this is the end. driver, where are you taking us?

[deathtokoalas]

out of the blue screen,
and into the black wallpaper.

ok. drama aside, the end of windows 7 is not like the end of windows xp because windows 10 is not an acceptable alternative to windows 7. the user agreement for windows 10 demands users stay online at all times, and gives microsoft network admin authority over the home computers of users. this is not acceptable, and moving to windows 10 is consequently an impossibility, a non-starter. upgrading past windows 7 for most holdouts means upgrading to linux. microsoft has made a decision to exit the adult desktop market, and it's in truth been a long time coming.

i have long kept my pcs offline, anyways; i only connect to the internet when i need to, and i use a cheap chromebook to do it. google can have my data in a sandbox, but i don't want them even touching my actual computer. others may use a phone, but i need a keyboard. the end of security patches is consequently not really very upsetting to me, as i don't let my pcs on the internet, anyways (and for that reason cannot use windows 10 - it's not an acceptable product for my computing needs, which are strictly offline).

that said, we are now able to create an absolute last chance, no going back, never again, final, permanent, timeless windows 7 iso because this is really the end of windows as we know it. windows 7 is still preferable to me on the hardware i have; that will need to change in my next round of upgrades, which will have to be linux machines.

i'm posting to ask two questions:

1) given that esu is now over, somebody (maybe even microsoft) is going to post an "sp4" final rollup of updates from 01/2020 to 01/2023 that you can install and slipstream without registry hacks, right?

2) would what everybody slipstream into their final 7 windows update iso, in order to be as complete as possible in the process of closure?

i have the following, starting from a legal windows 7 image i downloaded in 2009:

major updates:
1) kb 2533552 stack update for sp 1
2) kb976932 (sp1)
3) virtual pc: kb958559
4) windows xp mode _n_ en_us
5) system update readiness tool - kb947821
6) sp2 stack update - kb3020369
7) sp2 rollup - kb3125574
8) july 2016 update kb3172605
9) stack: kb3177467
10) aug 2016 update: kb3179573
11) stack - kb3177467
12) stack - kb4490628
13) crypto update - kb4474419
14) stack - kb4516655
15) stack - kb4523206
16) stack - kb4531786
17) stack - kb4536952
18) sp3 rollup - kb4567409
19) edge - kb4567409
20) microsoft edge 109 offline enterprise (this week)
21) direct x 11.1 - kb2670838
22) kb2729094-v2 (for ie11)
23) kb2834140-v2 (for ie11)
24) final ie 11.0.0.4
25) microsoft mathematics standalone (this installs the c++ 2008 redistributable)
26) dot net framework 4.8 - kb4503575
27) latest c++ redistributable
28) i have built a custom, unattended office 2003 (minimalist versions of word, excel only) with the powerpoint viewer, the 2007 office compatibility pack (i never liked the xml-based docx format) & onenote 2016 standalone, except i can't find the last one. does anybody have a link to the non-cloud 2016 free version of onenote that can function locally? i had it at one point, but have lost it and microsoft doesn't want people using it, clearly. yet, this machine is airgapped and i simply don't want my computers to be perpetually connected like that - the new versions are useless to me. there's also a microsoft mathematics plugin for word & onenote.
29) complete systinternals suite
30) waiting for accessible sp4 with stack updates as final major update

drivers
usb 3.0 drivers (i have lenovo drivers for one install)
video, chipset, sound etc drivers

a lengthy list of windows update hotfixes gathered after running windows update on the above system that is somewhat unique to it.

third party:
-7zip
-imgburn
-virtual clone drive
-

this is before i slash and burn the network connectivity. for example, i'm installing ie11 to update holes in it, before i remove it.

if you wanted an absolutely, totally complete, ultra super final never again windows 7 iso, what else would you put on it?

 

[file3456]

Kinda like the fight against Communism, eh?

 

[Megahertz07]

Single file with all updates - Simplix

To slipstream Simplix and drivers into a Win 7 installation use Update your Win 7 installation media

 

[deathtokoalas]

the west is the best!

