I need a reason to move off Win 7

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I’ve been running Win7Pro for since around 2015 and I am immensely satisfied with it. It has gotten corrupted by malware a few times but been restored to saved points, and still runs nicely. It’s a 64 bit I5 processor, 8GB Ram, SSD system drive and lots of USB and SATA storage available and runs about how you’d expect something like this to run, especially consider it got seriously damaged at least twice and recovered. So the question is: why should I upgrade? And to what? I can’t say I’m nuts about the user interface in any of the Win8-10 versions, Win 11 is way too new to move to, so what’s the opinion here? Is there something serious to be gained by moving to 10?  I think it’s slower than the Win7. I’m leaning more towards a fresh Win7 install instead of an upgrade to Win10. Some thoughts, please?

Win7Pro, I5 CPU, 8Gb RAM, SSD boot drive, external 4Tb SSD storage

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need more specs about your computer, Caribconsult
like what kind of i5 Intel x64 CPU do you have since there are so many kinds from so many different “generations” of Intel I5 CPUs? (ex. i5-2500 is a cpu from Sandy Bridge or 2nd generation of i5 processors and i5-10400 is a cpu from 10th generation or Comet Lake series)
and what is the size of your SSD system drive? should be at least a 500Gb SSD or bigger

run either HWInfo or Speccy to gather more details about your computer

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Thanks for replying. You’re right, I need to tell you more about my hardware so here’s some specs from the SYSTEM dept in the control pane:

CPU Intel i5-4590 CPU@3.30GHz

Installed mem: 8GB, 7.86 usable

System type: 64 bit

Pen and Touch: None available

O/S is installed on a Western Digital 500GB SSD drive, there is also a 4TB USB external for extra storage, and various USB thumb drives.

Getting back the the thrust of this point, I use Kaspersky free version and have not had a barrage of virus attacks. I had perhaps two pieces of trojan horse style apps that seemed useful as cleanup or error correction tools, but came with a a truckload of other junkware that nearly killed the unit. I managed to restore ops by using the system restore points, which simultaneously got rid of the software I just mentioned. The system does not appear to be especially frail, as was NT, 2000, XP and others.  My 2 most used apps are Thunderbird for mail, which does run on Win10, and Quicken13, also runs correctly on Win10, followed by Adobe Audition, Adobe Digital Editions for managing my Ebook reader, and the rest are internet based apps to do OCR on a document, edit a PDF, etc, all of which I am sure are available for Win10.  So we get back to the central question: what exactly would I gain from upgrading this perfectly running Win7 installation to Win10, considering I don’t especially like 10 on my wife’s laptop?  Would it be measurably faster or slower on this same hardware as the Win7 is a primary consideration. Upgrading to a slower system seems to be no upgrade at all.

Thanks again for replying, I’ll be interested in your response to this info.

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On a computer with an SSD, I would expect Windows 10 to feel about the same speed as Windows 7.  If you did not have an SSD, I think Windows 10 feels slower.

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Specs:

Intel Core i5-4590 CPU, @3.30GHz

Installed RAM: 8GB,  7.86 usable

O/S: 64 bit Win7Pro

No pen or touch device

OS is installed on WD 500GB SSD, also have 4TB USB external and various thumb drives for storage.

Win7Pro, I5 CPU, 8Gb RAM, SSD boot drive, external 4Tb SSD storage

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The primary reason most people use 10 is the believed security benefits of having current patches.  Windows 7 would only have current patches with 0patch or if you purchased very expensive ESU support from Microsoft.

If you keep frequent offline backups of your data, I don’t know how worried you should be about the security thing.  If you are a “person of interest” in any way then obviously you should not leave such an obvious hole in your defenses.

So that aside lets discuss benefits of Windows 10.  First, you can install alternate start menus or file explorers such as StartIsBack or Xplorer2 to get the interface to more like Windows 7, possibly even better.  Certain software might not run on Windows 7, but this could be rare for now.  Microsoft Defender, included with Windows 10, is a very good free antivirus software, so that could be a benefit.

If you are happy with Windows 7, and feel like you are able to backup your data and are fairly likely to notice if a virus takes over your system (most people can’t notice), or if you are willing to buy 0patch, maybe stick with it for now.

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Browser support starts dropping next year.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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As Susan says, the browser software application on your system that you use every day is one of the most critical applications installed; and if the maker that updates that browser stops giving you updates because you are on an operating system that they stop supporting because it is so outdated, then you are extremely vulnerable as the browser gradually becomes more and more in need of updates it no longer receives. Since you have an SSD system drive and 8 GB RAM and a Core i5 64 bit processor, provided that that processor is at least 4th Generation (like an Haswell chipset) or newer, I would upgrade your operating system to Windows 10 Pro 21H2 if I were you. I have 21H2 on a 7th Gen Core i7 laptop with a 128GB SSD, and it works fine, I would even say almost perfect. I have the “desktop” toolbar option activated on the task bar so that I get the Windows 7 style expanding popup menus when I click on it, which makes it almost completely unnecessary for me to ever use the start menu, other than to shut down and power off the laptop.

