Countdown To End Of Windows 7 Has Begun

[launderess]

As of this week's updates (or soon) those still running Windows 7 will be getting messages from Microsoft regarding impending end of support (14 January 2020).

Message further goes on to state what will happen after date (no further updates, tech support, etc...), but in a new twist MS is now telling people to go out and buy a new computer with Windows 10 already installed.

Yes, folks MS states that the "best way to upgrade to Windows 10 is to buy a new computer with system already installed". MS gives their reasoning for offering this advice as "prices for computers have dropped considerably in past several years"....

One assumes MS is talking mainly about laptops and other devices, not desktop PCs, but in any event think they are mad.

Our PC is not that old, and works rather well (thank you very much), and cost rather dear at the time. Am not throwing out a perfectly fine desktop just to get a bit of MS's bloated operating system.

Oh, message does state persons should backup their files to separate hardware or something to make transfer to a new PC/device easy.

I think Bill Gates has gone mad. [this post was last edited: 10/19/2019-06:44]

 

[sfh074]

I'll probably use Win 7 Pro .....

till the day I die. Built the machines, installed the OS and use them everyday. Extremely stable and fast. 2 desktops, 1 laptop all running win7pro.

Redirect Notice

 

[firedome]

I don't believe Gates...

has anything to do with it, he's strictly been technology adviser for the last few years and has no input regarding marketing strategy.

In any event machts nichts, having used mostly Macs since an Apple II+ in 1980, and new iPad and MacBook aren't affected. In the PC world our 5 yr old home-built Windows 7 gamer desktop has run just fine since 2014 with automatic updates off, using it right now. Every succeeding Windows product is worse than the last so why bother.

 

[firedome]

and

ours also is Windows 7 Pro btw. Never a problem.

 

[arbilab]

One can only wish the world had never heard of Microsoft.  Windows is the most ubiquitous example of halfass engineering ever to infest the planet. 

 

Examples only slightly exaggerated:  If automobiles from the beginning were <span style="text-decoration: underline;">e</span>ngineered <span style="text-decoration: underline;">l</span>ike <span style="text-decoration: underline;">W</span>indows, we'd all be riding bicycles and horses.  If airplanes were ELW, only daredevils would fly them and nobody on the ground would be safe.  If central power generation were ELW, we'd be sitting in the cold/hot dark 3/4ths of the time.  If refrigerators were ELW, most of us would be dead from food poisoning.  

 

I've been out of the industry since 2001 so don't know exactly what happened but anecdotally know the result.  The only 3 semi-stable versions of Windows were 98, XP, and 7.  MS never made a browser that actually worked.  You can't paste RTF text from MS Wordpad into MS Outlook without losing formatting.  On and on. 

 

Microsoft is to computing what Saddam Hussein was to the middle east; kinda sorta holding it together, absolutely nobody likes either, and you'd really wish both would just go away and take all traces of their existence with them.  Eventually, probably.  But probably not in what's left of my lifetime.  Kinda like fireants and grass burrs.

 

 

[lordkenmore]

Actually, I like Microsoft's advice to buy a new computer, rather than upgrading an existing system to Windows 10. If people do this, that might mean lots and lots of cheap computers on the used market that I can buy and happily use for years after I upgrade the computer from Windows 7 to Linux.

 

[gusherb]

I upgraded my desktop PC to 10 back when they were offering it to 7 users for free. It works fine even though it’s apparently not supposed to even be running 10. However getting it to work in the first place was a giant pain. My main computer is a Mac and I haven’t had to reinstall Mac OS on it in the nearly 10 years I’ve had it for any reason other than upgrading to an SSD, meanwhile Windows on that desktop managed to self destruct itself twice since I got it in 2011.

 

[lordkenmore]

It's interesting that since the topic of Windows 7 no longer receiving support as of 1/14/20 first came up, I've been noticing more and more commentary from people who are really unhappy with Windows 10, and feel it's a huge step back from Windows 7. Interestingly, some of these people are people with strong computer knowledge/skills--including people working in IT. (In other words, it's not the old woman whining: "The start menu button doesn't look the same! I hate this!"

It's odd that I didn't notice this sooner. But then I don't use Windows, and so I don't pay attention to what is going on in that world.

 

[statomatic]

So what, Micro$hit doesn't have to tell me what I should do...
I'm still using XP and don't know what does "virus" means, just turns off all automatic updates and do it when needed (a "downdate" is usually worse than a virus).
Also use 7 but I can't use some old 16bits apps and I don't like the regression of some functions (the 7's pictures viewer isn't able to play anim gif's while the XP's pictures viewer do !)
10 is the worst os ever, it makes you the slave of the computer, you can't really turn off the updates, m$ spy everything you do, a lot of (expensive) apps are not allowed by windows for unknown reasons...

