Microsoft stops sales of Windows 7 and 8.1 OEM licenses

Speaking from personal experience, this forced upgrade was a thing. Microsoft pushed the Windows 10 upgrade into the "recommended" update cycle, and people who had accepted standard default update settings ended up waking up one day to a Windows 10 welcome screen. Happened to the media center PC I built, which the wife uses as her primary - she always hit the little "X" to tell the constant harassing reminder about upgrading to Windows 10 to go away, never once clicked to accept, yet it magically updated one evening. Wiped most of her settings, she lost her email (how the hell they managed to screw up a basic function like native email in upgrade from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 still baffles me), and was generally confused as could be until we got things figured out. On the work front, we have a remote facility that had 2 Windows 7 computers end up in the shop because they couldn't boot up, turned out it was a failed unrequested Windows 10 upgrade attempt that managed to completely botch them up. That was fun to figure out.

It was a widely reported issue earlier this year, covered on many tech sites, and lawsuits were imposed against Microsoft over the whole debacle. Windows 10 was worth upgrading to for free for many people, they didn't have to try to ninja force-feed the thing into people while they were sleeping. But, Microsoft isn't exactly famous for having continuously good judgement.
ah yes, I remember that too now. they had to backtrack fast on that mistake :D

No you shouldn't load win 10 give it a couple of years until it's ready for prime time. I've been using on different hardware since the very first not to public beta and it's still really beta software, the last major update borked all kinds of hardware.

it's already been out for over a year. it's not like you are an early adopter if you upgrade now. if an issue does appear you can always just go back to win 7. with hundreds of installations, you are bound to find people that have a bug or 2.

on the other hand, if you are on the latest beta builds you'll notice that they removed the dreaded svchost. you can finally see separate service processes and which one is causing you problems (like 100% CPU usage)

I think the next big update will be the one you might like since it also overhauls how updates work.
 
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Windows 10 is not "superior in every way", in fact it many ways it's much worse.

The reasons for me include software that just does not work properly on 10 whereas it works perfectly on 7. Privacy issues galore, just run "shutup 10" to get an idea of all the data you're providing them with on a daily basis.

Then there is hardware, I have 2 brand new higher end machines built in 2016 and each has a USB 3.0 mystery problem in Device manager, which don't exist when 7 was installed instead. I don't accept the "it's their fault" it doesn't work blaming hardware and software providers, I blame MS, you want me on your new OS, make damn sure it works or at least pretend to be interested in more than your bottom lines.

I'm just glad there are tools still around to help with this. Heavy handed and deceptive tactics combined with a bug ridden product for the first two years does not install confidence to me, if you like it, that's great, but understand other people don't want or care about the new "features", but keeping cheering for less choice for no reason, it's entertaining.
did you know that you might find some tin foil hats for sale during black friday?

Yeah, another MS fanboi. I have win7 on my systems and wife has win10 on hers. Guess who needs help on stability? Guess who's music with her subscriptions to Microsoft breaks every update and for weeks after? To cure the 'free upgrade' woes, she took the time to do a clean download and install of win10, guess what broke for several days after the next 'automatic update'?

But of course, us privacy addict 'tinfoil hat' types are known for not paying attention to reality like you fanboiz.

Just to keep some happiness in the household, I'm seriously thinking of blocking all MS sites and MS rented Akaimai and Amazon cdns in the router just to see if the whole update problem goes away. Question is: Will he LIVE stuff still run without bypass routes through the Ak and Amz clouds so she gets her music?
 
I have win7 on my systems and wife has win10 on hers. Guess who needs help on stability?
Both? Neither? One? A sample of one doesn't mean much.

All systems eventually have software/hardware issues. Most people cannot diagnose their system's issues so they are unsure if it's the OS or something else causing the problems. New software/change is a convenient scapegoat.
 
Both? Neither? One? A sample of one doesn't mean much.

