[Closed] Windows XP ......again. Linux or W7?

I'd leave Windows XP on it.

Id put Lubuntu (Light weight Ubuntu) on it and run windows as a dual boot if I needed windows for on-line banking or whatever.

How old, and what's it going to be used for?

As for Linux... download an image, burn to SD card or USB, and try it in LiveCD/LiveUSB mode to see if it works (WiFi etc.). Lubuntu would probably make sense. Or Mint perhaps. If it works, then you can decide.

I thought the whole problem with XP is the lack of security for online banking type things because MS aren't supporting it. Especially after next Tuesday.

It depends how out of the box you like your Linux version but yes Ubuntu or Lubuntu make sense.

I installed ubuntu on mine old XP machine and then bought a new wonder machine to replace it.

HTH 🙂

The version Mint with the Mate desktop is good for older machines. It has a proper 'desktop' as opposed to the touchscreeny one on Ubuntu. There are also Xubuntu and Lubuntu which are good. To be honest it's personal taste, so have a look at screenshots and grab one.

W7 is also great, in fact so is 8 if you install ClassicShell.

I really like MINT 16 with the XFCE interface, really fast on older machines (runs nicely on my 1.6Ghz single core Atom processor netbook).

everything works fine, wifi works reliably, videos play much better than on win xp.

I thought the whole problem with XP is the lack of security for online banking type things because MS aren't supporting it. Especially after next Tuesday.

Only if you're using a compromised version of IE (so use a different browser) and only if in the future a vulnerability in the schannel framework is found.

somouk - Member

Only if you're using a compromised version of IE (so use a different browser) and only if in the future a vulnerability in the schannel framework is found.

Not true, various applications use shared libraries e.g. gdi and so on.

I've no idea what the Schannel framework is but isn't the fear that future security patches may highlight vulnerabilities that can be reverse engineered or exploited in older operating systems? Don't get me wrong, I'm not losing sleep but surely having something as secure as possible is better than restricting activities on a particular machine? You seem to be a lone voice in suggesting all will be ok. Other threads highlighted the same concerns and I've tried to read as much as I can understand about it all!

Thanks.

you may struggle to get W7 working on that laptop, it will function but not brilliantly

Linux Mint is free 🙂

definitely set up as dual boot, it makes the transition easier but google will help find stuff to replace the apps that you use in windows

Ok so dual boot. I've actually got two hard drives in this (it's a desktop not a laptop btw) so can I just run mint on one and keep the other separate with windows on and if so, will that be safe or still vulnerable?

yes, and it'll be safe (other than the fact that you'll need to reformat the one that isn't the windows disk)

I replaced xp with ubuntu 14.04 on my netbook, It was free, fairly easy to install and works a treat.

Depends on what you want it for and who's using it but I'd be tempted to say Mint because

a) It'll be better on that hardware and
b) It's free

Try Mint, and if you don't like it you've not lost out. You can even try without installing but bear in mind it'll be slower running off a USB stick of course.

I'm sure W7 x32 will run fine. It's surprisingly good on older hardware.

You seem to be a lone voice in suggesting all will be ok.

All probably will be ok, for a while anyway.

The issue is that there will no longer be security patches written for XP, so should a vulnerability be discovered you're stuck with it. However, it's a mature platform which has spent twelve years in the wild continually being patched.

Just because there's no more patches to come doesn't mean that existing installations are going to spontaneously combust. As time rolls on, new vulnerabilities may come to light, or may not. These may be critical, or they may be highly unlikely alignment-of-the-stars events. New exploits may then arrive to take advantage of these, or they might not.

Arguably, if you're running a fully patched installation of XP with the latest versions of fully patched up third party software (I'm looking at you, Java and Flash), you're probably more secure currently than those running Windows 8 who've never applied an update in their life.

Arguably, if you're running a fully patched installation of XP with the latest versions of fully patched up third party software (I'm looking at you, Java and Flash), you're probably more secure currently than those running Windows 8 who've never applied an update in their life.

