Microsoft imposes deadline for OEMs to sell Windows 7 and 8.1 PCs

[Night Hawk]

A friend was griping: "Why can't we simply upgrade from 98SE to each new version and still keep the same things?"

Possible, doable. Just for fun of it I did an in-place upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 10 and documented it here: In-place upgrade - XP to 10 without losing the apps - Windows 10 Forums

Essentially all you did there for the most was document the upgrade paths you took and not the number of programs you ran on XP Pro and what type as well as how many needed to see updated versions. Not everything will be able to go on the next version that arrives.

A great deal depends on how a program is written. That will determine if it is general or specific for one version only which has often been the case seen in years past. Newer softwares since the Legacy 3.1 to 9x to ME. 2000 to XP/Vista days are commonly found to be multi-version compatible. And then following XP the compatibility became closer like Vista/7 to 7/8 to 7/8/8.1 to now you see 7/8/8.1/10 on many things while still a 2014 software may not even install let alone be able to run on 10.

Nothing wrong with owning 7 Ultimate when you got it for $15 a pop and answering a quiz correctly.

Fair enough.

IIRC, it was ~$400 here in Australia.

The seem to be intent on alienating their users.....to Linux, Google or Amazon & Dropbox and phone and tablet users will have to now pay for online storage they were promised when the device was purchased would be free and then low cost.

The "Other" OS category (NetMarketShare) saw the largest increase in market share last month.

$400 in Australian dollars? Pounds? The exchange rate not only varies between locations but can be different for the same places at times. Inflation, Deflation depending on market trends. And the NutMarketShare report there is on the top desktop browsers not OSs.

The "Other" OS category (NetMarketShare) saw the largest increase in market share last month.

We apparently read the statistics in very different way. The category "Other" on that very page you linked to shows market share 0.67% on September 15th, and 0.45% on October 15th, a drop by 33%.

There's actually a ton of others and most of those are based on the Firefox platform with some like Cyberfox offering a bit more features and options when looking over the settings yet are not the attention getters in the market place.

 

[lehnerus2000]

Choose The Correct Category

The "Other" OS category (NetMarketShare) saw the largest increase in market share last month.

We apparently read the statistics in very different way. The category "Other" on that very page you linked to shows market share 0.67% on September 15th, and 0.45% on October 15th, a drop by 33%.

Apparently we have a different interpretation of the terms "Browser" & "OS".

I'm not talking about browsers.

I can't link to the OS results directly.
You have to actually choose the correct category yourself.
The graphs are not static pictures, they are generated by the options chosen from the Page menu.
There are additional options available in the Graph menu.

Here is the screenshot:

NetMarketShare

​

 

[Night Hawk]

I would say 90.85% isn't a bad figure at all! When using the selector you have to pick out the options in order to see the filters applied in order to move around the site there.

 

[Layback Bear]

Boy I guess I ruffled some feathers. Was not my intension.
I personally don't care what operating system one chooses.
Having choices is one thing I think most would agree is a good thing.

I know like most of the world knows that one can get W-10 free if you want to use a $100.00 or more valued Windows 7 key to upgrade. Some don't want to do that and would rather just buy W-10 if they so choose to. Speaking for myself, self you don't want upgrades for a operating system. Paid for or free.

Yes it's true that W-10 is a great operating system for many but in my opinion the greatness should be measured how many are sold not given away.

Us = those that would like changes in W-10 before we/they/them/us/ the masses buy W-10.

For me and maybe others a Clean Install is what is desired including all programs ect.
Of course it's more time and work. Again it's one of those choice things.

When I installed Windows 7/64 Home Premium and programs I wanted, things were great and still are. No I don't want to go back to XP. I did have some programs from XP days that wouldn't work on Windows 7 H/P. So I replace them with ones that would work.
My desire was not to save time, it was to have Windows 7 clean and neat and give it a fare chance to please me. It did and still does.

Again these were my choices. I have no doubt that others made different choices.

Some seem to think I don't want people to get and use W_10. Not true.

Get what ever you want to use. It's your computers.

I'm just try to explain my experiences in the past with XP to Windows 7.
I'm one that just wants to wait and see what changes W-10 goes through and decide whether I will buy it.

Please understand, those that are happy with W-10 I'm happy for you. I don't want to rain on your happy. I'm just willing to wait and see if that happy is for me.

I total agree changes most of the time are for the better. I went to Windows 7 before their was a SP-1 because I liked what I saw. So I changed operating systems.
I'm no expert in computing by any way shape or forum but I do know what I like and what I don't like.
So if I may can I still have my choice of operating system without being one of those that hate other operating systems.

I like Ford cars; that does not mean I hate GM cars. It means I chose Ford.
I even like people that own GM cars. They made their choice and I made mine.
Darn my GM friends and I don't even drink the same brand of beer. We get along just fine.

P/S:
The beer and cars were not free.

