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Time finally runs out for Windows XP
30 June deadline stands firm

By Mary-Jo Foley

Published: Wednesday 25 June 2008

Despite months of rumours that Microsoft might rethink its decision to pull the plug on Windows XP, the official word is: XP is on its way out.

Microsoft is sticking to its plan to cease providing PC makers with XP to preload on new PCs after 30 June, as Microsoft is now letting customers know via a letter it has posted to its Windows XP and Windows Vista websites.

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The 23 June letter, entitled 'An Update on the Windows Roadmap', from Bill Veghte, senior vice president, online services and Windows business group, reiterated that PC makers won't be getting more copies of Windows XP to load on new machines after 30 June, 2008.

There are two exceptions to this rule, however. "White box" system builders and makers of ultra-low-cost PCs are allowed to continue to preload XP through 2009 and 2010, respectively.

Microsoft support for XP doesn't end on 30 June; free Microsoft-provided support for XP continues through April 2009. Microsoft "Extended" support - for which users must pay (other than for security-specific hot fixes and various self-help tools, which are free) - lasts through 2014.

There is no new information about the Windows roadmap in Veghte's letter. Veghte acknowledged that Vista - especially in its initial release - was not an easy Windows release for many customers to swallow.

The letter states: "The architectural changes that improved security and resilience in Windows Vista led to compatibility issues with existing hardware and applications. Many hardware drivers and applications needed to be updated, and while the majority worked well when we launched Windows Vista, some key applications and drivers were not yet available. Since then, Microsoft and its industry partners have been hard at work to address compatibility issues and now the situation is fundamentally different."