Closing the book on Windows 7

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WINDOWS 7 By Susan Bradley We’ve finished the last chapter for the storied Windows 7 operating system — at least for almost all home users. With all t
[See the full post at: Closing the book on Windows 7]

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Chessie, woody

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Yes, every home user with minimal needs who’s Win 7 computer is working just fine should simply throw it away and buy a Win 10 machine that will give them hours of extra unwanted work keeping it running, fixing it each month when it re-configures itself, crashes, or simply stops working, and fails to run one of their older programs they always liked using but to which they could never find a better and more modern alternative!

Or they could execute the Win 10 upgrade – which for this type of user will entail getting to know their local IT professional all over again.  That’s 3 billable hours minimum.

If they’re behind a firewall, like all of them are, then only an errant email or malicious website can possibly exploit an operating system vulnerability.  And if the exploit isn’t an OS vulnerability, then they would have been compromised on Win 10 as well.

Let’s face it – if a person is happily using Win 7, likely because they turned off Windows Updates back in May of 2017, the only real reason to move from Win 7 is when a needed application no longer runs under Win 7 and needs Win 10 – Quickbooks, Quicken, and TurboTax come to mind.

Otherwise – smooth sailing for as long as it lasts.

Just way too much FUD out there.  The odds of an OS vulnerability being a real issue is practically null for this type of user, especially if they are running any kind of protection software that blocks malicious websites and domains.

Total of 21 users thanked author for this post. Here are last 20 listed.

Steve, David F, Canadian Tech, Kranium, lurks about, Wheel_D, PDX5802, LH, SueW, Geo, Spiral, Myst, Charlie, wdburt1, FakeNinja, LHiggins, ryegrass, tonyl, Cybertooth, anita.yk

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Hear, hear. We had all this malarkey with the demise of Windows XP, and here I am, still using it on two machines. I’ve had no malware, my computers haven’t exploded, and no boxing glove has come out of my screen and punched me on the nose.

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Steve, westtrail, Kranium, PDX5802, Geo, Spiral, Charlie, wdburt1, Myst, Cybertooth

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I expected MSE updates to end on January 14, but so far they have not.  My Windows 7 computer got a new MSE virus definition update today (January 20).

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MSE on Win7, you’ll continue to get definition updates but, no more MSE client (program engine) updates. My advice would be to look for an alternative AV free or paid for Win7

Windows - commercial by definition and now function...

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Chessie, Marty, woody

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Yep, the MSE updates continue.

See https://www.computerworld.com/article/3510500/microsoft-blinks-security-essentials-will-continue-to-receive-updates-after-jan-14.html

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Chessie, Marty, Microfix

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I am a 71 year old man living off my social security and a small pension; and I have three Windows 7 x64 SP1 computers, two home premium and one professional, fully updated current today all running just fine with MSE and the chrome browser.  I have tried Windows 10 Home on the two desktop computers; it won’t install or work on the nine year old laptop pc (Dell XPS-17 model L702x). It doesn’t work well on the two desktop computers because they don’t have SSD drives, just spinning hard drives; so after trying Windows 10 Home I returned to the original Windows 7 x64 SP1 on both desktops. I do have a two year old Windows 10 Home version 1909 newer laptop with an SSD OS drive. I can’t afford to replace the three Win7 machines; nor can I justify getting rid of three computers that are working just fine as they are. I will probably buy a new Windows 10 Pro desktop computer when the two desktops I have have died; but one is not yet seven years old and the other not yet six years old. Suggesting that people just get rid of older computers that still run just fine with Windows 7 x64 SP1 home or pro fully and currently updated with MSE and the chrome browser (IE disabled) and accessing email only through the browser ignores the financial capabilities of a great many home pc users. And I continue to regard Windows 7 x64 SP1 Pro fully and currently updated as a much better OS than Win 10, any version.

 

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Chessie, Cybertooth, Kranium, Wheel_D

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Windows Update in Win7 is nagging me about updates 5102, 4310, 4752. Install or not? Worried that MS is going to try to force me to go to Win10, or nag me endlessly to do so. (Side note: This message board requires you to enable scripts from Google – another huge corporation that one should not trust – so I had to access it in my “junk browser,” which I scrub at least once a day. If bots are a problem, there are better solutions than introducing Google spyware to one’s site!)

