I bet most of Firefox oldschool users hated the recent “changes” in terms of overall browser design. Rounded childish like-chrome corners, foolish restriction on what can be configured and so on. And now they crippled the look of browser tabs: to waste your workspace and spoil the design, just take a look at this:
MODERN “NORMAL” STYLE LEGACY NORMAL STYLE SIDE-BY-SIDE COMPARISON I suppose that such “changes” were made in favor to touchscreen devices.
Say you need to run on a laptop battery vintage or simply non-demanding applications for an extremely long time. Here is a little breakdown of mandatory things to do:
turn off in BIOS unneeded devices like camera, sd-card reader, fingerprint scanner, gsm-modem, wifi, bt or whatever you are not using turn on power saving features like various C-power states turn off hyper-threading and hi-core count [if you have such ability] lower screen brightness to acceptable level check my [quick]
and [comprehensive]
optimization FAQs get rid of [unneeded services and bloat applications]
Also you can use core parking utility [Park Control]
, but in this mini-guide i’ll show you how to set power related things up via internal Windows 7 tools.
UPDATED ON: 2023-12-02
The main reason i’ve decided to write this note is indistinct default color mappings and inability to solve issue simply using GUI of software.
In main configuration file:
settings.json add following lines:
"workbench.colorCustomizations": {
"editorCursor.foreground": "#ff0000",
"terminalCursor.foreground": "#02ED3D",
"editorLineNumber.activeForeground": "#ff0000",
"editor.lineHighlightBackground": "#016119",
"editor.lineHighlightBorder": "#02ED3D",
"terminal.foreground": "#02ed3d" }, To set custom color for GREY comments drop in these lines:
"editor.tokenColorCustomizations": {
"conmments": "#ff006f"
} To fast access configuration file press:
UPDATED ON: 2024-07-05 v1.81.1 is a more recent version, which can be executed without any efforts v1.89 is a hacked [FINAL version] for Windows 7 x64 So, Windows 7 users are pretty safe at this point despite artificial restrictions of big corps.
Usually i’m not feeling so delightful regarding microsoft modern programs, but this one is pretty good. And of course they tried to artificially cripple it under “obsolete” Windows 7.
Extended kernel project allows you to run some Windows 8+ applications on Windows 7.
LATEST ALPHA BUILDS
Click right mouse button to select executable properties and then switch to VxKex tab: Then cross your fingers and try to launch desired application.
Warning! Software is in very early alpha stage, so miracles almost never happen. However very basic applications can be executed.
Imagery by spacedrone808 @Adobe Imagery by spacedrone808 @Freepik
UPDATED ON: 2024-08-29
Node.js dropped Windows 7 “support” rigth after [version number 13]
.What a load of sh#t. Today i’ll tell you how to overcome this nonsense and run latest LTS version [Node.JS 18.x]
without any problems. More newer versions may work also. I’ll leave you some room for experiments. Recently i found excellent already [patched installer of NodeJS 18]
First of all you need to download zipped version of software, not msi one.
In my newly purchased [Lenovo X1 Carbon]
i run into screen tearing issues during web or local video playback with classic windows theme turned on.
GOOD EXAMPLE OF SCREEN TEARING PHENOMENON I messed around with different video driver settings, under the hood browser parameters, fine-tuning other various tweaks without any changes for good. To my surprise solution was pretty straightforward.
JUST TURN ON AERO THEME TO SAVE YOUR EV▓NING! Aero interface is rendered by Desktop Windows Manager [DWM].
Main highlights of [6th generation]
over [previous one]
:
very good keyboard for ultra-compact class [same quality as in 5th gen]. By the way, 6th generation is a last one to support such luxury. Generations 7th and 8th come with [crippled apple-like keys]
with reduced key travel. noticeable quality increase in terms of color gamut, even better than in 5th generation. sRGB gamut: 95% [Gen6] vs 85% [Gen 5]. multi-core performance [increased around 80%]
over 5th gen.
Despite the fact that current Firefox market share of Windows 7 users is around 13% Mozilla confirms to [drop Windows 7 support in 2024]
. Actually i don’t really understand their bold move and why they are dropping Windows 7 and keeping support for example for Android 7.1 which stopped receiving updates more than five years ago. As you may know i’m using Android 8.0 on my websurfer phone and yeah, it is running latest Firefox forks easily.
UPDATED ON: 2023-08-01 Chromium v117 [already ported]
to Windows 7
Although I’m completely uninterested in google browser and it’s siblings you have to know that there is a way to run current chromium version in Windows 7 environment, despite of all [mumblings]
that 109 is the very last version to run on Windows 7.
