Windows 7 Support Ending January 14th

[Barrymer]

With support for Win7 ending in a week, Microsoft is promoting Win7 users to move to Win10. For those who don't want to make that move right away it begs the question:

- Is it wise to install Win10 on your current computer, or wait until you get a new computer and switch then?

- Is it a serious threat to continue using Win 7 for a while yet?

- If you do want to wait, should you get a third party virus program and can you expect that to give you reasonable protection from malicious attacks?

- Is there anything else you should do if you stay with Win7 for another year? i.e. Pay for extended support from Microsoft.

- Any other thoughts on this issue?

Thanks for your assistance.

 

[Sysnative Windows Update]

Hello!

Yes, it is highly recommended you switch to Windows 10. I would not recommend you keep using Win7 as you will not be getting any security vulnerabilities and if a security threat comes, you could potentially be vulnerable and get infected or even worse, your files encrypted by ransomware.

Nowadays, AV as such is far from enough to protect you. Today's malware is far more sophisticated and unless you know what you are doing and practice safe surfing: Digital economy & society in the EU - Safe surfing: A brief look on internet security, you could get infected.

Paying for extended support does not really make sense unless you are a business that must stay on Windows 7 due to a specific business application that refuses to run on Windows 10 and where virtual environment is not an option.

Plus, switching to Windows 10 is free of charge and more secure.

 

[Tekno Venus]

If your computer meets the requirements for Windows 10 (which it should, the hardware requirements haven't changed - the only issue could potentially be a legacy hardware device that doesn't run on Windows 10), then installing Windows 10 on your current computer is fine. You can do an in-place upgrade, meaning your files and programs will be transfered over to Windows 10 - you won't need to reinstall everything. Generally, the in-place upgrade works smoothly, but if there are any issues you're at the right website to get them fixed

There is no imminent "your computer will explode on the 14th Jan" threat, but we cannot predict the future. It might be years before a serious Windows 7 flaw is found and attacked, or it could be days. No anti-malware solution is perfect, and they can't fix vulnerabilities in the operating system.

Windows 10 has been out for 4 1/2 years now, and whilst there were definitely issues at the start, it's now a very mature and stable OS and I can't think of any reason I'd want to stay on Windows 7. Yes, I liked Windows 7 a lot - as did many people. There are some things in Windows 7 I miss, don't get me wrong, but Windows 10 is a much more secure, faster and more modern OS and there's very little reason not to upgrade.

Paying for extended support does not really make sense unless you are a business that must stay on Windows 7 due to a specific business application that refuses to run on Windows 10 and where virtual environment is not an option.

Extended support for Windows 7 is only available to businesses and enterprise organisations, and only for Windows 7 Professional/Enterprise devices. They're only available through a Microsoft account manager or authorised partner.

 

[satrow]

Extended support for Windows 7 is only available to businesses and enterprise organisations, and only for Windows 7 Professional/Enterprise devices. They're only available through a Microsoft account manager or authorised partner.

Here's one such application form/contact page, not restricted to the US: Microsoft Forms

 

[Corrine]

Windows 7 received a rollup update today as it reaches EoL (End of Life) today. Starting tomorrow (15 January 2020) all versions of Windows 7 (except Professional if the Extended Security Update has been purchased) will display a full-screen upgrade warning notification which will remain on the screen until you interact with the device.

For information about rollup update as well as how you can upgrade to Windows 10 today for free see the article at Bleeping Computer, Windows 7 Gets Final Monthly Rollup Update Before End Of Life.

 

[DownUnder]

I upgraded to Win10 from Win7 a few days ago. It did not work doing and in place upgrade, so I had to do a clean install from a USB stick with the iso created from the Media Creation Tool. I first backed everything up to a new 2TB USB drive. The clean installation removed all my applications, as expecdted, but the data stored on my separate hard drive from windows SSD was left intact. I can confirm that Win10 is much faster on my 4 year old PC. I notice that Groove picked up all my music that was stored in various folders on my hard drive, and presented it all together, which is nice.

 

[plodr]

My Windows 7 (32 bit) Home has been on since about 9am, EST January 15th and I received no warning.
My husband turned his laptop on this afternoon and got the expected warning which I dismissed by clicking the small message in the lower left corner Don't remind me again.

I imaged all computers on 13 January and will image them again after I manually install the January updates.

 

[Roliya56]

Upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 a month ago,before starting to do it,i have read many related articles on the Microsoft website,and have also learned about those failed experiences,i have failed many times, and finally followed a free tutorial.

 

[Roliya56]

To upgrade to Windows 10,i did it a month ago,before starting to do it,i have read many related articles on the Microsoft website,and have also learned about those failed experiences,i have failed many times, and finally followed a free tutorial.

Has anyone tried Microsoft's method to upgrade Windows 10? Or download Windows media createion tool?

 

[satrow]

Has anyone tried Microsoft's method to upgrade Windows?

Does MS have an official method to upgrade W7 to 10 for free?