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KB4524752 is a EOL nag patch – you should hide.
KB4535102 (.NET) and KB4534310 (Jan Rollup) are normal Patch Tues. Patches and can be installed.
If you get the nag screen, there is a link in the lower left corner “Do not show this again” that will turn it off.

MS will not force your PC from Win7 to Win10 without your permission.

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Jim C

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anonymous wrote:

(Side note: This message board requires you to enable scripts from Google – another huge corporation that one should not trust – so I had to access it in my “junk browser,” which I scrub at least once a day. If bots are a problem, there are better solutions than introducing Google spyware to one’s site!)

You only see the ReCaptcha if you’re posting anonymously, which most places across the web won’t let you do.  I do wish that some other captcha provider had been used, as I share your disdain for Google, but Google’s reach is so far that it gets difficult to not use them, as competitors are either bought out or driven out of the market.

I personally suggest that people use browser settings or extensions that clear all of the cookies frequently, and for all of the sites, or nearly all of them.  If there are specific sites you want to save the cookies for, you can whitelist them, but the rest have to go.  I don’t have any sites whitelisted… they all get cleared out as soon as I close the tab or the browser itself.

To me, having two separate browsers, and only having Google scripts enabled in the “junk” browser, while your preferred browser is something else, is just way too much work.  Google’s everywhere, and having to switch browsers each time you encounter a site that uses Google seems like an exercise in frustration.  Better, I think, to develop a solution that allows you to use the “junk” browser for everything… or, if you look at it slightly differently, to allow your preferred browser to visit the pages with junk without any more tracking than you’re currently being exposed to.

As you know, there are sites out there that have tens of different domains contacted for each page load, and I’ve seen some that get well above a hundred– and most are for tracking and advertising purposes.  That’s the reality on the web for more sites than not, and while a lot of them will function with some or all of the nonsense scripts disabled, you won’t know until you try.  I wouldn’t want to have to get a site’s minimum viable configuration just about nailed down, only to discover that it needs Google for something or other, then have to start over in another browser!

 

Dell XPS 13/9310, i5-1135G7/16GB, KDE Neon 6.2
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Chessie, Myst

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Self Destructing Cookies still works on Basilisk (a Firefox ESR clone) and automatically deletes website cookies once the tab is closed, the browser is closed, or not at all depending on your settings. (WebEx)

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/self-destructing-cookies-webex/

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Cybertooth

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For the age 71 anonymous above, I thank you for your post.  It gets to the heart of problems that many Windows 7 users face with 10, even if they are proficient with technology as it sounds like you are.  Using Windows 10 without an SSD can be a painful experience, and I was reminded as I did updates on one for the first time in a while.  If you have some money available, you can buy SATA 256GB SSD drives for around $50.  If compatible, they make even a Windows 7 computer much more fun to use, and do make even more impact with Windows 10.

The security issues of staying on 7 without ESU – for a home user – are hard to measure.  Will antivirus software, firewall software or a router provide protection?  Sometimes.  Will using a standard non-admin account for most use protect?  Sometimes.  Will your bank’s or other providers websites use user agent sniffing to block you out?  Unknown.  Maybe it can be bypassed if they do.

I can say that an SSD, if your computer has a sata port and you can put your main workload on the 256-512GB that is economical can be very nice to have even with Windows 7.  Since you have desktop computers you may even be able to add an SSD as a boot drive and keep the other installed, instead of replacing the drive which is usually what needs to be done in a laptop.  Unless you are a heavy user of hibernate or sleep – which for some non-SSD users can make resuming computer use fast enough to manage – and maybe even if you are, SSD is great.

Also you should get any computer to at least 4gb of ram and prefer 8gb if it is a 64-bit computer, especially if you want to try Windows 10, although this helps a lot even with 7.  These memory modules are often available at low cost, but you need to carefully follow tutorials on how to find the right compatible memory.

