windows 7

[johnmcc6]

Is there anyone who can sell me a windows 7 home disk...legal..or tell where i can get one. Bought new lap top with win 10 and hate it.

[Pib]

Do yourself a favor and spend a  few weeks or so getting use to Win 10....I mean seriously getting use to it.  I know the change can be a shock.  Win 10 is really better than Win 7.     

 

Plus, come 14 Jan 20, only around 20 months from now, MS drops all support for Win 7....no more updates for the common man.  I expect "pay support" will still be available to companies/organizations who wish to pay for a little more life cycle support.   Win 7 is now effectively a legacy operating system.

 

But you can buy Win 7 licenses (or Win 8.X or Win 10) off Ebay very, very, very, very cheap...the license number is emailed to you within minutes to hours of buying.  

 

Below from MS website...shows Win 7 grave-side service date of 14 Jan 20....a date that will be here before you know it.

Edited May 8, 2018 by Pib

[KhunBENQ]

1 hour ago, johnmcc6 said:

Bought new lap top with win 10 and hate it.

For some of the (new) hardware in the laptop there might not even be W7 drivers anymore.

So this hardware might run with limited generic drivers or not at all.

 

After changing to W10 I made it look as close as possible to W7 ("classical").

(local accounts only, no Cortana blabla etc.pp.)

You will not see that much of a difference.

That they turned some components like the control panel "upside down" is a bit annoying (no need to like) at the start but quickly overcome.

 

Search for
"make windows 10 look like windows 7"

if you don't fancy the new/added W10 features.

Edited May 8, 2018 by KhunBENQ

[katana]

For a given computer, is there a big performance hit and slow down on going from Win 7 to Win 10? ie is it more resource hungry?

[OneMoreFarang]

5 hours ago, katana said:

For a given computer, is there a big performance hit and slow down on going from Win 7 to Win 10? ie is it more resource hungry?

No

[Crossy]

Install Classicshell http://www.classicshell.net/

 

Should do everything you need.

[KhunBENQ]

8 hours ago, katana said:

For a given computer, is there a big performance hit and slow down on going from Win 7 to Win 10? ie is it more resource hungry?

Slow down? No not really felt.

But W10 uses more memory to load.

I used the 32 bit version for a while on a 9 year old PC with 4 GB RAM installed (of which only 3 GB used by the 32 bit version).

I would not recommend to use it with 2 GB RAM only (even with the 32bit version).

 

The official req. are for the patient ones only.

Never would I try this:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-10-specifications

 

And you can run the compatibility checker as described here (chapter 2):

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_other-windows_install/windows-7-81-10-compatibility-testing-for-windows/310e06a4-b181-45ec-ae6d-ee93a1632932

 

Windows 10 upgrade checker [GWX]

 

Edited May 9, 2018 by KhunBENQ

[KhunHeineken]

With all respect to the above regular posters on this forum, and I know they are more knowledgeable on all things IT than me, and I have learned a lot from them and picked up some good tips from them, but I am also staying with Windows 7.

 

It's well known that every new OS from Microsoft is terrible.  Think Vista which became Windows 7 and Windows 8 which became Windows 8.1.  For this reason, I waited for Windows 11, which remains Windows 10 but with major upgrades.  I am sure we have all heard the saying "Upgrade to downgrade." 

 

I tried Windows 10 and I also did not like it.  Yes, I know I can use Classic Shell or similar, but what can Windows 10 do that my higher end Windows 7 machine can not?

 

I have every intention of accepting the fact I will be forced onto Windows 10, or whatever it will be called by then, when support ends for Windows 7 but the date may be extended in a similar way they extended Windows XP.  I would even pay a small fee to Microsoft for continued support so I could stay with Windows 7.

 

I hear about Windows 10 being fast and stable but I see nothing a Windows 10 machine does any better than my Windows 7 machine. 

 

I have also heard a new Windows 10 machine needs some major changes to the settings to ensure your privacy.  This is something I will have to research in 2020.

 

For the record, I am an early adopter of new technology.  Eg. I am running the latest Android OS on a my phone and Android TV box. But, with Vista giving me so much grief, I now sit back and continue with the OS that Microsoft developed into a stable system, and one that I have come to use quiet well. 

