Microsoft reminds 2000 and XP SP2 users: The end is nigh
Microsoft has a message for people still running XP: if you haven’t got service pack 3 by next July, you’re on your own.
The firm is reminding users that support for both XP Service Pack 2 and Windows 2000 ends on July 13, 2010. While the systems will, of course, continue to work, anyone who needs any assistance dealing with problems will have to hope Google provides the answer. That’s not really much of an issue for home users, but should be taken as a sign for businesses that it’s time to sort things out.
While you can simply install Service Pack 3 (for which some form of official support will be in place until 2014), Microsoft naturally suggests businesses upgrade to Vista or Windows 7.
Frankly anyone running XP who hasn’t yet installed Service Pack 3 should really stop dragging their feet. One point to note for anyone in that position: unlike some Windows editions where each service pack contains its predecessors, you must be on at least XP Service Pack 1 to install Service Pack 3. Though considering the first XP service pack came out in 2002, there’s something seriously wrong if you haven’t got round to that yet.
Microsoft also warns businesses that a direct upgrade from Windows 2000 to Windows 7 is not officially supported. It suggests upgrading to XP first and then moving to Windows 7.
It’ll be interesting to see how much effect, if any, these warnings have on businesses upgrading. Many, and likely most, businesses still running XP are taking the attitude of waiting at least a year after Windows 7′s release before upgrading, having learned the lessons from people who suffered teething troubles when rushing to get Vista.
Microsoft might think this latest deadline will prompt some of those businesses to make the switch sooner, but given that there’s a fairly simple alternative — installing Service Pack 3 — the threat of losing software support may not have much effect.
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December 8th, 2009
Switching to another OS is another option too.