 

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Where do you get this specific version of Win10 that you mention?

Win7Pro, I5 CPU, 8Gb RAM, SSD boot drive, external 4Tb SSD storage

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Sorry, wrong thread.

Win7Pro, I5 CPU, 8Gb RAM, SSD boot drive, external 4Tb SSD storage

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W10 should run on that hardware so you could install it and see if it works for you.

Make an image backup to an external USB HDD so you can easily restore W7.
Download the W10 upgrade ISO to a USB stick – via the MS website or with Rufus.
Plug the USB stick in while W7 is running.
Fire up the setup program from the USB.

cheers, Paul

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I do not have thoughts, I have my own strategy as primary compass.

I do consider all hardware that I do buy as expensive property, because I am always buy the best .. printer, sound card, motherboard loaded with many HDD controllers, serial port, and much more features.

10 years old PORCHE car, this is a fast PORCHE car even at 2022 (as hardware).

Microsoft aims first their own profitability, and therefore all their marketing,  end of support and other announcements, they are meaningless according to my book.

LGA 1150 this is an excellent platform for workstation PC along 1080P Gaming even at 2022, but I own 200$ motherboard, and not any 70$ one, that this was not a high performance item even as new.

Win7 Pro (Blue Retail Box) i7 4770 - 16GB DDR3 2400XMP - GTX1060 6GB - Professional Workstation

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The main reason to stop using a MS Windows OS is when MS stops supporting it and other software companies like Mozilla get the jitters and may stop supporting Firefox.

I personally used Windows XP Pro until 2014 even though it was no longer supported by MS and I had to use an older version of Firefox.  I didn’t have any problems but I wouldn’t recommend that everyone do that.  Things have gotten worse since then.

I’m sort of doing the same thing with Win 7 although I’m converting over to Linux as it becomes increasingly necessary.  Linux is a good alternative and gets the job done for me, but like you, I love my Win 7 much more.  Good luck!

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

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Caribconsult

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Turbotax desktop software tries to block installation on Windows 7.  https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/system-requirements/help/minimum-system-requirements-for-turbotax-windows-software/00/26175

Adobe creative cloud apps also do not work after version 2020.

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What anti virus and anti malware software is still available for Windows 7?

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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There’s plenty of A/V software available for Win7.  Avast, Kaspersky are just a few. I use Kaspersky Free version, no problems, only had two pieces of malware sneak in through the mail I think but a system restore got rid of both.

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OscarCP wrote:

What anti virus and anti malware software is still available for Windows 7?

I think that all of them : Avast, Kaspersky…

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And Avira, Bitdefender, Total AV, Norton, to name a few more.  Here’s a link to a youtube video I watched and found very informative:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60ClVUFYcdk

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

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Caribconsult wrote:

o the question is: why should I upgrade? And to what? I can’t say I’m nuts about the user interface in any of the Win8-10 versions, Win 11 is way too new to move to, so what’s the opinion here? Is there something serious to be gained by moving to 10? I think it’s slower than the Win7. I’m leaning more towards a fresh Win7 install instead of an upgrade to Win10. Some thoughts, please?

<h1>NOOOOOOO, do not upgrade.</h1>
 

Many businesses and companies still use Windows Xp and Windows 7. Windows 8-10 are very unstable and do no work well for many businesses and companies. Windows 11 is total mess that was garbage in and garbage out.

 

My recommendation would be to do a Windows 7 refresh install.

But before you do that, upgrade to Windows 10 just to have a digital license since it still works to get it for free. After that, go back to Windows 7.

After that, figure out why you got malware.

• Did you install an unsafe program?
  • If so, DO NOT do that. Make sure to scan any downloads with antivirus.
• Did you turn off firewall or antivirus or click on unsafe link?
  •  If so, DO NOT do that.
• Did another users do anything above?
  • If so, make their account without admin rights to prevent that.
• What other things might have you or another user done? IE connect a virus filled USB
  • If so, DO NOT do that or find ways to avoid doing that.

 

I still use Windows XP and have 0 malware today. Same for Windows 7 but it has been offline after MS start to force update to Windows 10.

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There comes a point in time that something will demand a certain browser that will no longer work on that 7 or the XP for that matter.   As long as you have a ssd I consider 10 faster than 7.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Susan Bradley wrote:

As long as you have a ssd I consider 10 faster than 7.

not entirely true, depends on configuration of the system. Side by side on the SAME system, win7 is marginally faster than Win10 with much less telemetry, bloat, resources and background processes.

