Time is running out for people wanting to buy a new PC that can be downgraded to Windows XP, with manufacturers set to stop sales of the ageing operating system.
According to Dell, the company will soon stop selling PCs that take advantage of a downgrade licence from Windows 7 to XP, ahead of a Microsoft deadline of 22 October.
“Per Microsoft guidelines regarding Windows XP, system vendors like Dell will no longer be able to ship systems with XP Professional and XP Home after October 22, 2010,” the company said in a blog post.
“This means that we will stop offering XP as an option for customers starting this month in preparation for next month’s deadline.”
The company stressed that it would continue Windows XP driver support until December 2012, but sales of XP-enabled machines will end this month to make sure all orders have worked through the system before the October deadline.
The situation is markedly different in the corporate space, where companies have been given more time to upgrade to Windows 7, a reflection of the fact that XP is still installed on the majority of enterprise computers.
Dell and other manufacturers will be able to sell machines with XP licenses to corporate customers after Microsoft said it would extend the cut-off date in the enterprise sector.
“While the majority of customers are actively transitioning to Windows 7, and PC manufacturers are focused on delivering PCs and devices with Windows 7 pre-installed, our business customers have told us that removing end-user downgrade rights to Windows XP Professional could be confusing,” Microsoft said in a July blog post.
The company said corporate customers could continue installing and using XP on machines, and that it had extended support for Windows XP SP3 through to April 2014.
Subscribers 0
Fans 0
Followers 0
Followers