Support for Windows XP is ending soon

Hi Again Shadow1429,

By having more than one PC and the third in the closet, IS a good thing. Be a pack rat and save all of your boot CDs or try to get one for each PC if you can, and store your valuable data on a IN-HOUSE network only you have access to and be the lone USER of all of your PCs. THEN when Windows 8.21 goes belly UP, who cares by then, you still can use your dinasaur PC with Windows XP to do your usual computing... and try to get all of your installer programs on CD or DVD also the absolute backup! It is safe where you can get to it and not rely on anyone else for a backup. IN my case, in nine PCs and six have Windows XP and three have 7 in them... I doubt I can find Windows 2000 PRO! to complete my list of versions. It is a cross between 98 and XP. I had it on one of my dinasaur PCs, the 400idx from e Machines that I had to scrap and leave behind in California... having more than three PCs, is like my dad did in the Air Force on the flightline during the 50's and 60's keeping a sqadron of forty B-52s flying by keeping four in the hangar for spare parts. as one was gutted, he ordered a new one and the worst condition B-52 gets scrapped for spare parts. That, in a way, IS what I doing with my nine PCs... Instead it is 8 to 1 ready to go like brand new.  One notbook PC does not have a good battery, so it is not going anywhere without its AC power. It still works better than what it had as Windows 98, as a lame duck as I got it. If I do not mind its slow processor at 133 MHz. Surely, I have better PCs. as an Intel I3 processor, and 3 GHz quad core  with 7 in it, It is not my favorite PC! To me, I somewhat like what I do to the PC cases than fight Microsoft with their updates, I rather spend my money stuffing my PC with better hard disk drives, better memory cards and PCI(e) cards, so I do more with Windows XP as to twice or of the 26-drive letters to seven of my PC setups and have my own in-house network for a master backup. That takes time and money and I am in no hurry to get it done. I am now retired by doing it all thirty years ago! I even taught people how to use the slide rule, the scientific calculators before Apple II came into existance. MY actual first PC was the Texas Instruments TI-99/4 and it was BETTER than the Apple II and the Commodore C-64 and C-128! BECAUSE it had a 16 bit TMS9900 Processor running at 16 MHz compared to Apple's and Commodore's 8 bit 810 processor at 1 MHz. I know Data Processing from ground ZERO! And I made my money in teaching it and showing them HOW to use it with my math ability! IF your PC comes from the factory, it is a dud to me as is, It is like losing eleven cents out of a dollar using it! It is a bare minimum PC they all agreed upon to sell. It is UP to the owner or user to upgrade the hardware IN it.

It will end up costing you like buying a car and keeping it running, and is more reliable than having the car being fixed or repairing it daily, if it last ten years before the electrinics or chips wear out, it has done you good service. As it stands, a normal PC Tower cannot support five internal HDDS, and eleven external ones with 36 partitions in all without serious hardware upgrades no one wants to talk about. SO What if Windows XP has its limitations, that is NO big deal to me, I know how to get around it! ONE of my PCs is worth three of yours brand NEW! Yeah, I find them refurbished, USED, or given to me, to begin with, at no cost to me... But only fix them up to work better than new! THAT IS my business besides having fun playing games with them! I can care less about the Internet except order parts for my PCs.

I do advise you to crank up your closet PC at least once a month  to check thinks about it as it running aok, electronics do go bad in time when left idle and not in use after a long time in storage about six months or so, THAT is how I lost a lot of electronic equipment. I asked my dad about this and he did not answer me and I found out the hard way by not using it. Being idle and unplugged in the closet wears down its BIOS battery, (The round lithium CR2032 button battery that saves your BIOS settings), I had to replace a few. They last about five years or so! It is best to be plugged and OFF where you can easily get it up and running. After a month, when you want to use it, you will recieve a lot of notifications as to update your software unless you turn it off completely, your antivirus software will surely notify their security definitions MUST be updated before you do anything else to stay protected, and that you don't want to turn that off and left unplugged. YOU surely do not want to put it to sleep and then unplug it; or hibernate it an then unplug it, THE PC will act crazy losing its saved data when you want it back on! It will crash to a blue screen and then you may have to check the BIOS settings as to boot order etc. At least a full restart!

From Edmond, The hardware and software engineer.

Edmond The Hardware and Software engineer.

Hi Shenan Stanley,

Google is not a REAL favorite of mine either, I would stand clear of it any way you can. NOT since I got hacked by them, as being named on a long list of users by YAHOO. Com. IF you want to be scammed by the email. Every time I want to download Adobe Reader 11, I get Google's toolbar and Google Chrome, as soon it is all loaded, I unstall Google and all of its extensions and delete all of its remenant folders. Because  it is a means by which they are watching you by at least fifty advertisers as you saw THAT is ADWARE. to ME, it is a DAH!!!  And so with any social media network you wanna join, you are JUST asking to be hacked. YOUR private info is not really private anymore, and that you can also lose your identity as I have, by ten Russians trying to file the 1040 form to the IRS and trying to get away with it... Fortunately, they got caught and I had to file the form denying it and they know it was me and not som SPASKY playing  a chess game with you and the IRS! If you want to be a social idiot, go right ahead and be my guest, and do not complain about it to anyone, it is your own darn fault because nobody is twisting your arm or aiming a gun to  your head to use these idiotic social networks and the Internet EVEN if it is your right, or your business. Then you also wonder why your PC gets hacked in the process. THAT will scare anyone! Be Dammed any spyware you have or antivirus software, it is only a temporary liccensed by the makers and they too are not to be trusted because they are only insterested in your money also and have NO interest in you as the user! Only when it FREE like Microsoft Security Essecentials, you can trust it! THE best security is not use the Internet AT ALL because you have a less of a chance being hacked by adware, spyware and a virus ... In my case, I do it by changing hardware daily and that is your best defense also. It is not a software issue anymore, it is also a hardware issue, I wont tell you HOW but is for you to invest in something better than a one lung (Drive) PC like a stupid notebook has! there is no real backup offline elsewhere at your disposal or use. ANYONE can look up your name and file a TRW report and ruin your credit rating also, MY wife did it for an insurance company twenty years ago! WHO is kidding who about security? I have been in the security business for twenty-three years, I do know what is a security risk. Going on line IS one of the chances we all take and no one is going to lay down the law as to WHO can USE or can not use the Internet, it is free reign to anyone who wants to scamm you! I am really laughing at anyone who wants to be social about it! Where is the privacy?

A clue: Nobody can hack into you if your PC is off and unplugged most of the time! ONE PC is also not enough! It is like putting all your EGGS (DATA) in ONE basket. There is NO real backup!

From Edmond The Hardware and software engineer

Google threw me here:

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/microsoft-windows-xp-100-dollar-offer,news-18519.html

Hello Bryan,

I suspect that the e-mail you were sent was not from Microsoft. You are the first I have heard of claiming this. None of my XP customers has been in touch to say that they had received anything similar and it is not Microsoft policy to e-mail its customers in an unsolicited fashion...

http://www.microsoft.com/en-GB/security/online-privacy/msname.aspx

I am not aware of the promotional offer you speak of and, as yet, I do not frequent the Windows 8 forum. For a more informed response to your query, I would suggest posting a question of your own in the Windows 8 forum...

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_8?tab=Threads

Tricky