If you are still a Windows 7 user, the deadline suddenly comes very close: on Tuesday, January 14, the very last patches will appear and the operating system will retire. You have a number of options if you want to stay with Windows.
It is getting very close now. You can only use Windows 7 for 1 week. We hear various questions and discussions all around us about what users can do best. Users who find their current computer powerful enough can try upgrading to Windows 10 or switching to macOS or Linux. However, we also hear that many users find the end of Windows 7 the perfect time to purchase a new computer, but even among those there is a number that does not want to go “blindly” to the next Windows 10 computer. Linux and macOS computers are also increasingly mentioned. Yesterday we looked at possibilities and arguments to switch to Linux instead of Windows 10. Today, however, we are not looking at switching options to another system, but focusing on users who want to “just” switch to Windows 10. How do you know that and what is the easiest and fastest way to do that? We explain it to you.
End of support means for you practically that Windows 7 no longer receives updates, including patches for security issues. If you are a consumer who wants or needs to use Windows, you actually have no choice but to upgrade to Windows 10 or another system. Business users have more support options, but home users must switch to Windows 10 if they do not want to go to something completely different than macOS, Linux or Chrome OS.
These are your options if you want to continue using Windows:
- Option 1: Ignore the deadline and disable the fullscreen pop-up that warns you that the system has expired.
- Option 2: Purchase a new version of Windows 10 and install it. Windows 10 Home costs 145 euros at Microsoft.
- Option 3: Hope that the free upgrade still exists or will return.
- Option 4: Buy a new PC and migrate your existing files to the Windows 10 machine.
In this article we will discuss these four in more detail with you.
Option 1: Take the risk
We cannot advise you on this option. As for Microsoft, your PC simply ceases to exist. Apps, games, tools, third party antivirus and other software will continue to work. But Microsoft no longer updates its software and if a vulnerability is found, it will no longer receive a patch. There is also no technical support anymore. You stand alone, in other words.
The exception is Office. If you are an Office 365 subscriber, you will get patches for the Office 365 apps on Windows 7 for another three years. You will not get any new features, which is actually one of the main reasons for using Office 365 instead of the stand-alone package. Office 2010 and later are also supported on Windows 7, but only when a vulnerability applies to Office and not to the interaction between Office and Windows 7. If a problem arises there, you don’t have to count on help.
Option 2: Buy a Windows 10 license
Secondly, you can purchase an upgrade. There was a time when it was as simple as clicking a button, after which you received a free upgrade. But that is no longer the case (or maybe more, more about that below). That means that you have to look for the Home version (145 euros) or Windows 10 Pro for 259 euros. For that you get a USB stick with the Windows 10 software on it, which you plug into the PC to perform the upgrade, or you download the software.
If you think 145 euros is too expensive, but you don’t want to pull the box of tricks open, keep an eye on the internet. Every now and then wonderful offers appear where Windows 10 licenses are offered for very attractive prices. Such as this USB stick with Windows 10 license code for just under three decades.
Option 3: Free upgrade to Windows 10
After the release of Windows 10, users of Windows 7 and 8.1 got the upgrade for free for a year (until July 31, 2016) and then you could use a trick for a while to get a free upgrade. That option also disappeared last year. ZDNet’s Ed Bott discovered that Microsoft has never disabled these upgrade servers, so it could well be that there is still a possibility to upgrade for free.
If you still have a Windows 7 PC, go to the Windows 10 download page and download the tool from Microsoft. Windows 7 Starter, Home, Basic and Home Premium are being updated to Windows 10 Home, while Professional and Ultimate are being replaced by Windows 10 Pro. You can perform the upgrade directly on the PC, or transfer the tool to a USB stick (with at least 8 GB of free space), or put it on a CD-R or DVD. With this last option you can update multiple PCs.
You do need a valid Windows 7 license to use the tool. If Windows cannot find the license itself on your system, you must enter it manually. You will then have to dig into your things in search of the license key. He may be on a sticker on the laptop and a tool such as Magical Jelly Bean Product KeyFinder can also offer a solution. The product key consists of five sets of letters and numbers, in the format xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx.
Make a backup of everything you wouldn’t want to lose if something went wrong, at least photos and documents. Put them on an external disk, burn them to DVD, or bring them to the cloud. Windows will secure the apps, settings and files during migration, but it’s better to have a backup and not need it than to need it and not to have it.
It is difficult to say how long this will take, because that depends on various factors specific to your system and the available bandwidth. From downloading to completing installation with new patches you have to count on at least an hour, maybe more. When the process is complete, look at your files: are your photos still there? Your documents? This is the moment that you may need to use your backup. Also check applications, including your antivirus software, to see if they still have the license.
If you use older hardware, you may notice a performance loss due to the heavier load on your processor and hard drive. Sometimes a reset helps, whereby you reinstall Windows 10. This is the time to try it, since your backup is still unchanged. Go to for that Settings> Update and security> System recovery> Reset this PC.
If you are already planning to empty your computer and reinstall it, you might as well go for the “current key” trick. With which you can upgrade to the newest version of Windows 10 for free using your old Windows 7 key. This requires a complete reinstallation of your system. Read this article for more information.
Option 4: Buy a new PC
The fourth option is to buy a new PC with new hardware and a fresh OS. There is a good chance that you will get a faster CPU, better graphics card and faster storage memory, because a Windows 7 PC is a lot older and some things have changed. Chances are that you now come across attractive deals. For example here, here, here or here.