Can you still use Windows 7 in 2026?
(14 April 2026) So, we've reached the arguable climax of this series' 2026 edition: Windows 7. Only one newer version will be covered (Windows 8.1), but Windows 7 is quite still usable, primarily piggybacking on the wide web app support and a still wide range of desktop apps that'll work on it. Unfortunately right now if you want an offline office suite or photo editor, you'll need to likely look at Microsoft Office 2010 or Adobe Photoshop CS6. But regardless of that, what still works on Windows 7? A lot, of course! ;)
Watch on YouTube
Software used
- Paint.NET 5.1.11
- Audacity 3.7.7
- DaVinci Resolve 20.3.2
Music (in chronological order)
- Know Myself by Patrick Patrikios, YouTube Audio Library
- Side Scroller by RKVC, YouTube Audio Library
- Smile by Slynk, YouTube Audio Library
- Sightlines by Jeremy Blake, YouTube Audio Library
Works Cited
- [1] "The History of Windows 7 Development", Michael MJD. 24 April 2020, accessed 31 March 2026. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNCpU4BaquY
- [2] "Windows Vista", BetaWiki. Last edited 4:19 EDT 5 April 2026, accessed 18:15 EDT 5 April 2026. https://betawiki.net/wiki/Windows_Vista
- [3] "Windows Blackcomb", BetaWiki. Last edited 4 February 2026, accessed 1 April 2026. https://betawiki.net/wiki/Windows_Blackcomb
- [4] "Windows 7 build 6429", BetaWiki. Last edited 13 September 2025, accessed 31 March 2026. https://betawiki.net/wiki/Windows_7_build_6429
- [5] "Windows 7 build 6469", BetaWiki. Last edited 14 December 2025, accessed 31 March 2026. https://betawiki.net/wiki/Windows_7_build_6469
- [6] "Windows 7", BetaWiki. Last edited 29 March 2026, accessed 31 March 2026. https://betawiki.net/wiki/Windows_7
- [7] "Windows 2000", English Wikipedia. Last edited 7 April 2026, accessed 8 April 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_2000
- [8] "Windows 7 build 6720", BetaWiki. Last edited 28 March 2026, accessed 31 March 2026. https://betawiki.net/wiki/Windows_7_build_6720
- [9] "Windows 7 build 6801", BetaWiki. Last edited 8 December 2025, accessed 8 April 2026. https://betawiki.net/wiki/Windows_7_build_6801
- [10] "Mojave Experiment", English Wikipedia. Last edited 9 April 2024, accessed 31 March 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mojave_Experiment
- [11] "Windows 7 build 6910", BetaWiki. Last edited 11 September 2025, accessed 31 March 2026. https://betawiki.net/wiki/Windows_7_build_6910
- [12] "Windows 7 build 7000", BetaWiki. Last edited 24 February 2026, accessed 31 March 2026. https://betawiki.net/wiki/Windows_7_build_7000
- [13] "Rush for Windows 7 downloads overwhelms Microsoft servers", Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 9 January 2009, accessed 31 March 2026. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-01-10/rush-for-windows-7-downloads-overwhelms-microsoft/261864
- [14] "Unlimited Windows 7 Beta Downloads Get Green Light from Microsoft", Marius Oiaga, Softpedia. 12 January 2009, accessed 31 March 2026. https://news.softpedia.com/news/Unlimited-Windows-7-Beta-Downloads-Get-Green-Light-from-Microsoft-101680.shtml
- [15] "Windows 7 review: like Vista, but good", Jack Schofield, The Guardian. 22 October 2009, accessed 31 March 2026. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2009/oct/22/windows-7-review
- [16] "Microsoft Windows 7 Beta 1", PCMag Australia. 8 January 2009, accessed 31 March 2026. https://au.pcmag.com/windows-7/6775/microsoft-windows-7-beta-1
- [17] "Microsoft Windows 7 review: Microsoft Windows 7", Seth Rosenblatt, CNET. 31 July 2009, accessed 31 March 2026. https://www.cnet.com/reviews/microsoft-windows-7-review/
- [18] "Windows 7", English Wikipedia. Last edited 23 March 2026, accessed 1 April 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7
- [19] "FAQ about Windows 7 ESU", Microsoft Learn. Accessed 9 April 2026. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-client/windows-7-eos-faq/windows-7-extended-security-updates-faq
- [20] "System Requirements for Apache OpenOffice 4.1.x", Apache OpenOffice. Accessed 9 April 2026. https://www.openoffice.org/dev_docs/source/sys_reqs_aoo41.html
- [21] "Firefox users on macOS 10.12, 10.13 and 10.14 moving to Extended Support Release", Mozilla Support. Last edited 8 March 2026, accessed 10 April 2026. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-users-macos-1012-1013-1014-moving-to-extended-support
- [22] "Firefox on Windows 7 refuses to die, gets another six months of support", Taras Buria, Neowin. 12 March 2026, accessed 10 April 2026. https://www.neowin.net/news/firefox-on-windows-7-refuses-to-die-gets-another-six-months-of-support/
- [23] "Which is harder TH12 or TH11?" (Page 2 of 3), GameFAQs Message Boards. Last message on 6 November 2009, accessed in archived form 11 April 2026. https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/958471-touhou-seirensen-undefined-fantastic-object/50999820?page=1
- [24] "Bit.Trip Runner", English Wikipedia. Last edited 17 February 2026, accessed 11 April 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bit.Trip_Runner
Media used
- Ballmer_Ponders_Windows_7_(3952644038).jpg By Steve Jurvetson from Los Altos, USA - Ballmer Ponders Windows 7, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=97526815
- Dell_Precision_M6500_Covet.jpg By Wasmachineman NL - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=83119886
- Discord_logo.svg.png By https://discord.com/branding, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50559581
- Firefox_logo,_2019.svg.png By Mozilla Corporation - https://phabricator.services.mozilla.com/D41016, MPL 2, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=81490422
- Freebsd_logo.svg.png By http://www.freebsd.org/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26987122
- LibreOffice_Logo_Flat.svg.png by Christoph Noack - https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/File:LibreOffice-Initial-Artwork-Logo.svg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34369081
- Thinkpadx100e.jpg by Kevin Boey, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
- Windows7beta.jpg By Khorcx - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69793528
- Windows_7_Logo_and_Wordmark.svg.png By https://betawiki.net/wiki/File:Windows_7.svg, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73545020
- Windows_2000_logo.svg.png By Microsoft.com, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57458766
- Windows_Vista_Logo_and_Wordmark.svg.png, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73486366
- Windows_XP_logo_and_wordmark.svg.png By https://betawiki.net/wiki/File:Windows_XP_logo_and_wordmark.svg, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73545809