Comments on: Keep Windows XP secure and trouble-free

Microsoft isn't making life easy for users of its aging operating system, but you don't need to be in a hurry to abandon XP.

[Q-Hack]

This is why I run Linux. I have been using Fedora 5 for years now. I don't have to worry that it won't be supported in the future. Getting all the updates in Linux means that I am just as safe as somebody running Fedora 10. Oh, and the stability is better than Microsoft as well. I don't worry about viral infection or malware. Heck even spyware is almost unheard of. If Microsoft is going to force you to "upgrade", then take a look at what Linux has to offer. It is cheaper (free) and the compatibility with Microsoft products is almost perfect. Yes, there is still some software that doesn't work with Wine, but It is getting to the point where it is hard to find.

Ubuntu seems to the most popular distribution currently, but any of the major distro's are as good as any other. I encourage everybody to take a look. You might be surprised.

[jer2eydevil88]

The only thing that has ever helped speed up XP for me has been Diskeeper Defragmentation Software. I've played with these other tips and tweaks in the past but everything has paled in comparison to the 50 - 60% performance gains I've made from defragging.

[jinx101a]

"This is why I run Linux". Linux distros are support for a much shorter time than XP has been. Windows and OSX are still far easier to use than Linux, especially when it comes to availability of software that you don't have to download, untar, unzip then compile.

[dumbspammers]

Unlike Windows, upgrading your Linux distro to the latest supported version is neither difficult nor costly (free, in fact, for most distros). Alos unlike Windows, it won't require you to format your hard drive to do a "clean" install, nor reinstall all your applications.

And since the vast majority of software for Linux is available from the package manager in binary versions, the only reason to download/untar/unzip/compile is vanity. How many decades has it been since you ran Linux?

[MrSviess]

Boy I sure am glad I chose Microsoft as my preferred computer software vendor. They have always maintained respect for me as consumer. The quality of their products and focus of their marketing campaigns reflect the commitment to the things that are most important to me. They have always been proactive and gone beyond the call of duty to deliver well vetted, stable, trouble free releases, ON TIME, will all the announced features, and with excellent attention to backward compatibility to ease technology transitions to new code bases and hardware upgrades. Let's not to forget the obvious generosity in the pricing models giving you real value at the entry level, none of this one price for the full featured system stuff here! Licensing by the seat is the only way to go with the server licenses too. This loyalty to me urges me to jump to their defense and sing the praises of their superiority in the face of pretenders like Apple and those Free software guys, who know nothing and exist only to bash great men like Bill and Steve (Ballmer, for God's sake, not Jobs). Those other guys are just profiteers with marketshare on their minds, I mean look at the number of people in their organization who have made the richest people in the world list. That speaks volumes about their intent. You go boys, my wallet is open, we love you?

[hawkeyeaz1]

Watch MS 'accidentally' leak portions of XP's source code to scare people off of XP onto Vista or Win7....

[richcz3]

Windows XP is/was a solid OS whose use has started to strike against practical barriers. The memory load people burden XP PCs with memory resident apps puts the 2GB limit to task. I don't doubt that people will stick with XP as much as people stayed with Windows 98 despite its growing short comings. For a vast majority of people who email, web surf and do office tasks, XP isn't going anywhere, but going forward software developers (not Microsoft) will force the change.

As a Media Developer, I started using Vista64 a year ago out of neccesity. My apps and content are very memory dependent - the more memory the better. And XPs 2GB's wasn't hacking it anymore. With Windows 7 on the horizon, I just can't see advising anyone to go with XP for some of the reasons noted in this article. There are only so many buckets one can lay down to catch the problematic leaks in a roof. At some point one has to look at replacing the entire roof. XP has been a solid run, it will be missed, but it's days are rightfully numbered.

[dumbspammers]

Defrag value: Massive. Cost in time: Zero, or near-zero. I use IObits Smart Defragger, which runs during idle time and on a schedule (I have mine going the Full Monty weekly at 3 AM on Sunday, when I epxect to be asleep). And it's free.

[guest86]

I believe Microsoft is very wrong say will no longer support Windows XP! Why? WHY? We love XP so much due to old programs and PC games!

Microsoft make millions of people get upset and angry.

[jabusamra]

PerfectDisk is "yet another disk defrag utility," albeit it is one used by the majority of Microsoft MVPs, including those focused on performance issues. Does disk defragmention provide faster file access? Tests by third-party analysts bear that out. Will everyone notice that faster access? Not everyone will. Does productivity and server performance suffer when no defragmentation is performed? Thousands of companies around the world say yes, because they continue to do extensive testing and research with their own resources (e.g. man-hours) to prove it before spending money to help their organization's bottom line. In today's economy, these corporations would not invest in something without verifiable proof. And that's what they do - they get their own proof, justify the investment, and realize a postitive ROI to improve employee productiivty, reduce help desk costs, reduce backup times, and extend server and PC life.

Joe Abusamra
Vice President of Operations
Raxco Software, Inc.
www.perfectdisk.com
www.perfectdiskblog.com

[calebrobinson1]

What Microsoft, and most people here, don't realize, is that you can get XP help from your computer manufacturer's free Tech Support online chat. So, CNET, not all live XP advice is gone yet.