Microsoft Support for Windows 7 Ends January 14, 2020

[Wiz Feinberg]

Microsoft announced it will no longer support the Windows 7 operating system after January 14, 2020. You can click on, or copy and paste the URL below into a new browser page for more information.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows ... in7upgrade.

Microsoft also has a support end-of-life webpage that provides the date support ends for existing Microsoft operating systems including Windows 8 and all editions of Windows 10. The webpage is periodically updated as needed. Click on, or copy and paste the URL below into a new browser tab for more information.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/hel ... fact-sheet

How does this affect Windows 7 users?

Assuming your installation of Windows 7 is legitimate, you can continue using it until the computer/laptop breaks down. To quote Microsoft:

While you could continue to use your PC running Windows 7, without continued software and security updates, it will be at greater risk for viruses and malware.

When Windows XP lost Windows Update support, software companies, including anti-malware vendors, began dropping updates for Windows XP. The same thing will happen to Windows 7 PCs. Updates will slow and eventually stop for programs you may have installed and which you may depend upon. Your programs will fall behind the current versions and your computer's security will decrease.

There is no longer a free upgrade path from Windows 7 to Windows 10 (that ended 3 years ago), but you can buy into Windows 10. According to Microsoft:

You can purchase and download Windows 10 on your device today.* Although, if your computer is more than three years old, it might be time to consider upgrading to a new device.

If your computer's hardware and drivers support Windows 10, you will be good to go forward with the new OS. However, as new motherboards are rolled out, older boards eventually stop receiving driver updates. When driver updates don't keep up with security patches, onboard adapters stop working (e.g., audio, graphics, networking).

* You can purchase Windows 10 licenses directly from Microsoft, or from a licensed Windows computer builder/installer, or from an authorized online reseller (e.g., Newegg, Tiger Direct, Dell, HP, Microtec, etc).

[Dan Kelly]

Am I reading that correctly? Windows 8.1 will be supported longer than Windows 10?

[Jim Fogle]

Am I reading that correctly? Windows 8.1 will be supported longer than Windows 10?

Windows 8.1 has a fixed end-of life date of January 10, 2023. After that date Microsoft doesn't support Windows 8.1 just like they no longer support Windows XP, 2000, Me, 98, 95, 3.1, or DOS and as of next month Windows 7.

The term "Windows 10" is no longer a clear identifier of what Windows operating system you mean. Now you also need to refer to the Windows 10 build number. For example Windows 10 build 1903 was released May, 2019.

Each Windows 10 build is supported with patches released monthly as needed for 18 months after it's release date. Using the example above, Windows 10 build 1903 support ends December, 2020. However there is a really good chance your computer won't be using Windows 10 build 1903 by December, 2020.

That's because major builds are released twice a year and your computer will likely automatically update to a later build before December, 2020.

So instead of focusing on the operating system name the build number is more relevant.

[Wiz Feinberg]

Although the free upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 supposedly ended a few years ago, I can confirm that you can still perform an online upgrade to Windows 10 for free. But, there are some caveats.

1. Your copy of Windows must be properly licensed and activated. If your copy is unlicensed, or the product key is on a blacklist, the upgrade will fail.
2. You need an Internet connection to download and activate Windows 10.
3. Your computer must meet the minimum requirements for CPU speed, amount of installed RAM and free space on the primary drive.
4. Your old OS can be 32 or 64 bit, but 64 works smoother and supports more RAM.
5. You must have an administrator level account on the computer and, if you normally use a Standard User account (like me), you should log into the admin level account to perform the upgrade.
6. There is no guarantee this will work on your computer, or how long it will be permitted by Microsoft.
7. Incompatible programs will be uninstalled during the upgrade.
8. You can tell the Upgrade Wizard to keep your personal files and settings (that are compatible with W10). Established user accounts will be preserved, along with your Windows login passwords, unless you tell the upgrade to toss the existing accounts, files and settings.

You can read the details in this Bleeping Computer tutorial.

[b0b]

Windows Live Mail for Windows 7 stopped working with Gmail IMAP last summer. I spent over an hour today trying to fix it (as I did back then), but it's pretty hopeless. Apparently W7 doesn't support modern security encryption protocols.

