Extended Support Begins for Windows XP and Continues Until 2014

Extended Support Begins for Windows XP and Continues Until 2014
Recently there has been a fair amount of press coverage regarding the end of Mainstream Support for Windows XP. Released at the tail end of 2001, Windows XP has been a solid hit in the marketplace and there has been some concern about what the move from Mainstream to Extended Support means for customers.


To be clear, Microsoft MCTS Training will continue to support Windows XP until 8 April 2014 – about five years from now. So what are the differences between Mainstream and Extended?

Microsoft divides support for Business and Developer products (including the Windows XP operating system) into two distinct timeframes: Mainstream Support and Extended Support. In a nutshell, Mainstream Support provides both consumers and enterprise customers with a full offering of support including complimentary support, design change requests, security updates and other kinds of updates for the product.

Extended Support does alter the range of support a bit, but for the vast majority of customers the essential core remains the same. For example, customers will continue to receive free security updates and can call in for paid support until the second Tuesday in April of 2014. Enterprise customers with Premier Support who may need non-security hotfixes should consider enrolling in an optional support program named Extended Hotfix Support (EHS). EHS is required by very few customers as the product has matured to the point where design changes are relatively infrequent. For more information on obtaining Extended Hotfix Support, enterprise customers should contact their Microsoft MCITP Certification account representative.

Customers who purchased Windows XP pre-installed on their machines will continue to receive support from the manufacturer of their PC (often called the Original Equipment Manufacturer or OEM). Each OEM determines how long they will support products pre-installed on their machines. Therefore, the April 14th transition from Mainstream to Extended Support is most relevant for customers who purchased Windows XP through retailers or volume licensing, a relatively small piece of the XP installed base.

Recommendations for users of Windows XP

* To receive support and security updates, you must be running on a supported product and on a supported service pack version. For Windows XP this is currently SP2 or SP3.
* Visit Windows Update regularly and confirm you have installed all available security updates. These are critical to keep your machine free from malware.
* Rest easy knowing that Microsoft will continue to support Windows XP for another five years!

Thanks for your continued questions and comments. More information on Microsoft’s support policies can also be found on the Microsoft Support Lifecycle website. At Microsoft, we value our customer’s experiences using our products and providing industry-leading support is just one aspect of that commitment.