Ok, I've been too hard on some of you.

So for those of you that haven't caved to peer pressure and are still
running Windows XP - a gift:

The ability for you to continue to receive updates, patches and fixes
directly from Microsoft via WindowsUpdate until the year 2019.

This is no joke.

Use notepad to copy the following and save as .reg file - and then run
it (double-click the file).

==========
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\WindowsEmbedded\ProductVersion]
"FeaturePackVersion"="SP3"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\WEPOS]
"Installed"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\WES]
"Installed"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\PosReady]
"Installed"=dword:00000001
===========

Restart your computer, and make sure WindozeUpdate service is running.
You will see there are updates for you to install! And your XP PC will
continue to recieve MS patches until the year 2019.

This is for 32-bit XP. There is a different method for 64-bit version
of XP (by spoofing Windows 2003 server).

This trick works because for the purposes of WindowsUpdate, it makes WU
think you're running POS2009 (Point Of Service 2009) which is basically
XP for cash registers and other "point-of-service" PC's. Microsoft
provides update support for POS2009 until 2019.

Enjoy.

On 05/22/14 10:41 pm, HomeGuy wrote:
Ok, I've been too hard on some of you.

So for those of you that haven't caved to peer pressure and are still
running Windows XP - a gift:

The ability for you to continue to receive updates, patches and fixes
directly from Microsoft via WindowsUpdate until the year 2019.

This is no joke.

Use notepad to copy the following and save as .reg file - and then run
it (double-click the file).

==========
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\WindowsEmbedded\ProductVersion]
"FeaturePackVersion"="SP3"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\WEPOS]
"Installed"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\WES]
"Installed"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\PosReady]
"Installed"=dword:00000001
===========

Restart your computer, and make sure WindozeUpdate service is running.
You will see there are updates for you to install! And your XP PC will
continue to recieve MS patches until the year 2019.

This is for 32-bit XP. There is a different method for 64-bit version
of XP (by spoofing Windows 2003 server).

This trick works because for the purposes of WindowsUpdate, it makes WU
think you're running POS2009 (Point Of Service 2009) which is basically
XP for cash registers and other "point-of-service" PC's. Microsoft
provides update support for POS2009 until 2019.

Enjoy.

But I can well imagine that the desktop version of XP and the POS
version differ in significant ways and that the updates for the POS
version may even have an adverse effect on the desktop version.

Perce

On 5/22/2014 9:41 PM, HomeGuy wrote:
Ok, I've been too hard on some of you.

So for those of you that haven't caved to peer pressure and are still
running Windows XP - a gift:

The ability for you to continue to receive updates, patches and fixes
directly from Microsoft via WindowsUpdate until the year 2019.

This is no joke.



I tried it and it just said "not a valid registry script"

philo wrote:

I tried it and it just said "not a valid registry script"

You don't include the "===================" lines I put in to mark the
start and end of the text.

And you save it as a "text" file, but either rename it to .reg before or
after it's saved as .txt.

==========
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\WindowsEmbedded\ProductVersion]
"FeaturePackVersion"="SP3"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\WEPOS]
"Installed"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\WES]
"Installed"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\PosReady]
"Installed"=dword:00000001
===========

If it still says "not a valid registry script" then do a search on your
system for other .reg files and open them in notepad and compare how
they look vs what you've created based on my instructions above.

On Thursday, May 22, 2014 11:22:06 PM UTC-4, Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
On 05/22/14 10:41 pm, HomeGuy wrote:

Ok, I've been too hard on some of you.



So for those of you that haven't caved to peer pressure and are still

running Windows XP - a gift:



The ability for you to continue to receive updates, patches and fixes

directly from Microsoft via WindowsUpdate until the year 2019.



This is no joke.



Use notepad to copy the following and save as .reg file - and then run

it (double-click the file).



==========

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00



[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\WindowsEmbedded\ProductVersion]

"FeaturePackVersion"="SP3"



[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\WEPOS]

"Installed"=dword:00000000



[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\WES]

"Installed"=dword:00000000



[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\PosReady]

"Installed"=dword:00000001

===========



Restart your computer, and make sure WindozeUpdate service is running.

You will see there are updates for you to install! And your XP PC will

continue to recieve MS patches until the year 2019.



This is for 32-bit XP. There is a different method for 64-bit version

of XP (by spoofing Windows 2003 server).



This trick works because for the purposes of WindowsUpdate, it makes WU

think you're running POS2009 (Point Of Service 2009) which is basically

XP for cash registers and other "point-of-service" PC's. Microsoft

provides update support for POS2009 until 2019.



Enjoy.



But I can well imagine that the desktop version of XP and the POS

version differ in significant ways and that the updates for the POS

version may even have an adverse effect on the desktop version.



Perce

Exactly what I thought. Homelessguy is proposing that
you put the updates for Microsoft's embedded version of
XP on your desktop PC. Just because they are built on the
same OS core doesn't mean that there aren't differences that
could cause a disaster. This is the first time I've even
heard anyone recommend taking OS updates for one OS product
and try to trick a different version into accepting it.
And I for sure wouldn't be editing my registry based on some
crap he posts here.

On 05/23/2014 07:28 AM, HomeGuy wrote:
philo wrote:

I tried it and it just said "not a valid registry script"

You don't include the "===================" lines I put in to mark the
start and end of the text.

And you save it as a "text" file, but either rename it to .reg before or
after it's saved as .txt.

==========
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\WindowsEmbedded\ProductVersion]
"FeaturePackVersion"="SP3"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\WEPOS]
"Installed"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\WES]
"Installed"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\PosReady]
"Installed"=dword:00000001
===========

If it still says "not a valid registry script" then do a search on your
system for other .reg files and open them in notepad and compare how
they look vs what you've created based on my instructions above.




yes, I did not include the lines and I did save the file with a .reg
extension.