This broke the email capability of my accounting program. Not a big deal - I rarely use that feature - but an annoyance when I need to email a purchase order. Now I have to save it to a PDF first to get it into Gmail. That's probably better anyway, even if it is a little more work.

[Bill Ladd]

Thanks Wiz. My rarely-used desktop was Vista until last night! A few clicks and a bit of download time and done.

B

[Wiz Feinberg]

Windows Live Mail for Windows 7 stopped working with Gmail IMAP last summer. I spent over an hour today trying to fix it (as I did back then), but it's pretty hopeless. Apparently W7 doesn't support modern security encryption protocols.

When I upgraded three Windows 7 computers to Windows 10, Windows Live Mail carried over and was upgraded. I use it to this day with over a dozen email accounts on each computer (1 is an older emergency backup PC). But, I use POP3 and SMTP, with secure ports, not IMAP. I set the office laptop computer to not delete read emails unless I delete them manually. This way I can download, read and reply at the shop without losing those messages when I get home later on.

[Bill Sinclair]

Although the free upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 supposedly ended a few years ago, I can confirm that you can still perform an online upgrade to Windows 10 for free. But, there are some caveats.

1. Your copy of Windows must be properly licensed and activated. If your copy is unlicensed, or the product key is on a blacklist, the upgrade will fail.
2. You need an Internet connection to download and activate Windows 10.
3. Your computer must meet the minimum requirements for CPU speed, amount of installed RAM and free space on the primary drive.
4. Your old OS can be 32 or 64 bit, but 64 works smoother and supports more RAM.
5. You must have an administrator level account on the computer and, if you normally use a Standard User account (like me), you should log into the admin level account to perform the upgrade.
6. There is no guarantee this will work on your computer, or how long it will be permitted by Microsoft.
7. Incompatible programs will be uninstalled during the upgrade.
8. You can tell the Upgrade Wizard to keep your personal files and settings (that are compatible with W10). Established user accounts will be preserved, along with your Windows login passwords, unless you tell the upgrade to toss the existing accounts, files and settings.

You can read the details in this Bleeping Computer tutorial.

Thanks for this! I used the link above to upgrade from Windows 7 to 10 this past weekend and, other than taking all day Saturday to load, it went pretty smoothly. I was expecting some questions to pop up as to the compatibility of my computer for running Win 10 but I guess the program just looked for itself and went ahead with loading. My HP computer, FWIW, has: 3.1 GHz CPU, 8 GB of RAM, 64 bit OS, registered copy of Win 7

[Jim Pitman]

My philosophy about updating MS operating Systems?
Don't bother. Just buy another computer for two to three hundred bucks with the latest OS. Use it as your daily computer but hang onto the old.

Here's why:
1. Your expensive peripheral hardware may stop working. If you don't want to buy new printer/scanner/plotter/you name it, you are best to keep your old computers/os attached as work stations for the peripherals. Files from your newest working computer can be transferred to the peripheral workstations easy enough usually without trouble.
2. As an engineer I have some very expensive drafting programs that I'd have to relicense for a new operating system. I bought these back when you owned software. You weren't renting it with an annual fee like you do now. They still work and have no expiration date in them.
3. If your daily use software programs go obsolete and out of support due to no upgrade path for new OS, so what. They are quite mature and problem free at this point. Do you really want to abandon your native knowledge about how to use them and take beaucoup time to relearn something new?
4. Often new versions of software are worse or have a reduced feature set. A case in point, MS office back in the late 90s came on about 35 floppy disks, but man, it had every feature in the world and you didn't have to pay extra. Most software revision that occurred about 15-20 years ago was related to "licensing" ($). the base software hasn't changed much and has become worse in many cases.
5. If you watnt to keep current, you are better off upgrading your hardware as well for the reasons mentioned in the original post.

I know I sound I may sound like a luddite but I really have grown to hate being manipulated by MS into buying the latest. That business model is great for MS but causes greif, apprehension and loss of productive time for me.

[Jack Stoner]

Hanging on to the old is OK as long as the old still works. If it develops a hardware problem and quits you are at the point of forced upgrade. That old Win 7 or whatever OS is fine but off line only, never connect it to the internet. People are out there just waiting to infiltrate these old systems.

