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Windows 7 vs. Windows 10: 5 Reasons Your Old Love Is Still Going Strong

Some people refuse to give up Windows 7 and upgrade to Windows 10. Why? Well, there are lots of contributing factors.

Windows 10 is now more than three years old. The operating system certainly isn’t perfect, but users and critics both mostly agree that it’s is the best operating system Microsoft has ever produced.

And yet some people refuse to give up Windows 7. Why? There are lots of contributing factors. Let’s take a look.

How Many People Still Use Windows 7?

Windows 7 and Windows 10 are almost neck and neck in terms of user numbers.

Precise figures are impossible to find. However, StatCounter said Windows 10 had overtaken Windows 7’s market share back in February 2018. Contrarily, the latest data from analytics company Net Applications (August 2018) put Windows 7 on 40.3% and Windows 10 on 37.8%.

In truth, most of the Windows 7 market share is made up by the business sector. Many of those companies are now scrambling to make the switch to Windows 10. Free extended support for Windows 7 will end in January 2020, less than 18 months away (we’ve got tips for Windows 7 at end of life.) If they want official support through to 2023, they will have to pay a considerable price.

But even away from the business world, lots of home users refuse to upgrade—despite mainstream support ending in January 2015. Before continuing, make sure you know how to check your Windows version if you’re not sure.

Why Is Windows 7 Still So Popular?

In July 2019, Windows 7 will celebrate its 10th birthday. The fact it’s still clinging on to its title as the world’s most popular operating system nearly a decade after its release is a testament to its original quality.

But let’s be honest, there’s no way that a 10-year-old operating system should be number one. So, what’s going on? Why do so many people and businesses still use it?

Here are our top five reasons.

1. Security and Privacy

If you spend some time browsing this topic on the web’s various dedicated Windows forums, there’s one reason that stands out above all others: security and privacy.

The biggest criticism leveled at Windows 10 is its ongoing collection of telemetry data. It’s a valid point; Windows 10 does amass far more data about your usage habits than Windows 7. Lots of users are uncomfortable with it and choose not to upgrade.

Luckily, if you’re a privacy fanatic, there are plenty of third-party tools you can use that’ll entirely disable the telemetry on Windows 10.

As for the operating system’s security, the argument that Windows 7 is more secure than Windows 10 is downright false. Features like Device Guard, UEFI secure boot, BitLocker, and Windows Hello all make the newer operating system much more robust.

The facts support the theory. Security firm Webroot says the average Windows 10 machine had 0.04 malware files present in 2017, while the average Windows 7 computer had 0.08 malware files. Furthermore, just 15 percent of all malware was on Windows 10 machines, while 63 percent was on Windows 7.

2. Software Compatibility and Legacy Apps

Windows 7 still boasts better software compatibility than Windows 10.

Of course, we’re not talking about Photoshop, Spotify, Microsoft Word, Steam or any of the other mainstream apps; they all supported Windows 10 from its release day.

Instead, we’re talking about the millions of third-party apps and proprietary in-house software that often perform a very specific function and which lots of people rely on every day. Indeed, the reliance on legacy software is why so many businesses have been slow to upgrade.

Similarly, lots of people don’t want to upgrade to Windows 10 because they heavily rely on legacy Windows 7 apps and features that are not part of the newer operating system.

For example, Windows Photo Viewer and Windows Movie Maker can be installed on Windows 10, but in practical terms, they are both dead. Microsoft has also completely killed Windows Media Center in Windows 10. Perhaps apps like Kodi and Plex can fill the void, but a lot of users want to keep using the same apps that they’ve used for the last decade.

3. Familiarity

Many people worry about adapting to new things when it comes to technology. Menus and settings in different places can lead to confusion and decreased productivity.

One only has to look at the debacle over the Start menu in Windows 8 to see evidence of the hysteria in action. In hindsight, was a Start screen rather than a Start menu really that bad? Probably not.

If you’ve been using Windows 7 exclusively since its release in 2009—and you never used the transitory Windows 8—the different between interfaces, layouts, and menus is jarring.

For some Windows 7 users, it’s simply not worth spending the time to adapt to the new version.

4. Hardware Restrictions

On paper, Windows 7 and Windows 10 have identical hardware requirements. They are:

• Processor: 1 GHz or faster.
• RAM: 1 GB (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit).
• Free hard disk space: 16 GB.
• Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver.

However, if you try to install Windows 10 on a computer at the bottom end of those specs, you’re going to run into considerable difficulties.

I speak from experience; my wife had an old Dell Notebook lying around with a 1Ghz processor and 1 GB of RAM. I performed a clean install of Windows 10, but after completion, the hardware struggled to complete even the most basic tasks in a timely manner

For people whose hardware is showing its age, it’s just too much of a risk to upgrade to Windows 10.

5. Forced Updates

Three years after launch, and the Windows 10 forced update saga is still rumbling on. Yes, the situation is much better than it used to be. But no, you still don’t have 100 percent control over your operating system.