Backported version of chromium 112 called [CatsXP]
available at your disposal. Also, there are [other solutions]
on how to run version 110 and most recent 109 build intended for Windows Server 2012.
As you may already know, there is no official ability to execute old 16-bit software in 64-bit operating systems. So if you have favorite Windows 3.x applications such stupid restriction was a complete bummer. But only until today! At least for me. WinVDM will resolve your frustration.
For providing such valuable information thanks goes out to [NeonFloppy website]
.
► WINVDM @ GITHUB
Unpack archive anywhere, execute INSTALL with admin privileges and you are good to go After installation working state could be checked by [Windows 3.
UPDATED ON: 2023-04-20 Important update, substantial refactoring, many errors fixed
▒ PREFACE WORDS Following instruction is dedicated to flashing stock Android 8.0 firmware for Russian region, but almost all information can be applied to USA or any other region firmware. So, no restrictions here.
Remember that all commands and programs should be executed with admin privileges and your account must have administrator rights! If something goes wrong for some reason be sure to check [TROUBLESHOOTING]
section!
UPDATED ON: 2024-01-01
Good news, everyone! Count me as professor Farnsworth from [Rick and Morty]
.
Mike Kaply, current Mozilla employee [reported]
on bug-tracking forum the following:
We will not be ending support for Windows 7 / Windows 8 before the release of the Firefox 115 ESR, so the Firefox 115 ESR will support Windows 7 / Windows 8 at least until 3Q 2024. First 115 version of software will be released on July 4, 2023.
UPDATED ON: 2024-11-12 Section is in constant under construction, so check back in a while for new goodies
Here i’ll accumulate list of modern applications, which were forced to work in Windows 7 environment.
WEB SURFING & OFFICE [FIREFOX]
► [v132] ► hacked version [TOR BROWSER]
► [v14] ► hacked version of Tor browser [SUPERMIUM]
► [v127] ► degoogled version of chrome browser [CATSXP]
► [v130] ► chinese modern version of chrome browser [may contain telemetry] [MS OFFICE]
► [v2019] ► doable with some trickery [QBITTORRENT]
► [v5.
Observing [february Windows updates]
@ Ghacks we can clearly see that Windows Server 2008 R2 is still maintained.
…author of [Simplix updater]
reported that POS ESU updates will be back-ported to non-server Windows 7 distribution and included in his monthly patcher. So, future usage of Windows 7 is 100% safeguarded. Stay sharp for more “obsolete” Windows 7 news!
Imagery by spacedrone808 @Adobe Imagery by spacedrone808 @Freepik
As you may know X670 chipset is already supported by means of [CanonKong’s driver]
. [Ryzen 7950X]
is confirmed to work with Windows 7. Ryzen 8000 reported to use the same AM5 socket as Ryzen 7000.
CanonKong [confirmed above mentioned statement]
with his own commentary:
I think I will maintain driver pack for modern amd chips until out of my ability.
Ryzen 8000 still can work on Win7. So we can safely announce that Ryzen 8000-series will work without any problems.
Recently i’ve switched to newer version of Vegas Pro. Tweeeenty to be precise. I’m using Vegas for basic montage of my tracker music clips for [Tik-Tok channel]
. Despite the fact that eighteeeen is surely a nice number i decided to move on and be a hip.
To my surprise transition goes so well that i didn’t noticed that i’m using new release. Right after execution Vegas 20 outputs window with [Windows 7 EOL warning], with something like this:
I’ll keep post updated if any changes happen.
Recently last officially supported version was [27.4.2]
. But from now on we can use actual version of software.
Here is small instruction list on how to make things rollin’ under mighty Windows 7:
Obtain hacked [QT 6.3.1 DLLs for Windows 7]
||| [Mirror]
[QT6 is not officially supported] Download [CFF Explorer]
[direct link] for basic resource hackery Obviously grab latest zipped archive [OBS Studio 29.
UPDATED ON: 2023-02-08
As you may already know that [Unlisted Slacker]
provides the most comprehensive news regarding ageless Windows 7. Because i’m using it as my main system and simply care about. That is why don’t put like, don’t subscribe, [don’t watch embedded shite-ads!]
OK, YOU'VE GOT ME! THIS WAS PROPER OLDSCHOOL TEXT-BASED AD OF MYSELF. Some articles ago i’m [already mentioned]
about possible updates right till 2026. German enthusiasts [discovered stubs]
for feasible future upgrades.
UPDATED ON: 2023-02-16 Added super useful [interactive learning course]
Vim is for sure a discovery of the day. It is a [very fast text editor]
and will be helpful not only for coders, but can be useful for people who is working with insane amounts of text information. Software is 100% keyboard oriented. It’s based around original Unix text editor [Vi]
, which was released back in 1976.
VIM 9.
