To ask for an idiot guide to how to deal with Microsoft end of support for Windows 7 today

[Mammajay]

I just heard that Microsoft end support for Windows 7 today. We have one laptop, 7-8 years old, which we use for e online banking and emails but not much else ( no games,films). It says on Microsoft that from today it is not safe to use windows 7 for banking or emails. It says £120 to buy windows 10 but not recommended to put 10 on to older computers. It recommends buying a new laptop. So, is it safe to go online at all? Is it unsafe right now or will there be a lap over time? Is it safe just to check online banking? The lack of any notice and this expense straight after Christmas is very annoying!

@dgrossetti My own backups go to two places locally and one cloud, yep. Plus for the important stuff (photos!) another cloud, plus full copies on several computers.

For cloud backups I use backblaze.com , as well as iCloud for the pics and docs (very Apple here, OneDrive on Windows will presumably do similar, or Google Photos and Google Drive), also Dropbox for docs plus other odds and ends for historical reasons.

Yup, it's only a backup if the file is in more than one place. Moving stuff to an external drive or a "cloud" service is not backing it up. Many people have lost their files when their only copy was "in the cloud" and Microsoft or Adobe or whoever closed their account.

For the PP concerned about the environment ... well use Linux then. Comes free and can happily run a 15 year old machine with no need for any new RAM or hardware.

The games I like won't run on Linux, or that would be what I'd do. Used Ubuntu before, so not unfamilar with Linux.

I just keep my PCs running for as long as possible. Last laptop was 8 or 9 years, the desktop is now 9 or ten years old, though as stated it's been upgraded.

The games I like won't run on Linux, or that would be what I'd do. Used Ubuntu before, so not unfamilar with Linux.

I'm a bit of an oddball in IT - even as I was devouring 6502 assembler in the 70s, I never really had any interest in gaming. And still don't.

That said, DS is a bit of a gamer (why else did his first paycheque go on a PS4 ?) and he gave away his PC a couple of years ago.

Anyway, given that Microsoft are going to save the planet, maybe it's time to back Windows to the max.

On the environmental side, the thing is computer hardware has become a lot more power-efficient over time. So it's the same old debate - do you keep using the old power-guzzler because the initial resources to make it have been used, or do you switch to a new energy-efficient one but that means loads of stuff went into making it?

And similarly, a desktop is more easily repairable than a 'standard' laptop, which in turn is more easily repairable than a tablet. But the power consumption goes the other way.

Is it not enough to have a virus checker? I have Norton Security. It hadn't occurred to me to worry - I use a CDRom with Word 2003 on it, which is sufficient for my needs. Do I need to upgrade to some insane monthly payment scheme with Microsoft? It's so much more expensive than it used to be.

That's fine then, companies don't have to do anything eco-friendly or responsible. Lets tell all the supermarkets and manufacturers to continue using single use plastic packaging then, shall we? And the car manufacturers don't have to worry about emission levels.

What a load of bollocks, and a typical example of people citing “environmental issues” when not being bright enough to look at the bigger picture.

A laptop that runs windows 7 and won’t upgrade is years old and has done many years of good service.

For Microsoft to keep it running would mean hundreds of software engineers driving to and from work everyday. They would all need feeding, toilet facilities, and electricity for their machines etc. Think about the actual resources required to keep that really old and advertised as dead for a few years OS running.

All to save a few people throwing out laptops that most people binned at least five years ago?

Your environmental argument doesn’t stack up if you look at the picture beyond you throwing away an already well used laptop.

Torchlightt I would say no.

Also Norton Security is an annual fee. If you're not paying each year for updates then it's as much use as a chocolate teapot! Windows 10 has good antivirus built in, so you can do away with needing separate antivirus software.

And Windows 10 is at present a one-time purchase if you need to buy a license.

Office 2003 stopped getting security updates 6 years ago. It's less of an issue for Office than it is for Windows, but be careful about any word or excel files that you download or are emailed to you.

I think I just have Word 2003. Picked up the CD rom in a charity shop - and was fed up with paying a monthly fee to Microsoft, so ended the contract and just used the CD rom from then on. I do buy Norton Security annually though, and it seems pretty good.

I phoned Microsoft and they installed windows 10 for free, i told them i didnt have $200 and they said no problem and installed it remotely

I think Microsoft did a great job at supporting Windows XP. It was released in 2001, they can’t keep updating it forever.

After a confusing visit to PC world I came home and tried yet again to load windows 10and yippee I seem to have succeeded! Thanks everyone.
Yippee! I did it the other day too. I was going to pm you to help you do it but you’ve done it!

I had Windows 7 and just upgraded to Windows 10 on 14 Jan for free.

Back up all your data first. Google Windows 10 media creation tool - its on Microsoft website (link is below). Follow the instructions to download tool now. You will have to sign on as Adminstrator and it will took several hours.

www.microsoft.com/en-au/software-download/windows10