What are your best memories of using XP?
- Thread starter 7toXP
- Start date
Hello 7toXP,
XP was, in my humble opinion, the best OS of it's time and is still viable today. Like the change from Windows 3 to Win 95, from Win 95 to Win 98SE2. Certainly Win 7 and onward do things a bit, or a whole lot better than XP in some respects. But, for the average user, or even a power user, XP is just plain fun. There are tweaks and other other modifications for XP I would not dare even try with Win 7. (I have two PC's, one with Win 7 Home Premium and the old clunker with XP Professional).
Faster - well, depends on the hardware a lot of course. I can say that hard disk to USB stick copy or cut/paste is a lot faster with XP on the old clunker than with Win 7 on the "800 pound gorilla". Application open time is about on par for both OS's except for massive office suites or massive flight simulators. I don't miss a thing about it because I still use it every day and it is, strangely enough, my OS of choice. I suppose ten years of using XP gives a bit of experience with what XP can actually handle helps and then the "tweaking" as well. I am given to changing OS's from time to time - different flavours or Linux, BSD, Haiku, and a few more, even OS/2 but always keep my fully loaded hard disk with XP in my desk drawer. I have seen GRUB do horrible things to a hard disk boot sector and now never use a dual boot set up.
Back to XP - sure 32 bit it is (for me anyway) but the sheer wealth of software, open source, freeware for XP never leaves me without the program or app I want. Certainly Win 7, Win 8, or even the much maligned Vista look "prettier" but do they do the ordinary things any better than XP. In most cases it is, "line ball" to me. Most of us use an OS for ordinary things I suppose. Why use a cannon to shoot a canary. I like simplicity but that is just me I suppose. When I first installed XP on a P3 machine with 128 Mb RAM and a 550 Mhz processor ten years ago I found XP rather slow. Now, today, XP Professional on a ten year old Dell (1 Gb RAM and 3 Ghz processor) XP really flies. Good enough for me anyway. If I could categorise the best points of XP as it suits me they are:-
Robust - easily repair any problems with many apps or the original install CD.
Familiarity - I know what XP is doing "under the hood".
Fast - even on old hardware these days.
Support - this forum and many places on the web.
Simplicity - ok, the GUI looks a bit dated but it is the ability of the OS to "do the job".
Yes, Microsoft has ended support but a good anti-virus program, firewall, malware removal program, and the usual clean up and optimise programs keep XP "fresh".
I suppose having and using XP is now like driving a classic car, say a 1970 Boss 429 Mustang. Look after the classic and it will continue forever and give you enjoyment and functionality.
My thoughts anyway.
Cheers,
Aunty Jack.
XP was, in my humble opinion, the best OS of it's time and is still viable today. Like the change from Windows 3 to Win 95, from Win 95 to Win 98SE2. Certainly Win 7 and onward do things a bit, or a whole lot better than XP in some respects. But, for the average user, or even a power user, XP is just plain fun. There are tweaks and other other modifications for XP I would not dare even try with Win 7. (I have two PC's, one with Win 7 Home Premium and the old clunker with XP Professional).
Faster - well, depends on the hardware a lot of course. I can say that hard disk to USB stick copy or cut/paste is a lot faster with XP on the old clunker than with Win 7 on the "800 pound gorilla". Application open time is about on par for both OS's except for massive office suites or massive flight simulators. I don't miss a thing about it because I still use it every day and it is, strangely enough, my OS of choice. I suppose ten years of using XP gives a bit of experience with what XP can actually handle helps and then the "tweaking" as well. I am given to changing OS's from time to time - different flavours or Linux, BSD, Haiku, and a few more, even OS/2 but always keep my fully loaded hard disk with XP in my desk drawer. I have seen GRUB do horrible things to a hard disk boot sector and now never use a dual boot set up.
Back to XP - sure 32 bit it is (for me anyway) but the sheer wealth of software, open source, freeware for XP never leaves me without the program or app I want. Certainly Win 7, Win 8, or even the much maligned Vista look "prettier" but do they do the ordinary things any better than XP. In most cases it is, "line ball" to me. Most of us use an OS for ordinary things I suppose. Why use a cannon to shoot a canary. I like simplicity but that is just me I suppose. When I first installed XP on a P3 machine with 128 Mb RAM and a 550 Mhz processor ten years ago I found XP rather slow. Now, today, XP Professional on a ten year old Dell (1 Gb RAM and 3 Ghz processor) XP really flies. Good enough for me anyway. If I could categorise the best points of XP as it suits me they are:-
Robust - easily repair any problems with many apps or the original install CD.
