Pending Windows updates!

[vomitHatSteve]

So Windows 7 hit its official EoL next year. If you want to keep receiving security updates (which you do), you have to pay MS an anually-increasing fee.

So what's everyone's update plan?

Obviously, my main work box is gonna have to go W10, which will probably entail some hardware upgrades. But I'm wondering if while I'm at it, I should move my install of W7 over to my air-gapped XP daw? This will give it some better compatibility with modern VSTs but might also require hardware upgrades there too!

[Greg_L]

Wait, what?

[SweetDan]

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows ... -7-support

EDIT: "...After January 14, 2020, Microsoft will no longer provide security updates or support for PCs running Windows 7..."

[WhiskeyJack]

So Windows 7 hit its official EoL next year. If you want to keep receiving security updates (which you do), you have to pay MS an anually-increasing fee.

So what's everyone's update plan?

Obviously, my main work box is gonna have to go W10, which will probably entail some hardware upgrades. But I'm wondering if while I'm at it, I should move my install of W7 over to my air-gapped XP daw? This will give it some better compatibility with modern VSTs but might also require hardware upgrades there too!

I am sort of dumb with this stuff. I have been thinking of upgrading to windows ten anyways and this might be a good motivator to do so, as well as upgrade to the latest version of reaper.

VHS, how on earth would i know what hardware upgrades i'd need to do to go from W7 to W10 on my machine?

[Tadpui]

This is one reason that moving to Win10 is a good idea. You don't want to be left holding a computer running an OS that is no longer receiving security updates, if it's connected to a network.

However...

Even though I'm a staunch supporter of Windows 10, it has had a rough couple of months. MS is trying to release 2 major Win10 revisions per year, and the October/November update this year has been an unmitigated disaster. Deleted files, revoked licenses, broken drivers...MS has left a trail of tears behind them with this latest update. Fortunately I've been spared any issues since I tend to get the updates late in the cycle for some reason.

As far as system requirements, MS has the minimum requirements listed on their website. Honestly I'd think that you'd have a rough time trying to run Win10 on a machine with the specs that they list.

https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1013329/

(oops, that's actually ASUS's website, not MS)

[Greg_L]

Man I hate computers. What if you have Win7 and never update it anyway?

[Tadpui]

Man I hate computers. What if you have Win7 and never update it anyway?

If it's not connected to the internet and it's not in a publicly accessible location, then there's not much problem with that.

Mainly the updates are about patching vulnerabilities that viruses, malware, etc. can take advantage of. That's mostly about compromising your personal data, using your computer as part of a botnet, or gaining access to your money or other assets. If the computer isn't connected to the internet then it's not much of an issue since the only other attack vector would be to physically be in front of that machine.

I can't remember who originally listed the 3 rules to running a completely secure computer, but they went something like this:
1 - do not own a computer
2 - do not connect it to the internet
3 - do not turn it on

[Greg_L]

If it's not connected to the internet and it's not in a publicly accessible location, then there's not much problem with that.

Mainly the updates are about patching vulnerabilities that viruses, malware, etc. can take advantage of. That's mostly about compromising your personal data, using your computer as part of a botnet, or gaining access to your money or other assets. If the computer isn't connected to the internet then it's not much of an issue since the only other attack vector would be to physically be in front of that machine.

I can't remember who originally listed the 3 rules to running a completely secure computer, but they went something like this:
1 - do not own a computer
2 - do not connect it to the internet
3 - do not turn it on

Mine is connected to the net. I think it's a Windows 7 machine. I don't even know.

[vomitHatSteve]

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows ... -7-support

EDIT: "...After January 14, 2020, Microsoft will no longer provide security updates or support for PCs running Windows 7..."

Whoops! I misread that by a year.

I was thinking of this blog post, which for some reason I read as 2019.

Those minimum hardware specs are pretty bogus. If you have 2GB of RAM, the OS will technically run, but it will be incredibly slow, and any software you may run on top of it (such as - say - a DAW or web browser) will bog it down entirely.

I'd recommend starting with 8 GB of RAM, any solid-state hard drive for the OS, a much bigger drive for data, and any modern processor.

Greg, if you didn't change any of the update settings and your PC is connected to the network, it will be installing updates automatically.

[WhiskeyJack]

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows ... -7-support

EDIT: "...After January 14, 2020, Microsoft will no longer provide security updates or support for PCs running Windows 7..."

