What's My Prognosis with Windows 7?

[razor7music]

Hi All--

I bypassed the free upgrade from W7 to W10 because I had a legacy sound card and wasn't in a position to have to buy a new one if my drivers didn't work in Windows 10.

Now, after reading some notes from the latest Cakewalk update, it sounds like if I want to keep Cakewalk current, my days on W7 are numbered.

I'm familiar with W7 not being supported any longer--but compatibility is my main concern right now. Last I checked, for a legit copy of Windows 10 where it's an upgrade--not a fresh install, it's going to run me about $200 USD to upgrade!

So, I'm going to hang onto W7 as long as possible. Any best guesses when W7 won't be compatible with Cakewalk updates?

[Tezza]

In your situation, I would bite the bullet, get an updated sound card and get windows 10 free through the media creation utility if that applies to you.

In this thread: https://discuss.cakewalk.com/index.php?/topic/9531-upgrade-to-windows-10free/

Edited January 30, 2020 by Tezza

[ensconced]

I believe you can still get the upgrade to Win 10 for free. As for your Audio Interface, there is only 1 way to find out

Before I upgrade way back that is what was holding me back, I was running Delta 1010's and didn't want to change from PCI interface for fear performance on USB wouldn't be as good, and also thought that they wouldn't be compatible with Win 10, the last and final driver for the 1010's was during Win 7's time in the Sun.

I ended up just doing a HD backup with Acronis TI, and just bit the bullet and done the upgrade to Win 10, zero problems, the Delta 1010's just kept on as usual. Eventually they developed  physical issues like scratchy buttons etc, so I got a Focusrite Clarett 8 Pre USB, turns out my performance worries were unfounded, should have done it years ago.

[razor7music]

2 hours ago, Tezza said:

In your situation, I would bite the bullet, get an updated sound card and get windows 10 free through the media creation utility if that applies to you.

In this thread: https://discuss.cakewalk.com/index.php?/topic/9531-upgrade-to-windows-10free/

I saw your original post on this, and I don't know why I'm a little skeptical this is a legit. I don't have any facts--just my gut. I'm an IT pro by day and I know MS, and they rarely give things away for free to what they charge others hundreds of dollars for. I should do more research--but that's my initial feeling.

[razor7music]

1 hour ago, ensconced said:

I believe you can still get the upgrade to Win 10 for free. As for your Audio Interface, there is only 1 way to find out

Before I upgrade way back that is what was holding me back, I was running Delta 1010's and didn't want to change from PCI interface for fear performance on USB wouldn't be as good, and also thought that they wouldn't be compatible with Win 10, the last and final driver for the 1010's was during Win 7's time in the Sun.

I ended up just doing a HD backup with Acronis TI, and just bit the bullet and done the upgrade to Win 10, zero problems, the Delta 1010's just kept on as usual. Eventually they developed  physical issues like scratchy buttons etc, so I got a Focusrite Clarett 8 Pre USB, turns out my performance worries were unfounded, should have done it years ago.

I remember Delta 1010's when I worked at Guitar Center. Very popular.

I did find out after the free W10 upgrade was over that other CW users that own the same Echo Layla 3G that I do have had no issues running it on Windows 10--so I'm still better off financially buying W10 than a new interface. 

I appreciate the validation!

[siordanescu]

 

M-AUDIO PROJECTMIX has drivers for Windows 7 and works perfectly with Windows 10! What sound card do you have? There are solutions for anyone! Generally Win. 7 drivers works under Win 10. Even those at Roland can be arranged to work ....

[Christian Jones]

3 hours ago, razor7music said:

I saw your original post on this, and I don't know why I'm a little skeptical this is a legit. I don't have any facts--just my gut. I'm an IT pro by day and I know MS, and they rarely give things away for free to what they charge others hundreds of dollars for. I should do more research

The bold there.. I agree. And once you do [research], you'd be only the latest of the countless guys here, including mods, who've long since upgraded to Win10 for free through that there utility.

3 hours ago, razor7music said:

so I'm still better off financially buying W10  

..LOL but if that pro IT gut is instead telling you to shovel up the bread to MS rather than legitimately take what they've made available to you for free then that's on you and I don't think MS will object ? 

[Starship Krupa]

I think the days of Microsoft being concerned about making money by selling individuals upgrade licenses for Windows are probably in the past.

