Windows XP: Impact of fear mongering on Final Fantasy XI?

[Billnes]

<< Deleted by author >>

[Malithar]

Since I'm not going to upgrade it to Win7, then I'm out of ideas & don't know what else to do.

What are you needing to do at all? Very confusing post. <.< I know Microsoft has stopped supporting XP, but that doesn't mean it's suddenly not going to work anymore.

[Trangnai]

XP will work fine for the game. If it is all you are using it for you should be fine. Just remember that Microsoft and SE both do not officially support XP anymore. This means any issues you may have you will have to deal with on your own.

[Zarchery]

I'm using a Dell Inspiron E1705 laptop as a dedicated FFXI game play client. The Dell came from the factory with XP Media Center Edition installed. Since I don't have extra licenses for Windows 7, I have not upgraded. An official Microsoft web site said that FFXI & Win 8 / 8.1 are compatible. However, with a puny 1.73GHz Cenrtino Duo CPU, only 2 Gb of RAM and a 80Gb (3/4 full) HDD. I don't think Win 8 or 8.1 is in the cards for this laptop.

Micro$oft (not a typo) and the ZD network has not been mincing words. They are going hot & heavy on the fear mongering. And, to be quite honest I've found my self unable to dismiss a small quantity of it. I have no personal information on the E1705, As I stated above, it's being used exclusively for FFXI, I know not to use the IE6 that on it, I've installed Google Chrome, it's been upgraded to Service Pack #3 and I'm using the free edition of Avast. I've done everything I could think of for this machine. Since I'm not going to upgrade it to Win7, then I'm out of ideas & don't know what else to do.

Thank you very much for your time, effort and consideration in this matter.

Regards,
Bill N. - Long Island, New York

The answer, of course, is "onions".

[Pixela]

I'm using a Dell Inspiron E1705 laptop as a dedicated FFXI game play client. The Dell came from the factory with XP Media Center Edition installed. Since I don't have extra licenses for Windows 7, I have not upgraded. An official Microsoft web site said that FFXI & Win 8 / 8.1 are compatible. However, with a puny 1.73GHz Cenrtino Duo CPU, only 2 Gb of RAM and a 80Gb (3/4 full) HDD. I don't think Win 8 or 8.1 is in the cards for this laptop.

Micro$oft (not a typo) and the ZD network has not been mincing words. They are going hot & heavy on the fear mongering. And, to be quite honest I've found my self unable to dismiss a small quantity of it. I have no personal information on the E1705, As I stated above, it's being used exclusively for FFXI, I know not to use the IE6 that on it, I've installed Google Chrome, it's been upgraded to Service Pack #3 and I'm using the free edition of Avast. I've done everything I could think of for this machine. Since I'm not going to upgrade it to Win7, then I'm out of ideas & don't know what else to do.

Thank you very much for your time, effort and consideration in this matter.

Regards,
Bill N. - Long Island, New York

They just aren't going to update it anymore, it will still work with FFXI or most anything else you can already run.

[Balloon]

Seriously? Micro$oft? Are you 12?

[bungiefanNA]

With XP being out of support, it is possible they can update the game in a way that will break XP compatibility. They aren't testing anymore on XP. That and security vulnerabilities not being patched for XP anymore are the big deals. More and more software is eventually going to update to the point that it no longer works on XP. There's a limit to how stable you can make something with an old and crumbling foundation, which is essentially what XP is. Nobody wants to support it anymore.

http://www.amazon.com/Windows-Premium-System-Builder-Packaging/dp/B00GOUBT6E/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1405927242&sr=8-3&keywords=windows+7

Win7 also isn't that expensive... Of course, rather than trying to upgrade an old laptop to a newer OS, you may just be better served getting a replacement. I see systems capable of running this game at WalMart in the $300 range. You can afford the subscription for this game, so you can afford something in that budget.

