Windows XP, the Legend: Still Third Most-Used Desktop OS 2 Years After Demise

I still keep XP in a VM for when I need to run the one piece of WIndows software I use off and on at work. XP is fast, uses next to no memory (compared to Vista, 7, 8, 10) and can still run most Windows based software.

I'm not too concerned about security since I just fire it up in as a VM from time to time... maybe once or twice(at the most) a week and only for like 10 to 15min lol.

 

Don't get me wrong, I was a big fan of Win XP, I used it for 10 years or so. But I can't deny that Win 8 is simply better overall.

 

I run it on two systems, this one and one I use for large downloads. All my Linux and Windows 10 ISOs are downloaded with Xp. Both are online for hours at time almost every day. No security issues since the support ended.

Xp does great in VMs. That gets around a lot of issues, both hardware limitations and security.

 

That was exactly my point There's no comparison between XP and older systems when it comes to performance, specially with new hardware.

 

I think PatchGuard helped a lot to make Windows more stable. But this was already introduced in Win Vista.

 

Some copies of Xp x64 with valid product keys came up for sale at a reasonable price and I bought one today. I'm going to install this one in a real machine but I don't have the right one at present. A high end core 2 duo Thinkpad would work. 64 bit Xp with GPT disk support for volumes greater than 2tb and 8-16 gbs of ram is something I'd like to play around with.

 

Got a mail from Dropbox saying it won't work after August 2016 on XP. Bummer !!!

 

Many are childish.. But one thing is certain, XP & 7 are indeed Kings.

 

Dropbox's loss!

 

I remember installing XP x64 many years ago for a while, but at that time, a lot of software wouldn't run on it, AV software for example. XP x64 was based on Windows Server 2003 I believe, rather than the usual XP, it was somewhat different. So some software might not run on it, but I'm not sure, since this was way back in time, I'd guess sometime around 2003/4.

 

Still in widespread use across the globe ...... ATMs , government departments , the military etc

For those "entrenched" users , the cost of replacement from the ground up is just unacceptable ....
.... so they choose to pay for "extended support" on contract , year after year .

It's a juicy pay-day for those that get a slice of the pie

 

Been with XP since its inception and haven't paid for anything regarding support or updates..

 

For those who haven't done this already: Go to the registry and change the os type to Embedded, this way you'll receive security updates until 2019.

http://www.ghacks.net/2014/05/24/get-security-updates-windows-xp-april-2019/

 

Strange, isn't it?

 

Oh no, it's a zombie OS! Run!

This seems pretty bizarre to me, seeing as XP won't even run properly on most modern hardware. Maybe virtual machines contributed to the statistics? WinXP VMs are the best way to use certain legacy apps, and have to be connected to the Internet if you want to activate them.

 

On older hardware it can run with no problems. Even with POS trick and updated OS, there could still be problem with not updated browsers and other applications.
Maybe this rise in market share is from new users from less developed countries that are now connected to internet and visit websites that collect statistics (initiatives like internet.org)?

 

The growth and decline numbers are so small over this window of time they become, for all intents and purposes, inconsequential, especially when you factor in compilation errors.

 

Ya tell me about it, XP is useless POS. I have two old towers with xp(Pen4,2gigs RAM) and using them is like watching paint dry! even with everything striped off it is useless, Get surfing on the web it locks up with 100%cpu then it's over, need to restart or shut down.

 

My pc is still perfectly usable:

 

Posting with it right now. Runs fast and smooth on a Core Duo. The only time the CPU shoots to 100% is when the Windows update service gets stuck in a loop. This particular machine multiboots Xp, it's original OS, and Windows 7. I use Xp more. For forums, no need for an updated browser or OS. The main problem with using Xp at this point is declining browser support but there is still a lot of useful software that runs in it.

For modern hardware, use a modern OS but for anything made for Xp, it is still a good OS. It's weakness isn't the lack of support, it is that it is 32 bit and we are living in a 64 bit word. Xp in a VM on a new machine with a linux host is a good option if you still want to keep using it.

 

Well my hard drives must be going bad then because I can't do nothing on my XP machines

 

I remember running nLited XP, RAM usage only 80 MB, it was lightning fast. No AV, no firewall and no Windows Updates either for a year and not a single virus caught. Good old times.

 

I'd suspect the Windows update service. It can easily take up the whole CPU capacity and slow a system to a crawl. This isn't just a problem with Xp.

 

I thought that too so I disabled it(turned off) still sloooooow...