When support for win 2K stops next year.

[paul*robertson]

What will this mean. I have win 2k on my 600x. Of course it will still work, but in practical terms what will happen.

(before anyone suggests migrating to XP, i have software on my 600x that i dont have disks for, and dont want to spend any money on what is in effect, a third laptop)

[Harryc]

Nothing will happen to the OS itself, but you will no longer get security updates, fixes, or service paks from Microsoft. If you own a business and have a contract for support from MS, that would end also.

[jdhurst]

As Harry says, nothing will happen now.

But if you do not have disks and cannot move on, then death awaits your computer soon. The hard drive WILL die (not IF, merely WHEN) and when it does, you have nothing.

Take some counsel, please, from those of us who have been around for a while and understand your predicament thoroughly: Upgrade yourself, purchase new software along the way, and keep the install CD's in and keys in a safe place.

.. JDH

[rkawakami]

For application software which is no longer supported by the manufacturer, either because the OS is too old or they've simply gone out of business, and no "modern" version is available that does the same thing, upgrading is not a viable option. About the only thing you can do to extend the life of the system would be to maintain a current image of the drive on a backup. That way when (not if, as JD says) your hard drive ends up in Silicon Heaven (sorry, been watching too much Red Dwarf these last few weeks ), you can re-install onto another drive and keep going. Yes, this may mean some $$$$ if you do not already have a solution for complete system backups. But really, if you have at least three systems, you should be protecting yourself against catastrophic drive failures anyway.

[paul*robertson]

Hi,
I do have a cloned copy of my HD just in case.
When the support stops my laptop wont "suddenly" become vunerable to infection or attack?

(maybe i should just upgrade, i have 576 RAM Win 2K has been a really solid O/S for an older pc, shame really)

[Harryc]

When the support stops my laptop wont "suddenly" become vunerable to infection or attack?

Not instantly, however if a new vulnerability is introduced in the wild, Microsoft will not provide a security update so yes at that point your machine would be vulnerable to whatever it is.

[craigmontHunter]

Just be smart, watch where you are browsing, and keep a backup of your drive. You should be fine.

Merry Christams