I'm back on my Linux system now and will fool with it later.


I know how to manually edit the registry so may do it that way if all
else fails.

Even if it works, that would be risky. Microsoft has
no commitment to making sure their XP embedded
updates work on normal XP. Even then, it would only
be for security patches. Office programs are not licensed
to run on Embedded. That means the majority of patches
would be for IE8. But Microsoft has now stopped offering
security patches for IE8, and IE9+ won't install on XP.
(And anyone using IE8 has got bigger problems than
worrying about XP updates.)

Given all of those exceptions, I wonder how many, if
any, patches will come through for XP Embedded. And do
you really want to take a chance of frying your system?

Oddly, Microsoft is continuing XP updates to a number of
companies, and probably governments, who are willing to
pay for it. They're going to create, test and provide updates
to XP. They just won't let most of their paying customers
get them.



"HomeGuy" Home@Guy.com wrote in message
...
| Ok, I've been too hard on some of you.
|
| So for those of you that haven't caved to peer pressure and are still
| running Windows XP - a gift:
|
| The ability for you to continue to receive updates, patches and fixes
| directly from Microsoft via WindowsUpdate until the year 2019.
|
| This is no joke.
|
| Use notepad to copy the following and save as .reg file - and then run
| it (double-click the file).
|
| ==========
| Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
|
|
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\WindowsEmbedded\ProductVersion]
| "FeaturePackVersion"="SP3"
|
| [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\WEPOS]
| "Installed"=dword:00000000
|
| [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\WES]
| "Installed"=dword:00000000
|
| [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA\PosReady]
| "Installed"=dword:00000001
| ===========
|
| Restart your computer, and make sure WindozeUpdate service is running.
| You will see there are updates for you to install! And your XP PC will
| continue to recieve MS patches until the year 2019.
|
| This is for 32-bit XP. There is a different method for 64-bit version
| of XP (by spoofing Windows 2003 server).
|
| This trick works because for the purposes of WindowsUpdate, it makes WU
| think you're running POS2009 (Point Of Service 2009) which is basically
| XP for cash registers and other "point-of-service" PC's. Microsoft
| provides update support for POS2009 until 2019.
|
| Enjoy.

On 5/23/2014 8:24 AM, philo wrote:
On 05/23/2014 07:28 AM, HomeGuy wrote:
philo wrote:

I tried it and it just said "not a valid registry script"




snip


My fault, it worked fine.
Thank you!

The text editor I used changed the format a bit.


Now, do you know what the hack is for XP_64 bit?

Mayayana wrote:

Even if it works, that would be risky. Microsoft has no commitment
to making sure their XP embedded updates work on normal XP.

================
Windows Embedded POSReady 2009

Based on Windows XP Service Pack 3, this version offers more features
over Windows Embedded for Point of Service V1 such as Full Localization
and XPF Support if .NET Framework 3.5 or higher installed. It is the
first version of Windows Embedded that can use the Windows Update Agent
to update an installed and deployed image. Mainstream support will end
in April 2014 and extended support in April 2019.
=================

By the way, the trick or hack that I posted should *probably* not be
tried on any XP system that has not been updated to SP3.

Many XP enthusiasts are installing and experimenting with POSReady
2009. One very nice thing about it is - it doesn't perform online
validation during installation, so a working product key (for which many
exist in the public) will continue to work and can't be deactivated by
Macro$haft.

POSReady 2009 FAQ:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/l...bedded.0).aspx

=================
What is the difference between POSReady 2009 and Windows XP
Professional?

* Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 contains the following Embedded
Enabling Features:

o File-Based Write Filter (FBWF), which redirects writes to disk
to RAM and helps protect the underlying OS image.
o USB Boot, which allows installation from a USB key.

* Office productivity applications are not licensed to be run on
POSReady.
* POS for .NET is included with POSReady.
* POSReady does not contain Help files, which reduces its footprint.
* Both products use the same management software.

For more information, see POSReady 2009 vs. Windows XP Professional
(PDF).

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=159099
=================


Oh yea, about the "Office productivity applications are not licensed to
be run on POSReady" -

Well, that restriction exists only on paper. All versions of MS Office
that will run on XP will install and run on POSReady 2009.

Milkro$haft simply doesn't want corporations and institutions to run
POSReady on desktop PC's in place of XP, and simply stating that Office
is not "licensed" to run on POSReady is enough for IT people to be
afraid to even try it.

Also note that you don't buy POSReady directly from Macro$haft - it's
provided directly only to OEM equipment makers. But images of the OS
have leaked out to the public.

So for those of you that claim the two OS's could or are likely to
contain key incompatibilities at the file level regarding future updates
and patches - there is really nothing to back up such a hypothesis.

| Also note that you don't buy POSReady directly from Macro$haft - it's
| provided directly only to OEM equipment makers. But images of the OS
| have leaked out to the public.
|

That's a whole other issue. You're talking about
using an illegal product. On top of that you want to
let it call home to MS for updates? I expect you'd
probably get away with it, but just to be on the
safe side, I don't think I'd call the police to ask
about the best route out of town if I'd just robbed
a bank.

| So for those of you that claim the two OS's could or are likely to
| contain key incompatibilities at the file level regarding future updates
| and patches - there is really nothing to back up such a hypothesis.

I'm questioning whether there's any
value at all in the potential for updates. There won't be any
more updates for IE8, so what patches do you really need?
XP Embedded may not even have standard networking
functionality, in which case you wouldn't get anything like
that. In other words, you won't know what you might
be missing. Yet you're risking XP stability.

