How does "extended LTS" work, from a technical point of view?

[TinaMeineKatze]

I've heard some times that large companies and even governments pay for "extended" "long term support", i.e. using Windows XP long after 2014 up to today, or Windows 95 or 98 to much later than originally intended, even with "usual" LTS.

How does that work? How are updates delivered? Are they available over Windows Update? Delivered via a CD or a Floppy? How does it work?

Are there even updates at all anymore, when this is the case? Or does MS just insure the companies against failure of old technology?

[Darkstar]

How does that work? How are updates delivered? Are they available over Windows Update? Delivered via a CD or a Floppy? How does it work?

Yes, they are delivered via Floppy disk. You will receive about 50 to 150 floppy disks every month, and usually at least a few of them are broken so you have to order replacements

[freesoft]

Hello TinaMeineKatze,

I invite you to consult the following links which explains how it works for Windows 7 :
https://learn.microsoft.com/fr-fr/troub ... pdates-faq

The following link for windows 10 : https://learn.microsoft.com/en-US/lifecycle/faq/windows

Good bye

[TinaMeineKatze]

I especially meant how it worked back in XP, or for NT4, where I heard that there was an official SP7 for governments and so on. Today it's just Windows Update probably. Sorry for the confusion.

[Hyoenmadan86]

I especially meant how it worked back in XP, or for NT4, where I heard that there was an official SP7 for governments and so on. Today it's just Windows Update probably. Sorry for the confusion.

Someone lied to you. SP6 rollup update is the last update that exist for any NT4 contract, and it is available to everyone in the Security Update CD. Also there where a few special QFE packages for these clients which actually can potentially alter the OS behavior as how an SP would do. As I said, them were only a few ones, floppy sized, which you could request to MS via email or phone, so they could verify your contract. Almost all them are already available to public via "unofficial" SP packages and QFE compilation archives (thanks to the people who leaked the files).

On old times, these special QFEs were unlocked... But after Windows XP embedded came (also after SP2), MS added a licensing engine and libraries to check such aspects as "special licensing" schemes. Many components in XP after SP2 are linked against such libraries, and on "extended support" QFE packages them check for the "licensing scheme" on your OS. In XP them generally are simple checks which can be bypassed with small registry changes (except the DUN(modem and bluetooth data exchange support) or remote desktop which do certificate validation), but in NT6 (vista+) the checks in every usermode component in the OS involve licensing certificates validation, so you can't tamper them without tampering the licensing checks and feature bits in memory, generally with tools like RDPwrap and such.