Using W7 'After' End of Support in January 2020

1. Am wondering if anybody knows whether it will still be possible to use W7 after January 2020?
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2. Particularly I am wanting to know whether W7 will be able to download driver support for new hardware installed to PC from Microsoft 'externally' via internet? Am aware when new device is connected to PC; drivers are often installed from the DriverStore at (C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore) already 'within' the installed W7 OS, rather than downloaded from internet. Drivers will be searched for using Windows Update externally from internet when the internal DriverStore does not have a suitable driver. Am wondering if the external search process will still happen??

3. I installed W7 back in December, 2015 and let Windows Update do its thing for 6 months regards security and software updates. After that stopped doing updates once I was sure everything running well...no problems. Using setting of: 'Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them' within Windows Updates.
I have found most of Windows Updates not relevant to my situation; and can often be problematic as well. Less problems not just automatically taking on board every single update offered. The OS seems to stay clean much longer. Use Malwarebytes and Avast antivirus for security and between them they do a great job.

4. Any useful info regards how to keep Window7 going after January 2020 most welcome??

Thanks Gary

Thx Ranger4 for good info. Have W10 on another PC & after 12months regard W7 to be better. Simpler more robust with less eye candy/bloating and more straightforward to maintain. In China (a very big market) W7 is still king and am hoping by January 2020 that will be probably still be true. XP was given much extension because of its extensive use within China...sheer numbers here.

I shall be doing a bit of research mid-2019 to see what Microsoft will do with this situation. Sounds like I will be able to continue with W7 and even if online drivers are not available from Microsoft they are many driver sites on internet as alternative source of same.

I think you are right that hardware makers will continue to support products for W7 for some time after January, 2020 as many PCs still run W7. Gary

You could run Windows 7 in a virtual machine, with Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Linux, or whatever, as your host system. The host system is whatever OS is installed on a computer, and a Windows 7 virtual machine would be a Windows 7 "session" which is running inside of the host system.

In order to successfully run a Windows 7 "session" inside of a host system, you will need to install some virtual machine software. Two come to mind: Oracle Virtual Box and VMWare Workstation. There's also Windows Hyper-V, if your host system is Windows 8 or later, and if you are running 64-bit Windows Professional, Enterprise, or Education (and probably Ultimate as well).

If you want to run Windows 7 totally isolated from the internet (the "safe" way of doing things after Windows 7 is no longer supported), there will be some limitations. For example, you won't be able to browse the internet from your Windows 7 session, so you won't be able to use any of the cool browser add-ons from Windows 7 that you have been using. (Hopefully you can find replacements for them which will work in your host system.)

I am working towards running Windows 7 as a virtual machine inside of a Linux host. I have run into some issues, which I hope to have all ironed out by the time Windows 7 goes out of support. I have over two years to finish working out these issues.

Another way to do it is to use Windows 7 as the base system, with Linux as the virtual system. That way you can keep W7 offline, and when you want to go online, you open up your Linux system.

Windows 7 will continue to operate after 2020, just as XP and older unsupported operating systems do. Drivers submitted to Microsoft up to that date will continue to be available but there will be none newer. Windows Update will continue but there will be no newer updates. Updates to Microsoft Security Essentials for Windows 7 will cease at that date or shortly after.

Many third party security products will continue to receive updates, but only for a time. There will come a time, determined by the individual supplier, when the product will no longer work with Windows 7. Hardware suppliers will continue to support Windows 7 for a time but that too will cease.

Much of this is based on what happened with XP and older systems but could change at any time, with or without prior notice. Nobody is going to be making any long term promises regarding support for an unsupported OS. Much depends on how long popularity of Windows 7 will last and that is currently unknown.

michael diemer said:

Another way to do it is to use Windows 7 as the base system, with Linux as the virtual system. That way you can keep W7 offline, and when you want to go online, you open up your Linux system.

I'm not sure I understand your logic here. If Windows 7 is the virtual system, then you can keep it from getting on the internet, while still being able to get on the internet on that computer via the host (base) system.

However, if Windows 7 is your host (base) system, there won't be any way to get on the internet on that computer without allowing Windows 7 to interface with the internet.

The point is to isolate Windows 7 from getting on the internet after it goes out of support, so as to eliminate the risk of an unsupported system getting on the internet.

As Win7 user I'm hoping Microsoft does something to fix the mistakes made and come out with an OS we'll like enough to move too. I was one of the select that stayed with XP in hopes things will pan out but discovered Win 7 met 98-99% of my needs. Hoping for 100% is fruitless. Future devices will no doubt be very complicated, relying on a OS that is not fully supported, even with drives for the new or updated device is risky.

Before retiring I worked as an independent Financial and IT consultant, I'd hate to put my livelihood at risk because of computer system that isn't 100% compatible with my client's. Even for strickly personal use, making a calculation within my own finances that my family would need to use or depend on for the future may not be worth a few dollars, or minutes updating the OS. I'm not rich or straight A student nor would I want to rely on Microsoft all the way but learning a new operating program may be necessary.
Hope that this isn't blowing things out of proportion.

Not really wanting to run W7 in virtual machine (too complicated and will have problems). Am wanting to run W7 as a standalone OS and connected to the internet post January 2020. Thanks for the input though.

I installed W7 back in December, 2015 and let Windows Update do its thing for 6 months regards security and software updates. After that stopped doing updates once I was sure everything running well...no problems.
I run paid for Avast and Malwarebytes and have never had any security issues such as virus or malware. I have done this process since 2011 several times over with no issues. Will do this process again 6 months before end of life of W7 coming up in January 2020.
I have found most of Windows Updates not relevant to my situation; and can often be problematic as well. Less problems not just automatically taking on board every single update offered. The OS seems to stay clean much longer.

Gary

gary palmer said:

Not really wanting to run W7 in virtual machine (too complicated and will have problems). Am wanting to run W7 as a standalone OS and connected to the internet post January 2020. Thanks for the input though.

I installed W7 back in December, 2015 and let Windows Update do its thing for 6 months regards security and software updates. After that stopped doing updates once I was sure everything running well...no problems.
I run paid for Avast and Malwarebytes and have never had any security issues such as virus or malware. I have done this process since 2011 several times over with no issues. Will do this process again 6 months before end of life of W7 coming up in January 2020.
I have found most of Windows Updates not relevant to my situation; and can often be problematic as well. Less problems not just automatically taking on board every single update offered. The OS seems to stay clean much longer.

Gary

Hi Gary
Your strategy is working, it sounds fine. My own isn't that far off from it. Not having great amounts of time before leaving the daily working life, I relied on others (the company I worked for) to determine what of the monthly updates to install. Generally, all security items were put in, other items like device drivers depended on the machine configuration. My personal desktop wasn't all that different from my work desktop so again it was pretty easy.

Since leaving that environment my time involved with the monthly updates has become extensive just reading through the release is a nightmare as you may well know. The virtual machine strategy will add to it because the software used will require attention. The snowball is rolling downhill picking up more snow as it goes.

Is there desktop in the cloud? I haven't been keeping up with that detail. My point is that no matter the strategy I see a time when moving off Win 7 will be necessary, if it is 2020 than there is plenty of time left to save some $$$ and maybe look at a shiny new machine. Have fun...