.
I now run Cygwin, a Unix-emulater under Windows. It provides about 97% of basic Unix functionality. (I do have 1 or 2 problems with it, and hope an expert Doper will start a “Ask me how to solve your Cygwin problem” thread. )
Out of curiosity, why don’t you try a more mainstream distribution if you’re unhappy with the stability and video performance? Why not just download Ubuntu 14.04 LTS?
There are many reasons to choose Windows or OSX over Linux, but stability should not be one of them.
Do yourself and, not at least, the rest of the world (that is, all the other computer users) a favor and do NOT install Windows XP any longer if you intend to use it together with a working internet connection. You will turn your machine into a containment place for all sorts of dangerous stuff, viruses, malware, whatelse not. And it will spread from your computer, simply because XP is no longer provided with patches and updates. (And ignorance is no excuse in law, so if some serious damage is done because of your system spreading viruses, you’ll get into big trouble. I wouldn’t take the risk)
If your machine isn’t the newest and fastest of all and you’d like to stick with a Windows-based OS, Windows 7 is about as demanding in terms of ressources as XP. Some say even less. And Windows 8 is even less demanding than Windows 7, although many may not like Windows 8 because of its new tile-feature interface. (In its defense, however, with all the latest updates installed it’s basically possible to never see and use the metro-UI and directly boot to the desktop)
Go to eBay and get another (used or refurbished) computer with XP (or perhaps Windows 7) already installed. You will save yourself an enormous amount of frustration–and it’s a great idea to have two separate working computers. A computer comparable to your existing one might be in the $100 range-look it up.
That’s what I’ve been told all these years, but here I am, ready to toss it in the dustbin of history.
My computer is a Compaq/HP Nc6220 (Pentium M 730 1.6 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 60 GB HDD). An uninspired business laptop eight years ago, it meets my simple needs now. It’s good that it has a touchpad as well as a titmouse because Ubuntu keeps forgetting I have a USB mouse plugged in. The internal wifi went south so I used to use a USB wifi stick, but the Linux drivers for the three I have do not install, making my portable computer less portable. Those odd slowdowns are inexplicable–they happen at times when I know from experience I should not be overtaxing the system.
Then there are the little things, the death by a thousand cuts. Ubuntu has a stack of installed software on the left side of the screen. It’s 3/4" wide and always there, cramping the screen. Recent versions of Firefox for Ubuntu cannot be convinced that I do not use British spelling. All the PDF readers for Linux that I have tried are unusably slow, which brings us to the worst flaw, but one which Linux users consider one of its greatest strengths: Most of the software is written as evening projects by single parties or small crews. Everything associated with Linux is shareware or freeware, and it behaves like it. No support. Manuals that are rudimentary at best. Installation explanations, if there are any, that only work with a specific breed and a specific distro. Oh, that changed? Well, part of the fun of Linux is that means you get to play with it all afternoon trying to get it running! When I started it took me two hours to figure out how to open a terminal because Linux users already know how to do that.
Will you have money to pay for potential damage that your outdated OS might cause? I did not intend to imply that you keep your systems in a mess or not “clean” in any way. But you don’t seem to understand that while using an OS that is no longer supported by Microsoft you can “try” to keep it clean as much as you want, but you won’t be able to stop hackers or the like using unpatched areas of your outdated system to turn your OS into a hotbeed of “evil”. Or why do you think noone uses Windows 9x systems any longer?
In the end, of course it’s up to you what you do and what you don’t, but you can never be safe with XP anymore and in the worst case this might turn out to be more costly than buying an up-to-date OS. You might be lucky though.
Because it was slower than XP on my pitiful old Pentium II with 768mb? And the new software wouldn’t run on it?
I believe you are exaggerating the risks. (looking at join date) Hmmm. Are you perhaps an agent of Microsoft, sent here to convince XP loyalists to give up and buy the new OS? <-Just to be clear, this means I am not actually making that accusation.
But “pay for potential damage that your outdated OS might cause?” Do they really do that in the EU?
Yes, you can use the license key on the sticker attached to your machine as long as you have a copy of the correct Windows XP disc or installation files. In particular, the installation files must match the Windows XP edition of your license key (Home / Professional / Media Center / etc…). In addition, you must have a copy of the Windows XP OEM installation files, not a copy of the Windows XP Retail installation files (OEM = came bundled with a computer; Retail = standalone copy purchased separately).
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