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First big question: How old is the hard drive? A laptop HD life expectancy is about 5 years. If yours is in excess of that, your next step should be to replace it. Cost is like $50.

CT

Just re-read this and realized I made a critical error. Sorry!!

DVD -R is a different technology designed for video where minor bit errors do not matter. DVD+R is a much more precise and reliable recording system.

Do NOT use -R DVD’s for backups of any kind. System Images made on -R will be unreliable.

CT

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SueW

Your assessment of the WU situation is spot on. Just what I concluded and the basis for my clients’ success.

The difference is that we resisted that impulse and are now reaping the benefits.

CT

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Nibbled To Death By Ducks, Microfix

MS announced no further “support” for Win7 years ago. What my clients discovered was that what that really means is that MS no longer fouled up their computers once a month and now their systems run like reliable clocks. My clients are in complete control of the computers they invested in. Coupling with an excellent AV product and a very secure Chrome has meant a completely safe environment.

In my opinion, this “updating” thing is really an overblown bunch of paranoia for my kind of clients. The reality is Win7 and most other software has improved dramatically over the years to the point that they are just good products. There is an expression that a lot of people live by — If it ain’t broke, why are you trying to fix it.

I do not know for certain, but I expect Chrome to be much the same.

“support” means no more changes — the seller calls them improvements, but very few people recognize, need or want these “improvements” to a product that already works just fine. A great example of this is MS Office. 99% of the users of Office use no more than a tiny fraction of the features of Office. Many of my clients use the 2003 version. A few have the 2010 version.

Hacking and viruses have changed from that ugly kid in the basement to criminal enterprises. Those enterprises are too smart to attack mom & pop who will simply turn off the computer and get a new one or have the kid next door wipe and re-install. Enterprises are the target of those criminal computer network attacks.

“updating paranoia” should definitely be part of the enterprise arsenal and is mandatory to being able to run the enterprise. Mom & Pop, have little to fear and that paranoia just makes no sense.

So to answer your question directly, I expect Chrome to work just fine for years to come. if not, Duck, Duck Go may be just fine.

CT

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Nibbled To Death By Ducks, Charlie, Cybertooth

I could not care less if Win7 patches are being offered. In fact, i remain adamantly opposed to applying any. The tranquility and stability that become part of my clients’ Win7 world cannot be beat.

CT

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Nibbled To Death By Ducks, Microfix

Every one was a Western Digital Black. 5 yr warranty. 7200rpm much faster than most 5400’s Prices much more attractive than SSD’s and enough capacity to never have to worry. All 1TB or more.

I am still not totally convinced that SSD’s are superior. They are definitely faster at startup and shutdown, but for the vast majority of use, there is no perceptible difference. Unless you spend a lot, the capacities leave you always fighting for space. HD’s fail gracefully, You can tell long before it becomes critical that things are not right. SSD’s fail suddenly and completely.

CT

If you followed my previous contributions, you would know that I rejected Windows beyond win7. I do not support other than win7.

5 years or so ago, I stopped allowing ALL Microsoft updates on any of my client’s computers. I disabled the Update service and set WU to never. Understand that none of them are enterprises. Just home PCs. I install Bit Defender AV (rejecting BD security) on all. Also insisting on the use of Chrome on all.

My clients who once numbered over 150, has declined to 90. Very few of those that I lost bought another Windows product. Almost all replaced with Apple products, or no PC at all – rather tablets and smart phones.

To this date, my clients experience extremely stable systems. Not a single instance of an infection in more than 5 years. NOT one! That’s a lot of PC usage months. BD is nothing short of fantastic. I use ADWcleaner and find these days on a BD protected computer ADWcleaner finds nothing.

I should add that near the end of MS “support” I campaigned to replace most of my clients’ hard drives and that has added to the stability. When I did that I created a “system image” before adding data or dynamic apps – resulting in from 2 to 6 DVD +R’s. using the built-in MS tool for every one of them. Since then, I have used those images to great advantage for replacing hard drives or converting older ones for use by new clients. The beauty of this system is that I get a completely operational PC that is activated and has all its drivers. No updates of any kind. Takes an hour or so. Then I need to transfer data.

My clients are very pleased and I am just about to renew many of them with BD AV 2 year subscriptions. Cost is $12 for 2 years. I add $12 a year to that to cover my subscription to Team Viewer that enables me to support them.

I find Woody’s website not very interesting any longer becaus most members are no longer interested in Win7.

Actually, I find myself in a rather strange position. 99% of techies think I am nuts, almost dangerous. The fact is I have a thriving clientele that are delighted with their stable systems that just wake up every day and work exactly the way they did the day before. My support work has waned dramatically.
For mom & pop systems the WU paranoia is truly a waste that is ruining good systems.

I disbanded my website. it was a depository of information about win7 written for non-techies that I referred my clients to. Their systems are so familiar now, they were no longer using that website. I also used it to answer 100’s of Microsoft Answers questions. In fact someone accused me of copying other people’s work. I straightened that out when I told the manager there I was indeed copying, but copying from my own work. The MS answers page is less interesting to me now for all the same reasons. In fact, a while back I was telling people there of my experience and the managers’ demanded that I stop because it was not in MS best interests.

You can find my profile at: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/profile/6ff4e864-4aeb-4cd5-93b4-0737a1781fb6

CT

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dutchjim, mledman, SueW, Microfix, Nibbled To Death By Ducks, Cybertooth, satrow, Bob99

September 12, 2022
Update

I still have 103 client Win7 systems in use. They are so rock solid stable that I rarely hear from them. I routinely check (using Team Viewer) to find out which are still in use.

Not one of them has had a Windows Update since June 2017. That’s more than 5 years now.