And for lots of people, that lack of control is a red line. What happens if an update breaks an app you rely on every day? After all, it’s not like Microsoft (or any other company) has a blemish-free record when it comes to buggy updates.

Again, for some people, the potential risk is simply not worth taking in exchange for the perceived limited benefits.

Should You Upgrade to Windows 10?

In a word, yes. MakeUseOf strongly recommends that you upgrade to Windows 10. The new operating system offers more features, a more modern user interface, and enhanced security when compared to its predecessor.

We also recommend that for problem-free Windows 10 experience, you perform a clean install of the operating system. Just make sure you create full backups of all your data before you do so. And before you upgrade to Windows 10 Pro, see whether it’s worth the cost.

If you need desktop PC performance in a space-saving unit, consider one of these best mini PCs for your home.

Dan joined MakeUseOf in 2014 and has been Partnerships Director since July 2020. Reach out to him for inquires about sponsored content, affiliate agreements, promotions, and any other forms of partnership. You can also find him roaming the show floor at CES in Las Vegas every year, say hi if you’re going. Prior to his writing career, he was a Financial Consultant.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Windows Subsystem for Linux

What is Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)?

The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is a feature of Windows 10 that enables you to run native Linux command-line tools directly on Windows, alongside your traditional Windows desktop and apps.

See the about page for more details.

Who is WSL for?

This is primarily a tool for developers, especially web developers, those working on open source projects, or deploying to Linux server environments. WSL is for anyone who likes using Bash, common Linux tools ( sed , awk , etc.) and Linux-first frameworks (Ruby, Python, etc.) but also enjoys using Windows productivity tools

What can I do with WSL?

WSL enables you to run Linux in a Bash shell with your choice of distribution (Ubuntu, Debian, OpenSUSE, Kali, Alpine, etc). Using Bash, you can run command-line Linux tools and apps. For example, type lsb_release -a and hit enter; you’ll see details of the Linux distro currently running:

You can also access your local machine’s file system from within the Linux Bash shell – you’ll find your local drives mounted under the /mnt folder. For example, your C: drive is mounted under /mnt/c :

Could you describe a typical development workflow that incorporates WSL?

WSL targets a developer audience with the intent to be used as part of an inner development loop. Let’s say that Sam is creating a CI/CD pipeline (Continuous Integration & Continuous Delivery) and wants to test it first on a local machine (laptop) before deploying it to the cloud. Sam can enable WSL (& WSL 2 to improve speed and performance), and then use a genuine Linux Ubuntu instance locally (on the laptop) with whatever Bash commands and tools they prefer. Once the development pipeline is verified locally, Sam can then push that CI/CD pipeline up to the cloud (ie Azure) by making it into a Docker container and pushing the container to a cloud instance where it runs on a production-ready Ubuntu VM.

What is Bash?

Bash is a popular text-based shell and command-language. It is the default shell included within Ubuntu and other Linux distros, and in macOS. Users type commands into a shell to execute scripts and/or run commands and tools to accomplish many tasks.

How does this work?

Check out our blog where we go into detail about the underlying technology.

Why would I use WSL rather than Linux in a VM?

WSL requires fewer resources (CPU, memory, and storage) than a full virtual machine. WSL also allows you to run Linux command-line tools and apps alongside your Windows command-line, desktop and store apps, and to access your Windows files from within Linux. This enables you to use Windows apps and Linux command-line tools on the same set of files if you wish.

Why would I use, for example, Ruby on Linux instead of on Windows?

Some cross-platform tools were built assuming that the environment in which they run behaves like Linux. For example, some tools assume that they are able to access very long file paths or that specific files/folders exist. This often causes problems on Windows which often behaves differently from Linux.

Many languages like Ruby and node are often ported to, and run great, on Windows. However, not all of the Ruby Gem or node/NPM library owners port their libraries to support Windows, and many have Linux-specific dependencies. This can often result in systems built using such tools and libraries suffering from build and sometimes runtime errors or unwanted behaviors on Windows.

These are just some of issues that caused many people to ask Microsoft to improve Windows’ command-line tools and what drove us to partner with Canonical to enable native Bash and Linux command-line tools to run on Windows.

What does this mean for PowerShell?

While working with OSS projects, there are numerous scenarios where it’s immensely useful to drop into Bash from a PowerShell prompt. Bash support is complementary and strengthens the value of the command-line on Windows, allowing PowerShell and the PowerShell community to leverage other popular technologies.

Can I run ALL Linux apps in WSL?

No! WSL is a tool aimed at enabling users who need them to run Bash and core Linux command-line tools on Windows.

WSL does not yet support GUI desktops or applications (e.g. Gnome, KDE, etc.) Follow the Command Line Blog for updates.

Also, even though you will be able to run many popular server applications (e.g. Redis), we do not recommend WSL for hosting production services – Microsoft offers a variety of solutions for running production Linux workloads in Azure, Hyper-V, and Docker.

What Windows SKUs is WSL included in?

Windows Subsystem for Linux is available on the desktop version of Windows for Windows 10 Anniversary and Creators update or later.

