I completely agree, however, as W7 works on even the most hardened XP hardware, many people will refuse to upgrade.

Windows XP came out 2002. You people should really upgrade to windows 7 or dual boot the 2 OS's. To dual boot:

1. Buy windows 7.

2. Make a partition on your hard drive. Don't use Device Manager. If you use it to much, you can't use it anymore. so just save it when you don't have time to download. I know you guys know that there are free partition managers. but they do not support x64 bit. This is a free partition manager that supports x64 and x32:

http://www.partitionwizard.com/

download it and install.

2. Resizing your hard drive.
In the C:\ drive, decrease your XP partition by 30-50 gigs. Then in the unallocated space, right click, new partition, name it Windows 7 and make sure it's file system is NTFS. The driver letter is up to you.

3. Installation
Pop out your DVD/CD drive. Insert your windows 7 disk. Then click the installer. In the installer, make sure you click other options instead of upgrading. Choose the partition you just made. Let windows 7 install.

4. Your done.
Now everytime you startup, there would be a boot manager that shows XP and win7. by default, it would highlight XP so if you weren't there while booting up, your machine would just boot up XP. to set windows 7 as default, boot up in windows xp OR win7. right click computer or my computer, and go to the advanced tab, startup and recovery settings, in the default operating system box, you can set it to win7 or XP. set it to windows 7 and restart. YOU DEFAULT OS IS WIN7 NOW.

ENJOY THIS GUIDE

Windows XP is a still good OS, the main reason of his long life is support for all kind of applications as well it's simpleness for not so tech people. Oh well there is 4 years....

There are a lot of good points made in this thread about Windows 7. I've even downloaded some of Rich's books about Windows 7 in preparation when I purchase my next laptop, which will probably be somewhere around 2012 after my lifetime warranty expires on the laptop I'm using. That will be in three more years and I still have support for 4 more years with XP.

By that time, Windows 8 may be ready and on the market. If it is, I'll choose that as my operating system on my new laptop.

Ang087 - Well the GOOD news is ..... you completely bypassed Vista!
But the BAD news is .... you're missin' out on the W7 experience!
But then again if W8 is better than W7 [which it no doubt WILL be], ...... WOW, I can't wait for 2012 either!
I, like you, was rather attached to XP ..... but to be honest I find W7 as simple to use as XP and it's just as fast ....... possibly even faster than XP! It's got much better features and "eye candy" though, than XP.

Actually ... I didn't bypass Vista. My laptop included the upgrade to Vista when I purchased it in 2006. I received the software around January 2007. I had Vista on my laptop up until about 5 or six months ago. Then, I had to have my laptop reformatted after I took an automatic update that messed up the UAC when I tried to do monthly backups. A Vista tech made things worse when I gave him remote access and he deleted a hotfix for my automatic updates. It corrupted the software distribution files and I no longer had user permissions to do anything.

A Dell tech helped me reformat my laptop, and I chose to stick with XP SP3 because I was scared if I reinstalled Vista that I'd receive the same automatic update again that messed up my UAC.

Yeah, I agree it would be nice to have Windows 7 and I'm 100 percent positive that it's better than Vista in many ways (and not as hard on CPU). My operating system is working fine and I have no problems with XP like I did with Vista. Truly, my experience with Vista turned out to be a nightmare. LOL! At the moment, I'm very happy with XP and I have everything I need to work with videos, which is one of my hobbies.

Dec. 22, 2012 the world would end.
that means windows 8 can't come out!

just kiddin.

And I still like windows even though Im a mac lover. Windows is awsome but I just think XP is BIT OLD.

You know I've been thinking about that statement, "Windows XP" is a bit old". I find that "a bit redundant" when the "XP Mode" is necessary (required) in order for programs to work in Windows 7.

I guess I was a late bloomer, anyway, because my first operating system (more or less a terminal that uses a TV for a monitor) was WebTV. I purchased it in 2002. I still have WebTV Plus, and use it to work on my website. WebTV Plus is now a very old technology, but still has all the capabilities of allowing me to work with HTML, javascript, tables, codes, etc. in order to work on and maintain a website. I also have the capability of making video captures (screencaps) with WebTV Plus. Here's a link to my website made with Pagebuilder in WebTV Plus:
Angie's Tools Help & Fun Page

That may be old technology, but it still works and I learned how to work with HTML thanks to WebTV. I purchased my laptop in April of 2006, which came with Windows XP SP2. I had purchased the MSN One Plan where I could still have WebTV Plus and I'm glad I did. I had Windows XP, liked it and used it until January 2007, when the upgrade for Windows Vista came in the mail.

I felt like a pioneer all over again with Vista. The first four months was crazy because drivers weren't ready for a lot of the programs like Roxio and HP printers, etc. I learned on my own how to make those programs compatible by right-clicking on the programs, clicking on properties, and then use the compatibility tab. Vista ran smoothly for almost two years, and then automatic updates messed up my user permissions. I found that Vista was more trouble than what it was worth, especially when you no longer have permission to do anything on your own laptop.

I've had Windows XP SP3 as my operating system for around 5 or 6 months now, and I'm loving it. There are no headhaches with UAC, and no worries of a program not suddenly working anymore because of an automatic update. I have a 1.5 GZ processor and now have 2 GB of RAM. The CPU is improved because of not having Vista anymore. I also have everything I need or want with Windows XP. I have some of the greatest programs that have allowed me to write a book and get it published. I'm able to watch TV on my laptop. I'm able to transfer what's on my VHS tapes to my laptop and then burn the videos to DVD or save them to my external hard drive.

Since it would be redundant, IMHO, to purchase Windows 7 OS and still have to use the XP Mode, there's no need to do that since I already have XP ... and according to the Mayan Calendar, the world will end on December 21st, 2012.

If the world is still here in 2012, I'll probably purchase a new laptop by then with the new operating system, Windows 8. The lifetime warranty will expire on my laptop by then.