Apart from xp lacking address space randomisation, ie protected mode and users generally running as root you mean? 😉 I take your point though, especially with regards to flash and Java. A curse on both of those.

xubuntu is on the missus ancient pc, 1gb ram, celeron cpu etc
works well

Personally I wouldn't keep it on. I don't wish to scaremonger, its more my personal opinion.

All I can think about are the zero-day exploits that exist and people are just waiting to use once people start to lull into a sense of security after everything didn't combust all of a sudden. An unsupported unpatched OS will be surprisingly easy to anyone with a linux machine and a willingness to Google. I feel so sorry for those XP shoptills you see everywhere.

But I don't wish to scaremonger...

Apart from xp lacking address space randomisation, ie protected mode and users generally running as root you mean?

Well, yes; but it's been that way for over a decade and no-one's complained(*). That's not really what I was getting at, it's not suddenly changed just because the OS is no longer maintained.

(* - well ok, lots of people have complained over the years, but you know what I mean.)

Personally I wouldn't keep it on. I don't wish to scaremonger, its more my personal opinion.

Personally I wouldn't keep it on either, but that's less to do with ZOMG TEH SKYS ARE FALLING and more because there are far better alternatives. XP was a product of its time, but it's been superseded three times now and it's long outstayed its welcome.

Mint 16 downloaded overnight (country internets).

See you on the other side. Or maybe side by side.

Heard good things about mint. Hope you enjoy it. I'm just too much of a Ubuntu fanboy to try it!

Not true, various applications use shared libraries e.g. gdi and so on.

Still use Win2K 😉 (but only cos that's the last version where you don't have to prove you're not a criminal every time you install in a VM).

Zero Day is Zero Day. Single biggest vulnerability vector is the guy fondling the screen and clicking the mouse.

Liking Mint 16 Cinnamon more and more. Cinnamon GUI too slow on ye olde worlde netbook though (eeePC 901 with a single core Atom). Might try Mint 16 XFCE on that. Or buy a new lappy (but I'm trying hard not to do that, just to prove that the netbook outlasted the macbook several times over, and swapping HDD for SSD in new lappies is a royal PITA).

Cougar - Moderator

Well, yes; but it's been that way for over a decade and no-one's complained(*). That's not really what I was getting at, it's not suddenly changed just because the OS is no longer maintained.

(* - well ok, lots of people have complained over the years, but you know what I mean.)

As I said I took your point but all I was saying is that even unpatched W7/8 still has significant hardening against attacks compared to XP.

somouk - Member
Those same applications would use the same libraries on Windows 8 so that's not really relevant.

It is relevant because they are still receiving updates on Vista, 7 and 8 but not on XP.

It is relevant because they are still receiving updates on Vista, 7 and 8 but not on XP.

When you say gdi are you referring to the Graphics Device Interface??

I understand that there will be shared libraries on the system for all sorts of stuff and the XP ones won't be being updated but is that a security risk? The amount of bugs that would take advantage of those will be minimal and anti virus would pick them up anyway.

It's not SSL traffic or the SSL stack that's shared.

Bear in mind that while Windows XP usage is declining it still accounts for about 15% of all operating systems even at the moment if it really was a big virus carrying, open security risk that people seem to be making it out to be then those millions of people would have already migrated away.

while Windows XP usage is declining it still accounts for about 15% of all operating systems

Is it really that low? I'm surprised if so.

XP accounts for about a quarter of all desktop OSes, if web analytics are to be believed. (Obviously this won't count offline copies of XP, but that's largely irrelevant anyway as isolated machines aren't likely to be at risk from Internet-originated attacks.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_operating_systems

As of April 2014:
[code]
Windows 7 .... 49.27%
Windows XP ... 26.29%
Windows 8 .... 12.24%
OS X .......... 7.63%
Other ......... 3.66%
Windows Vista . 2.89%
Linux ......... 1.58%
[/code]

We won't talk about most ATMs.
Or train/bus ticket machines.
Both of which are probably connected to a telecoms network by some means.

Both of which are probably connected to a telecoms network by some means.

Telecoms network != The Internet.

[url= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LINK_%28UK%29 ]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LINK_(UK)[/url]

somouk - Member
When you say gdi are you referring to the Graphics Device Interface??

