Windows 7 support ends

[Enough!Participant @enough]

Posted by Windy on 15/01/2020 11:08:41:

PC World recommends not using IE if still on Windows 7 as not security supported on that 7 system.

 

FWIW, according to Microsoft, security updates for Win-7 are only ended through Windows-update. They will still be providing Win-7 security updates via a paid subscription. (I won't bother).

edit: Interesting thing though: today (15 Jan) I got Windows Update for improvements to the servicing stack. This is the Windows component that installs updates  ( ! )     

Edited By Bandersnatch on 15/01/2020 22:28:51

[Grindstone CowboyParticipant @grindstonecowboy]

Posted by Bandersnatch on 15/01/2020 22:01:08:

FWIW, according to Microsoft, security updates for Win-7 are only ended through Windows-update. They will still be providing Win-7 security updates via a paid subscription.

Do you have a link for that?

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Harry Wilkes on 15/01/2020 21:55:58:

Not at all link

https://www.cdkeys.com/

H

.

Interesting to see that cdkeys appears to have changed tack since this review: **LINK**

https://thelegality.com/reviews/is-cdkeys-legit/

[/quote]

As their name would suggest. game cd keys are the main source of business for cdkeys.com. However, they also trade in various gift cards and top-ups. Many of cdkey.com’s competing websites like Kinguin and G2A also sell various software keys, such as Windows keys and Antivirus keys. However, cdkeys is still almost entirely focused on their specific niche – video game cd keys. They don’t sell in-game currencies, virtual skins, Windows keys, or anything of the sort. Cdkeys has its niche, and it’s sticking to it.

[/quote]

.

It’s of no relevance to me … but thanks for your clarification

MichaelG

[GeorgineerParticipant @georgineer]

Posted by Peter Bell on 15/01/2020 16:10:53:

… just received an update for my W7 as I shut down earlier. Rather strange but all seems to be working ok after the installation. Odd on the day support ends. Anyone else had that happen?

Yes I did, and it makes perfect sense to me. The day after support ended they rolled up all the outstanding issues into a ball and shot it down the wires to us, meaning that they have dealt with all the known issues, and don't have to concern themselves with any future ones.

George

[Enough!Participant @enough]

Posted by Grindstone Cowboy on 15/01/2020 22:31:31:

Posted by Bandersnatch on 15/01/2020 22:01:08:

FWIW, according to Microsoft, security updates for Win-7 are only ended through Windows-update. They will still be providing Win-7 security updates via a paid subscription.

Do you have a link for that?

 

It came up on a blue screen (not of death…. of life perhaps?). when I rebooted the Win-7 machine after some updates. It warned of the impending demise of regular Win-7 security updates but a small note mentioned that ongoing support in that area could be purchased. it may have included a link but I can't be sure.

(Just tried rebooting that machine to see if the BS (blue screen) would come up again, but no luck. I must have checked the "don't show this again" box. Sorry.)

Edit: After a bit more digging, this might be what you are looking for.

Edited By Bandersnatch on 16/01/2020 01:40:31

[Grindstone CowboyParticipant @grindstonecowboy]

Thanks Bandersnatch, I tried searching the Microsoft site but couldn't find anything myself.

[Nick Clarke 3Participant @nickclarke3]

Posted by Bandersnatch on 15/01/2020 22:01:08:

Posted by Windy on 15/01/2020 11:08:41:

PC World recommends not using IE if still on Windows 7 as not security supported on that 7 system.

FWIW, according to Microsoft, security updates for Win-7 are only ended through Windows-update. They will still be providing Win-7 security updates via a paid subscription. (I won't bother).

I am not certain these are available for retail or OEM customers – only volume licencing or Cloud Solutions

[Nick Clarke 3Participant @nickclarke3]

If you are a club secretary, treasurer or similar you may need to update to receive security updates to be seen to be ensuring data security under GDPR – but that is an entirely seperate minefield still!

[I.M. OUTAHEREParticipant @i-m-outahere]

Maybe this video by Chris Barnatt will shed some light on the subject .

https://youtu.be/AL2llKqJ6oI

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Bandersnatch on 15/01/2020 22:01:08:

Posted by Windy on 15/01/2020 11:08:41:

PC World recommends not using IE if still on Windows 7 as not security supported on that 7 system.

FWIW, according to Microsoft, security updates for Win-7 are only ended through Windows-update. They will still be providing Win-7 security updates via a paid subscription. (I won't bother).

…

Yes, but the coverage will be limited and the price will rise as the product ages. I think your right to not bother – the extended support is mainly useful to corporates, for example a business that owns several thousand elderly Windows 7 workstations and a private data centre might prefer to stretch their investment by a few years rather than cough up the £ millions needed to upgrade a big system.

