Recently, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) ended support for the Windows XP operating system. But what many don’t know is that those running on the Windows Embedded Industry variant of the XP OS will continue to receive updates all the way until 2019. Formerly known as Windows Embedded POSReady, it’s based on Windows XP Service Pack 3, which means the updates are compatible with the end user version of Windows XP.
However, you simply can’t install the updates, as you’ll receive a version mismatch error if you try to. If you want to stay protected until 2019, just follow the directions to enable updates for Windows XP.
Courtesy of Betanews, here’s a simple trick which makes it possible to receive security updates for the aging OS, using a simple registry hack. To apply the hack, you’ll need to create a text file with a .reg extension. Call this file xp.reg. You’ll need to ensure that that it is a registry file, with the proper .reg extension and not xp.reg.txt.
Add the below content by creating a text file with a .reg extension:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMWPAPosReady] “Installed”=dword:00000001
Save it and run it by double-clicking in Windows Explorer. That’s all you need to do to make changes to the registry. Windows XP will now automatically fetch updates designed for POSReady 2009.
Note that this trick only works for 32-bit editions of XP, but there’s a workaround for 64-bit versions which you can also check out here.
The trick is working right now, but it is also possible that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) could put an end to the work around any moment. That said, you might as well try it out if you’re still on Windows XP and want to ensure that you get latest updates.
