While Windows 7 has a fighting chance, it is game over for Windows 8.1

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Imranmt

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Windows 8.1 receives one more batch of security patches on the coming Tuesday before Microsoft lays the operating system to rest. Windows 8.1 does not get the same Extended Security Updates treatment that Windows 7 received for the past three years. Once the last patch has been released, it is game over for the operating system.

Windows 8.1 users may continue using it, but the system's security issues will no longer be fixed by Microsoft or anyone else. Browsers and other programs will stop getting updates, and some websites will refuse to work as new technologies are no longer supported by the browsers.

Windows 7, which receives the last ESU patches on Tuesday as well, looks to be in a similar situation on first glance. Microsoft won't release updates for it anymore, even though there is still demand for that. Many programs won't receive updates anymore and the situation looks identical to the one that Windows 8.1 users face.
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Talking about Windows 8.1 Pro. When I got this laptop, it had Win 7 Pro and came with a free upgrade disk to 8.1. I moved up to 8.1 after a month of 7 crash dumping every single day with the famous blue screen, and sometimes twice a day. I upgraded to 8.1 and in almost eight years haven't had a single problem.
 
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Chuck57 said:
Talking about Windows 8.1 Pro. When I got this laptop, it had Win 7 Pro and came with a free upgrade disk to 8.1. I moved up to 8.1 after a month of 7 crash dumping every single day with the famous blue screen, and sometimes twice a day. I upgraded to 8.1 and in almost eight years haven't had a single problem.
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Install linux in dual boot and keep windows 8.1 😉
 
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Manufacturers of machines that were built to work perfectly on Windows XP and eventually Windows 7, didn't count that their products would last this long.
Something that modern manufacturers know very well and won't make the same mistake.
 
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Ink said:
That doesn’t make any sense. Why Linux? Ideally Windows 10 LTSC would be a better choice, but as history has shown, Windows users don’t like forced upgrades. Best course of action is let them continue using what they’re used to.
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Ive had issues running LTSC, and there is no way to get that legally.
 
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Ink said:
That doesn’t make any sense. Why Linux? Ideally Windows 10 LTSC would be a better choice, but as history has shown, Windows users don’t like forced upgrades. Best course of action is let them continue using what they’re used to.
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I suggested linux only for accessing the internet. Windows LTSC is difficult to activate by legal means because it is an Enterprise version.
 
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Chuck57 said:
Talking about Windows 8.1 Pro. When I got this laptop, it had Win 7 Pro and came with a free upgrade disk to 8.1. I moved up to 8.1 after a month of 7 crash dumping every single day with the famous blue screen, and sometimes twice a day. I upgraded to 8.1 and in almost eight years haven't had a single problem.
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I agree but new hardware is not compatible anymore with 8.1. 8 was garbage and shock to me. 8.1 was bad in games compatibility and only few machines was sold with 8.1 here. Big brands immediatly start to offer downgrades to 7 for enterprise. Personally 8.1 was more stable for desktop experience and few compatibiles problems with existed software.
In VM i prefer more 8.1 than 7 or 10 still today.
 
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piquiteco said:
I suggested linux only for accessing the internet. Windows LTSC is difficult to activate by legal means because it is an Enterprise version.
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I suggest Linux for everything except using no open source and free software (games included :)
LTSC is good but you can tweak older Win 10 for almost same thing.
 
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sartic said:
I agree but new hardware is not compatible anymore with 8.1. 8 was garbage and shock to me. 8.1 was bad in games compatibility and only few machines was sold with 8.1 here. Big brands immediatly start to offer downgrades to 7 for enterprise. Personally 8.1 was more stable for desktop experience and few compatibiles problems with existed software.
In VM i prefer more 8.1 than 7 or 10 still today.
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There is some software I can't use with 8.1. Fortunately, I haven't found any incompatible software I really need. The day will come that I need to replace this old laptop, and some of what I use won't work with the latest Windows, so the situation will be reversed.
 
Chuck57 said:
There is some software I can't use with 8.1. Fortunately, I haven't found any incompatible software I really need. The day will come that I need to replace this old laptop, and some of what I use won't work with the latest Windows, so the situation will be reversed.
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Yes, win8.1 is almost impossible to install on modern machines with UEFI and Secure Boot, so it has lagged behind.
 
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sartic said:
I suggest Linux for everything except using no open source and free software (games included :)
LTSC is good but you can tweak older Win 10 for almost same thing.
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Linux is an option. I've fooled some with several different versions and it's much easier to figure out than when I tried it 10 or 12 yrs ago. Chrome OS is another one, and the 2 programs I need the most have versions that will run in a Chromebook, and they're cheap. I haven't looked at them to know what kind of quality the laptops offer.

For now, I'm sticking with 8.1 Pro. It's reliable. No blue screens. No crash dumps. It's fast, and all that matters.
 
It's likely game over for any OS that can't be patched for new vulnerabilities and must be used online or with new files.
 
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sartic said:
In my life desqview & DOS, OS/2, Win2000 & XP, Ubuntu (before all garbage). Everything is changed now... I always prefer more power than bling.
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Good old days, that left a little to be missed.
 

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