Windows XP Is it possible to (manually) update a 'new' XP system?

[rlincolnh]

If I use my XP_SP3 disk to create a new virtual machine in VBox, is it possible to bring it up to date (i.e. to the 2014 end-of-support updates). Is there a list somewhere of XP-applicable KBs?

 

[BIGBEARJEDI]

Don't know about VBox, I've never run, perhaps others who have will chime in here. The one thing I can tell you, is that if you continue to run XP in any flavor, whether in a VM environment or not, you should NEVER, and I mean NEVER, attempt to use that computer for any kind of online transaction such as doing online banking or use of any government site such as DMV, Social Security, Medicare, etc. nor for using it to perform any kind of online purchases using Credit Cards. Just because you update that XP to 2014; realize that the Hackers have had 3 years plus now to identify hundreds of security weaknesses in XP, and with no releases by Microsoft since 2014, there are more holes in it than a Block of Swiss Cheese; you are at great risk doing that. Unless you know what you are doing, and even then I've got Customers who are so-called Computer experts, who insist on using their 10-year-old-plus XP machines to do financial transactions on the Internet, and when they get Hacked and their bank accounts cleaned out, they want to know how it was done. Talk about trying to fix the gate after the horse got out of the barn!!

If you are doing web design, web server or web-client testing or app testing with this setup, that's fine. Wanted you to be aware of that. I completely stopped assisting ANY customers who bring me their XP machines for over 1 year now, and so have just about all my colleagues due to the liability of fixing an XP computer that gets used by the customer, or their family members, or a person they resell that computer to--and they decide to use it for financial transactions, and it will come back to bite me or anyone else who does that repair. I get asked about 2-3 times a month to do this, still, and I refuse in every instance. What you do is up to you, but unless you are doing some kind of testing, you may not be aware of this risk. And yes, this includes XP in VM mode, it's no longer secure if you've read that somewhere on the net.

Best of luck,
<<BIGBEARJEDI>>

 

[rlincolnh]

Yes, well, thanks for that BB. It's always good to emphasize that unsupported OSs are inevitably falling further behind from a security point of view.
However, my application is for a local network of several VMs and two live machines that will specifically be isolated from the internet. It will also include Linux and W7, but for the sake of realism I would prefer the XP systems to be as up-to-date as possible. Testing against a virgin XP isn't far from hanging a C64 on the network .

So, is it possible?

 

[Neemobeer]

XP updates are still available for download from the update catalog. Microsoft Update Catalog

I don't know if it still includes XP, but you may want to check WSUS offline. WSUS Offline Update - Update Microsoft Windows and Office without an Internet connection

 

[pnamajck]

bigbearjedi did illustrate a viable point … and, my subsequent intervention is not directed toward rlincolnh specific … rather, it's meant for anyone coming off the street and considering implementing their own version of the op's strategy.

keep in mind … since win-xp can no longer be updated with security releases … contact-lists, databases, etc. can all be accessed … same goes for networks. so … while the intent seems innocuous enough … the end result can be anything but. others' systems can be exploited because of one weak branch in the tree.

and now i will bow out … rlincolnh, we're happy to have you join our group.

 

[rlincolnh]

XP updates are still available for download from the update catalog. Microsoft Update Catalog

I don't know if it still includes XP, but you may want to check WSUS offline. WSUS Offline Update - Update Microsoft Windows and Office without an Internet connection

Thanks Neem, I've just glanced at WSUS Offline, and it may just be the sort of site that I am looking for *if* it works the way I hope. I'll read some more later today, and have a look at their forum, if it's still active. If it works out successfully, I'll post back here.