Windows 7 service pack 1 release date

Learn about the security and non-security updates that are published for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 through Windows Update. These updates address issues and improve the overall reliability of the operating system.

Windows 7 Service Pack 1 rollups (monthly rollups and security-only updates) are applicable by default to the following Windows 7-based embedded products:

• Windows Embedded Standard 7 Service Pack 1.

• Windows Embedded POSReady 7.

• Windows Thin PC.

If a rollup is not applicable to an embedded product, we will explicitly state that it is not applicable.

The left column of this page lists all the updates that have been released for this version of Windows. We recommend that you install all the updates for Windows that are available for your device. Installing the most recent update means that you also get all the previous updates, including important security fixes.

Current status of Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1

For the most up-to-date information about Known Issues for Windows and Windows Server, please go to the Windows release health dashboard.

Notes and messages

General

IMPORTANT Starting in July 2020, all Windows Updates will disable the RemoteFX vGPU feature because of a security vulnerability. For more information about the vulnerability, seeCVE-2020-1036 and KB4570006. After you install this update, attempts to start virtual machines (VM) that have RemoteFX vGPU enabled will fail, and messages such as the following will appear:

If you re-enable RemoteFX vGPU, a message similar to the following will appear:

• “The virtual machine cannot be started because all the RemoteFX-capable GPUs are disabled in Hyper-V Manager.”

• “The virtual machine cannot be started because the server has insufficient GPU resources.”

• «We no longer support the RemoteFX 3D video adapter. If you are still using this adapter, you may become vulnerable to security risk. Learn more (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2131976)”

IMPORTANT WSUS scan cab files will continue to be available for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1. If you have a subset of devices running these operating systems without ESU, they might show as non-compliant in your patch management and compliance toolsets.

IMPORTANT Starting on January 15, 2020, a full-screen notification will appear that describes the risk of continuing to use Windows 7 Service Pack 1 after it reaches end of support on January 14, 2020. The notification will remain on the screen until you interact with it. This notification will only appear on the following editions of Windows 7 Service Pack 1:

Note The notification will not appear on domain-joined devices or devicess in kiosk mode.

• Starter.

• Home Basic.

• Home Premium.

• Professional. If you have purchased the Extended Security Update (ESU), the notification will not appear. For more information, see How to get Extended Security Updates for eligible Windows devices and Lifecycle FAQ-Extended Security Updates.

• Ultimate.

Extended security update (ESU)

IMPORTANT Customers who have purchased the Extended Security Update (ESU) for on-premises versions of these operating systems must follow the procedures in KB4522133 to continue receiving security updates after extended support ends. Extended support ends as follows:

For more information about ESU and which editions are supported, see KB4497181.

• For Windows 7 Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1, extended support ends on January 14, 2020.

• For Windows Embedded Standard 7, extended support ends on October 13, 2020.

IMPORTANT Some customers who use Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 and have activated their ESU multiple activation key (MAK) add-on before installing the January 14, 2020 updates might need to re-activate their key. Re-activation on the affected devices should only be required once.  For information on activation, see this blog post.

Related information

• Windows Update: FAQ

• Moving to a Windows 10 PC

• Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 update history

• Windows Server 2012 update history

• Windows Server 2008 SP2 update history

Windows 7

Version of the Windows NT operating system
Screenshot of Windows 7 Ultimate, showing its Start Menu, desktop, taskbar, and the glass effect of Windows Aero
Developer	Microsoft
Source model	Closed-source Source-available (through Shared Source Initiative)
Released to manufacturing	July 22, 2009; 13 years ago[1]
General availability	October 22, 2009; 13 years ago[2]
Final release	Service Pack 1 (6.1.7601.24499) / February 9, 2011; 11 years ago[3]
Update method	Windows Update
Platforms	IA-32 and x86-64
Kernel type	Hybrid
Userland	Windows API, NTVDM, SUA
License	Proprietary commercial software
Preceded by	Windows Vista (2007)[4]
Succeeded by	Windows 8 (2012)
Official website	Windows 7 (archived at Wayback Machine)
Support status
Mainstream support ended on January 13, 2015.[5][6] Extended support ended on January 14, 2020.[5][6] Windows 7 was eligible for the Extended Security Updates (ESU) service. This service was available via specific volume licensing programs for Professional & Enterprise editions, and via OEMs for some embedded editions, in yearly installments. Security updates were available for the operating system until January 10, 2023, excluding some embedded editions.[7][8] Exceptions exist, see § Support lifecycle for details. Installing Service Pack 1 is required for users to receive updates and support after April 9, 2013.[5][6]

Windows 7 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally available on October 22, 2009.^[9] It is the successor to Windows Vista, released nearly three years earlier. It remained an operating system for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs and media center PCs, and itself was replaced in November 2012 by Windows 8, the name spanning more than three years of the product.

Until April 9, 2013, Windows 7 original release included updates and technical support, after which installation of Service Pack 1 was required for users to receive support and updates. Windows 7’s server counterpart, Windows Server 2008 R2, was released at the same time. Extended support ended on January 14, 2020, over ten years after the release of Windows 7, after which the operating system ceased receiving further updates. A paid support program was available for enterprises, providing security updates for Windows 7 for up to three years since the official end of life.^[10]

Windows 7 was intended to be an incremental upgrade to Microsoft Windows, addressing Windows Vista’s poor critical reception while maintaining hardware and software compatibility. Windows 7 continued improvements on the Windows Aero user interface with the addition of a redesigned taskbar that allows pinned applications, and new window management features. Other new features were added to the operating system, including libraries, the new file-sharing system HomeGroup, and support for multitouch input. A new «Action Center» was also added to provide an overview of system security and maintenance information, and tweaks were made to the User Account Control system to make it less intrusive. Windows 7 also shipped with updated versions of several stock applications, including Internet Explorer 8, Windows Media Player, and Windows Media Center.

Unlike Vista, Windows 7 received critical acclaim, with critics considering the operating system to be a major improvement over its predecessor because of its improved performance, its more intuitive interface, fewer User Account Control popups, and other improvements made across the platform. Windows 7 was a major success for Microsoft; even before its official release, pre-order sales for the operating system on the online retailer Amazon.com had surpassed previous records. In just six months, over 100 million copies had been sold worldwide, increasing to over 630 million licenses by July 2012. By January 2018, Windows 10 surpassed Windows 7 as the most popular version of Windows worldwide. As of September 2022, 11% of traditional PCs running Windows are running Windows 7.^[12] Windows 11 has recently taken second place from Windows 7 as the most popular Windows edition.^[13] It still remains popular in countries such as Syria, China, India, and Venezuela.^[14][15][16]

Windows 7 is the final version of Windows that supports processors without SSE2 or NX (although an update released in 2018 dropped support for non-SSE2 processors). Its successor, Windows 8, requires a processor with SSE2 and NX in any supported architecture.

Development history

Originally, a version of Windows codenamed «Blackcomb» was planned as the successor to Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 in 2000. Major features were planned for Blackcomb, including an emphasis on searching and querying data and an advanced storage system named WinFS to enable such scenarios. However, an interim, minor release, codenamed «Longhorn,» was announced for 2003, delaying the development of Blackcomb.^[17] By the middle of 2003, however, Longhorn had acquired some of the features originally intended for Blackcomb. After three major malware outbreaks—the Blaster, Nachi, and Sobig worms—exploited flaws in Windows operating systems within a short time period in August 2003,^[18] Microsoft changed its development priorities, putting some of Longhorn’s major development work on hold while developing new service packs for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. Development of Longhorn (Windows Vista) was also restarted, and thus delayed, in August 2004. A number of features were cut from Longhorn.^[19] Blackcomb was renamed Vienna in early 2006,^[20] and was later canceled in 2007 due to the scope of the project.^[21]

When released, Windows Vista was criticized for its long development time, performance issues, spotty compatibility with existing hardware and software at launch, changes affecting the compatibility of certain PC games, and unclear assurances by Microsoft that certain computers shipping with XP before launch would be «Vista Capable» (which led to a class-action lawsuit), among other critiques. As such, the adoption of Vista in comparison to XP remained somewhat low.^[22][23][24] In July 2007, six months following the public release of Vista, it was reported that the next version of Windows would then be codenamed Windows 7, with plans for a final release within three years.^[25][26] Bill Gates, in an interview with Newsweek, suggested that Windows 7 would be more «user-centric».^[27] Gates later said that Windows 7 would also focus on performance improvements.^[28] Steven Sinofsky later expanded on this point, explaining in the Engineering Windows 7 blog that the company was using a variety of new tracing tools to measure the performance of many areas of the operating system on an ongoing basis, to help locate inefficient code paths and to help prevent performance regressions.^[29] Senior Vice President Bill Veghte stated that Windows Vista users migrating to Windows 7 would not find the kind of device compatibility issues they encountered migrating from Windows XP.^[30] An estimated 1,000 developers worked on Windows 7. These were broadly divided into «core operating system» and «Windows client experience», in turn organized into 25 teams of around 40 developers on average.^[31]

In October 2008, it was announced that Windows 7 would also be the official name of the operating system.^[32][33] There has been some confusion over naming the product Windows 7,^[34] while versioning it as 6.1 to indicate its similar build to Vista and increase compatibility with applications that only check major version numbers, similar to Windows 2000 and Windows XP both having 5.x version numbers.^[35] The first external release to select Microsoft partners came in January 2008 with Milestone 1, build 6519.^[36] Speaking about Windows 7 on October 16, 2008, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer confirmed compatibility between Windows Vista and Windows 7, indicating that Windows 7 would be a refined version of Windows Vista.^[37]

At PDC 2008, Microsoft demonstrated Windows 7 with its reworked taskbar.^[38] On December 27, 2008, the Windows 7 Beta was leaked onto the Internet via BitTorrent.^[39] According to a performance test by ZDNet,^[40] Windows 7 Beta beat both Windows XP and Vista in several key areas, including boot and shutdown time and working with files, such as loading documents. Other areas did not beat XP, including PC Pro benchmarks for typical office activities and video editing, which remain identical to Vista and slower than XP.^[41] On January 7, 2009, the x64 version of the Windows 7 Beta (build 7000) was leaked onto the web, with some torrents being infected with a trojan.^[42][43] At CES 2009, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced the Windows 7 Beta, build 7000, had been made available for download to MSDN and TechNet subscribers in the format of an ISO image.^[44] The stock wallpaper of the beta version contained a digital image of the Betta fish.^[45]

