Can you keep using Windows 7?

I just wondered that are you able to keep using Windows 7 for the life of the computer you have? Or will there be a time I have no choice but to use Windows 10? I noticed that so far Windows 7 Pro that came with this notebook runs overall better and maybe in the future Windows 10 will fix problems that I had but just wanted to know if I can keep using Windows 7 Pro forever? If not how many years can I keep using it? Or is there a way to make it usable for many many years? Thank you

 

You can keep using it safely for as long as MS provides security updates for it which will happen till Jan 2020.
At that point using Windows 7 would become significantly more risky.

 

Do you think anytime from now to by 2020 Microsoft will fix the problem with Edge or IE running on Windows 10 having issues with Facebook games like Jurassic Park Builder or with Network driver software that HP provided doesn't work? Or will Windows 10 always have some issues with the HP notebook? The specs of my notebook is on my sig. Problem is that HP doesn't make any drivers for Windows 10 for this notebook.

 

I have no way of knowing that. That said Windows 10 does not offer anything in particular, so if Windows 7 works fine for you there is no good reason to move to Windows 10 (there are reasons not to do this but I'm not gonna repeat what has been written so many times).

 

I would agree here as well just take your Windows 7 machine offline after 2020 but you know by that time there will be another Windows O/S to replace Windows 10 so don't worry your sleepless night about it til 2020 rolls around. My suspicion is there will be a Windows 2020 by that time that will take over Windows 10 and be called Windows XX.

 

Well so by the time new Windows comes out after Windows 10 will Windows 10 work fine on this system since it would have a lot of updates by then? Is Windows 10 will be always working on updates for any computers? If so by then they would fix problems like driver software's that didn't work or games that didn't work on Edge or IE. Although it seems like my network drivers are working using generic but just my OEM software from HP isn't compatible it says. Also for Facebook games Edge and IE doesn't seem to work right but maybe Microsoft will continue to fix problems using Windows 10? I just hope they will fix everything by that time so I can fully use Windows 10 without problems.

 

They might just throw out the version number (or at least stop advertising it loudly) and call it the "Windows" at some point.

 

You keep asking the same question. Short answer is M$ has experienced many an anomaly with various machines where W10 is concerned. You can see them all over the net and even their own answer pages. quite a few of these have gone on unresolved since day one. These issues are now the lay of the land where M$ is concerned.

 

You can keep using Windows 7 as long as you want, even after 2020. Since M$ will only be putting out fixes for Win 7, and not new features, Win 7 will be most secure at that time. Time alone does not create security holes. Is it possible that there is some security hole lurking in Windows 7 that no one will discover until 2021? Yes, but Win 10 and whatever comes after it will reach the broadest audience and be much easier to exploit (due to new features being added, which means more potential for bugs to exploit), so that is where the hackers will concentrate. There are still plenty of systems running Windows XP.

 

Oh really I didn't know so I guess I can keep using Windows 7 safely after 2020. But I just wonder that Windows 10 will fix more problems it has on older machines like mine since Microsoft wants everyone to use newest Windows right? Also can I reinstall drivers that is from HP that is normally for Windows 7 on this notebook? Or is it best to use whatever Windows 10 has to offer in there generic drivers? I noticed that Microsoft generic divers aren't the same as HP drivers or Intel drivers so they might be custom drivers from Microsoft for older computers. But I wonder if they will continue to fix problems like I am having with Jurassic Park Builder on Facebook games using Edge or IE.

All in all I prefer Windows 10 since it has a whole lot of features and Windows games I can play but only reason why I want to stay to original Window that came with this notebook is because of like drivers or game issues etc. But if I can fix everything on Windows 10 then I prefer using it. Now if HP came out with drivers for my notebook for Windows 10 then yes I will use those but so far HP says they aren't making them and I have to use generic drivers from Microsoft.

But as I said Microsoft is working hard on drivers I think that is and so I wonder if in time they will fix it. But I just don't know if I can reinstall drivers for the model HP I have from HP.com after installed Windows 10 again.