There's no way
to be sure what compatibility issues there could be. That's
why Microsoft defines supported vs non-supported.
They promise to maintain supported items. Not so with
unsupported items. They could break compatibility simply
out of spite, to thwart people trying to use this hack.
Similar things have happened with programmer functions.
Microsoft guarantees that supported functions will work,
but unofficial functions, Registry settings, etc -- that MS
uses but doesn't officially offer to 3rd-party programmers
-- often get changed willy nilly. No one can complain
because MS specifically didn't list those functions and
settings as supported.

In any case, suit yourself. I'm just warning anyone who
might want to use this hack that they're taking a chance
with dubious benefit. Personally I wouldn't allow Windows
Update to function, anyway. I'm running XP SP3. If they
came out with SP4 I'd install it only after it had been
out for awhile. If you're worried about security on XP
then *don't use IE*. Beyond that, disable script if
possible, and if at all feasible, do not install Adobe
Acrobat, Java, Flash, or Silverlight. Script is connected
with nearly all online risks. Many depend on one of
things I listed above. None of those things is necessary
for most people. Flash is used mostly for animated ads.
Java is usually only used on corporate intranets.
Silverlight is a failed attempt by Microsoft to create
a highly functional, interactive webpage functionality.
Like Adobe AIR it's been pretty much supplanted by
high-efficiency javascript. Adobe Acrobat is a bloated
mess. There are other, more lean PDF readers, and you
don't need to use PDF browser plugins. (See Sumatra,
PDF-Exchange Viewer.)

For optimal protection you might try Firefox with the
NoScript extension, which allows you to enable script
easily and only when it's absolutely necessary. With that
you'll be far safer than the average Win7 user, and you
won't have to risk your system to Microsoft's beta dripfeed
for another OS.

For further protection, curtail your online shopping.
EBay just got hacked the other day. That's a good example
of new risks. It used to be one had to worry about
wiseguys attacking with malware and ruining one's
computer. Then the risk became Russian and Chinese
criminals, installing sneaky malware that spies to get
credit card numbers or other exploitable information.
Now, increasingly, the risk is in electronic transactions
themselves: online shopping, buying gas with credit
cards or debit cards at hacked gas pumps, using hacked
ATMs, buying groceries at stores with hacked card-swipe
appliances, etc. If you don't do anything on your
computer that requires you to type a charge card or
bank account number then you'll improve your security
a great deal just through that. But of course, that's
not acceptable for many people. If you're an Amazon
addict or EBay denizen you can't afford such risks. Though
everyone can at least avoid online banking.

On Friday, May 23, 2014 10:25:49 AM UTC-4, HomeGuy wrote:
Mayayana wrote:



Even if it works, that would be risky. Microsoft has no commitment

to making sure their XP embedded updates work on normal XP.



================

Windows Embedded POSReady 2009



Based on Windows XP Service Pack 3, this version offers more features

over Windows Embedded for Point of Service V1 such as Full Localization

and XPF Support if .NET Framework 3.5 or higher installed. It is the

first version of Windows Embedded that can use the Windows Update Agent

to update an installed and deployed image. Mainstream support will end

in April 2014 and extended support in April 2019.

=================



By the way, the trick or hack that I posted should *probably* not be

tried on any XP system that has not been updated to SP3.



Many XP enthusiasts are installing and experimenting with POSReady

2009. One very nice thing about it is - it doesn't perform online

validation during installation, so a working product key (for which many

exist in the public) will continue to work and can't be deactivated by

Macro$haft.



POSReady 2009 FAQ:



http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/l...bedded.0).aspx



=================

What is the difference between POSReady 2009 and Windows XP

Professional?



* Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 contains the following Embedded

Enabling Features:



o File-Based Write Filter (FBWF), which redirects writes to disk

to RAM and helps protect the underlying OS image.

o USB Boot, which allows installation from a USB key.



* Office productivity applications are not licensed to be run on

POSReady.

* POS for .NET is included with POSReady.

* POSReady does not contain Help files, which reduces its footprint.

* Both products use the same management software.



For more information, see POSReady 2009 vs. Windows XP Professional

(PDF).



http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=159099

=================





Oh yea, about the "Office productivity applications are not licensed to

be run on POSReady" -



Well, that restriction exists only on paper. All versions of MS Office

that will run on XP will install and run on POSReady 2009.



Milkro$haft simply doesn't want corporations and institutions to run

POSReady on desktop PC's in place of XP, and simply stating that Office

is not "licensed" to run on POSReady is enough for IT people to be

afraid to even try it.



Also note that you don't buy POSReady directly from Macro$haft - it's

provided directly only to OEM equipment makers. But images of the OS

have leaked out to the public.



So for those of you that claim the two OS's could or are likely to

contain key incompatibilities at the file level regarding future updates

and patches - there is really nothing to back up such a hypothesis.

You're looking into the wrong end of the telescope. What we haven't
seen is anything to support your hypothesis that the updates for
embedded XP can be safely applied to XP for desktops and that those
updates are worth doing. And no one
said anything about incompatibilities at the file level. It's that
you're taking fixes designed for and tested on one OS and putting
it into another OS version, which while similar, it was not targeted
for or tested with. Soemthing for embedded windows XP gets shoved into
XP Home and who knows for sure what happens?

What you're suggesting is that folks set up their PC kind of like
a ticking time bomb. It would be set up to look for and to try to
install updates for embedded XP for the next few years. Any one of
those, something very bad could happen and you could have a corrupted
PC. To me, that risk is more real than worrying about future security
problems with XP.

Your new caveat:

"By the way, the trick or hack that I posted should *probably* not be
tried on any XP system that has not been updated to SP3. "

That isn't very reassuing either. What else haven't you thought about?