 

[2009joseph]

Customers who own a Windows 7 or 8 PC, in need of a replacement PC, and aren’t ready to get familiar with Windows 10, have a deadline to buy a new PC running their familiar version of Windows. Microsoft has confirmed on its Windows Lifecycle Fact Sheet web page that PC manufacturers have until October 31 of next year to sell off all their stocks of computers running Windows 7 Professional or Windows 8.1.

View attachment 375093

Read more: Microsoft imposes deadline for manufacteres to sell Windows 7 and 8.1 PCs

pardon me but im not sure what u mean here i love win 7 and well i want to keep it as its on my laptop and well if i buy a new laptop i want win 7 on that 2.i was looking at ur 2016 deadline what that about are they going to do away with win 7 all together

 

[Night Hawk]

They won't be "doing away with 7" any time soon! 7 will be supported until 2020 for long I still plan to keep 7 running. The advantage of having multiple desktops and 7 editions and keys naturally!

As for those XP days people talk on about you were forced to stick with XP as the latest until Vista arrived since MS got off of it's 2-3yr. schedule there. Vista saw a lot of supposed delays accounting for that. 7 has now been around these last 6yrs. and so far is still managing to do well since 8 was an upturned stomach while 8.1 fares better and you notice never see MS mentioning 8 but 7/8.1 when discussing upgrading to 10. I wonder why? "Flop Central report in where are you?!"

For those old XP years speaking of choices many stuck with 2000 and 2000 Pro while others tended to become Linux geeks. It's just like which media player do you prefer there. Do you want WMP or DVDPlayer Deb2? In 10 you can buy if not keeping the upgrade that is the new Windows DVD Player for only $30US. WMP12 in 7 still plays dvd movies however while 8 and later need a separate player. The Windows DVD Player option is downloaded as a regulate update as long as you keep the free 10 upgrade install running if not found "Buggy as all heck" that is! Any clean install and fork up the $30!

 

[ThrashZone]

The only "I'll call it fact" is people see what they want to see often those visions do not match
Who is right or wrong seems both depending on who's reading

In my eye's win-7 rules it's darn near perfect out of the box.

 

[Night Hawk]

I won't differ on that opinion having been through the Legacy to "Dreaded XP" days and onto the somewhat sluggish Vista to end up glued to 7! I think you already know the answer to that one!

But if 7 was gone tomorrow and not in 2020 which other version would you then consider as being the idea choice as the replacement for 7? Some loved 8 saying "I don't need any Start menu.... blah blah blaaaaaa..... " ready to move on from 7 while others took one look and panicked! "I don't need no Mobile OS!" zzzooom gone in a flash and I knew how they felt when flustered over the disk errors when trying the CP with 7 in a dual boot back then. Not happening!

Another comes to mind however with not only 7 getting up in years at the present time but the pair of desktops here where the main build just barely saw 10 go on since the support went as far as 8.1 and stopped! There won't be any 10 drivers! On the other hand the mini case I made into a carry around portable(not having any Lan parties however) does now see some 10 Lan drivers out for the onboard Wlan as well as a few other elements while 10 still used the 8.1 drivers there were available back in early August.

At the time you may be looking at 10 as a no go many who kept running Vista or went back saw 7 as a no go! I've run into a number of people who simply shunned 7 being content with the previous version as well as others who had been glued to XP and waited so long they ended up with 8.1!

A friend I passed one old case too when simply stripping everything out to put in a newer style of the same never even fired the replacement hardwares put in later when he had ordered 7 Pro having by then bought someone's used 8 laptop! That old case with the fresh 7 install has been sitting around now for a few years doing nothing! I can see if he wants to make a deal since he'll never get to it or even see it set up for his kids he complains are always borrowing one the laptops!

 

[Barman58]

I've already moved on from 7, Via 8,8.1 to 10, and have no issues whatsoever.

I fire up my system at the start of the day, ( ie switch the monitor on, the systems run 24/7/365), and, if needed fire up any apps i NEED - As I actually run programs to perform work I rarely actually see the OS GUI to worry about such ephemera as Aero, 3d borders and the like, and I couldn't tell you what wallpaper I have at any one moment, I have it cycle though I can't think why .

I do a fair bit of remote computing often on systems with older OS's and have to admit that I I have to sometimes check which OS I'm actually in Mine, or the remote running win7 or 8.1

 

[Night Hawk]

Here I run multiple OSs not just one and different flavors of 10 on VMs as wells the two desktops which both see dual boots and VMs multiplied. When previously trying out the 8 CP that dual boot on two occasions both saw both 7 and the CP trashed! They simply couldn't function together as well as the immediate dislike for how things were suddenly stripped of the OS rather then any new features coming in at the time.

As for 10 I first grabbed one of the early Tech Preview builds but no physical install still finding the VM intact when going to update the old VM Player 5.0 to 7.2 released in June and then you VM ware make a big change adding Workstation into the name as well as the option to buy the VM Workstation 12 Player Pro license eliminating the totally non commercial version while still free for home use. VM Player no more Workstation Player free Workstation Player Pro replacing VM Player Pro.