 

[DADoES]

 
At least one desktop I use can't be updated or replaced.  Management software for the digital projectors does not work on Win10.  I tried updating it when 10 was available for free.  The projector management package wouldn't run, nada.  Tech support advised it doesn't run on 10 and had no target date for a re-write so had to roll-back to 7.  Have heard nothing further from them on that point.  Remains to be seen if anything changes in regards to the death announcement for 7.

Three other 7s I tried updating advised no Win10 drivers are available for one or more bits of hardware ... and these were/are not particularly old systems.

RJ has a crucial meter-reading program at work (related, I think, to demand calculations) that is stuck on an XP desktop.  It's no longer supported, no updates available, and, while it may or may not work on 7+, they can't move or install it to a different computer (they've tried) because the license key apparently is tied to the hardware.

 

[lowefficiency]

>> Every succeeding Windows product is worse than the last so why bother.

You really think so?

Windows 3.1 was better than Windows 3.0. Likewise, Windows 98 SE was significantly better than Windows 98... which was better than Windows 95 OSR2.1, which was far better than Windows 95. And Windows 7 was certainly better than Vista... or (shudder) Windows ME. And I'd definitely prefer to use Windows 10 over Windows 8.

 

[thomasortega]

Windows 10 is working so beautifully after the last 2 updates. It doesn't even look like a Microsoft product, so perfect and stable it is.

 

[beagledad]

I'm still using Windows 7 Pro. I really like it. Windows 3.1 will always be my favorite though. It never gave you any trouble and always did as it was told. I still have it on my 486 machine.

 

[mattl]

BTW,,,

Win 10 is still free if you know where to look...

 

[kb0nes]

I just upgraded four Win 7 computers to Win 10 due to a compatibility issue forced by an update to our CRM software. I just Googled the Windows 10 Upgrade Assistant and it went through easily and without cost.

I have to say I do really dislike the look of the GUI of Win 10, but otherwise it is a better operating system then Windows 7. I'd only choose 7 if for some reason the computer can't do Win 10

I have used and worked on every version of Windows over all the years. By and large the "best" version of Windows is generally the latest one. They have had some big clunkers though, ME and Vista come to mind and 95 was no treat either. Several of those were just early releases to keep the shareholders happy I think. Kinda like Intel's dog of a 286

Microsoft still has a ways to go to end up with an OS that works as well and as seamlessly as MacOS. But in fairness Apple has the big advantage of only having to make software that works on their own hardware so it is much easier (and better). Having to try to be compatible with everyone's hardware builds in a lot of compromise. The Android OS suffers from this same affliction.

 

[lowefficiency]

>> Microsoft still has a ways to go to end up with an OS that works as well and as seamlessly as MacOS.

Not sure that is so true anymore, after the mess that is macOS Catalina...

 

[vacbear58]

"I just Googled the Windows 10 Upgrade Assistant and it went through easily and without cost."

How did you manage that Phil, I tried it but it seems to want a payment of £220.00 - I will admit I am not a computer professional

Al

 

[lordkenmore]

This might interest some here. It talks about the possibility of running Windows 7 past the end of support--and it doesn't scream: "You must upgrade!"

QUOTE:

In January 2020, Windows 7 will come to the supported end of its respectable lifecycle. After this point, there will be no more updates from Microsoft. Since there are roughly 500 million active Windows 7 devices still out there, this raises a very important question: What should existing users do now, and for how much longer can they continue using Windows 7 in a manner that is safe, smart and logical?

I thought, here's a great opportunity to address this concern. I will explore the Windows 7 question from three main angles: security, hardware (and performance), and functionality. We did this thing when Windows XP was about to be retired, and we will do it again now. Oh, and rule no.1: don't panic!

https://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/windows-7-end-of-support-guide.html

(Disclaimer: I, myself, don't endorse the idea of running Windows 7 after support ends...but then I can be a bit paranoid--particularly when it comes to Windows security!)

 

[sudsomatic]

I learned years ago...

 

 

That Computer operating systems are comparable to cars. You can make your case all day, but you'll never convince a Ford owner that Chevy also makes a great truck.

 

Mac and Windows... different genre, same feelings.

 

I've always had Windows. I kept XP for a long time once Vista was released and they were slowly fazing it out. I was later glad for that when I heard how wonky Vista was. A few years back when I decided to upgrade PC's the only option for my new purchase was Windows7 but I found I liked it a lot as an upgrade from XP. Still do.

 

I feel like as long as I always back up my important data to an external, have some kind of firewall and virus protection from Norton or similar, use a stable browser that is consistently updated and just surf responsibly, all those updates and fixes from MS aren't necessarily necessary. In fact I have a data cap on my internet and often skip the big updates until the end of the billing cycle (on Win7) just because I don't want to drain my bandwidth bucket too quickly. Sometimes I let them buildup for months.