back to article Not sure if you're STILL running Windows XP? AmIRunningXP.com to the rescue!

If you're wondering who is still running Windows XP in this day and age, given that support for the OS is ending soon, the answer is it might be YOU! Or at least, so Microsoft suspects. But fear not: Redmond has stepped up its outreach program with a new website that's designed to get to the bottom of this mystery, once and …

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  1. LaeMing

    Happy to report

    My Debian box is not running WindowsXP :-P

    1. ElReg!comments!Pierre
      Coat

      Re: Happy to report

      Mine is. More specifically, IE6 on XP :D.

      The website is just checking useragent strings; On my way to answer the next commentard's question...

    2. This Side Up
      Happy

      Re: Happy to report

      My RiscPC is not running Windows XP.

      Phew!

  2. Filippo Silver badge

    <XP

    What does it say if you're running, say, Win98?

    1. Trygve Henriksen

      Re: <XP

      It tells you to sit completely still until you feel a stinging sensation in the neck and black out.

      Oh, and if you think something happened to your room while you were knocked out, that's just your imagination. The Recovery Team will cut it out of your building and transplant it into a permanent exhibit in Redmond without even disturbing the dust under the bed...

      1. Peter2 Silver badge

        Re: <XP

        I think i'd be interesting to play around with the browsers id just to see what the site would come up with if you said you were running IE1 on Win95.

        1. ElReg!comments!Pierre

          Re: <XP

          If your useragent does not say NT5.1, the website just reports that ou are not running XP (I tried back to windows 3.1).

          How boring

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: <XP

            What about Windows XP64, that ran on 5.2 kernel?

            1. ElReg!comments!Pierre

              Re: <XP

              > What about Windows XP64, that ran on 5.2 kernel?

              Nope, according to MS XP64 ain't XP :D

              According to WhatIsMyBrowser.com "Your web browser is: Internet Explorer 6 on Windows XP SP2"

              But according to http://amirunningxp.com "You are NOT running Windows XP"

              Now that's interesting...

              Also, I don't get the "submit" button when my useragent says IE6 on XP. El Reg doing Redmond's dirty work?

            2. Michael Habel

              Re: <XP

              Isn't XP64, by any other Name just Server 2003?

              1. Ken Hagan Gold badge

                Re: <XP

                "Isn't XP64, by any other Name just Server 2003?"

                Only in the same way that XP is Server 2003.

                So, no, XP64 is a client OS and it goes out of support next month. Wags will argue that its driver support was so poor that it never came into support in the first place, but it is still rather sad to learn that even Microsoft have forgotten about it.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          IE1 ?????

          IIRC Win95 came with IE3 as standard, and IE4 was released with SP2 ?

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: IE1 ?????

            Not quite. IE1.0 came with Windows Plus (remember that?) and the OEM RTM version. You got the pleasure of IE3.0's company for the first time with Service Release 2. IE4 turned up the year after and did terrible things to your desktop.

            1. ElReg!comments!Pierre
              Coat

              Re: IE1 ?????

              > IE1.0 came with [...] the OEM RTM version.

              Proof that closed-source is more polite than open-source: Microsoft has RTM support, GNU mostly offers RTFM support.

            2. JimmyPage Silver badge

              Windows plus !!!!

              Was that the add-on that had an option to resize the desktop somehow ? I recall installing it, and breaking one of our companies products. It was only me that had the bug. Eventually the developers had to remove my machine, and install debug on it, to discover it was the Plus feature. I would have got a bollocking, only two customers reported the same thing a few days later, and I got a pat on the head for being so thorough in testing ....

          2. Michael Habel

            Re: IE1 ?????

            Surly you meat OSR2 Windows 9x never had "Service Packs" those were, and are exclusive to NT.

    2. hplasm
      Happy

      Re: What does it say if you're running, say, Win98?

      "Wake up, Neo. the Matrix has you. Follow the White Rabbit"

    3. Daniel von Asmuth
      Windows

      Re: <XP

      I am NOT running Windows XP. Lucky me, for sticking with WIndows 2000.

      1. Shining Wit

        Re: <XP

        That makes 2 of us. Although the Microsoft website thinks I'm on 8.1

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: <XP

      This:

      http://bin.longlandclan.yi.org/index.cgi/20140316-072137-58242856/view

      Apparently XP is ancient but Windows 2000 is fine.