The TP wouldn't run by the time the 10 app was being looked at. That one had obviously expired after six months time. With now looking at several upgrades as well as clean installs of 10 I would say if you didn't have 7 available out of the three newer 10 would be your best move over time. The dual platform issue first seen with 8 has been dealt with as far as getting the bugs out and 10 will dual boot with 7 easily even. You just can't add a new entry for 10 into the 7 BCD store while both BCDs work the same. The latest EasyBCD 2.2 requirement for the 64bit 10.

I didn't get the opportunity to run 8.1 anything and with 10 out will probably let that one pass entirely. With 10 it's a good working OS but with physical installs upgrades can be Buggy as heck! For anyone planning to upgrade take into consideration that there are options to avoid the upgrade to see a clean install go right to replace an existing 7 with SP1 required, 8, or 8.1 activated Windows easy enough! And when moving up into any newer version expect some older programs or av softwares may end up needing either the newer version of same or replacement!

 

[Indianatone]

Nothing wrong with owning 7 Ultimate when you got it for $15 a pop and answering a quiz correctly.

Fair enough.

IIRC, it was ~$400 here in Australia.

I should clarify this $15 a pop. It was through my employer. You had to take a test (on Windows 7)and pass it 100% correctly and then you could pay the shipping and handling on a 2 DVD Not For Resale copy of Ultimate. I entered twice for 2 copies at least six months apart. If you see NFR discs they are usually given away in competitions or at venues etc and they are just that. Not for resale but they appear on Fleece Bay.

 

[Night Hawk]

I've already moved on from 7, Via 8,8.1 to 10, and have no issues whatsoever.

I fire up my system at the start of the day, ( ie switch the monitor on, the systems run 24/7/365), and, if needed fire up any apps i NEED - As I actually run programs to perform work I rarely actually see the OS GUI to worry about such ephemera as Aero, 3d borders and the like, and I couldn't tell you what wallpaper I have at any one moment, I have it cycle though I can't think why .

I do a fair bit of remote computing often on systems with older OS's and have to admit that I I have to sometimes check which OS I'm actually in Mine, or the remote running win7 or 8.1

I still keep VMs running for a few of those "Other OSs" myself and lately been seeing 10 getting activated on VM Workstation 12 Player using retail 7 keys. Threshold 2 should be available soon for the general public and will allow the used of keys MSDN or retail from 7,8, and 8.1. That be covered under MS's new Digital entitlement activation policy.

 

[ThrashZone]

Yea it is about bloody time to be able to use a qualifying os activation key to activate win-10 without the hit and miss upgrading process

I still do not see why Vista is excluded the system spec's are the same as win-7 :/

 

[Night Hawk]

Vista has another year left and that's it! With any version the same applies to anything else manufactured in the US. Manufacturers have to provide support for up to 10 full yrs. from the date of manufacture or when first being put on the market. Likewise MS will be dumping all support early on in 2017 being the 10 year mark.

Why not allow upgrades from Vista not as a freebie for sure! The free upgraded specifies 7 abd 8.1 since MS has to live with 8 not being well received!

That was their fault for not waiting a bit to see 8 like 10 is now! A working dual platform and still seeing the infamous Start menu while Start menu 10 is still sub for that has the 7 type of shutdown button rather then a pop up options list for touchscreen which the pc support is also enhanced from where it was with 7.

The free upgrade as well as the upgraded keys for 7 and newer are the reward for those who moved on from 2000, XP, Vista. As for system specs MS understated the actual minimum requirement memory wise which have been at least 1gb and the 512mb with 2gb recommended but was tatering a bit too much of the OEMs still stocked up with 512 machines and why people complained and rejected it for being too slow. Add a little ram and suddenly it wasn't a bad OS afterall but not upto par with the MinWin kernel!

 

[ThrashZone]

Clean install with a activation key is a lot different than an actual upgrade process and is what I was referring to

 

[Night Hawk]

You don't know the half of it! :banghead::roflmao::mad2:

At first it took an entire day of failed attempts until finding out the storage drives had to be disconnected otherwise see boot files and temp install folders in the wrong places. I "never" ran into that before when slapping a fresh install of 7 on(Sata II OS drives) and the pair of storage drives(Sata 3) plugged in while unplugging the second spare OS drive often without any OS.

Once those were unplugged however the upgrade was still a total fright trying to get the usual softwares on! Time to ties on a good one after all that! (d)

The second upgrade install was then seen to repair the first and after the first week 10 was out the full clean install came along! The second desktop had not a problem with the upgrade part. The laptop that followed however was the real Fun City! No Start button and nothing found on the Start>Settings screen but a total blank! Then you couldn't even get into the AllApps being the new name for the All Programs link seen in 7! But that upgrade was being replaced automatically in just a few minutes of it even being on!

The clean install 32bit that is to replace the 32bit 7 Home Premium activated immediately. No keys necessary for Digital entitlement the new MS thing there. Then the 64bit replacement install came along! But the OEM primary could not be shrunk any when the other 300mb and 400mb OEM, 3rd party, and System Reserved were removed. So the drive was nuked and the second 64bit clean install went on and activated without hesitation!