Official support for Windows 7 is ending.
How to understand the transition to expanded support for the “seven” for ordinary users.
Recently it became known to the general public that since mid-January 2015, Microsoft has ceased basic support for products included in the Windows 7 line: Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise. Information about this was posted on official website companies.
A huge number of horror stories and indignation about this immediately appeared on the Internet. We in the Good News of Science and Technology section are trying to figure out what the end of mainstream support means for ordinary users.
General support is warranty service, accepting applications for design changes and correction of non-security related errors. That is, to put it simply, refusal of general support means termination of any further work on improving the system and focusing only on issues related to security and critical vulnerabilities.
So-called extended support includes free security updates and paid support upon individual requests from OS (operating system) owners. It will last another five years, until mid-January 2020. After this, work on Windows 7 will be stopped completely.
Note that what happened now with the “seven” happened with Windows XP back in 2009. Then it was also discontinued general support this operating system. However, many continued to use it. Security updates were released properly. Memorable events associated with the complete cessation of even extended support for the XP version occurred only in early April 2014. That's when a serious event really happened - this version no longer supported completely.
Note that the end of support for Windows XP does not prevent many users from using this operating system and today. In our opinion, it is significant that this version is sometimes still used by people professionally associated with computer development. Many of them believe that XP is the last moderately commercialized OS from Microsoft. Starting with Windows 7, the computer monopolist is moving further and further from professionalism to mass popularity, they say. Also, some XP supporters have expressed the view that the dangers arising from the complete end of support are exaggerated.
Should I be worried about the end of mainstream support for Windows 7 in 2015?
We think not.
- First, we must understand that security issues will continue to be resolved for another five years. This period is very long for the computer industry, and during this time a lot can change. Suffice it to remember that a little more than five years ago, Windows 7 itself was first presented to the general public.
- Secondly, the end of support does not mean that the OS is so obsolete that there is no point in improving it anymore. We must remember that the “seven”, like the rest of the Windows line of products, is primarily a commercial project, main task which after all - to earn. Is it profitable to continue to fully support your “legacy” product, already installed on most computers in the world, when there is Windows 8 and in the near future? Windows run 10 that should be actively promoted? The answer is obvious.
- Well, and thirdly, it is quite possible that the new Microsoft product Windows 10 will turn out to be much better than the universally criticized for the inconvenient tiled design of the Eight, and most users themselves decide to switch to it from the Seven even before the end of its extended support.
Let us add that today Windows 7 is installed on 56.4% of all computers in the world. With a gap of more than three times, Windows XP is in 3rd place (about 13.5%). Windows 8 and 8.1 are installed on 18.6% of computers.
Microsoft has extended support for Windows 7 until 2023. This decision was made for a reason. 3 years have already passed since the release of Windows 10, but Windows 7 continues to occupy a leading position. Therefore, the American corporation decided to continue supporting business clients for additional fee. Free support Windows 7 will only be available until January 14, 2020.
How will Windows 7 be supported until 2023?
Microsoft launched the service under named Windows 7 ESU (Extended Security Updates), which is designed to distribute update packages for Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Enterprise with corporate license. Also PC owners who work under licensed Windows 10 Enterprise and Windows 10 Education will receive a discount when updating the seven.
Windows 7 ESU will also be available on the Windows 7 website until January 2023. cloud service Office 365 ProPlus. The cost of this office suite not yet known. However, the price will not be lower than that presented for Windows 10.
It is important to note that on at the moment Windows 7 receives security updates. However, for this OS, the offer to switch to Windows 10 still remains relevant. Moreover, such a transition for licensed users of the Redmond operating system still remains free or with a significant discount. Therefore, we can conclude that after 2023, further support will be offered for Windows 7 for the same fee, thus forcing users to switch to Windows 10 for free.
On October 22, the Windows 7 operating system turned 8 years old. According to Net Applications, Windows 7 still has about 47% of the desktop OS market, i.e. almost half of this market, surpassing operational Windows systems 10, Windows 8/8.1, Windows XP and Windows Vista taken together.
Statistics clearly show that despite the fact that Microsoft offered the opportunity for a free upgrade to the new Windows 10 operating system for a whole year, the majority of Seven users did not take advantage of this opportunity.
The main phase of support for Windows 7 is almost three years ago, on January 13, 2015. According to data presented on the Microsoft website life cycle operating systems of the Windows family, the extended support phase for Windows 7 will last until January 14, 2020.
Thus, if by this time the majority of users are still using Windows 7, they will be left with an outdated operating system that will no longer receive any updates, including security updates, making Windows 7 just as vulnerable to malware. Software and hackers, like Windows XP, which Microsoft supported in April 2014, or Windows Vista, which was supported in April of this year.
What will Windows 7 users do after support ends? There are several possible answers to this question.
