Windows XP has been around for over 10 years and it is now time to move on. At CERN, general support for Windows XP will end in December 2012, and before this date users are requested to schedule a migration to the next version of Windows – Windows 7.
Windows 7 is already well established at CERN – it is used by a large majority of users. In fact, there was a considerable user demand even before its official release in October 2009 and its adoption has been smooth. Users praise Windows 7 for its improved stability and a clear advantage on laptops is a much more efficient implementation of offline files.
The migration to Windows 7 involves a reinstallation of the operating system. Files stored in user home folders on DFS will be immediately available after the reinstallation. Applications will be upgraded to more recent versions and in certain cases, an application may even be replaced by another application providing the same functionality. Microsoft Office suite is a good example: the functionality of Office 2007 and SharePoint Designer 2007 on Windows XP is provided by Office 2010 and Expression Web 4 on Windows 7.
In general, these changes are intuitive, but as many elements change at the same time, users are advised to plan for a few hours of necessary adaptation and to avoid scheduling the migration during particularly busy moments.
In order to facilitate this transition, the IT-OIS group and the CERN Technical Training team are organising a series of training tutorials. Presentations in English are scheduled for 17 September and French presentations for 24 September. Participation is free, but users are invited to register in advance from the EDH Training catalogue or directly from: http://cern.ch/go/IT3T.
This end of support date of December 2012 concerns general office computers. Windows XP support for online computing in the LHC Controls and Experiments is scheduled to finish in December 2013.
Further information:
- How to migrate from Windows XP to Windows 7.
- NICE Windows 7 documentation, including the list of available applications.
- Software Lifecycle End of Support Notices.