Are you one of the millions of people still running Windows 7 on your PC or laptop? You might soon see a message from Microsoft appear on your computer screen, letting you know that end of support for the operating system is approaching.
As Microsoft explains, the notification will come as a “courtesy reminder” and will not explicitly mention updating to Windows 10. It instead will link to a specific website, dedicated to providing information on the steps to take once Windows 7 support comes to an end on January 14, 2020.
The notification is expected to appear on Windows 7 systems “a handful of times” throughout this year, but you’ll be able to dismiss it by clicking on “do not notify me again.” This is somewhat similar to what Microsoft once did when it ended support for Windows XP, then alerting users with popup notifications in the system tray. It also comes after Microsoft aggressively pushed out notifications to Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users during the free-update period to Windows 10. This time, though, the messages are designed to be a bit more proactive.
“We are here to help you with recommendations for what to do next and answer questions that you may have about end of support,” Windows Vice President Matt Barlow said in a statement. “To help our customers get advanced notice of this change, we are reaching out with information and resources.”
Although Microsoft will be providing paid extended Windows 7 support to businesses and enterprises, most will need to consider upgrading to Windows 10 or purchasing a new system to stay protected from viruses and other security issues. Windows 7 still remains fairly popular and only in January 2019 was it surpassed by Windows 10 in overall Net Marketshare data, with a 32.9 percent lead. As for Windows 10, it recently hit the 800 million-device mark, so it slowly is gaining momentum across the world.
If you’re thinking of upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10 soon, we have a few guides that will help you out. Our first piece helps explains the differences between the two operating systems, including the looks, features, security, and gaming. We also have a guide to buying laptops, as well as a list of the best laptops to buy. And, once you’re up and running with a new Windows 10 system, you can always tweak it to make it look just like Windows 7.
