Microsoft support for Windows 7 has ended.

[Scruffydog777]

Microsoft has ended it's support for Windows 7, a great system in my book. What that means is hackers and others are always coming up with new ways to get into your computer in ways that virus protection programs can't stop. When Microsoft learns of one of these vulnerabilities, they come up with a file that is uploaded to your computer in one of their updates to stop it. Hackers are always looking for new ways to access your computer so it's important to have an operating system that gets updated.

So I purchased a USB stick with Windows 10 from Amazon. I read some reviews and a few people complained that they had problems with the installation because files were corrupted and they had to download the files instead from MS. Still I decided to go with the USB. I did the upgrade which preserves most of your files and settings.

The upgrade went pretty smoothly except for one thing, when it rebooted, none of the USB 2 or 3 ports would work.

Luckily, I still had an old ps2 keyboard. I searched high and low for a ps2 mouse, then finally realized I had a ps2 mouse I take with me when I travel (long story).

That brought me to my next problem. My computer has only one ps2 port, so I could use either the keyboard or mouse. I found out you can control your mouse with your number pad, but it's painfully slow.

Anyways, I was able to get into the device manager and I saw there was a problem with the USB drivers. I tried the Windows search for new drivers, which didn't work. I went to the manufacturers website and downloaded there usb drivers for Windows 10 and the computer said there was a problem with this driver and wouldn't load it.

I was able to find in the Microsoft catalogue an even newer driver for my model of motherboard for Windows 10 which was from last year. I thought perfect, but again, Windows wouldn't accept it.

Then I remembered those critical reviews of 10 on a stick. I decided to download Windows 10 and install it via a DVD disc and it worked like a charm. So if you're thinking of upgrading to Windows 10, don't get it on a stick.

By the way, I already had the license for Windows 10 for the stick and it was free to download the files from MS.

[Silencio]

Great! Alizée is safe now, at least on your computer.

I hope Greg protects her from non-computer viruses.

[CleverCowboy]

Good news Scruffy! I'm glad you got past your upgrade woes.

I find Windows 10 Pro to be stable, but my beef about it is when it updates, it will reboot your computer, no questions asked. This occurs overnight and if I leave applications open before an update, too bad for me. I have tried several ways to override the automatic reboot to no avail.

Since I maintain software that I wrote 20 years ago and is still in use, the development environment is no longer supported by Windows 10. I had to purchase VMWare and create a virtual machine running Windows 7 so that I can continue to support the software.

[Scruffydog777]

I was all set to do a full install, but decided to try the download first and it worked. I was able to keep all my settings without going through that hassle.

[DrSmith]

I never upgrade my OS. If/when I build a new PC I'll put Windows 10 on it, but I'm sticking with Windows 7 until then. Microsoft's end of support shouldn't effect me much, I don't think.

[CleverCowboy]

Originally Posted by DrSmith

I never upgrade my OS. If/when I build a new PC I'll put Windows 10 on it, but I'm sticking with Windows 7 until then. Microsoft's end of support shouldn't effect me much, I don't think.

I generally never do an OS upgrade. I will start with a fresh install on a new system drive. Too much garbage left behind on an OS upgrade.

[Scruffydog777]

Originally Posted by DrSmith

I never upgrade my OS. If/when I build a new PC I'll put Windows 10 on it, but I'm sticking with Windows 7 until then. Microsoft's end of support shouldn't effect me much, I don't think.

I loved Windows 7 and did not want to change, but I figured it was for the best.

I just wanted to remind DrSmith if he ever does decide to upgrade, of the problem I had when I upgraded which I mentioned earlier. Even though I had read people who got the upgrade on a stick had problems, I chose to get a stick. It seemed to install fine, but it wouldn't recognize any of my usb drives. My computer had only one ps2 port, so I could only use a mouse or a keyboard. There are ways around that, but it's a pain in the neck.

So I remembered those reviews, downloaded 10 from Microsoft, installed it and used the key I got with the usb stick and voila! I was back in business.

[CleverCowboy]

I have developed software in every Microsoft OS from the beginning, and Windows 7 wins hands down as the most stable environment.

Actually, some earlier versions of Windows were very good, even before the Internet days. Windows 3.1 had a very long life even though it did not hold a candle to where Mac was at the time. However, it was stable enough to handle commercial applications. Windows 95, after some initial hiccups, turned out to be extremely stable. Windows 2000 was my favorite for a long time.

There was the informal rule to skip every other Microsoft OS, and for good reason because they put out as many dogs as winners (remember the Vista disaster?).

My problem with Windows 10 is that many legacy applications do not work in the OS, even when developed with retired Microsoft software. Many apps that work fine with Windows 7 do not run under 10. For many small businesses who paid for custom applications to be developed, they don't upgrade to Win 10 because then they have to pay to upgrade their custom apps, which can be extremely expensive.