Windows XP diehards: Can you survive the April 2014 deadline?
-
I have an old Epson Scanner that has better software including OCR than many more modern machines that will not run on Win 7. Also a Desk Top Publishing software that I had on a Win 386 machine that runs on WinXP but not Win 7. I have hundreds of floppies with old clients artwork files that I refer to from time to time. All of this will run on XP so I have that in a VM and just don't need to connect to the internet!
-
-
![]()
I have an old Epson Scanner that has better software including OCR than many more modern machines that will not run on Win 7. Also a Desk Top Publishing software that I had on a Win 386 machine that runs on WinXP but not Win 7. I have hundreds of floppies with old clients artwork files that I refer to from time to time. All of this will run on XP so I have that in a VM and just don't need to connect to the internet!
You really need to get all the data on those old floppies transferred to HDDs ASAP while you still have a machine that can read them (it's not a matter of if it will fail but, rather, when it will fail). If your present floppy drive goes belly up, you will have a hard time finding a replacement, assuming you can even find one. Yes, that will be a massive project but depending on outmoded technology is courting disaster. Yes, it will probably be expensive but just how valuable is the data on the floppies to you? Can you afford to lose it?
As technology advances, older media will become obsolete because of age related failure and the inability to retrieve the data due to incompatibility with current hardware so it is important to move data from older media to current media before it becomes inaccessible. If done gradually over time, the time and expense will not be daunting but, in your case, you've pretty much already run out of time; floppies were pretty much obsolete a decade ago
Any media, be it floppies, optical disks, HDDs, the "cloud", etc. is subject to failure (again it's not if, but, rather, when it will fail) so it is imperative to have a copy of each file on multiple media, such as multiple HDDs, so if one medium should fail, you will still have the file on other media. Again, this can be expensive but, again, what is your data worth to you?
-
Hi Jeannie
Thank you for your concern but just to set the record straight the data on the floppies has absolutely no value at all. Half of the clients are retired now and the other half would be very surprised to hear that I have the set up of their old Letterheads going back some 20 years or so. So there is but a little nostalgic value left. As far as a floppy drive is concerned I have two internal units in my box of tricks plus an external drive so they should last me out (Getting old you see).
Thanks anyway:)
-
![]()
There are going to be a lot of companies caught with their pants down when 04/08/2014 rolls around. I was amazed recently to see that a nationwide home improvement chain is still using XP for their registers. I'm going to be checking early next year to see which retailers haven't upgraded from XP so I can avoid using my plastic to pay for purchases with them. I fear there will be a lot of credit card clearing house hack ins shortly after XP dies because of retailers still on XP providing a route for the hackers.
That article is full of fear mongering L.F.
I can't believe that some of those posters there are IT specialists.
XP users will have to do what 2000 users have been doing for the past couple of years and do it for themselves.
Hell, BWC might even mod the NT6/6.1 kernel in the future, right now efforts are to keep 2000Pro going.
Hi there
No Panic really -- all you need to be aware of is that a) some Internet sites won't display or execute content properly -- but you don't need to use XP for the Internet, and b) security updates will cease -- but on Private Networks and stand alone machines is that actually a problem. !!
Cheers
Jimbo
See my post in the other thread I'm monitoring and my reply in the ZDnet article.
More Than 3 Out of 4 Enthusiasts Reject Windows 8
Realize you can still use updated software [including anti-vi and firewalls] by bypassing the MSI installer,
those guys I listed will show you how.
-
-
What really users need to make the switch (and in particular enterprises using it on many computers) is a REAL reason to do so. So far, computers that are working OK will continue to do so, XP can do everything Win7 can, and often on lesser hardware, programs run and the user is used to use it. So why change if everything is working? The phrase comes to my mind "if ain't broken, don't fix it".
And on the other hand, what will happen after that "deadline"? Computers will stop working? NO. Only MS will refuse to update it any longer, updates that give little to no value to the average user. It won't provide support, but what's the matter? When Windows crashes, Google has more answers than the so-called tech support, if you can ever reach someone for help.
Bottom line. XP is a good system, there is no real reason to replace it just because MS wants us to do so. Maybe when a whole new computer comes by with a new Windows preinstalled, maybe, but just for the sake of change, it's a waste.
-
1. I know at least two banks and my public library still use XP Pro.
2. I just undid a dual-boot XP & Win7 hard drive because I needed a new mobo. I will be reinstalling XP Home on another drive at some point for two reasons: the first is that Nero Ultra Suite 6 will not work with 7 even in a VM, and secondly, data file transfers from my DVD+RW backups are far far faster with XP than 7.
-
Not pointing any fingers, albeit there is really some. . .
-
-
![]()
anybody who needs to use XP after support ends can run it "Until the cows come home" 100% safely and reliably by simply running it as a Virtual machine where all their legacy apps will still work and simply isolate the XP machine from the public Internet -- job easily done - but hardly a mention of this fact too.
Bulk of the companies I've seen have a similar approach. The only OS that are upgraded are the ones on the servers, because they are the only ones that do have access to the internetz.
Bulk of the boxes in offices and libraries running XP are actually diskless (network boot) beige boxes whose OS is completely isolated from anything, and is actually a heavily locked down disk image that does not save any of the changes the user does anyway.
So yeah, XP will still be pretty damn common for at least 5-10 years after the end of support, and .
the first is that Nero Ultra Suite 6 will not work with 7 even in a VM, and secondly, data file transfers from my DVD+RW backups are far far faster with XP than 7
What about using ImgBurn and usb drives?
-
![]()
.
the first is that Nero Ultra Suite 6 will not work with 7 even in a VM, and secondly, data file transfers from my DVD+RW backups are far far faster with XP than 7
What about using ImgBurn and usb drives?
1. I really dislike using ImgBurn on audio discs. I may have to try it with DVD+RW file backup.
2. Maybe I'm missing something, but I can't find a way to use ImgBurn to read data off my backup DVD+RWs and transfer them to my desktop or other hard drives. Putting the discs into my optical drives in Win 7 and trying to read and rip the data via Windows Explorer is incredibly slow if there are a lot of files, as low as 80KB/sec. (this is a well-known issue that is discussed elsewhere) To make the file transfer much faster, I've had to resort to burning TrueCrypt file containers on my DVD+RW if there are more than ±1500 files on a disc.
3. If you are referring to USB hard drives rather than DVD+RW backups, I prefer something with no fragile moving parts. USB thumb drives? Too costly. A spindle of 25 DVD+RW and a burner costs just $45.
-
There's at least twenty different disk burner programs out there, including Burnaware.
I'm sure you can find an alternative to Nero.
Quote