Windows 7 End of Life Questions

[Wingman]

I know that extended support for Windows 7 ends January 2020. I also know that Windows will not cease to function on that date. If I wanted to continue to use Windows 7 for as long as possible, how long do you think I could continue to do so? My demands on an OS are small; word processing (using Office Libre right now), picture storage, surfing the web, using a few specialty programs that run fine on Windows 7. I don't do any gaming. If I had to, I could switch to another OS (I have in the past), I just don't want to because Windows 7 does all I need. So, how long do you think it will be before something forces me to switch?

Will Windows 7 Professional last any longer than Windows 7?

Thank you for your experience and insight.

 

[sleddriver]

I used WXP until a yr or two ago. Now using 7. Should have switched long ago, as 7 is vastly superior. 7 will be around for a very long time, even unsupported.

 

[beanoil]

7 will last until you get a situation where a weak point is exploited and there is no patch for it.
Really, for what you do, Zorin is all you need, with the added benefit of free. Very windows like, it's a real nice Linux load.

 

[Leo99]

I run win7 also. People still run winXP today, so it will continue to run indefinitely. Only things to worry about are new programs and malicious attacks.

 

[i_hate_autofraud]

When 2020 rolls around I'd totally turn off all Updates so windows doesn't ping MS for update status
and not receive an answer back and hang-up at your end.

 

[Wampahoofus]

I bet you could use it until 2022 before it becomes truly obsolete. If Windows 98 and XP are anything to go by, you've got about 2-3 years after end-of-life before new core programs like web browsers stop being supported. You can probably still use it after that but, like using XP today, you'd have to accept ever-increasing shortcomings and lack of usability.

 

[Bronco1]

As long as your hardware lasts and versions of the software you use remain are compatible with win 7, you can use it as long as you want. The question I would ask you is why would you after 2020? No more security patches for your OS and likely, your browser after EoL. Being hacked isn't just about ransomeware or getting your personal information stolen. Often they set your machine to run as a host to push exploits to other systems, similar to what is happening to IoT, bots and malware can participate in larger attacks likes denial of service attacks without the user knowing. Using software and operating systems after end of life doesn't just put you at risk, it puts the rest of us at risk as well.

 

[Wolf359]

I'm not sure why you never upgraded to Windows 10 when you had the chance. You're just making things more complicated. You can still upgrade to 10 for free, people using assistive technology like the magnifier qualify.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/accessibility/windows10upgrade

 

[NJ_Car_Owner]

What will make Windows 7 or your hardware obsolete is new programs or technology. If you don't upgrade programs then it will probably work forever especially if you clone your hard drive and if you upgrade the computer then you could put Windows 7 on the new one. As the digital age moves forward things may make Windows 7 or your hardware creep along. I had a Celeron processor machine before this one and as the internet became more heavily graphic oriented I needed to upgrade hardware. If you "need" a new program it may not support Windows 7 and then the decision will have to be made on what to do. If you stay status quo then you may never need to upgrade anything.

I recently went on a service call for a computer at my job that was running DOS - strictly DOS ... so operating systems can have a life of their own if not bothered.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Windows 10 is better than 7 and 8.

 

[Ethan1]

Once MS stops providing patches, it's like driving a car with no airbags. Does it work? Yes. Is it possible that everything will be fine? Yes. But if things go wrong, you'll wish that you'd stayed up-to-date.

 

[maximus]

Just get a new machine when the time comes and it will have the most current OS. PCs are cheap and disposable.

 

[BrocLuno]

I still run XP ... Microsoft could not get out of supporting XP because it was/is embedded in the OS of bank ATMs and other hard coded systems. So my bet is Win 7 has some residual carry over too

 

[Ethan1]

They did get out of supporting Windows XP. You haven't been receiving security updates for over 3 years!

Trust me, I understand. I didn't want to abandon Windows 98 for XP, I didn't want to give up XP for 7, et cetera. The newest offerings are so bad that I've gone 100% Linux.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Newest offerings (Windows 10) are the best-ever.

 

[JustinH]

I never understand folks who keep a computer for 10 years or whatever.

Computers are getting cheap, it is almost at the point where a computer is the cost of the OS.

My daily used laptop was less than 200 dollars from Dell, including windows 10.

With the day of online shopping, online financial, I would not want to surf the internet on a windows xp box period.

 

[simple_gifts]

Originally Posted By: Ethan1
Once MS stops providing patches, it's like driving a car with no airbags. Does it work? Yes. Is it possible that everything will be fine? Yes. But if things go wrong, you'll wish that you'd stayed up-to-date.


"Spot on" analogy.

 

[Triton_330]

Originally Posted By: Wolf359
I'm not sure why you never upgraded to Windows 10 when you had the chance. You're just making things more complicated. You can still upgrade to 10 for free, people using assistive technology like the magnifier qualify.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/accessibility/windows10upgrade


Heck no! I just graduated from college with a degree in Computer Science, and also interned at a local college in their IT department last summer. Windows 10 is baaad. Windows 7 is still the best Windows version at the moment.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Originally Posted By: Triton_330
Originally Posted By: Wolf359
I'm not sure why you never upgraded to Windows 10 when you had the chance. You're just making things more complicated. You can still upgrade to 10 for free, people using assistive technology like the magnifier qualify.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/accessibility/windows10upgrade


Heck no! I just graduated from college with a degree in Computer Science, and also interned at a local college in their IT department last summer. Windows 10 is baaad. Windows 7 is still the best Windows version at the moment.


That's funny!
Privacy (as-in ads / shopping habits....etc) is the only backstep Microsoft has taken since Windows 7 years ago. The operating systems today are much better now with Windows 10.

If Microsoft wants to know that I like oil forums, gun forums, baseball forums and hunting forums, that's OK with me. Go ahead and cater ads to suit my surfing and buying habits online. I really don't care - especially since I haven't seen an ad on my computer in several years, thanks to Adblock Plus, Malwarebytes and UBlock Origin.

Microsoft's Windows 10 is so much better than 7 or 8.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Triton_330
Originally Posted By: Wolf359
I'm not sure why you never upgraded to Windows 10 when you had the chance. You're just making things more complicated. You can still upgrade to 10 for free, people using assistive technology like the magnifier qualify.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/accessibility/windows10upgrade


Heck no! I just graduated from college with a degree in Computer Science, and also interned at a local college in their IT department last summer. Windows 10 is baaad. Windows 7 is still the best Windows version at the moment.


The problem with Windows 10 isn't that it is "bad" per se, but rather that it is, like any other "new" Microsoft OS, not "final", which makes dealing with it in an enterprise environment difficult.

Since SP1, Windows 7 has been very static. What works with it works with it and nothing magically changes itself seemingly without warning. The same cannot be said for Windows 10 where with the major build updates still being rolled out, things change significantly.

The problem for me however is that MS's approach with 10 has changed in that it will never be "final", that there will supposedly always be another "release" around the corner which, for environments that depend on static images, promises to upend the stable model which they have traditionally followed.

When discussions like these invariably come up I find it quite common for Jimmy Home User to thump his chest telling everyone how awesome Windows 10 is, just like he did with Windows 8 and 8.1, neither of which ever achieved any significant penetration in the Enterprise. The logistical challenges posed by an OS still in a state of flux; still a moving target doesn't register on his radar, nor should it, as those challenges are generally unique to large-scale deployments with which he is unfamiliar.

That's my 2 cents anyways. The healthcare industry is still rolling out Windows 7 in new deployments and Lenovo, HP and DELL still sell business systems with 7 as the default image, demonstrating that even in smaller scale deployments where a common image and downgrade licensing aren't in place, that a significant demand for 7 still exists.