 

I suppose my questions to you guys is, if an individual is familiar with an older and stable and still supported OS, and that OS performs every function required by the individual, with no benefits in speed or reliability to move to the latest OS, why would they, why should they, and why do you recommend they do.

 

Basically, can you try to sell Windows 10 to me and others????  Can you tell me what I am missing out on buy not running Windows 10????

 

P.S. Microsoft really p*ssed me off with that constant pop up that we coundn't get rid of warning of free Windows 10 before a certain date.  I didn't want to be one their Beta Testers again like I was for Vista.  :)

 

 

 

 

Edited May 9, 2018 by KhunHeineken

[OneMoreFarang]

31 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

With all respect to the above regular posters on this forum, and I know they are more knowledgeable on all things IT than me, and I have learned a lot from them and picked up some good tips from them, but I am also staying with Windows 7.

 

It's well known that every new OS from Microsoft is terrible.  Think Vista which became Windows 7 and Windows 8 which became Windows 8.1.  For this reason, I waited for Windows 11, which remains Windows 10 but with major upgrades.  I am sure we have all heard the saying "Upgrade to downgrade." 

 

I tried Windows 10 and I also did not like it.  Yes, I know I can use Classic Shell or similar, but what can Windows 10 do that my higher end Windows 7 machine can not?

 

I have every intention of accepting the fact I will be forced onto Windows 10, or whatever it will be called by then, when support ends for Windows 7 but the date may be extended in a similar way they extended Windows XP.  I would even pay a small fee to Microsoft for continued support so I could stay with Windows 7.

 

I hear about Windows 10 being fast and stable but I see nothing a Windows 10 machine does any better than my Windows 7 machine. 

 

I have also heard a new Windows 10 machine needs some major changes to the settings to ensure your privacy.  This is something I will have to research in 2020.

 

For the record, I am an early adopter of new technology.  Eg. I am running the latest Android OS on a my phone and Android TV box. But, with Vista giving me so much grief, I now sit back and continue with the OS that Microsoft developed into a stable system, and one that I have come to use quiet well. 

 

I suppose my questions to you guys is, if an individual is familiar with an older and stable and still supported OS, and that OS performs every function required by the individual, with no benefits in speed or reliability to move to the latest OS, why would they, why should they, and why do you recommend they do.

 

Basically, can you try to sell Windows 10 to me and others????  Can you tell me what I am missing out on buy not running Windows 10????

 

P.S. Microsoft really p*ssed me off with that constant pop up that we coundn't get rid of warning of free Windows 10 before a certain date.  I didn't want to be one their Beta Testers again like I was for Vista.  :)

Everybody is entitled to their opinion.

When Windows 10 came out I didn't know if users will like it. So I installed it first only on a few PCs and asked the users if they like it. All liked it.

Later I upgraded in total maybe 50 PC from Windows 7, 8, 8.1. Not one of the users complained that they wanted their previous Windows back.

Obviously it always takes time to get used to new things. But in my experience that time is very little in Windows 10.

And just the fact that you can press with Windows key and type whatever you want (word, control panel, etc.) and a list will come up right away with all the possible options makes the usage very easy - even for users who never used it. Of course people have to know that this functionality, and many others, exist. But I am sure there are hundreds of videos out there on YouTube.

[KhunHeineken]

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Everybody is entitled to their opinion.

When Windows 10 came out I didn't know if users will like it. So I installed it first only on a few PCs and asked the users if they like it. All liked it.

Later I upgraded in total maybe 50 PC from Windows 7, 8, 8.1. Not one of the users complained that they wanted their previous Windows back.

Obviously it always takes time to get used to new things. But in my experience that time is very little in Windows 10.

And just the fact that you can press with Windows key and type whatever you want (word, control panel, etc.) and a list will come up right away with all the possible options makes the usage very easy - even for users who never used it. Of course people have to know that this functionality, and many others, exist. But I am sure there are hundreds of videos out there on YouTube.

Thanks for your reply, and I would like posters to know I am not being argumentative.  I am happy to be sold Windows 10 by more knowledgeable posters than me. 

 

Are you are talking about Windows 10, as it is now. 

