To a lot fanfare, Home windows XP was launched to manufacturing on August 24, 2001 and launched to most of the people in October that very same yr. When did Microsoft formally finish assist for Home windows XP?

Home windows XP was a significant step ahead for Microsoft, merging the soundness of its Home windows NT line with the consumer-friendly interface of Home windows 98, making it appropriate for each enterprise and residential customers. Home windows XP launched a number of key developments, together with improved {hardware} assist, a extra intuitive consumer interface with the long-lasting Begin menu, and a brand new degree of system stability and safety that made it fashionable throughout a variety of consumer demographics.

Greater than 12 years after its debut, Microsoft formally ended support for Windows XP on April 8, 2014, which additionally marked the conclusion of the prolonged assist part for Workplace 2003. On the time assist was discontinued, Home windows XP was nonetheless in use on roughly 28% of the world’s PCs – almost quadruple the whole Mac OS consumer base on the time. At the same time as late as 2016, thousands and thousands of XP machines remained on-line, highlighting the working system’s enduring reputation and the reluctance of many customers to improve.

Whereas Microsoft strongly inspired customers to transition to newer variations of Home windows, there was a workaround for these decided to maintain XP alive. With a easy registry hack, customers might make their XP set up look like Home windows Embedded POSReady 2009, a model designed for specialised programs like money registers. This trick enabled continued safety updates till 2019, offering a further 5 years of assist past the official finish date.

Even after 2019, many organizations continued to make use of Home windows XP in remoted or managed environments, notably in industries the place updating software program posed compatibility challenges or important prices. This was very true for specialised gear and machines working essential duties that have been troublesome to improve.