Last Updated on February 27, 2024 by Ali Hamza

Windows 7 was a major release Windows NT of the Microsoft operating system. It was made available to manufacturers on July 22, 2009 and then became widely accessible on October 22, 2009. It replaces Windows Vista which was released almost three years ago. It was still an operating system that could be used on personal computers (including laptops and tablets) and for business purposes. Windows 8 replaced it in November 2012.

Windows 7’s original release included updates and technical support until April 9, 2013. After that, users will need to install Service Pack 1 in order to receive support or updates. The server Windows 7 counterpart, Windows Server 2008. R2 was also released. Windows Embedded POSReady 7 was the last supported Windows version based on this operating platform. It was released July 1, 2011. There is a support program for enterprises that provides security updates for Windows 7 for up four years after the end of the official life cycle. This was over ten years after the release of Windows 7.

Windows 7 was designed to be an incremental update to microsoft Windows. It addresses Windows Vista’s poor reception and maintains hardware and software compatibility. Windows 7 continues to improve Windows Aero’s user interface by adding a new taskbar which allows for pinned apps, as well as new window management features. The operating system also features new features such as libraries, HomeGroup file-sharing system, and support for multitouch input. To provide an overview of system security, maintenance information, and to make the User account Control system less intrusive, a new ” Activity Center” was added. Windows 7 ships with the latest versions of several stock apps, including Internet Explorer8, Windows Media Player and Windows Media Center.

Windows 7 was not like Vista. It received praise from critics for its performance, intuitive interface, less User Control popups and other improvements across the platform. Microsoft’s Windows 7 was a huge success. Pre-order sales on the online retailer Amazon.com surpassed all previous records. Over 100 million copies of Windows 7 were sold in six months. This number grew to more than 630 million by July 2012. By January 2018, Windows 10 surpassed Windows 7 as the most popular version of Windows worldwide.[14] As of May 2022, 12.62% of traditional PCs running Windows are running Windows 7.[15] It still remains popular in countries such as Syria, China, India, and Venezuela.[16][17][18]

Windows 7 is the last version of Windows that supports processors with SSE2 and NX, although an update in 2018 removed support for non-SSE2 CPUs. Windows 8 is the successor to it and requires a processor with NX or SSE2 in any supported architecture.

History of development

Originally, a Windows version codenamed Blackcomb was planned to replace Windows XP or Windows Server 2003. Blackcomb was to include major features such as the ability to query and search data, and an advanced storage system called WinFS that would allow for such scenarios. An interim, minor release codenamed “Longhorn” was announced for 2003. This delayed the development of Blackcomb. Three major malware attacks–the Blaster and Nachi worms–have exposed flaws in Windows operating system systems in a very short time span in August 2003.[20] Microsoft changed its priorities and put some of Longhorn’s major development work on hold, while it developed new service packs for Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2003. In August 2004, The development of Longhorn (Windows Vista), was also restarted. Many features were removed from Longhorn.[21] Vienna was renamed Vienna early 2006.[22] The development of Windows Vista (Development of Windows Vista) was also restarted in August 2004.

Windows Vista’s slow development time and compatibility issues with older hardware and software led to a class action lawsuit. Windows 7 was developed by approximately 1,000 developers. An estimated 1,000 developers worked on Windows 7.

[34][35] Some confusion has arisen over the name of Windows 7; however, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer stated that Windows 7 was a refined version Windows Vista.

Microsoft displayed Windows 7 at PDC 2008. Some areas of Windows 7 Beta did not perform as well as XP. These included the boot and shutdown times and working with files, such loading documents.

MSDN subscribers and TechNet subscribers as well as Connect Program participants were able to download the release candidate build 7100 on April 30, 2009. Microsoft released Windows 7 to MSDN and Technet subscribers on May 5, 2009. Microsoft released Windows 7 to Technet subscribers and MSDN subscribers on August 6, 2009. [50] Microsoft also announced that Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 were released to manufacturing in the United States 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.

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