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We have a field Tech that carried an XP Laptop connected to the Internet by a AT&amp;T Data Modem. &nbsp;When the XP Laptop died we replaced it with a Windows 8 Laptop, again connected to the Internet with an AT&amp;T Data Modem (same USB device as before).<br />
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The tech uses the laptop to look up manufacturer's data as well as check in with POP3 Email on a regular basis. &nbsp; Within 3 weeks of switching laptops AT&amp;T gave us notice that we were about ready to blow through the 10 GB of data on our plan. &nbsp;<br />
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The tech swears that he's not using the computer differently than he did the XP laptop. &nbsp; I'm running the same version of Office 2007 on both laptops. &nbsp; We have no Cloud Drive connections on the new or the old laptop. &nbsp; &nbsp;What is driving our data usage up with the new laptop? &nbsp; We never used more than 4 GB with the old XP one. &nbsp; Is Windows 8 fundamentally different to the point where it consumes much more Internet bandwidth than Windows XP? &nbsp;Is there anything that we can do to throttle this computer's appetite for data?<br />
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Thanks.
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We have a field Tech that carried an XP Laptop connected to the Internet by a AT&T Data Modem.  When the XP Laptop died we replaced it with a Windows 8 Laptop, again connected to the Internet with an AT&T Data Modem (same USB device as before).

The tech uses the laptop to look up manufacturer's data as well as check in with POP3 Email on a regular basis.   Within 3 weeks of switching laptops AT&T gave us notice that we were about ready to blow through the 10 GB of data on our plan.  

The tech swears that he's not using the computer differently than he did the XP laptop.   I'm running the same version of Office 2007 on both laptops.   We have no Cloud Drive connections on the new or the old laptop.    What is driving our data usage up with the new laptop?   We never used more than 4 GB with the old XP one.   Is Windows 8 fundamentally different to the point where it consumes much more Internet bandwidth than Windows XP?  Is there anything that we can do to throttle this computer's appetite for data?

Thanks.

Windows 8 Laptop Consumes Way Too Much Cellular Data

The Microsoft Legacy Operating System topic includes legacy versions of Microsoft operating systems prior to Windows 2000: All versions of MS-DOS and other versions developed for specific manufacturers and Windows 3/3.1, Windows 95 and Windows 98, plus any other Windows-related versions, and Windows Mobile.

Microsoft Legacy OS

Windows 8 is a personal computer operating system developed by Microsoft as part of the Windows NT family of operating systems, with an emphasis on improving its user experience on tablets. In particular, these changes included a touch-optimized Windows shell based on Microsoft's "Metro" design language, the Start screen, a new platform for developing apps with an emphasis on touchscreen input, integration with online services, support for USB 3.0, Advanced Format hard drives, near field communications, and cloud computing. Additional security features were introduced, such as built-in antivirus software, integration with Microsoft SmartScreen phishing filtering service and support for UEFI Secure Boot on supported devices with UEFI firmware.

Windows 8

Microsoft Windows XP is the sixth release of the NT series of operating systems, and was the first to be marketed in a variety of editions: XP Home and XP Professional, designed for business and power users. The advanced features in XP Professional are generally disabled in Home Edition, but are there and can be activated. There were two 64-bit editions, an embedded edition and a tablet edition.