Annie Bynnol Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 Old Windows versions don't stop working. They become unreliable, unable to run some new software and prone to hacking, viruses etc. Microsoft have already ended support for versions older than 10, which means new software versions may not work as well. You are not protected as well because there are no updates. You can run older versions but you run the risk. Every time Windows bring out a new version it's the same arguments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thirsty Relic Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 51 minutes ago, Annie Bynnol said: Old Windows versions don't stop working. They become unreliable, unable to run some new software and prone to hacking, viruses etc. Microsoft have already ended support for versions older than 10, which means new software versions may not work as well. You are not protected as well because there are no updates. You can run older versions but you run the risk. Every time Windows bring out a new version it's the same arguments. There is a constant cycle of vulnerabilities and faults found, then updates, then more faults and so on. This is the same with new and old software. That's life with software, especially Operating System software! There are risks with old software, but also the same risks with new - however well they have tried to test it, nothing beats live use with millions of people. They use Beta Testers, but still encounter problems, and the cycle goes on. As I've shown, Microsoft have not ended support for W7- updates are still being passed to users of older software. My latest one was this week for W7, just as there are regular updates to W10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Bynnol Posted June 26, 2021 Share Posted June 26, 2021 (edited) "Windows 7 support ended on January 14, 2020" "Internet Explorer (IE) 11 desktop application will end support for certain operating systems starting June 15, 2022" Support for Internet Explorer on Windows 7 ended in January 2020. However as IE is such a vulnerable and widely used product they are likely to continue to produce technical and security fixes. Edit: The Microsoft tool has failed the desktop and the old laptop but will continue to support Windows 10 until 2025. Edited June 26, 2021 by Annie Bynnol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidorry Posted June 26, 2021 Author Share Posted June 26, 2021 13 hours ago, Thirsty Relic said: Thanks for taking the trouble to reply - I thought the Microsoft Account was something more like a banking or identity check rater than a simple email address. I was thinking of reluctantly looking into LINUX. Ok, so IF/when I move to W10 or W11, Mr Relic may get an Outlook account! I moved over to Linux mint and it was the best thing I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RollingJ Posted June 26, 2021 Share Posted June 26, 2021 1 minute ago, Kidorry said: I moved over to Linux mint and it was the best thing I did. I moved to Zorin - another Linux distro - and wouldn't move back. Keeping my W7 machine, though, for a couple of programs that I must have, and there are no easy-to-use Linux alternatives -YET. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apelike Posted June 26, 2021 Share Posted June 26, 2021 4 hours ago, RollingJ said: I moved to Zorin - another Linux distro - and wouldn't move back. Keeping my W7 machine, though, for a couple of programs that I must have, and there are no easy-to-use Linux alternatives -YET. Must admit I will probably also go with Zorin as I like that but put it on another drive. As a gamer I will still need Windows for now but could possibly strip it back and create just a game profile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
altus Posted June 26, 2021 Share Posted June 26, 2021 19 hours ago, Annie Bynnol said: Windows 11 is a tweak of 10 and uses the same code but needs a higher spec to run. It will be useful as it will run Android in parallel Windows 10 ends in 2025. I will upgrade my new laptop. A previous 'fresh' installation worked wonders for an ageing computer so I might try it on a desktop. It's not necessarily a higher spec that's required, the new CPU requirements mean some processors that are perfectly fast enough to run it are unsupported. 5 hours ago, RollingJ said: I moved to Zorin - another Linux distro - and wouldn't move back. Keeping my W7 machine, though, for a couple of programs that I must have, and there are no easy-to-use Linux alternatives -YET. It's worth checking to see if they run under WINE if you haven't tried already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RollingJ Posted June 26, 2021 Share Posted June 26, 2021 21 minutes ago, altus said: It's not necessarily a higher spec that's required, the new CPU requirements mean some processors that are perfectly fast enough to run it are unsupported. It's worth checking to see if they run under WINE if you haven't tried already. That will be my next step - I'm still getting to grips with it, and while I can still relatively safely use the W7 machine, they are not a priority. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swarfendor437 Posted June 27, 2021 Share Posted June 27, 2021 (edited) The same goes for Linux - if you use one of the major OS's it has the awful SystemD boot process - for a more secure Linux OS choose one without SystemD and choose one that has SysVInit, runit, OpenRC, s6, or Upstasrt. To breathe fresh life into an old machine consider Devuan xfce (and choose SysVinit as bootloader - super light, Antix, or MX Linux. I also received an email from M$ about changes to their Policies that you will not be allowed access to any of their services unless you have a M$ account. And the way I view it is that if you want to access their service there will be a cost such as using their search engine, Maps and so on. I would also advise using SoftMaker Office while it is still available for one-off payment - plus you get to install on 5 machines which can be a combination of Windows, Mac or Linux. The only downside to the Linux version is you don't get access to the fully customisable Equation Editor that is present in the Windows version of TextMaker - it's exactly like Math Type and better than the Equation Editor that comes with M$ Office. Edited June 27, 2021 by swarfendor437 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
altus Posted June 27, 2021 Share Posted June 27, 2021 22 minutes ago, swarfendor437 said: The same goes for Linux - if you use one of the major OS's it has the awful SystemD boot process - for a more secure Linux OS choose one without SystemD and choose one that has SysVInit, runit, OpenRC, s6, or Upstasrt. To breathe fresh life into an old machine consider Devuan xfce (and choose SysVinit as bootloader - super light, Antix, or MX Linux. Linux newbies are definitely better off going with one of the better known, well supported distributions. As for systemd, if Raspberry Pi Zeros can manage with systemd in 512MB of RAM I doubt it will be a problem for anything that can run Windows 7 or newer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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