What to do with XP?

***Earniel*** · 03-31-2014, 10:45 AM

I expect there will be some people still working with a Windows XP these days. So what are your strategies to survive the looming cut-off date for the XP support and security updates? Upgrading to 7 or 8? Intending to risk it and stick with XP? Moving to Linux, partially or fully?

**Mari** · 03-31-2014, 02:26 PM

I'm going to stick with it. If you have a good firewall, it should be enough.

Beren3000 · 04-01-2014, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eärniel

I expect there will be some people still working with a Windows XP these days. So what are your strategies to survive the looming cut-off date for the XP support and security updates? Upgrading to 7 or 8? Intending to risk it and stick with XP? Moving to Linux, partially or fully?

As someone who fully switched over to Linux nearly 5 years ago (before Win 7 was widely available), I strongly urge you to make the switch. It is now much easier and more "user-friendly" than it used to be.

If you decide to make the switch, do let me know and I'll point you to essential reading and the like

***Earniel*** · 04-02-2014, 05:58 AM

I've been thinking whether I could turn to Linux for my laptop but I rather not make the full switch since I have a lot of games and other software on it that's designed for windows. But I have been hearing you could do something called 'dual boothing' in which you have both linux and windows on one machine. That way the windows component allows you to use the windows software if needed and the linux part can get you online without XP's vulnerabilities. But it's something I never tried before and I am a bit worried that if it backfires I have nothing to turn to again.

Beren3000 · 04-02-2014, 09:23 AM

Yes dual-booting (or triple- or quad-booting) is of course a viable option. This is exactly the setup I have. I keep Windows around for gaming purposes only.

If you're afraid of messing up the installation you can always try it on a virtual machine first. This of course assumes you have decent enough hardware.

Another option you can try is a live CD that you can boot Linux from without having to install it. Almost all major Linux distributions offer a live CD version. You can even create a bootable thumb drive which is similar to a live CD but you also have the option of saving your settings to the thumb drive.

Finally, you may find this article interesting.

***Earniel*** · 04-05-2014, 07:11 AM

Thank you, Beren, that all has been very interesting. Dual-booting is starting to look like a real option for me.

Beren3000 · 04-05-2014, 11:59 AM

Happy to help. If you face any issues, bring them here or PM me. I'm a Linux sysadmin (among other things).

***Alcuin*** · 04-06-2014, 11:49 PM

Beren3000, do you know if I cam run a VM XP installation under Linux? I have lots of legacy software, but I don’t want to reboot between applications. I need to share disks, etc.

Beren3000 · 04-07-2014, 06:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alcuin

Beren3000, do you know if I cam run a VM XP installation under Linux? I have lots of legacy software, but I don’t want to reboot between applications. I need to share disks, etc.

This is definitely possible. On my Linux installation I have an XP VM and a Win7 VM and they're both running well. The VM can be set up to share a folder with your Linux installation to help you share data across operating systems.

The only restriction on what OS you can't run as a VM under another OS is that you can't run a 64-bit VM on a 32-bit OS.

***Alcuin*** · 04-08-2014, 03:56 AM

Thank you. Which VMs do you like, and if I may ask, which one do you use?

***Earniel*** · 04-08-2014, 06:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beren3000

Happy to help. If you face any issues, bring them here or PM me. I'm a Linux sysadmin (among other things).

Thanks Beren, I may take you up on that.

Beren3000 · 04-08-2014, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alcuin

Thank you. Which VMs do you like, and if I may ask, which one do you use?

Not really an expert on the subject. I personally use VirtualBox as it's free and easy to manage; but there may be better options out there that I don't know about.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eärniel

Thanks Beren, I may take you up on that.

Feel free to do so. This invitation is to anyone considering the same option, too. I'm always happy to help people transition away from Windows

***Alcuin*** · 04-09-2014, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beren3000

I personally use VirtualBox as it's free and easy to manage

Thank you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beren3000

I'm a Linux sysadmin (among other things).

Off-topic, but how are you dealing with the Heartbleed vulnerability?

Beren3000 · 04-09-2014, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alcuin

Off-topic, but how are you dealing with the Heartbleed vulnerability?

Seems I need to follow more security blogs. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Since I'm running a small site, this shouldn't be much of an issue because its only exposure to the Internet is through SSH, which uses a different encryption algorithm to the compromised one.

You may find this writeup on the topic (by a much more seasoned sysadmin) interesting.

Beren3000 · 04-24-2014, 08:06 AM

The Best Linux Distributions for Windows XP Refugees

**Mari** · 04-24-2014, 12:28 PM

I just switched to Ubuntu after all. Figured it might be best since I use my laptop for financial things as well.
It was quite easy to do and not too hard to work with, though I haven´t tried office programs yet.

Beren3000 · 04-24-2014, 05:31 PM

Good on you! Ubuntu comes pre-installed with LibreOffice and you can always install MS Office via PlayOnLinux or Wine (posting from my phone, will add links later).

**Mari** · 04-26-2014, 05:02 AM

No need. I don´t really use it on my laptop. For serious work I use my W7 desktop.

***Alcuin*** · 05-09-2014, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beren3000

Good on you! Ubuntu comes pre-installed with LibreOffice and you can always install MS Office via PlayOnLinux or Wine (posting from my phone, will add links later).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mari

No need. I don´t really use it on my laptop. For serious work I use my W7 desktop.

Beren3k (Do you mind if I call you that? It seems like a nice nickname…), I’d like those links for PlayOnLinux and Wine. Must I reinstall all the MS Office products, or can I port them over if I install Linux onto an existing box as an alternate OS? If I install onto a Windows 7 machine, can I do this, too? And what about programs available through XP Mode under W7?

