Want $100 From Microsoft? Company Paying Customers To Upgrade Windows XP Computer To Windows 8.1

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) really wants users stop using Windows XP and upgrade to Windows 8. So much that it is offering $100 as an incentive.

If a user can verify that he or she is using a computer running Windows XP that is unable to support Windows 8, Microsoft will give a $100 store credit to use on a new PC priced between $599 and $2,299. Microsoft is also offering 90 days of free support and free data transfer.

Microsoft announced that it will officially end support for Windows XP on April 8, meaning Microsoft will no longer release security updates or provide tech support for Windows XP.

“It is very important that customers and partners migrate to a modern operating system such as Windows 8.1,” Microsoft’s website states. “Customers moving to a modern operating system will benefit from dramatically enhanced security, broad device choice for a mobile workforce, higher user productivity, and a lower total cost of ownership through improved management capabilities.”

Despite the fact that Windows XP is more than 12 years old, Microsoft has had a difficult time moving away from the popular operating system. Windows XP was the most-used operating system on the planet until August 2012, when Windows 7 overtook it, according to NetMarketShare. Windows XP still runs on an estimated 30 percent of the world’s desktops.

Microsoft has had an equally difficult time getting users to adopt its latest operating system. Only 4.3 percent of desktops are running Windows 8.1, less than the amount of computers running Windows 8 (6.4 percent).

Microsoft admits that many older PCs can support Windows XP, hence the promotion. Whether or not it will be successful in converting users to Windows 8, especially while devices like Chromebook continue to rise in popularity, remains to be seen.

The promotion runs through June 15.