 

Here's an example, I remember the global public outcry when there was no "start button icon." Then, they added one. Why should I have put up with that, like all users who went to Windows 10, when my Windows 7 was fine? 

 

To be honest, I felt sorry for those that moved to Windows 10 and had so many problems.  This is because I could relate to the pain I had with Vista.

 

It's funny that a lot of people run Classic Shell to regain the user interface that they are familiar with, which appears like Windows 7.  

 

I constantly read on this forum, and others, about the latest updates causing this problem or that problem.  Some small problems, some major problems.  The whole time I have no such problems on Windows 7.  What's wrong with delaying such problems for as long as possible, perhaps in the hope these problems are all sorted out by the time support is withdrawl for Windows 7?

 

So, once again, if you are running Windows 10 with Classic shell to make it look like Windows 7, what benefits are you getting over just running Windows 7???? 

 

I have Windows 7 on a reasonably high end machine and with decent internet speed.  Eg. fast processor, plenty of RAM, and on fibre.  If Windows 10 was faster, I doubt I would notice it.

 

What am I missing out on by not moving to Windows 10???? 

 

I'll make the change if you justify or sell the benefits to me.  Eg.  Windows 10 is less vulnerable to viruses etc.

 

 

 

Edited May 9, 2018 by KhunHeineken

[Pib]

Nothing wrong with your staying on Win 7 if it's meeting your needs....you are happy with it.  Everyone has different needs, requirements, desires.,etc.   

 

All versions of windows have had their problems....need updates/fixes...Win 7 included....like the updates MS released 8 May for Win 7. 

 

No shortage of webpages/posts talking Win 7 problems....ditto for every version of Windows.   Now Win 7 is being talked less and less now days because it's a legacy OS, hasn't had any new features added since around 2014 which can cause bugs/more social media talk...Win 7 has just had continuing updates/security patches since then.

 

Just keep in mind Win 7 is now a legacy OS with computer/device/software manufacturers and many people moving on to newer versions such a Win 10.   And come Jan 20...only 20 months away MS will stop support of Win 7...it will just be another unsupported version such as XP.   Still folks who also still run XP....it's their choice.

 

 

[KhunHeineken]

20 minutes ago, Pib said:

Nothing wrong with your staying on Win 7 if it's meeting your needs....you are happy with it.  Everyone has different needs, requirements, desires.,etc.   

 

All versions of windows have had their problems....need updates/fixes...Win 7 included....like the updates MS released 8 May for Win 7. 

 

No shortage of webpages/posts talking Win 7 problems....ditto for every version of Windows.   Now Win 7 is being talked less and less now days because it's a legacy OS, hasn't had any new features added since around 2014 which can cause bugs/more social media talk...Win 7 has just had continuing updates/security patches since then.

 

Just keep in mind Win 7 is now a legacy OS with computer/device/software manufacturers and many people moving on to newer versions such a Win 10.   And come Jan 20...only 20 months away MS will stop support of Win 7...it will just be another unsupported version such as XP.   Still folks who also still run XP....it's their choice.

 

 

Thanks for your reply.

 

As an expat, I do all the usual things us expats do.  Eg. stream movies, sport, radio, check emails, banking, surf the net, book air tickets, book hotels, online purchases, Skype calls, use of a VPN, android emulator, store photos and music etc.  Standard stuff for most users.  

 

Can I ask, what "requirements" do you guys need of a Windows 10 machine that you can not do on a Windows 7 machine?  Are you getting more functions from the Windows 10 OS than me on Windows 7?  If you are, I would be interested to know what they are.  They maybe something that I would consider changing over for.

 

I agree Windows 7 still gets some update issues and Windows 10 is more talked about because it's the current OS. 

 

When you say Windows 7 hasn't has any new features added since 2014, what new features has been added to Windows 10 since I tried it and may be of interest to me? 

 

When I tried Windows 10, nothing extra than I already had on Windows 7 jumped out at me which impressed me and made me go over. 

 

I first tried Windows 10 about 18 months ago. I used it for about 3 days.  At that time, it didn't do anything my Windows 7 machine couldn't do and I didn't like the user interface.  Then, I started reading about all the issues, and lack of privacy, and decided not to go over.  Mind you, I initially tried it when it was first released, on a demo computer in a shop, and walked away from it immediately. 