All systems eventually have software/hardware issues. Most people cannot diagnose their system's issues so they are unsure if it's the OS or something else causing the problems. New software/change is a convenient scapegoat.
And apparently nothing will convince a fanboi. Not the truth. Not thousands of complaints. Nothing. Personally I have 3 notebooks next to me and on. Alienware 18 for this. MSI for learning tourist language, currently chinese. An old Dell for odd'n'ends when I don't wish to install something experimental on the other two and deal with any problems. Thats aside from the desktop I'm running Ubuntu on so I can mess with linux, for when support for win7 finally dies. Wife has a dell inspiron, a dell latitude, and custom gamer desktop machine I bought off a company going out of business last year. I keep an XP machine upstairs in the computer lab next to the server and both ISP routers (yes I buy two ISP services). The XP machine is for my old Information Systems business I stopped a couple years ago for health reasons. I still get calls but only give free advice now. One of which is, "Don't buy Windows 10".
That won't convince you. You can't be convinced by reality. You can't be convinced by thousands of people doing their own experiments and work with Win10 and seeing it fail miserably and reporting it to the web. The same people who reported their failures and successes with Vista, Win7, and Win8 BTW. Personally, I cleaned up Vista and ran it until a couple years ago. It was incredibly stable and fast AFTER I cleaned out the dross. Win7 is that way. Win8 never was and the wife had it several years. Again, that means nothing to you. You're a fanboi with all the failure to think that implies.
 
I do residential tech service. I personally run: Win 7, Win 8, Win 8.1, Win 10, Mac, Linux Mint, & Chromebook, atm. My main desktop & choice of OS is & will likely remain Linux Mint, unless something comes along which proves itself better for my uses.

RE: the Win 10 upgrade push, why wasn't the compatibility tool more easily obtained & more heavily advertised? As it was, no one saw it unless they knew which hoops to find & jump through- *****ic from the start. Everyone SHOULD HAVE been given the upgrade choice as an "opt-IN", not "out". Surely Microsoft is capable of this? Right? Or, maybe the thrust was, "foist & let the masses sort it out"-- at THEIR cost, not MS's? I'm now in that camp.

The push/foisting of Windows 10 was like nothing I've ever seen. It's compatibility/install/update issues are just ridiculous in the extreme. Of the people I see who deliberately upgraded, about 70% either had the upgrade ruin their original system (I'm called to fix a "limbo" unit) or it was incompatible with something critical. There are many others who were simply upgraded WITHOUT their consent-- I'm still wondering why there hasn't been a class-action on that front?

Considering that Win 7 is supported until 2020, and that many machines running Win 7 are already nearing 7 years old, that would mean that by the time you no longer have support you'd likely be in the market for a new machine anyway. Why upgrade to Win 10, at all?

Imho- & we all have one (though some are not so humble). ;)
 
it's like this hasn't happened with every single other windows release in the past. why are people so quick to make comments like this?
Maybe a whole lot of people are simply sick, sore, and tired of it. And adoption rates would pretty much corroborate that sentiment.

besides the few update quirks that annoy people, windows 10 is pretty much superior to windows 7 in every single way. (productivity, performance, stability, features, etc)
Updating made mandatory is hardly what I would describe as a "minor quirk". Along with all the resets of privacy settings which accompany those, "quirky little updates".

They already extended OEM sales for win 7 because of win 8. there is no need to do it again.
No, it's a power play, plain and simple. Adoption of Win 10 has been very sluggish, as compared to the original "delusions" of what M$ thought it should be, or was going to be..

And then there's the thing where M$ now won't supply individual updates for 7 0r 8. So, more than likely, you're getting the telemetry screwing in the "comprehensive update package", that you missed by not adopting Win 10, "for free".

Finally, I can't stress this enough. simply because you think Win 10 is superior, doesn't mean it is for everyone, and in every situation.

I can't help but wonder what's next. Sure, it's a paranoid fantasy, but I always wonder if they'll start refusing to reactivate older OS editions on the whim of the a**hole who's running the place now...:mad:
 
And apparently nothing will convince a fanboi. Not the truth. Not thousands of complaints. Nothing.

You're misplacing your bias on me; there are now more than 400 million devices running Windows 10. Thousands of complaints would be a grain of sand on the beach compared to that figure.

