Around 100,000 people worldwide have signed a petition asking Microsoft to save Windows XP.

The petition wants retailers to continue selling the software after the planned 30 June 2008 end of sales date until problems with Vista are ironed out.

Hardware that works on XP often does not work with Vista because manufacturers won’t develop the appropriate drivers.

This means people have to shell out for compatible products. There are also fears older PCs lack the power to cope with Vista’s graphics and programs.

In recent research, analysts at Gartner also found that people and businesses had “significantly delayed” the move to Vista for late 2008 and 2009 because of the lack of support offered by Microsoft.

Security technologist Bruce Schneier has advised people not to panic. He told Computeractive that he agreed with the petition. He said he had not yet moved to Vista because there were still “many, many users who don't need to upgrade.”

He claimed Microsoft was taking XP off the shelves for its own agenda.

The Government advisory body on IT in education, BECTA, has also advised schools not to install Vista. The organisation issued a paper in January 2008 that said Vista’s features were more relevant to businesses then education.

Microsoft, which extended the availability of XP from September 2007 to June this year said it was aware of the petition. It did not say whether it would extend the shelf life of the product but claimed it would “continue to be guided by feedback from partners and customers”.