Seeking advice for an antique computer with XP

[Sportster]

. . .

 

[Jordan]

Google said that they are shutting the support of Windows XP in April 2015.

Also, with Microsoft lately cutting support for updates from 8th April, there's nothing you can do, apart from download from unknown sources.

 

[Sev]

Microsoft, the developers of Windows, have stopped giving support for the Windows XP distribution (as Jordan said); as a result Chrome is no longer providing updates/support for Windows XP either. Microsoft are doing this to ensure that they can make more money through effectively 'forcing' users to purchase Windows 8 or Windows 7. While Google Chrome will still function and do its job, programming bugs and hacker exploits will no longer be defended against, this also goes for Windows XP.

Final Day Countdown to the End of Windows XP Support

In contrary to what Jordan says, however, it seems that XP is already been considered "obsolete" - this would explain your error. (See link above)
In short, without technical terms and 'noob friendly':

--> XP is outdated
--> Programs will no longer provide updates for XP
--> XP is now vulnerable to hackers, malware etc etc etc --> "evil people"

Solution:
While I'm actually disliking many of the operating systems on the market today, Windows 7 is probably the best choice for you at the current time (especially if your inexperienced with computers).
Windows 7 can still be purchased online as well as in store. However, be careful where you buy it online. I would suggest looking on the Microsoft website.
If you don't want to buy it online, most techy shops should have a copy.
Windows XP lasted over a decade before they decided to halt services for it, so you should be fine with Windows 7 at the moment.

Oh, just thought it should be noted. You do not necessarily need to purchase an entirely new machine to have windows 7, you just need to install the software from the disk. When installing operating systems you will often lose ALL DATA on the harddrive, so its definetly worth backing it up on a Portable harddrive, USB, or Floppy Disk (if your still living in the stone age).

If you need any more help, feel free to message me.

 

[King_Oni]

I guess what's important to note is that if you have a 10 year old system, Win 7 might not run that well. If it runs at all even...

Perhaps this application by Microsoft might help out a bit as well; Download Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor from Official Microsoft Download Center

If installed it will check out your hardware and tell you if Windows 7 would run based on what you have now. For someone not that good with computers it might be better than to go the "can you check your system specs route and compare those to what Windows 7 needs"

 

[Sev]

I guess what's important to note is that if you have a 10 year old system, Win 7 might not run that well. If it runs at all even...

Perhaps this application by Microsoft might help out a bit as well; Download Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor from Official Microsoft Download Center

If installed it will check out your hardware and tell you if Windows 7 would run based on what you have now. For someone not that good with computers it might be better than to go the "can you check your system specs route and compare those to what Windows 7 needs"

Definitely worth noting, thanks for picking that up Oni.

 

[Judge]

Considering the age of my system, I'll venture to say that I'll probably have to buy a new one. I have looked at Best Buy (do they have those where you're at?) and found a couple good possibilities. I might choose a few and start a thread on, "Help Sportster Choose a Computer."

Yes. It's your only realistic option. Otherwise you'd need a minimum of 1 GB of RAM just to turn on a 32-bit version of Windows 7. And it would crawl.

Now, if your existing motherboard can upgrade to 4 GB of RAM, it would operate. Not great, but perhaps nominally depending on other hardware as well, such as your video card. Seeing you have only 512MB, I',m guessing your motherboard can't be upgraded to even 4GB of RAM. Frankly I run 8 GB at the moment, and while my system flies, I cannot imagine half that amount of RAM.

It's a pain and expense. I know...I made the decision last year to build a new one. But it was the right decision. Too much time had gone by. Too many technological advances, apart from new operating systems emerging.

PS- I noticed Sam's Club had some HPs on sale for some good prices....under $500.

Google's product liability is potentially exposed when/if they allow a user to continue on an unsupported operating system (not even of their own making). It's a legal decision on their part. I could go into much greater detail, but don't want to bore anyone!

It's corporate CYA more than anything else.

 

[Tarragon]

I have an XP computer which I use offline exclusively for music production. I will never hook it into the Internet as that PC does a specific job. As for replacing it, I will be moving over to mac when I finally have to. I use macs for everything else, and there isn't any comparison. They are infinitely better. It's just a shame that it comes at a price - a real price!! Worth it if you can afford it though, as I am still using an 8 year old mac perfectly fine everyday hooked into the Internet. I have gone through 3 pc's in the same amount of time. So, it's just economics.

 

[Judge]

I have an XP computer which I use offline exclusively for music production. I will never hook it into the Internet as that PC does a specific job. As for replacing it, I will be moving over to mac when I finally have to. I use macs for everything else, and there isn't any comparison. They are infinitely better. It's just a shame that it comes at a price - a real price!! Worth it if you can afford it though, as I am still using an 8 year old mac perfectly fine everyday hooked into the Internet. I have gone through 3 pc's in the same amount of time. So, it's just economics.

Yep...I keep my old one attached to the network so I can use my wireless color printer with some very old graphics programs in XP. But as for accessing the Internet directly, nope. That's gone. But then I also have removable drives on that system to run Windows 98SE....and lots of old but fun games.

 

[Tarragon]

Win98 runs like light speed on a newer system! Maybe we should all just go back to that? Hackers probably forgot to keep all the old viruses, so we could just start again!