Beginning in the Fall Creators update WSL will be available on both the desktop and server SKUs of Windows.

What processors does WSL support?

WSL supports x64 and ARM CPUs.

How do I access my C: drive?

Mount points for hard drives on the local machine are automatically created and provide easy access to the Windows file system.

/mnt/ /

Example usage would be cd /mnt/c to access c:\

How do I set up Git Credential Manager? (How do I use my Windows Git permissions in WSL?)

Git Credential Manager enables you to authenticate a remote Git server, even if you have a complex authentication pattern like Azure Active Directory or two-factor authentication. Git Credential Manager integrates into the authentication flow for services like GitHub and, once you’re authenticated to your hosting provider, requests a new authentication token. It then stores the token securely in the Windows Credential Manager. After the first time, you can use git to talk to your hosting provider without needing to re-authenticate. It will just access the token in the Windows Credential Manager.

To set up Git Credential Manager for use with a WSL distribution, open your distribution and enter this command:

Now any git operation you perform within your WSL distribution will use the credential manager. If you already have credentials cached for a host, it will access them from the credential manager. If not, you’ll receive a dialog response requesting your credentials, even if you’re in a Linux console.

How do I use a Windows file with a Linux app?

One of the benefits of WSL is being able to access your files via both Windows and Linux apps or tools.

WSL mounts your machine’s fixed drives under the /mnt/ folder in your Linux distros. For example, your C: drive is mounted under /mnt/c/

Using your mounted drives, you can edit code in, for example, C:\dev\myproj\ using Visual Studio / or VS Code, and build/test that code in Linux by accessing the same files via /mnt/c/dev/myproj .

IMPORTANT NOTE: One of the key limitations of using WSL is that directly accessing/changing files in your Linux distros’ file system using Windows apps or tools is not supported. See: Do not change Linux files using Windows apps and tools

Are files in the Linux drive different from the mounted Windows drive?

Files under the Linux root (i.e. / ) are controlled by WSL which mimics Linux specific behavior, including but not limited to:

• Files which contain invalid Windows filename characters
• Symlinks created for non-admin users
• Changing file attributes through chmod and chown
• File/folder case sensitivity

Files in mounted drives are controlled by Windows and have the following behaviors:

• Support case sensitivity
• All permissions are set to best reflect the Windows permissions

Why are there so many errors when I run apt-get upgrade?

Some packages use features that we haven’t implemented yet. udev , for example, isn’t supported yet and causes several apt-get upgrade errors.

To fix issues related to udev , follow the following steps:

Write the following to /usr/sbin/policy-rc.d and save your changes.

Add execute permissions to /usr/sbin/policy-rc.d

Run the following commands

How do I uninstall a WSL Distribution?

On builds prior to 1709 (16299) open a command prompt and run:

WSL distributions installed from the store can be uninstalled like any other Windows app, by right-clicking on the app tile and clicking Uninstall, or via PowerShell using the Remove-AppxPackage cmdlet).

Why does ping generate permission denied errors?

In WSL builds Properties -> Uncheck «Use legacy console»

Click OK

Why do I get «Error: 0x80040154» when I run bash.exe after upgrading Windows?

The «Windows Subsystem for Linux» feature may be disabled during a Windows update. If this happens the Windows feature must be re-enabled. Instructions for enabling the «Windows Subsystem for Linux» feature can be found in the Installation Guide.

How do I change the display language of WSL?

WSL install will try to automatically change the Ubuntu locale to match the locale of your Windows install. If you do not want this behavior you can run this command to change the Ubuntu locale after install completes. You will have to relaunch bash.exe for this change to take effect.

The below example changes to locale to en-US:

Why do I not have internet access from WSL?

Some users have reported issues with specific firewall applications blocking internet access in WSL. The firewalls reported are:

1. Kaspersky
2. AVG
3. Avast
4. Symantec Endpoint Protection
5. F-Secure

In some cases turning off the firewall allows for access. In some cases simply having the firewall installed looks to block access.

How do I access a port from WSL in Windows?

WSL shares the IP address of Windows, as it is running on Windows. As such you can access any ports on localhost e.g. if you had web content on port 1234 you could https://localhost:1234 into your Windows browser.

How can I back up my WSL distros, or move them from one drive to another?

The best way to backup or move your distros is via the export/import commands available in Windows Version 1809 and later. You can export your entire distribution to a tarball using the wsl —export command. You can then import this distro back into WSL using the wsl —import command, which can name a new drive location for the import, allowing you to backup and save states of (or move) your WSL distributions.

Please note that traditional backup services that backup files in your AppData folders (like Windows Backup) will not corrupt your Linux files.

Where can I provide feedback?

You can share feedback and ask questions through multiple channels.

If you have technical issues, or want to request new features please go to our Github issue tracker:

If you’d like to stay up to date with the latest WSL news you can do so with:

• Our command-line team blog
• Twitter. Please follow @craigaloewen on Twitter to learn of news, updates, etc.