The release candidate, build 7100, became available for MSDN and TechNet subscribers, and Connect Program participants on April 30, 2009. On May 5, 2009, it became available to the general public, although it had also been leaked onto the Internet via BitTorrent.^[46] The release candidate was available in five languages and expired on June 1, 2010, with shutdowns every two hours starting March 1, 2010.^[47] Microsoft stated that Windows 7 would be released to the general public on October 22, 2009, less than three years after the launch of its predecessor. Microsoft released Windows 7 to MSDN and Technet subscribers on August 6, 2009.^[48] Microsoft announced that Windows 7, along with Windows Server 2008 R2, was released to manufacturing in the United States and Canada on July 22, 2009. Windows 7 RTM is build 7600.16385.090713-1255, which was compiled on July 13, 2009, and was declared the final RTM build after passing all Microsoft’s tests internally.^[49]

Features

New and changed

Among Windows 7’s new features are advances in touch and handwriting recognition,^[50] support for virtual hard disks,^[51] improved performance on multi-core processors,^{[52][53][54][55]} improved boot performance, DirectAccess, and kernel improvements. Windows 7 adds support for systems using multiple heterogeneous graphics cards from different vendors (Heterogeneous Multi-adapter),^[56] a new version of Windows Media Center,^[57] a Gadget for Windows Media Center, improved media features, XPS Essentials Pack^[58] and Windows PowerShell^[59] being included, and a redesigned Calculator with multiline capabilities including Programmer and Statistics modes along with unit conversion for length, weight, temperature, and several others.^[60] Many new items have been added to the Control Panel, including ClearType Text Tuner^[61] Display Color Calibration Wizard,^[62] Gadgets, Recovery, Troubleshooting, Workspaces Center, Location and Other Sensors, Credential Manager, Biometric Devices, System Icons, and Display.^[63] Windows Security Center has been renamed to Windows Action Center (Windows Health Center and Windows Solution Center in earlier builds), which encompasses both security and maintenance of the computer. ReadyBoost on 32-bit editions now supports up to 256 gigabytes of extra allocation. Windows 7 also supports images in RAW image format through the addition of Windows Imaging Component-enabled image decoders, which enables raw image thumbnails, previewing and metadata display in Windows Explorer, plus full-size viewing and slideshows in Windows Photo Viewer and Windows Media Center.^[64] Windows 7 also has a native TFTP client with the ability to transfer files to or from a TFTP server.^[65]

The taskbar has seen the biggest visual changes, where the old Quick Launch toolbar has been replaced with the ability to pin applications to the taskbar. Buttons for pinned applications are integrated with the task buttons. These buttons also enable Jump Lists to allow easy access to common tasks, and files frequently used with specific applications.^[66] The revamped taskbar also allows the reordering of taskbar buttons. To the far right of the system clock is a small rectangular button that serves as the Show desktop icon. By default, hovering over this button makes all visible windows transparent for a quick look at the desktop.^[67] In touch-enabled displays such as touch screens, tablet PCs, etc., this button is slightly (8 pixels) wider in order to accommodate being pressed by a finger.^[68] Clicking this button minimizes all windows, and clicking it a second time restores them.

Window management in Windows 7 has several new features: Aero Snap maximizes a window when it is dragged to the top, left, or right of the screen.^[69] Dragging windows to the left or right edges of the screen allows users to snap software windows to either side of the screen, such that the windows take up half the screen. When a user moves windows that were snapped or maximized using Snap, the system restores their previous state. Snap functions can also be triggered with keyboard shortcuts. Aero Shake hides all inactive windows when the active window’s title bar is dragged back and forth rapidly.

Windows 7 includes 13 additional sound schemes, titled Afternoon, Calligraphy, Characters, Cityscape, Delta, Festival, Garden, Heritage, Landscape, Quirky, Raga, Savanna, and Sonata.^[70] Internet Spades, Internet Backgammon and Internet Checkers, which were removed from Windows Vista, were restored in Windows 7. Users are able to disable or customize many more Windows components than was possible in Windows Vista. New additions to this list of components include Internet Explorer 8, Windows Media Player 12, Windows Media Center, Windows Search, and Windows Gadget Platform.^[71] A new version of Microsoft Virtual PC, newly renamed as Windows Virtual PC was made available for Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions.^[72] It allows multiple Windows environments, including Windows XP Mode, to run on the same machine. Windows XP Mode runs Windows XP in a virtual machine, and displays applications within separate windows on the Windows 7 desktop.^[73] Furthermore, Windows 7 supports the mounting of a virtual hard disk (VHD) as a normal data storage, and the bootloader delivered with Windows 7 can boot the Windows system from a VHD; however, this ability is only available in the Enterprise and Ultimate editions.^[74] The Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) of Windows 7 is also enhanced to support real-time multimedia application including video playback and 3D games, thus allowing use of DirectX 10 in remote desktop environments.^[75] The three application limit, previously present in the Windows Vista and Windows XP Starter Editions, has been removed from Windows 7.^[76] All editions include some new and improved features, such as Windows Search, Security features, and some features new to Windows 7, that originated within Vista. Optional BitLocker Drive Encryption is included with Windows 7 Ultimate and Enterprise. Windows Defender is included; Microsoft Security Essentials antivirus software is a free download. All editions include Shadow Copy, which—every day or so—System Restore uses to take an automatic «previous version» snapshot of user files that have changed.^[77] Backup and restore have also been improved,^[78][79] and the Windows Recovery Environment—installed by default—replaces the optional Recovery Console of Windows XP.^[80]

A new system known as «Libraries» was added for file management; users can aggregate files from multiple folders into a «Library.» By default, libraries for categories such as Documents, Pictures, Music, and Video are created, consisting of the user’s personal folder and the Public folder for each. The system is also used as part of a new home networking system known as HomeGroup; devices are added to the network with a password, and files and folders can be shared with all other devices in the HomeGroup, or with specific users. The default libraries, along with printers, are shared by default, but the personal folder is set to read-only access by other users, and the Public folder can be accessed by anyone.^[81][82]

Windows 7 includes improved globalization support through a new Extended Linguistic Services API^[83] to provide multilingual support (particularly in Ultimate and Enterprise editions). Microsoft also implemented better support for solid-state drives,^[84] including the new TRIM command, and Windows 7 is able to identify a solid-state drive uniquely. Native support for USB 3.0 is not included because of delays in the finalization of the standard.^[85] At WinHEC 2008 Microsoft announced that color depths of 30-bit and 48-bit would be supported in Windows 7 along with the wide color gamut scRGB (which for HDMI 1.3 can be converted and output as xvYCC). The video modes supported in Windows 7 are 16-bit sRGB, 24-bit sRGB, 30-bit sRGB, 30-bit with extended color gamut sRGB, and 48-bit scRGB.^[86][87]

For developers, Windows 7 includes a new networking API with support for building SOAP-based web services in native code (as opposed to .NET-based WCF web services),^[88] new features to simplify development of installation packages and shorten application install times.^[89] Windows 7, by default, generates fewer User Account Control (UAC) prompts because it allows digitally signed Windows components to gain elevated privileges without a prompt. Additionally, users can now adjust the level at which UAC operates using a sliding scale.^[90]

Removed

Certain capabilities and programs that were a part of Windows Vista are no longer present or have been changed, resulting in the removal of certain functionalities; these include the classic Start Menu user interface, some taskbar features, Windows Explorer features, Windows Media Player features, Windows Ultimate Extras, Search button, and InkBall. Four applications bundled with Windows Vista—Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Movie Maker, Windows Calendar and Windows Mail—are not included with Windows 7 and were replaced by Windows Live-branded versions as part of the Windows Live Essentials suite.^[91][92]

Editions

Windows 7 is available in six different editions, of which the Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate were available at retail in most countries, and as pre-loaded software on most new computers. Home Premium and Professional were aimed at home users and small businesses respectively, while Ultimate was aimed at enthusiasts. Each edition of Windows 7 includes all of the capabilities and features of the edition below it, and adds additional features oriented towards their market segments; for example, Professional adds additional networking and security features such as Encrypting File System and the ability to join a domain. Ultimate contained a superset of the features from Home Premium and Professional, along with other advanced features oriented towards power users, such as BitLocker drive encryption; unlike Windows Vista, there were no «Ultimate Extras» add-ons created for Windows 7 Ultimate.^[93][94][95] Retail copies were available in «upgrade» and higher-cost «full» version licenses; «upgrade» licenses require an existing version of Windows to install, while «full» licenses can be installed on computers with no existing operating system.^[96]

The remaining three editions were not available at retail, of which two were available exclusively through OEM channels as pre-loaded software. The Starter edition is a stripped-down version of Windows 7 meant for low-cost devices such as netbooks. In comparison to Home Premium, Starter has reduced multimedia functionality, does not allow users to change their desktop wallpaper or theme, disables the «Aero Glass» theme, does not have support for multiple monitors, and can only address 2GB of RAM.^[95][97] Home Basic was sold only in emerging markets, and was positioned in between Home Premium and Starter.^[93][94] The highest edition, Enterprise, is functionally similar to Ultimate, but is only sold through volume licensing via Microsoft’s Software Assurance program.^{[98][99][100]}

All editions aside from Starter support both IA-32 and x86-64 architectures, Starter only supports 32-bit systems.^[95] Retail copies of Windows 7 are distributed on two DVDs: one for the IA-32 version and the other for x86-64. OEM copies include one DVD, depending on the processor architecture licensed. The installation media for consumer versions of Windows 7 are identical, the product key and corresponding license determines the edition that is installed. The Windows Anytime Upgrade service can be used to purchase an upgrade that unlocks the functionality of a higher edition, such as going from Starter to Home Premium, and Home Premium to Ultimate.^[93] Most copies of Windows 7 only contained one license; in certain markets, a «Family Pack» version of Windows 7 Home Premium was also released for a limited time, which allowed upgrades on up to three computers.^[101] In certain regions, copies of Windows 7 were only sold in, and could only be activated in a designated region.^[102]