 

[rollerskate]

Just another suggestion to add to your options: you may want to try a lightweight Linux doorstep designed for older machines. I know, Linux has a rep for being a geek OS, but there's two distros in particular that are quite user friendly: xubuntu and lubuntu. Best part is they're free to download and install, and most of Linux software is free as well. It also doesn't require as much maintenance and is secure enough out of the box for most users to not need any anti malware scans etc. There is a learning curve as there always is with operating system changes, but fortunately there's a large and strong support community to help you through it as well as plenty of online documentation.

 

[Judge]

Thanks!!! All suggestions are appreciated and will be explored. It's certain that I'm going to have to do something soon, as I don't know how much longer the Internet will allow me to use this machine. If I get a new one (which is probably going to be the case), I will keep this old one for word processing, desktop publishing, and making my movies.

Yes, by all means keep your old system. Odds are that most of the Windows software you have may not run on operating systems beyond XP. Just too many technological changes at this point in time for those of us who have used machines going back to the early 2000s. Especially painful for me given the amount of software I accumulated over the years. But it is what it is....I'm just grateful that I can still run Photoshop 5.5 on Windows 7 even with a few Extensis aftermarket plug-ins.

 

[rollerskate]

Yes, by all means keep your old system. Odds are that most of the Windows software you have may not run on operating systems beyond XP. Just too many technological changes at this point in time for those of us who have used machines going back to the early 2000s. Especially painful for me given the amount of software I accumulated over the years. But it is what it is....I'm just grateful that I can still run Photoshop 5.5 on Windows 7 even with a few Extensis aftermarket plug-ins.

Judge, have you tried the gimp? It's great for those that like the old school Photoshop. I use it probably more than I do Photoshop now days.

 

[Judge]

Judge, have you tried the gimp? It's great for those that like the old school Photoshop. I use it probably more than I do Photoshop now days.

Nope. Taking a look at it right now though. Bookmarked it for future consideration. Thanks! As long as I have functional access to a full version of Photoshop I'll stick to it like glue! But I know this is the end of the line. None of my vector graphics programs will run on Windows 7. Found Inkscape though, which seems pretty good. I even had to hack my registry to get ACDSee to work properly...

There is a lot of good freeware out there, but so much of it is tied to vendors who want to force default search engines and quasi-malware on users just for the privilege of downloading. Maddening at times...and not always easy to get rid of. But that's really another unrelated rant....

 

[rollerskate]

Nope. Taking a look at it right now though. Bookmarked it for future consideration. Thanks! As long as I have functional access to a full version of Photoshop I'll stick to it like glue! But I know this is the end of the line. None of my vector graphics programs will run on Windows 7. Found Inkscape though, which seems pretty good. I even had to hack my registry to get ACDSee to work properly...

There is a lot of good freeware out there, but so much of it is tied to vendors who want to force default search engines and quasi-malware on users just for the privilege of downloading. Maddening at times...and not always easy to get rid of. But that's really another unrelated rant....

Both gimp and inkscape are Linux native programs that were ported to windows. Inkscape is kind of like gimps cousin so if you like it you'll probably like gimp too. There's actually a lot of clonish Linux programs that have been ported to windows because their windows counter parts became obsolete or are too expensive for most people to afford.

 

[nowwhat]

You can install a nice linux distribution and get much quicker performance. Getting linux installed and running can still present some formidable hurdles for someone who's not used to the *nix way of doing things, tho. It would be fine for email, surfing the web, word processing, etc. You might have some save as sort of file format issues to contend with once in a while, but all the software you'd need to do the above is completely free. Video editing is another question. I don't do any of that, so I'm not sure if there's free software for that, and regardless of operating system, video editing needs lots of RAM and processor power.

I use both Inkscape and GIMP. GIMP (Photoshop replacement) is much further along than Inkscape (Illustrator replacement), but they're both quite functional if your needs fall within their capabilities. I almost never run Windows 7 anymore, though it's installed on this machine. I print, use my scanner, create and edit modest graphics, email, surf and more without upgrade or license hassles, and in a much quicker, more responsive environment than Windows can give me.

Messing with linux, tho is something that comes with a bit of a learning curve, and which you'll have to allow some time to acclimate to. The good news is there's thriving and helpful communities that will answer you linux questions and help you sort your issues. If you're going to purchase a new system, and have no need of a second machine, I wouldn't bother with linux. It can, however be a worthwhile and enjoyable project to install, configure and maintain a linux distribution. You'll learn much more about computers in general, and might just end up using it more than Windows.

 

[Judge]

Xubuntu would be a definite possibility on this machine once Windows 7 is no longer supported....assuming I'm still around!

Looks like a nice Linux-based OS.

 

[Judge]

I'm so confused now. Xubuntu?

Linux- not Mac or Windows. An open source operating system/graphic user interface. Probably an option for more experienced users.

xubuntu.org

 

[Warwick C]

Open source is free.

 

[Brent]

I love my OSx. If it wasn't for a few videos games and the better flexibility of Hardware at a cheaper price, I'd never look back from it.

 

[Brent]

I checked last night and I have 512 RAM, 7+ GB of hard drive space, and Service Pack 3 IS installed

I am impressed that someone can still use something with 512MB of ram today and it not be hand held lol