Win 7 support

[Nostromo]

I got an email from Microsoft, stating that win 7 support will end on the 14th January 2020. This will mean no more security updates.

I don't know if this has been posted before, but I thought I'd just let anyone know who didn't already.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

There are going to be rather more unsupported PC's in the world than supported ones.

 

[Nostromo]

There are going to be rather more unsupported PC's in the world than supported ones.

I think You're right. But I suppose the support was going to end sooner or later, I just wish it was later.

 

[AMcUK]

TBH XP was dropped a long time ago - when there was a really serious exploit MS did release a patch.
I kept my old XP machine because it had a serial port and have one device that uses it for programming.
I turned it on, applied the patch and turned it off - not sure why, the device has now died!

I have a Windows Media Center(re) running as a TV recorder on Windows 7. That's a a bit more of a worry, I guess I'll have to lock down what it can see in the LAN and where it can go on the Internet. Shame that product got dropped

 

[Cobra]

I'm still mourning the loss of XP pro
But I did reluctantly "upgrade" to W7 quite sometime ago.

I just find it slightly annoying when companies (Not just Microsoft) tell you "you will use our latest product or suffer the consequences"
I don't think W7 was broken, so I've no idea why they had change it in the first place.

I appreciate the fact that there may well be certain applications that are useful for the professional users, but as a basic home user that doesn't have a touch screen
or doesn't want to use windows as an app based product...

 

[petersmart]

I still use XP and W7 as well as Linux Mint, but my setups are completely protected and I only go to websites I trust.
No one get on my PCs unless I want them to!

 

[andy1868]

Unfortunately modern exploits go way beyond visiting dodging sites these days, just look at the Bluekeep debacle and you’ll never want your machine near the internet ever again

 

[petersmart]

Unfortunately modern exploits go way beyond visiting dodging sites these days, just look at the Bluekeep debacle and you’ll never want your machine near the internet ever again

BlueKeep exploits the Remote Desktop Protocol, but to exploit it you need to have an open port 3389.

But port 3389 on my XP and Win7 VMs is Stealthed, which means it cannot be seen at all by anyone on the internet especially Shodan, the search engine loved by hackers.

And if you can't be seen on the net then you can't be hacked - simples

And Linux is affected less by this exploit than Windows, especially since Linux is updated as needed, not on a (usually) 2 week schedule.

 

[Caerus]

Funny enough I used to work with the MET office ( weather men ) and they were rocking XP up till about 2015 hahaha.

Maybe Windows don't support us lowly home users but do support big businesses and industry behind the scenes.

 

[Cobra]

BlueKeep exploits the Remote Desktop Protocol, but to exploit it you need to have an open port 3389.
But port 3389 on my XP and Win7 VMs is Stealthed,

And there we have it, I don't have the faintest idea what you just said

( Don't bother explaining as I won't understand that either )

Maybe Windows don't support us lowly home users but do support big businesses and industry behind the scenes.

Interesting thought!

 

[andy1868]

BlueKeep exploits the Remote Desktop Protocol, but to exploit it you need to have an open port 3389.

But port 3389 on my XP and Win7 VMs is Stealthed, which means it cannot be seen at all by anyone on the internet especially Shodan, the search engine loved by hackers.

And if you can't be seen on the net then you can't be hacked - simples

And Linux is affected less by this exploit than Windows, especially since Linux is updated as needed, not on a (usually) 2 week schedule.

Proving that if you’re switched on you should be fine The issue arises when not everybody is

 

[Retune]

Although the formal offer has ended, MS still seems to be tacitly allowing free upgrades to Windows 10:
https://www.zdnet.com/article/heres-how-you-can-still-get-a-free-windows-10-upgrade/

 

[Nostromo]

And there we have it, I don't have the faintest idea what you just said

( Don't bother explaining as I won't understand that either )

Yup, same here.

 

[petersmart]

Yup, same here.

Which is an excellent reason to change to Linux apart from a shedload of FREE software!

Linux used to be areal pain to attempt to use but a couple of years ago I tried Linux Mint 18.2 and was totally sold.

Made it extremely easy to transition from Windows because the people behind it gave it a Win 7/10 look, especially the Start/Menu.

And downloading software became extremely easy - no more "dependency" problems - and much safer.

And no more paying Microsoft - FREE EVERYTHING!

Windows 10 Home - £119 (https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/p/w...bznwk4/1NT3?rtc=1&activetab=pivot:overviewtab)

Linux Mint 18.3 Cinnamon (My personal favourite) - about £1.10 (that's ONE POUND + 10p) from Ebay or download a FREE ISO version , burn it to a DVD and then install it.

BUT BE CAREFUL IF INSTALLING TO A PC with another OS on it.