(BTW MS would know the total # of installs considering all the spyware they install, right?)
That won't convince you. You can't be convinced by reality. You can't be convinced by thousands of people doing their own experiments and work with Win10 and seeing it fail miserably and reporting it to the web. The same people who reported their failures and successes with Vista, Win7, and Win8 BTW. Personally, I cleaned up Vista and ran it until a couple years ago. It was incredibly stable and fast AFTER I cleaned out the dross. Win7 is that way. Win8 never was and the wife had it several years. Again, that means nothing to you.

Again you've projected your own situation on me. 400,000,000 > 1,000's. Your own experience/perception clouds the reality that 10 quickly surpassed 7 in functionality, stability, and features.

I agree that most people should hold off on upgrading in the first few weeks to allow the kinks to be worked out but 10 is nearly 15 months old so that's no longer a valid concern.
You're a fanboi with all the failure to think that implies.

The irony of that statement is completely lost on you.
 
Both? Neither? One? A sample of one doesn't mean much.
No, it doesn't mean much until that one person is YOU. Then suddenly it's important.
That fact that something does works right for 95% of the people who use it is of ZERO consolation to the 5% for whom it does nothing or worse than nothing. I am speaking here of everything from computers to pharmaceuticals
 
No, it doesn't mean much until that one person is YOU. Then suddenly it's important.
That fact that something does works right for 95% of the people who use it is of ZERO consolation to the 5% for whom it does nothing or worse than nothing. I am speaking here of everything from computers to pharmaceuticals
I tend to think this boils down to one's outlook - when there's an issue post updating an OS it can be viewed as a detriment or an opportunity. Outdated hardware/software may need to be replaced which can provide great gains.

I think that the 5% is being too generous though - it likely a very vocal tiny minority.
 
I think that the 5% is being too generous though - it likely a very vocal tiny minority.
the numbers I picked are entirely fictional, I actually have no idea what they are, just trying to point out that the use of statistics to describe a 'population' while useful, matters little on the level of the individual.
 
the numbers I picked are entirely fictional, I actually have no idea what they are, just trying to point out that the use of statistics to describe a 'population' while useful, matters little on the level of the individual.
So you agree that it's more likely that the hundreds of millions of Windows 10 users don't experience what the tiny, vocal minority complains about on this board?

Why are we arguing then?
 
So you agree that it's more likely that the hundreds of millions of Windows 10 users don't experience what the tiny, vocal minority complains about on this board?

Why are we arguing then?
Wow, what are you, an amateur attorney? As near as I can determine, Mr. Duke said no such thing. Me thimks you just wanted to declare yourself, "the winner".

If we refer to the general population at large, of course they're not complaining about Windows 10, simply by virtue of the fact, they don't have a clue as to what's going on with it. "Ooooo, look at the pretty squares on my desktop", and that's about as deep as it gets for them.

Oh look hon, the sign says, "Windows 10, the best Windows ever". M$ would never lie to us, let's buy a new computer...:D
 
Wow, what are you, an amateur attorney? As near as I can determine, Mr. Duke said no such thing. Me thimks you just wanted to declare yourself, "the winner".

If we refer to the general population at large, of course they're not complaining about Windows 10, simply by virtue of the fact, they don't have a clue as to what's going on with it. "Ooooo, look at the pretty squares on my desktop", and that's about as deep as it gets for them.

Oh look hon, the sign says, "Windows 10, the best Windows ever". M$ would never lie to us, let's buy a new computer...:D
This is getting rather circular. Also the M$ outs the bias easily.
 
Also the M$ outs the bias easily.
I have no intention of spelling it out to patronize you. "M$" always gets the point across, and has for many years. I could say a few things about the individuals who get indignant when it's used. Mostly it pisses them off because they're M$ groupies. I use Windows because it's here, no more, no less.
 
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I have no intention of spelling it out to patronize you. "M$" always gets the point across, and has for many years. I could say a few things about the individuals who get indignant when it's used. Mostly it pisses them off because they're M$ groupies. I use Windows because it's here, no more, no less.
You're right - it easily identifies people who do not wish to have a substantive discussions and are full of bias. It's like "CrApple," "X-bone," or "Scamsung," right?

