# Windows XP support ends Apr 8, 2014. No patches. What to do? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 10, 2013, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-support-ends-apr-8-2014-no-patches-what-to-do/673538 "2013-11-10T01:20:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Jamicat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jamicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamicat)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-support-ends-apr-8-2014-no-patches-what-to-do/673538/81 "2013-11-11T01:09:19Z")
I bought win 8.1 last month, full version, put it on a new hard drive. I have no idea what they were thinking with this. No, I _really_ don’t have ANY IDEA what they were thinking with this. Wheres the button that makes it all better? ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-support-ends-apr-8-2014-no-patches-what-to-do/673538/82 "2013-11-11T01:59:53Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Exactly. I don’t get why so many people are freaking out about this. You won’t get new updates. So what? I have a machine that still runs Windows 98 and another that still runs Windows 2000. Sure, there’s been software that doesn’t run, but it’s not like they are full of malware or anything. And, yes, they’ve been put online (albeit not all the time, and behind a firewall.) > > Now, yes, XP is different in that there is a much higher number of people still using it, making it a little more profitable to target malware towards it. But it’s not like patches are the first line defense against viruses, anyways. You just need to use good computer hygiene, and run a good antivirus with behavior monitoring. I’ve wondered about this. The worry is that patches to Win7/8 will be reverse engineered and redeployed as malware against the 31% of computers using XP. But perhaps sound practices could make this issue a wet squib. And if the malware is particularly virulent, I expect MS will cave and make a special patch available. At any rate we will know a year from now - it won’t be apparent during the first month I’d guess. Methinks this is a lot of rigamarole to put 500 million PCs through, especially because people use this OS largely because everyone else uses it. **Silophant** - The problem is that Vista was a downgrade and it’s sound practice to wait a year before buying a new OS. That places the earliest purchase date for Win7 in October 2010. Asking for 6-7 years of anti-malware support for an OS isn’t unreasonable in my view. And there is a public interest in denying a botnet to the bad guys. If US corporations were better at critical thinking in these matters, MS would be forced to offer security patches pretty much indefinitely for a $30-$50 annual fee per machine. I’ll add that those represent monopoly-level profits. Besides, calling this a 12 year old piece of software is silly. The first version of XP had all manner of problems: it didn’t really find its groove until SP2, released in 2004. And SP3 was released in 2008: XP isn’t that old. Sure, you got a good deal if you bought the program in 2004. But I still say that you should have the option of receiving security patches if you’re willing to pay a industry-standard annual fee for anti-viral packages. Norton Internet Security 2014 costs about $40 by way of comparison. **Stimulus!** Finally, landfilling 500 million perfectly workable computers seems a tad wasteful, ya? After all, smart users typically sidestep OS upgrades when their hardware can’t comfortably handle the strain and/or reconfiguration is a dubious endeavor. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-support-ends-apr-8-2014-no-patches-what-to-do/673538/83 "2013-11-11T02:52:23Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I don’t understand why people are so concerned about the support life of the product now, but weren’t when they bought it. > > I bought a Samsung netbook a few years back, running XP - at that time when MS had decided to extend the sales life of XP for ‘low powered devices’. I had absolutely no illusions that I was buying something that had a very long support future. > I thought it was pretty obvious to everyone at that point that this was the last gasp for XP. Windows 7 was already on sale - we were buying something _two versions behind current_. Obvious what happens when you do that. I bet most people are barely aware of such stuff, and are totally unaware of the implications. When I bought an Acer netbook with XP in late 2008 (which is still going strong), every computer I used, at home and at work, had XP. What was there to think about? I was vaguely aware that Vista was out and that it was getting an iffy reception, but that might as well have been happening in Australia. ---
