At least 100 million PCs still run Windows 7, one year after support ended

[midian182]

Recap: It’s been almost a year since Microsoft ended its extended support for Windows 7. Barring those organizations willing to pay for extended security updates (ESUs), the move pretty much pulled the curtain down on the venerable OS. But despite Microsoft constantly warning people they should upgrade, it is estimated that at least 100 million PCs still run the aging operating system.

On January 14, 2020, Windows 7 reached the end of its extended support period. After this point, only business and education customers willing to pay the high prices have been able to receive ESUs.

By last August, the OS was still found on almost a quarter of all devices, and with the first anniversary approaching, those user numbers haven’t fallen as much as you might expect.

Interactive chart by StatCounter

 

According to StatCounter Global Stats, Windows 7 had a market share of 17.6 percent in November—the service's most recently recorded month. That’s actually an increase of almost one percent compared to October. Windows 10, meanwhile, stood at 75 percent.

It’s a similar story with NetMarketShare. In October, Windows 7’s share was at 21 percent, while Windows 10 had a 74 percent share.

It appears gamers, however, prefer the newer version of Windows. The latest Steam Survey has 89 percent of participants using Windows 10 while just over five percent are on Windows 7

The Bott Report’s Ed Bott writes that the United States Government Digital Analytics Program, which reports total visitors to US websites over the last 90 days, showed 18.9 percent were on Windows 7 and 75.8 percent ran Windows 10. Given that Microsoft says Windows has a user base of 1.5 billion, that means at least 100 million people still prefer Windows 7.

Next month will see the price of ESUs increase. Those using Windows 7 Enterprise will start paying $50 per machine, while Windows 7 Pro goes up to $100 per device. The prices double again next year, so Windows 7 usage could start declining at an increased pace.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/88131-least-100-million-pcs-run-windows-7-one.html

 

[loki1944]

Maybe it's more about hating Windows 10 than loving Windows 7.

 

[yRaz]

Windows 7 is still my favorite version of windows. I almost called it a distro because I've switched almost entirely to Linux since the release of windows 10

 

[captaincranky]

If the douche bag now running M$ hadn't brought the full force of their monopoly to bear on ramming Wrn 10 down the world's throat, that number would likely be closer to a half billion.

 

[thewarm]

Maybe it's more about hating Windows 10 than loving Windows 7.

With 7, you don't wake up to the dreaded spinning circle..
Please wait while we break you perfectly configured system!
Again..

 

[hahahanoobs]

Maybe it's more about hating Windows 10 than loving Windows 7.

I wonder how much of that hate was due to what people heard/thought about the Start Menu.
Personally I use Start10 to replace the start menu, but overall W10 hasn't crashed on me once and it does what I need it to do. It desperately needs a UI overhaul though.

 

[captaincranky]

Personally I use Start10 to replace the start menu, but overall W10 hasn't crashed on me once and it does what I need it to do. It desperately needs a UI overhaul though.

What M$ needs to do is, put in an option for the Windows 7 desktop.

Then, delete all the ad paths.

Next, discontinue mandatory updates.

Finally, reinstall the Windows Media Center.

Hm-, wait a minute, that would make it Windows 7, now wouldn't it? Excellent..!

Window 10 users, are you suffering from painful rectal itch?

 

[comnut]

IF M$ had not 'pushed it down our internet' (many people with very limited net download capacity, due to being only able to afford around 50meg a month, usually plenty for their small needs..) it maybe would not been a problem..
Yes, a 'secret download', pretending to be an important update, unnoticed by innocent 'grey market' users, was overloading those people internet use. (I have *personal* experience of this from a friend..)

 

[comnut]

What M$ needs to do is, put in an option for the Windows 7 desktop.

Then, delete all the ad paths.

Next, discontinue mandatory updates.

Finally, reinstall the Windows Media Center.

Hm-, wait a minute, that would make it Windows 7, now wouldn't it? Excellent..!

Window 10 users, are you suffering from painful rectal itch?

the problem is, there are some 'deep inside' improvements, then only some very techy friend would notice this.. and then I doubt the reality, due a 'major problem with sound driver' ???

As for the UI, it seems M$ has got a 'design' mania, making Icons that make a design award, but further hate from 'normal people'..

 

[kimo1]

TeamOS' win10 SUPERLITE FTW! Thank lord for people who dedicate their lives to debloating Windows OS.
Like seriously, so damn much bloat in win10. Unlike in win7, lots of what you could disable in win7 is now mandatory for win10 to function... Detailed configuration via UI is silently being removed and even registry editing made more obscure... Now we have gazillion useless bells and whistles scattered across gazillion panels but no detailed configuration like under XP.
Can't wait for win10+++, where each + means more bloat and and increase in mental torment.

 

[dnous]

Maybe it's more about hating Windows 10 than loving Windows 7.

Most likely just business running old systems and refusing to update because of financial reasons. I've been trying to convince a client to replace his 10 year old systems due to them being a security risk for quite some time now. However as nothing happened yet, there is no need to upgrade.

 

[veLa]

If anything, it's a testament to Windows 7's stability.

I'm actually in the process of upgrading a number of users to 10 in the next couple weeks.

 

[Uncle Al]

With all the positive testimony, demonstrated by the sheer number of dedicated users, you would think that somebody at the top of Microsoft my be intelligent enough to realize the benefit and importance of continuing to support and defend this product. As we have seen in both Microsoft as well a large number of products out there that "improvement" not only isn't necessarily so, but it can be significantly harmful to al already stable platform.

 

[captaincranky]

the problem is, there are some 'deep inside' improvements, then only some very techy friend would notice this.. and then I doubt the reality, due a 'major problem with sound driver' ???

