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Support For Windows 7 Has Ended

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saintpeter48 | 02:24 Mon 03rd Feb 2020 | Music
11 Answers
What does this mean?
I now cannot download any music from itunes, help needed in what I should do, I don't want to buy another laptop, any advice?
This is the message that keeps popping up;
Microsoft made a commitment to provide 10 years of product support for Windows 7 when it was released on October 22, 2009. This 10-year period has now ended, and Microsoft has discontinued Windows 7 support so that we can focus our investment on supporting newer technologies and great new experiences. The specific end of support day for Windows 7 was January 14, 2020. Technical assistance and software updates from Windows Update that help protect your PC are no longer available for the product. Microsoft strongly recommends that you move to Windows 10 to avoid a situation where you need service or support that is no longer available.
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The message means exactly what it says: There will be no more updates for Windows 7 from Microsoft, including anti-virus and anti-malware patches. So (in theory, at least) your computer will become more vulnerable to attacks from malicious software from now on. Microsoft did offer a free upgrade to Windows 10 for quite a long while but you obviously decided...
03:10 Mon 03rd Feb 2020
Browse here for previous questions about your problem:
https://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/search/?q1=support+for+windows+7
The message means exactly what it says: There will be no more updates for Windows 7 from Microsoft, including anti-virus and anti-malware patches. So (in theory, at least) your computer will become more vulnerable to attacks from malicious software from now on.

Microsoft did offer a free upgrade to Windows 10 for quite a long while but you obviously decided against accepting it. (That's not a criticism! I decided against it too, for a variety of reasons).

In theory you can now choose either to
(a) buy a new machine with Windows 10 pre-installed ; or
(b) pay for an upgrade to Windows 10. However that will cost you £119.99 for Windows 10 Home or £219.99 for Windows 10 Pro.

Alternatively though, you can either
(a) continue to use Windows 7 anyway (see below) ; or
(b) use a backdoor route to upgrade to Windows 10 for free (see further below).

I'm curently continuing to use Windows 7 (although I might buy a refurbished Windows 10 machine in the not too distant future). The chances of anything nasty happening are actually very low anyway (certainly in the short term) and people who keep seeing the message that you're getting can easily disable it by following the instructions here:
https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/418989-disable-windows-7-end-support-reminder-notifications.html

The backdoor route for upgrading to Windows 10 requires you to know the product key for your existing version of Windows 7. There are plenty of programs that can find it for you but my own choice would be Belarc Advisor:
https://www.belarc.com/products_belarc_advisor

After noting down that product key, go to the Microsoft website to find the download to upgrade from your existing version of Windows 7 to the SAME version of Windows 10. (i.e. if you're using Windows 7 Home, you need to find the download for Windows 10 Home. If you're using Windows 7 Pro, you want the download for Windows 10 Pro).

Follow the instructions from there for upgrading to Windows 10. When you're asked for your Windows 10 product key, simply enter the old one you had for Windows 7; it will work fine!

You should note though that the hardware on your laptop might not be fully up to running Windows 10. If it can't handle it at all, you'll see a message advising you of that and you'll still be left with Windows 7. If it can only barely handle it, you might find that your laptop runs rather slowly under Windows 10.

It's not clear to me as to why you can't continue to use iTunes with Windows 7. (Have you tried changing your password, as per my answer on your other thread). However it's equally unclear to me as to why you should want to have iTunes on your computer at all. Magazines such as Computer Active and Web User periodically contain articles listing the software that should NEVER be on any PC and iTunes is included every single time! There are far better alternatives!

If you need an alternative to iTunes, try MusicBee
https://getmusicbee.com/
or MediaMonkey
https://www.mediamonkey.com/

If you decide to give up and buy a Windows 10 laptop, take a look at these refurbished models (from a company that I've got total faith in - their products and customer service are both excellent):
https://accomputerwarehouse.com/product-category/cheap-refurbished-laptops-uk/
Question Author
Buenchico .... thanks so much for your advice, you have helped me a few times in the past with problems with laptops, printers etc, it is much appreciated.
I am not the sharpest tool in the box regarding tech problems but I will try a few things that you have suggested and hopefully resolve things, thanks again.
Question Author
Buenchico ........ Can I purchase music from the two sites you mentioned?
>>> Can I purchase music from the two sites you mentioned?

No. They simply provide excellent media players. However you can buy from other sites, such as Amazon, instead. Alternatively you can do what most people do and 'stream rip' your music from Youtube. It's not legal but it's free. (I do use stream-ripping myself but generally only for music that's not available for purchase, such as performances by children's choirs). Instructions available on request ;-)
This morning 12th Feb I received an update from Microsoft for my Windows 7. A slip-up on their part?
I've been receiving updates for Windows 7 Professional daily on my laptop but not on my desktop. My Windows 7 Home laptop doesn't get updates.
I also have Windows 7 Professional but I would have thought that no further support would apply to all types of Windows 7.
Chris, any chance you could advise about my query in technology? Sorry St Pete. Hijacked your thread!
One of my W7 Professional computers was bought with W7 installed and a free update to W10 included; I can't remember which one it was but could that explain the updates?
I've just had an update on my W7 Home laptop, so it's not just Professional that's getting them.

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