To access modern HTTPS (secure sites), you need SSL2 and TLS. You can turn on SSL and install TLS in Win XP SP3 ONLY. Win 8/8.1 should have SSL enabled by default, but if TLS isn’t enabled, you enable it here: https://hide.me/en/knowledgebase/how-to-enable-tls-1-1-tls-1-2-in-windows-7-and-8/

BTW, Win 8 is such a terrible release, any pain one receives by running it is self inflicted

You’re talking about a LONG obsolete OS (released 23 years ago) used by VERY few people instead of Win 10 that was just updated a few years ago and still used by hundreds of millions of users. MAYBE someday what you suggest will be true, but for 99.999% of the users, they will have moved on to new HW and OS by then. In general, the only people dabbling in decades old HW and SW are those trying to use legacy HW or aps, and those are VERY few.

If it feels like a pissing contest to you, it’s because you persist in making inane arguments and trying to defend your indefensible statements such as the above “a sudden right turn” (there was NO sudden right turn). I think I’ve wasted enough time on this.

Likely the BIOS (have you checked for an update) or the SATA card’s API/driver (check Adaptec) or both. The BIOS interacts with the disk API to load the OS. I’d look for the Adaptec instruction manual for the card. I’d also look to see if there are any jumpers on the card.

Why? There are a wide variety of free web browsers that cost nothing to install or update (ie: Firefox)

What OS and what file system?

A track for track image does take a LONG time, especially if one disk is an external connected via a slow USB port. Acronis is no better (tried them both), maybe even slower form my experience.

I really loved Ambermatics. Must have gone through half a dozen pair. Last pair I laid on the ground while changing a tire, forgot and backed over them. I was so disgusted, I gave up sunglasses

Not a clue, but I have some BIG Koi and there lots of trees and shrubs around the pond…

Mac just nomenclate their releases differently. MacOS 10 ran from 2001 (10.0) to 2019 (10.15) for example. They name each patch/rev while Windows names only major releases - revs/patches between major releases are nomenclated like 22H2 rather than named after a location.

Microsoft, unlike Apple, is a SW company, so they have (until Win 10 and 11 which were free upgrades) charged for a major release. Since Apple builds the HW platform as well, the cost of the OS is rolled in to the total price of the system.

My uncle, Lt. Preston Carrington, served on the Forrestal, but no idea if he was aboard when the tragic explosion and fire occurred.

That’s just silly. All boats that have windage (that would be any vessel floating except perhaps a floating board) are moved by the wind due to the force of the wind against the superstructure and cargo. Container vessels, which the Dali was, are the most affected by the wind because of the large flat vertical surfaces - no way to “design around” that fact. The only way to counter that is to drive the boat forward with propulsion, which the Dali didn’t have at the time of the accident.

You clearly know nothing about boats/ships or you’re intentionally being obtuse - either way, just stop.

If a Coracle is your idea of a vessel, I can see why you’re confused and with all due respect. I think some basic understanding of sailboats is in order. Sailboats are only “pushed” by the wind when they’re running before the wind (the wind is directly astern or off your stern quarter). If you change course (or the wind changes direction) such that the wind moves to the other quarter, you don’t tack, you jibe. On all other points of sail (Broad reach, beam reach, close reach or close hauled), the sail isn’t pushed, it’s “lifted” forward, much like a vertical aircraft wing, and the sideways force is resisted by the keel or center board and translated into forward motion. When you are sailing close hauled (at a small angle to the apparent wind) and you cross the wind to being close hauled on the opposite side of the vessel (tack), that is tacking. When sailing to windward, the only time you are “pushed” by the wind is if you are stopped, pointed directly into the wind because you are “in irons” or hove to.

Honestly, when you’ve dug yourself into a hole, the best strategy is to stop digging.

You can, but good luck finding a browser compatible with XP AND security adequate to access https sites (which anlmost all sites are now). You can download old versions of common browsers ( Firefox, IE, Chrome, etc…) that will install and run on XP, BUT XP does not provide the necessary security protocols ro browse modern sites. Already tried it. Built an XP machine specifically to support some legacy ISA cards and loaded Win XP SP3 (latest version) and I tried every XP compatible version of every browser you can think up, and while they would access http sites, they wouldn’t access https sites, which almost all modern sites are.

You can try running Linux IF your MB supports enough memory. Most XP machines had limited HW memory capability.

If you read the link Jerry provided, there’s no cost to continue to use Win 10, just an OPTION to buy extended support which would supposedly be updates to Windows Defender. I doubt there would be new features added or new HW drivers, but I guess it’s possible. Your Win 10 computer will continue to work just fine, but without Defender updates, I’d invest in 3rd party anti- Virus/malware/bot detection SW unless you want to pay MS for support. Nothing new here except the offer to purchase extended support - people have been running old versions of Windows forever.

I’ve recently published on another thread, the method to upgrade a non compliant Win 10 machine to Win 11, and it does work, but Microsoft warns that there will be no updates for updated non compliant machines - it remains to be seen if that’s the case.