Support lifecycle

Support status summary

Expiration date
Mainstream support	January 13, 2015[5][6]
Extended support	January 14, 2020[5][6]
Applicable Windows 7 editions:
Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate,[5][6] as well as Professional for Embedded Systems and Ultimate for Embedded Systems[103]
Exceptions
Professional and Enterprise volume licensed editions, as well as Professional for Embedded Systems	Extended Security Updates (ESU) support ended on January 10, 2023[8]
Windows Thin PC	Mainstream support ended on October 11, 2016[104] Extended support ended on October 12, 2021[104]
Windows Embedded Standard 7	Mainstream support ended on October 13, 2015[103] Extended support ended on October 15, 2020[103] Extended Security Updates (ESU) support until October 10, 2023[8]
Windows Embedded POSReady 7	Mainstream support ended on October 11, 2016[103] Extended support ended on October 12, 2021[103] Extended Security Updates (ESU) support until October 14, 2024[8]

Support for Windows 7 without Service Pack 1 ended on April 9, 2013, requiring users to update in order to continue receiving updates and support after 3 years, 8 months, and 18 days.^[105] Microsoft ended the sale of new retail copies of Windows 7 in October 2014, and the sale of new OEM licenses for Windows 7 Home Basic, Home Premium, and Ultimate ended on October 31, 2014. OEM sales of PCs with Windows 7 Professional pre-installed ended on October 31, 2016.^[106] The sale of non-Professional OEM licenses was stopped on October 31, 2014.^[107]

Mainstream support for Windows 7 ended on January 13, 2015. Extended support for Windows 7 ended on January 14, 2020.^[108][109] In August 2019, Microsoft announced it will be offering a ‘free’ extended security updates to some business users.^[110][111]

On September 7, 2018, Microsoft announced a paid «Extended Security Updates» service that will offer additional updates for Windows 7 Professional and Enterprise for up to three years after the end of extended support.^[112]

Variants of Windows 7 for embedded systems and thin clients have different support policies: Windows Embedded Standard 7 support ended in October 2020. Windows Thin PC and Windows Embedded POSReady 7 had support until October 2021. Windows Embedded Standard 7 and Windows Embedded POSReady 7 also get Extended Security Updates for up to three years after their end of extended support date.^[8] The Extended Security Updates program on Windows Embedded POSReady 7 will expire on October 14, 2024. This will mark the final end of the Windows NT 6.1 product line after 15 years, 2 months, and 17 days.^[8]

In March 2019, Microsoft announced that it would display notifications to users informing users of the upcoming end of support, and direct users to a website urging them to purchase a Windows 10 upgrade or a new computer.^[113]

In August 2019, researchers reported that «all modern versions of Microsoft Windows» may be at risk for «critical» system compromise because of design flaws of hardware device drivers from multiple providers.^[114] In the same month, computer experts reported that the BlueKeep security vulnerability, CVE-2019-0708, that potentially affects older unpatched Microsoft Windows versions via the program’s Remote Desktop Protocol, allowing for the possibility of remote code execution, may now include related flaws, collectively named DejaBlue, affecting newer Windows versions (i.e., Windows 7 and all recent versions) as well.^[115] In addition, experts reported a Microsoft security vulnerability, CVE-2019-1162, based on legacy code involving Microsoft CTF and ctfmon (ctfmon.exe), that affects all Windows versions from the older Windows XP version to the most recent Windows 10 versions; a patch to correct the flaw is currently available.^[116]

In September 2019, Microsoft announced that it would provide free security updates for Windows 7 on federally-certified voting machines through the 2020 United States elections.^[117]

System requirements

Minimum hardware requirements for Windows 7^[118]

Component	Operating system architecture
32-bit	64-bit
Processor	1 GHz IA-32 processor Support for SSE2 required after May 2018 cumulative update[119]	1 GHz x86-64 processor
Memory (RAM)	1 GB	2 GB
Graphics card	DirectX 9 graphics processor with WDDM driver model 1.0
Storage space	16 GB	20 GB
Installation media	DVD drive or USB drive

Additional requirements to use certain features:^[118]

• Windows XP Mode (Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise): Requires an additional 1 GB of RAM and additional 15 GB of available hard disk space. The requirement for a processor capable of hardware virtualization has been lifted.^[120]
• Windows Media Center (included in Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise), requires a TV tuner to receive and record TV.

Extent of hardware support

Physical memory

The maximum amount of RAM that Windows 7 supports varies depending on the product edition and on the processor architecture, as shown in the following table.^[121]

Physical memory limits of Windows 7

Edition	Processor architecture
IA-32 (32-bit)	x64 (64-bit)
Ultimate	4 GB	192 GB
Enterprise
Professional
Home Premium	16 GB
Home Basic	8 GB
Starter	2 GB	—

Processor limits

Windows 7 Professional and up support up to 2 physical processors (CPU sockets),^[122]
whereas Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic, and Home Premium editions support only 1.^[123] Physical processors with either multiple cores, or hyper-threading, or both, implement more than one logical processor per physical processor. The x86 editions of Windows 7 support up to 32 logical processors; x64 editions support up to 256 (4 x 64).^[124]

In January 2016, Microsoft announced that it would no longer support Windows platforms older than Windows 10 on any future Intel-compatible processor lines, citing difficulties in reliably allowing the operating system to operate on newer hardware. Microsoft stated that effective July 17, 2017, devices with Intel Skylake CPUs were only to receive the «most critical» updates for Windows 7 and 8.1, and only if they have been judged not to affect the reliability of Windows 7 on older hardware.^[108][125] For enterprise customers, Microsoft issued a list of Skylake-based devices «certified» for Windows 7 and 8.1 in addition to Windows 10, to assist them in migrating to newer hardware that can eventually be upgraded to 10 once they are ready to transition. Microsoft and their hardware partners provide special testing and support for these devices on 7 and 8.1 until the July 2017 date.^[126]

On March 18, 2016, in response to criticism from enterprise customers, Microsoft delayed the end of support and non-critical updates for Skylake systems to July 17, 2018, but stated that they would also continue to receive security updates through the end of extended support.^[127][128] In August 2016, citing a «strong partnership with our OEM partners and Intel», Microsoft retracted the decision and stated that it would continue to support Windows 7 and 8.1 on Skylake hardware through the end of their extended support lifecycle. However, the restrictions on newer CPU microarchitectures remain in force.^[129][130]

In March 2017, a Microsoft knowledge base article announced which implies that devices using Intel Kaby Lake, AMD Bristol Ridge, or AMD Ryzen, would be blocked from using Windows Update entirely.^[131][132] In addition, official Windows 7 device drivers are not available for the Kaby Lake and Ryzen platforms.^[133][134]

Security updates released since March 2018 contain bugs which affect processors that do not support SSE2 extensions, including all Pentium III processors. Microsoft initially stated that it would attempt to resolve the issue, and prevented installation of the affected patches on these systems. However, on June 15, 2018, Microsoft retroactively modified its support documents to remove the promise that this bug would be resolved, replacing it with a statement suggesting that users obtain a newer processor. This effectively ends future patch support for Windows 7 on these systems.^[135][136]

Updates

Service Pack 1

Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) was announced on March 18, 2010. A beta was released on July 12, 2010.^{[137][138][139]} The final version was released to the public on February 22, 2011.^[140] At the time of release, it was not made mandatory. It was available via Windows Update, direct download, or by ordering the Windows 7 SP1 DVD.^[141] The service pack is on a much smaller scale than those released for previous versions of Windows, particularly Windows Vista.^[142]

Windows 7 Service Pack 1 adds support for Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX), a 256-bit instruction set extension for processors, and improves IKEv2 by adding additional identification fields such as E-mail ID to it. In addition, it adds support for Advanced Format 512e as well as additional Identity Federation Services.^[143][144] Windows 7 Service Pack 1 also resolves a bug related to HDMI audio and another related to printing XPS documents.^[143]

In Europe, the automatic nature of the BrowserChoice.eu feature was dropped in Windows 7 Service Pack 1 in February 2011 and remained absent for 14 months despite Microsoft reporting that it was still present, subsequently described by Microsoft as a «technical error.» As a result, in March 2013, the European Commission fined Microsoft €561 million to deter companies from reneging on settlement promises.^[145]

Platform Update

The Platform Update for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 was released on February 26, 2013^[146] after a pre-release version had been released on November 5, 2012.^[147] It is also included with Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7.^[148]

It includes enhancements to Direct2D, DirectWrite, Direct3D, Windows Imaging Component (WIC), Windows Advanced Rasterization Platform (WARP), Windows Animation Manager (WAM), XPS Document API, H.264 Video Decoder and JPEG XR decoder.^[146] However support for Direct3D 11.1 is limited as the update does not include DXGI/WDDM 1.2 from Windows 8, making unavailable many related APIs and significant features such as stereoscopic frame buffer, feature level 11_1 and optional features for levels 10_0, 10_1 and 11_0.^[149]

Disk Cleanup update

In October 2013, a Disk Cleanup Wizard addon was released that lets users delete outdated Windows updates on Windows 7 SP1, thus reducing the size of the WinSxS directory. This update backports some features found in Windows 8.^[150]

Windows Management Framework 5.0

Windows Management Framework 5.0 includes updates to Windows PowerShell 5.0, Windows PowerShell Desired State Configuration (DSC), Windows Remote Management (WinRM), Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI). It was released on February 24, 2016^[151] and was eventually superseded by Windows Management Framework 5.1.^[152]

Convenience rollup

In May 2016, Microsoft released a «Convenience rollup update for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1,» which contains all patches released between the release of SP1 and April 2016. The rollup is not available via Windows Update, and must be downloaded manually. This package can also be integrated into a Windows 7 installation image.^[153]

Since October 2016, all security and reliability updates are cumulative. Downloading and installing updates that address individual problems is no longer possible, but the number of updates that must be downloaded to fully update the OS is significantly reduced.^[154]

Monthly update rollups (July 2016-January 2020)

In June 2018, Microsoft announced that they’ll be moving Windows 7 to a monthly update model beginning with updates released in September 2018^[155] — two years after Microsoft switched the rest of their supported operating systems to that model.^[156]

With the new update model, instead of updates being released as they became available, only two update packages were released on the second Tuesday of every month until Windows 7 reached its end of life — one package containing security and quality updates, and a smaller package that contained only the security updates. Users could choose which package they wanted to install each month. Later in the month, another package would be released which was a preview of the next month’s security and quality update rollup.