I have a close relationship with my clients and if something (anything) is wrong the call me. So, I can tell you with the greatest of confidence that not one has become infected or hacked (to any ones knowledge).

Susan, as someone already pointed out, your clientele and mine are very different kinds of users. Your knowledge and prowess in this field is legendary. However, my clients are simple mom and pop people who have a computer at home and use it for very routine kinds of things. If one of their computers was hacked or infected, it is a simple matter of restoring the last image. Very few have anything on their computers that they consider to be a security risk.

I have subsequently replaced many hard drives to maintain these computers. Those System Images that I routinely create are a wonder. It is simply amazing how neat it is to replace a hard drive, restore from that image and the computer is as good as gold running exactly as it was when I made the image.

Most of my clients now have smart phones, iPads or android equivalents of them. They use those far more than their computers which has reduced the need Of those clients who no longer use their Win7 systems, most simply no longer use any computer. A few that have replaced their computers have mostly replaced with Apples. Where as 7 or 8 years ago, I was helping my clients buy new computers at the rate of 30 or 40 a year, I have not had a single instance of a request for such assistance in years. Bottom line is that the marketplace for home Windows systems has diminished considerably.

CT

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Steve, Cybertooth, Microfix, SueW, Charlie, Alex5723

My comments refer to data backup, not OS. I have been servijng 100s of Win7 machines for many years. I have a firm policy of making a system image every time I re-build or install a system. I do it AFTER all the updates I want to allow, all drivers, and activation. I will also install stable (not dynamic apps), then create an image. That image has proven very useful so many times I cannot count. I use the in-built Win7 software to build it and store in on a set of DVD -R’s — usually from 1 to 4.

DVD storage of system images has gotten a bad rap from people using +R DVD’s. Plus R is just not reliable Minus R is and I have done this hndreds of tiems.

CT

Correct. Win7 install disk does in fact contain many drivers. Rarely all that it needs though. I have had instances when it did in fact install all that it required. The most important one is the network driver. If the install does not have it, you will not be able to go online and are completely disconnected. Sadly, that is often the one that does not get installed in the OS process.

Another point, my advice is to accept those initial drivers and install only the ones the install did not. Then, get those missing drivers ONLY from the OEM. Updating drivers is a common mistake that often leads to serious problems. My advice is that drivers should never be updated just because you can find a more up to date one. ONLY update drivers when and if there is a specific problem that specifically points to a driver. And then only that driver should be updated. Most machines go to the grave yard after living a long life without ever having had a driver update.

You are correct also that Restore points will not fix a completely botched OS. However, in many if not most it can. Lots of people try other ways to solve their problem BEFORE the try restore and then it is too late. Restore should be 1st solution in many cases.

As to recovering a backup. The most important use of a backup is being able to use it to restore data to a new hard drive or even a replacemnt computer. There is nothing sorrier than a person who has devotedly done backups and then comes to a fork in the road and the backup cannot be used to restore.

CT

Each computer has a suprisingly large array of devices and they are almost always different in some way — even among computers of the same model. Those devices require drivers which are loaded as part of the OS installation. So, when you move a hard drive to another computer, the chances that it has the same devices (and therefore needs the same drivers) are slim.

Restore causes lots of people problems. The most common is that their AV software prevents it from working. The best way to avoid that is to start the PC in safe mode to do a restore. Also, the number of restore images stored by default is small — usually about 3. On my clients’ computers, I routinely extend that restore space quite a bit. That results in far more options.

Over the years serving hundreds of clients’ computers, I have too many times found that they needed to recover from a backup and the software that made the backup (and therefore the same software that does the restore) no longer exists or the client does not have it because it was on the drive that is being replaced which is damaged. Therefore, I recommend using simple drag and drop to do backups.

CT

I recommend you do not allow Automatic updating. You can still do updating when you wish and be selective to a point manually.

In my case and all my clients, auto updating is disabled.

CT

Judith, I am the author of that long ago posting. I still use it today. I have 88 clients who still have machines set up that way. They run flawlessly day after day after day.
Of course, you are welcome to continue with other updates. However, I strongly recommend you make a system image after completing the processs as I outlined. You may need to go back to it. Many Win7 systems that have allowed that have significant problems that are hard to explain.

CT

The life expectancy of an inkjet printer is about 3 years. They are essentially non-repairable throw-away devices. The consumables cost many times what the printer costs

Ever since HP stopped including the inkjets in the ink tanks a number of years ago, their ink jet printers now last about 3 years. At about that age the inkjets, which are now part of the printer, will clog up and likely the only way to fix the problem is to replace the jets. That part usually costs about as much as a new printer. So, that means life-expectancy for those printers is only about 3 years. Their warranty is only one year and repair cost by a pro will be much more than the cost of a new one. Land-fill here we come.

HP makes a lot of pretty cheap ink-jet printers. Often the cost of the new printer is less than the cost of replacing the ink tanks in your current one.

A much better alternative is the black/white laser printer. NOT the colour lasers. The B/W laser is a bit more expensive at first, but the cost of using it is less than half that of an inkjet. And, it will last far longer.

Consider very seriously replacing with a B/W laser printer if you can live with out colour print.

You will have a very hard time finding a printer that is just a printer. They only make combo units. There are a few lasers that have fewer components to the combo. My clients have found Brother and Samsung lasers they are happy with.

Do some careful shopping, you may find prices vary a lot for no good reason. Sales on printers are very common. Often, end of year models are good buys and there are rarely any really useful new features on newer models.

CT

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Pepsiboy

caution: Repairs to a printer will almost always exceed the cost of a new one.

CT

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Pepsiboy