- - - Updated - - -

as for simplix, i understand that people want the microsoft spyware taken out, but i'm addressing that problem by airgapping it. if somebody knows of a single .msu update that i can just slipstream normally....

 

[Bree]

...windows 10 is not an acceptable alternative to windows 7. the user agreement for windows 10 demands users stay online at all times....

Where does it say that? You are completely free to use a local account and only connect if you want to get cumulative updates. The only reference I can find in the EULA is:

"[FONT=&quot]a. Networks, data and Internet usage.[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Some features of the software and services accessed through the software may require your device to access the Internet.[/FONT]"

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Useterms/Retail/Windows/10/UseTerms_Retail_Windows_10_English.htm

 

[deathtokoalas]

Where does it say that? You are completely free to use a local account and only connect if you want to get cumulative updates. The only reference I can find in the EULA is:
"a. Networks, data and Internet usage. Some features of the software and services accessed through the software may require your device to access the Internet."

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Useterms/Retail/Windows/10/UseTerms_Retail_Windows_10_English.htm

6. Updates. The softwareperiodically checks for system and app updates, and downloads and installs them for you. You may obtain updates only from Microsoft or authorized sources, and Microsoft may need to update your system to provide you with those updates. By accepting this agreement, you agree to receive these types of automatic updates without any additional notice.

you may claim that this doesn't mean you have to be online to get the updates. microsoft clarifies that it does mean that, in the following clause:

[FONT=&quot]Canada.[/FONT][FONT=&quot] You may stop receiving updates on your device by turning off Internet access. If and when you re-connect to the Internet, the software will resume checking for and installing updates[/FONT]

that is specific to where i am, canada. in the united states, you cannot turn off your device to stop receiving updates - you are obligated to receive updates when they are pushed down, and consequently must have your device on in order to do so.

i'm not suggesting that microsoft is employing a secret police to enforce this, or not yet. i would not expect to face consequences for ignoring this. however, i don't want my computer to be ransacked by non-consensual updates if i manage to accidentally plug it in, either.

the reality is that windows 10 is intended for constant connectivity. the apps are intended for cloud use, and they're slowly choking off everybody that doesn't use cloud services. i simply don't want my pc to act like a chromebook, which is where microsoft is clearly and obviously going, if it isn't already there.

i haven't used the mac os in years, but i suspect it's about the same lousy state. that leaves legacy windows operating systems and linux as the only acceptable operating systems for actual desktop application use, but it also opens up a gigantic hole in the market that microsoft is being short-sighted in moving past, as demonstrated by the uptick in pc use during the pandemic. people are still using desktops, it's just that they're using them mostly at work.

- - - Updated - - -

i tend to keep old pcs and keep the operating system they came with. i still have my first desktop pc, given to me as a christmas present in 1999, which came pre-loaded with windows 98. while i had xp on it for a while, today it still runs windows 98 to take advantage of windows 98 software - and it boots very fast with it's maxxed out 1 gb of ram. i have an ancient laptop from the late 90s that has rust on it but still boots and still runs xp. i use it as a tftp server for my voip phone and a last resort internet backup - it's old enough that hacking it is useless. i have a pc i built in 2007 as an xp recording studio, and it still runs xp. i will permanently keep 7 on my 7 machines, which currently number two. i won't need to worry about what's next until it comes up, which is likely in 5+ years and i suspect i will have some other option besides linux when that comes up. for now, i'm just looking for the best way to get an actual msu for what i'm calling sp4, which would be last cumulative update.

 

[Bree]

6. Updates. The softwareperiodically checks for system and app updates, and downloads and installs them for you. You may obtain updates only from Microsoft or authorized sources, and Microsoft may need to update your system to provide you with those updates. By accepting this agreement, you agree to receive these types of automatic updates without any additional notice.

