High Tech Household

Microsoft has recently announced that it is phasing out some versions of Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista as of July 13, 2010.  Specifically, if you have any edition of Windows 2000, Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) or the original release of Windows Vista without any service packs (Release to Manufacturing or RTM) then support is dropping for your operating system.

What does this mean?

Basically, it means that Microsoft is no longer providing security updates, bug fixes, or patches for your edition of Windows.  It also will not provide any technical support, other than the information that exists on its websites. Your operating will still function as it always did, but if you encounter a problem or someone finds a security hole, it will not be addressed outside of Microsoft’s web-based knowledge base.

How do I know if I have an affected version?

By right-clicking on My Computer in Windows 2000/XP or by right-clicking the Computer menu option on your start menu in Windows Vista, and then selecting Properties, you can see what version you have.

Selecting My Computer Properties in Windows XP

Selecting Computer Properties in Windows Vista

If you have ANY version of Windows 2000, you are out of luck and no longer have support.  When you get to the computer properties screen, Windows XP will indicate the Service Pack right under the “Version 2002″ text.

Windows XP Service Pack 2 Information Screen

If this screen indicates that you are running XP Service Pack 1, XP Service Pack 2, or it does not reference a Service Pack, then your operating system is going out of service.  If it references Service Pack 3, then you are up-to-date (for now).

For Windows Vista, the computer information screen looks a little different.  If you have a Vista Service pack, it will be indicated right under the copyright notice.

Windows Vista Computer Information Screen

For Vista, if either Service Pack 1 or Service Pack 2 is indicated, then you are up to date from a support perspective.  If no version is indicated, then you are out of support as of July 13, 2010.

What should I do?

Windows 2000 Users: Get a new computer.  Seriously.  If you are still running Windows 2000 in 2010, you are in serious need of some new hardware and software.

Windows XP Users: You may want to think of upgrading to Windows 7 (we recommend you skip Vista) if your hardware can support it, or purchasing a new computer if not.  Windows XP is being slowly phased out, and it’s only a matter of time before XP3′s support will drop as well.  However, if a new computer or operating system is not feasible at the time being, you can upgrade to Service Pack 3.

Windows Vista Users: Although I consider Windows 7 to be a far superior operating system, Windows Vista still has plenty of years of shelf-life left.  If you’re still on the original version of Vista, simply upgrade to Service Pack 2.

Wrap-up

Dealing with an Operating System going out of support is important.  If a virus comes out that affects your O/S, or a security vulnerability is found, Microsoft will release a patch to fix it on supported operating systems, but ignore unsupported ones.  Microsoft has a pretty good policy compared to most companies on backwards version support, so people shouldn’t complain.  Windows XP was released in 2002, eight years ago, so the fact that there is still a service pack of it being supported is pretty good (although much of this has to do with the market failure of Vista; expect the phase-out of Vista to be much faster).  So, if you’re affected, at the very least, update to the latest service pack, or go out and treat yourself to a brand new Windows 7 based computer.