Beren3000 · 05-11-2014, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alcuin

Beren3k (Do you mind if I call you that? It seems like a nice nickname…),

Not at all, it is a nice nickname

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alcuin

I’d like those links for PlayOnLinux and Wine

Actually PlayOnLinux is simply a more user-friendly front-end for Wine (when you install it, it installs Wine as one of its dependencies). This article has a good tutorial on how you can do it. The only thing I would do differently from the article is that you shouldn't download the PlayOnLinux .deb from the link they offer you. Grab it from the repos instead:

Quote:

sudo apt-get install playonlinux

This way, if it is ever upgraded by the maintainers, Ubuntu will detect these upgrades and offer to upgrade it for you.

If you want to give Wine a spin (without using PlayOnLinux), this article has a nice tutorial.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alcuin

Must I reinstall all the MS Office products

I'm afraid so. There's now way around this that I know of.

03-31-2014, 10:45 AM	#1
*Earniel* The Chocoholic Sea Elf Administrator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: N?n in Eilph (Belgium) Posts: 14,363	What to do with XP? I expect there will be some people still working with a Windows XP these days. So what are your strategies to survive the looming cut-off date for the XP support and security updates? Upgrading to 7 or 8? Intending to risk it and stick with XP? Moving to Linux, partially or fully?

03-31-2014, 02:26 PM	#2
Mari Elf Lady Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: In the lands where mountains are but a fairytale Posts: 8,588	I'm going to stick with it. If you have a good firewall, it should be enough. __________________ Love always, deeply and true ★ Friends are those rare people who ask how we are and then wait to hear the answer. ★ Friendship is sharing openly, laughing often, trusting always, caring deeply. ...The Earth laughs in flowers ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Hamatreya"...

04-24-2014, 12:28 PM	#16
Mari Elf Lady Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: In the lands where mountains are but a fairytale Posts: 8,588	I just switched to Ubuntu after all. Figured it might be best since I use my laptop for financial things as well. It was quite easy to do and not too hard to work with, though I haven´t tried office programs yet. __________________ Love always, deeply and true ★ Friends are those rare people who ask how we are and then wait to hear the answer. ★ Friendship is sharing openly, laughing often, trusting always, caring deeply. ...The Earth laughs in flowers ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Hamatreya"...

04-26-2014, 05:02 AM	#18
Mari Elf Lady Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: In the lands where mountains are but a fairytale Posts: 8,588	No need. I don´t really use it on my laptop. For serious work I use my W7 desktop. __________________ Love always, deeply and true ★ Friends are those rare people who ask how we are and then wait to hear the answer. ★ Friendship is sharing openly, laughing often, trusting always, caring deeply. ...The Earth laughs in flowers ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Hamatreya"...

04-02-2014, 05:58 AM	#4
*Earniel* The Chocoholic Sea Elf Administrator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: N?n in Eilph (Belgium) Posts: 14,363	I've been thinking whether I could turn to Linux for my laptop but I rather not make the full switch since I have a lot of games and other software on it that's designed for windows. But I have been hearing you could do something called 'dual boothing' in which you have both linux and windows on one machine. That way the windows component allows you to use the windows software if needed and the linux part can get you online without XP's vulnerabilities. But it's something I never tried before and I am a bit worried that if it backfires I have nothing to turn to again.

04-02-2014, 09:23 AM	#5
Beren3000 Fëanorophobic Join Date: May 2004 Location: Between the pages of a book Posts: 1,417	Yes dual-booting (or triple- or quad-booting) is of course a viable option. This is exactly the setup I have. I keep Windows around for gaming purposes only. If you're afraid of messing up the installation you can always try it on a virtual machine first. This of course assumes you have decent enough hardware. Another option you can try is a live CD that you can boot Linux from without having to install it. Almost all major Linux distributions offer a live CD version. You can even create a bootable thumb drive which is similar to a live CD but you also have the option of saving your settings to the thumb drive. Finally, you may find this article interesting.

04-05-2014, 07:11 AM	#6
*Earniel* The Chocoholic Sea Elf Administrator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: N?n in Eilph (Belgium) Posts: 14,363	Thank you, Beren, that all has been very interesting. Dual-booting is starting to look like a real option for me.

04-05-2014, 11:59 AM	#7
Beren3000 Fëanorophobic Join Date: May 2004 Location: Between the pages of a book Posts: 1,417	Happy to help. If you face any issues, bring them here or PM me. I'm a Linux sysadmin (among other things).

04-06-2014, 11:49 PM	#8
*Alcuin* Salt Miner Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: gone to Far Harad Posts: 987	Beren3000, do you know if I cam run a VM XP installation under Linux? I have lots of legacy software, but I don’t want to reboot between applications. I need to share disks, etc.

04-08-2014, 03:56 AM	#10
*Alcuin* Salt Miner Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: gone to Far Harad Posts: 987	Thank you. Which VMs do you like, and if I may ask, which one do you use?

04-24-2014, 08:06 AM	#15
Beren3000 Fëanorophobic Join Date: May 2004 Location: Between the pages of a book Posts: 1,417	The Best Linux Distributions for Windows XP Refugees

04-24-2014, 05:31 PM	#17
Beren3000 Fëanorophobic Join Date: May 2004 Location: Between the pages of a book Posts: 1,417	Good on you! Ubuntu comes pre-installed with LibreOffice and you can always install MS Office via PlayOnLinux or Wine (posting from my phone, will add links later).