For Windows XP users who aren’t joining the stampede to Windows 7 you may notice that it’s a little harder to find updates and problem fixes for your operating system and software. Not to worry, the resources are still there, you just need to know where to look.

Windows XP Auto Updates

We recommend setting up Automatic Updates so your PC will take care of critical updates for system security and functionality without you having to research and manually download them.

To turn on your Windows XP Automatic Updates:

1. Go to your Start menu and click on Control Panel.
2. Open your Security Center.
3. Find Automatic Updates and turn your settings on.
4. Click OK.

As part of the settings in Automatic Updates, you can choose whether or not to have any updates installed automatically, or just downloaded to your PC so you can manually install them later.

If you are looking to update a particular program or application that runs on your Windows XP computer, you should go to the web site of that particular program and explore their updates and downloads section to make sure you are always running the latest and greatest versions of everything.

For some of Microsoft’s most popular apps, you can visit: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/default.mspx. Here you will find instructions and downloads for a variety of programs.

Windows XP Repair

While the world may be focused on Windows 7, your XP operating system, and its “foibles,” has not been forgotten. Microsoft offers a support section on their web site geared entirely towards common problems with XP.

Visit http://support.microsoft.com/ph/1173 for answers to some of XP’s most pressing questions. Here you will find links to Top Issues, Error Messages, Downloads and Updates, Installation and Setup, Security, Using Windows XP, Windows XP Fix it Solutions, and Contacts.

Speaking of this support section, at the top of the page is the announcement that Microsoft is no longer supporting Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2). This occurred on July 13, 2010. So in order to keep your PC secure and operational, you will need to either upgrade to the Service Pack 3 version of Windows XP or even a newer operating system all together, namely Windows 7.