 

What I am getting at in this post is, the user interface aside, does Windows 10 do any more than Windows 7, or do it so much better, when we are talking about the common uses mentioned above?

 

 

 

 

Edited May 9, 2018 by KhunHeineken

[Crossy]

33 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

What I am getting at in this post is, the user interface aside, does Windows 10 do any more than Windows 7, or do it so much better, when we are talking about the common uses mentioned above?

In reality very little, I'm still using W7 on an older machine, it works just fine.

 

One problem you may find is locating W7 drivers for a recent machine.

 

Stick with W10, apart from the user interface (which can be "fixed") what do you hate about it?

[The Fat Controller]

Keep 10 and customise the desktop.

 

There are lots of useful APPS being developed solely for 10 that do not have equivalents for 7.

 

Unless you really need it, disable OneDrive, I found it stopped my machine from going to sleep, maybe I missed something in the set up, but I use another backup and sync anyway.

[OneMoreFarang]

Apart from all the other reason the following is a very good reason to change to Windows 10

 

https://cloudblogs.microsoft.com/microsoftsecure/2017/06/08/windows-10-creators-update-hardens-security-with-next-gen-defense/

 

Because even the best Anti-Virus program etc. is unable to do what above functionality does.

[OneMoreFarang]

4 minutes ago, The Fat Controller said:

Keep 10 and customise the desktop.

 

There are lots of useful APPS being developed solely for 10 that do not have equivalents for 7.

 

Unless you really need it, disable OneDrive, I found it stopped my machine from going to sleep, maybe I missed something in the set up, but I use another backup and sync anyway.

you missed something...

[KhunHeineken]

18 hours ago, Crossy said:

In reality very little, I'm still using W7 on an older machine, it works just fine.

 

One problem you may find is locating W7 drivers for a recent machine.

 

Stick with W10, apart from the user interface (which can be "fixed") what do you hate about it?

Thanks for your reply.

 

If my computer was stolen, or was to blow up, or was damaged by accident, and I had to buy new one, I would buy a Windows 10 machine. 

 

Unlike the OP,  I would not be buying a new machine and putting Windows 7 on it, so drivers would not be an issue for me.

 

I don't hate Windows 10.  For me, it's like Windows 10 is constantly being developed with regular major updates, a bit like the Service Pack was for Windows 7, but with Windows 10, people all around the world have problems after each upgrade or update or service pack that is released for Windows 10. 

 

With Windows 7, they are not messing with it anymore, and are just releasing security patches.  I agree some of these cause the odd problem now and then, but a restore point can be used and then the update hidden and you are good again. 

 

So, as you say, with very little advantage of Windows 10 over Windows 7, and with a lot of people using Classic Shell to make the Windows 10 user interface appear like Windows 7, I'll just stay with Windows 7 until support is withdrawn. 

 

Another advantage of this is, by then, there will probably be cheap octocore processors for laptops and destops as well as 1TB SSD's, and who knows, maybe they would have finished messing with Windows 10 so much that there is some trouble free computing for users.

 

I admit I am a little different to the OP who wants an old OS on a new machine.  This is why I tried Windows 10 in the shop, researched all the horror stories, related them to my Vista experience, and then got a pretty high end machine with one of the last factory Windows 7 OS installed.  

 

It's common to skip an OS until Microsoft get it right.  Eg. Vista to 7 and 8 to 8.1, but Windows 10 just keeps being developed, and these developments, from what I read, even on this forum, don't make its use smooth and painless as Windows 7 currently is.

[KhunHeineken]

19 hours ago, The Fat Controller said:

Keep 10 and customise the desktop.

 

There are lots of useful APPS being developed solely for 10 that do not have equivalents for 7.

 

Unless you really need it, disable OneDrive, I found it stopped my machine from going to sleep, maybe I missed something in the set up, but I use another backup and sync anyway.

Can you name a few of these useful apps that can not be run on a Windows 7 machine?  Maybe your top 3.

 

If my Windows 7 machine can't run them, and I have a use for them, I will consider moving to Windows 10.

