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Windows 7 & older -- update patch (warning)

Oh! I can't read the WSJ article so I was thinking of the same one. Carry on!
Neither could I, in the little I saw it mentioned both RDP bug and the Intel bug. your mention of turning off hyper threading is what made me think of the zombie load. Also the Intel flaw covers more than just Windows 7 and 8 :)

Either way always patch your systems
 
"Microsoft (ticker: MSFT) said that it hasn’t seen anyone take advantage of the flaw, which affects older versions of its Windows operating system, but that it believes it is “highly likely” the flaw will wind up being exploited by malicious software, now that it has been publicly disclosed."

Then hey MS maybe you shouldn't have disclosed it, ya think? Gee I wonder why they did...it couldn't be a thinly-veiled incentive for people to buy Win 10 could it?

I think Win 7 is far superior, 10 sucks, and will take my chances. The odds of this ever being an issue is minute. In short: bite me, MS. If I buy a new laptop it will either come with 7 or I will buy 7 and eliminate 10.
 
"Microsoft (ticker: MSFT) said that it hasn’t seen anyone take advantage of the flaw, which affects older versions of its Windows operating system, but that it believes it is “highly likely” the flaw will wind up being exploited by malicious software, now that it has been publicly disclosed."

Then hey MS maybe you shouldn't have disclosed it, ya think? Gee I wonder why they did...it couldn't be a thinly-veiled incentive for people to buy Win 10 could it?
That's a pretty simple take to a more complex issue. Just because genpop wasn't aware of the flaw doesn't mean malicious actors didn't already know or weren't already trying to exploit it.

Check out the idea of responsible disclosure
 
? Sorry lost me. What is "genpop?"

My point is MS is "broadcasting" this as an incentive to get people not on 10 yet to go there.
 
Ah crap. So if I upgrade from a Win7 Pro version, it wouldn't bump me to Win10 Pro? Another cost.

Tomorrow's job is to make sure my computer is updated enough to survive another year!

BTW what are general impressions of Win10 vs Win7 when it comes to music? I had this feeling it would have more bloatware, but I don't really know why I was thinking this.
Everything I've read is that it is fine for music. The only problem has been updates messing things up. So if you stop auto updates and only run after verifying there were no issues, you shouldn't have any problems. As far as I know, if a program runs on 7 it should run on 10. Except maybe an old version of ProTools..
 
I think you could probably upgrade for free from Pro to Pro, and I certainly did this for free after the official free upgrade finished, although it's a while ago now.
As of about a week ago, you still can. Microsoft doesn't publicize it, but if you have a valid license key for 7, 8, or 8.1 the upgrade is still free using W10 installation media.

As January 14, 2020 approaches, they may pull the plug on this workaround at any time. Who knows? But up to now at least, MS appears to want everyone on 10 more than they care about collecting OS upgrade revenue.
 
I picked up the free upgrade for all my computers and saved the file. But I haven't installed it yet. But I probably won't ever update my desktop. It's too old, and I'm afraid there will be driver issues. My music computer could easily be upgraded, I just prefer 7.
 
10 isn't bad :)
I have 10 on my non-music laptop. I like some things about it, but I hate I can't change colors for things like the windows. I had gotten very good at creating a nice parchment on sage green for Word and Excel. I can't do that in 10. It's all ugly white and grey. I hate white and grey. So depressing, hard to read and hard on my eyes.
 
I picked up the free upgrade for all my computers and saved the file. But I haven't installed it yet.
I'm not sure which file you saved? But if Microsoft ever pull the free upgrade, there's some risk that "saving the file" approach won't work.

The way I believe W10 activation works is that it once a computer has valid activation for W10, it saves a hardware signature of the computer on its servers. When you install W10 in future, it checks the computer's hardware signature against the list on its servers - and if it's on the list as having previously activated with the same W10 edition, it reactivates.

You can of course buy a W10 licence, and also if the computer was bought with W10, it will have a key on the motherboard somewhere.

But for computers upgraded from W7/8/8.1, if you wanted to "save" an activation, I think the way to do it is
  • Fully Backup your setup with W7 (or 8.1, no-one should be running W8.0 now)
  • Upgrade to W10
  • Make sure it activates,
  • Ideally login with an Admin-level Microsoft Account which saves some details in your account and gives more options if hardware changes
  • Restore to W7 (or whatever)
Then if you did want to migrate to W10 in future, the hardware signature should be on the servers and activate.
 
I'm not sure which file you saved? But if Microsoft ever pull the free upgrade, there's some risk that "saving the file" approach won't work.

The way I believe W10 activation works is that it once a computer has valid activation for W10, it saves a hardware signature of the computer on its servers. When you install W10 in future, it checks the computer's hardware signature against the list on its servers - and if it's on the list as having previously activated with the same W10 edition, it reactivates.

You can of course buy a W10 licence, and also if the computer was bought with W10, it will have a key on the motherboard somewhere.

But for computers upgraded from W7/8/8.1, if you wanted to "save" an activation, I think the way to do it is
  • Fully Backup your setup with W7 (or 8.1, no-one should be running W8.0 now)
  • Upgrade to W10
  • Make sure it activates,
  • Ideally login with an Admin-level Microsoft Account which saves some details in your account and gives more options if hardware changes
  • Restore to W7 (or whatever)
Then if you did want to migrate to W10 in future, the hardware signature should be on the servers and activate.
I did that on all but my music computer. Actually, the easiest way would be to take an old unused HDD, unplug all the other HDD/SSDs from the computer, plug in the old one, install W10 to the old drive, activate it for the computer, remove it and replug in the current drives, and done! No mess. I have a couple old 250 GB drives that are just too small to use for much. I should probably do this.
 
I'm not sure which file you saved?...
...Then if you did want to migrate to W10 in future, the hardware signature should be on the servers and activate.

Yeah, I don't know what this file thing means either. But my understanding is that the hardware sig is the key. A while back I unplugged all my drives, put in a clean HD and installed/activated W10 on my DAW machine, then removed it and returned to the W7 universe. So in theory it should just upgrade if/when I choose to do so.
 
Why do people still hold on to Win7? I don’t understand. Is it THAT superior to W10? I haven’t had the opportunity to use W7 because I have recently switched from a Mac (after using it for two decades) straight to a W10 rig. Still haven’t found any issues with it.
 
Why do people still hold on to Win7? I don’t understand. Is it THAT superior to W10? I haven’t had the opportunity to use W7 because I have recently switched from a Mac (after using it for two decades) straight to a W10 rig. Still haven’t found any issues with it.
Many people dislike change - for a variety of reasons, some valid, some not so much. I do think people definitely make some issues on 10 much bigger issues than they should be
 
Many people dislike change - for a variety of reasons, some valid, some not so much. I do think people definitely make some issues on 10 much bigger issues than they should be

Makes sense. I’ve been called “brave” for moving from Apple to PCs (for no logical reason) but honestly I think it was the smartest and easiest decision I’ve made in regards to computer hardware/software in a long time. I love the freedom.
 
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