Anyone still running Windows 7?

wiredtrucker13 said:It’s honestly driving me up the wall; it just keeps trying to update itself constantly, and I have no idea how to make it stop.

https://www.sordum.org/9470/windows-...-blocker-v1-6/

Just picked up a new setup with a Ryzen 5 processor and integrated graphics, only to find out that Intel doesn't support Windows 7 anymore 👎

I mean, sure, you could technically install Win7, but getting the drivers to actually work? Forget about it.

So, I guess it's finally time to say goodbye to what was easily the second-best version of Windows ever made and move on to something more robust—and arguably much more annoying.

Farewell, Windows 7. You were good to me.

driftingcanyon2 said:Windows 7 is ancient history. If you aren't feeling Windows 10, just switch over to Linux.

You're really going to have to back that up. What does Windows 10 actually offer that Windows 7 doesn't?
Aside from driver support that big corporations are basically withholding because they want everyone forced onto these dumbed-down versions where we lose more and more control over our own OS.

Robin Clark said:you’re going to have to defend that one. What exactly can Windows 10 do that Windows 7 can't?
Aside from the fact that greedy corporations are intentionally withholding driver support just to force us all onto these dumbed-down versions where we have less and less control over our own operating systems.

If you’re looking for total system control, I’m honestly surprised you’re even using Windows at all.
Windows and system control are diametrically opposed concepts, regardless of which version you happen to be running.
Just switch to Arch Linux and take charge.

Matthew Young35 said:If you’re looking for total control over your system, I’m honestly surprised you’re even bothering with Windows.
Windows and actual system control are basically polar opposites at this point, no matter which version you're running.
Just grab Arch Linux and take charge.

I've been using Debian for quite a while now, but let's be real—between gaming, Microsoft Office, and a whole bunch of niche software I rely on, things just aren't there for Linux.

Robin Clark said:I've been using Debian for quite some time now, but let's face it—the games, Microsoft Office, and that massive pile of niche software I rely on just aren't available on Linux.

Plus, you can't even find decent AMD drivers for Windows 7.
🤔

There isn't anything specifically for the Ryzen 5 5600G
Just stick with Windows 10 or Windows 11, 64-bit

Robin Clark said:you’re going to have to back that up—what exactly can Windows 10 do that Windows 7 can't?
Aside from driver support, which greedy corporations are intentionally withholding because they want everyone to migrate to these dumbed-down versions where users have less and less control over their own operating systems.

It’s just too expensive for them to develop drivers for hardware that most people consider obsolete and don't even use anymore. If I were you, I'd just hang onto the old motherboard, processor, and Windows 7 as a secondary machine.
Otherwise, you can always run VirtualBox on Windows 11 and keep Windows 7 running inside it.

Robin Clark said:I've been using Debian for quite a while now, but let's be real—the games, Microsoft Office, and that massive pile of niche software I rely on just aren't available on Linux.

For instance: imagine someone working in 3D using 3D Studio Max. They are essentially forced into using Windows because Autodesk doesn't even support macOS, let alone Linux.
If you're a Photoshop user, you can jump between macOS and Windows, but you're out of luck on Linux.
The same goes for anyone relying on Adobe Premiere or After Effects.
Sure, you have DaVinci Resolve, which does run on Linux, and there's Blender too. But you’d have to spend two years grinding just to learn how to achieve the same results—animations, MOCAP, effects, texturing, script programming, procedural modeling, and so on—as you would in Max.
And when it comes to gaming? It's Windows or nothing.

Personally, I love programming on Linux (using C++); I really appreciate tools like Valgrind and the whole underlying philosophy. However, I absolutely need Windows for standard applications like Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and things like that. That is why on every machine I own (with the exception of my Macintosh M1), I run a dual boot setup. I keep both Windows and Linux ready to go.

Linux is basically a safe haven for the future since the industry is systematically phasing out older operating systems.

With every single update, Windows just gets heavier, clunkier, and way less user-friendly.
But hey, there actually is a solution to this—check out my post here:

The other day I stumbled upon a video on YouTube about the downfall of uTorrent—you know, how they totally ruined it.
It actually made me laugh because I’m still rocking that old uTorrent version 2.2.1 from back in 2011.
After that specific version, they started stuffing every update with bloatware until the whole thing became absolute garbage.
Honestly, once you apply a few tweaks, 2.2.1 is pretty much perfect.

It’s the exact same story with operating systems.
I mean, a fully updated Windows 10 will gobble up 3 to 5 GB of RAM just sitting idle. If you strip away all the bloat and that non-essential Microsoft junk, it drops down to maybe a gigabyte or so.

Robin Clark said:Linux is a safe haven for the future because the industry is systematically and intentionally phasing out older operating systems.

With every single update, Windows just gets heavier, slower, and increasingly unfriendly to the user.
But there actually is a solution to this; you should check out my post here:

The other day I stumbled upon a video on YouTube (the downfall of uTorrent)—basically how they ruined uTorrent.
It honestly cracked me up because I’m still rocking the old uTorrent v. 2.2.1 from back in 2011.
After that specific version, they started stuffing every update with bloatware until they turned it into absolute garbage.
Version 2.2.1, once you apply a few tweaks, is absolutely perfect.