On 5/23/2014 9:21 AM, trader_4 wrote: Enjoy.

But I can well imagine that the desktop version of XP and the POS

version differ in significant ways and that the updates for the POS

version may even have an adverse effect on the desktop version.



Perce
Just sit back and wait. If this really works, it will be all over the
'net in a couple of days.

On Friday, May 23, 2014 12:42:29 PM UTC-4, Congoleum Breckenridge wrote:
On 5/23/2014 9:21 AM, trader_4 wrote: Enjoy.



But I can well imagine that the desktop version of XP and the POS



version differ in significant ways and that the updates for the POS



version may even have an adverse effect on the desktop version.







Perce

Just sit back and wait. If this really works, it will be all over the

'net in a couple of days.

The only problem is you won't know if it works or not for awhile
and never for sure. MSFT just issued an update for that latest security problem for XP, which occured just after they had EOL'd XP, but they
decided to do that one more for everyone anyway.
So, there are no new updates as of now that you can't get for XP home, pro etc
that would require you to bootleg the embedded XP version.
When any come, that's when you'd find out what happens. And then
only for each update, with no guarantee that the next update won't
cause some unknown problem.

What you're doing is saying OK, shove any future embedded XP updates
into my home XP system, whenever they happen to be released in the
future. I think potentially that is a more serious problem for a
system than not getting updates period. Particularly since as Mayayana
pointed out, a lot of security bugs have been in Internet Explorer,
the last two versions of that won't run on XP, and IE AFAIK, isn't
even a part of the embedded XP product.

Do I need those updates?

I have two computers that I control from a KVM switch. Both computers run Windows XP Professional Edition with Service Pack 3 which I have on a CD.

I use one computer almost exclusively for business and the other for internet surfing.

If I get a virus or malaware on my surfing computer, I simply format the hard drive and reload Windows XP Pro and my Favourites. It takes about a day, but I do this kind of work on a Saturday when I'm also doing something else, so it's no hassle for me to reload Windows XP.

I never get a virus on my business computer because it rarely ever sees the internet.

Do I need those additional updates if it's no hassle for me to reload Windows XP if and when I get a bug on my surfing computer?

On 23 May 2014, nestork wrote in
alt.home.repair:

Do I need those updates?

I have two computers that I control from a KVM switch. Both
computers run Windows XP Professional Edition with Service Pack 3
which I have on a CD.

I use one computer almost exclusively for business and the other
for internet surfing.

If I get a virus or malaware on my surfing computer, I simply
format the hard drive and reload Windows XP Pro and my Favourites.
It takes about a day, but I do this kind of work on a Saturday
when I'm also doing something else, so it's no hassle for me to
reload Windows XP.

I never get a virus on my business computer because it rarely ever
sees the internet.

Do I need those additional updates if it's no hassle for me to
reload Windows XP if and when I get a bug on my surfing computer?

I'd say no. Any functional improvement features have already been
installed to XP by SP3 and there will be no more. Any possible updates
will have to do with network security. If your computer doesn't touch
the Internet, they won't apply to you. The computer that does touch the
network is somewhat vulnerable, but if you don't keep any sensitive
personal information on it, it's probably not a big risk.

Besides, these "updates" don't sound safe to me. I wouldn't touch them
with a 10-foot pole.

You might consider making a disk image of your Internet computer when
it's set up the way you like it. The image can be restored much more
quickly and with less intervention on your part than you manually
reinstalling the OS and everything.

On 05/23/2014 12:42 PM, Congoleum Breckenridge wrote:
On 5/23/2014 9:21 AM, trader_4 wrote: Enjoy.

But I can well imagine that the desktop version of XP and the POS

version differ in significant ways and that the updates for the POS

version may even have an adverse effect on the desktop version.



Perce
Just sit back and wait. If this really works, it will be all over the 'net in a couple of days.

True but I don't think this free hack will last long. I expect M$ to start charging for updates.

But really, it never ceases to amaze me how phuckin' tight some folks can be. For example, Windows 7 Professional can be had for about $130 and buys a user a better OS with another 6 years of support.

On 05/23/2014 08:45 AM, Mayayana wrote:
Even if it works, that would be risky. Microsoft has
no commitment to making sure their XP embedded
updates work on normal XP. Even then, it would only
be for security patches. Office programs are not licensed
to run on Embedded. That means the majority of patches
would be for IE8. But Microsoft has now stopped offering
security patches for IE8, and IE9+ won't install on XP.
(And anyone using IE8 has got bigger problems than
worrying about XP updates.)

Given all of those exceptions, I wonder how many, if
any, patches will come through for XP Embedded. And do
you really want to take a chance of frying your system?

Oddly, Microsoft is continuing XP updates to a number of
companies, and probably governments, who are willing to
pay for it. They're going to create, test and provide updates
to XP. They just won't let most of their paying customers
get them.




I was willing to give it a try as I don't use XP anymore so if my old XP
install broke, it would have been no big deal.

FWIW: Any updates that cause a problem can be rolled back by either
uninstalling them or performing a System Restore.

Yes, but truth be known, most people have vastly more computer than they need. I wish I had a nickel for every computer out there that's making a living as a glorified typewriter or cash register. In my case, I really don't need anything more than Windows XP because it does everything I need. Paying $130 for Windows 7 is just paying $130 for 6 years worth of looking in Windows 7 Help menu to figure out how to do this, that and the other thing on Windows 7 insteada XP.

You see, Microsoft makes it's money by selling software. It has to keep up with all the latest gadgets and trends in order to keep selling the latest software. I, on the other hand, don't need to keep buying the latest software.

