Thanks for the explanation. OK, I understand that the x86 compiler you are using is not XP/2k3 compatible. You are using VC2012 with certain compiler switches that are not compatible with 5.x kernel. And rather than developing 2 code streams, you decided not to support older 5.x kernel windows. That's OK.
And yes MS has decided to drop support for older OS. I understand (and agree) with their strategy. But the argument that it is the users problem that they have "an old OS" is as logical as saying... there are more XP/2K3 installations out there than Macs. Therefore no company should develop or support software for Macs. (Oh how MS would love to say that!
) Or that SATA is already 13 years old, therefore W7 should not include compatibility with IDE devices. Or USB 1.x. Or LAN 10/100. Or wifi a/b.
Yes, XP might be "out of date", but it is still very common:
http://www.cnn.co.uk/2012/09/03/tech/gaming-gadgets/microsoft-windows-7/index.html, esp. in markets outside of the US.
Yes, it's OK to make a decision not to support it. But every other benchmark x86 I've come across
is compatible with XP. So saying your benchmark is x86 compatible or providing an x86.exe is likely to cause a lot of confusion. That isnt your fault, but a problem caused by MS and kernel 6.x vs kernel 5.x. I'd definitely recommend you put up a warning on the download site and say W7, W8 compatible, not compatible with XP/2K3. The reason is a requirement for Kernel 6.x APIs.
Look, we've already spent a good 10 minutes discussing this problem. Without letting people know the restrictions of your x86 download, other people will hit the same problem and you are going to have to answer them. So put up a notice! Or fix the error message. It shouldnt say, "not a valid x86 application", but "only compatible with Kernel 6.x and above". Perhaps you have no control over that error message, in which case MS should hang their head in shame for yet another unhelpful and confusing dialog box!
You suggested I upgrade? I can't disagree that that is a nice idea in theory. But even if you offered to pay for 5x copies of W7, I would not install them on all my machines. What are they? Webserver, fileserver, netbook, MAIN MACHINE, wife's PC.
While I would be happy to upgrade the MAIN MACHINE, and would benefit from the upgrade, there is no reason to update the others. There really are no benefits. MS still maintains security updates for XP/2K3. And the cost + time and effort to bring no features or usability benefit to the other machines means downtime without win. In fact, the netbooks were DOWNGRADED from W7 starter to XP because, as you know, W7 is a disaster on a low powered machine.
And just like you don't want to maintain 2 code streams for your benchmark, because it is a PITA - and I unsderstand that - the same argument might hold for my PCs... do I want to maintain 2 application sets, Windows updates sets, OS image sets, etc. for my installations!