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That was my take on Win10 v. Win7, as well

Win7Pro, I5 CPU, 8Gb RAM, SSD boot drive, external 4Tb SSD storage

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Anonymous #2437816 wrote :” Many businesses and companies still use Windows Xp and Windows 7. Windows 8-10 are very unstable and do no work well for many businesses and companies. Windows 11 is total mess that was garbage in and garbage out. ”

Quite true, the part about business and companies still using XP and Win 7. I can’t opine on the rest, as I have no hands-on experience with those other systems. I only know that many people complain about them.

But when it comes to XP and Win 7, I know of such cases myself. However: Business and companies have IT departments, or employ IT consultants to take care of the maintenance and security of their networks to which the PCs are connected and, if necessary, take care of the ones infected with malware.

One user on his or her own is a different story.

I understand well the dilemma of someone running Windows 7 and not being sure for how much longer or how safely, as one may expect that developers of needed applications gradually became less concerned with maintaining their applications so they can run well on an operating system past it’s “Best By” date when that, rightly or not, is how many see it.

So, in the case of Windows 7, it is really a question of how longer luck will hold and one will be able to keep using it comfortably. In the past, this was quite a long time. Things are changing, not for the better, so there is more of a question mark on this now.

Good luck, Caribconsult and all those that want to stay on Windows 7: may you keep on using Win 7 for several  more years yet.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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Caribconsult

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anonymous wrote:

Windows 8-10 are very unstable and do no work well for many businesses

This is not true. W8 and 10 are very stable, but Windows Updates can cause issues.

W8-10 work very well for business, especially as W7 & W8 are not supported on newer machines due to lack of drivers for new hardware.

cheers, Paul

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Susan Bradley wrote:

point in time that something will demand a certain browser that will no longer work on that 7 or the XP for that matter. As long as you have a ssd I consider 10 faster than 7.

Than use the old trick in the world…..agent switcher on browser. Still works on Xp machine since set it to be Windows 7 or Windows 10. Site work fine.

 

If that fails, there are addons and bypass for that. Windows 98 had kernelex. Windows Xp has kernelexP as well that was created by open source community.

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Agent switcher does not allow you to install a new browser on an unsupported version of Windows.

cheers, Paul

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Paul T wrote:

This is not true. W8 and 10 are very stable, but Windows Updates can cause issues. W8-10 work very well for business, especially as W7 & W8 are not supported on newer machines due to lack of drivers for new hardware.

I would disagree with you and agree with the poster above. Windows 8 and 10 are unstable for business. We need DOS to run million dollar machines. DOS does not work on Windows 8 and 1o. This is why still using Windows Xp. We tried virtual and emulators but that does not work well. We have several thousands of XP machine is store because of that. New OS can not run DOS and that is what we need. We are not going to replace equipment worth millions that works to get WIndows 8 or 10 that our employees to not know how to use and retrain them and figure out work around to run DOS or spend millions again to replace our manufacturing equipment that support Windows 7 (which is the current version that is support per the supplier). Even the supplier says that will not support Windows 10 since it unstable with their manufacturing equipment.

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Making a statement that’s it’s “unstable for business” is a bit of a broad stroke.  There is still a need for some line of business applications that for business reasons can’t be upgraded, but for many other office needs it’s clearly extremely stable.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Having CAM equipment that requires a DOS interface is an edge use case that requires those machine be completely isolated from the internet.

If you need internet access then using anything prior to W8 is a liability.

cheers, Paul

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I have still memories of Win95 and Win98, all users was wasting significant amount of personal time at upgrading all day long, several third-party small utilities to their latest version, including the antivirus database.

WinXP Pro along Win7Pro, both are now mature versions as operating system.   They do not need any advertising 🙂    The ones with Microsoft training and bonded with industrial or wider range of software applications, they are well aware of the why, about them sticking to their choices.

The OP which started this topic, belong to home users.  Home users which has significant amount of paid software this compatible up to Win7, it is best for their wallet to stick longer at Win7.    We should never forget when we talk about Microsoft, that the conversation its all about money.

Win7 Pro (Blue Retail Box) i7 4770 - 16GB DDR3 2400XMP - GTX1060 6GB - Professional Workstation

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wEarwOlf505cole, Charlie, Cybertooth

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Kiriakos T. wrote:

WinXP Pro along Win7Pro, both are now mature versions as operating system. They do not need any advertising

I assume by “mature” you mean that they work without a lot of fuss and headaches.  My Win 7 machine is still going fine.