I don't see how that is materially different from the Windows 7 EULA.

b. The software will from time to time perform a validation check of the software. The check may be initiated by the software or Microsoft. To enable the activation function and validation checks, the software may from time to time require updates or additional downloads of the validation, licensing or activation functions of the software. The updates or downloads are required for the proper functioning of the software and may be downloaded and installed without further notice to you.....

https://download.microsoft.com/Docu...lish_9bd24b38-f65d-48f8-8014-1fe3a0c8dd00.pdf

 

[Megahertz07]

the west is the best!

- - - Updated - - -

as for simplix, i understand that people want the microsoft spyware taken out, but i'm addressing that problem by airgapping it. if somebody knows of a single .msu update that i can just slipstream normally....

For what I know, there is no single .msu update.
Simplix is very good and is updated every month with MS ESU - extended security updates
You won't find anything better.

 

[deathtokoalas]

I don't see how that is materially different from the Windows 7 EULA.


https://download.microsoft.com/Docu...lish_9bd24b38-f65d-48f8-8014-1fe3a0c8dd00.pdf

in legal documents, little words like "will" and "may" are exceedingly substantive. i do believe that you can turn off automatic updates in windows 10 pro using gpedit, but you couldn't even do that in windows home if you wanted to. explicitly agreeing to install updates as they are available in an operating system that lacks functionality to disable updates is certainly substantively different than accepting an agreement that windows 7 may phone home from time to time in an operating system that allows for disabling the feature.

you may not see the difference, but the difference is dramatic.

 

[file3456]

If it helps, I roll with someone's side project called Tiny10 right now and so far so good... It's the Enterprise LTSC 21H2 version. All the fu88kery has been stripped out of it. Give that a try in VMware Workstation Player. Version 15 is the highest you can use in Windows 7. This version of Windows 10 still has a few IPs I spotted on the network, but I looked into them and blocked them in my router. Those will be different to your area though since Microsoft uses edge servers and the Akamai CDN. But believe me. It's NO WHERE near the mass of crap I saw in a non-stripped version of 10. I have a list of ASNs.

What router do I use and how did I spot the IPs? I just used Nirsoft's basic network sniffer called SmartSniff in raw capture mode. My router is an ASUS model and I flashed it with the third-party firmware ASUS Merlin. It's very easy to do on these routers. Just read about it. Tiny10 is available by dude's Twitter post. It will need a product key eventually.

Believe me, I loath Windows 10. I worked on a guy's computer with it and was disgusted by it. I also ran it in VMware to take it for a test drive. It seems to me Microsoft is crafting the PC OS like a smartphone firmware which is very wrong. If they want to do that they should have two OS's: one for PCs and another for smart devices. But I of course can see the capital needed for such an endeavor. That and QC and support. On the other hand, I would never try to marry two ecosystems together under the roof of one OS. That of a PC (Personal Computer) and that of a smart device.

So, I have two hard drives here. One with Windows 7 and one with Windows 10. So far Tiny10 is playing nicely with Steam as well. That I was afraid of not working since that'd be a huge game changer (no pun intended) on whether I use 10 or not.

It's interesting. Like most MS OS upgrades they pretty much use the same core code with "upgrades." Especially how I had to edit the registry just to hear a startup sound and it's the same startup sound for Windows 7. ( To think I had to edit the registry to have that functionality!) The alert sound is unique to 10 though. I kinda don't like the alert sound. It's too musical or with flare for an alert sound. It should be quick and to the point like the old quack duck sound in Macintosh.

Which brings me to this point. Maybe go Macintosh. For one, it's Unix so if you're a nerd like I am you now have a Unix OS of which to run a lot of Github code projects without having to mess around with Windows and getting Python installed and working and all that crap. The other is that there aren't too many viruses for Unix. There are but no where in scope to what's specifically coded for Windows in the pwnership department. Everyone wants to go Linux in lieu of Windows 10's disaster but forgets MacOS is Unix. If you do ever want to go Linux then I'd learn how to custom my crap with Gentoo. Or perhaps in MacOS. I think there's some ways about that out there...