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Wheel_D

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I have a Dell Latitude E6400 running Windows 7 Pro 32-bit. I bit the bullet and “upgraded” it to Windows 10 version 1909. Everything worked, except… the sound is not clear. It makes a “razzing” sound. It occurs when any sound plays (media player, Internet sound, or Windows sound). I backed up the Windows 7 sound drivers and installed them in Windows 10. That helped a little but didn’t solve the problem. I need to have clear sound from the PC, so I have gone back to Windows 7. Now I’ll stay on that unless/until there is a fix for the problem or until I have to get another computer. I put Bit Defender and Firefox on it, and I feel relatively safe… for now. The sound is clear again, so that proves it’s not a hardware problem. I think it’s a bug in Windows 10. Dell does not have any updated drivers for this computer. It’s probably too old.

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Cybertooth

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I have a 6430 that I fresh installed Win10 Pro on. I think it has the same audio chip as yours and I just let Windows install its driver and machine works fine with no buzzing. Dell offers some Win10 drivers for the 6430 but not any audio drivers.

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Have not closed the book on Windows 7 as yet. January patches will be installed when Defcon goes green. With minimal surfing and just basic daily use and running a strong antivirus software, I predict it will be my secondary machine for a long time until my Windows 10 is setup to my liking. There are so many easy features on Windows 7 and in Windows 10 you have to hunt for them. It does not stop me from learning them, since I am tech savvy, but still, it is saying goodbye to an old friend which I am not ready to do.

Has anyone had issues with external hard drives and Windows 10? I read an article about a WD My Book in which you have to rename the drive if Windows 10 does not recognize it. Also any issues with WD My Passport?

I thought about setting up wireless printing and have not decided with the new Windows 10.

Here is another issue: Windows 10 shows a “hidden network” . Is this because Windows 7 automatically setup a Home Network?

Win 10 Home 22H2

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Charlie

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I have a My Book Studio 3TB external hard drive (independently powered and usb 3.0 connected) attached to a Windows 7 Home Premium x64 SP1 desktop computer. When I first got my HP-Omen Windows 10 laptop a little less than two years ago and finished setting it up and upgrading it to version 1803. I disconnected the My Book Studio from the desktop PC and connected it to the usb 3.0 port on the Windows 10 laptop only long enough to copy about 350 GB of videos (movies stored on the external hard drive) and other personal files and folders onto the laptop’s 1 TB data drive or hard disk, and then disconnected it from the laptop. I did not observe or encounter any problem or difficulty doing so. The Windows 10 laptop recognized the external drive immediately, assigned a drive letter to it, and exhibited no problems allowing me to copy files and folders from it at a very high transfer rate. However, I have never tried to boot the laptop with the external hard drive connected.

 

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Win7and10

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buy a Win 10 machine that will give them hours of extra unwanted work keeping it running, fixing it each month when it re-configures itself, crashes, or simply stops working, and fails to run one of their older programs they always liked using but to which they could never find a better and more modern alternative!

Or they could execute the Win 10 upgrade – which for this type of user will entail getting to know their local IT professional all over again. That’s 3 billable hours minimum.

Just way too much FUD out there.

Yet you’re spreading your own. Pot, meet kettle.

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Not so much.  Where have you been for the last two years?

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Managing Windows 10 on thousands of devices via SCCM with absolutely 0 issues for the last 3 years, actually. At home, I manage my personal devices by setting deferrals. Still, 0 issues going back to 1703.

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tonyl wrote:

Hear, hear. We had all this malarkey with the demise of Windows XP, and here I am, still using it on two machines. I’ve had no malware, my computers haven’t exploded, and no boxing glove has come out of my screen and punched me on the nose.

While I’m forced to use 8.1 at work, at home I still use XP SP3 for day-to-day main machine (banking included) and 7 SP1 Ultimate x86 just for some banking that now refuses to work on XP and a few programs that cannot be run on XP. And no, my pc hasn’t morphed into a <mark class=”ipsMatch1″>purple </mark>mushroom,  then exploded… on the contrary I’m posting from it right now, and I only added MBAM Premium 3.5.1 to it when MSE stopped being updatable by hand (= June 4, 2019).  One who is using a perfectly good 7 SP1 setup may keep on it as is up to 2023, and then add some real-time antivirus to it and remain still longer. One’s worst enemy is PEBCAK… if that is kept under control, all the rest is FUD. YMMV, of course!

