It’s been nearly one month since Microsoft has stopped nearly all consumer and enterprise (except for a few agencies able to pony up the cash) support on Windows XP.  April 8^th 2014 marked the end of the extended support life cycle, thus officially ending all product updates for all Windows XP (except Embedded*)

What does this mean to me?

As of April 8^th 2014, there will no longer be any security patches or system stability updates for Microsoft Windows XP. This means that if there’s a security exploit found in Windows XP from this point on, Microsoft will not release a patch to fix it and your system will be vulnerable to a possible malicious attack.  While it’s always essential to have an active anti-virus and anti-malware program running, please understand that these security vulnerability exploits are different from definitions looked at by anti-malware and anti-virus applications.  A good anti-virus program is always an adequate first layer of protection, but that line of defense will not help with holes in the Windows XP operating system.

If you’re still running Windows XP on your home or office PC, it’s time to take action.  There are multiple upgrade paths to choose from and Right Click Computer Solutions will be glad to help you down whichever path works best for your business’ needs.  There are a few decisions you’ll need to make based on what you’ll be using your PC for.

What happens to the data on my existing systems?

The data that you currently have on your XP machine can be backed up and restored to your new PC or laptop.  Programs and applications will have to be re-installed, but your important user data will be migrated to your new system.

What is the upgrade process?

The general upgrade process starts with determining if your current hardware can handle an updated operating system.  If the system is older than 4 years, it may be more practical to get  purchase new hardware.  Remember, a new computer will not only come with a new operating system, but that also means a new warranty on that hardware.  This hardware should be capable of handling the next few generations of software.

After the hardware is determined, your current applications and data should be assessed.  Backups of this data should be made and prepared for migration to the new system. Any applications used for your business on the PC being upgraded will need to be re-installed on the PC itself when it’s upgraded (e.g. Microsofy Office, QuickBooks, ACT!, ProSeries, etc.)  Please note that licensing requirements are different for all software vendors.  In some cases, you may be able to re-install a program as long as you have the original disk and license code.  In other cases, you may need to purchase a new version of the software.

While this may sound a little complicated and even nerve racking for some businesses, for Right Click Computer Solutions it’s just another day in the office.  Upgrading workstations from Windows XP has been something our company has been doing since Windows 7 was generally accepted into the enterprise world in 2010.  We’re here to help your company enter into the next generation of getting business done on your PC.  As always, if you have any questions or require assistance, please contact us in the office at (516) 665-9313

(*Windows XP Embedded will be supported until at-least 2016 [Source: http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/search/default.aspx?alpha=windows+xp])