How come Windows XP can use Bing …

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Please don’t expend any great effort on this, but if someone has an easy answer, I would appreciate it:

I have an old XP laptop, on which I want to install a small application that I already have on a Windows 7 ‘NetBook’

Note: yes it’s all ‘deprecated’ but it will serve the purpose

Tomorrow, I will probably just copy the file onto a stick, and transfer it that way … BUT my curiosity is aroused …

If [as is the case] the XP machine / Internet Explorer cannot use the Internet: how does it quite happily manage to use Bing ?

MichaelG.

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

XP can still go on the netty with wifi and bing must be backwards compatible

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

Any web browser can open a file on your local storage just as easily as one from a web server provided it recognises the file format.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Interesting replies, thanks

In fact, however, the present situation is that although the XP machine [an old Sony Vaio] is happily connected to my Router

• it cannot see any other device on my wi-fi network, and it cannot access the internet
• Opening Internet Explorer 8 allows me to search [with results coming from Bing]… but then clicking any URL fails to connect.

My naive interpretation is that Router’s security settings are too high for the Vaio to be accepted

< Unclean ! >

But somehow Bing seems quite content … that’s what bewilders me

MichaelG.

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

Must be to do with the MS set up system using trusted proprietary software so no permissions required

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

I think you must be right, Ady, thanks

A few minutes faffing with a USB stick will copy the application across from the NetBook

MichaelG.

[Frances IoMParticipant @francesiom58905]

an old XP will not have the necessary code to open most https web pages – you can check as this forum uses the old standards and is accessible by old browsers but some of the image hosting sites use a higher level of security (actually a larger number of bits to hold the ‘key’ to the crypto) and these photos won’t display

[peak4Participant @peak4]

I'm off to the market now, so don't have time to look up the details, but beware connecting an old XP machine to the internet unless it has the very latest security patches.
Even well after MS stopped officially supporting XP, they deemed that one security issue was sufficiently serious that they felt it was worth releasing a final security update.

Back from the market now and the forum is still letting me edit the post
This was one of the articles on the subject
https://www.wired.com/story/microsoft-windows-xp-patch-very-bad-sign/

I think the update is still available; from what I recall, I was able to download it to a USB stick and install on each old computer from there; it that was several years ago, and I don't remember all the details.

Bill

Edited By peak4 on 26/08/2023 11:36:45

[Frances IoMParticipant @francesiom58905]

the XP’s default setup to open almost anything offered to it made it too easy to exploit – it was possible by turning off the various options to be considerably more secure but lacking the necessary higher level crypto cannot open most modern pages so now best used to run unconnected to the web.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Thanks for the further replies

I am aware of the security risks, and am content to use the NetBook and the Vaio as a ‘symbiotic’ pair

The NetBook has Windows 7 Ultimate, so is still ‘safe’ … but it has a stupidly tiny display resolution, so the applications are unusable

The old Vaio has a high resolution display, and I am happy transferring downloads by USB stick

To quote a Covid remark … Stay Safe

MichaelG.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Ady1 on 26/08/2023 09:17:42:

Must be to do with the MS set up system using trusted proprietary software so no permissions required

Unlikely – the router and network don't trust Microsoft, or anyone else.

More likely bing has cached some pages locally, and isn't using the network. It fails when a page can't be found locally, and the computer has to get it from the web.

As Michael says 'it cannot see any other device on my wi-fi network, and it cannot access the internet' I suspect the XP network configuration is wrong. Assuming a physical cable to the router, in network settings:

First thing to check is the XP sub-net mask, which controls how IP addresses are interpreted. Home networks are usually 255.255.255.0 All devices on the sub-network have to share the same mask; if not their IP addresses are incompatible.

Second thing is that XP has a valid IP address. Could be static, where an administrator allocated and set the address in both computer and router. More likely, XP should be set to ask the router for a dynamic address at boot time (DHCP).

XP can't connect to the network without a valid IP address.

After that we're into driver and hardware problems. Wifi works the same way, with an additional layer of complexity – it's encrypted, requiring passwords, and protocol and other settings. Fault finding, always get it working with a cable first.

Dave

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 26/08/2023 10:59:55:

.

[…]

As Michael says 'it cannot see any other device on my wi-fi network, and it cannot access the internet' I suspect the XP network configuration is wrong. Assuming a physical cable to the router, in network settings:

First thing to check is the XP sub-net mask, which controls how IP addresses are interpreted. Home networks are usually 255.255.255.0 All devices on the sub-network have to share the same mask; if not their IP addresses are incompatible.

Second thing is that XP has a valid IP address. Could be static, where an administrator allocated and set the address in both computer and router. More likely, XP should be set to ask the router for a dynamic address at boot time (DHCP).

XP can't connect to the network without a valid IP address.

After that we're into driver and hardware problems. Wifi works the same way, with an additional layer of complexity – it's encrypted, requiring passwords, and protocol and other settings. Fault finding, always get it working with a cable first.

Dave

I shall do that, in due course, Dave

The immediate problem is sorted worked-around … but I would like the Vaio to be able to share files within my network.

MichaelG.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

 

Thanks again, Dave … I got there in the end !

[ or at least as far as I want to get ]

.

After going round in circles, I eventually arrived here:

.

.

There was enough displayed in the Bing result to point me in the right direction

I uninstalled the Intel network adapter, and let Windows reinstall it.

Went back onto wi-fi and can now browse files stored on the Vaio, using the FileBrowser app on my IPad

… after a hair-pulling few hours, that will do for today

… I will probably need to tidy-up various file-sharing settings on all the devices; but at least the Vaio is now a member of the gang !

MichaelG.

.

Ref. https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-find-your-default-gateway-ip-address-2626072

Ref. https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/filebrowser-documents-manager/id364738545

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 26/08/2023 15:30:23

[Anonymous]

Posted by Frances IoM on 26/08/2023 10:02:49:
an old XP will not have the necessary code to open most https web pages

 

I wouldn't doubt that – my Palm TX stopped being able to use the internet when HTTPS came about. Though surely that's more a function of the browser than the underlying OS – at least up to a point?

But (if you want to) couldn't you (Michael) just install Firefox (or whatever) to replace the old IE? You might have to drill down ** to find the last edition that was compatible with XP – assuming the latest version isn't (I don't know).

** suitably ME expression

Edited By Peter Greene on 27/08/2023 17:31:13

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Thanks for the thought, Peter

There are several browsers that are [currently] still useable with XP but, to be honest, you hit the nail on the head with “if you want to” … and to be honest, I don’t

The main reason I wanted to use the Vaio was to run the programming software for PicAxe chips

… it has a good screen resolution AND a handy RS232 connector.

It only took a few minutes to copy the file from the little NetBook, and I’m sorted now

Spent some time Yesterday with Revo Uninstaller, getting rid of the waifs and strays on the Vaio.

Microsoft has ceased supporting XP so the machine ‘is what it is’

MichaelG.

.

Ref. **LINK**

https://picaxe.com/software/picaxe/picaxe-editor-6/

Ref. **LINK**

https://www.revouninstaller.com/revo-uninstaller-free-download/

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