Colin from Western Australia writes:
I am a longterm user of Win XP and realise I have to give it up soon. Some years ago I bought a copy of Vista but never used it – it just sits there sealed but gathering dust. Would it be safe and fully usable to have Vista installed as my OS?
Colin, I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work as long as your system is compatible and you have the product key. Mainstream Microsoft support for Vista ended in 2012, but the extended support will run until April of 2017. The good news is that you can upgrade to Windows 7 if you like for a little over a $100. (That’s the cost in the U.S. I’m not sure what the price might run you in Australia.) Mainstream support for Windows 7 runs until January of 2015 and extended support is promised until 2020.
~ Cynthia
Changing from SP to vista would be a big mistake..none of my programs ever worked correctly with vista…if you really like your computer..either stay with XP or pay the money for windows 7. That’s my personal opinion.
Clover,
Vista was not a popular operating system, so I can’t argue with your suggestion to upgrade to 7. But there’s no sticking with XP – the system will not be safe after Microsoft stops support.
Vista was a poor replacement for XP. That is why it didn’t stay on the market as long. Windows 7 came in. Windows 7 is much better replacement for XP. A shame that you bought Vista until you knew its status. I don’t know about Windows 8, other than its touch screen capabilities. It may be as good as Windows 7 with the added screen feature.
Melt the Vista disk and stay with XP. I bought a computer that came with Vista
had to take to the repair seven times decided to put XP in had no more problems
Unfortunately, Jim staying with XP isn’t a viable option for anyone that plans to use their computer for e-mail or the Internet. With the end of Microsoft support, there will be no reliable protection for XP systems after April of 2014.
Jim! I agree with Cynthia. XP is not viable as it will not receive any support next year.
I was using Vista and then decided to bring it to stop and decided to use Windows 8. This, I feel, is the best besides XP.