But Windy raises another point: the security of Windows 7 is one problem, and the security of Internet Explorer is another, especially anything before Version 10. Frankly, private users shouldn't still be using Internet Explorer. It has a long history of poor security, sluggish performance and functional issues, many of them unfixed. There's a reason Microsoft recommend 'Edge', and why most users have switched to Chrome, Firefox, Opera or whatever. (In 2000 about 80% of users had IE, today less than 1%.)

Two main reasons for using IE: owning a system that's to expensive to upgrade, or comfortable familiarity with an untrustworthy old friend. In both cases it's necessary to manage the risk, which becomes ever more difficult as the Operating System, Browser, Anti-virus, and other security products all go out of support. Not a problem if the machine isn't connected to the internet, hideously dangerous if you bank online, do lots of online shopping, blab on Social Media and buy porn from the Russian Mafia…

Dave

[Nick Clarke 3Participant @nickclarke3]

Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 16/01/2020 11:11:12:

…………….. hideously dangerous if you bank online, do lots of online shopping, blab on Social Media and buy porn from the Russian Mafia…

Dave

Buying porn????? – I have a hard enough job avoiding the stuff falling into my inbox as spam without going out and actually wanting to pay for it.

[RedsetterParticipant @redsetter]

If it helps anyone – I downloaded Windows 10 earlier this month from the Microsoft website free of charge. At no time was I asked for a product code or license number. Downloading and installation took a couple of hours. There were a few options to select, but not many. Importantly, there was some control over how much information was sent back to Microsoft – obviously as little as possible should be selected. Although I backed up my data to USB sticks first, I did not lose any data from the machine except for saved passwords. It works just as well (or badly) as the Windows 7 it replaced.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Bandersnatch on 15/01/2020 22:01:08:

edit: Interesting thing though: today (15 Jan) I got Windows Update for improvements to the servicing stack. This is the Windows component that installs updates ( ! )

Perhaps the 'improvement' is that it won't download updates unless you have a subscription?

I'm sure that if an existential threat to W7 computers appear there will be critical updates.

But as a happy W10 user I have no idea why so many folks fear changing.

Neil

[Grindstone CowboyParticipant @grindstonecowboy]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 16/01/2020 16:43:14:

Posted by Bandersnatch on 15/01/2020 22:01:08:

edit: Interesting thing though: today (15 Jan) I got Windows Update for improvements to the servicing stack. This is the Windows component that installs updates ( ! )

Perhaps the 'improvement' is that it won't download updates unless you have a subscription?

I'm sure that if an existential threat to W7 computers appear there will be critical updates.

But as a happy W10 user I have no idea why so many folks fear changing.

Neil

I got that update on the 3rd January, so possibly just coincidental you got it on the 15th.

Win 10 does just about everything I want, but I've retained Win 7 as well for one program I have yet to find a better alternative for (I also still have XP for some older games, and Ubuntu just to cover all bases).

[Colin HeseltineParticipant @colinheseltine48622]

I also recently upgraded my Dell XPS8500 from Win7 to Win10. I had been good and purchased a proper Win10 licence from Microsoft. The PC never asked for a licence number and is working perfectly (using the old WIn7/Upgrade to Win10 licence.

I have been in IT since 1969 but was still dubious of doing this upgrade but it all worked ok and is still working ok. Touch Wood.

I now have a spare £80 licence. I think this will be used to upgrade my old high spec Dell Laptop from XP to Win10. Then it will migrate to the workshop.

Colin

[Enough!Participant @enough]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 16/01/2020 16:43:14:

But as a happy W10 user I have no idea why so many folks fear changing.

My belief is that MS, having got enough people on to the Win-10 bandwagon and cut off support for those sticking with earlier versions, will switch to a non-optional subscription model.

Nor do I believe will it be the simple "we'll send you a bill once a year". It will be monthly and MS will demand access to your bank-account or will direct-bill your credit card. Take it or leave it. To me this epitomises stuff that I hate about today's world.

Ain't going there. At my age I don't have to. But as I've said before, everyone around here is big enough and ugly enough to make their own decisions

That said, I tried Win10 when it first came out for a few weeks. Didn't like it went back to Win8.1 on my main machine.
[ this is easy to do as I have front-panel-swapable drives on several of my machines and can prepare 2 drives with the same image and update only one. FWIW I'm about to do it again with the latest Win10 to see if I feel any better about the OS itself. I can't see me switching permanently anyway for the reasons above. ]

[Nigel BennettParticipant @nigelbennett69913]

If one migrates to Win 10, does that mean that the older (2006 in my case) Office programs of Word and Excel stop working? And does that mean you have to cough up an annual fee for the new Office versions?

