Despite Windows 10 having been around for a couple of years now and Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 for many more, I still know a few people sticking with their Windows 7 computer. Unfortunately, the time is now here for a new operating system and likely, a new computer too.

The Windows 7 End of Life date has been announced as January 14, 2020 which is when support will officially end. That means no more security updates, no more Windows updates, no more app support and no third party app compatibility guarantees. While the OS will run fine without these updates, the computer will gradually become susceptible to emerging threats.

Preparing for the end

Microsoft is already preparing you for the end of Windows 7. As soon as you install Windows Update KB4493132, you will begin seeing prompts to update to Windows 10 before January 2020. This is an optional update which you can elect to not install if you want but will arrive on its own if you have automatic updates configured.

So how can you prepare?

Your main option is to upgrade to Windows 10. You missed the free upgrade offer but you can acquire cut price licenses if you know where to look. Otherwise, Dave’s Computers can help prepare you with a system refresh and full upgrade to the new operating system.

You will need a computer with these minimum specifications to run Windows 10.

• 1GHz or faster processor.
• 1GB  of RAM for 32-bit or 2GB of RAM for 64-bit.
• 16GB of hard disk space for 32-bit OS or 20GB for 64-bit OS.
• Graphics card with DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver.
• Minimum of 800 x 600 resolution display.

If your current computer meets these specs, you can upgrade to Windows 10. We would suggest those as an absolute minimum as many games and programs designed for Windows 10 will require more hardware capability than that.

If you don’t want to buy a new computer or pay for the upgrade to Windows 10, there’s always Linux. Free, super-stable and friendlier to use than ever, Linux is now a viable home operating system for normal people.

Whichever way you go, we can help you transfer your files over to your new operating system and help you set everything up just how you like it. It’s all part of the Dave’s Computers service!

Windows 7 may be regarded as ancient in technology terms but if the number of computers still using the OS we get to see here at Dave’s Computers in New Jersey is anything to go by, it is anything but disappeared. Its time is nearly over though as Microsoft has announced it will go out of support on January 14 2020.

According to statistics, 35.6% of desktop users are still using Windows 7. That is surprising given the free upgrade Microsoft offered with Windows 10. Many companies were slow to change as testing and compatibility had to be proven before making the switch. However, a good percentage of those will be home users.

Whether you use Windows 7 at home or at work, you now seriously need to consider upgrading to Windows 10. Dave’s Computers can help.

What does End of Support actually mean?

When a vendor says a product will reach End of Support at a given date, what does that actually mean? It essentially means that Microsoft will stop releasing security updates for it. It also means third-party vendors will stop guaranteeing compatibility with it. The core operating system will still work and any existing products will likely still work but they won’t be updated.

It also means any future updated from vendors will not be designed to work with Windows 7. This may not be an issue for compatibility but isn’t ideal when you’re running a business.

The other element of ‘end of support’ is hardware. Any hardware upgrades you make to a Windows 7 computer after 2020 will not carry any guarantees of compatibility. You will be able to continue to use your existing hardware and may be able to use future hardware but there will be no guarantees. Hardware drivers may become an issue too.

For the average home user, this isn’t a problem. If your computer works fine now, it will likely work fine in a year’s time. However, that can potentially compromise security with the lack of updates and any security software you might use after that date.

Windows 10 upgrades

Now is a good time to upgrade to Windows 10. It has had a couple of years to iron out the worst of its bugs. More hardware and software than ever is fully compatible. Most IT techs and certainly us here at Dave’s Computers have had a couple of years to get to know its quirks and how to fix most issues.

We would regard ourselves as Windows 10 experts. We see it every day, we work with it, fix issues with it, upgrade to it and generally make it dance to our tune. If you’re waiting to update to it, now is as good a time as any. You missed the free upgrade but cost is reasonable and it can work on all kinds of hardware.

If you want to upgrade to Windows 10 now Windows 7 is reaching end of life. We can help. Visit Dave’s Computers in New Jersey to discuss your options!

Troubleshoot an internet connection

1. Check the connection light on your router or modem as the fault might be on your connection.
2. Reboot the router by switching it off at the mains and leaving it off for 60 seconds before switching it back on.
3. Reboot your computer.
4. Right click the Windows Start button and select Device manager. Make sure your network adapter doesn’t have a red X or yellow triangle next to it.
5. Right click your network adapter and select Disable. Leave it a few seconds and then select Enable. This will force Windows to reload the configuration.
6. Open a CMD window and type ‘ipconfig /all’. Make sure you can see an IPv4 address that doesn’t begin 169 and a default gateway.
7. Type ‘ping www.google.com’ in the CMD window. You should see a reply if the network is up.
8. Right click the Windows Start button and select Network connection. Right click your network card, select Properties, select IPv4 in the window and click the Properties button. Select ‘Obtain and IP address automatically’.
9. Select IPv6 in the same window and uncheck the box.
10. In Network Connections, click ‘Diagnose this connection’ and let the wizard troubleshoot.

