Windows 7 support ending in Jan 2020

[dubiousintent]

As many are aware, Windows 7 has been a very good platform for gamers, especially older games. However, free update support (primarily security updates) is ending as of 14 Jan 2020. What are your options?

Microsoft wants you to move to Windows 10. And you will eventually have to move to a newer OS of some sort if you access the Internet; in order to avoid the never ending wave of malware and exploits being released by the thousands each month (no exaggeration). So you need to start preparing for that eventuality. But this is not the end of the story.

What version you get of whatever Windows OS is current makes a big difference. By which we really mean "anything except the Home version" and assuming you have a 64-bit processor, which is most platforms these days. "Home" is the "dumbed down" version installed by default on virtually every computer delivered from the manufacturer, unless you are savvy enough to pay extra for the upgrade (roughly +$100; or for free if you had an older version Pro/Ultimate license) for the more full featured "business" versions: known as "Pro" or (per workstation licensed) "Enterprise". For the single machine user, you want the "Pro" version. ("Enterprise" is for organizations with a managed server network and multiple licensed workstations.) The "Home version has many "features" disabled or inaccessible, to prevent the inexperienced and techno-illiterate "casual user" from creating problems for themselves. It's primary purpose is to make things easier on the Microsoft support staff.

Among the features available with the "Pro" 64-bit version is the ability to run a "Virtual Machine" with other Operating Systems (such as Windows 7 or Linux) on your Windows 10 box, which is already included. This is called the "Hyper-V virtualization platform", and it's much simpler to use than you might expect and has been available (at least as a free download) since Windows 7. See the ZDNet article Windows 10 tip: How to enable Hyper-V and create virtual machines.

So, while you still have time, take a bit to investigate if this option seems within your capabilities. (Frankly, anyone who can mod a Bethesda game should be able to handle Hyper-V.)

-Dubious-

[HeyYou]

I ran windows XP up until around 2014-2015, with no anti-malware app at all. Only reason I upgraded to 7 was because the various browsers stopped supporting XP. I was NOT going to install Vista. Not even at gunpoint. So, end of support really doesn't bother me overmuch. Now, if you upgrade to 7th gen intel hardware, or, equivalent generation AMD hardware, you are pretty much forced to run win 10, as there is no driver support for earlier operating systems.

 

That said, win 10 is MUCH easier to install, and there are various power shell scripts available to 'reclaim windows 10', and turn off most of the telemetry features. (run once, and you are done.) You still have to deal with forced updates, including drivers, and MS installing various stupid crap on your machine, without so much as a 'by your leave'. What possessed MS to think that was a good idea is beyond me. (probably because someone is paying them to do it..... even though 99% of the games are free in any event.) I suspect though, that if you tell Windows you are on a metered connection, (even though you likely are not....) you would be able to avoid most of the stupid stuff, and possibly even drivers.... though I am not 100% sure on that.

 

Now, there ARE third-party programs you can get, that will give you more control over updates...... to the point you can turn them off completely, but, they are third-party apps.... so, not sure how trust-worthy some of them are. You won't really need another anti-malware app either. Defender, while not 'the best', does the job. At least as well as any of the other free a/v apps do. Even some of the paid for a/v's. Given that third-party a/v can interfere with windows updates, to the point of bricking your machine....... I actually recommend that folks just use defender. (I do PC repair for a living.....)

 

Besides, a decent browser, with a good ad-blocker, and you don't even really need defender. Its more about your surfing habits, than anything else. If you don't go to the 'high risk' sites, you are pretty much good to go. (I haven't ran an a/v on my personal machine for years, but, I am the only person that uses it too......)

 

In any event, win 10 pro is a decent O/S, as things win 10 go. It's stable, its quick, and you can configure it to suit your tastes. One feature that I like to turn off is: Fast Start. Under normal circumstances, when you tell win 10 to 'shut down', it stores the current machine state, to include running programs, web pages up on your browser, etc, so, the next time your turn the machine on, it loads that state. Including any problems it was giving you. (like the adware that tells you you have a virus, and if you don't call us RIGHT NOW, the world will end, and you will lose all your data. :) ) Of course, if you restart your machine every now and again, that will purge any transient issues, that a shut down would not. And with SSD's, you don't really notice the minor difference in boot time. Win 10 is pretty quick even when it is starting from scratch. (once installed..... and fully up to date.)

 

Will I switch to 10 before I absolutely HAVE to? Nope. But, I am considering upgrading my machine, so, in that event, I pretty much won't be left a choice, unless I want to go with hardware 3 or 4 generations older....... Ah well. :D

[dubiousintent]

Everyone has to make their own decision as to how much risk they are willing to take regarding external threats. "Security" is always a trade-off with "convenience".

