From: rednoise9@REMOVETHIScomcast.net   
      
   On 09 Nov 2014, Larry Stark  wrote in   
   alt.os.windows-xp:   
      
   > Had a friend whose XP system crashed and wanted to restore it to   
   > factory specs then install the SPs. He has SP2 and SP3. When it   
   > comes to registering with MS or whatever will there be a problem   
   > where it is not supported any more?? Will he be able to restore it   
   > and at least install the SP2 and SP3 package if not all the other   
   > updates?? Thanks for reply.   
      
   As I understand it, registrations are still being accepted for XP and   
   will be for the foreseeable future. Only new OS updates have ceased.   
   Previously released updates should still be available from Microsoft   
   Update.   
      
   If it's an OEM version of Windows that would have come pre-installed on   
   a commodity PC like a Dell or HP, you probably won't need to register   
   it with Microsoft. The software is already registered and if you go   
   through the factory restore process it will also be registered.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)