Workable Browser for Win XP

[jpanhalt]

My trusty (2013) PC with Win7/Intel i7 1050 CPU refused to start a week ago.  Working on its repair, as I rely heavily on some programs that probably won't run on Win 10.

In the meantime, I am using a Dell 8400 with Win XP as backup.  To my "surprise," modern browsers, such as Google Chrome, completely stopped compatibility with that OS a few years ago.  The hobbled version is incredibly slow and dysfunctional.  I have tried "MyPal," which is slightly better, but not by much.

Is there a browser that works well with the last XP version?

[rsjsouza]

JP, your best bet would be to download the latest Firefox version that still supported XP: version 52.
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/end-support-windows-xp-and-vista

Firefox was the last major browser to support this OS. No browsers support this OS anymore.
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/browser-secure-old-windows-xp-system/

[jpanhalt]

Thank you.  Download and install completed.  Noticeably faster than early Chrome and MyPal.  It did not work with some sites.  For example, Home Depot didn't work (only one of  6 sites tested).  But, I don't go there often. It did work with Lowes and Menards.  The earlier Chrome does work with the HD site.

The problem with Chrome and some other sites is a "system clock error" that is apparently false.  With HD, the error reported by HD for Firefox was not explained.  Site only reported it would not work with that version.

[Berni]

I quite liked Chromium on old machines since it tended to run a lot faster, but i did find some more script heavy sites have trouble with it.

But on such a old machine don't think any browser will provide all that great of a browsing experience just because of the ridiculously large amount of computational horsepower required to load and render a lot of today's modern webpages that is often literally megabytes of javascript code alone, let alone the rest of the content.

For old software i tend to resort to virtual machines on my main Win7 PC.

[jpanhalt]

Yes, I used Chromium on that Dell machine before I built my new(er) PC.  It ran well and better than Firefox IMHO at the time.

Most people are so used to having PC's, laptops, and smart phones, that services are not geared to people like me who still use a flip-top cell and have only a desktop.  For example, Cleveland has a wonderful computer store caller MicroCenter.  It's where I have gotten all my parts for the past 23 years I have lived here.  When my system went dark, there was no way to get its phone number.  In desperation, I called two of my daughters (both out of state), neither answered. So, I called my ISP based on a hard copy bill I had and begged its the Internet service tech for the number.  He was very kind but younger.   

Two calls later, when I explained the error I kept getting with my Dell 8400, that is, Netgear showed I was connected to the Internet, but every site I tried to open gave the error that the site "could not be reached,"  a somewhat old lady in service pitched in and shared what was supposedly common knowledge.  Namely, older browsers (IE and Google search) are not supported on most new sites.  That change happened about 2016/2017, and since my PC had been trouble free since 2013, I was completely unaware. 

It was a trying day, but ended with a little humor -- and relief. 

[DrG]

JP, your best bet would be to download the latest Firefox version that still supported XP: version 52.
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/end-support-windows-xp-and-vista

Firefox was the last major browser to support this OS. No browsers support this OS anymore.
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/browser-secure-old-windows-xp-system/

Concur. That was what I did for a machine that, for reasons unclear to me, I keep. As noted, it will not work everywhere and you will have ridiculously long delays on occasion when gagging on scripts. I also have to manually empty the cache (rather than empty on exit as that option is not available on that version). But the bottom line for me was that it (the last XP Firefox) was the best I could get.

[Ian.M]

 Sorry I cant help with the browser issue - my real XP box has Avast Secure browser from a couple of years ago.  Its Chromium based and reports Version 49.0.79.76, but claims a copyright date of 2021 so may have received significant updates past its original install date.  It certainly doesn't work on all websites, but still works on a lot more sites than any other browser on that box.  However, it really isn't viable to have an XP box as your primary or even backup PC for internet access so you are going to be forced to upgrade. 

When you upgrade, if you need to set up an XP VM to run your legacy software, the procedure detailed here:
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/download-windows-xp-for-free-and-legally-straight-from-microsoft-si/
should still work.
The resulting VM (or any reinstall of XP that isn't tied to a hardware key) will need activating, otherwise it times out in 30 days and locks you in an activation loop with no working activation servers or phone support that will help with a past EOL product.

The second answer in this topic:
https://superuser.com/questions/1502796/how-do-i-activate-windowsxp-now-that-support-has-ended
has a link to Microsoft's own 'Self Service for Mobile' Product Activation site at microsoft.gointeract.io, which if you select '6 Digits' and enter the installation ID that XP's activation wizard give you if you select activate by phone, will give you back a key that works.  As the landing page is pretty universal with activation for everything up to Win10, it *may* still be there when you need it again!