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New Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 PC Sales End 10-31-2016- News
According to an updated “Windows lifecycle fact sheet” from Microsoft, new Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 PC sales end 10-31-2016. This means that if you want a new or refurbished (OEM) PC with Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 pre-installed, you have less than a year to make a purchase. After that, you will only be able to buy computers with Windows 10 installed. This information comes as Microsoft continues its push to install Windows 10 on all of its existing Windows 7 and Windows 8 devices.
Even though new Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 PC sales end 10-31-2016, the “end of support” date for “extended support,” which includes security updates for Windows, will continue far beyond 2016. For Windows 7, the end of support date for extended support is January 14, 2010. For Windows 8.1, the end of support date for extended support is January 10, 2023. This will allow users who wish to keep using those versions of Windows to keep receiving security patches for the software. It also gives users plenty of time to update to Windows 10 before the end of support date. Currently, Windows 10 is being offered as a free upgrade for all existing users of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1.
For users who end up facing the end of support for Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, the only options at that time will be to either install the latest available update or service pack and risk exposure to new issues that arise or to upgrade to a newer version of Windows. However, unsupported versions of Microsoft Windows will still continue to run, even if those versions are no longer considered secure. You can find out more information about the Windows Support Lifecycle at the “Windows Support Lifecycle Policy FAQ” page.