Installing the preview rollup package released for Windows 7 on March 19, 2019, or any later released rollup package, that makes Windows more reliable. This change was made so Microsoft could continue to service the operating system while avoiding “version-related issues”.^[157]

Microsoft announced in July 2019 that the Microsoft Internet Games services on Windows XP and Windows Me would end on July 31, 2019 (and for Windows 7 on January 22, 2020).^[158]

The last non-extended security update rollup packages were released on January 14, 2020, the last day that Windows 7 had extended support.^[159]

End of support (after January 14, 2020)

On January 14, 2020, Windows 7 support ended with Microsoft no longer providing security updates or fixes after that date,^[160] except for subscribers of the Windows 7 Extended Security Updates (ESU), who were able to receive Windows 7 security updates through January 10, 2023.^[161] However, there have been two updates that have been issued to non-ESU subscribers:

• In February 2020, Microsoft released an update via Windows Update to fix a black wallpaper issue caused by the January 2020 update for Windows 7.^[162][163]
• In June 2020, Microsoft released an update via Windows Update to roll out the new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge to Windows 7 and 8.1 machines that are not connected to Active Directory.^[164][165] Users, e.g. those on Active Directory, can download Edge from Microsoft’s website.

In a support document, Microsoft has stated that a full-screen upgrade warning notification would be displayed on Windows 7 PCs on all editions except the Enterprise edition after January 15, 2020. The notification does not appear on machines connected to Active Directory, machines in kiosk mode, or machines subscribed for Extended Security Updates.^[166]

Reception

Critical reception

Windows 7 received critical acclaim, with critics noting the increased usability and functionality when compared with its predecessor, Windows Vista. CNET gave Windows 7 Home Premium a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars,^[167] stating that it «is more than what Vista should have been, [and] it’s where Microsoft needed to go». PC Magazine rated it a 4 out of 5 saying that Windows 7 is a «big improvement» over Windows Vista, with fewer compatibility problems, a retooled taskbar, simpler home networking and faster start-up.^[168] Maximum PC gave Windows 7 a rating of 9 out of 10 and called Windows 7 a «massive leap forward» in usability and security, and praised the new Taskbar as «worth the price of admission alone.»^[169] PC World called Windows 7 a «worthy successor» to Windows XP and said that speed benchmarks showed Windows 7 to be slightly faster than Windows Vista.^[170] PC World also named Windows 7 one of the best products of the year.^[171]
In its review of Windows 7, Engadget said that Microsoft had taken a «strong step forward» with Windows 7 and reported that speed is one of Windows 7’s major selling points—particularly for the netbook sets.^[172] Laptop Magazine gave Windows 7 a rating of 4 out of 5 stars and said that Windows 7 makes computing more intuitive, offered better overall performance including a «modest to dramatic» increase in battery life on laptop computers.^[173] TechRadar gave Windows 7 a rating of 5 out of 5 stars, concluding that «it combines the security and architectural improvements of Windows Vista with better performance than XP can deliver on today’s hardware. No version of Windows is ever perfect, but Windows 7 really is the best release of Windows yet.»^[174] USA Today^[175] and The Telegraph^[176] also gave Windows 7 favorable reviews.

Nick Wingfield of The Wall Street Journal wrote, «Visually arresting,» and «A pleasure.»^[177][178] Mary Branscombe of Financial Times wrote, «A clear leap forward.»^[179] of Gizmodo wrote, «Windows 7 Kills Snow Leopard.»^[180] Don Reisinger of CNET wrote, «Delightful.»^[181] David Pogue of The New York Times wrote, «Faster.»^[182][183] J. Peter Bruzzese and Richi Jennings of Computerworld wrote, «Ready.»^[184][185]

Some Windows Vista Ultimate users have expressed concerns over Windows 7 pricing and upgrade options.^[186][187] Windows Vista Ultimate users wanting to upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 7 had to either pay $219.99^[188] to upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate or perform a clean install, which requires them to reinstall all of their programs.^[189]

The changes to User Account Control on Windows 7 were criticized for being potentially insecure, as an exploit was discovered allowing untrusted software to be launched with elevated privileges by exploiting a trusted component. Peter Bright of Ars Technica argued that «the way that the Windows 7 UAC ‘improvements’ have been made completely exempts Microsoft’s developers from having to do that work themselves. With Windows 7, it’s one rule for Redmond, another one for everyone else.»^[190] Microsoft’s Windows kernel engineer Mark Russinovich acknowledged the problem, but noted that malware can also compromise a system when users agree to a prompt.^[90][191]

Sales

In July 2009, in only eight hours, pre-orders of Windows 7 at amazon.co.uk surpassed the demand which Windows Vista had in its first 17 weeks.^[192] It became the highest-grossing pre-order in Amazon’s history, surpassing sales of the previous record holder, the seventh Harry Potter book.^[193] After 36 hours, 64-bit versions of Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate editions sold out in Japan.^[194] Two weeks after its release its market share had surpassed that of Snow Leopard, released two months previously as the most recent update to Apple’s Mac OS X operating system.^[195][196] According to Net Applications, Windows 7 reached a 4% market share in less than three weeks; in comparison, it took Windows Vista seven months to reach the same mark.^[197][198] As of February 2014, Windows 7 had a market share of 47.49% according to Net Applications; in comparison, Windows XP had a market share of 29.23%.^[199]

On March 4, 2010, Microsoft announced that it had sold more than 90 million licenses.^[200]
By April 23, 2010, more than 100 million copies were sold in six months, which made it Microsoft’s fastest-selling operating system.^[201][202] As of June 23, 2010, Windows 7 has sold 150 million copies which made it the fastest selling operating system in history with seven copies sold every second.^[202][203] Based on worldwide data taken during June 2010 from Windows Update 46% of Windows 7 PCs run the 64-bit edition of Windows 7.^[204] According to Stephen Baker of the NPD Group during April 2010 in the United States 77% of PCs sold at retail were pre-installed with the 64-bit edition of Windows 7.^[204][205] As of July 22, 2010, Windows 7 had sold 175 million copies.^[206] On October 21, 2010, Microsoft announced that more than 240 million copies of Windows 7 had been sold.^[207] Three months later, on January 27, 2011, Microsoft announced total sales of 300 million copies of Windows 7.^[208] On July 12, 2011, the sales figure was refined to over 400 million end-user licenses and business installations.^[209] As of July 9, 2012, over 630 million licenses have been sold; this number includes licenses sold to OEMs for new PCs.^[210]

Antitrust concerns

As with other Microsoft operating systems, Windows 7 was studied by United States federal regulators who oversee the company’s operations following the 2001 United States v. Microsoft Corp. settlement. According to status reports filed, the three-member panel began assessing prototypes of the new operating system in February 2008. Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Jupiter Research, said, «[Microsoft’s] challenge for Windows 7 will be how can they continue to add features that consumers will want that also don’t run afoul of regulators.»^[211]

In order to comply with European antitrust regulations, Microsoft proposed the use of a «ballot» screen containing download links to competing web browsers, thus removing the need for a version of Windows completely without Internet Explorer, as previously planned.^[212] Microsoft announced that it would discard the separate version for Europe and ship the standard upgrade and full packages worldwide, in response to criticism involving Windows 7 E and concerns from manufacturers about possible consumer confusion if a version of Windows 7 with Internet Explorer were shipped later, after one without Internet Explorer.^[213]

As with the previous version of Windows, an N version, which does not come with Windows Media Player, has been released in Europe, but only for sale directly from Microsoft sales websites and selected others.^[214]

See also

• BlueKeep, a security vulnerability discovered in May 2019 that affected most Windows NT-based computers up to Windows 7

References

Further reading

• Bott, Ed; Siechert, Carl; Stinson, Craig (2010). Windows 7 Inside Out. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Press. ISBN 978-0-7356-2665-2.

External links

• Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1)
• Windows 7 SP1 update history

С 22 февраля для всех пользователей персональных компьютеров, в том числе и российских пользователей, появится возможность загрузки Service Pack 1 для Windows 7 и Windows Server 2008 R2. 

В официальном блоге говорится, что RTM-версии Windows 7 SP1 и Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 переданы производителям персональных компьютеров, партнерам Microsoft.

С 16 февраля пакеты обновлений для Windows 7 и Windows Server 2008 R2 будут доступны для пользователей MSDN и TechNet, а также для корпоративных заказчиков, которые работают по схеме Volume License. Обычные же пользователи через официальный центр обновлений Microsoft и Windows Update смогут загрузить обновления уже с 22 февраля этого года. 

По словам российских представителей Microsoft, все данные даты также справедливы и для российских пользователей. При этом уточняется также в компании, что в RTM-версии SP1 будет поддерживаться русский язык. 

Официальное представление бета-версии Service Pack 1 состоялось еще в июне прошлого года, а релиз-кандидат на английском, испанском, японском, немецком, французском языках вышел в октябре 2010 года. Планирование выхода финальной версии связывалось с началом 2011 года  и вендору удалось выдержать данный срок. 

В пакет обновлений для Windows 7 входят все текущие модернизации операционной системы, а также дополнительные обновления, которые основываются на отзывах партнеров и многих пользователей. Пакет обновлений для Windows Server 2008 R2 основан на механизме Dynamic Memory, которые значительно улучшает виртуализацию, а также на функции Microsoft RemoteFX. При все этом, также включены все предыдущие улучшения, которые предоставляются через центр обновлений с учетом всех отзывывов клиентов и пользователей. 

Dynamic Memory — механизм динамической памяти – это новое дополнение к программному обеспечению виртуализации Microsoft Hyper-V, благодаря которому системными администраторами происходит динамическое распределение всего объема доступной физической памяти между всеми виртуальными машинами. RemoteFX – дополнение к функции виртуального рабочего стола, благодаря которому поддерживается Flash, Silverlight и контент различных других форматов. 

Windows 7 (codenamed Windows 7^[7]) is a major release of the Microsoft Windows series of operating systems developed by Microsoft for use with personal computers, tablets, and other devices.

Windows 7 was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and reached general retail availability on October 22, 2009, less than three years after the release of its predecessor, Windows Vista. Windows 7’s server counterpart, Windows Server 2008 R2, was released at the same time.

