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Will Intel processors discontinue Windows 7 or Linux support?

NLann
Beginner
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Microsoft says they have agreement from computer chip manufactures to discontinue support for Windows 7.

I assume Linux will not be supported as well.

I am a system builder using OEM versions of Windows 7.

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12 Replies
AlHill
Super User
1,263 Views

I would imagine that there might not be new driver or software development for anything less than W10, but that is just a guess. If the chip/processor supports Windows 7 now, how can that be taken away [by the chip manufacturer]?

However, Microsoft is on the hook to support Windows 7 until 2020, at which point users and builders should have moved on anyway, as W7 will be 11 years old. Just look at the mess created by the extended support of XP. I am sure that software and hardware manufacturers do not want to get into that mess again.

If I were a system builder, I would start my migration plan now, and be ready for 2020. There is just under four years to be prepared. And, that will go quickly.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/lifecycle Windows lifecycle fact sheet - Windows Help

Can you provide a link to such an agreement from Microsoft, or is it just a rumor?

This is just my opinion. All standard disclaimers apply.

Doc

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NLann
Beginner
1,263 Views

Thanks Al Hill.

My issue is this: Will future Intel CPU's and/or chipset microcode prohibit the use of OS's like W7 or Linux? M$ has suggested this in a general sense, so I was hoping to hear from Intel if that's true and when we could expect CPU'/chipset support to end.

FWIW: I did IT for the State of Calif., and understand many large enterprise data operations using XP held off from adopting W7. That had more to do with XP's advantages due to its lack of multi-media support. Getting XP to interface with a USB device was major. W7 implementation required a full "lock down" of most features. W7 USB support and the explosion of super cheap USB flash drives played havoc with enterprise data security/protection. Insert a flash drive and DL data, play games, etc. The cause for concern before W7 was M$ Windows Vista. I don't know how many early Vista adopters but it was worse than a nightmare. After W7 came out most large enterprise managers took a "wait and see" approach.

I'm aware of the long term issues associated with M$ termination of support for W7. Everybody always wants you to "see the light" and get on board with the latest tech. I went that big time with W8, Everybody and their uncle said it was the greatest thing since sliced bread and that I was a Neanderthal, modern tech xenophobe, afraid of the future, you name it. I didn't even bother to comment on W8.1. But here we are today and everyone knows that W8/W8.1 were absolute failures for M$,. And now that same organization is forcibly herding everyone like cattle into the W10 corral. I'm not going to elaborate on many people's concerns about W10 because their paranoia was sparked by M$ own statements, and that's been talked to death.

Al Hill wrote:

I would imagine that there might not be new driver or software development for anything less than W10, but that is just a guess. If the chip/processor supports Windows 7 now, how can that be taken away [by the chip manufacturer]?

However, Microsoft is on the hook to support Windows 7 until 2020, at which point users and builders should have moved on anyway, as W7 will be 11 years old. Just look at the mess created by the extended support of XP. I am sure that software and hardware manufacturers do not want to get into that mess again.

If I were a system builder, I would start my migration plan now, and be ready for 2020. There is just under four years to be prepared. And, that will go quickly.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/lifecycle Windows lifecycle fact sheet - Windows Help

Can you provide a link to such an agreement from Microsoft, or is it just a rumor?

This is just my opinion. All standard disclaimers apply.

Doc

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NLann
Beginner
1,263 Views

Al Hill,

It's more than a rumor. I read it in a publication a few months ago and don't remember where. If I find the link I'll post it.

Thanks again.

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ppara5
Valued Contributor I
1,263 Views

"If the chip/processor supports Windows 7 now, how can that be taken away [by the chip manufacturer]?"

Actually it would be easy for Intel to remove support. It could delete all device drivers from its website. Intel has recently been deleting all sorts of files for its motherboards, so it's more than a theoretical possibility. As a specific example, Intel deleted all configuration labels from its website in the last year or so, even though the space for them is tiny. Another example involves the management engine drivers for which Intel only offers the last one, even for boards which support two generations of CPUs. If Microsoft were to delete them from Windows Update, anyone who did not save the most recent updates would be SOL.