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

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I am the original poster who started this topic, and I have to tell you, I am anything but a ‘home user.’ In fact, I was a full time computer consultant for over 20 years in the San Francisco Bay Area, and by the time we left, I was one of the guys who got called to fix messes made by other low-rent consultants, so I  think my opinions on O/S’s carry a bit more gravitas than home users…I’ve been at this since DOS 3, through every windows up to Win10, Windows Terminal Server, Novell, Quarterdeck, you name it, I’ve probably tried it as some point, and I wouldn’t abandon my Win7 for any price. It works well, it is bug free, I’ve NEVER gotten a virus from anywhere (using Kaspersky for several years, as well as Avast and several others) and I haven’t paid for any ‘special update’ programs, just the ones MS pushes out for Defender and their other built-in protection schemes. I always advised clients to not upgrade themselves into oblivion and that continues to be my guiding principle. Call me ‘old school’ because that’s what I am. And from the frequent newsletters I see from this site, Win10 and 11 continue to have glitches, bugs, updates that don’t work correctly, bluescreens, etc. Who needs that?

Win7Pro, I5 CPU, 8Gb RAM, SSD boot drive, external 4Tb SSD storage

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WSbilllh

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https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/32549/

Bitdefender will continue to provide antimalware support for Windows 7 until January 14th, 2023

“As of January 14th, 2020, Microsoft announced its end of support for Windows 7. The operating system accounts for an estimated 25% of used Windows desktop versions. This means Windows 7 users will no longer receive security updates, leaving them susceptible to malware exploiting vulnerabilities that will remain unpatched.

This is part of Microsoft’s ongoing effort to migrate users to newer OS (operating system) versions, featuring modern technologies for security and usability. For businesses and organizations that still rely on Windows 7, Microsoft will continue to offer extended security updates.

Bitdefender understands the difficulties and security challenges users face, and we aim to ensure that we do everything we can to help users remain protected throughout software changeovers.

Bitdefender will continue to provide antimalware support to Windows 7 users for the next 36 months, until January 14th, 2023. Please check the Bitdefender End of Life Policy page for updates on when we will stop providing support for Windows operating systems.

To fully benefit from the latest security technologies, Bitdefender recommends existing Microsoft Windows 7 customers to migrate to the latest supported version of an OS as soon as possible.”

So, THIS is why I’m here today!

I’ve been running seven Windows 7 machines, largely because I trust and rely upon Bitdefender to keep me “secure” (even though MS has essentially pulled the plug on home users — and seems to be moving into the “actively killing W7 stage,” just like they did with XP).

With Bitdefender and Firefox both pulling the plug on Windows 7 support in January 2023, the time has come for me to make a considered move to Windows 10 while I still have the time to figure the best transition out.

Windows 11 is out-of-the-question as far as I’m concerned!

Does installing Windows 10 onto a operating Windows 7 machine yield a satisfactory result? OR, is a fresh install of Windows 10 really what one needs to do?

I have a ridiculously expensive investment in hardware and software that I’d like to keep using with Windows 10 (e.g. Blu-ray drives, video editing software, etc.).

Much to my surprise, factory built NEW Windows 10 machines typically don’t even come with optical drives any longer, and those that do are very proprietary build configurations with vertically mounted CD/DVD drives and no expandability.

FWIW, I built six of my seven Windows 7 machines myself, as well as other builds for other people. So, I’m not a newbie. My Asus K53E laptop (running W7 on an i5 2450M CPU) was a factory built purchase, upgraded by me to an SSD drive and 8 GB of RAM, is not likely a viable Windows 10 upgrade option.

Any thoughts on my best Windows 10 upgrade paths would be much appreciated 🙂

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Upgrading to Windows 10 works well on a lot of Windows 7 hardware.  An SSD helps.  The first install of Windows 10 should be an upgrade install, to make sure it activates Windows 10 online.  A clean install is not really necessary.  Even 8GB or 4GB of ram can run acceptably, although 2GB is no good.  Make a full image or clone backup before changing anything, so if you don’t like it you can go back.

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Caribconsult

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See this thread for suggestions on the upgrade.
https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/whats-the-best-way-to-upgrade-from-windows-7-to-windows-10/

cheers, Paul

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Sisyphus7x64 wrote:

With Bitdefender and Firefox both pulling the plug on Windows 7 support in January 2023, the time has come for me to make a considered move to Windows 10 while I still have the time to figure the best transition out.

You may not need to give up on Windows 7 just yet.

I haven’t found any official announcement from Mozilla/Firefox to the effect that they will stop supporting their browser on Win7 machines. So right now, the question of how long we’ll be able to keep using up-to-date browsers is up in the air.

Bitdefender’s announcement of end-of-support next January is unwelcome, especially as earlier this year I’d taken out a subscription to it for my Windows 7 systems. However, that’s not the end of the world: no doubt other AV vendors will continue to support Windows 7 for the foreseeable future. Last year, Norton announced end of support for Vista and then they reversed their decision, so even EOS announcements are not etched in stone.

Still, it’s prudent to have a plan in place to transition off Win7, in case you need to put it in motion.