1. Users will continue to use Windows 7.
It is likely that a significant portion of users will continue to use the outdated “Seven” for some time. Considering the fact that, according to Net Applications, about 5% of the desktop OS market is still occupied by the outdated Windows XP, support for which ended more than three years ago, we can assume that Windows 7 will not lose its users immediately after the end of support, and this will happen gradually over the course of at least several years. All these users, of course, will become easy prey for hackers, since after the release of security updates is stopped, the “seven” will quickly turn into a leaky sieve.
2. Users will switch to Windows 10.
It can be assumed that after support for Windows 7 ends, the new Windows 10 operating system will be switched primarily to corporate users who were not able to free update to "ten". However, this is unlikely to affect a large percentage ordinary users, given the fact that those of them who wanted to upgrade to the “ten” could do so for a whole year, when this opportunity was available for free (this only applied to ordinary users, not corporate ones).
3. Users will not switch to Windows 10, but will switch to alternative operating systems.
The era of desktop computers is becoming a thing of the past. It can be assumed that in the near future, regular desktop Windows will remain popular only in the corporate sector, where stationary desktop PCs, which have traditionally been dominated by Windows for many years, will continue to be actively used. However, it is also clear that Windows' long-term dominance in the enterprise sector was largely due to the fact that people were simply more accustomed to working with Windows than with any other operating systems. Now that's it larger number people are being used mobile devices on Android and iOS and do not use Windows, so it is obvious that after some Windows time it will no longer seem to people such a familiar operating system as before. Therefore, an office worker will need to learn to work with Windows in the same way as with any other unfamiliar operating system. As a result, this will lead to the fact that enterprises will begin to refuse to purchase Windows and will purchase devices either on Android and iOS, which are familiar to people, or will switch to Linux.
It can also be assumed that, especially for the end of support for Windows 7, Microsoft's competitors in the person of Google companies and Apple will prepare their own proposals for users. If such proposals really exist, then some users will abandon Windows and switch to alternative operating systems.
Part Windows users 7 will probably switch to some Linux distribution. Most likely, this is what will be done in many enterprises where they care about safety and therefore will not use outdated Windows 7, left without updates. Faced with the alternative: buy a new Windows 10 device or simply replace Windows 7 with free Linux, many businesses will choose the latter. Because it's cheaper. In addition, support for Windows 10 will end in 2025, and the enterprise will have to spend money again on purchasing new licenses. It's cheaper to install Linux and not depend on Microsoft.
In addition to the corporate sector, another traditional niche for desktop Windows will remain the gaming PC market for some time: home users will continue to use desktop computers With pre-installed Windows to be able to play PC games. But this will only happen if Microsoft manages to keep developers interested in creating games and gaming devices for desktop Windows.
As Microsoft recently admitted, keeping developers interested in mobile version The company never succeeded in Windows, so mobile Windows is already official, from its further development and from the further release of smartphones on Windows 10 Mobile. It is obvious that over time, application developers will begin to lose interest in regular Windows, as more and more people will use devices on other operating systems.
A computer is a complex relationship between software and hardware. The basis of the first component is the operating system.
Among the most popular operating systems is the famous Windows 7, released in 2009. Despite the fact that many years have passed since its launch, it remains relevant. There are several reasons for this:
- high performance;
- ease of use;
- OS Vista failure;
- users' distrust of Windows 10.
However, Microsoft said that switching to new product still have to, since support for Windows 7 will be officially discontinued. This news raised many questions regarding the exact timing and the possibility of continuing to use the beloved “seven”.
What caused this decision?
Microsoft reports that this is a sign of concern: the seventh OS is no longer able to withstand modern cyber threats, which was clearly demonstrated during large-scale attacks of encryption viruses, which mainly affected computers with this OS. There is also a mercantile interest: borrowing most of market, old system interferes with sales of the “ten”. Eliminating a competitor will help the American corporation increase profits.
When will Windows 7 support end?
It should be noted that support for Windows 7 ended in January 2015. To this day, an extended version has been preserved, implying paid help And free access to the knowledge base. But from January 14, 2020, this service will also cease to operate.
Should I worry? The answer to the question depends on whether you are using a licensed or pirated version. If you are a supporter of the “license” and are used to receiving updates, you will have to change the software. If you have a pirated version installed, the news does not change anything, since you still do not receive updates. That is, even after specified date you can safely use your favorite OS, but you need to be aware that the PC is not protected from hacker attacks, which in lately have become noticeably more frequent.
- Buying new computer with Intel processor Kaby Lake, Qualcomm 8996 and AMD Bristol Ridge or later, if you wish to install the Windows 7,8,8.1 operating system you will encounter a warning that will be shown when searching for updates:
- Not supported hardware
- Your PC uses a processor designed for the latest version of Windows. Because the processor is not supported with the version of Windows you are currently using, your system will miss out on important security updates.
