bill - 1:09 am on Apr 9, 2009 (gmt 0)

I think the last time I actually updated a Windows OS was when I went from Windows 95 to Windows 98. That was workable (barely), but problems always cropped up. I eventually ended up wiping the entire thing and doing a clean install of the new OS and everything worked much better.

Since that time I have always recommended a clean install of a new MS OS. I wouldn't trust an upgrade from XP to Vista, and I certainly wouldn't to Windows 7.

To be realistic, most people will get a new OS with a new PC. Even in a corporate IT setting this is often the way they roll out a new OS. IT departments aren't falling over themselves to upgrade a major OS release on existing hardware. They'll just wait until that PC's lease is up, and get a new one with the current OS on it. The end of XP support will encourage IT departments to look at future planning that includes either Vista or Windows 7.

Until now there has been an XP fall-back option. That's no longer there as a supported option. Businesses with the Software Assurance licence have always had the option to downgrade to any previous version of Windows they want. They just have to pay when the product has ended its support cycle. Just because XP support is at an end doesn't mean that the OS can no longer be used now or in the future.