When will Microsoft pull the plug on your version of Windows or Office?

[This post was originally published April 2013. It was completely updated and republished in October 2013. Most recent update: October 11, 2013.]

The impending retirement of Windows XP and Office 2003 shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. As I’ve noted before, Microsoft has a well-established support lifecycle for its software products. It’s basically an agreement that the company makes with everyone who commits to Windows. The terms of that agreement don’t change often, which is an important assurance for business customers who tend to be conservative in their approach to upgrades.

For the next six months and counting, Microsoft will officially offer support for five versions of Windows for desktop and notebook PCs. Here’s the rundown, starting with the newest member of the family:

Windows 8.1

Microsoft’s official Windows 8.1 Support Lifecycle Policy treats this update as if it were a service pack for Windows 8. That means the lifecycle calculations start when Windows 8 shipped, in 2012.

This version is currently available only for Microsoft’s volume licensing customers, MSDN and TechNet subscribers, and hardware OEM partners. It will be available to the public as a free update and in retail packages on October 18, 2013.

Mainstream support ends: January 9, 2018

Extended support ends: January 10, 2023

Windows 8

Windows 8 is fully supported today, but you need to update to Windows 8.1 to remain supported under the Windows 8 lifecycle. The deadline is “two years after the General Availability of the Windows 8.1 update,” or October 18, 2015.

The same policy applies to Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 (equivalent to Windows 8.1).

Mainstream support ends: see Windows 8.1

Extended support ends: see Windows 8.1

Windows 7 Service Pack 1

This is currently the most popular release of Windows, and promises to hold that top spot for a long, long time. The following support dates require that you install Service Pack 1 (Windows 7 RTM support ended in April 2009).

Note that these dates are identical for Windows Server 2008 R2.

Mainstream support ends: January 13, 2015

Extended support ends: January 14, 2020

Windows Vista Service Pack 2

Fun fact: As of October 2013 the much-reviled Windows Vista was still in use on more computers than any version of OS X. The mainstream support phase ended in 2012, but extended support will continue for a few more years.

Mainstream support ends: No longer supported

Extended support ends: April 11, 2017

Windows XP Service Pack 3

Windows XP is more than 12 years old. It’s midway through a year-long farewell tour , counting down to April 8, 2014, when Microsoft officially ends its support. XP lived longer than any version of Windows ever, getting multiple extensions on its retirement date to placate customers who said no to Vista. But April 2014 is the end of the road. XP will not get a last-minute reprieve.

Mainstream support ends: No longer supported

Extended support ends: April 8, 2014