Did you know that in 1978 there were handheld calculators that had more computing power than the main frame computers that guided Apollo 9 safely to the moon and back in 1969?

Nil:
I'm not very computer savvy, but the reason I reload XP if I get a virus (or anything scary) on my surfing computer is because it's an absolutely guaranteed way to clobber any viruses (or anything scary) that I might have picked up surfing the net. The virus that can withstand a low level format has yet to be written.

If I use this disk image thing you're talking about, could I be equally certain of not having any viruses on my computer after doing a "disk image" (or whatever that would be called) as I would after formatting the hard drive and reloading XP? This is an important point to me because I KNOW that after formatting and reloading XP, my computer is as clean as a drill sargent's whistle, and I don't know that a disk image would give me that assurance.

On 05/23/2014 02:24 PM, Marcel Maximilian wrote:

But really, it never ceases to amaze me how phuckin' tight some folks
can be. For example, Windows 7 Professional can be had for about $130
and buys a user a better OS with another 6 years of support.

I fail to see how an OS that does not install on certain hardware, or
for which no drivers can be found, can be considered to be "better".

Like it or not, some of us hardware that runs perfectly well on WinXP,
and for which there is no support in Win7.

Jon

On Fri, 23 May 2014 09:45:28 -0400, "Mayayana"
wrote:

(And anyone using IE8 has got bigger problems than
worrying about XP updates.)

Actually, anyone running IE (any version) has got very big
problems. Microsoft was notified about a zero-day exploit 6 months ago
and has done fsck all to patch it. Glugle and ye shall find.
Affects mainly Win 7 users.

[]'s
--
Don't be evil - Google 2004
We have a new policy - Google 2012

trader_4 wrote in news:a3be908e-d8a0-425b-a1a2-
:

What we haven't
seen is anything to support your hypothesis that the updates for
embedded XP can be safely applied to XP for desktops



I'll bet nobody reading this thread or responding to it has actually tried
performing the above-mentioned updates.

Microsoft isn't dumb; I'll also bet that if you did try installing updates
meant for POS2009 onto desktop XP, the update files will refuse to install
on account of the desktop version being incorrect for the updates.

So. Anybody here who has actually DONE this? Not "going to do it", but
actually DONE it.


--
Tegger

On 5/23/2014 7:13 PM, Tegger wrote:

Microsoft isn't dumb; I'll also bet that if you did try installing updates
meant for POS2009 onto desktop XP, the update files will refuse to install
on account of the desktop version being incorrect for the updates.

So. Anybody here who has actually DONE this? Not "going to do it", but
actually DONE it.


Well, no, not actually. But my wife's cousin's hairdresser's
brother-in-law's kid said that he could do it quite easily. In fact, he
promised that he'd try just as soon as he gets out of juvenile detention.g

Sorry, couldn't resist. Have a nice weekend all. Remember, those that
can't enjoy it because they wanted to ensure that we would!

On Friday, May 23, 2014 8:13:11 PM UTC-4, Tegger wrote:
trader_4 wrote in news:a3be908e-d8a0-425b-a1a2-

:



What we haven't

seen is anything to support your hypothesis that the updates for

embedded XP can be safely applied to XP for desktops







I'll bet nobody reading this thread or responding to it has actually tried

performing the above-mentioned updates.



Microsoft isn't dumb; I'll also bet that if you did try installing updates

meant for POS2009 onto desktop XP, the update files will refuse to install

on account of the desktop version being incorrect for the updates.



So. Anybody here who has actually DONE this? Not "going to do it", but

actually DONE it.





--

Tegger

Another problem that I pointed out previously is that
it's not exactly easy to even test it, nor is there a
current need. The last update that was needed for XP
was the recent security one and they provided that to all
XP customers, even though XP had been EOL'd a few weeks
before. So, if your XP PC is up to date, you don't have
any updates to download and try via the proposed hack
method. And if you do need any XP updates, all the existing
ones are still available. You can make your XP system 100%
up to date via the normal process. I only see two ways to
find out if this hack will work.

1 - Find a PC with XP that hasn't had at least the last update
that came out a few weeks ago, put the hack on it, then have
it do the update/updates. I'm not sure
that even proves it, because who knows if it's really applying
the updates from the "embedded XP updates" or just the normal ones
that any XP owner could do.

2 - Apply the hack and wait until MSFT issues an update someday
in the future for embedded XP, assuming that happens and see if
that update gets applied onto your XP PC and if it works.

Tegger wrote:

I'll bet nobody reading this thread or responding to it has actually
tried performing the above-mentioned updates.

Oh you poor little lost souls.

If you had done it today (and selected "Custom" instead of "Express"
installation), this is what you'd see:

3 Critical updates:

================

Security Update for Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 SP2 on Windows Server
2003
KB2932079 - MS14-026
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2932079
Download size: 1.1 MB , less than 1 minute

A security issue has been identified in a Microsoft software product
that could affect your system. You can help protect
your system by installing this update from Microsoft. For a complete
listing of the issues that are included in this
update, see the associated Microsoft Knowledge Base article. After you
install this update, you may have to restart your
system. Details...

==============

Security Update for WEPOS and POSReady 2009
KB2926765 - MS14-027
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2926765
Typical download size: 275 KB , less than 1 minute

A security issue has been identified in a Microsoft software product
that could affect your system. You can help protect
your system by installing this update from Microsoft. For a complete
listing of the issues that are included in this
update, see the associated Microsoft Knowledge Base article. After you
install this update, you may have to restart your
system. Details...