If someone has an objective reason that 7 is better than 10 that is not anecdotal and applies to majority of users I am all ears to hear it. Thus far that has not been presented. That doesn't make me a "fanboi" or "groupie;" I just tire of false claims and bias persisting.

For example: One of the most common complaints for all OS's is startup time. Windows 10 boots measurably faster than 7. When coupled with new hardware 10 can be booted even faster.
 
Y...[ ]....For example: One of the most common complaints for all OS's is startup time. Windows 10 boots measurably faster than 7. When coupled with new hardware 10 can be booted even faster.
Keep in mind you're talking someone who has endured the stories of how fast Windows 8 (8.0) booted, and how glad those people were they bought it, and left that nasty old Windows 7 behind. Of course, they always neglected to mention they installed SSDs in their new Win 8 machines.

My point of view is, whatever OS, whoever spent there money on, is the best OS ever. And they'll argue that to the death.

I especially liked the Windows 8 people who preached, "you can get aftermarket software to make 8 look and work like Windows 7". Now there's a truly bizarre rationalization if I've ever heard one.

As far as what those other "cute little nicknames" for products other than M$'s are, I could care less, and I don't use them. Although I do admit to using "iSheep", from time to time.

As far as "M$" goes, that's been an accepted acronym for Microsoft for more than a decade. I think I'll continue to use it, while not particularly caring whether or not "the King of Cats", likes it, or lumps it..
 
Keep in mind you're talking someone who has endured the stories of how fast Windows 8 (8.0) booted, and how glad those people were they bought it, and left that nasty old Windows 7 behind. Of course, they always neglected to mention they installed SSDs in their new Win 8 machines.
This is incorrect - Windows 8 and 10 boot faster on platter HDD's than Windows 7 due to their hybrid shutdown and startup procedures. SSD's are not needed.

https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/b8/2011/09/08/delivering-fast-boot-times-in-windows-8/

My point of view is, whatever OS, whoever spent there money on, is the best OS ever. And they'll argue that to the death.
Windows 10 was free irrespective of with OS you purchased. While I agree that most people rationalize their purchases vehemently I don't think applies with a free OS

I especially liked the Windows 8 people who preached, "you can get aftermarket software to make 8 look and work like Windows 7". Now there's a truly bizarre rationalization if I've ever heard one.
The objective reasons that 8 performs better than 7 (fast boot, native apps, etc.) coupled with a few software tweaks to make it behave like 7 alleviate the subjective reasons people dislike 8. I was not a fan of 8's redesigns prior to 8.1 though as an HTPC OS it was pretty great.

As far as what those other "cute little nicknames" for products other than M$'s are, I could care less, and I don't use them. Although I do admit to using "iSheep", from time to time.
Derogatory words are not productive in a discussion and seek to cause an emotional, not rational, response.

As far as "M$" goes, that's been an accepted acronym for Microsoft for more than a decade. I think I'll continue to use it, while not particularly caring whether or not "the King of Cats", likes it, or lumps it..
The acceptance of a derogatory term does not give it legitimacy. Being a Captain you must have been around long enough to know that there are plenty of terms that have been around hundreds of years that are not acceptable to say to people. Being from the American South I know a ton; because people have been using them for a long time in private does not grant them legitimacy.
 
Wow, what are you, an amateur attorney? As near as I can determine, Mr. Duke said no such thing. Me thimks you just wanted to declare yourself, "the winner".

If we refer to the general population at large, of course they're not complaining about Windows 10, simply by virtue of the fact, they don't have a clue as to what's going on with it. "Ooooo, look at the pretty squares on my desktop", and that's about as deep as it gets for them.

Oh look hon, the sign says, "Windows 10, the best Windows ever". M$ would never lie to us, let's buy a new computer...:D
You are absolutely right @captaincranky, since the point was missed twice, I refuse to interact anymore with the person.
 