NLann
Beginner
1,263 Views

paramountain

Appreciate the links - both very helpful.

Do you believe that Intel will not produce chipset drivers for W7?

Also, my ASUS Workstation MB uses dual Intel NIC's - will they discontinue W7 support for these devices?

I actually started out assuming the support bottleneck was going to be at the OEM motherboard level, but some folks at another forum said it be at the CPU/Chip Set level. I was having trouble with that because as I understand it the hardware level is a fairly generic platform that just about any OS can utilize. What your saying makes more sense to me and avoid potentially monopolizing the OS market.

I can see that M$ policy would affe4ct most people, but I build my own PC and DL my drivers directly from the OEM motherboard & GPU. The only other thing would be security patches that M$ produces and provides through Windows Update on W7 PC's, but I don't use Windows Update except maybe once on a new clean install. But if comes down to it I can forgo use Windows Update altogether.. Typical driver sets include:

-- Video / GPU drivers

-- Audio drivers

-- LAN/Network drivers

-- HDD RAID

-- Mouse / keybord

-- Intel or AMD chipset drivers

We know that for the foreseeable future, most OEM manufactures are going to produce drivers for older OS like W7. The only real downside I see to the list above would be Intel's chipset and NIC support.

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AlHill
Super User
1,263 Views

I have to say that it does not matter what we believe Microsoft or Intel will do. That is how rumors get started. We are just users, providing support to a community forum.

Rather than hunt for non-official positions and try to solicit answers to something we have no control over, I suggest you contact the appropriate departments at Microsoft and/or Intel to get an official response.

Doc

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ppara5
Valued Contributor I
1,263 Views

I have no knowledge of Intel operations so take all of this with a box of salt.

I would imagine that Intel will create W-7 drivers for all new chipsets as long as Microsoft is supporting W-7. As Doc referenced, W-7 is supported through January 2020. But after that it becomes an issue of resources. Intel and AMD will reassess their position at that time. For example, look at the G41 chipset (and probably all 4-series chipsets), specifically at Gigabyte's GA-G41MT-S2PT board which does not support W-10 because it is too old. Is that because Intel never released chipset drivers or because Gigabyte decided not to support W-10 on LGA 775 sockets and/or 4-series chipsets? Or both? The same situation will eventually happen with newer chipsets and W-7, though not for several years at least.

By the way, a good indication of Intel's direction will appear in April 2017 when Vista loses support. Vista only has 3-4% market share, so it will be relatively easy for Intel to decide to stop supporting it on new chipsets. That decision will give us some idea of what will happen after W-7 loses support.

Intel already gave us some clues with its decision to not support W-10 for any graphics older than Ivy Bridge. Sure, one might be able to use related drivers, but if a PC has problems with them, it might be game over for that OS.

Audio drivers are, to the best of my knowledge, not Intel's domain. Realtek, VIA, and a few other vendors will decide that matter.

Some problems can be mitigated. One can buy add-on cards for wired networking, wireless networking, USB 3.x, and graphics, though many people are discovering that current graphics cards do not play well with older boards. Sound can be obtained through a separate sound card or via the HDMI output of a graphics card. All of this costs money, of course.

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ppara5
Valued Contributor I
1,263 Views

I would never argue with Doc on any Intel matter because I do not wish to be embarrassed, but contacting Microsoft would be a waste of time. Terry Myerson, an executive VP at Microsoft, declared late last year that Microsoft intends to continue pushing W-10 down the throats of all users, even those who use hardware which will never support it. Myerson stated, and it has since come true, that Microsoft would soon reclassify W-10 updates as Recommended ones for both W-7 and W-8/8.1. As Woody Leonhard (askwoody.com) has noted, those updates have reappeared more than once already this year.

https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2015/10/29/making-it-easier-to-upgrade-to-windows-10/ https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2015/10/29/making-it-easier-to-upgrade-to-windows-10/