But what many do not realize is that "web sites" have to make the same trade-off. It takes much more effort to keep multiple servers (often in the hundreds or thousands) updated in a timely manner without affecting the bottom line than your single home computer, which is why you get "Data breaches" of banking, credit card/reporting bureaus, and account databases you would expect to maintain high levels of security. And you cannot determine which sites are "safe" merely by the nature of their content. (Know what the "highest risk" sites were 10 years ago? Those listing "music lyrics".) Sites people feel are "safe" are prime hunting grounds for malware vectors.

For well over the last decade the vast majority of malware has come from professional hackers sponsered by criminal organizations and "state actors" (government funded). They are not so much interested in your personal data (though they will be happy to hover up anything they can find) as much as to silently "own" your system as part of their "botnet" of hundreds of thousands or even millions of machines. They don't "punk you" with messages about "all your base are us" or that you are otherwise "pawned". They don't want you to know they are there. They would much rather steal your CPU/GPU cycles to fuel their attacks on major targets with big payoffs. Getting your email addresses and passwords enable them to leverage their way into other sites you have access to, until they get their "big paydays". They build their own server farms of thousands of machines just to "mine crypto-currency" and lay plans that cover years of preparation. "Hacking" is big business and unprotected, unsecured, and out-of-date system "little fish" home computers and laptops are the bottom of the food chain.

Ten years ago when I retired, it took less than half-an-hour from the time we stood up a "public facing" server before it was getting probed by automated systems trying to gain control. I have little doubt it takes less than that today. It probably takes a bit longer before a home system is targeted, but ... remember those botnets? No reason to let them sit idle when you don't have a more lucrative target under attack at the moment. They cost the hacker nothing and are relentless. "No such thing as too many bots."

 

-Dubious-

[goranpaa]

I got very disapointed when I upgraded my PC to an AMD Ryzen system. Only to find out that the mouse and keyboard stopped working at the Win 7 login screen. I later found out that is are because Microsoft do not provide USB driver support for Ryzen. motherboards :- (

 

So I had to go Windows 10 Pro 64, wich I still have mixed feelings about. Luckily, I could get back some of the looks from Windows 7 running the Classic Shell software. And I had to shut down quite many Win 10 apps that just bog down the performance.

 

But I would have been much happier if I could have stayed with the 7.

Edited January 21, 2019 by goranpaa

[dubiousintent]

Many don't realize that when you run a "virtual machine" (VM), you are actually using the installed drivers from the version of Windows (or other OS) in that VM; not those from the "parent shell" Windows version. I still use an XP VM just to run a digital voice recorder app that doesn't have a functional Win7 driver, but in a XP VM on the same hardware it works fine. Just another advantage to using a VM.

 

Not that it will help with hardware that was never supported (never had the appropriate drivers developed). Which is goranpaa's problem with the Ryzen platform and Win7, in case that isn't clear. (It just provided a convenient hook to mention the driver issue. My sympathies.)

 

-Dubious-

[HeyYou]

I got very disapointed when I upgraded my PC to an AMD Ryzen system. Only to find out that the mouse and keyboard stopped working at the Win 7 login screen. I later found out that is are because Microsoft do not provide USB driver support for Ryzen. motherboards :- (

 

So I had to go Windows 10 Pro 64, wich I still have mixed feelings about. Luckily, I could get back some of the looks from Windows 7 running the Classic Shell software. And I had to shut down quite many Win 10 apps that just bog down the performance.

 

But I would have been much happier if I could have stayed with the 7.

When I installed 7 on a newer machine, there was an option in bios for win 7 USB support, of course, I had to update the bios for it to be there......

[3aq]

My two gripes with w10, is the retarded start menu remake. Is it so difficult to implement a native w7 startmenu? Also, I don't like Cortana. It's pretty much clippy dialed to 11.

[xvdoc]

My options?

 

I will turn my computer with win7 into Ubuntu.

 

Buy more powerful computer. I saved some pocket changes since last year. :)

[HadToRegister]

Since Windows 7 support is ending in 2020, that means all of the XP users will be switching to Windows 7 soon.

[goranpaa]

My two gripes with w10, is the retarded start menu remake. Is it so difficult to implement a native w7 startmenu? Also, I don't like Cortana. It's pretty much clippy dialed to 11.

You can do what I did and use the Classic Shell software to fix that start menue.

 

http://www.classicshell.net/

Edited January 23, 2019 by goranpaa