 

Keep Running Windows 7 Safely for Years to Come  
Make Windows 10 look and work like Windows 7

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LHiggins, OscarCP

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[Charlie]

Cybertooth wrote:

I haven’t found any official announcement from Mozilla/Firefox to the effect that they will stop supporting their browser on Win7 machines. So right now, the question of how long we’ll be able to keep using up-to-date browsers is up in the air.

From Mozilla support:

Firefox Releases work fine on Windows 7 now so why would it not after Jan 10, 2023 ?  Unless there is something OS dependent there is no reason for Firefox web browser to stop supporting Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 anytime soon.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1373038

(This has been posted in at least one other thread)

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

• This reply was modified 2 years, 10 months ago by Charlie. Reason: Added bold to refferences to Support

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SueW, LHiggins

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To my mind there is a difference between “works” and “supported”. Neither word necessarily implies the other; software that works may not be supported and software that’s supported may not work. You want software that works AND is supported. Presumably a vendor that supports software will provide patches/updates for security vulnerabilities. Whether or not those patches/updates are utilized by a user(s) is something the user(s) of the software need to decide for themselves.

In these times I want a browser that is supported, not one that merely works.

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Good point DrB.  I guess we will see.  I was under the impression that Firefox will still get updates as long as it has SHA-2.

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

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DrBonzo

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I hope your impression is correct!

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Chrome has announced they will no longer support Win7, but Firefox (which I prefer) continues to work well.

Win7Pro, I5 CPU, 8Gb RAM, SSD boot drive, external 4Tb SSD storage

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SueW, Cybertooth

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Thanks for the responses so far.

Susan Bradley just recently posted this regarding Firefox and Windows 7.

Is this the end of the road for Windows 7?
Posted on April 11, 2022 at 02:41 CDT by Susan Bradley

https://www.askwoody.com/2022/is-this-the-end-of-the-road-for-windows-7/

Browsers need fixes
“But support is beginning to wane. Some vendors are requiring certain updates to keep running on Windows 7. For example, Firefox 100 requires that KB4474419 be installed. The company notes:
Customers who run legacy OS versions (Windows 7 SP1, Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 SP2) are required to have SHA-2 code signing support installed on their devices to install updates released on or after July 2019. Any devices without SHA-2 support will not be able to install Windows updates on or after July 2019.
If you didn’t install KB4474419 via the normal Windows update process when it came out, you will need to download the patch from the Microsoft catalog site.
It goes further. Firefox will drop support for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 sometime after January 2023. Chrome has announced similar support-expiration dates.”

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The official post is from Chrome, they say they may re-evaluate but it is likely they will end Windows 7 support January 2023.  https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/chrome-enterprise/extending-chrome-on-windows-7-to-support-enterprise-customers

Firefox traditionally supports operating systems longer, they certainly won’t end before Chrome.  They haven’t said anything official that I have seen.  As posted above, about 18% of Firefox users are on Windows 7 https://data.firefox.com/dashboard/hardware  Compared to 12% of all desktop users globally https://gs.statcounter.com/os-version-market-share/windows/desktop/worldwide

Firefox support will probably continue for a while.  Technically, 2025 is “after January 2023”, so is 2028.

However, other than Chrome, many other popular programs do not want to run on Windows 7.  Photoshop current version, Office 2019 and 2021, Minecraft current version.

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Susan Bradley wrote:

There comes a point in time that something will demand a certain browser that will no longer work on that 7 or the XP for that matter.   As long as you have a ssd I consider 10 faster than 7.

That’s the bottom line. If you want to, or are required to, run a current browser, that pretty much determines your need to upgrade your OS.

For example, my Dad had a computer some years ago that he only used for online banking. One day the bank support line told him his browser was no longer supported, and that unless he upgraded that he no longer had online access to his account. I checked around, but no supported browsers were available for his OS version. Had to order him a new computer just to go online with.

I still have one Windows 7 Pro (Intel Ivy Bridge Core 3rd gen) computer running, and fortunately both the Firefox and Chrome browsers are still supported, and Avast AV still is too. But I’m not sure what the outlook for that is beyond next year. I rarely go online with it,  but one day I’ll probably upgrade it to Win 10 (before that becomes end-of-life) just to remain compatible with current browsers and applications, as needed.

My daily driver PC is on Win 10 and it runs great! 🙂

 

Windows 10 Pro 22H2

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Yes SSD’s are fast, but where do you put the Page File?  I’ve read that a page file on a SSD is harmful to it (many reads & writes) and will wear it out faster.  Yes, people with 48 GB of RAM may not need a page file, but that’s sort of rare.

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

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An SSD will speed the OS up in many ways, including the Page File. It’s incredibly fast at random reads & writes, much more so than a spinning HDD.

It will also speed up any app, such as a browser, that frequently needs to access its cache.

