dradeOkay, this may be a really n00b question... But I hated windows 10 initially when I installed it for free five months ago.

I run windows 7. Do I really need to upgrade, like, can't I run windows 7 like I did XP for years?

You can run it as long as you like. You'll be losing support in a few years, though, so in the long run not so sound a strategy, unless it will be running unconnected to the Internet.

If you upgrade your 7 install to 10, which is worth it IMHO, make sure you link to a Microsoft Account. Otherwise you might not be able to easily regain the key if they block using 7 keys in the future.

You don't need to use the Microsoft account as your profile on so you can still bypass logging in at setup and creating a local account. All you gotta do to link your 10 account to your MS install (if you choose not to use your MS account as your profile), is to simply do the following:

• Click Start
• Click Settings
• Click Update and Security
• Click Activation
• As or with Admin permissions, click Add Account
• Login with MS Account credentials.

Then you should see a message that reads:

Windows is activated with a digital license linked to your Microsoft Account.

More info: www.windowscentral.com/how-re-activate-windows-10-after-hardware-change , www.tenforums.com/tutorials/55398-microsoft-account-link-digital-license-windows-10-pc.html , www.ghacks.net/2016/08/15/link-microsoft-account-windows-10-license/

dradeOkay, this may be a really n00b question... But I hated windows 10 initially when I installed it for free five months ago.

I run windows 7. Do I really need to upgrade, like, can't I run windows 7 like I did XP for years?

If Win7 is what you prefer, then by all means continue using it. I'm sure eventually Microsoft is going to cut support for it, as they did with WinXP. Win7 support, which mainly means free phone support and online updates (including non-security updates), usually continues for 5 years after it's initial OS release, or 2 years after the successor is released to the market. Right now that looks like Win7 will be getting security updates until at least Jan 14th, 2020, according to Microsoft.

You're good for awhile.. if you so choose to stick with Win7. Myself, I am running Win10 (MS Insider Program) and have been for a couple of years. Since mid 2014 anywho.. There is no turning back for me. Have all 3 of my rigs all upgraded to Win10...

Mainstream support for Win7 ended Jan 2015, Extended support will continue until Jan 2020, so there are 3 years of security updates left for Win7, so no reason to rush if you are not comfortable with Win10, technically since you've activated Win10 with your system your key should be locked to your hardware configuration so you should never need to enter a key again to activate that system, once online it should detect your system and activate, though a hardware change may cause issues.

I think Microsoft is planning two major updates to Win10 in 2017, so over the next few years Win10 is likely to change a lot, may get better, may get worse, may just be more of the same, DX12 is still in it's infancy, so plenty of time to wait, and technically you never have to upgrade, you would just be stuck with security issues that may come up after support ends, and software and hardware compatibility issues.

support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/13853/windows-lifecycle-fact-sheet

Depending on why you don't want to move to Windows 10 (e.g. if you can't stomach the update regime), a possible longer-term option is Windows 8.1 - it gets security updates until 2023, has better support for current hardware, and is a stable OS that should be set-and-forget after fixing it up the way you want with Classic Shell (if required).

u think MICR O SOFT would be that idiot to put a loophole like this

its not possible to track windows 7 content so they want everyone to have windows 10 so they can track everything that termed as features in windows 10 like contacts etc etc

Technically speaking it isn't a loophole, it's just the way it's supposed to work. Well unless you're not disabled in which case you're using an exploit to cheat activation.

carexu think MICR O SOFT would be that idiot to put a loophole like this

its not possible to track windows 7 content so they want everyone to have windows 10 so they can track everything that termed as features in windows 10 like contacts etc etc

They track Windows 7 with the latest windows updates too. It's just the nature of business now. Information is money.

This one isn't really some big conspiracy because they literally told us it was happening.