Much better to install to a virgin PC OR disconnect the HDDs and SSDs first then put in a small SSD (from 30GB) and install to that.

I have installed Linux on a small 32GB SSD which leaves plenty of operating space, unlike Windows.

 

[Cockney]

Although the formal offer has ended, MS still seems to be tacitly allowing free upgrades to Windows 10:
https://www.zdnet.com/article/heres-how-you-can-still-get-a-free-windows-10-upgrade/

I've upgraded 3 x win 8s in the last month for customers. All activated digital licence fine. Not tried a 7 though.

 

[Mr Bump]

each to there own but unless you are a hyper geek like some of those above then pay a bit of money and upgrade to the latest versions.
W7 was ok but personally I think W10 is the best yet by far.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

each to there own but unless you are a hyper geek like some of those above then pay a bit of money and upgrade to the latest versions.
W7 was ok but personally I think W10 is the best yet by far.

Or not as the case may be.

 

[Snapsh0t]

W10 has some good features but I find the networking is totally broken, especially without SMB1. Some clients come and go from the LAN, apparently at random. Two clients can't be seen at all, even by themselves. Most clients can see NAS1 but none can see NAS2. It's like having a steering wheel strapped to my crotch.....

 

[Mr Bump]

W10 has some good features but I find the networking is totally broken, especially without SMB1. Some clients come and go from the LAN, apparently at random. Two clients can't be seen at all, even by themselves. Most clients can see NAS1 but none can see NAS2. It's like having a steering wheel strapped to my crotch.....

Microsoft does still allow SMB1 as below, but remember it is also a very old and insecure protocol.


[Network] SMB1 Sharing Protocol on Windows 10

1. Click and open the Search Bar in Windows 10. Type Windows Features in the search bar. Double Click Turn Windows Features off and On.
2. Scroll down to SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support.
3. Check the box net to SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support and all other child boxes will auto populate. Click OK to accept the changes.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

The problem with Microsoft and windows is that they never perfect anything. Long before they do, they move on to something new and more complex, with a new set of faults added to the previous set.
If they were a watch maker they would never show the correct time for here and now. They could only claim that it was probably correct somewhere sometimes.
They are the ultimate imperfectionists.

 

[Snapsh0t]

Microsoft does still allow SMB1 as below, but remember it is also a very old and insecure protocol.


[Network] SMB1 Sharing Protocol on Windows 10

1. Click and open the Search Bar in Windows 10. Type Windows Features in the search bar. Double Click Turn Windows Features off and On.
2. Scroll down to SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support.
3. Check the box net to SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support and all other child boxes will auto populate. Click OK to accept the changes.

Do you really think I don't know that? Everything was largely working with SMB1 enabled but, as recommended, I removed it from all my clients, NASs and router. What I'm reporting is the resultant mess. I've made sure that the Function Discovery Provider Host service is set to start automatically and Function Discovery Reference Publication is set to automatic (delayed) on all clients as this is supposed to give some semblence of network browsing but I'm not convinced.....

 

[Retune]

The problem with Microsoft and windows is that they never perfect anything. Long before they do, they move on to something new and more complex, with a new set of faults added to the previous set.
If they were a watch maker they would never show the correct time for here and now. They could only claim that it was probably correct somewhere sometimes.
They are the ultimate imperfectionists.

That's basically the entire history of Excel.

 

[onomatopoeia]

I'm still mourning the loss of XP pro
But I did reluctantly "upgrade" to W7 quite sometime ago.

I just find it slightly annoying when companies (Not just Microsoft) tell you "you will use our latest product or suffer the consequences"
I don't think W7 was broken, so I've no idea why they had change it in the first place.

XP wasn't good from launch and couldn't die fast enough, the memory leaks and other bugs were just awful and MS should have killed it stone dead about a decade ago rather than drag it out for years. Vista and 7 introduced a new driver model that was much better and provided a much more stable platform. 10 has taken that on another step. I've been using it as a desktop system both at home and on my development machine since release and it is completely stable and usable.

There reaches a point where you can't patch an existing product as you've gone beyond what the design is capable of supporting. That's in part why when the big updates for Windows 10 come out they are essentially new operating systems.


If you've ever had to support legacy software you'd understand why manufacturers want you to upgrade and it has nothing to do with selling upgrades. "Oh I've got this 17 year old program and it's fine and I don't want to get anything newer and don't see why you can't make it work on my new computer." is a complete nightmare, because you explain why and they say "I don't have the faintest idea what you just said".