[Malithar]

More and more software is eventually going to update to the point that it no longer works on XP. There's a limit to how stable you can make something with an old and crumbling foundation, which is essentially what XP is. Nobody wants to support it anymore.

Not that you're wrong, but as long as PS2 support is a reality in FFXI, I can't imagine them intentionally dropping XP's ability to run FFXI. Not to say something won't slip through, if they actually don't test on XP, which I think they would.

[Trangnai]

You can actually run FFXI on any platform pretty much.

SE simply no longer supports XP. However FFXI will still run on it. Its very possible they no longer have XP rigs to play test and debug on. However considering the continued PS2 support. they are probably still limited to the older libraries to ensure cross-compatibility. This means of course. there may be XP specific bugs that SE doesn't know about that they will be unwilling to fix. It is a risk of running it on a platform no longer used by developers.

Most people will tell you to get Windows 7 or a new rig. I say push it out or find another work around. At least until you can afford a cheep rig to run it on.

[Ramzi]

Bill, your initial post seems to assume that we know exactly what "fear mongering" has been directed at you, when in reality we have no clue. It's almost like you forgot to post the back story. Anyway, what others have said, until FFXI no longer works, why be worried?

[Lithera]

The answer, of course, is "onions".

And here I thought the answer was always was Nuts.

Sorry couldn't help my self.

Yeah like others have pointed out til your computer implodes don't worry about XI not running on XP.

[Ziyyigo-Tipyigo]

Micro$oft (not a typo)

Protip: if you need to point out your own cleverness, you're probably not being all that clever. It's up there with "explaining the joke."


They are going hot & heavy on the fear mongering. And, to be quite honest I've found my self unable to dismiss a small quantity of it. I have no personal information on the E1705

Even if that's true that doesn't keep your machine from being hijacked and being used in a botnet.


As I stated above, it's being used exclusively for FFXI, I know not to use the IE6 that on it, I've installed Google Chrome

If you're browsing the web on it, you're not using it exclusively for FFXI.

And even if you really were, you are logging into FFXI with the same username and password used to access your FFXI billing and payment information.


it's been upgraded to Service Pack #3 and I'm using the free edition of Avast

Not every threat is a "virus" or "spyware" (even if a given application would actually stop all of those).

Ask yourself this question: if using Chrome and Avast were enough, why did you upgrade to SP3 to begin with?


Since I'm not going to upgrade it to Win7, then I'm out of ideas & don't know what else to do.

Find an old copy of Vista, start learning the configuration intricacies of WINE, or pick up an Xbox 360.


Thank you very much for your time, effort and consideration in this matter.

I didn't really see a question in all that.

[Malithar]

Bill, your initial post seems to assume that we know exactly what "fear mongering" has been directed at you, when in reality we have no clue. It's almost like you forgot to post the back story. Anyway, what others have said, until FFXI no longer works, why be worried?

Assuming he read this post (http://www.zdnet.com/windows-xp-what-to-expect-once-microsoft-shuts-down-support-7000025348/). I wouldn't quite call it fear mongering, as it's all realistic if not a bit of a stretch, but it's from a corporate/business perspective.

[Trangnai]

Security holes will rise over time. Without Microsoft supporting it sadly thats how proprietary software works. I'm unaware of any huge security risk to the average user currently. But the risks exist. In the end it is his choice. I don't see why he should be asking us if its a good idea to use an outdated system or not.

Using the existing system he has is the cheepest option. But he needs to accept the risks of doing such. There is no reason for an argument.

You can even run FFXI on Linux and Mac OSX using WINE. Which would easily solve the security issue for the cheepest cost (if using Linux) but requires technical understanding. However like the XP option, not supported by SE. But its not like you need to modify the game or anything to get it to run. Just have a native DLL from a Windows Install.

The simplest and safest option would be to get a Windows 7 Liecense and/or Rig and run it that way. 8 will work fine as well. But I don't recommend it because its 8.