It is true that todays a lot of people have some old Microsoft operating system on their computer/s which run some old Microsoft (or other) application/s. And, it is very possible that they don’t, or have no need to change the operating system because old system works perfectly for old application. But, it is also true that those people and their old systems still need support. The question is who will support them?

It is well known that Microsoft issues newer versions of operating systems and applications every few years and during the time old versions fall into oblivion, and five years after the introduction, they completely disappear. The reason for this is in the fact that new versions are more stable and safe and corresponding to this is expiration of technical support for older products. For example, today it is not possible to contact local technical support and receive support for Windows 98 or 2000; Office 2000 or older etc..

These rules Microsoft calls “Microsoft support lifecycle”, and more information you can find on site HERE. On this place, you can find differences between basic and expanded support, specific information for hardware product support, and rules about security upgrades, popularly called Service Packs. It is very important because, for example it is not possible to realize support for Windows XP SP1 or SP2.

If you want to contact local technical support service, it is the best to first look at the site of your local Microsoft distributor. However, before that we recommend you to enquire do you have right to realize technical support, i.e. until when you can do that. That is why sites HERE are extremely important or maybe even more HERE, where you can choose any Microsoft product and check when the support for wanted product expires.

Tags | Howto, Tips and Tricks, Update, Windows