{"id":5245,"date":"2014-04-07T10:00:45","date_gmt":"2014-04-07T14:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.nccomputertech.com\/?p=5245"},"modified":"2014-04-07T10:00:45","modified_gmt":"2014-04-07T14:00:45","slug":"windows-xp-survival-guide-how-to-upgrade-or-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/04\/07\/windows-xp-survival-guide-how-to-upgrade-or-not\/","title":{"rendered":"Windows XP survival guide: How to upgrade (or not)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It’s coming: XPocalypse\u2014the end of Microsoft\u2019s support of Windows XP on April 8. Anyone who still has a PC with Windows XP is either scrambling to figure out what to do with it\u2014or in some state of blissful denial about it all. Or, they are lashing themselves to the mast of their old XP schooner, determined to ride out the storm.<\/p>\n

We recommend you upgrade. But whichever fate you choose, you\u2019ll need some key information to survive the event unscathed.<\/p>\n

Help, I\u2019m upgrading!<\/p>\n

If you opt for the wisest path (upgrading), you still need to choose between buying an entirely new PC or just upgrading the OS on your current machine.<\/p>\n

Buying a new PC. This is by far the easiest route, because the OS will be preinstalled and the hardware will be up to current standards. Microsoft is even wooing you with offers of $100 discounts on new hardware.<\/p>\n

\u201cHassle-Free PC\u201d columnist Ian Paul provides a quick rundown of the five things you should consider as you prepare to shop for a new Windows system. While it\u2019ll be easiest to find a system with Windows 8.1, with a little extra legwork you can still find a Windows 7 PC. Jared Newman discusses the pros and cons of Windows 7 versus Windows 8. And Marco Chiappetta offers a handy checklist for setting up your new PC just the way you like it, too.<\/p>\n

What about other operating systems? Tony Bradley introduces you to Mac OS X, Linux, and Chrome, all of which are viable alternatives to Windows.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re jumping to Windows 8.1, there are various utilities and tweaks that can ease your transition to the radically different interface. Brad Chacos tells you how to sweep away the Metro-style interface for the good ol\u2019 desktop. If nothing else, you can restore the Start menu with a third-party utility. This’ll tide you over until Microsoft brings it back at some unannounced (but eagerly anticipated) point in the future.<\/p>\n

Keep your PC and just upgrade the OS. We respect that some people can\u2019t or won\u2019t part with the PC they have. Depending on the age and configuration of your PC, however, your OS upgrade choices could be limited by insufficient CPU power, RAM, or storage capacity.<\/p>\n

PCs that have been around as long as Windows XP might be better off moving to Linux. Ian Paul finds three user-friendly Linux versions worth trying.<\/p>\n

Hell, I\u2019m staying XPut!<\/p>\n

Who knew an operating system could inspire such loyalty? Some XP true believers plan to stay put, no matter what happens. They, too, have some decisions to make.<\/p>\n

You can take precautions to keep your XP system secure after Microsoft stops issuing security patches, but there are no guarantees. Security experts are warning of a hacker feeding frenzy after XP is cut loose. \u201cAnswer Line\u201d columnist Lincoln Spector offers some additional tips for staying safe with XP.<\/p>\n

Before we leave you holdouts, it\u2019s worth one more try: Upgrade from Windows XP. It\u2019s not a ploy to get you to buy a new system. It\u2019s a reasonable recommendation to move on to newer and better things. It doesn\u2019t even have to be Windows 8\u2014although the latest updates, also starting April 8, address many of the objections people have had with the latest OS. Windows 7 would be fine. But sticking with Windows XP is something only stalwart\u2014or stubborn\u2014souls should dare.<\/p>\n

via Windows XP survival guide: How to upgrade (or not) | PCWorld<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s coming: XPocalypse\u2014the end of Microsoft\u2019s support of Windows XP on April 8. Anyone who still has a PC with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5,11],"tags":[1134,1263],"class_list":["post-5245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-microsoft","category-windows","tag-upgrade","tag-xp"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/papNkV-1mB","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5950,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/07\/11\/windows-upgrades-chromebooks-slow-pc-market-bleeding-in-q2\/","url_meta":{"origin":5245,"position":0},"title":"Windows upgrades, Chromebooks slow PC market bleeding in Q2","author":"NCCT","date":"July 11, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Upgrades from Windows XP PCs to newer computers during the second quarter perked up the PC market, which inched closer to positive quarterly shipment growth. PC shipments worldwide totaled 74.4 million in the second quarter, declining 1.7 percent compared to the same quarter a year ago, research firm IDC said\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hardware"","block_context":{"text":"Hardware","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/hardware\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6235,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/08\/15\/how-long-before-microsoft-windows-xp-disappears\/","url_meta":{"origin":5245,"position":1},"title":"How long before Microsoft Windows XP disappears?","author":"NCCT","date":"August 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Netmarketshare's monthly updates on the state of the operating system and browser markets are useful not because the numbers are accurate \u2014 they clearly have a margin of error \u2014 but because they show trends. The most obvious trend at the moment is the decline of Microsoft's ancient Windows XP.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Microsoft"","block_context":{"text":"Microsoft","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/microsoft\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/ziff-xpv7-2014-july-600-x-320-600x320.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/ziff-xpv7-2014-july-600-x-320-600x320.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/ziff-xpv7-2014-july-600-x-320-600x320.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7990,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2015\/04\/09\/pc-shipments-hit-a-six-year-low-as-xp-upgrades-slow-down\/","url_meta":{"origin":5245,"position":2},"title":"PC shipments hit a six-year low as XP upgrades slow down","author":"NCCT","date":"April 9, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"A slowdown in Windows XP upgrades and the wait for Windows 10 sent worldwide PC shipments tumbling to a six-year low in the first quarter this year, according to IDC. Worldwide PC shipments totaled 68.5 million units during the first quarter, declining by 6.7 percent compared with the same quarter\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hardware"","block_context":{"text":"Hardware","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/hardware\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8744,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2015\/11\/11\/8744\/","url_meta":{"origin":5245,"position":3},"title":"Chrome to drop support for Windows XP, Windows Vista, and older Mac OS X versions in 2016","author":"NCCT","date":"November 11, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"By Ian Ginos | Neowin Google Chrome, by some estimates the world's third most popular desktop web browser, will cease to support older versions of Microsoft's Windows and Apple's OS X operating systems. In a recent blog post, Google announced that it intends to discontinue support for Chrome on Windows\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Apple"","block_context":{"text":"Apple","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/apple\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7981,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2015\/04\/02\/a-year-after-its-demise-windows-xp-still-has-more-users-than-windows-8-and-8-1-combined\/","url_meta":{"origin":5245,"position":4},"title":"A year after its demise, Windows XP still has more users than Windows 8 and 8.1 combined","author":"NCCT","date":"April 2, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"With the upcoming anniversary of Windows XP reaching the end of its life, the OS still has more users than Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 combined. According to NetMarketShare, Windows XP still holds a market share of 16.94% as of March 2015. In the same report it shows that Windows\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Microsoft"","block_context":{"text":"Microsoft","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/microsoft\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5980,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/07\/15\/future-java-7-security-patches-will-work-on-windows-xp-despite-end-of-official-support\/","url_meta":{"origin":5245,"position":5},"title":"Future Java 7 security patches will work on Windows XP despite end of official support","author":"NCCT","date":"July 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Oracle has dispelled rumors that the upcoming security update for Java 7 and those it will release in the future might not work on Windows XP. \u201cWe expect all versions of Java that were supported prior to the Microsoft de-support announcement to continue to work on Windows XP for the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Security"","block_context":{"text":"Security","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/security\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5245\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}