Windows 7 facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Windows 7

Screenshot of Windows 7, showing its Start Menu, desktop, taskbar, and the glass effect of Windows Aero
Company / developer	Microsoft
Source model	Closed-source Source-available (through Shared Source Initiative)
Marketing target	Consumer and business
Update method	Windows Update
Supported platforms	IA-32 and x86-64
Kernel type	Hybrid
Userland	Windows API, NTVDM, SUA
License	Proprietary commercial software
Preceded by	Windows Vista (2007)
Succeeded by	Windows 8 (2012)
Official website	(archived at Wayback Machine)

Windows 7 is a major operating system made by Microsoft. It's part of the Windows NT family. It was first released to computer makers on July 22, 2009. Then, it became available to everyone on October 22, 2009.

Windows 7 came after Windows Vista and before Windows 8. It was designed to be a better version of Vista. It fixed many of Vista's problems and worked well with existing computer parts and programs.

Microsoft stopped providing regular updates for Windows 7 on January 14, 2020. This was over 10 years after it first came out. After this date, it no longer received free security updates.

Windows 7 was very popular. Before it was even officially released, it broke sales records on Amazon.com. In just six months, over 100 million copies were sold worldwide. By July 2012, more than 630 million licenses had been sold.

What's New in Windows 7?

Windows 7 brought many cool new features. It improved the look and feel of Windows. It also made computers run faster and smoother.

A Better Look and Feel

Windows 7 continued to improve the Windows Aero design. This made windows look like glass. The taskbar was also redesigned. You could now "pin" your favorite programs to it for quick access.

Windows 7 live thumbnails, showing Internet Explorer 11 tabs

New ways to manage windows were added. Aero Snap lets you easily arrange windows on your screen. You can drag a window to the side to make it fill half the screen. Dragging it to the top makes it full screen. Aero Shake lets you hide all other windows by shaking the one you're using.

The default taskbar of Windows 7

The taskbar buttons also showed Jump Lists. These let you quickly open recent files or do common tasks for a program. For example, a Jump List for a music player might show your recently played songs.

Helpful Tools and Features

Windows 7 added "Libraries" to help you organize your files. Libraries let you group files from different folders into one place. For example, your "Documents" library could show files from your personal documents folder and a shared public folder.

A new feature called HomeGroup made sharing files easy. You could connect computers in your home network with a password. Then, you could share files and printers with everyone in the HomeGroup.

Action Center window, showing no problems detected

When the Action Center flag is clicked on, it lists all security and maintenance issues in a small pop-up window.

The "Action Center" was a new place to check your computer's security and maintenance. It would tell you if there were any problems. The User Account Control (UAC) system was also made less annoying. It showed fewer pop-up messages asking for permission.

Windows 7 also came with updated programs. These included Internet Explorer 8, Windows Media Player, and Windows Media Center. The Calculator was improved with new modes for programmers and statistics.

Supporting New Technologies

Windows 7 supported multitouch input. This meant you could use your fingers on touchscreens to control your computer. It also had better support for solid-state drives (SSDs). These are faster than traditional hard drives.

For advanced users, Windows 7 supported virtual hard disks. These let you run another operating system inside Windows 7. The Windows XP Mode was a popular feature for businesses. It allowed older programs to run in a virtual Windows XP environment.

How Windows 7 Was Developed

Windows 7 was developed after Windows Vista. Microsoft wanted to fix the issues people had with Vista. They also wanted to make Windows 7 faster and easier to use.

From Blackcomb to Windows 7

Before Windows 7, Microsoft had plans for a version called "Blackcomb." This was meant to follow Windows XP. But then, an in-between version called "Longhorn" (which became Windows Vista) was planned. Longhorn took a long time to develop.

After Vista was released, many people criticized it. It had performance problems and issues with older hardware and software. So, Microsoft decided to focus on making the next Windows much better.

In 2007, it was reported that the next version would be called Windows 7. Microsoft wanted it to be more "user-centric" and focus on performance. About 1,000 developers worked on Windows 7. They used special tools to find and fix slow parts of the operating system.

Naming and Early Releases

In October 2008, Microsoft officially announced the name Windows 7. It was version 6.1 of Windows NT. This was similar to Vista's version 6.0. This helped ensure that programs designed for Vista would also work on Windows 7.

The first test versions of Windows 7 were given to Microsoft partners in January 2008. The Beta version of Windows 7 was leaked online in December 2008. Tests showed that it was faster than both Windows XP and Windows Vista in many areas.

The Release Candidate (a near-final version) was available in April 2009. Microsoft announced that Windows 7 would be released to the public on October 22, 2009. The final version was ready on July 22, 2009.

Different Versions of Windows 7

Windows 7 came in six different versions, also called "editions."

• Home Premium: This was for most home users.
• Professional: This was for small businesses and people who needed more networking features.
• Ultimate: This was for computer enthusiasts and had all the features.

Each version included everything from the one below it, plus extra features. For example, Professional had more security features than Home Premium. Ultimate had advanced features like BitLocker drive encryption.

There were also other versions:

• Starter: This was a simpler version for low-cost computers like netbooks. It had fewer features and couldn't change the desktop wallpaper.
• Home Basic: This was sold only in certain countries.
• Enterprise: This was similar to Ultimate but sold only to large businesses.

Most versions of Windows 7 supported both 32-bit and 64-bit computers. Starter only supported 32-bit. If you bought a retail copy, you usually got two DVDs: one for 32-bit and one for 64-bit.

You could also upgrade to a higher version using the Windows Anytime Upgrade service. This let you unlock more features without reinstalling Windows.

How Long Was Windows 7 Supported?

Microsoft provides support for its operating systems for a certain period. This includes security updates and bug fixes.

End of Free Support

• Mainstream support for Windows 7 ended on January 13, 2015. This meant no new features were added.
• Extended support for Windows 7 ended on January 14, 2020. After this date, Microsoft stopped providing free security updates.

If you continued to use Windows 7 after January 14, 2020, your computer could be at risk. It would not receive new fixes for security problems. Microsoft encouraged users to upgrade to Windows 10 or buy a new computer.

Paid Extended Security Updates (ESU)

For businesses and some professional users, Microsoft offered a paid service. This was called "Extended Security Updates" (ESU). It provided security updates for Windows 7 for up to three more years. This program ended on January 10, 2023.

Support from Other Companies

Even after Microsoft stopped supporting Windows 7, some web browsers and programs continued to work.

• Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome stopped supporting Windows 7 in January 2023.
• Mozilla Firefox will support Windows 7 until at least September 2025.
• Steam, a popular gaming platform, ended support for Windows 7 on January 1, 2024.

Computer Requirements for Windows 7

To run Windows 7, your computer needed to meet certain minimum requirements.

Memory Limits

The maximum amount of RAM (memory) Windows 7 could use depended on the version and whether it was 32-bit or 64-bit.

Processor Limits

Windows 7 Professional and higher versions could use up to 2 physical processors. Starter, Home Basic, and Home Premium could only use 1. However, modern processors often have multiple cores, which act like many processors in one.

Updates to Windows 7

Service Pack 1

Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) was a big update released on February 22, 2011. It added some new features and fixed many bugs. It was smaller than service packs for older Windows versions. SP1 was important because you needed it to keep getting updates after April 2013.

Cumulative Updates

After October 2016, Microsoft changed how it released updates for Windows 7. Instead of many small updates, they released "cumulative" updates. This meant one large package contained all the latest security and quality fixes. This made it easier to keep Windows 7 up to date.

See also

In Spanish: Windows 7 para niños