What's wrong with XP?

Teofilo · **on:** November 19, 2012, 02:21:09 PM

Nothing, and I'm still using it on my desktop.

Millhouse · **Reply #1 on:** November 19, 2012, 02:29:13 PM

Nothing wrong with XP, I prefer Win 7 these days.

enki_ck · **Reply #2 on:** November 19, 2012, 04:39:44 PM

Nothing at all, I've been running it on my home server that has been on 24/7 since 2008 and never had a problem with it. I remember I once had it up for maybe 5 months without stability issues until the power went out. I also run it on my netbook. I run 7 on my desktop but find xp much easier to configurate, especially all those hidden settings.

dks · **Reply #3 on:** November 19, 2012, 04:56:52 PM

I have a couple of computers with XP and despite its age (or maybe because of its age) they are fine.

I do, however, like some of 7's options when viewing pictures in folders, though I am not happy with all the mixing of libraries, my pictures, documents etc that make it slower to go where you want to go.

Whoey · **Reply #4 on:** November 19, 2012, 05:03:21 PM

Depends on what you want to use it for and with I suppose.

There are no machines running XP in my house anymore... I do still have an XP virtual machine I use with Oracle VM Virtualbox.

Laptop and this machine came with Vista preloaded, but are both now upgraded to 7 however this machine is primarily running Ubuntu with Win7 as a secondary OS, but I may change soon as Ubuntu is starting to annoy me... Wife's new machine came preloaded with Win 7, and no reason to change up or down (plus due to amount of ram it has I'd need a 64 bit version and all I have floating around is a 32bit version of XP pro...)

PVR/XBMC machine is running XBMCbuntu and runs fine as is... I plan to replace that machine with an Android TV box as a PC is just too big & noisy next to the TV... not to mention the power it sucks up...

enki_ck · **Reply #5 on:** November 19, 2012, 07:49:40 PM

Quote from: enki_ck on November 19, 2012, 04:39:44 PM

...I've been running it on my home server that has been on 24/7 since 2008 ...

Just checked, since the 5th of January 2008

Heinz Doofenshmirtz · **Reply #6 on:** November 20, 2012, 08:43:04 PM

Quote from: Teofilo on November 19, 2012, 02:21:09 PM

Nothing, and I'm still using it on my desktop.

It's Windows, that's what.

Sorry, I'm a Mac user; I'm biased.

sir_mike · **Reply #7 on:** November 20, 2012, 09:15:30 PM

I still use XP on a Petium 4 desktop that I use for a file/print server. All my other pc's and laptops are running Win 7, which I like...most of the time!

I like Linux but always run into something that bugs me so I stop using it for awhile, then try one again....it is a vicious cycle. LOL

WiSAKfan · **Reply #8 on:** November 29, 2012, 06:37:38 AM

xp is still used by many people, and many businesses, it's one of microsoft's better os's

that said, i've been on linux for 3-4 years and for me it's the cat's meow

linux mint is a good starter one.

i'm currently using lubuntu on one computer
and bodhi linux on my netbook.

for friend's new to linux i recommend linux mint.

i'm normally the guy friends/family bring their windows computers when something isn't working right.

it's not all microsoft's fault, with such a large percentage of market, it's only natural all the malware and devious types choose to focus on it.

Mercury · **Reply #9 on:** December 10, 2012, 05:29:17 AM

I loved XP, it was/is a great system. MUCH better than the travesty that was Vista. I was so happy when 7 came out, I love it even more than XP. Both my machines are running 7 right now.

mvyrmnd · **Reply #10 on:** December 10, 2012, 08:38:39 AM

To answer the original question:

Now that it's 11 years old - lots.

No security, no support, no software updates, no protection from so far undiscovered security flaws, lack of support for modern hardware, lack of support for more than 3.5GB of RAM.

It's only fast on current hardware because of it's relatively light weight, not because it exploits the hardware to its full potential. If you run it on a SSD, prepare for a failed SSD.

I think that the folks who cling to it as a safety blanket are in for a rude shock in a couple of years.

Whoey · **Reply #11 on:** December 10, 2012, 10:59:58 AM

Not entirely true, there is still support for XP (SP3) until 2014 afaik. While a modern IE is not available (Microsoft's attempt to make people upgrade), there are plenty of other modern browsers that work just fine in XP.

Hardware manufacturers are the ones responsible for the lack of support, in a lot of the cases they are building components for only the current system, it's all about fast turn over. I have an old HP Laserjet that has no 64bit support for windows since WinXP... so it doesn't run in Vista or 7... That is due to the manufacturer not making 64bit drivers for the printer, there are however 32bit drivers... (which won't work on 64bit OSes) I also have some great Soundblaster products that are even older that are no longer supported... and they outperform modern hardware and have accessories that cannot be replaced for less than the 200euro range... Accessories that are not compatible with newer versions of the cards of course...

There is a 64 bit version of XP that supports more than 4gb ram, 32bit vista and win7 also have the 4gb limitation (2gb on starter editions) so this is not really an XP issue.

While it doesn't surprise me that XP has issues on an SSD, it's not the only modern hardware with issues... as you pointed out, the OS is 11 years old now... There are tweaks to help with this, however yes, it is broken out of the box...

All that being said, I don't actually run XP on any machines anymore. They've all been upgraded to 7 or Ubuntu or the likes... I only have a Virtual machine to mess around with some old setups I had and for testing old browser compatibility.

If I had an older machine I might be inclined to keep running XP on it... with just a bit more care...

Hello Lurker! Remove this ad and much more by logging in.