- It is also possible that the update center will show an error due to which it is not possible to search for updates:
- Windows could not find new updates
- An error occurred while checking for updates for your computer.
- Errors found:
- Code 80240037 Windows Update encountered an unknown error.
- Thus, the only proven solution that Microsoft offers is to install the latest version of the Windows 10 operating system, which can be downloaded from the official website.
- Intel Atom Z530
- Intel Atom D525
- Intel Core i5-M 560
- Intel Core i5-4300M
- Intel Pentium B940
- Kaby Lake
- Ryzen
- Skylake
- Qualcomm 8996 (Snapdragon 820)
- AMD Bristol Ridge
- AMD FX-8350
- AMD Turion 64 Mobile Technology ML-34
- More than one article on this issue has been posted on the official Microsoft blog. We warned in advance about problems of incompatibility of, let's say, these processors and operating systems below 10. Translation of the article from the official Microsoft blog:
- Earlier this year, we shared information about Windows 10 bringing silicon innovation and our working together with partners to achieve breakthroughs in performance, imaging, connectivity, power, graphics and more as Windows platform develops with them. At that time, we shared our commitment to security, reliability and compatibility with our installed base.
- Enterprise customers are migrating to Windows 10 faster than any version of Windows. At the same time, we recognize that in some cases customers have multiple systems that require more long terms deployment. We listened to this feedback and today we are publishing an update to our support policy for 6th generation Intel Core (Skylake). * We have extended the support period from July 17, 2018 until the end of support dates for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1; And we will provide everything necessary updates for the security system. This policy change primarily applies to our commercial customers who currently manage deployments running Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 and does not apply to customers running Windows control 10.
- Windows 7 is in extended support today, and support will end for Windows 7 on January 14, 2020, and support for Windows 8.1 will end on January 10, 2023. 6th generation Intel devices Core for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 will be supported by all applicable security updates until the end of support for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. This change is made possible by a strong partnership with our OEM partners and Intel, who will conduct validation testing and update security updates for the 6th generation Intel systems Core running Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 until end of support dates. As reported earlier this year, Future silicon platforms, including Intel's 7th generation Intel Core (Kaby Lake) processor family and 7th generation processors AMD generations(e.g. Bristol Ridge) will only be supported on Windows 10, and all future silicon releases will require latest version Windows 10
- This change is designed to help our customers purchase modern hardware with confidence while continuing to manage their migrations to Windows 10. There are currently more than 350 million devices on Windows 10, and more than 135 billion hours of usage since launch, in enterprise deployments. Windows clients 10 per device every day. We recommend that customers upgrade these 6th generation Intel Core systems to Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 as soon as possible so that they can receive full support along with the great improvements that come from running modern hardware with modern software.
- More information on this topic can be found
- *Applies to Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows Embedded 7, 8, 8.1.
- Official blog, in English.
- Of course, lovers of boring versions of Windows such as 7 have found a solution and at the moment it can be downloaded from Github from the user zeffy. I will provide all the links below at the end of the article, but for now a little about the script. If you download the script from home page Zeffy on GitHub then in the downloads you will find an archive, it will contain files that are not compiled, this is not what you need. Such an archive is suitable for those who want to see for themselves what is inside the installation file or add their own corrections and then compile it. To install the patch, you need to go to the page with releases, the author updates and supplements them, you can even see that the versions of the patch are changing. although to be honest I didn’t constantly look into the code and watch it, yes thanks a lot that there is such a patch and let’s not talk about sad things. Go to the page with releases and select the release you need, for your system and bitness, let me remind you if anyone has forgotten the x32 and x64 bitness. After you download the release you need, run the file for execution, it will be downloaded alone if it is for Windows and has msi extension installation file. Full name for x64 bit Windows will be "wufuc_setup_x64.msi" without quotes. Install using the usual method, like all programs in Windows, everything is simple. Yes, if you haven’t found the page with releases, you can get to it by clicking on the button at the end of the article “Download Wufuc from GitHub”
- IN system file Under the name wuaueng.Dll there are two functions responsible for checking the processor: IsDeviceServiceable (cancelled) and IsCPUSupported (cancelled). IsDeviceServiceable calls IsCPUSupported, then reuses the result in iterative actions, checking for processor compatibility. The wufuc patch exploits this behavior and corrects it. boolean values, Windows update thinks that it has already checked the processor and the result is that your processor is supported by the system.
- During the installation process, a Windows task is created that automatically runs wufuc patch when the user logs into the system, then depending on the center settings Windows updates, wufuc will be waiting for updates.
