Windows 7 won't die, still second most popular operating system.

[El Heggunte]

Not anytime soon, or at least I hope so

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/windows-7-wont-die-still-second-most-p...rating-system/

[DVDude34]

I hope atleast, that people still running Win7 are aware of the risks it brings. Last update was 10 months ago, just a matter of time until the first major security breach is found.

[hech54]

Still using XP Pro....still online....still here.

[Clockwork]

Windows 10...so awful, Microsoft would rather you pirated it.

(technically, not piracy)

[lordsmurf]

I hope atleast, that people still running Win7 are aware of the risks it brings. Last update was 10 months ago, just a matter of time until the first major security breach is found.

I'd rather use a Win7 box that works reliably, than a Win10 box that thinks it's smarter than me and breaks my stuff at every 6-month update.

What Win10 considers routine was considered malicious 10 years ago.

Win10 is itself a security risk.

[ron spencer]

I hope atleast, that people still running Win7 are aware of the risks it brings. Last update was 10 months ago, just a matter of time until the first major security breach is found.

Nonsense. Run Malwarebytes and a good AV and you will be fine. Of Course MS doesn't want you to know this LOL.

[hech54]

I hope atleast, that people still running Win7 are aware of the risks it brings. Last update was 10 months ago, just a matter of time until the first major security breach is found.

Nonsense. Run Malwarebytes and a good AV and you will be fine. Of Course MS doesn't want you to know this LOL.

Exactly

[Hurda]

I hope atleast, that people still running Win7 are aware of the risks it brings. Last update was 10 months ago, just a matter of time until the first major security breach is found.

You know about the Win7-ESU-patches being made until January 2023?

[Zero-11]

I hope atleast, that people still running Win7 are aware of the risks it brings. Last update was 10 months ago, just a matter of time until the first major security breach is found.

Nonsense. Run Malwarebytes and a good AV and you will be fine. Of Course MS doesn't want you to know this LOL.

the malwarebytes support trolled me, so not a good idea

Windows 7 users can swith to Ubuntu Cinnamon Remix

[David Banner]

I hope atleast, that people still running Win7 are aware of the risks it brings. Last update was 10 months ago, just a matter of time until the first major security breach is found.

You know about the Win7-ESU-patches being made until January 2023?

i still get updates

[johnmeyer]

I run nothing but Windows XP and Windows 7 on my twelve PCs. I have auto updates turned off for all of them, and I do not use any anti-virus on the XP machines. I do run Windows Defender scans on the Win7 machines, but only a few times a year. I do not let it run in the background.

Security breaches in the O/S are way overrated. If you are going to get hacked, it will be through phishing, a thumb drive, or a really bad browser. I've worked on a lot of client computers and all of them had O/S auto-updates turned on, but still got infected. A simple firewall stops the kiddie-scripters and prevents all the Hollywood movie computer hacks, all of which show things that simply aren't possible.

Phishing is the killer. Be very, very aware of what you load onto your computer. Make sure your browser supports a "whitelist" (or maybe it is a "blacklist") of all known rogue web sites, to keep you from going there.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" applies first and foremost to computers. I've had to fix a lot of client computers that were working the day before, until some background update changed things behind the user's back. I've had this happen to me with Fusion 360, the CAD program I use for my 3D printer. It is an expensive program, but free for startups and hobbyists, but the trade for getting an expensive program for free is that you have to allow updates. They sometimes change everything, overnight, without warning, and I have to spend half an hour just trying to do the first little thing.

[usually_quiet]

I have 3 computers each running a different version of Windows. The laptop runs Windows 8.1 Home, the HTPC runs Windows 7 Home, and my desktop runs Windows 10 Pro. I am OK with running all three now. I don't think that the two older versions of Windows support UHD resolution video with HDR, so Windows 10 will be running on my next HTPC.

[DVDude34]

I hope atleast, that people still running Win7 are aware of the risks it brings. Last update was 10 months ago, just a matter of time until the first major security breach is found.

Nonsense. Run Malwarebytes and a good AV and you will be fine. Of Course MS doesn't want you to know this LOL.

It's not nonsense, i like the Win7 OS very much, but it will become more unsafe over time. As i said it has only been 10 months, no one can say for sure, if a security breach will occur next year, in 5 years or in 3 months. Unix Shell was considered to be safe too and is far simpler constructed than an OS, yet years after its last patch, a massive breach was discovered that really caused trouble for the short time it was live.

[cornemuse]

Still using XP Pro....still online....still here.

What browser are you using??