==================

Security Update for Internet Explorer 8 for WEPOS and POSReady 2009
KB2953522 - MS14-029
AKA Security update for Internet Explorer versions 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and
11: May 13, 2014
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2953522
Download size: 3.2 MB , less than 1 minute

A security issue has been identified in a Microsoft software product
that could affect your system. You can help protect
your system by installing this update from Microsoft. For a complete
listing of the issues that are included in this
update, see the associated Microsoft Knowledge Base article. After you
install this update, you may have to restart your
system. Details...

===================

Now you go ahead and read those microsoft links. And if you really want
to be so frighted about the state of your XP system less than a month
after "official" end-of-support, you'll read these:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/21546...abilities.html

http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-patch...nd-7000029405/

As you read them and notice the MS14-what-ever numbers they mention, go
and glance at what updates you could be installing right now if you
follow my instructions. Those are the same updates being offered to
Win-7 and various other platforms - but not for XP.

Yes, I updated an XP-SP3 system with those 3 critical updates.

And then I selected a bunch of suggested updates (there were about a
dozen of them). One of those was a root certificate update (dated Nov
2013) that for some reason Micro$haft wasn't offering to me before.

One day, maybe soon, you'll realize that yes, POSReady 2009 is XP-SP3
with a different license agreement, and you'll be dying to get those
updates on your systems. So you can thank me now, or thank me later.

And no, Micro$haft will do nothing to prohibit this in the future. The
millions of various POS systems around the world are too important to
**** with by trying to make some change that will prevent this hack from
working on "real" XP systems.

Mark my words. Hear me now and believe me later.

In the mean time you can all shout "We're not worthy!".

On 05/23/2014 08:57 PM, HomeGuy wrote:


And no, Micro$haft will do nothing to prohibit this in the future. The
millions of various POS systems around the world are too important to
**** with by trying to make some change that will prevent this hack from
working on "real" XP systems.

Mark my words. Hear me now and believe me later.

In the mean time you can all shout "We're not worthy!".


Or you could buy a $99 computer with Windows 7 from Walmart and not worry about your silly XP hacks.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Refurbishe...DD-CD/35963495

On Sat, 24 May 2014 10:18:11 -0400, devnull wrote:

On 05/23/2014 08:57 PM, HomeGuy wrote:


And no, Micro$haft will do nothing to prohibit this in the future. The
millions of various POS systems around the world are too important to
**** with by trying to make some change that will prevent this hack from
working on "real" XP systems.

Mark my words. Hear me now and believe me later.

In the mean time you can all shout "We're not worthy!".


Or you could buy a $99 computer with Windows 7 from Walmart and not worry about your silly XP hacks.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Refurbishe...DD-CD/35963495

If you foot the plane-ticket, I agree. Then I can enjoy the
latest unpatched "zero-day" vulnerabilities.

http://zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-14-140/

[]'s
--
Don't be evil - Google 2004
We have a new policy - Google 2012

"nestork" wrote in message
...

Marcel Maximilian;3239695 Wrote:

But really, it never ceases to amaze me how phuckin' tight some folks
can be. For example, Windows 7 Professional can be had for about $130
and buys a user a better OS with another 6 years of support.

Yes, but truth be known, most people have vastly more computer than they
need. I wish I had a nickel for every computer out there that's making
a living as a glorified typewriter or cash register. In my case, I
really don't need anything more than Windows XP because it does
everything I need. Paying $130 for Windows 7 is just paying $130 for 6
years worth of looking in Windows 7 Help menu to figure out how to do
this, that and the other thing on Windows 7 insteada XP.

You see, Microsoft makes it's money by selling software. It has to keep
up with all the latest gadgets and trends in order to keep selling the
latest software. I, on the other hand, don't need to keep buying the
latest software.

Did you know that in 1978 there were handheld calculators that had more
computing power than the main frame computers that guided Apollo 9
safely to the moon and back in 1969?


Hey Nestork, I got one for you. How much memory did the either of the two
Voyeger probes have on board? You ready? 2K. And the people running the
show weren't sure what they were going to do with all of that. 2K. LOL

Dave

"Dave" wrote in message
ica...

"nestork" wrote in message
...

Marcel Maximilian;3239695 Wrote:

But really, it never ceases to amaze me how phuckin' tight some folks
can be. For example, Windows 7 Professional can be had for about $130
and buys a user a better OS with another 6 years of support.

Yes, but truth be known, most people have vastly more computer than they
need. I wish I had a nickel for every computer out there that's making
a living as a glorified typewriter or cash register. In my case, I
really don't need anything more than Windows XP because it does
everything I need. Paying $130 for Windows 7 is just paying $130 for 6
years worth of looking in Windows 7 Help menu to figure out how to do
this, that and the other thing on Windows 7 insteada XP.

You see, Microsoft makes it's money by selling software. It has to keep
up with all the latest gadgets and trends in order to keep selling the
latest software. I, on the other hand, don't need to keep buying the
latest software.

Did you know that in 1978 there were handheld calculators that had more
computing power than the main frame computers that guided Apollo 9
safely to the moon and back in 1969?


Hey Nestork, I got one for you. How much memory did the either of the two
Voyeger probes have on board? You ready? 2K. And the people running the
show weren't sure what they were going to do with all of that. 2K. LOL

Dave



Argh. Voyager. Whatever...

"HomeGuy" Home@Guy.com wrote in message
...
Tegger wrote:

I'll bet nobody reading this thread or responding to it has actually
tried performing the above-mentioned updates.

Oh you poor little lost souls.

If you had done it today (and selected "Custom" instead of "Express"
installation), this is what you'd see:

3 Critical updates:

================

Security Update for Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 SP2 on Windows Server
2003
KB2932079 - MS14-026
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2932079
Download size: 1.1 MB , less than 1 minute

A security issue has been identified in a Microsoft software product
that could affect your system. You can help protect
your system by installing this update from Microsoft. For a complete
listing of the issues that are included in this
update, see the associated Microsoft Knowledge Base article. After you
install this update, you may have to restart your
system. Details...