 

My Windows 7 machine easily handles a Android Emulator so I have all the apps Android offers. 

[KhunHeineken]

19 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Apart from all the other reason the following is a very good reason to change to Windows 10

 

https://cloudblogs.microsoft.com/microsoftsecure/2017/06/08/windows-10-creators-update-hardens-security-with-next-gen-defense/

 

Because even the best Anti-Virus program etc. is unable to do what above functionality does.

I use the Trend Micro Antivirus Premium.

 

They offer Folder Shield.  I believe it protects my D Partition that has all my photos and music and documents which protects it from being encrypted by ransomware. 

 

It also protects any USB stick or HDD I connect to the machine.

 

So, I don't think this is a feature of Windows 10 I am missing out on, but I welcome the suggestion of any other features that I am missing out on, because I would seriously consider moving to Windows 10 if they are beneficial, but to date, I can't find anything that Windows 10 has or does that is so much better that my Windows 7 machine either cant do, or do well enough for me to want to change to Windows 10 at this point in time.  

 

https://esupport.trendmicro.com/en-us/home/pages/technical-support/maximum-security-2017/1114795.aspx?vwd=KB-_-prd=gen-_-src=KB1099580-_-loc=Default

 

 

[MJCM]

On 5/9/2018 at 7:28 AM, Crossy said:

Install Classicshell http://www.classicshell.net/

 

Should do everything you need.

Good one, BUT

 

Quote

As of December 2017, Classic Shell is no longer in active development. 

http://www.classicshell.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=8147

[johnmcc6]

I started this thread and appreciate all the helpful feedback from those with more experience than me. A good option might be to pay the kid next door to teach me 10

[OneMoreFarang]

6 minutes ago, johnmcc6 said:

I started this thread and appreciate all the helpful feedback from those with more experience than me. A good option might be to pay the kid next door to teach me 10

If the kid next door knows how to use it that go ahead.

But in my experience lots of people, and not only Thais, use computer but know very little about it.

 

A typical example is watching users filling out a "form" with a couple of fields. I bet most of them type, click with the mouse on the next field, type again, ... and at the end they use the mouse to click on the button to continue.

If they would use the tab key and at the end the enter key the same procedure would take half the time. But it seem that is something most of them never learned and never thought about possible...

 

I suggest read a book which was written by a professional and/or watch a similar YouTube video. It makes a lot more sense to learn from professionals and not from kids. (And yes, I know some of those kids are very good)

 

[MunkyBoogar]

Drivers are not an issue for Win7. I am running a DIY desktop with an Asus P9X79 Deluxe MB, 6-core Sandy Bridge-E CPU, dual GTX1070 Ti GPU that were upgraded from 660 Ti and 32Gb of RAM without any driver issues. I will most likely run Win7 until it is no longer supported. The 2-in-1 laptop that I use for travel runs Win10 and it took many hours of tweaking to get it to run the way that I like (Cortana disabled, disabled Edge browser, reporting back to Microsoft has been disabled, disabled all automatic controls, and pretty much checked everything in the settings menu). 

 

A lot of people rave about Bitlocker. Always save your important files on an external drive or in the cloud because you will lose the files when Bitlocker crashes.

 

Oh yeah, I am very familiar with Win10. I have had to administer it in an enterprise environment with 7,000 computers so I have seen more than a few issues that have convinced me to NOT upgrade my desktop. The newest OS isn't always the best OS.

[KhunHeineken]

On 5/10/2018 at 12:39 PM, MJCM said:

Good one, BUT

 

http://www.classicshell.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=8147

 

That's not good news.  I was hoping to use Classic Shell when I did the change over.  ?

[MJCM]

16 hours ago, KhunHeineken said:

 

That's not good news.  I was hoping to use Classic Shell when I did the change over.  ?

There is an alternative, but it's not FREE

 

https://www.stardock.com/products/start10/

[KhunHeineken]

On 6/1/2018 at 12:24 PM, MJCM said:

There is an alternative, but it's not FREE

 

https://www.stardock.com/products/start10/

 

I had a quick look at Stardock.  Surely that is a one off payment, not a reoccurring monthly payment, if so, I will consider signing up, when the cut off date arrives.