**Author:** ![WilyQuixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f9ae1b/32.png) [@WilyQuixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WilyQuixote)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-support-ends-apr-8-2014-no-patches-what-to-do/673538/84 "2013-11-11T06:30:28Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > Some would disagree, but there are folks like me in this thread who think XP was the best version of Windows. Vista, 7 and 8 were marginal improvements at best. In some ways, they were steps backward. A strong case can certainly be made that XP was best version of windows. No argument there. > [@](#): > > This continual drive to make new versions and fix what isn’t broken is purely for the benefit of MS, not its users. Hey, I realize they’re a business. I’d even pay a REASONABLE fee for legacy support. But the $200 they apparently are asking cannot be construed as a serious effort to help customers. It’s a penalty for sticking with a product that works which they don’t want us to continue using, so they can sell us the newest crap. The paragraph above implies that MS is somehow unique amongst software developers in bringing out continuous new versions of its software, that contain few real (however defined) improvements over previous versions, and discontinuing support for older versions. I don’t think that you believe that, but that is what is being strongly implied. I know this is IMHO but I would appreciate a cite. What I read right now on the MS site, is that “after April 8, 2014, there will be no new security updates, non-security hotfixes, free or paid assisted support options or online technical content updates.” Nothing about $200 for any extended legacy support. I’m curious to know what you would consider to be a reasonable period of time for XP to be supported. ---
**Author:** ![WilyQuixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f9ae1b/32.png) [@WilyQuixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WilyQuixote)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-support-ends-apr-8-2014-no-patches-what-to-do/673538/85 "2013-11-11T06:42:30Z")
Missed edit window I see there was a link posted upthread by \*\*Dewey Finn \*\* that I missed. From the link itself: > [@](#): > > Those patches will come from a program called “Custom Support,” an after-retirement contract designed for very large customers who have not, for whatever reason, moved on from an older OS. Legacy support is clearly not for home users. It is unclear whether $200 is a decent price for what large corporates receive in return. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-support-ends-apr-8-2014-no-patches-what-to-do/673538/86 "2013-11-11T06:48:24Z")
> [@Jamicat](#): > > I bought win 8.1 last month, full version, put it on a new hard drive. > > I have no idea what they were thinking with this. > > No, I _really_ don’t have ANY IDEA what they were thinking with this. > > Wheres the button that makes it all better? ☹ Probably [here](http://www.classicshell.net/). If you install this program, you’ll get the start menu back, and be able to easily skip the Start screen on bootup, and disable the hot corners (the pop-ups when you move the mouse to the corners of the screen). There’s other software to do the same thing, and all but the start menu is possible in 8.1 anyway, but this way is easy, free, and works. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-support-ends-apr-8-2014-no-patches-what-to-do/673538/87 "2013-11-11T06:57:11Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > You and I apparently have different ideas of what’s fun. I’ve owned computers for years without ever having any interest in changing the default settings. To me, an appliance should work when I buy it and there should be no need for me to customize it or change it. As far as I’m concerned, the point of a computer is what you can do with it; having to do things to it is just a waste of my time. > > I’m not incapable of learning these things. I’ve been using computers for decades. I’ve learned FORTRAN, COBOL, BASIC, DOS, and Windows 3.1 because I needed to know them to use a computer. But I would have been happier if I could have used a computer without having to learn these things. I agree that I enjoy doing this sort of stuff, but I recognise that many people don’t. That’s one reason I’ve tried to point out how to do it as quickly and easily as possible in this thread and the other one, as some people don’t want to spend the time to figure it out. However, your mistake is thinking of a computer as an appliance. It’s not, it’s not like a washing machine or whatever that should constantly do the same few things, and do them consistently. It’s an extremely complex machine, that you interact with in a variety of ways for long periods of time. It makes sense that different people will want to interact with it in different ways, and it should be customisable to allow this. To me, not installing a couple of programs and tweaking a couple of settings is the equivalent of buying a car and not moving the seat to a comfortable position because it should just be where I want it, damnit! Do you buy or rent a house and assume that it should be exactly how you want without having to change anything? ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-support-ends-apr-8-2014-no-patches-what-to-do/673538/88 "2013-11-11T06:57:22Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > To me, an appliance should work when I buy it and there should be no need for me to customize it or change it. As far as I’m concerned, the point of a computer is what you can do with it; having to do things to it is just a waste of my time. For what it’s worth, the amount of tinkering I’ve had to do with my Vista and 7 computers has been negligible. I didn’t find them to be nearly that difficult to navigate and manipulate like some people did. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-support-ends-apr-8-2014-no-patches-what-to-do/673538/89 "2013-11-11T07:06:25Z")