On October 26, 2012, Windows 7 was superseded by Windows 8. However, as Windows 8 introduces significant changes in its user interface and is optimized for touch-screen devices, Windows 7 remained available for purchase until 2014, and ended support on January 14, 2020.

Unlike Windows Vista, which introduced a large number of new features, Windows 7 was intended to be a more focused, incremental upgrade to the Windows line, with the goal of being compatible with applications and hardware with which Windows Vista was already compatible. Presentations given by Microsoft in 2008 focused on multi-touch support, a redesigned Windows shell with a new taskbar, referred to as the Superbar, a home networking system called HomeGroup, and performance improvements. Some standard applications that have been included with prior releases of Microsoft Windows, including Windows Calendar, Windows Mail, Windows Movie Maker, and Windows Photo Gallery, are not included in Windows 7; most are instead offered separately at no charge as part of the Windows Live Essentials suite.

Features

New and changed features

Windows 7 includes a number of new features, such as advances in touch and handwriting recognition, support for virtual hard disks, improved performance on multi-core processors, improved boot performance, DirectAccess, and kernel improvements. Windows 7 adds support for systems using multiple heterogeneous graphics cards from different vendors (Heterogeneous Multi-adapter), a new version of Windows Media Center, a Gadget for Windows Media Center, improved media features, the XPS Essentials Pack and Windows PowerShell being included, and a redesigned Calculator with multiline capabilities including Programmer and Statistics modes along with unit conversion for length, weight, temperature, and several others. Many new items have been added to the Control Panel, including ClearType Text Tuner, Display Color Calibration Wizard, Gadgets, Recovery, Troubleshooting, Workspaces Center, Location and Other Sensors, Credential Manager, Biometric Devices, System Icons, and Display. Windows Security Center has been renamed to Windows Action Center (Windows Health Center and Windows Solution Center in earlier builds), which encompasses both security and maintenance of the computer. Readyboost on 32bit editions now supports up to 256 Gigabytes of extra allocation. The default setting for User Account Control in Windows 7 has been criticized for allowing untrusted software to be launched with elevated privileges without a prompt by exploiting a trusted application. Microsoft’s Windows kernel engineer Mark Russinovich acknowledged the problem, but noted that malware can also compromise a system when users agree to a prompt. Windows 7 also supports images in RAW image format through the addition of Windows Imaging Component-enabled image decoders, which enables raw image thumbnails, previewing and metadata display in Windows Explorer, plus full-size viewing and slideshows in Windows Photo Viewer and Windows Media Center.

The taskbar has seen the biggest visual changes, where the Quick Launch toolbar has been replaced with the ability to pin applications to the taskbar. Buttons for pinned applications are integrated with the task buttons. These buttons also enable the Jump Lists feature to allow easy access to common tasks. The revamped taskbar also allows the reordering of taskbar buttons. To the far right of the system clock is a small rectangular button that serves as the Show desktop icon. This button is part of the new feature in Windows 7 called Aero Peek. Hovering over this button makes all visible windows transparent for a quick look at the desktop. In touch-enabled displays such as touch screens, tablet PCs, etc., this button is slightly wider to accommodate being pressed with a finger. Clicking this button minimizes all windows, and clicking it a second time restores them. Additionally, there is a feature named Aero Snap, that automatically maximizes a window when it is dragged to the top of the screen. Dragging windows to the left/right edges of the screen allows users to snap documents or files on either side of the screen for comparison between windows, such that the windows vertically take up half the screen. When a user moves windows that were maximized using Aero Snap, the system restores their previous state automatically. This functionality is also accomplished with keyboard shortcuts.

Unlike in Windows Vista, window borders and the taskbar do not turn opaque when a window is maximized with Windows Aero applied. Instead, they remain translucent.

For developers, Windows 7 includes a new networking API with support for building SOAP-based web services in native code (as opposed to .NET-based WCF web services), new features to shorten application install times, reduced UAC prompts, simplified development of installation packages, and improved globalization support through a new Extended Linguistic Services API. At WinHEC 2008 Microsoft announced that color depths of 30-bit and 48-bit would be supported in Windows 7 along with the wide color gamut scRGB (which for HMDI 1.3 can be converted and output as xvYCC). The video modes supported in Windows 7 are 16-bit sRGB, 24-bit sRGB, 30-bit sRGB, 30-bit with extended color gamut sRGB, and 48-bit scRGB. Microsoft has also implemented better support for solid state drives, including the new TRIM command and Windows 7 is able to identify a solid-state drive uniquely. Microsoft is planning to support USB 3.0 in a subsequent patch, support not being included in the initial release due to delays in the finalization of the standard.

Internet Spades, Internet Backgammon and Internet Checkers which were removed from Windows Vista, were restored in Windows 7. Windows 7 includes the new Internet Explorer 9 and Users are also able to disable many more Windows components than was possible in Windows Vista. New additions to this list of components include Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, Windows Media Center, Windows Search, and the Windows Gadget Platform. Windows 7 includes 13 additional sound schemes, titled Afternoon, Calligraphy, Characters, Cityscape, Delta, Festival, Garden, Heritage, Landscape, Quirky, Raga, Savanna, and Sonata. A new version of Microsoft Virtual PC, newly renamed as Windows Virtual PC was made available for Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions. It allows multiple Windows environments, including Windows XP Mode, to run on the same machine. Windows XP Mode runs Windows XP in a virtual machine and redirects displayed applications running in Windows XP to the Windows 7 desktop. Furthermore, Windows 7 supports the mounting of a virtual hard disk (VHD) as a normal data storage, and the bootloader delivered with Windows 7 can boot the Windows system from a VHD; however, this ability is only available in the Enterprise and Ultimate editions. The Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) of Windows 7 is also enhanced to support real-time multimedia application including video playback and 3D games, thus allowing use of DirectX 10 in remote desktop environments. The three application limit, previously present in the Windows Vista Starter Edition, has been removed from Windows 7.

Removed features

Certain capabilities and programs that were a part of Windows Vista are no longer present or have been changed, resulting in the removal of certain functionalities. These include the classic Start Menu user interface, some taskbar features, Windows Explorer features, Windows Media Player features, Windows Ultimate Extras and Inkball. Four applications bundled with Windows Vista — Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Movie Maker, Windows Calendar and Windows Mail — are not included with Windows 7, but applications with close functionality are instead available for free in a separate package called Windows Live Essentials which can be downloaded on the Microsoft website. Although Windows Ultimate Extras was removed, many of the extras can be installed separately. Most popular extras were Microsoft Texas Hold ’em, Microsoft Tinker, and Windows DreamScene. InkBall may also be installed into Windows 7.

Development

Originally, a version of Windows codenamed Blackcomb was planned as the successor to Windows XP (codename Whistler) and Windows Server 2003. Major features were planned for Blackcomb, including an emphasis on searching and querying data and an advanced storage system named WinFS to enable such scenarios. However, an interim, minor release, codenamed «Longhorn,» was announced for 2003, delaying the development of Blackcomb. By the middle of 2003, however, Longhorn had acquired some of the features originally intended for Blackcomb. After three major viruses exploited flaws in Windows operating systems within a short time period in 2003, Microsoft changed its development priorities, putting some of Longhorn’s major development work on hold while developing new service packs for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. Development of Longhorn (Windows Vista) was also restarted, and thus delayed, in August 2004. A number of features were cut from Longhorn.

Blackcomb was renamed Vienna in early 2006 and would soon be cancelled due to its scope and replaced with a new project, codenamed «Windows 7» in 2007.^[7] On October 13, 2008, Mike Nash announced that Windows 7 would also be the official name of the operating system.^[8] There has been some confusion over naming the product Windows 7, while versioning it as 6.1 to indicate its similar build to Vista and increase compatibility with applications that only check major version numbers, similar to Windows 2000 and Windows XP both having 5.x version numbers.

The first external release to select Microsoft partners came in January 2008 with Milestone 1, build 6519. At PDC 2008, Microsoft demonstrated Windows 7 with its reworked taskbar. Copies of Windows 7 build 6801 were distributed at the end of the conference; however, the demonstrated taskbar was disabled in this build.

On December 27, 2008, the Windows 7 Beta was leaked onto the Internet via BitTorrent. According to a performance test by ZDNet, Windows 7 Beta beat both Windows XP and Vista in several key areas; including boot and shutdown time and working with files, such as loading documents. Other areas did not beat XP; including PC Pro benchmarks for typical office activities and video editing, which remain identical to Vista and slower than XP. On January 7, 2009, the 64-bit version of the Windows 7 Beta (build 7000) was leaked onto the web, with some torrents being infected with a trojan. At CES 2009, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced the Windows 7 Beta, build 7000, had been made available for download to MSDN and TechNet subscribers in the format of an ISO image. The Beta was to be publicly released January 9, 2009, and Microsoft initially planned for the download to be made available to 2.5 million people on this date. However, access to the downloads was delayed because of high traffic. The download limit was also extended, initially until January 24, then again to February 10. People who did not complete downloading the beta had two extra days to complete the download. After February 12, unfinished downloads became unable to complete. Users could still obtain product keys from Microsoft to activate their copies of Windows 7 Beta, which expired on August 1, 2009.

The release candidate, build 7100, became available for MSDN and TechNet subscribers and Connect Program participants on April 30, 2009. On May 5, 2009 it became available to the general public, although it had also been leaked onto the Internet via BitTorrent. The release candidate was available in five languages and expired on June 1, 2010, with shutdowns every two hours starting March 1, 2010. Microsoft stated that Windows 7 would be released to the general public on October 22, 2009. Microsoft released Windows 7 to MSDN and Technet subscribers on August 6, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. PDT. Microsoft announced that Windows 7, along with Windows Server 2008 R2, was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009. Windows 7 RTM is build 7600.16385.090713-1255, which was compiled on July 13, 2009, and was declared the final RTM build after passing all Microsoft’s tests internally.

An estimated 1000 developers worked on Windows 7. These were broadly divided into «core operating system» and «Windows client experience», in turn organized into 25 teams of around 40 developers on average.