 

That will not happen Windows 10 will not fix nor release drivers for out dated hardware - you expect them to stay in business if they can't sell comptuers? Windows 10 generic drivers have broken more then they fix so your story of generic drivers is false story. MS drivers aren't the same for a reason they don't have the copyright or IP to knows the ins/outs of those hardware from HP or iNtel for a reason. Windows will not fix older hardware problems they clearly already said so by their actions. If you want a Windows 10 machine get a Windows 10 machine.

Windows 10 features don't warranty it better then Windows 7. It's all eye candy but end of the day people want to turn on use and then browse/email and then turn off.

Hardly Microsoft doesn't access to HP or iNtel hardware codes or programming and to think otherwise is fool hardy at best. They will not release drivers for older hardware HP has clearly stated this on their HP site and HP forum. As I said earlier want a Windows 10 machine go buy one and support Microsoft.

 

M$ is not working on furthering legacy machine drivers for W10. You will notice this by the fact most drivers for older, and even newer, hardware are well dated by now. Get used to what you have and do not expect further. Now they will try and be sure new hardware is compliant but where outside software including games are concerned this is always a crap shoot.

 

"Safely" is a relative term. By 2020, Windows 7 will have been in the field for 11 years (or 13 years, if you consider Vista the beta version of 7). That is 11 years of hackers looking for holes and 11 years of MS patching them. One would expect any remaining cracks to be very small, indeed. The question is, will newer version of Firefox, Chrome, Adobe Flash, etc still support Windows 7? But if you've been running on Windows 7 for that long, those newer versions probably aren't necessary. And since you have probably been running on the same hardware for the last 5 or so years, you really don't need to worry about driver updates. Of course, by then, you probably won't be able to find any new peripherals that will connect to your 7-10 year old laptop (VGA, DVI, parrallel ports, serial ports, eSata, even firewire were all standard ports on a laptop that are now - or are becoming - a thing of the past).

 

You really have to be inviting hackers to your computer if you manage to get hacked even if you use a 30yo OS. Tho people don't use antivirus and that is the secondary security hole regardless of OS version. I kind of highly doubt that win 95-98-xp tuned hacks are of any abundance except in networks that's been around since that time, which you can recognize long before being affected.

Primary security hole is the user downloading 5mb executables. No OS security upgrades will ever safeguard you from that. Now if I only bothered to take the time to test how 95-98-xp run these days. Not bothered when win7.

And do remember the net is full of people protecting their assets, like MS fanboys. Anyone suggesting that you don't use antivirus is a hacker or someone brainwashed by them. Antivirus have kept my systems clean for 20 years. Never had any problems and i play every game that i want pirated and i am all over the net looking for rare torrents, browsing sites littered with traps.

It is a critical time where new generations are taught computers by generations that do not understand computers, but understand how to make profits by fooling everyone. Very few of us are born within the vakuum of learning a computers true identity. As a tool for the user. Not as a marketpace for MS or a gateway to viruses which doesn't have to be any more harmful than as a peer for forwarding spam mail. Maybe you're anonymous fan and want to function as one of their ddos pets..

Moral: Treat capitalism according to it's value.

 

As mentioned already, you can run Windows 7 for as long as you like. I just would be extra careful about running it after 2020 on a network connected to the internet.

Ignoring the issue of software copying (I would like to get paid for my work, thanks), you really don't need an AV program if you're somewhat smart about what you do with your computer on a network. You probably require it given the websites you say you visit, but for the Average Joe simply avoiding shady sites, having a few browser extensions (ABP, Ghostery, etc.), and not falling for social engineering ("Hello, I an Dave from Windows calling about a problem on your computer") is generally enough, alongside some basic security like a firewall and perhaps a malware scanner to check from time to time. For example, I run said plugins in my browsers, Malwarebytes free edition, Windows firewall, and that's about it. Haven't had an issue for the past few years doing that. Then of course you have alternate OSes like Linux, but that's a whole other can of worms that doesn't belong on the Windows subsection .