Mijzelf

Unicorns a myth?

I remember a virus (looong ago) which hijacked the exe registration. Instead of "%1" %* it did \full\path\to\virus.exe "%1" %*. This way the virus was activated as soon a you started an executable. Then the virusscanner removed the virus, but did not correct the registry key. Result: you could no longer start an executable, not even regedit. Solution: Boot the box to dos (F8 while booting? Long ago), rename regedit.exe to regedit.com. Boot to Windows, execute regedit.com and fix the entry.

It's not dropping support, it's 'not adding' support. For those new chipsets new drivers were needed. Most new chipsets are shipped in new computers, most new computers are shipped with a new OS. So I guess Intel didn't think it is profitable to write XP drivers for the few people who put a new mobo in an old computer, or who install an old OS on a new computer.

Windows XP is the first MS OS which needs to be activated. If MS just switches off the activation server, no new XP installations are possible, unless you somehow pull the check, which is against the law. If you have an XP license, which shows no expiration date, and if MS switches off the activation server, does that mean you have the right to do whatever needed to keep it running?

Why are you now switching from a position based key to a function based key? It seems more likely to me that the chipset has support for 7 slots, and only 6 are actually physically installed.