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End of Windows XP support in Pale Moon Starting with Pale Moon 27.0, we no longer support Windows XP and other Windows versions from the same era (Server 2003, etc.) in any of our builds. Please switch off checking for updates! No further updates will be provided for Windows XP users. With care, you may want to continue running Pale Moon 26.5.0 on your Windows XP system, or switch to a different browser that still maintains support for XP. If you choose to continue using Pale Moon, we kindly ask that you switch off automatic updates in the browser to avoid unnecessary load on our web server and for your own safety (in case there is a misconfiguration in the future or similar - accidents do happen - resulting in being served an incompatible update, for example). Go to (Tools->)Options -> Advanced -> Update, and select "Never check for updates": Why was Windows XP support discontinued by Pale Moon? Unlike Firefox, that will (for now) continue to offer Windows XP as a supported operating system in its main-line products, Pale Moon has discontinued support for this OS. Considering the large number of users still on Windows XP, this has not been done without some good reasons, outlined below: OS security considerations: Windows XP is no longer supported or maintained by its developer (Microsoft) and lacks continued security updates that are needed in this day and age of malware. It's considered End of Life since April 2014, and using it is inherently taking a security risk. Also understand that Windows XP lacks some features in terms of program security and stronger security certificates. Kernel compatibility: Windows XP is built on the NT kernel version 5. This kernel has a significantly different architecture and set of APIs than the later generation (NT6) that all later versions of Windows (including Windows 10) are built on. Keeping compatibility with the older generation significantly hampers development and performance of the browser. Stability considerations: Forcing NT 5.x kernel compatibility has shown to cause stability issues, especially with the optimizations used in Pale Moon. Being able to use more modern (Vista and later) windows functions, as well as the more native target for the Microsoft compiler in use, improves stability. Graphics subsystem compatibility: Pale Moon's graphics subsystem is aimed at being able to use DirectX 10 or later, something that is not available in Windows XP.
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End of Windows XP support in Pale Moon

Starting with Pale Moon 27.0, we no longer support Windows XP and other Windows versions from the same era (Server 2003, etc.) in any of our builds.

Please switch off checking for updates!

No further updates will be provided for Windows XP users. With care, you may want to continue running Pale Moon 26.5.0 on your Windows XP system, or switch to a different browser that still maintains support for XP.
If you choose to continue using Pale Moon, we kindly ask that you switch off automatic updates in the browser to avoid unnecessary load on our web server and for your own safety (in case there is a misconfiguration in the future or similar - accidents do happen - resulting in being served an incompatible update, for example).

Go to (Tools->)Options -> Advanced -> Update, and select "Never check for updates":

Why was Windows XP support discontinued by Pale Moon?

Unlike Firefox, that will (for now) continue to offer Windows XP as a supported operating system in its main-line products, Pale Moon has discontinued support for this OS. Considering the large number of users still on Windows XP, this has not been done without some good reasons, outlined below:

OS security considerations: Windows XP is no longer supported or maintained by its developer (Microsoft) and lacks continued security updates that are needed in this day and age of malware. It's considered End of Life since April 2014, and using it is inherently taking a security risk. Also understand that Windows XP lacks some features in terms of program security and stronger security certificates.
Kernel compatibility: Windows XP is built on the NT kernel version 5. This kernel has a significantly different architecture and set of APIs than the later generation (NT6) that all later versions of Windows (including Windows 10) are built on. Keeping compatibility with the older generation significantly hampers development and performance of the browser.
Stability considerations: Forcing NT 5.x kernel compatibility has shown to cause stability issues, especially with the optimizations used in Pale Moon. Being able to use more modern (Vista and later) windows functions, as well as the more native target for the Microsoft compiler in use, improves stability.
Graphics subsystem compatibility: Pale Moon's graphics subsystem is aimed at being able to use DirectX 10 or later, something that is not available in Windows XP.