Familiarity - I know what XP is doing "under the hood".
Fast - even on old hardware these days.
Support - this forum and many places on the web.
Simplicity - ok, the GUI looks a bit dated but it is the ability of the OS to "do the job".
Yes, Microsoft has ended support but a good anti-virus program, firewall, malware removal program, and the usual clean up and optimise programs keep XP "fresh".
I suppose having and using XP is now like driving a classic car, say a 1970 Boss 429 Mustang. Look after the classic and it will continue forever and give you enjoyment and functionality.
My thoughts anyway.
Cheers,
Aunty Jack.
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I got in to Windows XP late in the game. I was always more of a Windows 2000 fan. Well, I remember buying a used HP xw6000 Workstation and it had Windows XP SP2 preloaded on it. I was going to blow it away and run Windows 2000 on it instead. However, when I booted up XP, it ran so quickly that I figured, what the heck. So from 2007 onwards I stayed with it.
That only changed when I bought an xw8200 dual CPU machine, and I experimented with Windows XP x64 Edition. Luckily, my machine supported it out of the box. In fact, my SCSI drivers were detected right away (whereas XP needed drivers downloaded). I found that 64-bit XP worked so smoothly on my system, that I never looked back.
In fact I had wanted to stay with XP x64 until July 2015 (that's when updates for Windows Server 2003 cease to be delivered). However, XP x64 support ended at the same time as x86 support. So I switched to Vista, since my machine can run it. And I vLited certain features out, so for me, Vista runs like a dream.
I eventually found a link for ported updates, and even a 64-bit version of Pale Moon that can now run on 64-bit XP, but I've already switched to Vista. Oh well, I would had to do all of that migration next year, so at least I got it over with.
That only changed when I bought an xw8200 dual CPU machine, and I experimented with Windows XP x64 Edition. Luckily, my machine supported it out of the box. In fact, my SCSI drivers were detected right away (whereas XP needed drivers downloaded). I found that 64-bit XP worked so smoothly on my system, that I never looked back.
In fact I had wanted to stay with XP x64 until July 2015 (that's when updates for Windows Server 2003 cease to be delivered). However, XP x64 support ended at the same time as x86 support. So I switched to Vista, since my machine can run it. And I vLited certain features out, so for me, Vista runs like a dream.
I eventually found a link for ported updates, and even a 64-bit version of Pale Moon that can now run on 64-bit XP, but I've already switched to Vista. Oh well, I would had to do all of that migration next year, so at least I got it over with.
I don't miss XP at all. I'm still using it on my computer. Using it to post this one. No virus or anything. This old school computer is running 14 years now. I don't have money to upgrade so it forces me to use it. Anyway, I have one on Windows 7 which I use for viewing CD's as this one is running on Atom processor. I will keep using windows xp until the day this computer dies. I also dual boot this machine with Puppy Linux Tharpup 6.0 CE. This makes this computer nearly immortal and it's functioning well as it did 14 years ago hahaha... 
Xp won't die; it'll live forever.
I still use it today; two years after I dumped it overnight in favour of Linux. I still use Linux; like the last poster, I'm a massive Puppy Linux fan, and currently run five 'Pups'. But despite saying that I'd never bother with XP again, well; re-installed about 6 months ago, and.....here I am. Can't leave it alone. And the DeskMan PowerToy Virtual Display Manager gives me one of the things I most love about Linux.....multiple desktops. I don't bother with AV (quelle horreur!); I just use Comodo's Firewall.....it stops everything. And I mean everything.
Must be familiarity. It can't be the convenience; it still has periods of sulking, and starts 'slowing down' (I know it's time for a re-install then, as always).....but I've been using it ever since day one, it's like an itch that you can't scratch, it's got into my head, my soul, it's.....it's XP!
What more can I say?
Mike.
I still use it today; two years after I dumped it overnight in favour of Linux. I still use Linux; like the last poster, I'm a massive Puppy Linux fan, and currently run five 'Pups'. But despite saying that I'd never bother with XP again, well; re-installed about 6 months ago, and.....here I am. Can't leave it alone. And the DeskMan PowerToy Virtual Display Manager gives me one of the things I most love about Linux.....multiple desktops. I don't bother with AV (quelle horreur!); I just use Comodo's Firewall.....it stops everything. And I mean everything.