For that income, they make money from selling licenses in bulk to people who sell the OS installed on brand new computers.

They let people upgrade to Windows 10 at no cost for a good while, now they've left a little loophole open, which itself is evidence that they either don't really give much of a crap or that they even would still like us all to upgrade for free, but for marketing purposes, they had to put some deadline on the program to give people a sense of urgency.

[Tezza]

10 hours ago, razor7music said:

I saw your original post on this, and I don't know why I'm a little skeptical this is a legit. I don't have any facts--just my gut. I'm an IT pro by day and I know MS, and they rarely give things away for free to what they charge others hundreds of dollars for. I should do more research--but that's my initial feeling.

I think if you upgrade to Win 10 using the free utility, you will understand why Microsoft still allows this upgrade to be made. It's basically a billboard for hooking you into Microsoft products, nagging you to visit their store etc I turned it all off because my DAW is offline. I don't think they care that much, they just want people on this operating system so they can bombard you with their other products. I have a Win 10 product key showing on my system, however, some have said this is not the case for them, instead they have a "digital license". 

You of course, have to make the decision that you are most comfortable with. I found that upgrading to Win 10 opened the door to other software that I needed that was only available running on Win 10. I am not having any problems with software, it seems a little snappier. My computer is old, a 3rd generation i5, with 8gig ram yet it still amazes me I am not running into any blocks as yet to justify upgrading the CPU and motherboard, I am running all SSD's though.

[Antonio Nero]

Hi razor7music.

My opinion is that an audio interface or Microsoft should not interfere with your creative process.

Windows 10 is not a good operating system for professional audio. Consume unnecessary resources derived from apps that you can't control at 100%, Cortana for example. I see it as if Windows 10 on your machine is directed by Microsoft ahead of your needs, while Windows 7 is well installed and fully configurable to optimize to work with a compatible DAW, yet and lacking support.

If your current DAW works properly under the latest version installed on Windows 7, I wouldn't make my life too difficult. They sell audio interfaces from Roland, Steinberg... with drivers for Windows 7 and at very competitive prices to be professional interfaces. There are all kinds of entrances and exits for a small price.

Total, if you're using a Windows 7 that doesn't even support a flu virus. How important can the latest Cakewalk update be? If you can make good music with a Tracker or with Sonar X1 LE. What can't you do with your current Cakewalk? Greetings.

[Jonathan Sasor]

Just a quick note on the subject. Since Microsoft is no longer supporting Windows 7, it doesn't make sense for us to devote resources into maintaining things specifically for that version. That said, other than the installer prompting that 7 is not an officially supported system, nothing is preventing you from installing the current updates there. It's just a flag that warns you that it's not officially supported. This update should work just as well as the 2019.12 update on Win 7. 

At some point, we'll start leveraging more modern functions in Windows that we haven't been able to while keeping full Win 7 support. We're not in a rush in that regard, but as we continue to develop CbB, it's always in everyone's best interests to take advantage of any optimizations so the app can do more faster. 

[razor7music]

16 hours ago, siordanescu said:

 

M-AUDIO PROJECTMIX has drivers for Windows 7 and works perfectly with Windows 10! What sound card do you have? There are solutions for anyone! Generally Win. 7 drivers works under Win 10. Even those at Roland can be arranged to work ....

Thanks, but my question is about compatibility with Cakewalk updates and Windows 7.

[Larry Jones]

16 hours ago, razor7music said:

I'm a little skeptical this is a legit

Include this article and this one in your research.

[razor7music]

7 hours ago, Starship Krupa said:

I think the days of Microsoft being concerned about making money by selling individuals upgrade licenses for Windows are probably in the past.

For that income, they make money from selling licenses in bulk to people who sell the OS installed on brand new computers.

They let people upgrade to Windows 10 at no cost for a good while, now they've left a little loophole open, which itself is evidence that they either don't really give much of a crap or that they even would still like us all to upgrade for free, but for marketing purposes, they had to put some deadline on the program to give people a sense of urgency.

 

12 hours ago, Christian Jones said:

The bold there.. I agree. And once you do [research], you'd be only the latest of the countless guys here, including mods, who've long since upgraded to Win10 for free through that there utility.

..LOL but if that pro IT gut is instead telling you to shovel up the bread to MS rather than legitimately take what *they've made available to you for free* then that's on you and I don't think MS will object ? 