Goals

Bill Gates, in an interview with Newsweek, suggested that this version of Windows would be more «user-centric». Gates later said that Windows 7 would also focus on performance improvements. Steven Sinofsky later expanded on this point, explaining in the Engineering Windows 7 blog that the company was using a variety of new tracing tools to measure the performance of many areas of the operating system on an ongoing basis, to help locate inefficient code paths and to help prevent performance regressions.

Senior Vice President Bill Veghte stated that Windows Vista users migrating to Windows 7 would not find the kind of device compatibility issues they encountered migrating from Windows XP. Speaking about Windows 7 on October 16, 2008, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer confirmed compatibility between Windows Vista and Windows 7, indicating that Windows 7 would be a refined version of Windows Vista.

Reception

Windows 7 received critical acclaim, with critics noting the increased usability and functionality when compared with its predecessor, Windows Vista. CNET gave Windows 7 Home Premium a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars, stating that it «is more than what Vista should have been, [and] it’s where Microsoft needed to go». PC Magazine rated it a 4 out of 5 saying that Windows 7 is a «big improvement» over Windows Vista, with fewer compatibility problems, a retooled taskbar, simpler home networking and faster start-up. Maximum PC gave Windows 7 a rating of 9 out of 10 and called Windows 7 a «massive leap forward» in usability and security, and praised the new Taskbar as «worth the price of admission alone.» PC World called Windows 7 a «worthy successor» to Windows XP and said that speed benchmarks showed Windows 7 to be slightly faster than Windows Vista. PC World also named Windows 7 one of the best products of the year. In its review of Windows 7, Engadget said that Microsoft had taken a «strong step forward» with Windows 7 and reported that speed is one of Windows 7’s major selling points—particularly for the netbook sets. Laptop Magazine gave Windows 7 a rating of 4 out of 5 stars and said that Windows 7 makes computing more intuitive, offered better overall performance including a «modest to dramatic» increase in battery life on laptop computers. TechRadar gave Windows 7 a rating of 5 out of 5 stars, concluding that «it combines the security and architectural improvements of Windows Vista with better performance than XP can deliver on today’s hardware. No version of Windows is ever perfect, but Windows 7 really is the best release of Windows yet.» USA Today and The Telegraph also gave Windows 7 favorable reviews.

Nick Wingfield of The Wall Street Journal wrote, «Visually arresting,» and «A pleasure.» Mary Branscombe of Financial Times wrote, «A clear leap forward.» of Gizmodo wrote, «Windows 7 Kills Snow Leopard.» Don Reisinger of CNET wrote, «Delightful.» David Pogue of The New York Times wrote, «Faster.» J. Peter Bruzzese and Richi Jennings of Computerworld wrote, «Ready.»

Some Windows Vista Ultimate users have expressed concerns over Windows 7 pricing and upgrade options. Windows Vista Ultimate users wanting to upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 7 had to either pay $219.99 to upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate or perform a clean install, which requires them to reinstall all of their programs.

The changes to User Account Control on Windows 7 were criticized for being potentially insecure, as an exploit was discovered allowing untrusted software to be launched with elevated privileges by exploiting a trusted component. Peter Bright of Ars Technica argued that «the way that the Windows 7 UAC ‘improvements’ have been made completely exempts Microsoft’s developers from having to do that work themselves. With Windows 7, it’s one rule for Redmond, another one for everyone else.» Microsoft’s Windows kernel engineer Mark Russinovich acknowledged the problem, but noted that malware can also compromise a system when users agree to a prompt.

Antitrust regulatory attention

As with other Microsoft operating systems, Windows 7 is being studied by United States federal regulators who oversee the company’s operations following the 2001 United States v. Microsoft settlement. According to status reports filed, the three-member panel began assessing prototypes of the new operating system in February 2008. Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Jupiter Research said that, «[Microsoft’s] challenge for Windows 7 will be how can they continue to add features that consumers will want that also don’t run afoul of regulators.»

In order to comply with European antitrust regulations, Microsoft has proposed the use of a «ballot» screen, allowing users to download a competing browser, thus removing the need for a version of Windows completely without Internet Explorer, as previously planned. In response to criticism involving Windows 7 E and concerns from manufacturers about possible consumer confusion if a version of Windows 7 with Internet Explorer were shipped later after one without Internet Explorer, Microsoft announced that it would scrap the separate version for Europe and ship the standard upgrade and full packages worldwide.

As with the previous version of Windows, an N version, which does not come with Windows Media Player, has been released in Europe, but only for sale directly from Microsoft sales websites and selected others.

Editions

Windows 7 is available in six different editions, of which the Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate editions are available for retail sale to consumers in most countries. The other editions are not available in retail. The Starter edition is only available preinstalled by OEMs on new PCs, the Enterprise edition only by volume licensing, and Home Basic only to certain developing countries’ markets. Each edition of Windows 7 includes all of the capabilities and features of the edition below it.

All editions support the IA-32 processor architecture and all editions except Starter support the x86-64 processor architecture. The installation medium is the same for all the consumer editions of Windows 7 that have the same processor architecture, with the license determining the features that are activated; license upgrades permit the subsequent unlocking of features without re-installation of the operating system. This is the first time Microsoft has distributed 2 DVDs (1 DVD for IA-32 processor architecture, the other DVD for x86-64 processor architecture) for each edition of Windows 7 (Except for Starter and Home Basic; some OEM copies have only DVD for IA-32 architecture; the installation DVD of Windows 7 Home Basic 64-bit edition is not included but can be obtained from Microsoft.). Users who wish to upgrade to an edition of Windows 7 with more features can then use Windows Anytime Upgrade to purchase the upgrade, and unlock the features of those editions.

Some copies of Windows 7 have restrictions, in which it must be distributed, sold, or bought and activated in the geographical region specified in its front cover box.

Microsoft is offering a family pack of Windows 7 Home Premium (in select markets) that allows installation on up to three PCs. The «Family Pack» costs US$149.99 in the United States.

On September 18, 2009, Microsoft said they were to offer temporary student discounts for Windows 7. The offer ran in the US and the United Kingdom, with similar schemes available in Canada, Australia, Korea, Mexico, France and India. Students with a valid .edu or .ac.uk email address could apply for either Windows 7 Home Premium or Professional, priced at $30 or £30.

Windows 7 is also currently available as an embedded version to developers (previously Windows Embedded 2011).

Marketing

The different editions of Windows 7 have been designed and marketed toward people with different needs. Out of the different editions (Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate), the Starter edition for emerging markets, Home Basic has been designed and marketed for lower cost notebooks, Home Premium for normal home users, Professional for businesses, Enterprise for larger businesses and corporations, and Ultimate for enthusiasts.

Hardware requirements

Microsoft published the minimum specifications for a system to run Windows 7. Requirements for the 32-bit version are similar to that of premium editions of Vista, but are higher for 64-bit versions. Microsoft released an upgrade advisor that determines if a computer is compatible with Windows 7.

Minimum hardware requirements for Windows 7

Architecture	32-bit	64-bit
Processor	1 GHz IA-32 processor	1 GHz x86-64 processor
Memory (RAM)	1 GB	2 GB
Graphics card	DirectX 9 graphics processor with WDDM driver model 1.0 (Not absolutely necessary; only required for Aero)
HDD free space	16 GB of free disk space	20 GB of free disk space
Optical drive	DVD-ROM drive (Only to install from DVD-ROM media)
SATA AHCI support	See below

Additional requirements to use certain features:

• SATA AHCI support was not added to Windows until XP Service Pack 1. As a result, in most motherboards the BIOS default for SATA support is to (emulate) IDE (ATA) rather than use AHCI (SATA). As explained here, this setting needs to be changed before installation, and any chipset-specific AHCI or RAID drivers need to be loaded (from a USB Flash drive, for example) at installation time.
• Windows XP Mode (Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise): Requires an additional 1 GB of RAM and additional 15 GB of available hard disk space. The requirement for a processor capable of hardware virtualization has been lifted.
• Windows Media Center (included in Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise), requires a TV tuner to receive and record TV.

Physical memory limits

Maximum limits on physical memory (RAM) that Windows 7 can address vary depending on both the Windows version and between 32-bit and 64-bit versions. The following table specifies the maximum physical memory limits supported:

Physical memory limits for Windows 7

Version	Limit in 32-bit Windows	Limit in 64-bit Windows
Windows 7 Ultimate	4 GB	192 GB
Windows 7 Enterprise
Windows 7 Professional
Windows 7 Home Premium	16 GB
Windows 7 Home Basic	8 GB
Windows 7 Starter	2 GB	N/A

Processor limits

The maximum total number of logical processors in a PC that Windows 7 supports is: 32 for 32-bit, 256 for 64-bit.

The maximum number of physical processors in a PC that Windows 7 supports is: 2 for Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate, and 1 for Starter, Home Basic, and Home Premium.

Service Pack 1

Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) was announced on March 18, 2010, with a beta being released on July 12, 2010; the final version was released to the public on February 22, 2011. At the time of its release, it was not made mandatory. It was available via Windows Update, direct download, or by ordering the Windows 7 SP1 DVD. The service pack is on a much smaller scale than those released for previous versions of Windows, particularly Windows Vista.

Windows 7 Service Pack 1 adds support for Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX), a 256-bit instruction set for processors, and improves IKEv2 by adding additional identification fields such as Email ID to it. In addition, it adds support for Advanced Format 512e as well as additional Identity Federation Services.

Windows 7 Service Pack 1 also resolves a bug related to HDMI audio and another related to printing XPS documents.

Windows 7’s end of support

Before January 14, 2020

Unlike when Windows XP was reaching its support deadline, Microsoft decided that they should inform the users more about the end of support so they can be ready to switch from Windows 7. In May 2019 Microsoft started to send messages that Windows 7 was going to become more vulnerable to viruses and malware. This time, instead of recommending users to upgrade to the latest version of Windows, they recommended buying a new PC with Windows 10.

After January 14, 2020

In a support document, Microsoft has stated that a full-screen upgrade warning notification would be displayed on Windows 7 PCs on all editions except the Enterprise edition after January 15. The notification does not appear on machines connected to Active Directory, machines in kiosk mode, or machines subscribed for Extended Security Updates.

