how to find a motherboard for windows XP

[UserXY]

I am thinking about buying/building a new PC for my father. It won't be connected to the internet ever and is going to be used exclusively to view digital photos and opening and printing word documents. He learned how to use a computer on XP and it is very important that this system can run windows XP. Please understand that his actions are limited to moving files, creating folders and renaming them. He uses his notes to do that and moving to a different OS is not an option. 

 

Since XP is no longer maintained it won't be supported by any modern motherboard. Even if it could the manufacturer might not bother mention it. 

 

I found someone mentioning the EVGA X299 Dark https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=151-SX-E299-KRand which does support XP. The price however is prohibitive. 

 

Are there any other boards that are known to support XP?

 

If not I'll consider to use a virtual machine. 

 

thanks

[Crunchy Dragon]

Anything from the AM2/AM2+ era will support XP. You'll be looking at an Athlon 64 CPU if you go with this build plan, usually if you look around hard/long enough, you can find one. Most people will let you take them for free too since they're not worth much.

 

One very important thing to take note of is that if you do install Windows XP on it, you will need to reinstall every 30 days since it locks you out if not activated(activating it is out of the question as well).

[STRESSMASTER]

4 minutes ago, UserXY said:

I am thinking about buying/building a new PC for my father. It won't be connected to the internet ever and is going to be used exclusively to view digital photos and opening and printing word documents. He learned how to use a computer on XP and it is very important that this system can run windows XP. Please understand that his actions are limited to moving files, creating folders and renaming them. He uses his notes to do that and moving to a different OS is not an option. 

 

Since XP is no longer maintained it won't be supported by any modern motherboard. Even if it could the manufacturer might not bother mention it. 

 

I found someone mentioning the EVGA X299 Dark https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=151-SX-E299-KRand which does support XP. The price however is prohibitive. 

 

Are there any other boards that are known to support XP?

 

If not I'll consider to use a virtual machine. 

 

thanks

AM2 AM2+ or AM3 AM3+ 970 mobo supports xp but that depends on manufacture. you can get a am3+ cpu combo for 150-200 USD atm

[Tabs]

If the stuff he's going to be doing are limited to light duty appliances, then your best bet is to go with a p35/p45 board and a core 2 duo or core 2 quad (for example, a Q6600, or Q9550). This has out of the box XP support and will be way more than fast enough for the things you said your feather does.

 

In addition, you can get these cpu's and mainboards on ebay for a very low price. They use DDR2 which is also often available for a good price.

 

A quick check on ebay and I found various P35/p45 mainboards, Q9500-series core 2 quads, and 4GB of DDR2 memory for a combined total of about $120. Add a case, a psu, and storage, and you're set - most of that can be salvaged from old parts or bought second hand.

[UserXY]

wow, thank's for the tipps. 

3 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

One very important thing to take note of is that if you do install Windows XP on it, you will need to reinstall every 30 days since it locks you out if not activated(activating it is out of the question as well).

I did not understand, I have a valid key for XP are you saying it is not possible to activate it anymore?

[Crunchy Dragon]

1 minute ago, UserXY said:

are you saying it is not possible to activate it anymore?

Yes.

[STRESSMASTER]

8 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Anything from the AM2/AM2+ era will support XP. You'll be looking at an Athlon 64 CPU if you go with this build plan, usually if you look around hard/long enough, you can find one. Most people will let you take them for free too since they're not worth much.

 

One very important thing to take note of is that if you do install Windows XP on it, you will need to reinstall every 30 days since it locks you out if not activated(activating it is out of the question as well).

 

3 minutes ago, UserXY said:

wow, thank's for the tipps. 

I did not understand, I have a valid key for XP are you saying it is not possible to activate it anymore?

online activation no longer works as the servers were decommissioned. phone activation still does though

[Tabs]

1 minute ago, UserXY said:

wow, thank's for the tipps. 

I did not understand, I have a valid key for XP are you saying it is not possible to activate it anymore?

He meant that if you don't connect it to the internet it won't be able to reach the activation servers. You can still use the automated phone activation process, or you can connect it to the internet once for activation before shipping it to your father. 

[Sergifq]

One question if the computer won’t even be connected to the internet what is the point on being on the newest intel platform? You can get a 50$ pc on eBay.

[STRESSMASTER]

3 minutes ago, Sergifq said:

One question if the computer won’t even be connected to the internet what is the point on being on the newest intel platform? You can get a 50$ pc on eBay.

he just wants a xp compatible system not new tech.

[Sergifq]

1 minute ago, STRESSMASTER said:

he just wants a xp compatible system not new tech.

Did you read the dudes submission man? He listed a link to an x299 board I’m saying he doesn’t need new hardware.

[STRESSMASTER]

3 minutes ago, Sergifq said:

Did you read the dudes submission man? He listed a link to an x299 board I’m saying he doesn’t need new hardware.

and did you read the thread man. were talking older tech with him already

[Biggerboot]

28 minutes ago, UserXY said:

I am thinking about buying/building a new PC for my father. It won't be connected to the internet ever and is going to be used exclusively to view digital photos and opening and printing word documents. He learned how to use a computer on XP and it is very important that this system can run windows XP. Please understand that his actions are limited to moving files, creating folders and renaming them. He uses his notes to do that and moving to a different OS is not an option. 

 

Since XP is no longer maintained it won't be supported by any modern motherboard. Even if it could the manufacturer might not bother mention it. 

Anything prior to Skylake (none-UEFI) should technically be XP compatible.  I installed XP natively on 3rd gen Core i.  Just about any AMD system should work too.

Any budget you're aiming for?

You could get an embedded motherboard solution for like $50, which includes the CPU soldered on.  I have a celeron j1800 personally (I could confirm for you if that takes xp).  Otherwise something on LGA 775/AM2 should definitely do the job.

[UserXY]

2 minutes ago, Biggerboot said:

Any budget you're aiming for?

I am looking for the best budget for the bang i described. Heaviest load will be the OS, ever

[Biggerboot]

4 minutes ago, UserXY said:

I am looking for the best budget for the bang i described. Heaviest load will be the OS, ever

Haha, definitely go used then.  You may even get lucky at a flea market or something.  If you do buy new though, I like the embedded motherboards because they include a CPU, fit in anything, and sip power.  I think Linus's $100 joke build is a good example, lol.

XP should generally work on any computer that is Windows 7 certified, if that helps you get an idea for compatibility.  

[UserXY]

1 minute ago, Biggerboot said:

XP should generally work on any computer that is Windows 7 certified

No, not all Win7 certified PC can run XP. 

[Biggerboot]

3 minutes ago, UserXY said:

No, not all Win7 certified PC can run XP. 

I pretty much say that because there was a period where people were rolling back to Windows XP.  Windows Vista to XP rollbacks were especially common.  If you find a motherboard that doesn't let you do it I think that's pretty rare, but an aftermarket board should be almost guarenteed.