- When updates arrive on your computer, the wufuc patch is injected into LoadLibraryExW via the Windows Api and automatically recruits IsDeviceServiceable() inside Wuaueng.dll
- Also RegQueryValueExW is needed to provide UpdatePack7R2 compatibility.
- The incompatibility message appears due to an update being installed through Windows Update. Let's look at how to remove and what updates to remove.
- To delete installed update, open the command line as administrator. IN command line type the following command:
- wusa /uninstall /kb:4015550
- Confirm Enter. Next, we delete another update with the same command:
- wusa /uninstall /KB:4012218
- Confirm Enter again.
- Next we do the same with: KB4022719, KB4015549, KB4038777, KB4041686, the same thing. We hide these updates from installation in the future.
- It is possible that the Diagnostics Tracking Service is installed and running on the system.
- Disable it by stopping it in advance and choosing to start manually or disabled. This service has been renamed and all options can be found in the telemetry article. I advise you to disable telemetry so that the sent data about yours is processed as little as possible. computer device and came as little as possible necessary updates. But disabling does not help in all cases, and then only when the incompatibility is corrected and so that it does not arise again, we disable telemetry and perform other methods described in the article.
- Not all options may work, so I advise you to try each and settle on the one that works. Why don't all options work? Because they are different and perform different options corrections. Of course, to prevent such errors from occurring, another option is to change the processor or operating system.
- Some services have been renamed, want to see updated data on disabling telemetry? Go to the full article by clicking on the link below:
- Below is a table of processor compatibility with Windows versions.
- Compatibility data for processors and server versions of Windows.
- With the help of these tables, you can select both the processor for the operating system and the OS for each OS.
- Since we're talking about Windows support. I suggest you visit the page where you can find out support information for any of the products and find out when updates are received.
Which processors are incompatible?
Official Microsoft blog.
Methods for correcting incompatibility.
Installing a patch to correct incompatibility:
How does this wufuc script from Zeffy work?
Update removal method:
Let's disable the Diagnostics Tracking Service:
Table of compatibility of processors with operating systems.
| Windows version | Intel processors | AMD processors | Qualcomm processors |
| Windows 7 and earlier versions (xp) | Intel Core i3,i5,i7-6xxx, Core m3,m5,m7-6xxx Xeon E3-xxxx v5 – 6th generation. |
--- | |
| Windows 8.1 | Intel Atom, Celeron, Pentium, similar series of processors. |
A-series Ax-8xxx, E-series Ex-8xxx, FX-870K – 6th generation. | --- |
| Windows 10 update 1507 | Intel Core i3,i5,i7-6xxx, Core m3,m5,m7-6xxx, Xeon E3-xxxx v5 – 6th generation. Intel Atom, Celeron, Pentium, similar series of processors. |
A-series Ax-8xxx, E-series Ex-8xxx, FX-870K – 6th generation. | --- |
| Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB 2015 |
Intel Core i3,i5,i7-6xxx, Core m3,m5,m7-6xxx, Xeon E3-xxxx v5 – 6th generation. Intel Atom, Celeron, Pentium, similar series. |
A-series Ax-8xxx, E-series Ex-8xxx, FX-870K – 6th generation. | --- |
| Windows 10 1511 | Intel Core i3,i5,i7-7xxx, Core m3-7xxx, Xeon E3-xxxx v6 – 7th generation. |
--- | |
| Windows 10 1607 | Intel Atom, Celeron, Pentium – current series |
--- | |
| Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB 2016 |
Intel Core i3,i5,i7,i9-7xxx, Core m3-7xxx, Xeon E3-xxxx v6 – 7th generation. Intel Atom, Celeron, Pentium – current series |
A-series Ax-9xxx, E-series Ex-9xxx, FX-9xxx – 7th generation. | --- |
| Windows 10 1703 | Intel Core i3,i5,i7,i9-7xxx, Core m3-7xxx, Xeon E3-xxxx v6 – 7th generation. 8 Intel generation Core i7-8xxxU; Intel Atom, Celeron, Pentium – current series |
A-series Ax-9xxx, E-series Ex-9xxx, FX-9xxx – 7th generation. AMD Ryzen 3,5,7 1xxx |
--- |
| Windows 10 1709 | Intel Core i3,i5,i7-8xxx – 8th generation inclusive. Intel Atom, Celeron, Pentium, current series. |
A-series Ax-9xxx, E-series Ex-9xxx, FX-9xxx – 7th generation. AMD Ryzen 3,5,7 1xxx |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 |
| Windows 10 Pro for Workstation 1709 |
Intel Core i3,i5,i7-8xxx – 8th generation. Intel Atom, Celeron, Pentium, current series |
A-series Ax-9xxx, E-series Ex-9xxx, FX-9xxx – 7th generation. AMD Ryzen 3,5,7 1xxx; AMD Opteron; AMD Epyc 7xxxx. |
--- |
