Windows 10: Should I change back to Windows 7 based on my requirements/dislikes??

Hello, my laptop is 5years old now, but is a very high performance one (Alienware m15x).

I've upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 10, however I hate the layout for much of it.

I only use the 1511.086 build.
I tried the 1607 build but the layout is just disgusting and unusable for me,
so I've had to disable the updater service to stop it forcing an upgrade to newer builds.

I'm happy with the 1511 build,
however I use ie11 only not edge browser, deleted all those live-tile bars on start menu, use an old synaptics touchpad driver, deleted cortana.

I only use my laptop for watching videos online, writing emails, creating presentations, twitter... Ect
So my main requirement is for highest video graphics quality, internet speed and performance speed, and compatibility with all websites even that have live-streaming flash... etc


I upgraded to Windows 10 cos I thought it'd be faster at processing, would have higher quality graphics, and would run all websites faster.
Plus I worried that in 2-3years Windows 7 would become very slow.

However what will be better for my requirements, going back to Windows 7 or staying on Windows 10 build 1511??

:)

 

Upgraded to Windows 10, but do not remember Windows 7 password

Hi

I upgraded to Windows 10 recently from Windows 7. I was using finger print scanning to login into my Windows 7 account. I also had setup a word based password, but with a password hint. When I upgraded to Windows 10, I can login using my fingerprint, however
some of the setup requires word based password. However, there is no password hint available from Windows 7 and I cannot remember my password at all.

• Fingerprint account access, does not allow me to change my old password
• Word based account access does not allow me to see/check the password hint that I had setup for Windows 7

 

Can I set my own recovery password for bitlocker

See how to do it, references Windows 7, but should work Windows 10 too:

https://www.itsupportguides.com/knowledge-base/...

 

Answer is neither. 1511 is no longer supported and is a security risk. Windows 7 will stop support in time.

The layout is much more optional with latest versions.

 

I'm not worried about security risks by lack of Microsoft updates tbh.

As I've got Avast antivirus on my laptop which prevents malware and viruses,
so that is sufficient for me tbh.

 

Personally, i like to embrace change / the future, sticking with Windows 7 (or even XP for that matter) is ultimately going to see you running a very out of date OS without some potentially serious security enhancements / updates.

Getting used to new interfaces is generally something that comes with a little time and not fighting it, embrace and learn it where required.

While AV is certainly a must have, it's not a catch all and will still leave major security holes without Firewall and fully updated/patched OS, Browsers etc.

 

As time goes on then the hardware suppliers will stop supporting Windows 7 so you would need to be careful if you intend keeping the laptop you have longer than the start of 2020 when win7 reaches end of life, but until then with a decent set of anti malware systems (one is never a good idea as no protection system is 100% effective), you should be fine with Win7.

Your next hardware will come with Windows 10 so eventually you will need to learn the new better OS , but when "Eventually" happens is still your choice

 

Products such as Avast antivirus do not keep you safe. They only help to do this. Malware authors work hard to evade the protection of AV products and often succeed. AV suppliers like Avira are well aware of the limitations of their products but for obvious reasons this isn't often mentioned.

When XP went out of support a few years ago several AV suppliers emphasized that the ability of their products to provide protection was limited on unsupported operating systems. All AV suppliers know this. There is no reason to believe it will be different with Windows 7.

When an operating system is no longer supported this serves as a signal to third party software suppliers that they consider doing so as well. Some will do so early on, in some cases even before the OS goes out of support. If the OS remains popular other suppliers will delay this, but only for a time. Unlike most applications AV products must interact with the OS at a very low level and it becomes a burden for developers to support older systems. Eventually all will drop support. When the AV supplier drops support you would need to use an older version that still works and it would no longer receive updates.

Just as predators target victims that are least able to resist them, malware authors will target operating systems that are the most vulnerable. If Windows 7 remains popular you can be sure it will be at the top of their lists. Even when supported older systems such as Windows 7 have vulnerabilities not present in Windows 10.

 

The recent wannacry attack amply demonstrates this. The attacks hit Windows 7 users mostly. Windows 10 users on latest version at time (1603 iirc) were immune. People on 1507/1511 only got immunised if they had not blocked security updates.

 

I also have a five year old laptop but I am running Win10 on it, in "desktop" mode -- and the layout is very similar to Win7.

I also removed all the Tiles (as I do NOT have a touch screen and thus, have no use for them), I also disabled Edge and Cortana, as I use IE instead and have no use for Cortana. But ... I do prefer to have improved protection from running Win10.

I do not know what about the layout you find "disgusting", and yes, MS moved things around a lot with Settings, but with any of the Start Menu products, you can get back the old Device Manager, Control Panel, and other functions. So, at the end of the day, functionally, it is not a lot different in look and feel from Win7.

Eventually, your PC will die and you will have to then use Win10 when you purchase a new PC -- but until then, use what works for you and what you are comfortable using.

 

Hi there
nothing wrong with using W7 while it's in support -- you could take a punt and say by the time W7 is "Killed off" W10 will have improved a lot more.

I have a feeling that like XP W7 will get "extended support" as there are still loads of BIG organisations still on W7 but that's a risk assessment only you can make.

Even running legacy OS'es on VM's ( Virtual Machines) won't be a permanent solution -- some laptops / computers no longer have USB 2 ports but only USB 3 - and if you can't connect a USB 2 device to these then your XP VM etc will be no good for attaching USB 2 devices. !!

The other solution is (shouldn't really say this on a Windows Forum !!) is to run some version of Linux as Host and run your Windows systems as VM's -- a lot of programs that people run on Windows are available in Linux - Ms Office though is still STREETS AHEAD of anything else offered by any other OS I've seen.

Compared though to W10 W7's response seems to run at Glacial speed -- I loved it when W7 first came out but I have to say W10 is streets better - just remove all those silly tiles -- Ms are only just learning from the W8 fiasco -- decent desktop computers and servers ARE NOT MOBILE PHONES so the idea of a "One size fits all" interface was totally stupid to start with and is even more silly now.

Cheers
jimbo

 

My understanding is Microsoft does extend support to big organizations but they have to pay extra for that added support.


From post #9

Jack

 

Apart from the mentioned general extension of XP support all others that I have seen have been a chargeable add-on for Corporate accounts (mostly VL customers and Embedded devices).

The corporate client can then perform the upgrade to suit their needs ( technical and fiscal )