This is incorrect - Windows 8 and 10 boot faster on platter HDD's than Windows 7 due to their hybrid shutdown and startup procedures. SSD's are not needed.

https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/b8/2011/09/08/delivering-fast-boot-times-in-windows-8/
Well I'm glad we were able to go straight to the horse's a** to settle that to your satisfaction. <<Please accept the foregoing as an example of a truly derogatory comment. That should give you a point of comparison, should you opportunistically decide to seize the opportunity of claiming "bias" on my part, by using the very commonly accepted acronym "M$" for the Microsoft corporation. What you might like to see as a more "sensitive" and "unbiased" acronym has already been taken, as "MS" has been the accepted abbreviation for the affliction of "Multiple Sclerosis", for many decades.
Windows 10 was free irrespective of with OS you purchased. While I agree that most people rationalize their purchases vehemently I don't think applies with a free OS
This is totally incorrect. Windows 10 was never free. Not only did you have to surrender a valid, paid for license, for either Win 7, 8.0 or 8.1, but "M$" began taking the liberty of installing it pretty much without the user's consent, via a cute little "X", which actually meant "yes", a tactic normally reserved for malware exploits.

"M$" is quite a different company today, than it was when Bill Gates was still in charge. Their new CEO, not only wouldn't make a pimple on Mr. Gates legendary backside, but makes him look like a saint as well.
The objective reasons that 8 performs better than 7 (fast boot, native apps, etc.) coupled with a few software tweaks to make it behave like 7 alleviate the subjective reasons people dislike 8. I was not a fan of 8's redesigns prior to 8.1 though as an HTPC OS it was pretty great.
I still use the outmoded method of free standing optical players and CDs for my home entertainment system. Guess what though, that equipment being air gapped, can't contract malware, nor can it be rendered useless by an internet outage. BTW, I hear Ubuntu makes a decent HTPC OS, and it genuinely is free.

Derogatory words are not productive in a discussion and seek to cause an emotional, not rational, response.
Go feed that sh!t to your cat.

The acceptance of a derogatory term does not give it legitimacy. Being a Captain you must have been around long enough to know that there are plenty of terms that have been around hundreds of years that are not acceptable to say to people. Being from the American South I know a ton; because people have been using them for a long time in private does not grant them legitimacy.
A sentiment which sounds like it was concocted by some imploding, delusional, millennial SJW in desperate need of a "cause", when a "reality check" is truly what's needed. All those "derogatory terms" you boast of knowing, are now pouring out of just about every car stereo in America, for the soul purpose of rubbing your nose in them, "Southern Man". <(Neil Young song reference).

And BTW, the antebellum south, is the fundamental reason we have most all of the social problems, which exist in ALL of America today, not to mention lung cancer from the south's tobacco industry.
 
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So now Windows 10 is the last version of Windows they will ever release, or so I read somewhere, that is probably until everybody's got 10 and they need more money again.
 
So now Windows 10 is the last version of Windows they will ever release, or so I read somewhere, that is probably until everybody's got 10 and they need more money again.
Microsoft is mirroring the approach Apple took years ago - update the OS without rebranding it. If you remember the updates to OSX had to be paid for up until 2013; Windows updates were free but required a new license be purchased when a new version was released.

This is a paradigm shift for Windows; going back on their word would cause too much damage for Redmond in an era where PC's threatened by mobile devices:

""This is more than a one-time upgrade: once a Windows device is upgraded to Windows 10, we will continue to keep it current for the supported lifetime of the device - at no cost. With Windows 10, the experience will evolve and get even better over time. We'll deliver new features when they're ready, not waiting for the next major release. We think of Windows as a Service - in fact, one could reasonably think of Windows in the next couple of years as one of the largest Internet services on the planet."
 
supported lifetime of the device
Key word there is supported. That one word nullifies the word lifetime. The lifetime of the device is irrelevant when they decide how long the device will be supported. More legal BS specially crafted to make people think good thoughts about MS. I see that in your case it is working.
 
Well I'm glad we were able to go straight to the horse's a** to settle that to your satisfaction.
Where else would one go to other than a source?

Lifehacker?
PCWorld?
PCMag?

<<Please accept the foregoing as an example of a truly derogatory comment. That should give you a point of comparison, should you opportunistically decide to seize the opportunity of claiming "bias" on my part, by using the very commonly accepted acronym "M$" for the Microsoft corporation.
The "$" in M$ refers to their greed for money over the users need. That's the common usage; I think you're purposefully saying false things to rile me up.
This is totally incorrect. Windows 10 was never free. Not only did you have to surrender a valid, paid for license, for either Win 7, 8.0 or 8.1, but "M$" began taking the liberty of installing it pretty much without the user's consent, via a cute little "X", which actually meant "yes", a tactic normally reserved for malware exploits.
You are wrong - the license was never "surrendered." As long as you have the installation media or the restore partition you can return to a previous version of Windows.