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Charlie

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Susan, must live in a different world. The fact on the street is that the vast majority (I mean like 80%) know nothing of the “end of support” for Windows 7. Most all of them don’t care a wink and will not even know there may be an issue until some program they are using does not work any more, or their hardware fails.

Around 2015 or 2016, Microsoft screwed up Windows update and all those systems that by default automatically updated at 3am every night, stopped doing that. Almost all of them did not even know it or care. The result is that most windows 7 systems used by ordinary folk, not enterprises, have not had an update in years. The additional fact is that those that did not continue to update also have much more stable systems than they did before.

I am a pro who for years had drunk the lemonade and believed WU was a critical thing to do. May, 2017, I finally decided that the risk of allowing Microsoft to foul up a well-running system was vastly greater than the risk of not allowing those updates.

The result is stunning. 120 Win7 systems simply run and run and run. No issue whatsoever. 3800 computer-months and counting.

This was a deliberate “end of support” that demonstrated to me that I was bitten by the Windows Update paranoia. I am simply amazed at the extent of the paranoia that has been created.

CT

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kfb, Steve, wdburt1, Charlie, ryegrass, Myst

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[EP]

Don’t “close the book” on Windows 7 just yet.

A recent problem with the latest Win7 rollup (and possibly recent security-only update) seems to either cause a “black” desktop or wreck the desktop wallpaper function. Born, BleepingComputer & Softpedia news are reporting this new problem.

https://borncity.com/win/2020/01/22/windows-7-update-kb4534310-causes-a-black-desktop/

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/final-windows-7-update-breaks-desktop-wallpaper-functionality/

https://news.softpedia.com/news/microsoft-breaks-down-the-windows-7-desktop-wallpaper-with-the-last-update-528942.shtml

• This reply was modified 5 years, 3 months ago by EP.

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AmbularD, woody

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No problem here after doing the Dec. Security Only Win 7 and IE updates.

Being 20 something in the 70's was far more fun than being 70 something in the insane 20's

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Just saw that too in a ZDNet article, and came by to see whether anyone here can confirm firsthand.  The article said that it also seems to be affecting some Windows 10 users, though, and might be a bug connected with a Stretch configuration in settings, as only certain size images seem to be affected.

i7-10700k - ASROCK Z590 Pro4 - 1TB 970 EVO Plus M.2 - DDR4 3200 x 32GB - GeForce RTX 3060 Ti FTW - Windows 10 Pro

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Folks, I am not so naïve as to believe that Windows 7 is safe. Nothing is completely safe—not even Windows 10 (as we have seen). But I am also not so paranoid as to believe that something evil will inevitably happen if I stay on Windows 7 for a while longer. I cannot give up a function I need just to have a little peace of mind. Perhaps one day Microsoft will have a fix for the problem, or I will shell out big bucks for a new computer. Until that day comes, I will pay better attention to the security software I have and make more frequent backups.

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Kirsty, Myst, Canadian Tech

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George – you may be able to plug in a USB audio adapter like one by plugable to get supported audio and disable your built in sound card or mute it.  This costs about $10 to $20.

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Just occurred to me to ask: after January’s version, will the MSRT continue to run on Windows 7?

i7-10700k - ASROCK Z590 Pro4 - 1TB 970 EVO Plus M.2 - DDR4 3200 x 32GB - GeForce RTX 3060 Ti FTW - Windows 10 Pro

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Given Malicious Software Removal Tool is part of Windows updates, no.

cheers, Paul

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Just want to give a shout out to Susan B. ( and Harbor Services)! I was thinking of going with 0Patch for some extra time on Win 7  Pro but Susan’s directions were so clear that I went ahead and installed the  ESU and have bought myself a little more time for my Lenovo W520 laptop which still runs just fine. Thanks!

 

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