Whoops! I misread that by a year.

I was thinking of this blog post, which for some reason I read as 2019.

Those minimum hardware specs are pretty bogus. If you have 2GB of RAM, the OS will technically run, but it will be incredibly slow, and any software you may run on top of it (such as - say - a DAW or web browser) will bog it down entirely.

I'd recommend starting with 8 GB of RAM, any solid-state hard drive for the OS, a much bigger drive for data, and any modern processor.

Greg, if you didn't change any of the update settings and your PC is connected to the network, it will be installing updates automatically.

i7 CPU's still considered modern ?

[Greg_L]

I'm so confused and too far behind on computer specs to understand any of this. i7? Solid state harddrive? WTF is that? They don't use tubes anymore?

[vomitHatSteve]

WJ:
Depends which one? The first generation ones from 2008 might be a little dubious.

Tho, the CPU is rarely the bottleneck these days.

Greg:
i7 is just a series of intel processors. (It's like Strat vs. Tele)
A solid state hard drive is like a USB drive scaled up to hard drive volumes. Way faster (because it doesn't need to spin a disk around*) and equivalently more expensive!

*This is a gross oversimplification.

[WhiskeyJack]

WJ:
Depends which one? The first generation ones from 2008 might be a little dubious.

Tho, the CPU is rarely the bottleneck these days.

Greg:
i7 is just a series of intel processors. (It's like Strat vs. Tele)
A solid state hard drive is like a USB drive scaled up to hard drive volumes. Way faster (because it doesn't need to spin a disk around*) and equivalently more expensive!

*This is a gross oversimplification.

Yes but profuoundly perfect. thanks Steve, I think my i7 is from around 2013 maybe? possibly 2015

[Minerman]

Man I hate computers. What if you have Win7 and never update it anyway?

Don't worry about it dude, just keep your pecker hard, your powder dry, & the world will turn...


Myself, I ain't gonna worry about all that shit, it's still like 2 years away, & even then I'm gonna stay on W7 until I have to use another OS...This computer isn't "new", it's a couple years old now, & I've only re-loaded the OS once since I've had it, which I do about once a year...Once I get it back to "factory", then install/un-install everything I need to, I turn the updates completely off...Matter of fact, I've ran all my recording computers like this, & really never had any issues...The last pc I had was an AMD quad core with 2 hdd's & that thing lasted about 8 years or so...If I'd been smart & replaced the power supply before it shit the bed, it might still be running...

Maybe I'm a bona-fide fuckin' idiot hillbilly for running my computers this way, but I've honestly had very little trouble with stuff like this ever since I started recording, like 10 years ago, so fuck it, I ain't worrying with all that shit...

Again, just keep your pecker hard, your powder dry, & the world will turn...

[vomitHatSteve]

Maybe I'm a bona-fide fuckin' idiot hillbilly for running my computers this way,

I mean... I wouldn't put it that way...

That is a very good way to end up in a botnet tho. Especially if you're using the computer for general web browsing or install a lot of software (especially software with network functionality (like a lot of modern DAWs with collaboration tools))

[rayc]

Moving from XP is a quantum leap in terms of hardware due to the insane amount of stuff running in the background. Masses of RAM needed.
I had to do this a couple of months ago and the amount of older stuff I can no longer use was such that I've had to change my templates and workflow.
in the end W10 isn't too bad - certainly a very different GUI and I'm still learning that. W7 seems a more linear development of GUI than W10 - like W10 had to prove it was BIG by being very different and requiring a steep learning curve.

[vomitHatSteve]

Moving from XP is a quantum leap in terms of hardware due to the insane amount of stuff running in the background. Masses of RAM needed.
I had to do this a couple of months ago and the amount of older stuff I can no longer use was such that I've had to change my templates and workflow.
in the end W10 isn't too bad - certainly a very different GUI and I'm still learning that. W7 seems a more linear development of GUI than W10 - like W10 had to prove it was BIG by being very different and requiring a steep learning curve.

Oh yeah, if you're trying to jump from XP to 10, you basically need a whole new computer (or your XP PC was way over-powered!)

[musicturtle]

My Windows 10 wouldn't do the last update(kept getting a corruption error of some sort), so I did a clean reset on the computer with latest version of Windows 10 and re-installed everything including the new Cubase 10. Makes a huge difference in performance, I had more junk on here than I thought.