RIP W7

You can still update to W10 for free

https://www.howtogeek.com/469859/rip-windows-7-were-going-to-miss-you/
from WinCustomize Forums

W7 ran its course from 2009 to 2020.

MS has notified that there will be no more support for W7, meaning its kernel will become vulnerable to attack:

"Security updates are essential to staying safe online, and Windows 10 is getting them while Windows 7 isn’t. Many flaws found in Windows 10 will also apply to Windows 7. Attackers will hear about them and can start attacking those vulnerable Windows 7 systems. As more time goes by, more unpatched, known flaws will exist in Windows 7 for exploiting. Hardware manufacturers are also supporting Windows 10 instead of Windows 7. This will only get truer after the end-of-support date. Even software companies will one day stop releasing new versions of their web browsers and other software for Windows 7." - How to Geek

Needless to say, drivers compatible to W7 will also not be updated by the various hardware and software companies.

Many aren't updating because their machines might be old. This is another error. W10 will run faster than W7 if the W10 requirements are met, and which aren't so different than the demands of W7.

True, the huge updates are a minus, but, they go hand in hand with security updates as well. Also, the updates have been getting smaller, perhaps because they involve enabling features present in prior downloads which sit quietly on your system until enough testing (supposedly) allows MS to "unmask" them.

The security, or lack thereof in W7, is well explained here: https://www.neowin.net/news/gchq-its-time-to-ditch-windows-7-if-you-want-to-stay-safe-online. GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters), is an intelligence and security organisation responsible for providing signals intelligence and information assurance to the government and armed forces of the United Kingdom.

There's still a way to update to W10 for free: https://www.howtogeek.com/266072/you-can-still-get-windows-10-for-free-with-a-windows-7-8-or-8.1-key/

All in all, W7 is now an OS with a major liability, and you should migrate.

 

gHacks has a good take on W7's end of life: https://www.ghacks.net/2020/01/14/windows-7-support-ends-today-here-are-your-options/?_m=3n%2e0038%2e2414%2ehj0ao01hy5%2e2iur

451,565 views 68 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Done switched today.....

Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting don5318, reply 1

Done switched today.....

Sound move. The risks of continuing to use W7, even though it was a wonderful OS, just aren't justifiable.

DeskScapes - Bring your desktop background to life.
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top

Thanks for the information. :thumbsup:  

Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I posted about this a few days ago.  Thanks Doc.  I gave up on 7 way back when 10 first arrived.  10 is just better under the hood, if not ugly as hell.

 

Security is a must tho.

Reply #5 from Stardock.net Forums Top

I have to say, Windows 10 is just so much better in so many ways than Windows 7 at this point.

Reply #6 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Quoting Frogboy, reply 5

I have to say, Windows 10 is just so much better in so many ways than Windows 7 at this point.

Only with Start10 installed :D  

Reply #7 from Stardock.net Forums Top

Oh right! This was a problem.

I switched 6 months ago. I got a new computer and everything. I figured it would be best to take care of this problem sooner rather than later.

Reply #8 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Every computer here is on 10....except 2.

One is still on XP....it's ancient...gonna experiment with a to 7 to 10 revival....see what happens....

The other one is this one....and I'm definitely NOT ditching 7 yet....;p

Reply #9 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

Quoting Jafo, reply 8

The other one is this one....and I'm definitely NOT ditching 7 yet....

I have an ancient Alienware laptop that I still use occasionally with 7 on it. It came with Vista and I upgraded it to 7.  Tried to upgrade to 10, but it failed because of no drivers for some of the hardware.  I'm stuck with 7 on that machine.

Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting Jafo, reply 8

The other one is this one....and I'm definitely NOT ditching 7 yet....

ESUs are available for businesses, but not for home users, unfortunately.

Make sure you have a good backup...

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4527878/faq-about-extended-security-updates-for-windows-7

Reply #11 from Stardock.net Forums Top

Windows 7 will always have a special place in my heart. I still remember how much of a nightmare Vista was, not just in its visual design but how bad the driver support was, poor optimization etc. With Windows 7 it was like an apology from Microsoft after Vista and it was a breath of fresh air for many users.

