Shame the handy cousin didn't just install Classic Start Menu...
Last I checked, Classic Start Menu was merely cosmetic, it didn't magically make your Windows 8 installation magically sprout drivers or run older software.
We have to use Windows XP at work for some things: namely I have to because of some Windows CE 5 devices we support that require ActiveSync 4.5, and some of my colleagues do because the Rockwell Automation software requires it for running PLC simulators.
Everywhere else it's either Linux, Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008r2, the former two being the majority.