 

[petersmart]

XP wasn't good from launch and couldn't die fast enough, the memory leaks and other bugs were just awful and MS should have killed it stone dead about a decade ago rather than drag it out for years. Vista and 7 introduced a new driver model that was much better and provided a much more stable platform. 10 has taken that on another step. I've been using it as a desktop system both at home and on my development machine since release and it is completely stable and usable.

There reaches a point where you can't patch an existing product as you've gone beyond what the design is capable of supporting. That's in part why when the big updates for Windows 10 come out they are essentially new operating systems.


If you've ever had to support legacy software you'd understand why manufacturers want you to upgrade and it has nothing to do with selling upgrades. "Oh I've got this 17 year old program and it's fine and I don't want to get anything newer and don't see why you can't make it work on my new computer." is a complete nightmare, because you explain why and they say "I don't have the faintest idea what you just said".

I still use XP in VMs and it works fine for my applications - one of them being 1GB VMs which are possible because I gutted XP using Nlite - a program which allows you to remove virtually anything from XP - it won't run as such on a real PC but works perfectly in a VM.

Vista was touted by Microsoft as the "least pirated Windows ever", until someone pointed out that was because no one wanted it!

Win 7 is an excellent OS which is still used by about 40% of all the users of Windows worldwide - inc me.

My main problem with Win 10 is that I see no reason to pay an exorbitant amount of money to run it on several machines when I can run Linux on them for nothing!

And in fact Microsoft seems to be realising that the world is turning slowly to open source software by the inclusion of a Linux kernel in Windows 10.

And why pay hundreds of pounds for software from Microsoft when Linux supplies it free of charge, including Gimp, Darkroom, Libre Office, VLC, Brasero, Audacity, and much much more - and all running in an environment much smaller than Windows needs?

And much more secure?

 

[Cobra]

XP wasn't good from launch and couldn't die fast enough, the memory leaks and other bugs were just awful and MS should have killed it stone dead about a decade ago rather than drag it out for years.

But as a home user and for the kids to do school work on it was perfectly acceptable for me ( and them).

. 10 has taken that on another step. I've been using it as a desktop system both at home and on my development machine since release and it is completely stable and usable.

Ah so your the one

And I remember the teething troubles thread right here.
I don't know about teething troubles it read more like a horror movie script.

My main problem with Win 10 is that I see no reason to pay an exorbitant amount of money to run it on several machines when I can run Linux on them for nothing!

I could be tempted, but the only real thing that would suffer is CS5.
It took me long enough to learn that and unfortunately you can't teach an old dog new tricks

 

[StephenM]

W10 has some good features but I find the networking is totally broken, especially without SMB1. Some clients come and go from the LAN, apparently at random. Two clients can't be seen at all, even by themselves. Most clients can see NAS1 but none can see NAS2. It's like having a steering wheel strapped to my crotch.....

The only way I can get Win10 to see other computers (or NAS) on the network is by using having a shortcut on the desktop for each machine/NAS box; that at least opens an instance of WindowsExplorer that lets me access the files. I just need a separate instance for every computer...

(All the other computers are Win10; when I switch on a Win7 laptop that DOES appear.)

 

[cymruchris]

Although the formal offer has ended, MS still seems to be tacitly allowing free upgrades to Windows 10:
https://www.zdnet.com/article/heres-how-you-can-still-get-a-free-windows-10-upgrade/

Well I just tried that - and it worked.

 

[onomatopoeia]

And why pay hundreds of pounds for software from Microsoft when Linux supplies it free of charge, including Gimp, Darkroom, Libre Office, VLC, Brasero, Audacity, and much much more - and all running in an environment much smaller than Windows needs?

I use a number of the programs you have listed on Windows, where they are also free - a lot of public domain or open source software is cross-platform. I've also been using linux for twenty years, so for me it's not a case of one or the other, I choose the right tool for the job. I used to have XP (32 bit) running with a base load (no applications) of under 200MB. Mind you, around the same time I ran my mail server on debian potato on a machine with 32MB RAM and the only time it was ever rebooted was if Western power distribution did it for me.

Windows 7 can still be upgraded to 10 for zero cost I understand, despite that program officially ending some time ago.

 

[petersmart]

I could be tempted, but the only real thing that would suffer is CS5.
It took me long enough to learn that and unfortunately you can't teach an old dog new tricks

Well most of my editing is done in a Win 7 VM which can run easily on Linux.

The only ones I can't run in a VM are ones which need a reasonably fast video card - like Topaz AI Gigapixel - and that I run on my Z800 running Win 7 natively.

And by the way, if the old dog won't learn new tricks - shoot it!

 

[Cobra]

And by the way, if the old dog won't learn new tricks - shoot it!

In true Dinosaur style I'll just hang on to W7 for as long as possible
And then have a re-think when I absolutely have to