Its time to start give XP ppl. 2001 OS os way to old. Use vista or 7 now. or if you want to keep the great OS, just dual boot it.

JustinzHereNow - I thought that you "Mac fans" had given up on Windows completely, not just XP....??!!

XP was released in 2001 And it's still regarded a perfectly good OS.
On April 8, 2014, all Windows XP support, including security updates and security-related hotfixes will be terminated, so people still have 4.5 years of supported XP use!

Absolutely! My laptop came with an upgrade to Vista when I first purchased it. That was in April of 2006. I did upgrade to Vista when I received the software toward the end of January 2007. Talk about a major headache. I had to uninstall my programs for some of my hardware (like my HP all-in-one printer) until HP came up with a compatible driver. There were so many places like Sonic/Roxio that had to come up with compatible drivers before most programs would even work. Finally, around two months later, things started working more smoothly.

I had more problems with the automatic updates than anything ... one update deleted my DVD decoder in Windows Media Player. I had to find a new DVD decoder and the Vista techs had no idea what was wrong. I ended up calling Dell, and the tech knew what was wrong. Around six months ago, I received another automatic update that messed up my UAC and I no longer had administrative permissions to do monthly backups. I called Vista and they messed up again. I allowed the tech to have remote access, and the tech deleted a file that was a hotfix so I could get my automatic updates. The tech didn't know what to do after that. The tech told me to call Dell and started apologizing.

The tech caused my software distribution files to corrupt, and Dell had to help me reformat my laptop. I had Windows XP SP2 again. I had to take a load of updates and reinstall all my programs. It took around three days of working on it, but I finally got everything up to par.

I agreed with the Dell techs about not reinstalling Vista because there was a possibility that I might get the same automatic update again, which could mess up my UAC once more.

Compared to Vista, I totally love Windows XP SP3. I have everything I need with XP, and I've been loving DSL. About two months ago, it finally became available in my area. I also have a lifetime warranty until 2012.

By then, I'll purchase a new laptop with Windows 7 on it. I'm not sure yet, though. I may wait until Windows 8 comes out. On the other hand, I believe Windows 8 does come out around 2012. Sounds good to me!

For now, I'm having a blast with Windows XP because I'm capable of working with videos thanks to codecs packs and my new ION VCR to PC. It works perfect with XP, and I'm able to write DVDs using my external DVD burner.

For me, Windows XP SP3 is just fine.

I like this topic I would not have said it as forcefully however. Upgrading is really a personal preference unless you are running bleeding edge technology (IE a new computer) in which case Windows 7 is really the only OS that will optimize your experience. For a laptop bought in 2003, I say stick to XP. However, if any of you are interested, my laptop was purchased in late 2006 with XP on it, had a free Vista upgrade, and with a small RAM upgrade (1 GB to 2 GB) ran that and now Windows 7 excellently. So in short some older hardware can run Windows 7 perfectly fine too. But hey, if you love XP, stick with it. And if you want to know what Windows 7 can help you do better, give me a shout and I can walk you through some of the benefits of Windows 7. Maybe I can convince some people out there to join the ranks of the early-adopters.

Well, you really have made some good points, MSherwood. I liked it when I had upgraded to Vista on my XP laptop. I added some more memory chips when I first got it, which helped a lot. The Dell techs even offered to help me reinstall (upgrade back to Vista) after I had to reformat back to XP. Then they gave it second thoughts since I had the problem with UAC.

Dell has even offered to help me with a clean install of Windows 7 should I decide to upgrade from Windows XP. My fear is that some of my programs won't work with Windows 7 and I would literally die if my VCR to PC program wasn't compatible with Windows 7.

I also realize there's an "XP mode" I could use if I purchased Windows 7 Ultimate. But then, I have to think about how expensive Ultimate is compared to Windows 7 Home Premium. I do have the requirements to upgrade. I have a 1.5 GZ processor and 1.5 GB of memory. Then I have to think about the size of my hard drive. When I purchased my laptop in April of 2006, my Dell came with a 60 GB hard drive. I have around 41 GB's free space on my laptop right now. If I purchase the Ultimate, it will use around 16 GB of space and the XP mode would use around 16 GB of space. That leaves about 28 GB of free space and all the programs I like use up around 10 GB of space. I would have 18 GB of free space left.

More than likely, I would need to purchase a larger hard drive for my laptop since I love to upload and download videos so much. The cost of the larger hard drive along with the cost of Windows 7 Ultimate is just too much for my pocket book right now.

What problems were you having with UAC? Was that the reason you had to revert to XP?



When i clean installed W7 Ultimate on my PC, it only took 7GB space, in fact i took a screenshot to prove it This is immediately after the install, some drivers and updates hadn't been installed.
It's geeky i know, but i knew it'd come in handy to prove to people that W7 isn't actually the bloated OS others proclaim it to be.



As for XP-Mode, it's also available in W7 Professional. The VHD only takes a couple of gigs. XP-Mode is there for the exact reasons you're worried about (program compatibility). If you install a program in XP-Mode, it'll be available natively in W7, it really is very good (RTM, is out too!). Don't forget 'Compatibility Mode' is also available to help.



What's the VCR to PC program called exactly?
If you enjoy movies as much as you do, investing in a bigger/external HDD is probably a good investment anyway.

This is simple just format c: and install windows 7 how simple is that

For those users who have little space i suggest go for Windows 7 home premium which takes around 8.3 gb with pagefile on it. if u have 1.5 gb ram.

Windows 7 ultimate takes about 11.5 GB.

Ultimate took 7GB on my PC!!! (see the screenshot i posted just yesterday )

In my opinion, and I think I'm thinking rationally here... if you are upgrading to Windows 7 and are worried about it taking up too much space on your hard drive, it is time for a new hard drive. An operating system taking up 7GB (thanks for the screenshot rsrvr85-very impressive) is completely normal and should leave 70GB free space for the oldest of Windows 7-capable computers.

Case in point-my laptop was purchased in late 2006 and has an 80GB HDD. I have no storage problems whatsoever. Laptop, desktop, and external hard drives are all very inexpensive if you're really worried.