-c-

[johnmeyer]

Still using XP Pro....still online....still here.

What browser are you using??-c-

Can't speak for Hech54, but on my XP Pro computers I use Firefox (their ESR release). Some sites complains, but they all work.

It is still unclear, after all these years, what benefits I might get by switching to Windows 10. There are massive downsides, especially the all new interface which always reduces me to a neophyte when I have to help a client on their Windows 10 computer. I also don't like the increased tracking, intrusiveness, and the sense that someone else is controlling my computer.

If I finally can't use my Windows XP and Windows 7 computers, and can't figure out how to make Windows 10 operate in somewhat the same manner as Windows XP or 7, I'll probably switch to Linux. I often boot to Linux and never feel lost for even a moment.

[David Banner]

Still using XP Pro....still online....still here.

What browser are you using??-c-

Can't speak for Hech54, but on my XP Pro computers I use Firefox (their ESR release). Some sites complains, but they all work.

It is still unclear, after all these years, what benefits I might get by switching to Windows 10. There are massive downsides, especially the all new interface which always reduces me to a neophyte when I have to help a client on their Windows 10 computer. I also don't like the increased tracking, intrusiveness, and the sense that someone else is controlling my computer.

If I finally can't use my Windows XP and Windows 7 computers, and can't figure out how to make Windows 10 operate in somewhat the same manner as Windows XP or 7, I'll probably switch to Linux. I often boot to Linux and never feel lost for even a moment.

Firefox here too. Agree re windows 10. I do not like the tracking etc and don't like the look. I need a new computer. Could i put windows seven on it?

[october262]

Still using XP Pro....still online....still here.

What browser are you using??-c-

Can't speak for Hech54, but on my XP Pro computers I use Firefox (their ESR release). Some sites complains, but they all work.

It is still unclear, after all these years, what benefits I might get by switching to Windows 10. There are massive downsides, especially the all new interface which always reduces me to a neophyte when I have to help a client on their Windows 10 computer. I also don't like the increased tracking, intrusiveness, and the sense that someone else is controlling my computer.

If I finally can't use my Windows XP and Windows 7 computers, and can't figure out how to make Windows 10 operate in somewhat the same manner as Windows XP or 7, I'll probably switch to Linux. I often boot to Linux and never feel lost for even a moment.

Firefox here too. Agree re windows 10. I do not like the tracking etc and don't like the look. I need a new computer. Could i put windows seven on it?

see this post - https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/384921-Windows-7-Image-Updater-SkyLake-KabyLake-Co...n-Threadripper

[johnmeyer]

The VOB looks just fine in VLC. No interlacing artifacts.

[azmoth]

XP is still going strong in a version called Integral with all security patches up until Sept 2020 and it is regularly updated. It runs Serpent browser a modded version of Firefox. Use Brain and or Panda Antivirus along with Spybot 2.6 and your fine from most risks!

[lordsmurf]

XP is still going strong in a version called Integral with all security patches up until Sept 2020 and it is regularly updated. It runs Serpent browser a modded version of Firefox. Use Brain and or Panda Antivirus along with Spybot 2.6 and your fine from most risks!

Oh ... interesting.

Some of those OS patches, and backported drivers, are new to me.

Have you played much with PAE to add more RAM?
What about larger than 4tb drives? Maybe as much as a 16tb drive?
Or USB3?

If I could get my 5tb USB3 drives to work well, I'd be extremely interested in those patches.

[azmoth]

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/unlock-64gb-ram-32-bit-windows-pae-patch/

[sophisticles]

I won't type in the link as I don't want to be banned, but Google Zone94 and you will find links for Zone62 website.

What happens if you Google Zone62, do you find links to Zone94? You may want to report this as a bug to Google.

The reason Win 7 won't die, is because they haven't used enough rat poison yet, give them time.

Seriously though, I see no reason to keep using outdated Windows versions unless you have hardware from that era. But to try and find patches of questionable quality and integrity, from a security perspective, to run older Windows versions on modern hardware?

Absurd.

I loved Win 2k, stuck with it until I needed a 64-bit Windows OS, switched to XP64, loved that and stuck with it until Win 7 came along proved to be a much better OS.

At some point i switched completely to Linux for home use, but I do need Windows for work and school and so even though i initially bitched and complained about Win10, I did come to realize it was better than Win7 in every way.

Sometimes you just have to move on.

[azmoth]

As you quite rightly say, the main reason to use these older systems is, if one has that old hardware still, and for me I don't like Windows10!
Zone62 and zone54 are just older versions(domains) of that site. Use DuckDuckGo and type Zone94 to access easily, if not found with Google.

