Dave-H

Well it looks like it's all over for the Dropbox client on XP I'm afraid. I ran it today for the first time in ages, and it automatically updated from version 15.4.22 to version 19.4.13.0, which now won't stay running. It tries to run and then throws an error message before shutting down and then trying to run again over and over until forcibly terminated - "Entry Point Not Found : The procedure entry point SHGetKnownFolderPath could not be located in the dynamic link library SHELL32.dll." No amount of fiddling with the compatibility settings would make it come good, so they've now obviously done something with has finally broken compatibility with XP. Dropbox will not allow you access to your files with an out of date version of the client either, so just keeping the old version is not an option. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted!

I had looked into why there was a "SkypeSetupFullXp.exe" and a "SkypeSetupFull.exe", and it looks as if the "XP" version includes an additional audio codec that Skype uses, which is not present natively in Windows XP, although it is on later versions of Windows. There is no difference in the graphics. Anyway, I have found a workaround for the problem, which I would be interested to have confirmed. Go to the desktop properties, select "Effects" on the Appearance tab, and switch off "Use the following transition effect for menus and tooltips". This seems to fix it for me, although I obviously lose the sliding menus effect.

The guy who responded on the Skype forum said it was probably a graphics driver problem, but I don't think so. As I have two separate cards on my main machine, with completely different drivers, and the fault happens with both of them, and my netbook also shows the problem with totally different hardware, I would be extremely surprised if the graphics drivers and hardware have anything to do with it. I think the fault is happening at OS GUI level. I was using version 7.32.0.104.

Well I'm glad I'm not the only one! I've gone back to Skype version 7.31 as well. As they still claim to be compatible with Windows XP, I hope the people at Skype address this, because 7.32 is unusable at the moment.

Yes, I noticed that reported change as well, and the look of the Skype menus has indeed changed in 7.32, now having their own white background and font whereas before they followed the system look. Someone else has now posted to my thread about this on the Skype forum saying they're having problems too, apparently on Windows 7! Is anyone else here using Skype 7.32 on XP seeing it as well?

Has anyone else updated to the latest version of Skype, which is 7.32, and had display problems on XP? They have updated the look of some of the menus, and although it is still supposed to be compatible with XP, it is unusable in my experience. The problem starts if you try and use the right click menu on the system tray icon. The first time I do this it's fine, showing the new white popup menu correctly. After that though, it all falls to pieces, with the conversation pane in the main window showing large blocks of black, which only come good if the cursor is hovered over them, and the system tray icon popup menu likewise black. It's also corrupting the Windows menus on my system, such as the right click menu on the desktop or any of the desktop icons, also the dropdown menus on some programs. Once it's like that, only a reboot will put it right. Going back to Skype version 7.31 fixes it completely. I'm seeing this on two Windows XP machines, with completely different hardware. I've asked on the Skype forums about this, and the only person who has responded cannot see the problem. Can anyone else confirm it? Thanks, Dave.

OK. So just install a clean new copy of XP SP3 again, which presumably you've done before, and then update it by running the Service Pack 4 installer. That should be all there is to it.

I take it that you've never installed an operating system from scratch before. The drivers for your hardware will be installed when you do the OS installation, as they have to be for it to work! Other drivers will only be installed later if you add or change hardware. Install Windows XP SP3, and once you're completely happy that this installation is working correctly, then update it with SP4.

No, it's not a complete installation, it's an update for an existing Windows XP installation, the same as all service packs are. You need to have a Windows XP installation disk, or another source of the installation media, to make a new Windows XP installation, and then update it with the service pack.