Windows 10 Anniversary Update

1. Navigate to Settings, System and About.
2. You should now see a screen with a Windows 10 header and your machine information.
3. Check the Version. If it says 1607, you already have the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. If it is any number lower than that, such as 1511, you haven’t yet installed the update.

1. Back up any critical data that you do not want to lose. Preferably somewhere other than your Windows drive.
2. Navigate to Settings, Update & Security and Activation.
3. Click ‘Check for updates’ and allow Windows to check for any updates. Chances are, it will find a series of updates up to and including the Anniversary Update.
4. Perform the update.

1. Download the Microsoft media creation tool.
2. Select 32-bit or 64-bit Windows. It has to be the same version you’re using now.
3. Choose ‘Upgrade this PC’. You can select ‘Create installation media for another PC’ if you want to use it on other machines or perform a clean install without keeping any of your files.
4. Choose the media, language, edition and architecture and create the media.
5. Burn to a DVD or save to USB.
6. Set your computer to boot from the media and follow the installation wizard.

Fix Windows 10 black screen issues

1. Press Ctrl on your keyboard. While you won’t see anything happen, bear with us.
2. Type in your Windows 10 login password and then Enter. Windows may log you into the desktop as normal. If it doesn’t, try step 3.
3. Hit Enter, retype your password and hit Enter once more. This will retest this quick fix and make sure the password is entered in the right place.

1. Start your computer with your Windows 10 installation media inserted and boot from it.
2. Select Troubleshoot instead of Install in the bottom left of the new screen.
3. Select Advanced Options, Startup Repair and let Windows do its thing. If there are file issues, this should repair it.

1. Select Troubleshoot instead of Install in the bottom left of the new screen.
2. Select Advanced Options and Safe Mode. Press F5 and let Windows reload.
3. Install the latest graphics driver for your computer and reboot and retest.

• Click on the start button at the bottom left of the screen.
• In the start menu, choose control panel.
• In control panel, choose device manager.
• In the device manager, you will see main categories for the different types of devices you may have on your computer. You will need to look for the specific devices by clicking on the > symbol that appears beside each main category.
• When you locate the device you need to find out the driver number for, right click on it. You will see a small menu come up, and choose properties from this menu.
• When you open the properties window, there are a few tabs you could choose from. Click on the tab labeled driver.

• When you are in the control panel, you will need to locate device manager. Look for the icon or listing and then click on it.
• When the device manager is open, you will be able to sort through lists of all your devices. You will see a variety of major categories, and there will be an icon that looks like this: >. Click on it so that you can locate specific types of hardware within the category.
• When you find the device you want to disable, double check to ensure you have chosen the right thing. Then, right click on it and choose properties.
• You will see a new window for properties. Within this window, click a tab that says driver.
• Then, you can choose disable from this window. You will receive a message asking if you are sure you would like to disable the device. Click yes.
• Then, click ok. This will disable the device and then return you to the device manager.

• Start by inserting your Windows 7 installation disc. Then, you will need to restart your computer with the disc inside the drive.
• Your computer will boot from that disc and you will need to click next on a screen about language and keyboards that will appear.
• Click on the link that says “repair your computer.”
• You will have to wait a few moments.
• Your computer will search for installations and you will see a location listed. Make sure to write this down.
• When you see an operating system list, choose “Windows 7” and click Next.
• You will see system recovery options and you need to choose command prompt.
• You will now have command prompt open on your computer and you need to type two lines of commands exactly:

• You will be asked if you want to overwrite, so answer yes.
• Take the disc out and restart your computer.
• When the Windows logo appears on the screen, click on the pie square at the bottom left of the screen.
• You will see command prompt again. This time, you are going to go to the net user command (get help with this from computer support if needed). Replace myusername with whatever you want to use, and replace mypassword with the password you want to use.
• Close the command prompt.
• Log in

• At the bottom left hand side of the screen, you will find the start button in Windows 7. If you don’t see the start button, then you may not be using Windows 7. You may need computer help to determine what version of Windows you actually have.
• Once you click on the start button, choose control panel from the list of programs.
• You should see a system and security icon. If you do, then click on it. If you don’t because you are using large or small icons, then go to the next step.
• Click on device manager. Whether you had to do the last step or not, you should be able to find device manager in the list now.
• Now, you should see the device manager.

• Update device drivers – when drivers get out of date, the device itself may not work properly and it can actually cause problems for the whole computer.
• Look into system resources – This way, you can determine if one device is hogging up all of your system resources and slowing your machine down.

• Begin by going to your control panel. To do this, click on start, which is located at the lower left side of your machine.
• After clicking on start, click control panel.
• In the control panel, locate and click on system and security. In some cases, this may appear as system and you can bypass the next step.
• Click on system.
• This is the same process you could use to find out if you have Windows 7. However, you will need to look further down on the list to find your service pack.
• If you do not have any service pack installed, then nothing will be listed.
• If you do have something installed, it will look something like Windows SP1.