My old cd of Win200 is still very useful in accessing a difficult pc from a bios which has locked you out. I even have Media Center on disc somewhere too!

[abolibibelot]

@johnmeyer

...all the Hollywood movie computer hacks, all of which show things that simply aren't possible.

They even go as far as showing those forensic wizards recover data from a freaking POWER SUPPLY UNIT... O_O

It is still unclear, after all these years, what benefits I might get by switching to Windows 10.

The main reason why I had to finally switch to Windows 7, after resisting about 2 years beyond the end of the official support, was the ability to access HDDs with a capacity beyond 2TB. Isn't it a problem for you ? Or has there been a reliable workaround since then ? (I remember trying a few things back then, but either it didn't work, or it worked for a while and then wreaked havoc big time.)

There are massive downsides, especially the all new interface which always reduces me to a neophyte when I have to help a client on their Windows 10 computer. I also don't like the increased tracking, intrusiveness, and the sense that someone else is controlling my computer.

I can only agree on that... é_è Õ_Õ

If I finally can't use my Windows XP and Windows 7 computers, and can't figure out how to make Windows 10 operate in somewhat the same manner as Windows XP or 7, I'll probably switch to Linux. I often boot to Linux and never feel lost for even a moment.

Video is still one area where Linux can't compete, as far as I know.


@sophisticles

At some point i switched completely to Linux for home use, but I do need Windows for work and school and so even though i initially bitched and complained about Win10, I did come to realize it was better than Win7 in every way.

As Iggy Pop put it :
“they're gonna push it
until false is true
until day is night
they're gonna push it baby
until wrong feels right
until wrong feels right
it's a big industry
and they can beat my brain
with houses, cars and shame
they are insane
but they can beat my brain”

[dellsam34]

Still on Win 7 for my D-VHS deck firewire connection and DDS drive for audio DAT tapes that uses SCSI to ExpressCard adapter, Good luck getting those to work under Win 10.

[Cornucopia]

SCSI?!!
DAT??!!!
ExpessCard???!!!

Good Lord, do you still need those for jobs? I transferred all my DATs a decade ago, chunked the SCSIs not long after, and haven't had a laptop that supported ExpressCard since 2013. And I'm a well-known packrat.

I'm actually hoping that 2021 is the year that I get back all my storage stuff from Halifax so I can finish the remaining VHS & cassette transfers, and no longer have need for anything analog.


Scott

[johnmeyer]

I still have a 1987 Toshiba T1200 LCD laptop running 24/7 capturing SMDR call output from my 16x6 landline PBX. I still have several QIC tape drives; an Exabyte tape drive; several SCSI board, including a rare Toshiba 486 laptop which has SCSI built in. (I have $1,000 worth of SCSI cables; they were $70-$100 each). I have 16mm and 8mm/Super 8 movie projectors; a turntable which plays 78 rpm records; a Betamax video player; two Zip drives, one parallel port, the other SCSI, neither having the "click of death."

I could go on, but this stuff still works. I transferred a bunch of 78s for the son of a Hollywood legend a few months ago, and still occasionally transfer movies. I still have reason to use the Zip drives.

The tape backup units will probably never be turned on again, but you never know ...

[dellsam34]

@Conrucopia, Yes I transfer those too, Not much D-VHS because all of off-air recordings are worthless anyway (low bitrate MPEG-2/higher compression) no one wants them transferred, The good HD-Theater tapes with higher bitrate MPEG-2 are copy protected and cannot be transferred over firewire. I did several DAT transfers over a DDS drive at 2x speed with no problems, thanks to Win 7.

@Johnmeyer, Don't get me started on the analog stuff, I have all the necessary gear.

[Tom Saurus]

Windows 7 has been such a terrific operating system over the years.

[abolibibelot]

XP is still going strong in a version called Integral with all security patches up until Sept 2020 and it is regularly updated. It runs Serpent browser a modded version of Firefox. Use Brain and or Panda Antivirus along with Spybot 2.6 and your fine from most risks!

I haven't tried this Windows XP Integral mod{*}, but it should be noted that, although it is still being updated, it is considered as a “nostalgia” project by the active developper(s) (as I understand it). The exchange below, found on the Windows 10 Integral page, is interesting in that regard, and echoes several considerations exposed in this thread.