> [@WilyQuixote](#): > > The paragraph above implies that MS is somehow unique amongst software developers in bringing out continuous new versions of its software, that contain few real (however defined) improvements over previous versions, and discontinuing support for older versions. I don’t think that you believe that, but that is what is being strongly implied. > . I didn’t intend to imply that at all, it’s just that we happen to be discussing a MS product. And that product isn’t merlely a program, it’s an OS. Continuing with the labored car comparisons, this isn’t buying new tires - it’s changing out the engine. In fact, I think this is a problem in a number of areas among many companies. Computers, software, cameras, cars, phones… Largely marketed on gimmicky features. Then they update those features we didn’t really need in the first place and sell the new model. When it’s a phone or a camera, fine, I just won’t buy it. But this is the guts of my computer and it causes a lot of hassle. I don’t know how long MS should support this kind of product. Best answer I can give: longer than this. ---
**Author:** ![WilyQuixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f9ae1b/32.png) [@WilyQuixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WilyQuixote)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-support-ends-apr-8-2014-no-patches-what-to-do/673538/90 "2013-11-11T07:28:20Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > For what it’s worth, the amount of tinkering I’ve had to do with my Vista and 7 computers has been negligible. I didn’t find them to be nearly that difficult to navigate and manipulate like some people did. I always need to tweak the OS settings. Until Windows 8 I never needed to download a third party program to render a current OS usable (Start Menu 8) And that program is currently #28 on [download.com](http://download.com) most downloaded software for the past week and has been in the Top 50 for months. When masses of users feel the need to download a third party program to restore a feature present in Windows for the past 18 years, its a sign that MS fucked up. And can anyone tell me, why MS thinks no one works on laptops and desktops? ---
**Author:** ![WilyQuixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f9ae1b/32.png) [@WilyQuixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WilyQuixote)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-support-ends-apr-8-2014-no-patches-what-to-do/673538/91 "2013-11-11T07:48:56Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > In fact, I think this is a problem in a number of areas among many companies. Computers, software, cameras, cars, phones… Largely marketed on gimmicky features. Then they update those features we didn’t really need in the first place and sell the new model. When it’s a phone or a camera, fine, I just won’t buy it. But this is the guts of my computer and it causes a lot of hassle. But your computer wont cease working on 8 April 2014; it will still work just as well, there will be simply be no more updates or support. I’m inclined to believe you don’t require customer support and as for updates - are there likely to be critical security flaws still remaining to be discovered on 13 year old piece of software? couldn’t lesser security flaws be compensated for by basic security software such as ZoneAlarm, Malwarebytes and/orAvast? (I have no idea - answers sought from more tech-savvy users) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-support-ends-apr-8-2014-no-patches-what-to-do/673538/92 "2013-11-11T10:11:15Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > You and I apparently have different ideas of what’s fun. I’ve owned computers for years without ever having any interest in changing the default settings. To me, an appliance should work when I buy it and there should be no need for me to customize it or change it. As far as I’m concerned, the point of a computer is what you can do with it; having to do things to it is just a waste of my time. Your XP machine must suck. The file indexing service is turned on by default; in all this time of using XP, you never turned it off? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-support-ends-apr-8-2014-no-patches-what-to-do/673538/93 "2013-11-11T10:23:13Z")
Also: [ul] [li]the animated search character[/li][li]the balloon popups telling you about the Desktop Cleanup Wizard[/li][li]visibility of hidden files and folders[/li][li]Start menu personalisation[/li][li]Sticky/toggle/filterkeys[/li][li]The Language Bar[/li][/ul] -All these are still in their annoying, out-of-box state on your XP machine? ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-support-ends-apr-8-2014-no-patches-what-to-do/673538/94 "2013-11-11T11:10:04Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > -All these are still in their annoying, out-of-box state on your XP machine? But, but, XP was perfect and never needed anything doing to it… ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-support-ends-apr-8-2014-no-patches-what-to-do/673538/95 "2013-11-11T14:07:50Z")
