No more Windows 7?

January 14th 2020 sees the end of life for Windows 7. This does not mean Windows 7 will suddenly disappear of your machine or that you cannot use it, however we recommend it is wise not continue using it and to upgrade to Windows 10 instead.

Why not?

Windows 7 is basically in the same situation that XP was in 2014 when it reached it’s end of life. It basically means Microsoft will not be supporting Windows 7 anymore and therefore won’t be patching any security or viruses threats to it that may develop.

Furthermore, many software developers will eventually cease to develop their software to run with Windows 7.

What should I do?

For most people, the easiest and most practical option would be to upgrade to a newer operating system such as Windows 10.

This is generally quite straight forward and it’s interface is not too different to Windows 7.

The minimum specs for Windows 10 are:

• Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster processor or SoC.
• RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) for 32-bit or 2 GB for 64-bit.
• Hard disk space: 16 GB for 32-bit OS 20 GB for 64-bit OS.
• Graphics card: DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver.
• Display: 800 x 600 resolution

A good rule of thumb is, if you system has been running Windows 7 without any problems then it is more than likely capable of running Windows 10. However, as Windows 10 has been developed around newer systems there may be the occasional instances where it may struggle with older hardware. In this case, upgrading components or even a newer machine may be a more cost effective option.

What about businesses running Windows 7?

Some businesses may have many systems running Windows 7 and the cost and time of upgrading these may be tricky. Rather than taking the risk of running an operating system that is unsupported and unpatched, Microsoft are offering businesses users extended security updates which will be available after 2020 however these will be available on a cost per device basis and most likely rise more and more each year.

The aim of these are more for supporting businesses whilst they prepare to migrate to a newer operating system rather than as a means of being an alternative to a newer operating system.

Can you help me upgrade?

We are always able to have a look at your current system and checks it’s suitability for upgrading to Windows 10 and can also carry out the whole process for you in an efficient and cost effective manner

In all cases although we migrate your data across as part of the process, we still recommend backing up all your valuable data beforehand.

Please contact us for me information.