Monday, October 28, 2013

XP – The End


xp_logoBoth Google and Mozilla have announced support for Windows XP beyond Microsoft’s April 8, 2014 deadline. It’s a transparent attempt to inflate their market share at the expense of users. Folks, they aren’t doing you any favors.

Windows XP isn’t near as secure as Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 and when Microsoft’s support ends you will be in real danger. Many security experts think the bad guys are sitting on exploits, waiting for April, 8th.

See: The Risk of Running Windows XP After Support Ends April 2014


I used to hear from XP diehards all the time but that trend has slowed. Mostly these folks just can’t get used to the looks and layout of Window 7 and/or 8. XP to 8 is definitely a big jump but it need not be with Windows 7.

Here are some FREE tools to make the new look old!


Classic Shell can make your Windows 7 (and 8/8.1) installs look quite a bit like XP if desired.

UBitMenu – Classic Menu and Toolbars in Office 2007 / Office 2010 / Office 2013


3rd Party Themes:

*Warning – Using 3rd party themes poses risks. Having said that many Geeks (myself included) have been using these for years.

BACKUP your computer before using the themes/links below!


How to run 3rd party themes in Windows 7?

Use UxStyle


Satukoro at DeviantArt .

Themes include:

Zune for Windows 7 – beta

Luna Metallic Port to Win7Aero

Royale port to Win7 Aero

Luna port to Windows 7 -Aero-


Nullz0rz – Windows 7 Zune Theme


You can also try: AskVG – Transform Windows XP into Windows 7 without using Customization Pack




I have that one game that has a 16-bit installer. What that means is it’s a no-go under 64-bit Windows. So…


Other options:


Running XP in a Virtual Machine.

Though Windows 7′s XP Mode works fine I prefer VirtualBox and VMWare Player (XP mode not available in Windopws 8). Both VirtualBox and VMWare Player are free for personal use.


Linux / Wine

Under Linux a great many old Windows programs and games run just fine using either a virtual machine (above) or by using Wine. It should be in your distro’s downloads.


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