Trivia

• Windows 7 is the second major release of Windows (after Vista) to feature Aero transparency effects, though these graphical options are not included in Starter and Home Basic editions.^[9]
• Windows 10 and 11 support restoring from pre-existing Windows 7 backups through the «Backup and Restore (Windows 7)» Control Panel applet. As this feature had been deprecated with the release of Windows 8, File History remains the default and preferred method to back up local content in later versions of Windows.^[10] For the system image functionality, Microsoft recommends using third-party software.^[11]

References

External links

• Introducing Windows 7 at Microsoft (archived 2009-10-24)
  • Windows 7 support at Microsoft Support
  • Windows 7 for Developers at The Windows Blog (archived 2009-04-01)
  • Windows 7 Team Blog at The Windows Blog (archived 2008-10-31)
• Windows 7 at Wikipedia

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• Question

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  Hi,

  Can someone tell me the certified official released date for Windows 7 SP1 & Windows 2008 R2 SP1?

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  Regards, Bharath

  • Moved by
    David Wolters
    Friday, August 26, 2011 12:34 PM
    moving to a more appropriate forum (From:Windows 7 Optimized Desktop Deployment Proof of Concept)

  Thursday, August 25, 2011 5:30 PM

Windows 7

Version of Microsoft Windows
OS family	Windows NT
Version	6.1
Codename	Windows 7[1]
Architecture	x86, x64
Latest build	6.1.7601.17514
Release date	2009-10-22
Support end	2020-01-14 2023-01-10 (with Extended Security Updates)
Server counterpart
Windows Server 2008 R2
Replaces
Windows Vista
Replaced by
Windows 8

Windows 7 is an operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on 22 July 2009 and made generally available on 22 October 2009. It is the eighth operating system in the Windows NT operating system line. It is intended to fix many of the issues users perceived with Windows Vista. Windows 7 has NT kernel version 6.1, making it a minor update to Windows Vista. Windows 7 improved performance on older hardware, while also improving many areas of the Aero user interface. It is one of Microsoft’s most popular operating systems, still running on 9.55% of desktop and laptop computers as of January 2023.^[2] Windows 7 is the first version to support upgrade paths to Windows 8, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 and the only version to support upgrade paths from Windows Vista.

It replaces Windows Vista and was replaced by Windows 8. Mainstream support ended on 13 January 2015, while free extended support ended on 14 January 2020. For Professional and Enterprise users, paid extended support ended on 10 January 2023. It is the last version of Windows that supports processors without PAE, SSE2 and NX (Update KB4088875 removes support for processors without SSE2), and is the last to receive a Service Pack from Microsoft.

A pre-RTM build, 7600.16384, was speculated to be the final version of the product but had a flaw in Internet Explorer 8 which prevented it from shipping.

Windows 7 drops the ability to upgrade from Windows XP, requiring at least Windows Vista.

Name[edit | edit source]

The name «Windows 7» comes from the major version number of Windows Vista (6.0) being incremented by one, with the 7.0 kernel version being used internally for several weeks before shortly being bumped down to 6.1 around the time of build 6469’s compilation. The kernel version acted as the project’s codename, and was eventually used as the final name as well.^[1] Contrary to popular belief, the previous codenames of Blackcomb and/or Vienna refer to an earlier effort intended to succeed Windows Vista, which was canceled in early 2007 due to time and feature constraints, and was instead replaced with the Windows 7 project.^[1]

Editions[edit | edit source]

Windows 7 was shipped in the following SKUs:

• Starter: A low-end edition available only through OEMs. It is usually found preinstalled on netbooks, tablets and cheap laptops. It does not include the Windows Aero theme and does not support changing the desktop wallpaper or visual styles. Supports 2 GB of RAM at most and comes in an x86 version only.
• Home Basic: Available in emerging markets, such as India, Mexico, Brazil, Russia and others. It includes the Aero theme, but some of its features are disabled. This edition came in x86 and x64 versions.
• Home Premium: Standard edition aimed at the home customer segment and is most commonly preinstalled on new computers and laptops. It includes the fully featured Aero theme and Windows Media Center.
• Professional: Replaces Vista’s Business edition and includes all features of Home Premium. It adds the ability to join a domain and other features commonly used in business environments, and additionally supports activation over a KMS server.
• Ultimate and Enterprise: The top-level editions of Windows 7. They are identical with regards to supported features, with both editions including all functionality of Professional and adding MUI support. The only difference between the two is that Ultimate was available directly to end customers via OEM and retail channels, can be activated only by WPA and have premium games enabled by default, while Enterprise was only offered to businesses through Software Assurance, supports activation over a KMS server and has the premium games disabled.

The above editions are also offered in N and KN variants without Windows Media Player in order to meet European and Korean legislation, respectively. An E variant which would have also removed Internet Explorer in order to comply with European Commission antitrust regulations was also planned, but was not made generally available days after the operating system had already been released to manufacturing.^[3] The Browser Choice ballot screen was introduced as a replacement to satisfy the European Union’s demands.^[4] Some builds leading up to the RTM, including the RTM build itself, are available in this variant.

Main changes[edit | edit source]

Interface[edit | edit source]

Although very similar to Windows Vista, Windows 7 brings many enhancements to the desktop experience.

The Taskbar received a major overhaul with larger buttons, hidden labels, and the ability to pin applications directly onto it. Pinned and running applications can also be rearranged across the Taskbar. By hovering over an application, a window preview will appear. Moving the cursor over the preview allows the user to get a better view of the running application. The preview also contains the option to close the application, view its label, or adjust its media controls (if supported). The ability to hide icons from the system tray has been added, and can be accessed from a dedicated taskbar flyout. The Show Desktop button, last seen in Windows 98 build 1415 and Windows 2000 build 1796.1, has been reimplemented. Its functionality is mostly the same with the additional inclusion of Aero Peek, which shows a preview of the desktop when hovered over.

A new feature, Jump Lists, allow users to easily get back to what they were doing by showing recently accessed files and websites. These can be pinned to the top of the Jump List to be easily accessible later. Jump Lists can also include Tasks, which are actions the application can perform. Jump Lists can be accessed by right clicking its icon on the Taskbar, as well as from within the Start menu.

Additionally, some programs such as Control Panel, Windows Explorer, Calculator and Paint have had their icons revamped as well with the icons having a flat, heads-on apperance rather than being in a 3/4 view. Otherwise, the icon set is mostly the same as Windows Vista.

The Start menu is very similar to its Windows Vista counterpart, with a customizable shutdown toggle replacing the lock/sleep toggles from before. The classic Start menu however, has been removed. The color of the Start menu’s right column is no longer a darker color and now matches the user’s selected Aero Glass color. The design of the Start orb has also been slightly updated with the orb now having a fade-in highlight effect when the user hovers their mouse cursor over it.

The Windows Sidebar has also been replaced with the Desktop Gadget Gallery, which allows users to freely place gadgets across the desktop, and can be easily resized. A Windows Media Center gadget has been added, whereas the stocks and note Gadgets have been removed.

A new multitasking feature for application windows known as Aero Snap has been added. With Aero Snap, the user can easily snap two windows side-by-side on the desktop. An application window can be snapped by moving it to either the left or right edges of the screen. As the user snaps an window, a transparent border will appear, indicating where the window will be on the screen when the user releases it with the mouse.

Two major user interfaces have also been introduced for device management which are Devices and Printers and Device Stage. The Devices and Printers is a Control Panel applet that replaces the Printers window and shows a limited icon view of connected devices and printers and allows easier access to certain device-specific features when right-clicking on certain device icons. Device Stage is a centralized interface that appears when the user clicks the icon of a device from the Devices and Printers applet and contains actions that are relevant to the selected device. The Device Stage interface may also display a image of the selected device if it is present otherwise, the system will need to connect to the internet to download the image of the device. If the selected device does not support Device Stage, a generic interface with a limited set of actions will be shown instead.

Windows Explorer introduces Libraries, which can help users organize frequent files types to be accessed from one place. Documents, Music, Pictures, Recorded TV, and Videos are added by default, but users can create their own custom Libraries if needed. HomeGroup is also a new feature, which allows users to connect to other PCs on their network and share files between them. The Navigation Pane has been simplified, and shows frequent places within the System instead (Favorites, Libraries, HomeGroup, My Computer, and Network). However, the classic Windows Vista view can be re-enabled by selecting «Show all folders» within Folder Options. The Command Bar and Details Pane have also been redesigned, but functions about the same as in Windows Vista.

The Control Panel receives a redesigned start page, which removes the sidebar from previous versions of Windows. The sidebar only appears when a user clicks into a category or page. Classic view has been reworked, and can be accessed by selecting «Large Icons» or «Small Icons» within the «View by:» menu. The Action Center has been added under the new «System and Security» category. This interface replaces the Security Center. It functions very similarly, while also giving suggestions every so often. It also contains various links for opening the troubleshooters. Personalization settings have been overhauled, with an entirely new experience. Themes are upfront and take up most of the space, rather then being a small Windows XP-styled applet. Many new themes, wallpapers, and colors can be selected from this view. Display settings have been moved out of Personalization, and now have its own dedicated section within the Control Panel and DPI and resolution settings can be changed much more easier than in previous versions of Windows. Many more pages have been added as well, such as Getting Started, Windows Firewall, Devices and Printers, Taskbar Icons, and HomeGroup.

Applications[edit | edit source]

Many changes to built-in Windows applications can be seen with this release.