As to the change that was well documented on multiple sites:
https://www.extremetech.com/extreme...indows-10-upgrade-doesnt-stop-upgrade-process
http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-makes-saying-no-to-windows-10-update-a-little-easier/

While you are correct that clicking the close "X" didn't cancel the install the dialogue box was clear:
$


CLICK HERE TO CHANGE UPGRADE SCHEDULE OR CANCEL SCHEDULED UPDATE. Closing that dialogue without action means the update was installed May 22 at 11:00 PM. It's pretty clear what that action does even if the behavior changed.

I still use the outmoded method of free standing optical players and CDs for my home entertainment system. Guess what though, that equipment being air gapped, can't contract malware, nor can it be rendered useless by an internet outage. BTW, I hear Ubuntu makes a decent HTPC OS, and it genuinely is free.
Ubuntu lacked Netflix support up until 2 years ago. Other video services are not supported or require workarounds. Unless you're using 100% local media Linux support pales in comparison to OSX/Windows support for streaming.
 
Key word there is supported. That one word nullifies the word lifetime. The lifetime of the device is irrelevant when they decide how long the device will be supported. More legal BS specially crafted to make people think good thoughts about MS. I see that in your case it is working.
Was there a tin foil special I missed?
giphy.gif
 
Where else would one go to other than a source?
Of course you'd go to the source for information. Where else could you get exactly the information M$ wants you to have?


The "$" in M$ refers to their greed for money over the users need. That's the common usage; I think you're purposefully saying false things to rile me up.
"MS" is the commonly accepted abbreviation for the affliction "Multiple Sclerosis". In fact, Google seems to agree with me, and here's the search page for "MS" to prove it: https://www.google.com/search?hl=en-US&biw=&bih=&q=MS&btnG=Google+Search&oq=&aqi=&aql=&gs_l=

As to the first part of your statement, Microsoft is extremely rich, and extremely greedy as well. Therefore, "M$" is entirely appropriate as an abbreviation for them. There's no bias, no paradox, and no contradiction of realities toward them. In point of fact, Bill Gates was the richest man in the world at one time. Another point of fact is that he's trying to give a huge chunk of that fortune away. In my estimation, it's a perverse form of "survivors guilt", which is manifesting itself. In words you might be able to understand, he feels guilty for becoming so rich, while so many others are starving, plain and simple. And so boyz & gurlz, he gives his excess pocket money to the poor, to make himself feel better.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivor_guilt Just exchange "having made too much money", for, "not drowning", and you may get the idea. (Although I wouldn't risk one red cent on that bet).


You are wrong - the license was never "surrendered." As long as you have the installation media or the restore partition you can return to a previous version of Windows.
As far your little "circular riddle of asininity" goes, if you can't use both OS's at once, then the original license is surrendered. Keep 10, keep 8, keep 7, whichever, but as they said in all the "Highlander" movies, "In the end there can be only one". Therefore if you keep 10, you paid for 10. That's 2nd grade math at most. What's the matter, were you playing your "Gameboy" while they were trying to teach you that?


Ubuntu lacked Netflix support up until 2 years ago. Other video services are not supported or require workarounds. Unless you're using 100% local media Linux support pales in comparison to OSX/Windows support for streaming.
I'm not really stupid enough to to pay someplace like Amazon five bucks to stream a rental movie, when can rent it for a dollar fifty, from Redbox.

Pretty much every supermarket has a Redbox. Since neither my mommy or daddy foods shops for me, I go to the supermarket practically every day. And since I can return the movie to any Redbox I choose, there is no inconvenience involved whatsoever.

So local media gets the point on that one.

BTW, are you all riled up? :'( Is that something I should care about? :pDo you have a way of decompressing? :confused:I hate hearing you all testy like that......:cool:
 
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