"Windows 7 is not supported by modern Python anymore" The latest official version is [v3.8.15]
. Despite above mentioned dummy statement [Adang1345]
restored justice and brought back support of Windows 7. Hacked Python installers for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2003 R2 can be downloaded: ► [HERE]
◄
Imagery by spacedrone808 @Adobe Imagery by spacedrone808 @Freepik
UPDATED ON: 2023-04-07 No chitter here, just plain breakdown of the most important stuff.
► WINDOWS 7 FIREWALL▼
[Outpost Firewall Pro]
◄ very advanced and lightweight firewall with host-based intrusion-prevention and anti-leak systems. Review is [here]
. BROWSERS▼
[IceWeasel]
◄ my personal choice to surf web [mozilla crap ripped off] [LibreWolf]
◄ debloated in terms of privacy Firefox with pre-installed uBlock Origin [PaleMoon]
◄ the most mozilla-independent fork of Firefox [but slowly degrading] [Tor Browser]
◄ handy to overcome geo restrictions and other artificial limitations of obsolescent governments Warning: some telemetry is present!
Right after [Windows 7 reached end of life]
in regards to non-pos esu updates i asked myself: “How can i improve security of ageing operating system?” Replacement of basic internal firewall comes back to mind in the very first place.
After some comprehensive research i ended up with [Outpost Firewall Pro]
, developed by [Agnitum]
a small Russian company, which was acquired by crappy yandex later on. Software was dismissed after purchase immediately.
UPDATED ON: 2024-12-09 Section is constantly updated! For vintage web surfers most important things are here: plain txt file [may be a bit out of date]
Power of vintage 2009 operating system by microsoft can’t be underestimated. [Windows 7 x64]
supports up to 256 threads and up to 192Gb of RAM. How cool is that, huh?
256 thread CPU appeared only a [short time ago]
.
░ H#RDWARE
TECHNOLOGIES HARDWARE MAX CPU SOCKETS 2 MAX CPU CORES 128 MAX CPU THREADS 256 MAX MOBO RAM 192Gb [or even bigger]1 MODERN CPUs Ryzen 7xxx/9xxx/10xxx Threadripper 5xxx/7xxx 2 MODERN GPUs Geforce 3090 Ti Radeon 6950XT 3 NVME SUPPORT YUP [+] 4 USB3 SUPPORT AHA [+] 5 ░ SOFTW@RE
TECHNOLOGIES SOFTWARE SECURITY PATCHES October 8, 2024 [POS updates] / Jan 13, 2026 [2008R2 updates] 6 / 7 KERNEL EXTENSIONS VxKex / NT61 / Win 10/11 API libs 8 UEFI SUPPORT EXTERNAL [+] 9 DIRECT X 11.
Some really important dates, for those of you who are using Windows 7 as a daily driver machine.
As for me, i’m using Windows 7 not only with oldschool hardware, like [Xeon E5]
, but with modern multicore platforms like [Ryzen]
& [Threadripper]
.
AIO Repack of latest [Visual C++ Redistributable Runtimes]
by well-known [abbodi1406]
. High quality package without original payload bloat.
VISUAL C++ REDISTRIBUTABLES [x86/x64]
2005: 8.0.50727.6229 2008: 9.0.30729.7523 2010: 10.0.40219.473 2012: 11.0.61135.400 2013: 12.0.40664.0 2022: Latest Visual Studio 2010 Tools for Office Runtime [x86/x64]
10.0.60833.0 Legacy Runtimes [x86]
Visual C++ 2002: 7.0.9975.0 Visual C++ 2003: 7.10.6119.0 Visual Basic Runtimes Universal CRT
a complementary part of VC++ 2022 redist delivered as an update for Windows Vista/7/8/8.
Most of you already know how AMD substitute in terms of cores/threads count intel’s pathetic’n’degenerative CPU evolution into revolution. Drastic changes were brought by [Ryzen]
CPUs in consumer market in late 2017. [Threadripper]
and [Epyc]
lines were introduced later on [for workstation and server market respectively].
► [128 core / 256 thread Epyc Bergamo CPU]
It would be nice to see 256 threads in Windows 7 task manager, but i don’t think that it is possible due to lack of drivers.
OK. THIS IS IT. NO TURNING BACK.
Yesterday we’ve got [last security update for Windows 7]
. There will be no more security patches for Windows 7. At least on generic non-point-of-sales machines.
Total of 40 vulnerabilities were fixed. Nice one! Compare it with 64 vulnerabilities on newest windows 11 telemetry gathering platform. Numbers clearly show benefits of mature platform.
Easy and [fast update]
using Simplix patcher.
Oh and yeah, neat news regarding [official support of Secure Boot]
.