==============

Security Update for WEPOS and POSReady 2009
KB2926765 - MS14-027
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2926765
Typical download size: 275 KB , less than 1 minute

A security issue has been identified in a Microsoft software product
that could affect your system. You can help protect
your system by installing this update from Microsoft. For a complete
listing of the issues that are included in this
update, see the associated Microsoft Knowledge Base article. After you
install this update, you may have to restart your
system. Details...

==================

Security Update for Internet Explorer 8 for WEPOS and POSReady 2009
KB2953522 - MS14-029
AKA Security update for Internet Explorer versions 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and
11: May 13, 2014
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2953522
Download size: 3.2 MB , less than 1 minute

A security issue has been identified in a Microsoft software product
that could affect your system. You can help protect
your system by installing this update from Microsoft. For a complete
listing of the issues that are included in this
update, see the associated Microsoft Knowledge Base article. After you
install this update, you may have to restart your
system. Details...

===================

Now you go ahead and read those microsoft links. And if you really want
to be so frighted about the state of your XP system less than a month
after "official" end-of-support, you'll read these:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/21546...abilities.html

http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-patch...nd-7000029405/

As you read them and notice the MS14-what-ever numbers they mention, go
and glance at what updates you could be installing right now if you
follow my instructions. Those are the same updates being offered to
Win-7 and various other platforms - but not for XP.

Yes, I updated an XP-SP3 system with those 3 critical updates.

And then I selected a bunch of suggested updates (there were about a
dozen of them). One of those was a root certificate update (dated Nov
2013) that for some reason Micro$haft wasn't offering to me before.

One day, maybe soon, you'll realize that yes, POSReady 2009 is XP-SP3
with a different license agreement, and you'll be dying to get those
updates on your systems. So you can thank me now, or thank me later.

And no, Micro$haft will do nothing to prohibit this in the future. The
millions of various POS systems around the world are too important to
**** with by trying to make some change that will prevent this hack from
working on "real" XP systems.

Mark my words. Hear me now and believe me later.

In the mean time you can all shout "We're not worthy!".

Hey dude! I just effected the change in my registry, and rebooted to log
onto the MS Update website. I selected "Express" thinking that these
updates should meet the criteria, and low and behold, I got all three! Took
about 5 minutes (maybe) and I'm rockin and rolling. Now I did a system
backup beforehand, just in case, and will be sure and post if I start having
goofy problems. But being somewhat familiar with Point Of Sale devices, as
a service tech, I don't expect anything of that nature. In my experience
they are desktop compuers, just like any other, only with a limited
repetoire of software to run. But they have the exact same security needs
as any other computer, which is what they are constantly downloading asnd
updating. Soooo, I expect this should work just fine, and wish to express
my gratitude for this true gift. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU.

Take it easy...

Dave

On Sunday, May 25, 2014 11:59:59 PM UTC-4, Dave wrote:
"nestork" wrote in message

...



Marcel Maximilian;3239695 Wrote:



But really, it never ceases to amaze me how phuckin' tight some folks

can be. For example, Windows 7 Professional can be had for about $130

and buys a user a better OS with another 6 years of support.



Yes, but truth be known, most people have vastly more computer than they

need. I wish I had a nickel for every computer out there that's making

a living as a glorified typewriter or cash register. In my case, I

really don't need anything more than Windows XP because it does

everything I need. Paying $130 for Windows 7 is just paying $130 for 6

years worth of looking in Windows 7 Help menu to figure out how to do

this, that and the other thing on Windows 7 insteada XP.



You see, Microsoft makes it's money by selling software. It has to keep

up with all the latest gadgets and trends in order to keep selling the

latest software. I, on the other hand, don't need to keep buying the

latest software.



Did you know that in 1978 there were handheld calculators that had more

computing power than the main frame computers that guided Apollo 9

safely to the moon and back in 1969?





Hey Nestork, I got one for you. How much memory did the either of the two

Voyeger probes have on board? You ready? 2K. And the people running the

show weren't sure what they were going to do with all of that. 2K. LOL



Dave

But can you put the embedded XP updates on Voyager?

On 05/25/2014 11:59 PM, Dave wrote:
"nestork" wrote in message

Did you know that in 1978 there were handheld calculators that had more
computing power than the main frame computers that guided Apollo 9
safely to the moon and back in 1969?


Hey Nestork, I got one for you. How much memory did the either of the two
Voyeger probes have on board? You ready? 2K. And the people running the
show weren't sure what they were going to do with all of that. 2K. LOL

Dave


If you want a lean OS instead of that XP bloatware, try DR DOS 7.

http://www.drdosprojects.de/index.cgi/download.htm

"Gil Bates" wrote in message
...
On 05/25/2014 11:59 PM, Dave wrote:
"nestork" wrote in message

Did you know that in 1978 there were handheld calculators that had more
computing power than the main frame computers that guided Apollo 9
safely to the moon and back in 1969?


Hey Nestork, I got one for you. How much memory did the either of the
two
Voyeger probes have on board? You ready? 2K. And the people running
the
show weren't sure what they were going to do with all of that. 2K. LOL

Dave


If you want a lean OS instead of that XP bloatware, try DR DOS 7.

http://www.drdosprojects.de/index.cgi/download.htm

back in the day when windows was just a user interface, the first thing I
would do to a new computer is rip out (or fully disable) windows, and just
let the DOS programs rip. People were amazed at how fast my computer was.

