Christopher Null
The Working Guy
I originally wrote this post about Windows XP going off the market in January 2008 in order to clear up confusion about its availability. Based on comments and emails, people out there are more confused than ever. So let's take a stab at clarifying, again, what's going to happen by answering some frequently asked questions about it.Will Windows XP really no longer be on sale after the end of the year? Sorry for the double negative, but no. You'll still be able to find copies online for the foreseeable future, and likely the unforeseeable one, too. But hang on to your copy of Windows XP. You may need it down the road.
Will I be forced to upgrade to Vista in 2008? No. It will get harder and harder not to, though.
Will my XP machine stop working in January? No, but Microsoft will stop releasing non-security software updates to the masses on April 14, 2009. But XP will continue to "work" even after this point.
Will Microsoft shut off product activation for XP after the end of the year? No, that would be crazy. While no one has said if this will happen, it's conceivable that Windows could shut down product activation for XP but that would only happen after it reaches its end-of-support term. The good news for you: That happens in 2015, plenty of time to get the kinks worked out of Vista... or switch to a Mac. Bottom line: Your copy of XP will work, totally legally, at least for eight-plus more years.
What about after 2015? Well, that's unclear, but I think it's likely XP will stop being installable at that point. However, two things come to mind: 1) Even the most die-hard XP enthusiast will probably be ready to upgrade at that point (as XP will be nearly 15 years old; your PC will be dead by then, I'm sure), and 2) even if Microsoft shuts off product activation, dozens of tools will certainly be made available by the hacker community to disable product activation, letting you continue to use it with abandon. Fret not.
Can I install XP on a PC that has Vista already on it? Yes, you can delete any partition with any OS on it (and reformat it) during the installation of XP. You can even run both OSes at the same time by setting up a dual-boot machine if you're feeling brave.
Whew! Does that clear everything up? Feel free to continue sending your queries and comments, if not... and remember, 264 days to go until XP is "gone!"