[Ultragod] @Ramsey Please give me a link to the very latest (or whatever is the 'best version' =) of Windows 7 'Integral Edition' (or whatever else may be even MORE complete?). I know you used to have them here and I have some versions, but I want the best one (&/or latest, whatever that is). The idea is to not have to install more 'patches' after initial install, & also have the most stable (& hopefully also fastest performance =)
There are many reasons I will not use Windows 8 or 10, etc., starting with the fact there is currently no way to configure it so it will look and operate like XP with classic shell layout & styles for the visual interface. It's hard enough just to do simple things like disable 'full row select' in Explorer in Windows 7 & modify even the most basic things regarding the colors & stuff. XP is so much easier & better! I don't want to spend ages having to undo all the even more massive problems in 10 or whatever when I already know how to make 7 work OK (but still not as good as XP).
Some people I help out really need 7 for certain programs to run, like 'thinkorswim' stock trading, otherwise I would never touch it, because most of the stuff I personally use will not run on vista, 7, or later (different kernel?). Otherwise I tell them to use XP =) If anybody here knows the 'absolute best' and 'most complete' version of 7 that exists, please reply with some lniks to it so I can download & install it. [...]

[Ultragod] @Ramsey Also please if you can, offer the 'Windows 7 Ultimate Integral Edition' in both 32 bit and 64 bit versions. I hear the 64 bit one has some advantages in 'virtualization' but the 32 bit version of 7 has better 'backward compatibility' with older software like for XP & so on. I'm not trying to be a pest, but Windows 7 is much more popular than anything after for business, though XP is still the best. For example, when you go to a grocery store or factory or whatever else, especially banks, XP is very popular, and runs most of the ATM machines on Earth, etc.
Windows HATE (8 =)) & beyond are really just for 'gamers' who need some kind of 'latest greatest' DX support. What would be ideal is to roll all the 'DLLs' & whatever else is needed to run those things, but port it to XP. Say for example somebody has a game or video editing software that sabotages itself by 'requiring' Windows 10 or some other non-XP nonsense. It is certainly possible (with the right programming =) to make a 'flag' that can mimic those operating systems so the program(s) we try to run will think they are on 'the operating system of their preference'. It would be the same result of 'emulation' but better, as it simply translates the 'driver interface' or whatever so the 'Windows 10' folder contents can 'talk' with the Windows XP OS that is running ~ like a 'DLL forwarding' thing?
You get the idea. I'm not a programmer so not sure how this would be done, but it is certainly 'doable', like the same way we can run many 'Windows '98' softwares on XP. There are many routes to get the same 'compatibility'. Space is no longer an issue with the cheap price of drive storage these days, so it's fine to install 7 & 10 along with XP all on the same boot partition, & each 'other' OS besides XP can have it's own folder with the entire contents of a 7 install & 10 install dumped into those folders so XP can pull whatever files it needs 'on the fly' or something. What we all really want is just a 'compatibility layer'. In terms of 'user interface' everything besides XP is worse, pretty much.
Another thing that would really help is to make XP like '98 on back where we can just attach the drive to a different machine and it will automatically detect & install the needed drivers instead of the fake 'blue screen of death' sabotage. We all know it is done on purpose and not like it can not simply work on any computer we attach it to. They cripple it. How do we remove the crippleware? When we 'change motherboards' with 'Windows98' it simply 'redetects' and 'simply works' =) That is how ALL operating systems should be. The 'pure hell' of having to set up everything from scratch (including our 'installed programs' prefs) is part of what killed the PC industry for the 'typical user'. Why subject ourselves to the days of 'configuring' a new machine when in the past we could just 'swap the drive and go! =)
There was also a neat program that would mimic the start menu features when right clicking the desktop but I forget the name. ATI drivers (some old ones) also had that feature. Who makes a plugin like that for XP? I can't find one =(
So long story short, the ideal operating system is a 'modular' Windows XP that can 'call upon' drivers & whatever from folders containing the files of other operating systems, like 8, 10, '98, whatever... because the INTERFACE (which is very important) is better on XP, & overal it is compatible with the largest number of programs 'natively'. Offering compatibility with 'Linux' variants would also be nice =D
What about running 'parallel kernels'?? I notice a lot of the 'errors' with 'post-XP' programs when trying to start them is it looks for something in the 'kernel' which is not there. How about a way (with 'multi-processor' systems) to run several operating systems SIMULTANEOUSLY, but the 'main interface' (the desktop & explorer & stuff) remain XP? Or choose various parts & then 'stream' it through 7 or vista or whatever? An advantage of Vista & after is they offer 'vertical sync' for the desktop, which avoids 'tearing' with some online videos like Netflix, which is noticable in 'action' scenes with a lot of movement. I should post a page on all this stuff, but I think hooking up with the Chinese & other 'non-Western' nations about this stuff would be the best route, as they are not subject to Ameican 'limitations' = basically an 'open source' type model for making this stuff 'cooperate', and advancing browser design. For example it would be awesome if somebody modified Google Chrome (the most recent version) to run in a single thread, and on XP. Same goes for all other web browsers. The main reason they open a separate thread for each tab is to waste RAM & CPU so the hardware vendors promote it so people eventually believe they need a quad core and 8 gigs of RAM just to check their E-Mail LOL It's all a big $cam, & we should focus on ways around it =)