Reply #12 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Doc...my backups are auto and daily and redundancy enabled...and I have 'entertaining' methodology when it comes to security...eg...my mobile phone does not do emails....or banking...or shopping....;)

Reply #13 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting SchismNavigator, reply 11

but how bad the driver support was,

It was dead in the water for me....the driver it couldn't 'find' was the network card...so no Internet so no go.

Reply #14 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting Jafo, reply 12

Doc...my backups are auto and daily and redundancy enabled...and I have 'entertaining' methodology when it comes to security...eg...my mobile phone does not do emails....or banking...or shopping....;)

 

Now THAT deserves a major bravo. Glad especially about the phone part. Btw, NEVER use a "free" public charging station for your phone/mobile devices.

Reply #15 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I still run 7 and 8.1 in VMWare.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy.   And since it's a VM, updates aren't as crucial.

Reply #16 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting RedneckDude, reply 15

I still run 7 and 8.1 in VMWare.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy.   And since it's a VM, updates aren't as crucial.

Add to that [currently loaded - tho there's more] - 2 more clones of 7, an XP, SkyOS and ReactOS....;)

And in V Box...an XP, a 98 and another 7 ...;)

Reply #17 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Dang, Paul.

Reply #18 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I upgraded for free a few months ago. However my roommate is sticking to 7 because she fears using Windows 10 and has too many bad things about it. :/

Reply #19 from GalCiv3 Forums Top

I only heard one bad thing about windows 10 people talked about over the years. That is you can't shut down windows sending about user reports to Microsoft. windows 10 does run smoother than windows 7, except in two areas. The start menu isnt labeled start. This doesn't sound like a big deal, unless your old, and like my dad he didn't know ibm computers. So when he turned on the computer, and went to start, and went to help, and support. He figured it out on his own this way. Those days are over now for other people.

The second issue they been trying to change since windows me. I can't run windows without someway to control it. When I first had a computer with windows on it I needed the control panel to do things. Then they shrank control with the control panel with xp. Good thing a friend showed me how to use the classic shell. Now you have to search for the control panel. I can't use the simplified version it usually doesn't do what I want it to do. I try repeatedly settings it just doesn't do anything. 

About Vista not looking good. I don't understand that. How could anyone not think aeroglass doesn't look better. The problem was the other problems with Vista. Your the first who went back to xp I heard of because of how it looks. Irony the only problem I had with Vista they fixed, which was not being able to get my games to run without a lot of hoops. This was fixed by auto loading to registry when you installed. This then caused registry clutter. Which is still not fixed even till this day 10 has the same problem. They never did fix the problem with Vista. People just learned to live with it. At least they stop trying to get rid of the desktop, like they did in 8. Effectively destroying computers as far as I'm concerned. At least they realised that was a mistake. 

Reply #20 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Well , I finally made the switch to 10 yesterday. I'm glad I still had my copy of Start10 which makes it awesome. I have to admit, this version of 10 seems much better than what I recall from earlier versions. So far so good , can't say that I've found anything to complain about. I'm pleasantly surprised.|-)  

--- Ace  ---

Reply #21 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting admiralWillyWilber, reply 19

Now you have to search for the control panel.
Actually, Control Panel is listed in all programs under Windows System. You can pin it to Start or taskbar.  Once it's open you can set it to large icons and see everything.

Also, windows key + x  opens a menu which is handy as hell.  This menu shows Powershell by default, but you can have it default to command prompt in taskbar settings.

Reply #22 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting admiralWillyWilber, reply 19

I only heard one bad thing about windows 10.

Then there was a terrific explosion that made you permanently deaf?

One bad thing?

Good grief.

I reckon I can list about 10 off the top of my head...without resorting to Google.

Hint....do a search on 'issues with win 10'. Scroll to the bottom of the page....and count the pages of hits...;)

Reply #23 from WinCustomize Forums Top

True, but I don't get it.  I am extremely lucky, I suppose.

Reply #24 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Well... a quick search for "issues with Windows 7" doesn't exactly leave me empty handed either. Just saying. Consider me extremely lucky too. ;)