Must be familiarity. It can't be the convenience; it still has periods of sulking, and starts 'slowing down' (I know it's time for a re-install then, as always).....but I've been using it ever since day one, it's like an itch that you can't scratch, it's got into my head, my soul, it's.....it's XP!
What more can I say?
Mike.
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I agree with Mike_Walsh
Hello all, hello Mike,
Back on the forum for a little while. I have the best of both worlds now, Windows 10 and dear XP. Probably I was "behind the door" with virtual machines but now my PC setup is Win 10 primary and XP Professional under Oracle Virtual Box. The screen display of XP this way is so much like the 15 inch monitors we all used 15 or more years ago. I like it, very retro.
Slowly putting my flight simulator programs into XP, the ones that won't run under Windows 10. Fantastic.
Have allocated one GB RAM and 20 GB "drive C:" for XP.
And, can't break it.
Makes me a happy old man. XP lives for me anyway and will for a long time.
Cheers,
Mark (Aunty Jack)
Hello all, hello Mike,
Back on the forum for a little while. I have the best of both worlds now, Windows 10 and dear XP. Probably I was "behind the door" with virtual machines but now my PC setup is Win 10 primary and XP Professional under Oracle Virtual Box. The screen display of XP this way is so much like the 15 inch monitors we all used 15 or more years ago. I like it, very retro.
Slowly putting my flight simulator programs into XP, the ones that won't run under Windows 10. Fantastic.
Have allocated one GB RAM and 20 GB "drive C:" for XP.
And, can't break it.
Makes me a happy old man. XP lives for me anyway and will for a long time.
Cheers,
Mark (Aunty Jack)
I'm with you on Puppy Linux. I run Precise Puppy v5.7.1 on my Dell D610 Notebook PC with SeaMonkey as my browser/mail client. Very nice.
My best memory of Windows XP is all of them except when I got a virus from something and had to remove it, so sad to see it die... this was around 4 months ago or so.
I went straight from Windows 98 (in 1999) to XP (in about 2006?). Both OS are user friendly, XP particularly so. I have dabbled on other peoples more recent OS but find them not so user friendly. To the scorn of my son and daughter, I keep about 7 toolbars open when using WORD for example. OK it cuts down typing space a little, but means, when I need a function I don't have to decide which folder it hides in and then go search for it. It's just there.
i always fell happy with Windows XP
That's true, if they kept updating it now, we'd probably have all the same privacy concerns and slowness that exists in newer Windows today...
Must have been awful... but the joy of when you removed it finally, that must have made it a great time.
My favourite time though was probably installing it on a VM and hearing title.wma, how many of you heard that on installation?
My favourite time though was probably installing it on a VM and hearing title.wma, how many of you heard that on installation?
I believe it is supposed to play anytime you do an "upgrade". Last I believe, it never played on a new install. It may have changed via the later release of XP with SP2 slipstreamed, but I am not sure.
Try installing a bog-standard unserviced XP on a VM and report back the results, I could only find SP2 Home which was completely untouched (as in, not renamed from its original title).
My best experience using XP was an evening a few days ago: my wife was swearing as usual on her sluggish Win7 and muttering about its fumbling ceaselessly with the hard drives for unspecified reasons even when no task was running, when my sister-in-law called in despair for help because a wrong maneuver on her Win7 had triggered an automatic unstoppable update to Win10 thus making her PC nearly useless to her.
Which made me quite happy with my resolution to stick with XP as long as the hardware holds, and once it collapses to buy a new machine and switch to the latest Linux.
Which made me quite happy with my resolution to stick with XP as long as the hardware holds, and once it collapses to buy a new machine and switch to the latest Linux
.
S
Skeleton11223
playing games like webkinz and bloonstd when I was younger.
Windows XP just keeps on and on while all the other Windows OS's fail
After 3, 3.1, Chicago, (yeah, I got Chicago), 95, then 98, I figured out the what & how of what I wanted when XP came along. Each one got better without changing the 'GUI', much, anyway. (same with ubuntu! 11.xx = best) 7, 8, 10!, yeah, why cant they leave the gui alone?? They couldnt improve the os and leave it alone. I can deal with 7, but the rest? middle finger!!
Best memory? First time with XP, I just new what/how to do, without thinking about it. Too much, anyway, , , ,
-c-
Best memory? First time with XP, I just new what/how to do, without thinking about it. Too much, anyway, , , ,
-c-