It’s the exact same story with operating systems.
A fully updated Windows 10 will gobble up anywhere from 3 to 5 GB of RAM just sitting idle. Once you strip away the bloat and all that non-essential Microsoft shit, it drops down to about a gigabyte and change.

I'm not even sure if I should say this without attracting a wave of anger, whining, or getting banned, but I think this is all a byproduct of increasingly mediocre developers who—due to a lack of fundamental knowledge—rely on overly complex frameworks and inefficient languages. Consequently, whether they realize it or not, they end up writing bloatcode constantly.
These are the people who look down on C and C++ because they consider them "outdated," preferring to do everything in C#.

The absolute worst part about this whole situation is how perfectly good, high-end hardware is being rendered totally useless.
So much great equipment that still works just fine is going to end up sitting in a landfill somewhere.
You can only imagine the fallout from that, both for the economy and the environment.
Honestly, my hair almost stood on end when I saw the system requirements for Windows 11.
Anything older than an AMD 3rd gen processor is basically out of luck.
Pretty much everything made before 2017 won't run Windows 11, even though it totally COULD.

It feels like Windows is regressing, like it’s moving backward.
I really hope more people wake up and the market shifts in a different direction, because what Microsoft is doing right now is just gross.
Or maybe people will be like me—keep one setup with Windows just for gaming, and run everything else on other operating systems.

Robin Clark said:The most disgusting part of this whole situation is how this practice renders perfectly good, highly capable hardware completely useless.

Massive amounts of high-quality, functional hardware will simply end up in landfills across the country.

Just imagine the consequences—both economically and environmentally.

My skin crawled when I saw the hardware requirements for Windows 11.

Anything older than the third generation of AMD processors isn't supported.

Practically everything manufactured before 2017 won't run on Windows 11, even though it absolutely COULD.

Windows is regressing; it’s moving backward.

I hope more people wake up and force the market to pivot, because what Microsoft is doing is repulsive.

Or perhaps, like me, people will just maintain one specific rig solely for gaming while running everything else on other operating systems.

Why would good, competent hardware be rendered useless?
At my office, we have a fleet of computers that are seven or eight years old, if not older, and they run dozens of Debian and Linux instances without breaking a sweat.

Windows 11 doesn't actually have massive hardware demands.
And it isn't true that everything older than the third generation of AMD is unsupported. For instance, I have a Ryzen 1600, and it runs flawlessly without needing any hacks. The motherboard, which cost $150 just two years ago, supports TPM and everything works fine.

Matthew Young35 said:Why on earth would solid, capable hardware be useless?
At my office, we have computers sitting around that are seven or eight years old, if not older, and they run dozens of Linux setups just fine.

Windows 11 doesn't actually have massive hardware requirements.
And it's definitely not true that everything older than the 3rd gen AMD is unsupported. For instance, I’m running a Ryzen 1600 and it works perfectly without needing any weird workarounds. The motherboard I picked up two years ago for $150 supports TPM and everything just works smoothly.

My bad, Windows 11 supports the 2nd gen AMD Ryzen and the 8th gen Intel or higher.

The thing is, the 3rd and 4th gens would run Windows 11 without breaking a sweat, so why did they cut them off?

Like, an i7 7700 won't run Windows 11.
That’s just plain unfair.

Robin Clark said:My mistake. Windows 11 supports second-generation AMD Ryzen processors, and similarly, it accommodates eighth-generation Intel chips.

The reality is that 3rd and 4th generation processors would run Windows 11 without any noticeable issues. So, why were they cut off?

So, it turns out an i7 7700 just won't play nice with Windows 11. Why is that?
That’s just plain disgraceful.

It depends on whether your motherboard actually has a TPM chip installed or if the functionality is built directly into the processor. Have you checked your BIOS settings yet?

It’s not like bypassing the TPM requirement is some impossible feat

Richard Lee47 said:as if bypassing the TPM requirement were actually the hard part.

It isn't an issue right now, but the real question is how things will hold up once the updates start rolling in.
I mean, you can get everything installed perfectly fine today by using a workaround, but then an update drops and suddenly everything goes completely sideways.

Matthew Young35 said:It works fine right now, but I'm worried about how updates will handle it.
Sure, you get everything installed smoothly, perform your little workaround, then an update drops and the whole thing goes straight to hell.

You aren't even "hacking" anything—you just swap out two commands. Everything runs perfectly with updates; zero issues whatsoever.

Richard Lee47 said:It’s not even hacking, really. You just tweak two commands and you're good to go. Everything runs perfectly with the updates, no issues at all.

I mean, why would anyone even bother with this bloated OS? It's basically turning into an Android tablet at this point.

Robin Clark said:Why would anyone even bother with this downgraded OS that's basically trying to turn itself into Android?

Because let's face it, Linux is just useless for most people.