Today is a really historic day for the Microsoft family.
Almost 11 years after the launch of Windows 7, Microsoft has decided its time to pull the plug on support for one of their most popular Operating Systems ever.
For younger people more familiar with Windows 10, it’s hard to explain just how good Windows 7 was at the time. It felt like the first really STABLE and really aesthetically pleasing Operating System that Microsoft offered.
Though it’s hard to believe, for millions of people, logging in daily and seeing this image below brought a sense of real comfort to the day.
Windows 7 was awesome. It was seen as a marked improvement over its predecessor Window Vista, adding new “fancy” features like the task bar, Aero window management, file libraries, and much more.
Even with all the warnings and the heads up, Windows 7 remains popular, even today. It runs on 26 percent of all PC’s which is a staggering number considering that Windows 10 has been out for 4+ years AND Microsoft offered (and still offers) Windows 10 as a FEE upgrade to customers.
Microsoft has been notifying users about this day for a full year and they plan to step up the notifications. A full-screen notification will appear for Windows 7 users on Wednesday, warning users that their systems are now out of support.
Extended Support for Windows 7
If you are a business or an academic institution, your users will be able to pay for extended security updates but, it’s going to be expensive.
- Extended updates for Windows 7 Enterprise will cost approximately $25 per machine, and the cost doubles to $50 per device in 2021 and again to $100 in 2022.
- Extended updates for Windows 7 Pro will cost approximately $50 per machine, and the cost doubles to $100 per device in 2021 and again to $200 in 2022.
Obviously some discounts will be available with volume licensing but when you start to think about how the costs will add up, the question is naturally – why stay with Windows 7?
The reason some businesses will stick with Windows 7
As you can see from the prices above, a company with 100 or more employees will start to pay REAL money going forward but there are a lot of smaller companies who will stay on Windows 7 until the lights are turned off.
The reason is, they have made the decision that it’s a business critical tool for their business. It would shock you if you knew how many small hotels and businesses run proprietary Windows 7 software.
For many of these businesses, this software is literally their bread and butter and they would literally take their chances with a hacker than try and experiment with a software upgrade. To make things even more interesting, a lot of times the developers of their software may no longer be in business so the process of upgrading becomes even dicier. Easier to just stay on Windows 7.
Will Microsoft fold and continue supporting Windows 7?
Short of some apocalyptic disaster, the answer is no.
However, based on precedent with Windows XP, it’s not inconceivable that Microsoft will continue to release public security patches. The truth is, principle be damned, it’s much better to have all your Operating Systems inoculated against a virus or malware than to have some exposed and a potential cycle of re-infection occur.
Some common Windows 7 upgrade questions
So in light of the fact that the big day is here, here are some Windows 7 upgrade frequently asked questions for you.
- Can I still upgrade to Windows 10 for FREE? Yes, you can still upgrade to Windows 10Â for free. Read more about that here.
- What if I am on a Mac? You can upgrade Windows 7 on Parallels. Read more about that here.
- I’m a Windows 7 user, how can I get Windows 10 Training? You can get Windows 10 training right here.
- How do I migrate Windows 7 to Windows 10 using Zenworks? Link here.
- How do I migrate from Windows 7 to Windows 10 Enterprise using MDT? Link here.
- How to I upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 on VMware? Link here.
- How do I upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 10 LTSB? Link here.
- How do I upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 Enterprise? Link here.
- How do I upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 10 – clean versus in place? Link here.
- How do I upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 10 Education? Link here.
- Windows 7 to Windows 10 migration checklist. Link here.
In Summary
Windows 7 was a really great Operating System which I (and I suspect some of you) will miss. Thanks to Microsoft for creating a great reliable platform for contemporary computing.
Question for you guys.
What did you think of Windows 7? Please leave your comments and feedback below.