[Clive Brown 1Participant @clivebrown1]

AFAIK, Office 2007 will run on Windows 10 but earlier versions probably won't. None is fully supported.

You could try the open source Libre Office, which is free, very poular, and is very like the latest MS office. It is compatible with Office documents, files etc.

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

Now that my Draftsight has finally stopped I've decided it's time to upgrade to W10 on a new computer. Rather than backing everything up to an external hard drive, can I just put the hard drive from my W7 computer in as a second drive on the new computer (D: drive?) and tell the new computer not to boot from it? Then I won't be able to forget to back something up.

[Phil PParticipant @philp]

I have just updated from Win 7 to Win 10, having previously checked to see which of my programs will work it told me that my Office 2003 is not going to, so I purchased a licence key from ebay for Office 2016, it was very expensive at just under a fiver.

I duly did the FREE update to Win 10, and so far everything that was working on 7 is still working on 10, including Office 2003 and a whole host of other older programs.

It was quite a painless procedure to do the update, and so far I am pleasantly surprised at how well I am getting on with Win 10 after all the bad hype. I think I will update my Office to 2016 though just to get the extra features now available.

I actually cloned my SSD onto another new one, then did the upgrade on the clone, so I still have the original Win 7 SSD in case it all went wrong.

Phil

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by duncan webster on 27/01/2020 16:03:59:

Now that my Draftsight has finally stopped I've decided it's time to upgrade to W10 on a new computer. Rather than backing everything up to an external hard drive, can I just put the hard drive from my W7 computer in as a second drive on the new computer (D: drive?) and tell the new computer not to boot from it? Then I won't be able to forget to back something up.

Yes. Window only boots from the first disc. The MBR on the second disk is ignored. Telling windows to mount the second drive as D: is also easy – see this description.

Dave

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 27/01/2020 20:20:09:

Posted by duncan webster on 27/01/2020 16:03:59:

Now that my Draftsight has finally stopped I've decided it's time to upgrade to W10 on a new computer. Rather than backing everything up to an external hard drive, can I just put the hard drive from my W7 computer in as a second drive on the new computer (D: drive?) and tell the new computer not to boot from it? Then I won't be able to forget to back something up.

Yes. Window only boots from the first disc. The MBR on the second disk is ignored. Telling windows to mount the second drive as D: is also easy – see this description.

Dave

More accurately, the boot sequence can usually be changed by accessing your BIOS – that little message telling you to 'press XXX to enter BIOS' at startup.

Modify these settings with care.

Neil

[WindyParticipant @windy30762]

I still get support from Norton on a spare ancient PC that uses XP.

Well bit the bullet and did an upgrade to Windows 10 for nothing .

A local computer firm gave me advice he reckons the freebee will be stopped soon.

Apart from what seems more complicated at first am getting the hang of W10.

All my antique programs seem to be working.

Edited By Windy on 29/01/2020 23:43:44

[Enough!Participant @enough]

Eudora still works. It hasn't been supported since 2006 but has worked on every Windows version since. Probably because it doesn't use the registry and lets the user put its data files wherever he chooses.

[Russell EberhardtParticipant @russelleberhardt48058]

I rarely use Windows but had my desktop computer set up to dual boot with Linux and Windows 7 pro, primarily so that I could run Fusion 360 and a few other odd programs that would only run in Windows. Being concerned that Autodesk are likely to withdraw Windows 7 support for Fusion I decided that I had better upgrade to Windows 10 before it is too late.

To start with I made a backup of all personal files on the Windows and Linux installations.

Next I downloaded and ran the Windows upgrade .exe file, being careful to choose to keep all the files on my system. The first problem was that the upgrade program told me that I hadn't enough free space on the Windows partition of my primary solid state disk. Fortunately I had some unallocated space on the disk but it was at the end of the disk and my Linux/ partition was in the way between that and the Windows partition.

So, abort the upgrade, boot the computer from a Linux live disk and use gparted to move the Linux partition and expand the Windows one into the newly freed up space. Rebooted and everything seemed to be OK.

I tried running the upgrade program again. This time it seemed to be going OK but after the first of the restarts it performed the computer wouldn' boot at all, neither into Windows or Linux. It just displayed this:

error: unknown filesystem.  
grub rescue>

After a bit of internet research I managed to boot into Linux. I then installed a program called boot-repair and ran it. That restored my Grub boot system and I was then able to continue the upgrade which, after several more restarts seems to be working fine. I now have a fully activated Windows 10 pro and Fusion 360 is working fine.

Russell

[Author]

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