Anyone have any good or bad experiences with 9software.com? They seem to have some of the lowest OS prices I've seen.

Ex: http://www.9software.com/Microsoft_Windows_XP_Pro_p/msppwinxp64nfr.htm&Click=5673

Wondering if they are just going to take my money and run or not. It seems they have been around for at least a couple years.

3/29/2010 3:12:53 PM

You are getting gray market semi-legal licenses.

You notice how they are selling you a CD, Key and Media that are NOT FOR RESALE? Also, keep in mind that XP is NOT A SUPPORTED operating system for the general public anymore.

You aren't going to get any driver updates, any major security updates, and a LOT of new software either isn't going to work, or is going to have problems with running on XP.

3/29/2010 7:00:24 PM

damn, $44 for an XP key?

3/29/2010 7:01:34 PM

What is this for? You really can't beat technet if it's for personal use. two more days and you can grab it for 249

3/29/2010 7:39:39 PM

I'm not a huge fan of Windows 7 although I'm open to it. I have no interested what-so-ever in Vista. Just dreaming of paying less for a software license i guess.

3/30/2010 4:48:02 PM

^Like I said, the only reason I would push you away from XP is support. You are going to have problems using XP on pretty much any new hardware, and with a LOT of new software titles that will be launching in the next year or two.

And security is a problem as XP drops out of support.

3/30/2010 5:34:24 PM

"There's no SP3 for the 64-bit version of Windows XP. If you're running the 64-bit version of Windows XP with SP2, you have the latest service pack and will continue to be eligible for support and receive updates until April 8, 2014. To find out what version you're running, see Is my PC running the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows?."

Source: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/help/what-does-end-of-support-mean

This is straight from Microsoft's webpage. What particular software did you have in mind that won't be compatible?

3/30/2010 5:53:14 PM

You're running 64-bit?

3/30/2010 6:14:21 PM

^^ Vista/Win7 64bit drivers are not all guaranteed to be compatible with XP 64. And in fact, I doubt very many drivers will work at all.

XP 64 wasn't at all a consumer ready experience, which is why it never was really sold at retail. The biggest thing is with XP, you don't get the completely overhauled Windows security model. This was the one saving grace of Vista. You are exponentially more secure with UAC than you are in XP.

3/30/2010 10:29:04 PM