Forum Discussion
- Or you could load Linux for free and enjoy real computing.
- It seems to me that it is just as easy to keep XP on an older computer if you really need it to run an old program. I have a car manual program that simply won't run on Windows 7, so I run it on a laptop that is running XP. Security is not a concern because the laptop is never connected to the internet. I simply need XP to run this older program. Why go through all the hassle of a VM?
fj12ryder wrote:
It seems to me that it is just as easy to keep XP on an older computer if you really need it to run an old program. I have a car manual program that simply won't run on Windows 7, so I run it on a laptop that is running XP. Security is not a concern because the laptop is never connected to the internet. I simply need XP to run this older program. Why go through all the hassle of a VM?
Sure, an old machine will do the trick but running XP in a Virtual Machine means that you only need 1 computer to handle both.
Unfortunately, whether you use a physical machine or a virtual machine you still need to take precautions (such as not connecting to the internet) to avoid getting trojans, virus or malware, especially since MS has now dropped support for XP. If you use virtual software such as VirtualBox which supports snapshots, the if the VM ever gets infected it would be simple to revert to a snapshot that was not infected.- Yeah, I see that, but why would you use XP to connect to the internet if you're running a new OS that is more secure? The only reason I use XP is for legacy software. Obviously there are not going to be any updates, so no real reason to connect.
powderman426 wrote:
Or you could load Linux for free and enjoy real computing.
First, let me state my bias. I have one PC running Windows XP and one PC running Linux. I love the Linux OS, mainly because it is so much faster than Windows. That said, I do not recommend a Linux install for the technically faint-of-heart.
You need to understand that Linux is almost like a religion to those who support it. Ask a question of a Linux guru and it will be answered fully and with fervor. Ask if its difficult to install and they will tell you "no problem", "piece of cake", etc. Mine took about 15min to install the operation system and all day to install all the drivers and other support apps. Also, some hardware is not supported, the existing wifi card in my case.
I am very happy with my Linux install. It runs very fast on a very old laptop and doesn't get viruses or other mal-ware. I installed mine by attending a Linux user group "install fest" here in Phoenix. If you can find a user group near you, you may want to explore Linux. If there is no user group near by, I'd recommend giving it a pass. Some people are just meant to be Windows users.
I will eventually migrate to a newer version of windows but there will be drag marks in the sand behind me.fj12ryder wrote:
Yeah, I see that, but why would you use XP to connect to the internet if you're running a new OS that is more secure? The only reason I use XP is for legacy software. Obviously there are not going to be any updates, so no real reason to connect.
That's a good point but someone MIGHT have software they use that only works with XP but needs an internet connection for some reason.- The coolest thing, IMHO, is taking the hard drive out of the XP computer and running it as a virtual machine- not really easy, but possible. ( note the disclaimer). Easy to take a snapshot of the whole thing for backup, no need for installation, activation, etc.
- Support ending for XP is a non-issue. If you still need it it will still work.
I have a vital application that won't run on even XP.
And I keep an ancient IPM thinkpad running windows 2000 just for this app.
After all these years it still runs fine. - I am not sure how whoever wrote the article about running XP on Win 8 with XP Mode is figuring on getting XP into the system to run with XP mode - unless one has a full install XP disk. The editions of Win 7 that came with XP Mode included XP Sp3 on the Win 7 install. What MS was providing for download activated the install and installed the Virtual Machine. There are several free Virtual Machines and all will run XP and most should run on Win 8. But why go for Win 8 just to run XP. Run it just like you always have. Run a good firewall and antivirus/malware software along with it and you will be just fine.
We have several laptops and one desktop running XP and one Desktop running XP mode on Win 7 for software that does not run on 7 - and there are no updates to that software and it is required for business. All are connected to the internet. Not a problem. - I have some old apps that I run in a Hyper-V virtual machine on XP... I also use XP for a dedicated Web browsing VM (if it gets infected, I can restore to a previous snapshot.)
I personally run Windows 8.1 (technically Windows Server 2012 R2) on the desktop because it has some nice security features. However, this is opinion, and likely would be annoying for others.
