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Real Story – Microsoft Cutoff Date, Windows 2000 and XP???
Software maker eyes cutoff date for support for XP (SP2), as well as for Windows 2000. Windows XP SP3 itself entered Extended Support this past April, and will remain supported until 2014. Some have chosen to make a scary headline out of this issue. Fact is, just update XP to Service Pack 3 and you’re fine until 2014.
Microsoft is reminding customers that the end date for support for Windows XP Service Pack 2, as well as some other versions of the Windows operating system, is already on the horizon.
The company will officially end support Windows XP SP2, Windows 2000 Server and Windows 2000 Client on July 13, 2010, according to an official company blog post.
The software maker is encouraging users of those operating systems to upgrade systems to Windows 7, Windows Server 2003, or Windows Server 2008 by the cutoff date. It’s also reminding customers that upgrades directly from Windows 2000 to Windows 7 are not officially supported.
Users in the latter category will first have to upgrade to Windows XP, and then migrate over to Windows 7.
Microsoft has released a number of tools designed to ease the pain of upgrading systems to a new OS. “We have created an End-of-Support Solution Center to help with the planning of your migration strategy,” said Microsoft’s Stephen Rose, in a blog post Sunday.
The online resources include a Windows XP-to-Windows 7 migration guide, the Windows 7 Automated Installation Kit, and the User State Migration Tool.
While seven months might seem like plenty of time for businesses to prepare for the end of Windows XP support, the fact is that all but a handful of enterprises are still using the software as their main OS for end users.
Few upgraded to Windows Vista due to concerns about application compatibility and performance issues, and Windows 7, on the market for less than two months, remains too new to instill IT managers with much of a comfort level.
Surveys show that most corporations weren’t planning to move to Windows 7 until at least a full year after its release—but with Microsoft’s deadline looming, many may now be forced to reconsider their plans.
Microsoft is likely to continue providing major security updates for Windows XP and Windows 2000 after ending support, but won’t offer performance patches, service packs or other non-critical upgrades.