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NLann
Beginner
1,263 Views

Hey Al Hall or "Doc" I'm not chasing a rumor. Weather you believe it or not here are two reputable source I recently acquired.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/3035537/windows/microsofts-killing-skylake-support-early-for-windows-7-pcs-but-not-windows-server.html Microsoft's killing Skylake support early for Windows 7 PCs, but not Windows Server | PCWorld

http://www.pcworld.com/article/3023113/windows/microsoft-gives-enterprises-18-months-to-upgrade-to-windows-10.html# comments Microsoft certifies new PCs with Windows 7 to ease enterprises onto Windows 10 | PCWorld

I got these yesterday, and neither one are the one I read a couple months quoting Satya Nadella at a conference of some kind. I'll dig it up and post it here just to close the loop, but not because I have any responsibility to you. I don't know what your problem is because people around here seem to respect you, but this is a very legitimate concern to me. The sad thing is a went through this same kind of bully crap when W8 came out.

Operating on the information I received a couple of months but didn't really know how M$ might implement this strategy, I though the M$ had cut a deals with the OEM motherboard manufactures. I started this quest for information bc my son the college student (Master program: Pure Math, Economics and an MBA in Finance) bought a cheap W10 computer and wanted to install a legit W7 copy. We finally managed to access the UEFI and selected an option to install an "unauthorized" operating system. This tripped me out because it seemed the timetable to lock out W7 was happening now.

Another forum suggested the CPU/chipset manufactures might work with w/ M$ to implement their strategy. Regardless, , I have already learned some valuable information here and on another forum that will help for the future.

But I'm curious about the tone of your post - are you telling me to go away? Because if you are what's your basis for that? I've not given nobody here ANY indication that I'm a troll, my questions are legit, and I haven't been disrespectful or caused any trouble.

 

And I really didn't beleive that I would get official responses, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

 

Thanks for your NOT help! Or maybe a better way of saying it: No thanks to your anti-help, sometimes known as a smoke screen for not knowing the answer to a legit question.

 

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ppara5
Valued Contributor I
1,263 Views

You are misunderstanding the issue. Neither of those articles reinforces your initial assertion that "Microsoft says they have agreement from computer chip manufactures to discontinue support for Windows 7." Microsoft is not doing it because it has agreements with manufacturers, it is doing it to force users toward W-10 and away from 7, 8, and 8.1. Most people do not appreciate that W-10 employs a completely different business model than all of its previous OS. W-10's business model is the same as that of Google and Facebook, i.e. the user is actually the product Microsoft is selling to big data corporations. That's why Microsoft can afford to give away W-10 and why it added telemetry (hoovering of personal data) to 7, 8, 8.1, and 10.

And as I said before, Microsoft no longer cares who it hurts. All of the PCs running Sandy Bridge or earlier graphics will never be able to run W-10 without a new graphics card, yet Microsoft pushes W-10 on those users as well as the ones who have hardware which will support it. Microsoft should have used an upgrade advisor to detect if a PC had compatible hardware, and if not, should have informed the user that his hardware was not up to snuff. I suspect Microsoft's pampered corporate types hoped that Intel and other PC vendors would knuckle under and support Microsoft's brave new world.

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NLann
Beginner
1,263 Views

No, I fully understand the issue - now. That is after seeing M$ plan via those articles. Which by the way I got from a different forum, read them, and presented here only because "Doc" was denial about this issue. I was pretty much done with this thread, but Doc had to make his comments which were totally irrelevant.

Thanks again for your help.

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ppara5
Valued Contributor I
1,263 Views

I think you are confusing Microsoft's policy of not supporting new processors with Intel (and AMD) doing so. Here's just one article on the subject:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/3035537/windows/microsofts-killing-skylake-support-early-for-windows-7-pcs-but-not-windows-server.html Microsoft's killing Skylake support early for Windows 7 PCs, but not Windows Server | PCWorld

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