The old wisdom that frequent writes will wear out an SSD prematurely just are not true. There are many articles on the net to support that fact. And a personal example is my Samsung SSD EVO 850 that I have used for over 6 years and nearly 23,000 power-on hours is still at “Good” health, per Samsung and CrystalDiskInfo diagnostics.

Endurance Test of Samsung 850 Pro Comes To an End after 9100TB of writes https://www.guru3d.com/news-story/endurance-test-of-samsung-850-pro-comes-to-an-end-after-9100tb-of-writes.html

Wear Leveling https://www.techtarget.com/searchstorage/definition/wear-leveling

https://helpdeskgeek.com/reviews/everything-you-need-to-know-about-ssd-wear-tear/

Windows 10 Pro 22H2

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Caribconsult, Cybertooth, Charlie

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That’s real good news!

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

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And my results here are with 34.4TB written so far to my Samsung SSD. Still cruising along! 🙂

*always back-up your data*

*SSD drives can die suddenly without warning, unlike typical HDD failures. I had a friend who installed the same drive as me, and it just totally bricked in two years when he was on vacation. Probably due to  a power surge, but nobody knows for sure…

Windows 10 Pro 22H2

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Nibbled To Death By Ducks, Charlie

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Anything electronic, including  SSD drives, can blow on you in a heartbeat, for no particular reason other than some critical component just failed…it happens. It really depends on how much the manufacturer is willing to spend on better grade components versus going for the lowest price.

Win7Pro, I5 CPU, 8Gb RAM, SSD boot drive, external 4Tb SSD storage

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Not sure if this is of any interest – but my ESET AV/Security program is up for renewal and I emailed ESET support to be sure that they were still going to be supporting Win 7. Anyone running Win 7 with ESET might find this useful.

Here’s ESET’s reply:

If you are on Windows 7, and want to continue using your ESET product, you must upgrade your operating system with the Windows 7 service pack 1 (SP1) and update it. If your system is already on SP1 and updated, and your ESET product is version 10 or later, you do not have to do anything and your ESET product will continue to function properly.

If your Windows 7 operating system is updated as described above, your ESET product will continue protecting your computer against malware even after Windows 7 stops receiving updates from Microsoft. However, without security updates from Microsoft for Windows 7, your computer will be more vulnerable to new malware and exploits.

For more information about Microsoft Windows 7 end of support and ESET products, visit our KB article: https://support.eset.com/en/microsoft-windows-7-end-of-support-and-eset-products

Thank you for using ESET security products,

ESET Technical Support

At Newegg, the ESET versions do not list Win 7 as a supported OS, thus my question to ESET directly.

 

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Cybertooth, wEarwOlf505cole, Charlie

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When I installed Win 7 on my then new computer in Dec. of 2012, the disk had Win 7 and SP1  already on it.  I only had to run the updates.  (Yes, I actually got a disk back then).

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

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LHiggins

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I agree that the need to use an updated browser will most probably determine whether or not you need to upgrade the OS. You may also need to consider software compatibility apart from browsers before deciding to upgrade.

As for the present I think there is no need to switch off Windows 7 yet as major browsers still support it.

And I don’t buy the opinion that “Windows 10 is faster than Windows 7” at all as my experience tells me otherwise. At best they run at the same speed.

Personally I still use Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 myself, still resisting Windows 10 (and don’t talk to me about Windows 11 as I consider it rubbish). I do have Windows 10 1809 LTSC on one of my partitions on my disk and I will probably switch to it some time after Windows 8.1 goes out of support. My most important application apart from the browser is VMware Workstation 15.5.2 and I have already determined it is supported on Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 1809 LTSC.

Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.

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Nibbled To Death By Ducks

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I really don’t understand this fuss about patches and updates and security vulnerabilities at all. I have been using Windows 7 Starter over 10 years now. Blogged all MS updates years ago and have really old version of Comodo firewall. Never had any problems: no viruses, troyans, hijacks, malware. Zero security problems ever and my laptop runs smoothly with very small RAM. I think many ordinary people use far too much money buying new computers and programs all the time. Advertising and this created vulnerability fear work well and rich guys get richer…

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Cybertooth, Microfix, Nibbled To Death By Ducks

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Underwhelming OS edition pays secure dividens over time. Congrats!

If debian is good enough for NASA...

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Thanks to everyone who took some time to offer their sentiments and experience on this topic. I have decided to ride the horse as long as it’s living, i.e., I’m staying on Win7. It has worked reliably for years, I have revived it several times from crapware that either got past the Kaspersky or I might have unwittingly installed, and it supports the two most important programs I use. The main one is an older version of Quicken, the kind that lives on your computer and gets installed from a disc, not the rental version on-line.  My Q has years of financial data and works perfectly and I haven’t found anything to replace it.  The second important program is the Thunderbird email program. I see nothing to be gained by moving up to W8-9-11. I still get security updates from MS, and other updates to FFox.

