Windows 7 no longer supported.

[Smartypantz]

I am now finding out more and more that Windows 7 is no longer supported. Is there a way to get upgraded to another windows with out any to minimum cost? Or is there another fix to this , that I may not know about? My computer still runs great just can be supported by certain programs.  Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Robert

[NonSequitur777]

@Smartypantz,

Welcome to our HP User Forum!

I have also noticed on my HP ProBook 6560b which is running on the 64-bit version of Windows 7 Ultimate, that certain programs have issued this message: "This operating system version is no longer supported", but personally all the software on this laptop continues to work just fine.

Also, Microsoft -despite the 'end of support' for W7, continues to provide updates:

Personally, I will keep W7 on this laptop. It provides certain advantages to me, including stability, less drain on my battery, W7 collects far less data about usage habits than W10/W11, and I got some legacy software that will not run properly on W10/W11 -as a matter of fact, when I upgraded to W10 in 2016, this laptop crashed all the time, whatever I tried to do to fix this.  So, restored back to W7.  For me, as long as my third-party security software (Webroot) keeps this laptop safe and protected, I will keep W7.

Btw, I yield to @Paul_Tikkanen to provide you with the least complicated way to upgrade to Windows 10 (11?), and keep your fingers crossed that your laptop will run A-OK on W10/11.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi, @Smartypantz 

There are literally hundreds of different model HP g7 notebooks.

Some may work fine on W7, and some may not.

Depends on the graphics setup it comes with, mainly.

There is a way to still get the free upgrade from W7>W10 and it is easy to do.

If you want to give it a try, make the W10 64-bit USB installation flash drive with the media creation tool from the link below.

Download Windows 10 (microsoft.com)

After the USB media has been created, do not boot from it.

Open the USB flash drive in Windows explorer and double-click to run the Setup application you see on the list of files to begin the upgrade process to W10.

If the upgrade is successful, should have an activated installation of W10.

If things don't work right, let me know the full model number of your notebook and I will see if there are drivers you can install that will remedy any shortcomings.

If it can't be fixed, you can easily go back to W7 within 10 days as long as you don't delete any of the upgrade files or the Windows.old folder.

How to Easily go back to Windows 7 from Windows 10 in 2021 | Roll Back to Windows 7 from Windows 10 ...

NonSequitur777 is correct...you still get limited security updates for W7.

For Windows 7, you can improve the security status by installing the free Microsoft security essentials which is both an Antivirus/Antimalware program instead of just using the basic built in Windows Defender software, which is antimalware only.

Microsoft Security Essentials was the precursor to the security software included in W10.

It still gets daily definition updates.

Download Microsoft Security Essentials from Official Microsoft Download Center

Since Internet Explorer has been retired and is no longer supported, I recommend downloading Microsoft Edge for W7 and that will keep your browsing app more secure and useful.

Microsoft Edge

[TzortzisG]

The biggest problem for anyone using Windows 7 is the sunsetting of most browsers effective beginning of February 2023. This is because all chromium-based browsers will stop updating on w7 machines, and their new versions will NOT be compatible with w7/8/8.1. This unfortunately includes Microsoft Edge (chromium now):

Chrome sunsetting support for Windows 7 / 8/8.1 in early 2023. 

Microsoft Edge ending support for Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1  

Only mozilla has yet to announce final plans and version timelines....

(win7-eol) [meta] Remove support for Windows 7 - Bugzilla@Mozilla 

Last but not least, M$ is urging all software devs to abandon windows7.....   ☹️

"We also encourage developers to end support for Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1. We acknowledge that this may not be easy for some developers to do, however ending support for these operating systems will help keep end users safe from potential security threats and risks as both operating systems go out of support on January 10th, 2023."

[NonSequitur777]

Interestingly, Windows 7 Users -surprising actually, still holds a big enough worldwide market share in November of 2022 (10.25%, or approximately 100 million) which would make it still be appealing to purveyors of software and devices.

https://original.newsbreak.com/@jasmina-hinovic-1594745/2770604322657-windows-os-trends-and-statisti...

Stats Link: https://gs.statcounter.com/os-version-market-share/windows/desktop/worldwide.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[TzortzisG]

Update

Microsoft will stop selling Windows 10 on January 31.

• Microsoft has announced the sale of Windows 10 licenses will cease on 31st January 2023.
• This is seemingly in preparation for the operating system’s end of life on 14th October 2025.

Microsoft will stop selling downloadable licenses for Windows 10 on its website on January 31, according to a message on the product pages for Windows 10 Home and Pro. Although Windows 10 will continue to be supported with new security updates until at least October 2025, Microsoft is pushing anyone buying or building a new PC to use the newer Windows 11 instead.

For owners of older Windows 7 and Windows 8 PCs who want to upgrade—and you should, since both operating systems received their final regularly scheduled security updates earlier this month—Windows 10 should continue to install and run just fine on those computers at no additional cost. This is an artifact of the years-old Windows 10 upgrade offer. Microsoft officially stopped offering a free upgrade to Windows 10 in 2016, but the company never took any steps to stop the upgrades from working.

So far, Windows 10 and Windows 11 product keys have been interchangeable.

For people buying new PCs who simply don't want to use Windows 11 for some reason, Windows 10 and Windows 11 have (so far) used interchangeable product keys; on systems that shipped with Windows 11, I have had no issues installing and activating the equivalent edition of Windows 10 on the same hardware. Technically, only Windows 11 Pro licenses shipped with OEM PCs qualify for downgrade rights (PDF), but downgrades of the Home edition of Windows 11 should generally work anyway.

Useful "after EOL" information for all Windows 7 users

Supported hardware and software, latest updates and patches, new drivers, important dates and much much more:

Windows 7 x64 supports up to 256 cores and 192Gb RAM (TrackerNinja/UnlistedSlacker) 

Direct OFFICIAL ISO links for windows 7 from Microsoft servers:

• Windows 7 Home Premium ISO Image (SP1): 32-bit | 64-bit
• Windows 7 Ultimate ISO Image (SP1): 32-bit | 64-bit
• Windows 7 Professional ISO Image (SP1): 32-bit | 64-bit
  
  

The file size is around 3.8GB for 32-bit images and 5.5GB for 64-bit images. Once downloaded, you can use Rufus to create a bootable USB for Windows 7 on your PC. For those unaware, Windows 7 supports both GPT and MBR partition styles. If you are dual-booting Windows 7 with another OS, then remember to select GPT, which is a modern standard and supports UEFI mode as well. On older computers, choose “MBR”. Install and Run on your PC for your special use case.