• Paint and WordPad have been updated to use the Ribbon interface found in Office 2007, which came out before the operating system was released, however with the Office menu being replaced with the File tab. Paint also gets new brush types, and shape tools.
• Calculator has been updated and features a new design and layout. Unit converters have also been added in.
• Internet Explorer 8 adds suggested websites, relocated the favorites bar, and improves compatibility. It can be updated to Internet Explorer 11.
• Windows Media Player 12 features a new design and layout.
• Windows Easy Transfer has been simplified.
• Windows Photo Viewer has been added to replace the built-in Windows Photo Gallery. It is similar to Windows Picture and Fax Viewer from Windows XP in terms of functionality.
• Windows Media Center has updated UI elements.
• Windows Anytime Upgrade received major changes. Components for the upgraded editions are now preinstalled with the operating system thus speeding up the upgrade process significantly. It also no longer requires physical media or addtional software and the user is simply required to purchase a license online for the edition that the user wants to upgrade to.
• XPS Viewer adds native support for viewing XPS files.
• Windows PowerShell has been added as a built-in application.
• Sticky Notes replaces the Notes gadget and is much easier to use than its Windows XP/Vista counterpart.
• Many Ease of Access applications, such as the magnifier and on-screen keyboard, have been overhauled.
• Internet Spades, Internet Backgammon and Internet Checkers were readded after being absent from Windows Vista.
• Many Windows Vista apps, such as Windows DVD Maker, Remote Desktop and Help and Support, have been updated to fit the design of Windows 7.
• The Welcome Center Control Panel applet from Windows Vista has been renamed to Getting Started featuring less links and no longer opens automatically when Windows 7 boots up. Instead, it is prominently listed at the top of the Start menu.
• Many built-in Windows Vista apps, such as Windows Mail, Photo Gallery, Calendar and Movie Maker, have been removed and were replaced by Windows Live-branded versions as part of the Windows Live Essentials suite.
• Windows Meeting Space has been removed.
• InkBall has been removed.
• Windows Import Video has been removed.
• Software Explorer has been removed from Windows Defender. It no longer notifies users if User Account Control blocks a startup program that requires administrator privileges.
• The Web filtering and Activity reporting features have been removed from Parental Controls.
• The Windows Ultimate Extras which were introduced with the Ultimate edition of Windows Vista as an add-on pack that included games, security features and other extras have been removed from the Ultimate edition of Windows 7 and are removed when upgrading from an installation of Windows Vista Ultimate that had the extras installed and the associated Control Panel and Welcome Center entries have also been removed.

Other changes[edit | edit source]

• User Account Control no longer prompts users when they make changes to Windows settings that require elevated permission by default. Additionally, a new Control Panel applet has been added to adjust the level at which UAC operates.
• Support for Virtual Hard Disk files were added.
• The Windows Recovery Environment is now installed to a hidden partition with the rest of the operating system. This allows the boot loader to automatically start WinRE whenever it deems it necessary.
• DirectX 11 was introduced.
• More Windows features and components can be turned off.
• Support for a cut-down version of Virtual PC called Windows Virtual PC was added for the Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate editions as an optional add-on that could be downloaded from the Microsoft website until Windows 7’s end of life. It enables support for Windows XP Mode which is a virtual machine that has Windows XP SP3 installed. It allows Windows XP applications to be ran natively on the Windows 7 desktop.
• Remote Assistance does not support file transfer or clipboard sharing.
• The Quick Launch toolbar was removed since programs can be pinned directly to the taskbar.
• The About Windows applet no longer displays the system’s RAM.
• The Language bar is the only toolbar that can float directly on the desktop and not Quick Launch like with Windows Vista.
• AutoPlay no longer prompts users to install software that is stored on a USB drive for security reasons. Users will have to manually browse the drive to install the application. AutoPlay also no longer detects HD DVD discs.
• The login screen wallpaper can now be customized by OEMs via the Windows Registry.
• Floating toolbars are no longer supported.
• Live taskbar thumbnails can no longer be turned off.
• If a folder’s properties are opened in Libraries, the Customize tab will be removed.
• The List, Details, Extra large icons, Large icons and Medium icons views from Control Panel have been removed.
• The default e-mail and internet browser applications can no longer be pinned dynamically to the Start menu.
• The tooltips for system tray icons like Volume, Network, Power and the clock no longer show any icons.
• The Microsoft Agent technology is no longer included with the operating system, breaking compatibility with applications that rely on it. An installation package can be downloaded from the Microsoft website to restore it.

System requirements[edit | edit source]

Microsoft recommends Windows 7 to be installed on a system with a processor with a speed of at least 1 GHz, at least 1 GB of RAM (at least 2 GB of RAM for Windows 7 x64), 16 GB of hard drive space (20 GB for Windows 7 x64), a DirectX 9-based WDDM display adapter or better display adapter, a DVD-ROM drive.^[5] Microsoft also recommends Windows Vista to be upgraded to Windows 7 on the same system requirements. Windows 7 drops support for CD-ROM installation.

Windows 7’s setup doesn’t check for a required processor generation or speed to install as long as setup can start, and thus it is possible to install Windows 7 on processors as early as the original Pentium. Windows 7 can also be run with as low as 256 MB of RAM. SVGA cards can still be used, but will result in most WDDM-required features to become unavailable.

Hardware compatibility[edit | edit source]

Windows 7 is fully compatible with Intel Skylake and earlier. Later processors are not officially supported as Windows Update is disabled and integrated Intel Graphics drivers do not work, although users have come up with hacks to get both working. In some cases, integrating USB 3.0 drivers into the installation media may be necessary in order to successfully install Windows 7 on modern machines due to the lack of USB 3.0 support, which was not introduced until Windows 8 build 7777. The P-cores and E-cores on Intel Alder Lake and later processors are incorrectly identified as two physical processors in Windows 7.

Though no hacks currently exist to allow Intel Graphics to work on Tiger Lake (11th-generation) and up, the latest chipset drivers still work on Windows 7.

Build 6519 introduced a feature internally known as «drift correction», which resolves issues related to CPU clock circuit timing that can potentially prevent services from starting up correctly. Clock drift/timing issues plague Windows Vista on Haswell and newer processors from Intel, where the OS will often not boot up successfully or boot up with many services having failed to start due to drift. Hobbyists are figuring out how to port this feature to Windows Vista to resolve this problem.

As of 2018, Microsoft dropped support for Windows 7 on processors without SSE2 instructions.^[6] Installing most updates released from 2018 or later on non-SSE2 compatible systems will result in a bugcheck due to the lack of instructions that the updated files (including bootloader) require.

List of known builds[edit | edit source]

Milestone 1[edit | edit source]

Milestone 2[edit | edit source]

Milestone 3[edit | edit source]

Beta[edit | edit source]

Release Candidate[edit | edit source]

Pre-RTM[edit | edit source]

RTM Escrow[edit | edit source]

RTM[edit | edit source]

Service Pack 1[edit | edit source]

Beta[edit | edit source]

Release Candidate[edit | edit source]

RTM[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

Microsoft Windows 7 was one of the most successful versions of the Windows operating system line ever released.

Windows 7 Release Date

Windows 7 was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009. It was made available to the public on October 22, 2009.

It’s preceded by Windows Vista, and succeeded by Windows 8.

Windows 11 is the latest version of Windows, released in 2021.

Windows 7 Support

The Windows 7 end-of-life was on January 14, 2020. This was when Microsoft discontinued technical support and quit supplying Windows 7 users with software updates and security fixes through Windows Update.

On January 14, 2020, Microsoft also ended support for the following for Windows 7 users:

• Internet Explorer
• Games like Internet Checkers and Internet Backgammon
• Microsoft Security Essentials platform (signature updates remain)

Although Windows 7 has been discontinued, it can still be activated and installed on new computers. If you’re a Microsoft 365 user, Microsoft continued to provide security updates for Microsoft 365 through January 2023, but not feature updates.

It’s recommended that you install Windows 11 to continue getting security and feature updates for Windows.

Windows 7 Editions

Six editions of Windows 7 were available, with these first three being the only ones for sale directly to the consumer:

• Windows 7 Ultimate  
• Windows 7 Professional 
• Windows 7 Home Premium  
• Windows 7 Enterprise
• Windows 7 Starter
• Windows 7 Home Basic

Except for Windows 7 Starter, all of those versions were available in either 32-bit or 64-bit versions.

While this version of Windows is no longer supported, produced, or sold by Microsoft, you can still find copies floating around on Amazon.com or eBay.

The Best Version of Windows 7 For You

Windows 7 Ultimate is the, well, ultimate version of Windows 7, containing all the features available in Professional and Home Premium, plus BitLocker technology. Windows 7 Ultimate also has the largest language support.

Windows 7 Professional (aka, Windows 7 Pro) contains all the features available in Home Premium, plus Windows XP Mode, network backup features, and domain access, making this the right choice for medium and small business owners.

Windows 7 Home Premium is the version designed for the standard home user, including all the non-business bells and whistles that make Windows 7…well, Windows 7! This tier is also available in a «family pack» that allows installation on up to three separate computers. Most Windows 7 licenses allow installation onto only one device.

Windows 7 Enterprise is designed for large organizations. Windows 7 Starter is only available for pre-installation by computer makers, usually on netbooks and other small form-factor or lower-end computers. Windows 7 Home Basic is only available in some developing countries.

Windows 7 Minimum Requirements

Windows 7 requires the following hardware, at a minimum:

• CPU: 1 GHz
• RAM: 1 GB (2 GB for 64-bit versions)
• Hard Drive: 16 GB free space (20 GB free for 64-bit versions)

Your graphics card needs to support DirectX 9 if you plan to utilize Aero. Also, if you intend on installing Window 7 using DVD media, your optical drive will need to support DVD discs.

Windows 7 Hardware Limitations

Windows 7 Starter is limited to 2 GB of RAM, and 32-bit versions of all other editions of Windows 7 are limited to 4 GB.

Depending on the edition, 64-bit versions support considerably more memory. Ultimate, Professional, and Enterprise support up to 192 GB, Home Premium 16 GB, and Home Basic 8 GB.

CPU support is a little more complicated. Enterprise, Ultimate, and Professional support up to 2 physical CPUs, while Home Premium, Home Basic, and Starter only support one CPU. However, 32-bit versions of Windows 7 support up to 32 logical processors and 64-bit versions support up to 256.

Windows 7 Service Packs

The most recent service pack for Windows 7 is Service Pack 1 (SP1) which was released on February 9, 2011. An additional «rollup» update, a sort of Windows 7 SP2, was also made available in mid-2016.

See Latest Microsoft Windows Service Packs for more information about Windows 7 SP1 and the Windows 7 Convenience Rollup.

The initial release of Windows 7 has the version number 6.1.7600.

More About Windows 7

We have a lot of Windows 7-related content, such as how-to and troubleshooting guides like how to fix a sideways or upside down screen, what to do if you’ve forgotten your Windows password, how to start Windows 7 in Safe Mode, how to speed up Windows 7, how to use the Startup Repair tool, and how to delete Windows 7 services.

You can also find Windows 7 drivers, a guide on how to install Windows 7 from USB, and Windows 7 system monitoring gadgets.

If you need additional help or other resources, be sure to search for what you’re after using the search bar at the top of the page.

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