Win7Pro, I5 CPU, 8Gb RAM, SSD boot drive, external 4Tb SSD storage

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Cybertooth

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A wee update: As I mentioned, staying on Win7Pro seemed like the way to go, but just last week my hardware developed Alzheimer’s or something similar.  It looked like the POST was not running right and the unit would sometimes not go to the boot loader on the SSD.  It would go into a shutdown/restart loop and the only way to get it to boot right was to clear the CMOS via the jumper and unplug the power. Then it would boot right. It started to look like my BIOS was scrambled or something along that line and, with some help from the motherboard manufacturer GIGABYTE, I got the BIOS upgraded to a more current version.  The unit now booted correctly but, most important of all, the Win7Pro was totally undamaged and booted up perfectly. A bit of an improvement over earlier versions of Windows, which could get irretrievably damaged from this sort of screwed up booting.

Win7Pro, I5 CPU, 8Gb RAM, SSD boot drive, external 4Tb SSD storage

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Cybertooth

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Might be time to replace the CMOS battery on the motherboard.

Windows 10 Pro 22H2

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Microfix, Cybertooth

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That was one of the first things I tried but that wasn’t the problem. Apparently the BIOS had gotten scrambled, I have no idea how. How would you scramble the BIOS code?  It needed either an unscrambling, if that was possible, or perhaps some component on the MB had failed, in which case it was new MB time. Neither option very appealing.  Our power here is very steady with no surges.  How could that happen?  The tech support folks at GIGABYTE (MB manufacturer) were extremely helpful finding the right update for a 64bit system, and how to install it, and that resolved the boot up issues. Now you can access the BIOS via the DEL key on boot, as is normal, and make whatever changes you need, and it will remember that and reboot correctly, and a hardware check verifies it’s on the more recent BIOS version, the best one for my setup according to GIGABYTE. They were very responsive via messages and without them I probably would have screwed something up.

Win7Pro, I5 CPU, 8Gb RAM, SSD boot drive, external 4Tb SSD storage

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Cybertooth

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SURPRISE! Not done with this issue yet!  The BIOS refuses to keep the upgrade and anytime it reboots it still shows the older version and it continues to have the boot problem mentioned before. All attempts to resolve this, even with some very pointed help from Gigabyte, have failed. But if I get it to boot up as described previously, it runs fine and displays no issues at all. Soooo….it would appear some new hardware is on my horizon, including an upgrade to Win10. My wife’s ACER laptop has 10 and I’ve gotten a bit familiar with it and sooner or later I’m going to have to abandon this old friend, but there seems to be no other options. The BIOS chip is not socketed, it’s soldered to the MB, and I think any attempt to unsolder it would destroy some other things, plus Gigabyte advises that the problem might lie elsewhere, not in the BIOS chip. So it’s bite the bullet time and I think a refurbished Dell or HP laptop with Win10 might not be far off. Thanks to all who’ve participated in this thread.

Win7Pro, I5 CPU, 8Gb RAM, SSD boot drive, external 4Tb SSD storage

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It’s a well know fact out on the net that Gigabyte has issues with the BIOS being a bit wonky on various motherboards they sell.

In fact, when I helped my Nephew build his new gaming desktop in Aug 2021, we had to send his new Gigabyte Z490 Aorus Master motherboard back for exchange because it just wouldn’t boot properly from the BIOS it came with (regardless of how we configured it) and their “built-in” Q-Flash and Q-Flash Plus utilities refused to update the BIOS (neither the main nor the backup BIOS) with a fresh copy of the BIOS we downloaded directly from their site.

They replaced it, no questions asked, so obviously they’re aware there’s problems with the BIOS on some of their motherboards.

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Interesting, what you said about persistent problems with Gigabyte M/B’s. Currently, my unit is booting nicely using the optimized defaults available on the boot menu, and I feel no need to change that, because any efforts to do so, like enabling the faster boot, result in the boot loop I mentioned awhile back. But I can now shut it down and it will reboot to windows quickly and seems to run as before, and the BIOS remains at v.6. In all other respects it functions as expected. Now regarding speeds, my wife has an ACER laptop, 6Gb RAM, with a SSD I replaced, and a very vanilla Win10 I installed that I found on line, without all the pre-installed crap ACER put in, it’s way faster than it was originally, but I can’t say it’s any faster than my desktop Win7, and it will run my older Quicken and T-Bird mail, so that may be my future when the current unit blows up.

Win7Pro, I5 CPU, 8Gb RAM, SSD boot drive, external 4Tb SSD storage

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My last Gigabyte mb had a dual Bios that I never understood how an upgrade would work but this might be a point to research i your board has such.

🍻

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

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Caribconsult wrote:

So it’s bite the bullet time and I think a refurbished Dell or HP laptop with Win10 might not be far off.

I love my refurb Dell Latitude! Got a good deal on one with Win 10 Pro installed on the HDD. Cloned that to a spare SSD, and it’s fast enough for my needs!

