Windows 7 end of life is getting closer by the day. Microsoft ended mainstream support for Windows 7 on January 13, 2015, but extended the Windows 7 end of life support to January 14, 2020.
Why should this matter to you?
If you carry on with using Windows 7 after the support has ended, your computer will still work, but it may become more vulnerable to security risks and viruses. Your computer will continue to start and run, but:
- No more Security Updates and fixes from Microsoft
- No more Software Updates
- No more technical support from Microsoft
You must consider acting now to protect your IT infrastructure.
These could leave your business vulnerable to security flaws that will undoubtedly appear. Here’s what you should consider now that Windows 7 end of life is just around the corner.
So if you haven’t thought about what to do we’ll help you in this short guide decide which path to take.
Upgrading to Windows 10
Windows 10 is the latest iteration of Microsoft’s operating system and we recommend that you upgrade your hardware to run it as it’s the simplest and most obvious solution least likely to disrupt your business. But since this is a new operating system it has different system requirements to Windows 7.
Checking your hardware
The minimum specs for Windows 10 are as follows:
- Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster processor or SoC
- RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) for 32-bit or 2 GB for 64-bit
- Hard disk space: 16 GB for 32-bit OS or 20 GB for 64-bit OS
- Graphics card: DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver
- Display: 800 x 600
The above will allow you to simply run Windows 10 but not comfortably and therefore we’d recommend that your machines have at least a 2GHz dual-core processor, 4GB of RAM (preferably 8GB) and a 160GB hard drive.
So the first step is to do an inventory of your hardware and assess what you have against the recommended specification above.
If you fall short then you’ll have to upgrade your hardware as well and ensure that you purchase genuine Windows 10 licences for your new machines.
If hardware is not an issue for you
If after assessing your hardware you find that you more than meet the recommended system requirements to run Windows 10 then all you need to do is simply upgrade the software on each Windows 7 device in your portfolio only.
However, if you have many devices that are on the edge of those requirements it may be wise to consider and budget for refreshing your hardware portfolio which may, in the long run, prove to be more cost-effective and least disruptive.
Take this as a moment to properly assess the state of your infrastructure and plan for the future beyond just Windows 7 end of life.
If you’d like further advice on assessing your portfolio of devices, need help deploying upgrades or have any other queries please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’d love to hear from you.