Installing windows xp updates. How to update Windows XP after official system support ends
A Windows Service Pack is a large collection of patches and tools to improve the reliability of the operating system. In the case of Windows, there are 3 versions: sp1, sp2 and sp3. It is strongly recommended to use the latest one - it is the most stable and secure, supporting many even modern applications. If you still have sp2 or sp1, you can download all the necessary updates for Windows XP to get the sp3 version.
How to find out the current version
First, users need to find out what version of the operating system Windows systems XP installed on this moment. This can be done using the computer properties panel:
If sp2 or sp1 is installed, follow the further instructions.
Windows XP Update
The easiest way is automatic updating. The computer will automatically download all the necessary packages and install them in the background without interfering with your work. If auto-update were active, Windows XP would have already installed sp3. Since this did not happen, it is necessary this function enable (at least temporarily):
Now you just have to wait until all the necessary packages are downloaded from the Microsoft server and installed on your PC. In case you encounter any problems and nothing works, try the alternative option described below.
Download the update package from Microsoft
You can also download all the necessary files from Microsoft servers and install them in manual mode. Despite the fact that support for Windows XP has already ended, all the necessary packages are freely available on the official website:
After these steps, the sp3 package will be downloaded to your personal computer.
Many users still have this legendary system installed. However, its support ended in 2014, which means that no one can receive any updates for Windows XP anymore, and many of them are related to system security. It's clear why Microsoft did this; it prompted many users to switch to more modern versions systems
Nevertheless, this OS is still popular because it does not require many resources and is ideal for devices with not the most powerful hardware. But, if used, I would like to receive updates. This can be done, because in 1414 support was stopped only regular versionsXP, and many equipment continues to work on Windows systems POS and Embedded, which are based on this OS, and their support will continue until 2019.
Windows XP x32 update
As is clear from the previous section, in order to continue receiving updates for Windows XP, it is enough to correct something in the OS so that it is perceived as one of these versions. To do this, you will need to make several changes to the registry. First, you should open the registry editor; to do this, you can press win+r and write in the window that opens regedit. Next you will need to follow the route HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\WPA, after that you need to right-click on the last directory in the address, select create and specify a partition, its name should be PosReady.
Now you should go to the newly created directory and right-click on the empty space on the right side of the screen, here you also need to create a new variabledword named Installed. 
Double click on it and set as value unit. Now the system believes that you have the same version that is installed on the terminals, so it remains possible to receive important updates. 
You can also not edit the registry, but simply createreg file and run it. To do this you will need to open notepad and paste text into it:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
How to update Windows XP x64
For a 64-bit system, there are slight differences during the system update procedure. The user will have to download updates For Windows Server 2003 (because the 64 bit version is based on it) from the Microsoft website. After downloading, unpack all data into folder C:\xpupdate(if you unpack to another directory, you should change all the paths in the following files). After this you will need to go to the directory c:\xpupdate\update and find there a file named update_SP2QFE.inf and make a copy of it and give it a name new_update_SP2QFE.inf.
Condition=AndOp,Prereq.XPAMDInstallBlock.Section
PresentOp=CheckReg,HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ProductOptions",ProductType,0x00000000
NotEqualOp=CheckReg,HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ProductOptions",ProductType,0x00000000,!=,"WinNT"
Display_String="%WrongProductMessage%"
Now you should open notepad and paste into it following lines:
cd "C:\xpupdate\update"
echo Replace update.inf with update.inf.new
copy update_SP2QFE.inf org_update_SP2QFE.inf /y
copy new_update_SP2QFE.inf update_SP2QFE.inf /y
echo Apply Update
start update.exe /passive /norestart /log:c:\xpupdate\install.log
ping -n 1 -w 5 1.1.1.1>nul
copy org_update_SP2QFE.inf update_SP2QFE.inf /y
It's been almost 2 years since support for one of the legendary Windows versions- . To this day, it does not receive support, but still many users remain on it for various reasons.
The biggest problem with this support is that users cannot receive system updates that include performance improvements, bug fixes, security, and more.
But you can still receive updates. The fact is that there are computers that use this operating system and they are receiving updates and will continue to receive them until April 2019. These computers are used in government. institutions, terminals, ATMs and others. Computers are based on the Windows XP kernel and have their own version - Windows POSReady and therefore updates are available for them.
In order to receive updates on your Windows XP, you need to have Service Pack 3 installed and have a 32-bit operating system. You can find out this data by right-clicking on My Computer and selecting Properties.
If everything is as it is, then you will need to make changes to the . You can either do this yourself, find the registry branch and key, changing it to desired value, or by creating a file, adding changes to it, and running it. Or download a ready-made one.
I suggest you use the second method. If you need a file, write a comment and I will add the file. All you need to do is download and run.
So, open a standard Notepad and paste it into new document the following lines:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
“Installed”=dword:00000001
After that, save the document anywhere and with any name.
The main thing is that it has reg :
After that, run this file and agree to make changes to the registry.
If everything was done correctly, then after a while your operating system will begin to receive Windows XP updates, which are essentially provided by Windows POSReady.
Finally, I would like to warn you that all manipulations with the registry may not be safe and can harm the system. Therefore, before doing this, it is very advisable to create backup copy(File -> Export) and only then make changes and run the file.
Microsoft ended support for Windows XP on April 8th. Computers running this OS no longer receive automatic updates and security patches. Thus, the system becomes vulnerable to attacks if critical vulnerabilities are discovered.
However, Windows XP users can still receive updates despite the end of official support.
An interesting trick was published on a German forum. The fact is that Windows XP can be configured in such a way that for Windows services Update it will be identified as Windows Embedded POSReady 2009. By performing a simple manipulation, XP users can seriously improve the security of their computers.
The differences between Windows XP and Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 are small, so even if you install POSReady updates on XP, your computer will still be protected.
Let us quote an excerpt from Microsoft document, describing the difference between the two systems:
Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 contains the following features:
File Write Protection Filter (FBWF), which helps protect the system partition from being write-protected by redirecting all write requests to protected volumes to the overlay cache;
USB Boot, which allows installation from USB devices;
Office applications are not licensed to run in POSReady. POSReady does not contain help files. Both systems use the same management software.
There is another important difference. While Windows support XP ended on April 8, 2014, support for Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 will continue until April 9, 2019. Thus, XP users will be able to receive updates for 5 years, unless, of course, Windows blocks this opportunity.
We will describe the steps that need to be followed in order to Windows Update perceived XP as an Embedded version.
Call context menu and create a new one Text Document. Name the document whatever you like and change the extension to .reg. Select the file, right-click and select the "edit" option.
Copy and paste in notepad following code and then save the file:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
"Installed"=dword:00000001
Double-click on the file and apply the changes. Restart your computer and check for updates again. Several new updates should already be available for download.
Keep in mind that Microsoft can block this feature in a variety of ways, but it's still worth a try if your system isn't currently updated at all.
Translation . Based on materials from the Internet portal Softpedia
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