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Why do some users still use Windows 7?

ZDNet website has launched a study to find out why some users are not updating to newer Windows and see why some users are still using Windows 7?

According to the ZDNet website, about 10% of visitors to the website still use Windows 7. Due to the high percentage of Windows 7 users, this website started a research and tried to reveal the secret of this category of users by conducting a poll.

The whole curiosity started when the US Government’s Digital Analytic Program report was released and ZDNet executives noticed that 10% of visitors were running Windows 7. This was very interesting considering the antiquity of Windows 7; Windows 8 and 8.1 users, on the other hand, accounted for half that amount. This prompted the media to conduct a poll to clarify the cause of the incident. Within a week of the poll launching, 3,200 responses were sent to them along with 50 direct emails. The result was amazing.

The survey asked users questions. We will continue to review the users’ answers by asking questions.

Are you planning to migrate to Windows 10 in the next 12 months?

Participants answered 58% “no”, 27% “not sure” and 16% “yes”.

Several survey participants blamed Windows 7 for slow corporate system updates, and two blamed the delay in enterprise IT updates on the Covid 19 virus epidemic. Some users also considered the lack of manpower in the company’s IT unit as the reason for the good in updating. Finally, less than one percent of respondents blamed the organization for not updating to Windows 10 because their computers were company-owned and not privately owned; Therefore, the decision about its operating system is also the responsibility of the company.

Do you pay for additional support from Microsoft?

Although Microsoft has stopped releasing monthly updates for Windows 7; But for those who purchased the Extended Security Updates subscription, it still releases updates. This subscription is not cheap at all; So buying it for small businesses is not economically justified.

In response to this question, only 6% of respondents answered “yes” to purchasing an ESU subscription, 3% did not know about the subscription, and the remaining 91% used Windows 7 without receiving a security update.

Some survey participants admitted that computers running Windows 7 do not connect to the Internet, while others said they try to keep other software up-to-date to avoid problems. Few believed that Microsoft was exaggerating the security threats to the operating system, which was no longer supported by the company, in order to direct customers to a new version of the operating system or to charge customers for security updates.

What is your main reason for not using higher versions of Windows?

The answers to this question were very interesting and started the turning point of this research. In fact, there were five optional answers to this question, the fifth of which was “Other” and users could choose to comment. About a thousand people chose this option and wrote their reasons in the description box.

A group then studied the descriptions and categorized them into larger categories. 10% of the responses were unclassifiable, leaving 2,855 responses for classification.

User responses were categorized into 8 categories as follows:

• 42% compatibility:

The most common reason people do not migrate to up-to-date versions of Windows is incompatibility. Compatibility issues in terms of both hardware and software are the main reasons for not using newer versions of Windows. Forty percent of the participants chose the adaptation option, and 2 percent of them chose the “other items” option, and then cited one of the incompatibility problems in the description.

For example, someone connected his computer to an old CNC milling machine and had to start it to be fully compatible with Windows 7. In addition, many older Windows 10 driver peripherals do not. Also, others had purchased a regular subscription to the Adobe Creative software suite and were reluctant to change Windows.

Among the answers they explained, the most belonged to the fans of Windows Media Center. About 1.5 percent of respondents in this section paid homage and loyalty to Windows Media Center, which is unparalleled in its kind.

• Reluctance to change Windows 32%:

17% of users chose the “I do not like to change Windows” option out of five options. However, a similar number had chosen the “other items” option and explained that they had chosen Windows 7 themselves and did not want to install a replacement for Windows 10.

A detailed study of the response of this group of people was classified into 4 sections. These four sections are:

1) Most people did not like Windows 10 due to apparent reasons, technical defects, instability, etc. 2) About a quarter of these people did not mention for a specific reason and only expressed their disgust and hatred towards Windows 10. Together, these two groups make up about 10 percent of dissatisfied users. 3) A few also emphasized their interest in Windows 7 and stated that they preferred it to Windows 10. 4) Some users believed that Windows 7 is better than Windows 10 and in terms of user interface, more stability and control of the user on Windows is a better experience for users. Especially since Windows 10 performs security updates without user intervention. Overall, the two groups of Windows 7 fans accounted for a total of another 7 percent, up from 17 percent in the previous two groups.

• Updating to the new Windows is expensive 10%:

Surprisingly, a relatively large number of people mentioned this option, as upgrades from older Windows to Windows 10 are still free and cost-effective. For example, a user from the Middle East said in an answer that updating to the new Windows is not reasonable at all, given the difference between the dollar and the currency of his country.

• Mandatory Windows 10 security updates with 5%:

Many participants expressed their dissatisfaction with the mandatory updates and flawed updates of Windows 10. For example, one participant said:

So far I have not had to reinstall any operating system due to an incomplete and flawed update, although this process seems to be repeated in Windows 10.

Another user explicitly complained about the inability to control updates, saying:

I own my computer, so I have to decide when to install the updates, not Microsoft!

• Privacy, telemetry and information spying 3%:

The group consisted of people who were dissatisfied with information spying and privacy by Microsoft Telemetry, and about one percent of the group clearly used the term “uncertainty.”

• Fear of updating, inability to update and being too busy 3%:

Some participants were concerned about the loss of specific information or programs and therefore did not seek updates.

Also, there are people who are so busy that they do not have time to install the new Windows and install all the programs they need. Another third of the people in this group also have outdated hardware and are unable to upgrade. In the meantime, someone explained in explaining the reason for not installing Windows 10 that the only reason was “laziness”.

• 3% training and support:

It was anticipated that more people would fall into this category; But it seems that many users will cope well with the changes.

• Move to 1% Linux platform:

Finally, a small number of survey participants said they had migrated to the Linux operating system or were moving to the Linux platform.