Microsoft has announced that Windows 7 will be coming to its end of life on January 14, 2020. (Please don’t shoot the messenger!) That doesn’t mean your Windows 7 will just stop working past this date, but it could just as well. After this date you will no longer receive any security patching or updates for the operating system. In today’s world, running an operating system without new security patching is extremely dangerous. Unpatched systems are not allowed on the state network. NRG does not recommend running Windows 7 after the end of life date. So, what are your options?
The very best option, and what we strongly recommend, is that you replace your Windows 7 machines with new computers running Windows 10. This is the only solution that is guaranteed to work.
Trying to upgrade a computer to Windows 10 that is over two or three years old doesn’t make much sense. The license for a Windows 10 upgrade is $120 alone, and then you will have at least two to three hours of labor in trying to make everything work. There is no guarantee that Windows 10 will function properly on the older hardware.
For computers that are newer than two years old that are running Windows 7, upgrading could be an option if absolutely necessary. For the past two years, most hardware has been designed to work with Windows 10. Understand that you will be risking up to $500 for a machine that may or may not work well once you have made the investment. For that reason, we feel the best solution is to pay a little more for a new machine running Windows 10 that is guaranteed to work for up to five years.
The plan you choose will need to be determined by your organization. It is very important to put your plan into action in early 2019. The sooner we can get your migration scheduled the better the chance of getting it completed by the end of life date.
Steve Kelsch
President of NRG Technology Services