Getting off Windows XP

[nintendofan85]

Well, my parents are in a situation right now.
Our desktop computer is still on Windows XP Professional (I'm typing from it right now), and it was a custom one my dad built in 2003 (the processor is an AMD Athlon XP 2000+, which I highly doubt could run a newer version of Windows). My mom has thought about buying a new computer, and my dad said he might build a new one himself, but a big concern for both of them is that there are many files on the computer that my parents would like to keep, such as tax records. However, as Microsoft hasn't supported XP since April of last year, there, of course, are security issues with using XP. To add to this, the main browser we use on it, Google Chrome, is having its XP support end in April. What do you suggest? How do we move off of XP but still keep the important files?
Also, will programs my dad my want to run that work fine on XP work on newer versions of Windows?

 

[yukikotobuki]

Just use a flash drive to get the files that you want from the computer so that you can transfer them to the new one. Also, whether a program will work depends on what it is, but most of them will.

 

[oath2order]

question number one why the **** are you still using XP

 

[Izzy Reincarnated]

lol i remember when I was using XP, my dad bought it like a decade ago and it broke down last year.

it was sooooo slow

regarding your question, use a usb or use a service to store your files like Dropbox

 

[kayleee]

theres like big backup storage things that you can buy (basically big flash drives) that you can put all your important stuff on and then put it on the new computer. not sure about the programs that work on xp working on newer versions of windows though. I can't see why they wouldn't but idk for sure

 

[nintendofan85]

lol i remember when I was using XP, my dad bought it like a decade ago and it broke down last year.

it was sooooo slow

regarding your question, use a usb or use a service to store your files like Dropbox

Yeah, our XP desktop only recently got faster. It was because it had all these programs that we stopped using. After uninstalling them it sped up quite a bit.

- - - Post Merge - - -

question number one why the **** are you still using XP

It's because, since we've had this computer for twelve years now, there are many important things that my parents need on it, and, as I said, I doubt it could run a newer version of Windows.

 

[Izzy Reincarnated]

i remember one time you said some indian guy called your grandma and soon after her computer shut down? is this correct
?

 

[nintendofan85]

i remember one time you said some indian guy called your grandma and soon after her computer shut down? is this correct
?

Yes, except that it was turned off and it turned on. However, it had (and still does) Windows 7, not XP.

 

[DJStarstryker]

There's lots of ways to do it. Buy a USB flash drive or external hard drive and move the files to it. Go old school and burn to a DVD. Get a file server or NAS (Network Attached Storage) and use it to store files on. Both of those things are basically a computer that you keep just to store data. Heck, you can even get cloud storage somewhere and put files there.

The ultimate cheapest option is either burning to DVDs (LOL) or buying a USB flash drive. USB flash drives are super cheap nowadays. Amazon frequently has them on sale. I see a 128GB one for $22. Or if they want cheaper, you can get 16GB for less than $5.

 

[nintendofan85]

Thanks everyone for your replies! My dad is trying to do what he can about the situation.