I understand that there will be shared libraries on the system for all sorts of stuff and the XP ones won't be being updated but is that a security risk? The amount of bugs that would take advantage of those will be minimal and anti virus would pick them up anyway.

It's not SSL traffic or the SSL stack that's shared.

I'm talking about gdi32 and other shared DLL libraries, some of which have succesfully been exploited.

GDI32 is a relevant example though because it was the source of the infamous WMF vulnerability which affected all Windows OS at the time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Metafile_vulnerability

Propagation and infection

Computers can be affected via the spread of infected e-mails which carry the hacked WMF file as an attachment. Infection may also result from:

Viewing a website in a web browser that automatically opens WMF files, in which case any potential malicious code may be automatically downloaded and opened. Internet Explorer, the default Web browser for all versions of Microsoft Windows since 1996, does this.
Previewing an infected file in Windows Explorer.
Viewing an infected image file using some vulnerable image-viewing programs.
Previewing or opening infected emails in older versions of Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express.
Indexing a hard disk containing an infected file with Google Desktop.
Clicking on a link through an instant messaging program such as Windows Live Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) or Yahoo! Messenger.

Other methods may also be used to propagate infection. Because the problem is within the operating system, using non-Microsoft browsers such as Firefox or Opera does not provide complete protection. Users are typically prompted to download and view a malicious file, infecting the computer. Infected files may be downloaded automatically, which opens the possibility for infection by disk indexing or accidental previewing.

In other words, that exploit could be triggered simply by displaying a media file containing the exploit in any application which used GDI library.

Should this happen again, XP would not be guaranteed to get the update (although Microsoft might do so anyway to avoid a shitstorm of bad press).

I'd go with give Linux a go unless you have 100,000 installations and can pay for the updates due to not getting your business in gear to adapt to the unsupported days.

Are the arm's etc connected to inter or intra nets? I'd be surprised if arm's were exposed outside firewalls.

Anyway interesting to see xp accounts for 3x as much use as the minority osx

Whatever you choose keep in mind that XP is not considered to be a safe OS anymore, since Microsoft isn't supporting it since April 2014.

Either Ubuntu (and variants) or Mint will be great on older PCs.

Going by my companies web analytics on various high profile consumer products (i.e. normal users out there), I'd say Cougars figures were on the money.

W7 isn't bad on older hardware either. Ideally 4Gb RAM, but it's OK on 2Gb with Core processors

IMO W7 is fine on any machine with dual core processor - my home computer (used mainly as photo backup) is a single core P4 1.8Ghz - 1.7gig RAM and it is really bit too slow for day to day use. I have a well-specced laptop (i7, SSD, enough RAM) from work as a comparison though...

I'm looking at upgrading my home machine but I'm finding most of the PC's quite crap quality these days, fast processors for sure but super cheap power bricks and fans will kill disks sooner or later. At work we used to be able to buy expired Thinkcentres and Precisions cheaply during early 2000s but those days are long gone 🙁

Been out all day.

"Invalid or corrupt kernel image"

Hmm.

Your downloaded file may be corrupt

You can check the file you downloaded with an md5sum tool against the sum provided on the download site

Redhat is pretty easy to install these days compared to old.

Worth a look.

At work we used to be able to buy expired Thinkcentres and Precisions cheaply during early 2000s but those days are long gone

Dell outlet for your cheap Precisions! Great laptops, very solid.

Liking Mint 16 Cinnamon more and more. Cinnamon GUI too slow on ye olde worlde netbook though (eeePC 901 with a single core Atom). Might try Mint 16 XFCE on that.

Exactly my process. I have an eeepc 901, single core atom, 2gb ram. It really struggles with Cinnamon, but [i]flies[/i] with XFCE

Now, I'm having a bit of trouble with this.

I've now downloaded Cinnamon Mint 16 and burnt onto a USB stick with pendrivelinux usb installer for the third time and can't get it to boot. I've managed to boot ubuntu but it froze on the home screen but Mint won't initiate the boot. When it copies onto the stick it suggests there are errors but seems to resolve these before completing it. Is it a dodgy download or am I doing something wrong?

Formatting the usb each time I try.

Advice welcome thanks!