So...no one else is gonna bring it up?

[goatmeal]

Why not upgrade to Win10? It's free for Win7 and Win8 owners.

Though it's not highly publicized, the old "free upgrade to Window 10" that Microsoft offered years ago during its initial release still works... at least it did as of Jan 2022 (article was originally from 2017, but has been updated over the years):

https://www.zdnet.com/article/heres-how ... 0-upgrade/

Yes, you can still get a free Windows 10 upgrade. Here's how
Microsoft's much-hyped free upgrade offer for Windows 10 ended years ago, right? Not exactly.

In April of 2021, I was forced to upgrade an old Windows 7 laptop to Window 10 after TurboTax no longer supported the defunct operating system. This was the same ZDNet article I used to get the upgrade.

I followed/used the links in the above article with no problems. Of course, mindful of DeadPoolX's comment, it was a seldom used laptop (only for vacations / away-from-home situations, etc.), so nothing went "wrong" with the upgrade. A more establish system will likely invite more problems.

However, if your system can support Win10 and you properly back up everything, it will save you money and extend the life of your current system in the long run.

[MusicallyInspired]

You can always roll back to Win7 too if it doesnt work well.

[goatmeal]

You can always roll back to Win7 too if it doesnt work well.

Great point, MI.

[notbobsmith]

I'm also running Windows 7 and have been wary about upgrading since I don't want to mess things up. But lately more and more incompatibilities are creeping in. The password manager I use suddenly stopped working after an update. Okay, I managed to find a work-around. The launcher for Elder Scrolls Online won't display the news. Related to Windows 7? Who knows? But I can live without it. Ubisoft's launcher broke. Managed to find a work-around. (And then it fixed itself for some reason). Malwarebytes is discontinuing support for Windows 8, so 7 probably isn't too far behind. So I've looked into upgrading and found the specs:

Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster processor or SoC
RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) for 32-bit or 2 GB for 64-bit
Hard disk space: 16 GB for 32-bit OS or 20 GB for 64-bit OS

So I should be fine. 3.7 GHz i7-4820K CPU with 8 GB RAM. But... my processor is not on the list of supported processors. So does this mean I am out of luck? A few years ago when Microsoft essentially tried to force the Windows 10 upgrade, I assume they thought I could handle it. So basically I have to choose with living for Windows 7 for a while longer, or turning my system into a brick, or at least hindering performance. And right now everything "works fine".

[Rath Darkblade]

Yes, I'm running a Win 7 Pro (Service Pack 1) machine. The specs are:

Processor: Intel i7-4790 CPU @ 3.60 GHz
RAM: 8 GB of RAM
64-bit OS
HDD space: 1 Terabyte (in theory, not in practice)

Are these good specs? I'm not sure. *shrug* I can't remember when I got this desktop, either.

By the way, that's another question: are desktops out of fashion, or something? Just wondering. Laptops seem to be all the rage nowadays, but having a desktop means that I can put it on the floor, which gives me more room on my desk.

I also got a desktop for another, more practical reason: it has a DVD-ROM drive. At the time, DVD-ROM games were still widely available. I still have lots of them (e.g. Dragon Age 1, and many others).

[goatmeal]

Last winter I had my original Windows 7 HDD go flakey after 10 years. I could have upgraded to Win10 after restoring from the original system discs, but I was leery that Win10 still doesn't play nice/support certain WinXP and Win7 software -- or at least it didn't for some time after its launch...

So I'm staying with Win7 until I absolutely need to upgrade. I did segregate the OS onto its own an SSD and placed my data on a separate HDD, so when the changeover/migration to Win10 occurs, it won't be so bad...

Oh, and Google Chrome also notified me the other day that the most recent browser update is the last that will support Windows 7.

[goatmeal]

Besides, Windows 10 will only be supported until October 14, 2025 -- just shy of 3 years from now...

[Tawmis]

Oh, and Google Chrome also notified me the other day that the most recent browser update is the last that will support Windows 7.

Got the same message about Windows 8.
My Windows 7 desktop finally died, so I used my backup of this Windows 8.1 laptop.
I can't put into words my dislike of Windows 8.1 OS.
But I didn't update to Windows 10 for the same reason.
Despite my hatred, I know Windows 8.1 works on this laptop.
Upgrading to Windows 10 was inviting potential issues.
So it's the whole dance with the devil you know, thingie.
I am in the market for looking at getting a new system, and I am more than likely going to either look at Windows 10 (which I used at work for years now) until recently updating to Windows 11 (been using it for like 6 months now).
And this Windows 8.1 laptop will go back to being the back up.

[Rath Darkblade]

Hmph. Is there a huge difference between Windows 10 and Windows 11? From what I've seen, they're pretty much the same. *shrug*

[DeadPoolX]

Oh, and Google Chrome also notified me the other day that the most recent browser update is the last that will support Windows 7.

Yeah, I spent over two hours last night setting up Firefox. Honestly, I'm not overly excited about returning to FF. It's a good browser, don't get me wrong, but in my experience it's only a matter of time before my FF profile gets corrupted and I have to start all over. In the past, this has happened more than a few times in FF. This could be a byproduct of specific extensions (although which ones I couldn't tell you) or perhaps FF just being a bit flaky. Whichever it is, I'll have to make sure to regularly backup my FF profile to prepare for what seems like an ultimately unavoidable situation.