Corporations take the upgrading cautiously as there is a lot of $$ involved in hardware/software/training. But eventually they do upgrade as the old hardware becomes unreliable and unrepairable and the old OS and applications software is no longer supported.

I was in communications and computers for 40 years (I'm retired) and the one given in these areas was "change". Its a constant change and you have to accept it or you are left behind.

[Jim Pitman]

I agree with you Jack that cruising the net with an outdated OS could be dangerous, but on the other hand, I think most hackers don't bother hacking old OSs. - Not enough payback.
I plan to buy a new computer with new OS, but you won't catch me upgrading the old.
More often than not hardware stops working because of a software upgrade. I've had USB units, CD units, card readers,etc stop working as a result of an OS update. I bring it to the local computer fix it guys and they do something with a drive and voila it comes back. Hard drives are mechanical and used to break but ICs don't typically.
Yes eventually I'll be screwed but for now I'll continue to use my IBM thinkpad XP system with pre-licensed Orcad rather than pay $1000.00/year to license. Same with my drafting program, the alternative being paying the same yearly dough for Autodesk. I have the means to scan a document with an old win98 system hooked up to my outdated but well running scanner.
Change is good and bad. Change to add features or speed things up is good. Change to generate more hardware sales is bad.

[Terry Perry]

I agree with you Jack that cruising the net with an outdated OS could be dangerous, but on the other hand, I think most hackers don't bother hacking old OSs. - Not enough payback.
I plan to buy a new computer with new OS, but you won't catch me upgrading the old.
More often than not hardware stops working because of a software upgrade. I've had USB units, CD units, card readers,etc stop working as a result of an OS update. I bring it to the local computer fix it guys and they do something with a drive and voila it comes back. Hard drives are mechanical and used to break but ICs don't typically.
Yes eventually I'll be screwed but for now I'll continue to use my IBM thinkpad XP system with pre-licensed Orcad rather than pay $1000.00/year to license. Same with my drafting program, the alternative being paying the same yearly dough for Autodesk. I have the means to scan a document with an old win98 system hooked up to my outdated but well running scanner.
Change is good and bad. Change to add features or speed things up is good. Change to generate more hardware sales is bad.

Still using W7 Pro and AutoCad 2012. Also use Adobe Acrobat Pro X. The Auto Cad and Acrobat are stand alone. Hoping I can keep it limping along till' retirement in 5 years. Not looking forward to upgrading to new OS, Adobe and AutoDesk since the new versions (ACAD & Adobe Pro) are not stand alone and have an annual subscription fee. Although, I will IF I have to.

[Terry Perry]

If one wants to go online with an outdated OS, one can do so if one is well protected against browser and downloaded file exploits. I am talking about Malwarebytes, or similar real time protection. An ongoing subscription to the program is cheaper than a new PC and you can continue using your standalone paid programs Get in touch with me for more info and a link to get it. This is how I protect my PCs.

Yeah right....someone always trying to sell something. No thanks, I can find (and already have plenty of) my own protection.

I won't be replying to this thread anymore.

[Erv Niehaus]

Jim,
I did as you advised.
I bought a used Dell with Windows 10 along with a switch so I can use my old computer and the new one with the same monitor and keyboard.
I bought the Dell on Ebay for $110.00 delivered.
Erv

[Larry Petree]

Is there anyone on the forum that can help me with my password. Ever day, it takes me about an hour to get the right password to open the forum? Thank you.
Larry Petree
Bakersfield CA 93308
Lpetree@bak.rr.com or larrylpetree@aol.com

[Wiz Feinberg]

Is there anyone on the forum that can help me with my password. Ever day, it takes me about an hour to get the right password to open the forum? Thank you.
Larry Petree
Bakersfield CA 93308
Lpetree@bak.rr.com or larrylpetree@aol.com

If you are logged into the forum you can view and edit your profile. One of the settings is labeled Settings and it has a place to change your password to something you can remember better.

[b0b]

Re: Topic Reply Notification - Microsoft Support for Windows 7 Ends January 14, 2020

7:39 AM (3 hours ago)

to postmaster@bb.steelguitarforum.com

How can I upgrade from Windows 7 to one that works? Larry Petree