Windows 10 Pro 22H2

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I’m inclined to go that route when my existing desktop blows up, which it will, one day. They all do, sooner or later!

Win7Pro, I5 CPU, 8Gb RAM, SSD boot drive, external 4Tb SSD storage

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Pepsiboy

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Caribconsult wrote:

I’m inclined to go that route when my existing desktop blows up, which it will, one day. They all do, sooner or later!

I am like you with Win 7. If it isn’t broken I’m NOT going to fix it with a new OS. We have 3 machines running Win 7 Sp1 with no problems. Our requirements for another OS is that they would have to be able to run Microsoft Works (used to make data bases for our personal information.), Microsoft Streets & Trips (Used for mapping and Laptop GPS.), Microsoft Money (Used for our personal accounting.), Quilt Motion (For controlling our quilting machine.). We are running Vipre Internet Security (Antivirus protection.) on the 2 machines that DO access the internet. The one machine that runs the quilting machine will NEVER have internet access. We were lucky a LONG time ago to get Vipre for free for lifetime with ALL updates included (They no longer give this out.).

For US, these computers are broken, so they will NOT get replaced. And that is the way they will stay for the rest of our days (We are both mid 70’s and going strong.)

Dave.

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Kranium, wavy, Charlie, Cybertooth

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Pepsiboy wrote:

Caribconsult wrote:

I’m inclined to go that route when my existing desktop blows up, which it will, one day. They all do, sooner or later!

I am like you with Win 7. If it isn’t broken I’m NOT going to fix it with a new OS. We have 3 machines running Win 7 Sp1 with no problems. Our requirements for another OS is that they would have to be able to run Microsoft Works (used to make data bases for our personal information.), Microsoft Streets & Trips (Used for mapping and Laptop GPS.), Microsoft Money (Used for our personal accounting.), Quilt Motion (For controlling our quilting machine.). We are running Vipre Internet Security (Antivirus protection.) on the 2 machines that DO access the internet. The one machine that runs the quilting machine will NEVER have internet access. We were lucky a LONG time ago to get Vipre for free for lifetime with ALL updates included (They no longer give this out.).

For US, these computers are broken, so they will NOT get replaced. And that is the way they will stay for the rest of our days (We are both mid 70’s and going strong.)

Dave.

In 2nd paragraph I miss stated the my computers are broken. It should read that they are NOT broken.

Dave

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Charlie, SueW

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Well, a big thank you to everyone who has contributed their knowledge and experience in this thread. The general agreement seems to be that those who continue to use Win7 plan on staying that way until forced by gunpoint to change, and I’m in that school, for sure. I personally don’t see any serious advantages from spending hours installing a new, questionably better O/S, learning the ins and outs of what MS calls an upgrade, which usually means they’ve moved stuff around and you have to go hunting for what you used to know exactly where it lived, and so forth.  One day my current hardware will die and I’m thinking a nice refurbished Dell or HP with a clean Win10 install like my wife’s ACER is as far as I need to go. Thanks again to everyone here.

Win7Pro, I5 CPU, 8Gb RAM, SSD boot drive, external 4Tb SSD storage

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Pepsiboy, SueW, Cybertooth

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Online banking should not be done on Windows 7

Random surfing should not be done on a Windows 7.  Too risky and too many sites are starting to not work.

Go back to Windows NT and see how much technology has changed and how much we have evolved.  If my Dad can go from mechanical 10 key calculators to using an iphone on a regular basis, everyone can learn and change.

Depending on your needs a nice Kindle may be your next tech.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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TechTango

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I don’t know what sort of problems you’ve run into, but I’ve been doing my on-line banking, including autopay, statements, deposits, transfers, etc with Win7 for years and have had no problems with any of the brand name banks such as Chase, Citi, etc. I also access investment accounts the same way and no problems, I haven’t caught a virus since I can’t remember (Kaspersky).  I don’t know what your specific experience has been or why you make such blanket statements. I used NT years ago when it was the best thing out there but huge improvements have been made and Win7 offers many of the same advantages but it no longer gets trashed if you don’t shut it down correctly. I agree, people can learn new technologies, but I reject the idea of changing just for hte sake of change. Perhaps newer Windows protect you better from various asaaults but so will user awareness and not downloading everything you come across.

Win7Pro, I5 CPU, 8Gb RAM, SSD boot drive, external 4Tb SSD storage

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Pepsiboy, SueW, Cybertooth

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I’m dual-booting between Linux Mint & Win 7. No issues at all. I only do a few things on W7 now, however, and there’s nothing of note/use to anybody on it.

 

Otherwise, Windows is but a mere speck in my rearview mirror. Good riddance.

Group B for WIN7 w/ ESU, plus trying out Linux builds in dual boot.

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SueW

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