Microsoft Ends Official Support For Windows XP SP2 & Win 2000 in July 2010

Extended Official Support by Microsoft for Windows XP SP2, Windows 2000, and Windows 2000 Server will finally end on July 13, 2010. After this day, Microsoft will no longer provide individual support or security updates for any of the three operating systems, and there will be no more service packs released for Windows 2000. Users running XP who wish to continue with updates will have to either upgrade to Windows Vista/7 or the latest service pack (SP3). If Microsoft decides to release a fourth service pack for Windows XP, support for SP3 will not end until two years after the next release or the end of the product’s lifecycle (probably the latter as a fourth service pack is unlikely).

Microsoft offers three stages of support, starting with Mainstream Support, followed by Extended Support, and then finally Self-Help Online Support. Mainstream support ended for Windows XP on 14 April 2009, and in July, XP SP2 will enter into the Self-Help Online Support stage. Every version of Windows XP will be affected except for Embedded.

Considering that XP still commands a strong majority of the market, its end should help boost the popularity of Windows Vista and 7, especially considering that Microsoft is urging all of its customers toward the upgrade, offering several resources to help stubborn consumers switch to the new release of the Windows client (such as the End-of-Support Solution Center).

The move should help to boost the computer economy and spur sales as many computers (especially those running Win2K) will also require hardware upgrades or an entirely new system as the components could very well be approaching archaic. As such, Windows 7 sales may also be improved as there’s almost no reason for a consumer to choose Vista in the purchase of a new computer when Windows 7 is readily available.

For users not yet willing to upgrade, Service Pack 3 for Windows XP can be found here.

Source:

http://windows7news.com/2009/12/08/support-ends-in-july-for-xp-sp2-and-win2k/

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