On 05/26/2014 09:46 AM, Pico Rico wrote:

[snip]

back in the day when windows was just a user interface, the first thing I
would do to a new computer is rip out (or fully disable) windows, and just
let the DOS programs rip. People were amazed at how fast my computer was.



I seem to remember something about the real purpose of Windows being to
slow your PC down so you need a new one.

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us

What was Carl Sagan's perspective on religion, according to his widow?
"Carl did not want to believe. He wanted to know." Ann Druyan (Carl
Sagan's widow)

On Thursday, May 22, 2014 11:22:06 PM UTC-4, Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
On 05/22/14 10:41 pm, HomeGuy wrote:

Ok, I've been too hard on some of you.



So for those of you that haven't caved to peer pressure and are still

running Windows XP - a gift:



The ability for you to continue to receive updates, patches and fixes

directly from Microsoft via WindowsUpdate until the year 2019.


http://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft...ows-xp-updates

Microsoft warns against registry hack that allows Windows XP updates

Yesterday news came out that a registry hack would allow Windows XP
users to still receive critical security updates, despite the OS being
no longer supported. Now Microsoft is publicly warning folks against
using this method to update their machines.

The registry hack would allow XP users to mask the fact their machines
were using an unsupported OS. Microsoft’s update servers would
register the machines as using Windows Embedded POS Ready 2009, a
version supported until 2019. Users would then be able to download
certain updates; however it's not clear which updates would actually
work or fix anything as the operating systems differ from one another.

On this note Microsoft has released a statement to ZDnet warning users
to not use this hack. The company says this will likely do more harm
than good.

"The security updates that could be installed are intended for
Windows Embedded and Windows Server 2003 customers and do not fully
protect Windows XP customers. Windows XP customers also run a
significant risk of functionality issues with their machines if they
install these updates, as they are not tested against Windows XP."

It's pretty obvious why Microsoft released this statement. After all,
it's not like they'd urge users to go on hacking their machines and
misleading the company's update servers. Then again, they do have a
point in that these updates aren't tested against XP which can create
problems, and may not even offer any protection to those systems that
employ it.

I have a friend who still uses XP for his business and though he could
afford to upgrade to a new machine, he will be retiring in a few months
so wanted to see if he could get by using XP.

Over the past few months he's seemed to have accumulated considerably
more malware than usual so I had him bring the machine to my shop for a
thorough clean up. He agreed to take part in an experiment and I applied
the registry hack. I will keep an eye on the machine until he retires
and if there are any problems I'll report back.


BTW: He also has a laptop he can use if his main machine goes down so he
will not be in much trouble if the experiment fails.


His main machine had been inoperative for two weeks anyway as I was on
vacation and did not have time to get to it until I got back.

On Wed, 28 May 2014 06:35:36 -0500, philo* wrote
in

Over the past few months he's seemed to have accumulated considerably
more malware than usual so I had him bring the machine to my shop for a
thorough clean up. He agreed to take part in an experiment and I applied
the registry hack. I will keep an eye on the machine until he retires
and if there are any problems I'll report back.

Thanks!
--
Web based forums are like subscribing to 10 different newspapers
and having to visit 10 different news stands to pickup each one.
Email list-server groups and USENET are like having all of those
newspapers delivered to your door every morning.

On 05/28/2014 07:16 AM, CRNG wrote:
On Wed, 28 May 2014 06:35:36 -0500, philo wrote
in

Over the past few months he's seemed to have accumulated considerably
more malware than usual so I had him bring the machine to my shop for a
thorough clean up. He agreed to take part in an experiment and I applied
the registry hack. I will keep an eye on the machine until he retires
and if there are any problems I'll report back.

Thanks!




Three days with no problems at all...so far so good.

Dave:

2 K worth of memory on the Voyager missions? That's amazing. Do you know when they were launched?

We're very much living in an age of change. Years ago I wondered what people would do with home computers... other than their income tax returns. They very much seemed to be an answer looking for a question.

Now, the way things seem to be going is that computers are becoming specialized to each task. You have a computer inside your car that monitors your engine and maximizes both power and fuel economy, and when it detects an impact does a whole bunch of calculations based on the speed of the car and the weight of the driver and passenger, and decides which, if any, airbags to deploy; all in 20 to 40 milliseconds. There are computers in the cash registers at every supermarket that do nothing but read UPC codes all day long and spit out the price for each UPC code. I once wondered what people would do with their own home computers, and now I'm finding out that instead of us using computers, it's us using everything we have, and everything we have has a small computer inside it. Even our frost free refrigerators have computers that decide when to defrost the fridge evaporator coils based on the humidity and how long the fridge door has been open.

On Fri, 30 May 2014 01:58:09 +0200, nestork
wrote:

2 K worth of memory on the Voyager missions? That's amazing. Do you
know when they were launched?

Also interesting:

"...Take Intel's venerable 8086 for example -- you might know it
better as "x86". Released in 1979, just a decade after Apollo 11's
trip to the Moon, the 8086's cousin, the 8088, formed the basis for
the IBM PC we all know and love. When the IBM PC "XT" was released in
1981, the lowest end configuration had 8 times more memory than
Apollo's Guidance Computer -- 16k, vs the Apollo's 2k. The read-only
storage of the AGC was 32k,

The IBM PC XT also ran at a dizzying clock speed of 4.077MHz. That's
0.004077 GHz. The Apollo's Guidance Computer was a snail-like 1.024
MHz in comparison, and it's external signaling was half that --
actually measured in Hz (1/1000th of 1 MHz, much as 1 MHz is 1/1000 of
1 GHz)."

http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2009/07/20/how-powerful-was-the-apollo-11-computer/