OK, M$ blackmailed Win 7 gamers with DX-12. You can't tell me that it couldn't have been inserted into Win 7 via update.

As for the UI, it seems M$ has got a 'design' mania, making Icons that make a design award, but further hate from 'normal people'..

Be that as it may, that "brilliance of design aesthetics" (with Win 8), is probably what precipitated Steve Baumer's retirement.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

One of the reasons why there are so many computers still running Windows 7 is because a large number of computers belong to schools and office workers. They were never updated because their hard drives contain the image from the enterprise lease.

 

[Endymio]

OK, M$ blackmailed Win 7 gamers with DX-12. You can't tell me that it couldn't have been inserted into Win 7 via update.

You keep using that word "blackmail". It does not mean what you think it means. DX12 was software very costly to develop, and worth many billions of dollars. Microsoft had a few choices what to do with it, some of which were:

a) Give it away free to anyone and everyone, just because they're nice guys.
b) Give it away free, as a carrot to those willing to upgrade Windows.

When you choose option (a) with any highly valuable asset you own yourself, feel free to criticize the shareholders of Microsoft.

 

[captaincranky]

When you choose option (a) with any highly valuable asset you own yourself, feel free to criticize the shareholders of Microsoft.

I'm sure M$ could've gotten the cost down, if they weeded out some of the drones I expect they have as coders.

Windows 8 was a failed attempt to remain relevant as device prices with Windows, dropped below the price ooof a copy of )EM Windows home.

Hence they inserted the store crap, Hence the sell people's personal data. Hence they spew "security" crap continuously. Hence, the need to for people such as yourself to attach imaginary values to what amounts to a very small segment of the OS as a whole.

Oh, and hence forcing Office 365 into subscription only.

But yeah, I'm sure you're right and I'm wrong, that M$ wouldn't have gone bankrupt giving out DX-12 as an update, and not forcing the changeover to Windows 10.

 

[Lionvibez]

I wonder how much of that hate was due to what people heard/thought about the Start Menu.
Personally I use Start10 to replace the start menu, but overall W10 hasn't crashed on me once and it does what I need it to do. It desperately needs a UI overhaul though.

Other than the occasional issues upgrading the builds Windows 10 has been fantastic for me. I've had no stability issues and will not run a OS that no longer gets updated that is not secure.

 

[duckofdeath]

The problem with selective stats like this is, in this context, it only feeds the Windows haters as the number is argued as a general population share.
Almost all of these Windows 7 machines are in institutions with zero budget to upgrade.
The percentage of gamers actively investing in Windows 7 is non-existent.

I know, gadget site comment sections are generally spammed with naysayers. That is just how the internet works.

 

[Squid Surprise]

I’m waiting for the troll who runs Win XP to make an appearance.... but really? Windows 10 is the only option (assuming you are running Windows).

Get your heads out of the sand and update - or be prepared to see your computer become one with the bot nets....

 

[seeprime]

I’m waiting for the troll who runs Win XP to make an appearance.... but really? Windows 10 is the only option (assuming you are running Windows).

Get your heads out of the sand and update - or be prepared to see your computer become one with the bot nets....

I use 0patch Pro on my Windows 7 machine, and have installed it on customer machines that still run Windows 7. As long as I can get paid support, it will not be part of a botnet. IF your comment were true, Microsoft itself would not provide paid support for Windows 7 (Enterprise) through January 2023.

 

[MasterFig]

I'm sure M$ could've gotten the cost down, if they weeded out some of the drones I expect they have as coders.

Windows 8 was a failed attempt to remain relevant as device prices with Windows, dropped below the price ooof a copy of )EM Windows home.

Hence they inserted the store crap, Hence the sell people's personal data. Hence they spew "security" crap continuously. Hence, the need to for people such as yourself to attach imaginary values to what amounts to a very small segment of the OS as a whole.

Oh, and hence forcing Office 365 into subscription only.

But yeah, I'm sure you're right and I'm wrong, that M$ wouldn't have gone bankrupt giving out DX-12 as an update, and not forcing the changeover to Windows 10.

Of course they wouldn't go bankrupt if they gave some things away..... So that means that they should give stuff away that they worked hard on, just because they can?!?

 

[duckofdeath]

I use 0patch Pro on my Windows 7 machine, and have installed it on customer machines that still run Windows 7. As long as I can get paid support, it will not be part of a botnet. IF your comment were true, Microsoft itself would not provide paid support for Windows 7 (Enterprise) through January 2023.

Microsoft doesn't sell support for Windows 7 after January 1, that support ends today. This isn't a service Microsoft will sell to anyone asking for it, only customers they know has incompetent leaders refusing to invest in IT safety. It isn't a service they're paying for, it's a penalty to force them off Windows 7.

 

[MasterFig]

I'm always amused at all the Win 10 haters that come out every time some article about Win 10 comes out. I'm a Sys Admin at a major university and we have had all our computers running Win 10 for years. It is significantly more stable and quicker than Win 7.

From my experience, the only people that have issues with Win 10 are the people that refuse to use win 10 as intended and spends tons of time trying to twist and manipulate it into being like Win 7 instead of just taking the time to learn the new way of doing things - in other words, just shooting themselves in the foot over and over again. Just spend a little time and learn the new way of doing things in Win 10, and before you know it you'll find that it isn't so bad. Now, am I saying Win 10 is perfect.... of course not. There are some things that I miss in Win 7, but overall Win 10 is a big improvement. Move on and you'll be happier in the long run.

 

[aryehsapir]

18.9% of 1.5 billion is 283 million