[Rei] @Ultragod You sound like you're just making excuses to use Windows 7 just to use Windows 7 with misinformed info while making conspiracy theories. So let me enlighten you on why this is not feasible while fixing your info.
Grocery stores, ATM, banks & the likes uses a specialized & stripped-down version of Windows XP with POSReady pack optimized & updated for these sorts of task. They are not for general consumer usage. Businesses themself uses Business/Enterprise edition of the latest Windows. So right now, it won't be Windows 7. And Windows 8 & beyond or basically any Windows version is NOT just for gamers but for whatever user the various edition of an OS is suited to.
Dunno what kind of issue you have with your system as stated in your 4th paragraph of your 2nd comment but most others (myself included) don't have this crashing/sabotage problem. If companies killed off the PC industry for "typical users" then neither you nor I would be on a PC right now.
As for your Google Chrome conspiracy theory, it can't run on a single thread cuz the browser, tabs, extension & components all opens & uses each thread so that when a thread crashes, it doesn't bring the rest of the thread or even the whole browser down with it. I can open YouTube on Google Chrome just fine on a dual-core, 2 GB RAM laptop with Windows 10.
All in all, This is a hobby project for Ramsey. Don't ask him to spend more effort on needless things that is outside the scope of his duty. If you want Windows 7, then just use Windows 10. Windows 10 is essentially an upgraded, improved, up-to-date version of Windows 7 considering they both use the same NT 6 kernel version.

[Ultragod] @Ramsey HAY Ramsey another thing that would be great to slap on to XP is 'APO' or 'Audio Processor Object' support, so can easily run 'plugins' for the audio outputs, like equalizers & other stuff =) Add to this 'desktop sync' like Vista+ have so no vertical tearing in Netflix or other 'windowed' videos & that would B GR8, & with 'anti-sabotage' where can just slap the drive in any PC (motherboard change) without "BSOD" (Blue Screen Of Death) nonsense that would B even MORE awesome... like '98 & other 'Legacy' OS would = just swap & go! There is no reason other than purposefully sabotaging it that it can't be put in other machines. It should just automatically redetect the hardware & change the drivers like any 'sane' OS does =D Still looking for details on what the 'latest greatest' version of 'Windows 7 Ultimate Integral' is & where to download it. [...]

[Ramsey] @Ultragod There is no Windows 7 Integral Edition. You should simply switch to Windows 10 or Ubuntu. Windows XP is still being updated for nostalgia reasons.

{*} It would be definitely interesting to try it on my brother's computer, a 2004 Sony Vaio laptop currently running on a modded Windows XP SP2. It still works damn fine considering its age and how not-so-much I paid for it (IIRC it was 70€ and I had to find a proprietary adaptor for the HDD which alone was about 15€), but it's having increasing compatibility issues, the latest and most problematic to date being that TeamViewer stopped supporting the last version that worked on it (and for 7 years I've relied on TeamViewer to do regular sessions with him, often 2-3 hours, which certainly helped him to progress beyond expectations) ; for a while I've been using Supremo, which works about as well, but sooner or later they're gonna drop XP support as well. Problem is, or problems are : my brother has a mental disability, think of it as sumpting quite not unlike Raymond Babitt in Rain Man, so once he's accustomed to something it's very difficult to have him move on to something else, and he sure got accustomed to that slightly bulky but sturdy little machine, way more than I could hope for back then. Then we're about 400km apart, and see each other very rarely, and right now I barely have a penny so it's not going to happen any time soon and I sure won't be able to offer him a shiny new computer with a non antiquated O.S. (while he could certainly afford one himself, but he doesn't decide how to use his money, and I no longer want to waste my time and dwindling energies dealing with the people who are supposed to look after his best interests). So, as a temporary workaround, that might be worth a shot.