Not my point. Working in IT for global corporations for years has taught me to be weary of going through back-doors instead of legitimate, supported upgrade paths. If what you've said is true,  "...they've made available to you for free..." then I have no issue. If it's instead, we found a loophole--that's not the same thing.

-Peace

Edited January 30, 2020 by razor7music

[razor7music]

7 hours ago, Starship Krupa said:

I think the days of Microsoft being concerned about making money by selling individuals upgrade licenses for Windows are probably in the past.

For that income, they make money from selling licenses in bulk to people who sell the OS installed on brand new computers.

They let people upgrade to Windows 10 at no cost for a good while, now they've left a little loophole open, which itself is evidence that they either don't really give much of a crap or that they even would still like us all to upgrade for free, but for marketing purposes, they had to put some deadline on the program to give people a sense of urgency.

Interesting take.

[razor7music]

11 minutes ago, Larry Jones said:

Include this article and this one in your research.

Thanks! I will.

[razor7music]

6 hours ago, Tezza said:

I think if you upgrade to Win 10 using the free utility, you will understand why Microsoft still allows this upgrade to be made. It's basically a billboard for hooking you into Microsoft products, nagging you to visit their store etc I turned it all off because my DAW is offline. I don't think they care that much, they just want people on this operating system so they can bombard you with their other products. I have a Win 10 product key showing on my system, however, some have said this is not the case for them, instead they have a "digital license". 

You of course, have to make the decision that you are most comfortable with. I found that upgrading to Win 10 opened the door to other software that I needed that was only available running on Win 10. I am not having any problems with software, it seems a little snappier. My computer is old, a 3rd generation i5, with 8gig ram yet it still amazes me I am not running into any blocks as yet to justify upgrading the CPU and motherboard, I am running all SSD's though.

I see. So you "pay" either way? Either you purchase the upgrade or they spam you to death!

[razor7music]

6 hours ago, Antonio Nero said:

Hi razor7music.

My opinion is that an audio interface or Microsoft should not interfere with your creative process.

Windows 10 is not a good operating system for professional audio. Consume unnecessary resources derived from apps that you can't control at 100%, Cortana for example. I see it as if Windows 10 on your machine is directed by Microsoft ahead of your needs, while Windows 7 is well installed and fully configurable to optimize to work with a compatible DAW, yet and lacking support.

If your current DAW works properly under the latest version installed on Windows 7, I wouldn't make my life too difficult. They sell audio interfaces from Roland, Steinberg... with drivers for Windows 7 and at very competitive prices to be professional interfaces. There are all kinds of entrances and exits for a small price.

Total, if you're using a Windows 7 that doesn't even support a flu virus. How important can the latest Cakewalk update be? If you can make good music with a Tracker or with Sonar X1 LE. What can't you do with your current Cakewalk? Greetings.

My interface is fine with W7 and W10. My question is whether W7 will no longer be compatible as CW moves forward with updates.

[razor7music]

5 hours ago, Jonathan Sasor said:

Just a quick note on the subject. Since Microsoft is no longer supporting Windows 7, it doesn't make sense for us to devote resources into maintaining things specifically for that version. That said, other than the installer prompting that 7 is not an officially supported system, nothing is preventing you from installing the current updates there. It's just a flag that warns you that it's not officially supported. This update should work just as well as the 2019.12 update on Win 7. 

At some point, we'll start leveraging more modern functions in Windows that we haven't been able to while keeping full Win 7 support. We're not in a rush in that regard, but as we continue to develop CbB, it's always in everyone's best interests to take advantage of any optimizations so the app can do more faster. 

Thanks. I appreciate that. I kind of figured I would have read in this forum if the newest update wouldn't work with W7, but it did make me think, it's probably just a matter of time. Just like most upgrades, you can't wait to progress your product for some legacy tool that's already obsolete. I've seen that happen, and at some point you just have to move forward and leave those old tools in the dust--or you never progress!

[Christian Jones]

36 minutes ago, razor7music said:

 

Not my point. Working in IT for global corporations for years has taught me to be weary of going through back-doors instead of legitimate, supported upgrade paths. If what you've said is true,  "...they've made available to you for free..." then I have no issue. If it's instead, we found a loophole--that's not the same thing.

-Peace

Lol was breaking your b@lls. And it's not a loophole if MS knows about it and allows it to go on. But by all means needlessly part with your money if you wish.. it's your bread?