Yes, I upgraded from Windows 8.1. I resisted it for quite a while because of all the negative things I heard about Windows 10, the perceived lack of privacy with it sending a huge amount of data back to Microsoft, and the forced Windows Updates, and I never like the idea of using the very first version of anything anyway for obvious reasons. Also, of course I resented the way that it was being pushed onto people! By the time I came to update, the Anniversary Update had been rolled out, so that's what I got. I have no idea what Windows 10 was like before that. It does seem to work well and is very stable, and in many ways the UI is better IMO than that of Windows 8.1, which was still far too biassed towards the use of touch screens. Had I been a Windows 7 user I might well have thought very differently of course, but as I've never used Windows 7 (or Vista) I could only really compare it with Windows 8/8.1, and I do think that 10 is better, once you've used the obvious enhancements like Classic Shell and have got the colour scheme the way you want it. Personally I think that Windows 10 "out of the box" looks absolutely hideous! So I haven't regretted doing the change, hopefully I will be future-proofed now as far as it's possible to be in this business, as I assume and hope that my hardware will always remain compatible with Windows 10, which MS still maintain is now the final version of Windows, as OS X seems to be for Macs. I am, I hasten to add, still a very long way from using Windows 10 as my default OS. I only really use it when I have to run a 64 bit program. I'm sticking with XP for as long as I can for my general everyday use.

As far as I know, the Windows 10 "upgrade" is still free if you just say that you are using accessibility features, which is what I did. There's no check, they just take your word for it! Officially if you look online to upgrade, you do now have to pay, and it's not particularly cheap, especially the Pro version.

You're late, that was posted by @Sampei.Nihira three hours ago!

Well I wouldn't see them here in England until tomorrow (Wednesday) morning anyway. As I have Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10 installations, I will be interested to see what appears, if anything, on some all or none of them! I'll be a bit surprised if any Flash updates, and the Malicious Software Removal Tool, aren't rolled out to the last three at the normal time anyway.

Hmm, is that just for POSReady/WEPOS systems, or for all Windows systems? It does seem a bit vague!

I get those updates regularly as well. I think this was mentioned before somewhere way back in the thread, and they are actually something else, and you do still need to update using Heinoganda's program, or another method.

Oh dear! Red faces all round at Mozilla...... The Firefox website is still offering 51.0 though.

Thanks, I've now seen that Firefox 51 was only rolled out yesterday, which is why I didn't know about it, so as you say it may take a day or two for the pushed updates to kick in.

Strange, my Firefox 50.1 hasn't offered to update itself to 51, I guess I'll have to force it. Good news that things still work in the beta of 52, let's hope that remains the same for the release version! Edit: Strange, I just checked "About Firefox" on my installation of 50.1, and it said it was up to date! 51 does officially support XP I assume?

Just to confirm that it does work fine in the current Firefox version 50.1.

Thanks den, but I think I found that article when I was searching before, it is from 2015. I think the fundamental problem is that things were changed with the Windows 10 Anniversary update, and the settings detailed there don't now actually change anything. The article has not been updated to reflect that. You can change the user lock screen image, which you see when you log off, but you can't change the default lock screen, which you see when you boot up, unless you have Windows 10 Enterprise. Those settings don't do anything now even in Windows 10 Pro, you're still stuck with that wretched cave image!

Just to add, I ran XP for several years with the Program Files and Documents and Settings folders moved to other locations and re-named, with no problems. I did have a dual boot system, which made it a lot easier. I just copied the folders to the new location using Windows 98, and then went back into XP and searched and replaced all the relevant registry entries, which I had Registry Workshop installed to do easily. Worked fine, with no problems. I moved them back to their default locations a few years later when I had re-configured my drive setup, and again no problems.

I have Office XP installed, which is Office 2002, so you have an even older version of Word than me! I think if you have any Office programs installed, even standalone ones, you will be offered the Compatibility Pack. Without it, it would be impossible to work with documents generated in later versions of Word.

Just for interest, there was as I thought the usual Malicious Software Removal Tool for Windows 7, 8.1 and 10, and a Flash update for 8.1 and 10 this month. There was also the now usual all-in-one cumulative security roll-up for Windows 7 and 10, but strangely there wasn't one for Windows 8.1! Incidentally, I'm assuming that the updates for the Office 2007 Compatibility Pack will probably end this year, if they haven't already. I think 10 years after release is the nominal maximum length of support?

I was afraid of that. I guess that's the end of being able to update Firefox to the latest version then, unless you're someone who doesn't need to play HTML5 video. Only in a couple of months too. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.........

Does that mean that it will stop working for those of us who already have it installed if we install the update to Firefox 52? I see they are dropping support for some other plugins with that version too. Can we use Google's Widevine Content Decryption Module, which seems to now be the supported alternative? Does it work in Windows XP?