Is It Worth It To Repair Your Windows XP Computer?

Now that Microsoft just released the Windows 8.1 preview, do you think it's worth repairing your XP computer? That depends. If you need it for work projects and it still works for you, updating and repairing it could benefit you.

However, as of April 8, 2014, you might find this early 2000s operating system not as useful as it once was—even for SP3.

Even Good Things Sometimes End

Eventually, you'll have to say goodbye to Windows XP forever for most everyday tasks. New technology changes Internet browsing, document creation and more. You eventually will not find this operating system very beneficial at all.

How to know when it's time to let go of your XP computer:

• You know you received every online update and registry fix you possibly could.
• Microsoft offers no new critical or optional updates, and security updates expired.
• Web pages you visit require Windows 7 or later.
• Newer browsers require the use of a newer operating system.
• Your PC starts to run slower and slower even after removing malware.
• You can't play streaming music, or you notice reduce quality when you do play it.
• You don't have enough memory on your current machine to upgrade to Windows 7.
• No one you know—not even your new online friends talks about XP in the present tense.
• You start seeing displays of computers with this operating system on it in museum exhibits. 

The last two points on this list mostly were included to provide comic relief when saying goodbye to the end of a Windows era. Still, you probably already know, good things come to an end eventually. Just remember that you got your money's worth out of this version of Windows—so far—more so than when purchasing most others.

Of course, some people will let go sooner than others. They will do whatever they can to keep the memory of this OS alive for as long as possible.

Will Anyone Still Use Windows XP Indefinitely?

You might wonder if anyone will still use Windows XP indefinitely. Maybe some people will. After all, you might find a few people who even find a use for Windows '95 and '98.

[Image Credits: www.smscs.com]

Regarding Windows XP usage, you might still use it to play old games and use programs you can't yet afford to purchase for Windows 7. However, you need to make sure you don't pass viruses back and forth from it, to your removable disks, to another computer and then back again to your XP one.

Advice For Perpetual XP Users
If you have maintained your computer all along and it still runs well, you might make use of Windows XP for longer than other people. On the other hand, if you haven't even turned on Windows Updates in months, you might not fare so well.

In any case, you can find a way to prolong XP use using these tips:

• From now until the support end date in 2014 obtain every legitimate security update available.
• Download all important and optional updates required to run your software and hardware.
• Regularly clean out your computer's registry to help it run faster.
• Receive as many browser updates as possible.
• Scan your computer for viruses as often as you can while you can.
• Scan all files before or after transferring them from one PC to another.
• Don't download or install any new files or programs unless necessary.

Also, do this after XP online support ends: Find another computer or device to use to connect to the internet and don't use the Windows XP one for website browsing any more. If you do, you could increase the chance of malware infection.

Furthermore, you might have a hard time updating your virus scanners and registry cleaners on your old PC if you can no longer find XP support for them. Scan all files on your removal disk on another PC before you plug it into your old XP computer.

   Erin Walsh

About the Author:
Erin Walsh writes for Boost Software INC where you'll find pc utility software like PC Health Boost and DriverBoost. If you find that you need help with your Windows XP updates, you can always visit the PC Health Boost blog for more information about Windows updates. The PC Health Boost software is also designed to handle Windows XP update problems.