  3. Not also known as SC
    Happy

    Neither does my Galaxy tab

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Windows

    Sigh

    Dear MS, stop twatting about with crap like this and FIX the abomination that is Windows 8-8.1-8.1a or whatever....

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Sigh

      Don't like it? Don't use it. If you must use Windows, use version 7, otherwise, there's Mac OS, Linux, Android, use them.

      I'm getting sooo bored of the constant whinging about Windows 8.x and I strongly suspect that most of the people complaining about it haven't used it and will only be happy if it looks exactly the same as XP, even then I remember the bitching about XP when it was released.

      1. Roland6 Silver badge

        Re: Sigh

        >I'm getting sooo bored of the constant whinging about Windows 8.x

        Whilst I tend to agree that we have extensively chewed over the Win8 UI abomination, what is interesting or concerning depending upon your viewpoint, is that MS are effectively only promoting Win8.1 to those still running XP. Whereas, 7, although not the latest and greatest version, is probably a more suitable and less traumatic upgrade and is still shipping and conveniently side steps all the public negativity and animosity towards Microsoft that Windows 8 has generated, which can only help MS to rehabilitate themselves in time for when Win7 drops off support in January 2020...

        As for being happy if it looks exactly the same as XP; well after the recent el Reg look back at Win3, I'm actually quite keen to get back to the simplicity and functional cleanliness of interface the early windowing systems such as Win3, SunView, OpenLook and MOTIF exhibited! My only real limiting factor is the application software I have to run to facilitate working with various clients - much only runs under MS Windows so like others I have to get to grips with whatever UI MS decides to ship...

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Sigh

          Here's your chance for Windows 3.1 glory:

          http://tinyhacker.com/hacks/who-needs-win7-eye-candy-use-the-windows-3-1-theme-instead/

      2. Suricou Raven

        Re: Sigh

        There was little bitching about XP. As I recall, it was widely regarded as about time Microsoft finally abandoned the atrocity that was 9x.

        This bitching is more like that that followed Vista: A lot of people complaining about a new interface that seemed to be change for change's sake, and grumbling that the new version provided little if any benefit over the previous.

        1. M Gale

          Re: Sigh

          This bitching is more like that that followed Vista: A lot of people complaining about a new interface that seemed to be change for change's sake, and grumbling that the new version provided little if any benefit over the previous.

          There was quite a lot of bitching about WGA and how it would only inconvenience paying customers. Enough that Microsoft didn't distribute WGA with their volume license customers. Oh, and that fucking awful fisher price colour scheme, which was at least trivially changeable back to something.. well.. else.

          Win9x was bitched at because it took up 80 to 100MB at a time when a 210MB HDD was not unusual. Oh, that and the horrific compatibility issues with DOS software which was still bloody common at the time.

          1. Michael Habel

            Re: Sigh

            The only "Fisher Price" stuff I've ever seen was on Windows 8. Windows XP, Vista and 7. Have all felt like a logical evolution to the Product. Vista has it problems. the GUI wasn't really One of these though, and such problems that it DID have, were finally corrected with Windows 7. Perhaps instead of working on Blackcomb, and that other Codename, of which I forgot... Microsoft could have charged for all those Service Packs on XP. To otherwise fund their expenses.

            I mean whatever became of all those rumors of MSFS Filesystem, from 10 Years ago? That were to make NTFS seem as dated as FAT is now? Only to be droped 'cause MSFS can't brain now hurrr!

          2. John Bailey

            Re: Sigh

            "There was quite a lot of bitching about WGA and how it would only inconvenience paying customers. Enough that Microsoft didn't distribute WGA with their volume license customers. Oh, and that fucking awful fisher price colour scheme, which was at least trivially changeable back to something.. well.. else."

            Hey.. Don't knock WGA. A very valuable and useful project.

            It was WGA that gave me the final push to give Linux a proper go. And I've been using it ever since. Proof that some MS products do actually work.

      3. Number6

        Re: Sigh

        I had the misfortune to use Windows 8 for a week, the highlight of which was to temporarily lend the laptop to someone else whose machine wouldn't drive the projector available for his presentation. I just sat there and smiled knowingly at all the things he tried to do but failed.

        Now back to a Win7 machine, which I brought home for the weekend to set up the Linux VM for everything that doesn't insist on Windows. I wish a few more places would port their stuff to Linux, it's chicken and egg at the moment where people stick with Windows because of the software and vendors won't port because they don't see enough people using Linux. If MS insist on continuing with their headlong plunge into the Windows 8 approach, I can see a lot of people would make the switch away from MS if all their favourite programs would run on Linux.