> [@WilyQuixote](#): > > But your computer wont cease working on 8 April 2014; I realize that, and so do others in this thread. It’s MS’ intentions and practices here that annoy me. And **Steophn** , it’s not that XP was perfect. It’s that it works well and didn’t need many of the “improvements” of later Windows versions. And it’s what some of us have now and it’s a nuisance to be hurried and shoved along in a certain sense to a newer OS. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-support-ends-apr-8-2014-no-patches-what-to-do/673538/96 "2013-11-11T14:51:30Z")
You say that as if there’s nothing wrong with Windows XP. For one thing, the lack of support for USB printers is annoying. Currently, you have to insert the installation CD, run the software and wait for the prompt before connecting a USB printer. In my experience if you just connect a USB printer, it’s very messy. Also Windows XP is basically just a 32-bit OS (there is a 64-bit version but driver support is limited). So anything more than four gigabytes of memory is inaccessible. I’m sire others can point out other flaws in Windows XP. ---
**Author:** ![WilyQuixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f9ae1b/32.png) [@WilyQuixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WilyQuixote)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-support-ends-apr-8-2014-no-patches-what-to-do/673538/97 "2013-11-11T15:07:06Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > I realize that, and so do others in this thread. It’s MS’ intentions and practices here that annoy me. 8 April is still some six months away. In six months time, XP is still likely to power over a quarter of the worlds computers. Its entirely possible that MS may change its stance. Of course, if MS was responsive to customer feedback, they would never have inflicted the Metro UI interface on us. I’m willing to make the argument that the Metro UI on desktops and laptops is the most poorly conceived piece of MS software since Microsoft Bob. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-support-ends-apr-8-2014-no-patches-what-to-do/673538/98 "2013-11-11T15:11:24Z")
> [@WilyQuixote](#): > > When masses of users feel the need to download a third party program to restore a feature present in Windows for the past 18 years, its a sign that MS fucked up. It’s possible. My experience with people though is that it’s just as, if not more likely, that most of them just hate change. ---
**Author:** ![WilyQuixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f9ae1b/32.png) [@WilyQuixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WilyQuixote)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-support-ends-apr-8-2014-no-patches-what-to-do/673538/99 "2013-11-11T15:18:38Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > You say that as if there’s nothing wrong with Windows XP. For one thing, the lack of support for USB printers is annoying. Currently, you have to insert the installation CD, run the software and wait for the prompt before connecting a USB printer. In my experience if you just connect a USB printer, it’s very messy. Also Windows XP is basically just a 32-bit OS (there is a 64-bit version but driver support is limited). So anything more than four gigabytes of memory is inaccessible. I’m sire others can point out other flaws in Windows XP. **Llama Logophile** is perfectly capable of speaking for himself, but I would venture that he (and many others) would say that XP does what he wants it to, any limitations are insufficient to justify an upgrade and that he sees no reason to upgrade, other than possibly discontinuation of support. The fact that XP is the second most popular OS in the world, after Windows 7, strongly supports this position. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2013, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-support-ends-apr-8-2014-no-patches-what-to-do/673538/100 "2013-11-11T15:20:20Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > But, but, XP was perfect and never needed anything doing to it… No, it wasn’t. But I’ll point out what I’ve written before - there was no huge backlash against Windows XP. Nor were there any huge backlashes against Windows 7 or Windows 2000. But there were backlashes against Windows Me and Vista and now 8. This is evidence that people are reacting to real problems and not just instinctively rejecting new products. So there may be some people who just hate every new version and complain about it. And there may be some people who love every new version and never complain. Both of these groups should be ignored as they lack the ability to distinguish between good and bad. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-support-ends-apr-8-2014-no-patches-what-to-do/673538.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-xp-support-ends-apr-8-2014-no-patches-what-to-do/673538.md?page=6)