These people drive me absolutely nuts. Why would they completely gimp a NEW machine with Windows XP today? That's so mindless. I mean come on, XP can't even use more than about 3GB of RAM, and it can't use multicore CPU effectively, and yeah, no AHCI is terrible. If he were to ask this of an OEM machine, it would probably be near impossible to get drivers even. Why would anyone be so dead set on ruining modern hardware with XP, and nevermind the security implications and lack of support? What's this guy have against Windows 7 anyways?
What gets me are the people who want a machine with tons of RAM (like 8GB or more), but insist on XP. You try and tell them XP can't use more than 3 and they don't believe you!
Sometimes, you absolutely CAN'T install XP on certain machines. But there are new motherboards, made to deal with it, you build systems around boards like that. XP is not going to vanish just because MS is ending support, Windows 2000 certainly has not vanished, I see it all the time. Mostly in machines configured to run equipment, like Lifts and Smog machines in auto shops. This is the stuff I work on, and they MAKE the equipment with Windows 95, 98, 2000 and XP. New equipment like this is made with older style computers, and that will never stop. Dell makes the systems for this kind of equipment, and a machine I worked on that was brand new, this year, had a Dell Box with Windows XP underlying.
You see, these boxes never get updated and the OS is there to support a shell program that connects to all of the controls of the equipment. There are special interfaces in the PCs, that cannot work with Vista 7 or 8.
When XP is not longer supported? they will continue to make this equipment with XP machines. This is BIG BUSINESS, these machines cost upwards of $15,000- And Windows 8 in no way can act as the host OS. Not even windows 7 can. Since they need no IE, no updates, not dot net, they never have to download updates. Downloading updates will wreck the stability of it.
In 2002 - A shop bought a new Wheel Alignment machine, the box was Windows 95 - It was a BRAND NEW, Dated 2002 version of Windows 95. It came with the OS and Support programs with the manuals. Microsoft will not stop making specialized OSes out of older systems for equipment companies, even though publicly they do not sell or support those OSes. But that Windows 95 was dated years after end of life for 95.