Hmph. Is there a huge difference between Windows 10 and Windows 11? From what I've seen, they're pretty much the same. *shrug*

There ARE some differences that are readily apparent, such as the taskbar being situated in the lower-middle of the screen (similar to MacOS X) in Windows 11 as opposed to the left-hand side that's been a staple of Windows OSes since Win95. I can definitely understand this change as monitors are much larger and wider than they used to be, so having the taskbar in the middle — despite seeming weird to long-term Windows OS users — is somewhat easier to use than having it in the lower left-hand side of the screen.

That said... the major — and much more important — differences between Windows 10 and Windows 11 can be somewhat difficult to articulate BECAUSE Win10 and Win11 have changed quite a bit (especially Win10) since their original release, so you're very likely to find articles written about those operating systems that are outdated and incorrect.

Regardless, both Win10 and Win11 are FAR more invasive (although it's possible to reduce this by changing numerous settings, some of which can only be done in Services) than Win7 or any Windows OS before them.

The next time I put together a new computer I'm going to have a dual-boot system between Windows 11 and Linux (probably Ubuntu, but maybe some other version), where I primarily use Linux and only resort to Win11 to use software that requires a Windows OS. Admittedly, this might prove to be a real hassle, but I dislike the newer Windows OSes to the point I want to use them as little as possible.

[MusicallyInspired]

Good news is gaming is getting more and more support on Linux thanks to Valve's efforts with the WINE-powered Proton translation layer with their new Steam Deck handheld PC/console. I've got one and it's fantastic (of course, Proton works on any Linux system not just the Steam Deck). Most games work great (like 95% of what I've played so far). The only thing that doesn't is my DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) Cakewalk. Which I absolutely need for audio/music production as I've been used to it for over a decade now and I've invested a lot into it at this point. So worst case scenario I'll dual-boot as well. But I'm so close to abandoning Windows. I've heard Win11 is getting quite bad with annoyances, delays in response (even with things like the GUI), invasiveness, performance, removing beloved/highly used features in place of "user-friendly" nonsense, forcing new changes that nobody wants or asked for, etc. And it's gotten worse to the point that people who migrated to Win11 in the beginning and defended it are no longer defending it. When the time comes to require upgrading from Win10, I'm gonna be dual-booting with Win11 and Manjaro (an Arch Linux distro) and not spending much time in Windows ever again if I can help it.

[Rath Darkblade]

Regardless, both Win10 and Win11 are FAR more invasive (although it's possible to reduce this by changing numerous settings, some of which can only be done in Services) than Win7 or any Windows OS before them.

The next time I put together a new computer I'm going to have a dual-boot system between Windows 11 and Linux (probably Ubuntu, but maybe some other version), where I primarily use Linux and only resort to Win11 to use software that requires a Windows OS. Admittedly, this might prove to be a real hassle, but I dislike the newer Windows OSes to the point I want to use them as little as possible.

I've heard Win11 is getting quite bad with annoyances, delays in response (even with things like the GUI), invasiveness, performance, removing beloved/highly used features in place of "user-friendly" nonsense, forcing new changes that nobody wants or asked for, etc. And it's gotten worse to the point that people who migrated to Win11 in the beginning and defended it are no longer defending it.

Oh, no. What kind of things do you mean by "invasiveness", "annoyances" etc.? I'm just wondering.

I usually don't bother upgrading to a new OS unless I really, truly have to.

*EDIT*
Geeze - I googled "Windows 11 invasiveness" and got the answer. It looks like Windows 11 truly sucks. Fortunately, I also found this on Tom's Hardware: 11 Worst Features of Windows 11 and How to Fix Them. I hope it's helpful.

Also, this article (from PC Mag) is interesting too.

[notbobsmith]

I guess I won't have a choice but to upgrade before the end of the year:

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/steam ... 0-6512748/

Oh, and Google Chrome also notified me the other day that the most recent browser update is the last that will support Windows 7.

And I guess the embedded version of Chrome is the reason why.

[DeadPoolX]

I guess I won't have a choice but to upgrade before the end of the year:

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/steam ... 0-6512748/

Oh, and Google Chrome also notified me the other day that the most recent browser update is the last that will support Windows 7.

And I guess the embedded version of Chrome is the reason why.

Plus, I've read that Firefox won't receive new updates on Windows 7/8/8.1 after July of this year.

Maia and I have been looking into Ubuntu, especially since ProtonDB makes playing games — even those that normally only work on Windows — possible in most cases.

[goatmeal]

I saw that about Steam as well. Looks like my hand will be forced, one way or another.

I'll probably upgrade to Win10 late next week over the Easter weekend. After 9 years of heavy use (and almost 35 years of using IBM-PCs/clones), finally had my first-ever HD fail in Feb 2022 (had back-ups, so no big loss other than time). I upgraded to a 2-drive configuration: SSD for OS & Programs, and HDD for Data Storage. Used the HP System Restore DVDs for Win7 and everything went just fine.

Seeing as how it's only got 1 years' worth of stuff on it (and being only OS/Programs), I don't expect any problems. If there are, I'll just do a clean install of Win7 from the Restore Discs, then install Win10 immediately thereafter. Data will still be safe either way!