Users mock Microsoft for asking their help on XP-to-Windows 8.1 upgrades

[anuseems]

Astute Windows users have pointed out the Achilles Heel of Microsoft's plea for help in getting customers to dump Windows XP: The lack of a smooth upgrade path to Microsoft's newest OS, Windows 8.1.

From Computerworld:

"Wait. Wait. Wait just a minute here," wrote someone identified as "nephilim" in a comment added Thursday to a Microsoft blog. "You are suggesting I upgrade people from XP to Windows 8.x? But that's impossible. There is a major problem with [Microsoft's] suggestion. You (Microsoft) have made Windows 8 and 8.1 incapable of upgrading from Windows XP. I simply can't upgrade anyone, including myself, to Windows 8. It's impossible."

Nephilim was reacting to a Feb. 7 pitch by Microsoft that asked its technically-adroit customers to help friends and family still running Windows XP ditch the OS in favor of Windows 8.1. Microsoft will deliver the last public patches for the XP on April 8, after which users will be on their own, and -- as security professionals have pointed out -- in the crosshairs of cyber criminals.

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9246525/Users_mock_Microsoft_for_asking_their_help_on_XP_to_Windows_8.1_upgrades

Edited February 25, 2014 by anuseems

[davmil]

Do yourself and clients a favor - You're better off reinstalling fresh than migrating anyway. Besides, like the poster says:

Edited February 25, 2014 by davmil

[jackieo]

OK XP user here- I built a desktop box in 2005 -

that contains a motherboard (Abit AV8) an AMD Athlon 64 Winchester 3000+ CPU and 1, count it, 1 gig of ram!

( its also AGP video card slot, and no PCI-Ex, )

How the frak and I supposed to upgrade to Win 8? I wouldnt dare to even THINK about even Win7!

I agree with that guy who "is mocking" M$ he is spot on target, and I have zero plans to upgrade that box to any other operating system.

It will run XP into infinity as is, I dont run it online, because i can give it all its updates via Autopatcher, and at the M$ EOL ...who cares?

It will run all the stuff thats on it, and i have zero fears about getting hacked because it will never be run online again for any foreseeable reason.

thats my experience, and I am sure many others have their own story, its all based on what we do with these things, but if you are a business id be looking to buy new hardware, ( if you are looking at Win8 ) and leave the XP stuff behind, because Im sure Win8 is ram hungry. And also because new stuff has warantees in case of failure.

Good news item and entertaining ! :)

Edited February 25, 2014 by jackieo

[stylemessiah]

Waa Waa, i have Windows 1.0 and cant upgrade to windows 8, ill post on the MS blog and look like a hero, wait a minute, i look like a tool....

I mean im known for HATING Windows 8, but even i have to say this is a non (or nonsense) story as only the insane do an in place upgrade of any OS.

Been a windows user since 1.0, number of in place upgrades ive done: 0

Why carry over bloated system files/registry etc into a new OS, thats a flawed thought process, and ive long wondered why Microsoft didnt disable upgrading completely.....

Clean install every single damn time, like a sane person....

[CODYQX4]

.

Edited April 28, 2019 by CODYQX4

[ffi]

it is possible, someone upgraded windows 1 to each new version of windows

[banned]

OK XP user here- I built a desktop box in 2005 -

How the frak and I supposed to upgrade to Win 8?

You don't, because Win 8 would be a "downgrade" ;-)

XP runs amazingly well on multi-core CPU and solid state drive, but my problem in future will be finding proper driver support for new PC builds. I suppose that's when I'll have to go with Linux full time (which is gonna suck because I liked visiting this site for all the cool software).

Edited February 25, 2014 by banned

[jackieo]

ahh I see now... I missed to point of the article they are talking about UPGRADE not INSTALL.

( my post was aimed at purely INSTALLING 8 on an XP box, without regard to the traditional UPGRADE option of days gone by)

(I notice I even used the word "upgrade" ...I wasnt thinking about the "install cd" definition of UPGRADE )

Yea I agree! UPGRADE ( where you leave the current OS in place and replace it using an install disk, and select UPGRADE)

IS LUDICROUS.

A quote deeper into the article pretty much sums it up

"It takes a lot to transfer an XP machine to a modern Windows OS, it is not automatic and it takes a LOT of time and some resources (external hard drive) and skills which the average user neither has, needs, or wants," said William Rushing on Friday in another comment to LeBlanc's blog. "If Microsoft is sincerely interested in getting the XP user base off of XP, they're going to have to write a direct upgrade tool that even the most technically illiterate person can use."

That's not going to happen.

Edited February 25, 2014 by jackieo

[eurobyn]

will the new engine fit in youre oldtimer ? is this youre question ?

[humble3d]

It is very easy to understand why corporations like MSFT and others want consumers to

upgrade ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING they can and to convince them it is a dire threat to anyone who fails to fall in

line...

The current global corporate fascism is designed that way...

We the people are "programmed to respond" and failure to respond is dire for the very systems

which program us...

The dire comes in when consumers refuse to be threatened to conform to the fascist dictates

because we become aware that duress and coercion are not synonymous but that their

meanings often shade into one another ...

The so called "dire emergency" is first seen and heard in the media when said media yells at

us to HURRY, HURRY, HURRY...

Some of us have become aware that we are merely instruments or SLAVES of moribund systems which

seem to be in the throws of some type of change which will inevitably be dire for someone

and, we suspect it will be dire for the greedy wealthy who have taken all of us on a long

adventure at the cost of our personal peace of mind, inter alia...

Yes, citizens, we are entering a "dire emergency" and the cost to us is not only our peace

of mind but also our new awareness that the cost of admission to this long adventure is our

minds, our hearts, our souls and our brains... inter alia...

So, don't be alarmed and don't be sad if the end of the world seems close at hand,

for i'm not to blame and, I'm certainly not mad, for you see, of course,

I'M ONLY A MAN... :lol:

:rolleyes:

[LeeSmithG]

When Vista came out, people that purchased pre-installed systems got the help from M$ to down-grade back to XP.

I did use Vista, not a nice experience.

3.1-95-98-millennium-xp-vista-7.

That is my roll of honour.

When I purchased Windows 7, I chose professional as it came with XP mode, which meant I could use old XP programs still via virtual machine mode.

Now (past year or so) I have found softwares that are the same as if not better that work fine on Windows 7.

They are mainly, video cutting and watermark software.

So I am happy.

The problem now for all those XP users with half a meg of r.a.m. or even 1 meg of r.a.m. is to upgrade to v8.1 would be impossible, not only the equipment, mobo, video card, usb ports, will probably

not have software and drivers written for it, they will then have to buy new software and pray.

What M$ should do is offer a deal, that if customers bring in their XP machines, they can buy a brand new above entry level v8.1 Windows installed for 50% discount.

So if they buy a machine without the deal it would cost £400, they pay £200, with the deal.

I am sure Curry's, PCWorld, Dixons would do this as a partnership programme with Microsoft.

Then M$ can check over the machines, clean em up and send them for education purposes to poor countries for the kids.

M$ win, the kids win and users get a new neat piece of kit.

© Me this idea.

Edited February 26, 2014 by LeeSmithG