The deadline approaches. On April 8, 2014, Microsoft will cease delivering updates, critical updates, and patches to Windows XP users, essentially abandoning the most popular Windows operating system (and longest lived) of all time. Using Windows XP after the end of support from Microsoft, is like playing Russian Roulette. No one knows what will happen when Windows XP becomes vulnerable to attack from a wide variety of sources, but no matter what scenario you choose, it’s not going to be pretty.
Many of you are watching your pennies and so are considering upgrading to your old XP machine to Windows 7 or Windows 8. However, we think this is not a good move for a variety of reasons, and it won’t save you as much money as you might think.
Windows 7 and Windows 8 are not free
Whether you choose to upgrade to Windows 7 or Windows 8, you’re going to have to buy the operating system. Right now this will set you back around $100.00.
You’ll probably need to add more RAM
Windows 7 and Windows 8 will run with less than 4GB of RAM installed, but you’ll not get a very good experience running either version of Windows with less than 4GB of RAM. Very few Windows XP computers have 1GB of RAM and even fewer have 2GB or more of RAM. For the average XP user you’ll have to figure in the cost of adding enough RAM so that you have 4GB of RAM. Depending on how much RAM you have now, this will cost you between $40 and $60…and that assumes you install the RAM yourself. It’s not hard to do and doesn’t take very long, but RAM is not free and will add an average of $50 to your upgrade costs. Plus, you may find that your old Windows XP computer’s motherboard doesn’t support more than 1 or 2 GB of RAM.
So now you’ve spent $150 upgrading your old Windows XP box to Windows 7 or Windows 8
Now consider that if your Windows XP computer is more than five or six years old (and most are), other hard drive is going to start wearing out — especially vulnerable to wear and tear is your hard drive. If your computer is more than six years old, the chances of a complete hard drive failure increase each year. And if you have to purchase a new hard drive, it’s going to cost you $60 or more — depending on the size of the drive, etc. and assuming you install it yourself — not to mention the hassle of putting in a new drive and re-installing the operating system.
Are you really going to save money by upgrading your old Windows XP computer
With the cost of new computers at an all time low, we think upgrading an old Windows XP computer is throwing good money after bad. It’s going to cost you at least $100 and probably more to upgrade. We think that money would be better spent on buying a new computer. We’ve seen some really powerful computers with large hard drives and 4GB or more of RAM in the $300 — $400 price range. We’ve even seen some budget models with 320GB hard drives and 4GB of RAM for less than $300.
Everything gets old; everything wears out
We know you all love Windows XP. We did too. But it’s not coming back and it’s going to be very dangerous to use very soon. Windows XP served you well as did your old reliable Windows XP computer. But everything gets old and everything wears out and it is time to move on to another new era.
Windows 7 and Windows 8 — not so hard to use
Moving to Windows 7 or Windows 8 from Windows XP might take some getting used to, but it’s still Windows. And if you add a start button to Windows 8 like Classic Shell (free) you’ll bypass the start screen and go right to your desktop — with an XP-style (if you choose) start menu and a desktop you’ll feel very familiar with.
Lots of people make lots of money writing negative articles about Windows 8, but just adding a start button to Windows 8, which takes just a few minutes, it’s very difficult to tell the difference between Windows 7 and Windows 8 — and Windows 8 does add some nice recovery options which are not found in Windows 7 – including System Refresh which allows you to reinstall Windows without losing your precious personal files and folders.
So we think it’s a very bad idea to try to upgrade an old Windows XP computer to Windows 8. You may save a little money in the short run, but not nearly as much as you might think.
I hated my other pc which was an e-machine and a piece of crap which my x tech bought for my husband who didn’t do much due to memory loss. I loved XP as it was so easy to use and had a program and disc I can’t replace as they don’t make any more but couldn’t use on my windows 7 main pc. I still like xp better then 7 but that is my choice. How will I get all my info off that pc when I replace with a new one?
Thanks for all the wonderful letters from you.
A senior Grandmother 12 great grandchildren
go here it works really easy
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/products/features/windows-easy-transfer
I bought a new computer with windows seven two years ago and am very happy with it. But I have kept my old xp because it has an art program that is no longer made and won’t work on anything else so I just use the xp for that and then e-mail my work to the other computer, will it be still be safe to do that?
XP will not be safe if it’s connected to the Internet. So the only way you could send email from one computer to the other would be either the Internet or if you set up a closed Intranet.
Let me offer you an alternative or perhaps an escape route you can try.
If you buy a new Windoz 8 computer, fine, have a geek transfer your email and browser settings from your old system to the new and start your learning curve to Windoz 8. But when he’s done, have him install the Ubuntu operating system on your old machine and transfer your email and browser settings to that system as well. Ubuntu is absolutely FREE (donate some money if you like it) and has no need for anti-virus software. According to Wiki – “According to 2012 online surveys, Ubuntu is the most popular Linux distribution on desktop and laptop personal computers…”
If all you do with your computer is read and write email and browse the internet and operate no 3rd party Windoz software then changing to Ubuntu could be your answer to the ever changing world of Windoz.
And if you (like I) use 3rd party software (like a photo processing suite or embroidery design software) you can either find a native Unix replacement for it (usually free) or find that by using a program like Wine (Wine Is Not an Emulator), you can install and run your Windoz program on your Ubuntu computer as if nothing had happened.
Try Ubuntu or any of the over 100 various distributions of Unix and you may find something new to like. And the price is certainly right.
This is ironic since most Windows users would find Ubuntu a much greater leap than Windows 8. Fun.
Yes, you are correct that most Windows users would find the transition to Ubuntu difficult. However, the main reason is not because Ubuntu is difficult. It is because anything new disturbs most users “comfort zone.” People generally do not like change of any kind so they resist and procrastinate greatly. I exaggerate to make my point but there are those that would be perfectly happy to still be using a horse and buggy for transportation. Ubuntu is not difficult, quite the contrary. Once you use it for a while and become accustomed to it, you’ll wonder just what it was that made you so timid about it to begin with. Try it, give it a fair chance, and you might just like it. As an extra added bonus, if your old computer will run Ubuntu, you can load it on the computer and give it to one of your kids or a student who will be happy to have anything that works. At that point, you extended the life of the unit for no cost, made someone happy, and increased their knowledge base exponentially. Yep, win-win!!!!
I know I shouldn’t be, but I am feeling really anxious about having to give up my XP comfort zone. I feel like I’m right back where I was when I purchased my very first computer. I have been scouring the internet, comparing everything that is offered on the various brands of computers and I cannot even understand some of the technical terms that are used to describe them. Well, I guess this whole process is going to be another whole new learning experience for me and hopefully in the end I will have made a successful purchase. At least I’ll always know that I have EB and TC to provide some helpful assistance should I need it.