        1. Michael Habel

          Re: Sigh

          This is where you, and I and everyone else reading this need to contact said "Vender" and in short demand at some level even modest Linux support. Wishing about it isn't going to make it happen!

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Sigh

            I HAVE NEVER USED WINDOWS 8 BUT I NO IT IS RUBBISH.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Sigh

              Never used a dictionary or spell checker either it would appear.

    2. Silver

      Re: Sigh

      Dear MS, stop twatting about with crap like this and FIX the abomination that is Windows 8-8.1-8.1a or whatever....

      Whilst I understand what you're trying to say, I'm not entirely sure how the people with the skills required to design and build a website could contribute to fixing the problems with Windows 8.

      I seriously doubt that Windows 8 developers were taken off the project to work on this.

      1. Anonymous Dutch Coward
        Pint

        Programmers reassigned?

        Well, MS money certainly went into the site. Money that could (theoretically at least) have been spent on more bonuses^H^H^H^H work on fixing Windows 8.

      2. Euripides Pants
        Windows

        Re: Sigh

        "I seriously doubt that Windows 8 developers were taken off the project to work on this."

        With Microsoft you can never be sure...

        1. Marco van Beek
          Windows

          Re: Sigh

          And there was me thinking that Windows 8 had been coded by web designers....

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Facepalm

      Re: Sigh

      This. After all the "you'll love it if you just use it". Well, pushing on a week, and I try not to, out of the few hours I've had, I've face desked that many times, I'm knocked back to BASIC on the BBC Micro for improvements.

  5. MrDamage Silver badge

    Outdated?

    the humble abacus is still far more advanced and versatile than anything that has come ot of redmond.

    1. Uffish

      Re: Outdated?

      Quite right. An abacus works with the intelligence of the user. Win 8 and its spawn still work* against the intelligence of the user.

      * ok, only a small part of Win8etc but, like the curates egg....

    2. P. Lee
      Happy

      Re: Outdated?

      Am I the only one to find the inclusion of a W8 laptop in the graphic of outdated items funny?

  6. frank ly

    Why ...

    ... did Kristina Libby have to register this domain herself, at GoDaddy? Why didn't the mighty Microsoft corporate machine take care of that for her? Is it also hosted by GoDaddy?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Why ...

      You evidently have not had to deal with the bureaucracies of big corporate. It is so frustrating that sometimes I've seen people pay with their own personal money for things just to save them from the hells of the purchase process. Especially for low cost items.

      Some places have tried to fix this by issuing prepaid credit cards, but then botched the whole thing by putting on top of that a contrived and tortuous process for getting one of these. End result is the same: penny wise and pound foolish. But the beancounters are delighted because they have done one more thing to get "costs under control" Of course when a multi million project needs three weeks of paperwork for buying a $20 domain they don't see any costs associated with that.

      1. FlatSpot

        Re: Why ...

        Because for such a low priced product it would be more efficient to put it through as an expense claim then raise a Purchase order.. no crackpot conspiracy theory required.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Why ...

          "Because for such a low priced product it would be more efficient to put it through as an expense claim then raise a Purchase order.. no crackpot conspiracy theory required"

          That's well and good.... until the beancounters, in their insatiable need to breakdown and analyze everything, start to classify all expenses and you can't log that expense because it does not fit into one of the categories.

          Or worse someone abuses expense claims and "something has to be done" to prevent it happening in the future.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Why ...

      Maybe it's a personal project?

      1. theblackhand

        Re: Why ...

        Why the personal details?

        It's a PR/Marketing exercise that was done as a last minute panic, the domain name was registered by some graduate in a PR/marketing company with the help of an IT person who has never registered a domain name. When they realise that they didn't want them there, another panic will start to remove them...

    3. Florida1920
      Black Helicopters

      Re: Why ...

      They thought no one would notice. Now that you have.....

  7. Ole Juul

    I hope they check their logs

    I just logged in with MS DOS 6.22 running LYNX 2.8. Yes, I use such a machine! In any case the site was polite and just told me that I was not running XP. This FreeBSD machine isn't either - but I knew that already.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I hope they check their logs

      >but I knew that already

      Maybe it's for people who aren't as clever as you.

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