Good-bye Vista

Microsoft quietly discontinued extended support for Windows Vista on April 11 of this year.

So, what exactly does that mean?

It means that (if you're still using it and haven't upgraded) your Windows Vista operating system will no longer receive critical updates, and patches of any kind including security. It also means that if you were running the Microsoft Security Essentials anti-virus, that has also become unsupported on the Vista platform.

Incidentally, if you were also running the Google Chrome browser, that too will no longer receive updates.

So, (many of you might still be asking), what the hell does that mean?

Essentially it means that with the rise of crypto viruses that have been making their rounds on the internet, your system will now be an easier target for obliteration than an exhausted, geriatric blue whale, that's over eaten and had the misfortune of beaching itself on Omaha beach just as things got interesting on June 6, 1944... you Luddites.

What to do now?

First, don't panic.

As I've discovered, most people don't know what operating system they're running or in some really hard luck cases, what an operating system is. I could tell these people that they're running Commodore Platypus VII with sprinkles and they would take that as the gospel truth and run with it.

The second thing you need to do (if you're one of the above people), is to determine what operating system you're running.

1. Right-click on the icon "My Computer" or "Computer" on the top left corner of your desktop and select "Properties". 
2. Here is will tell you what operating system you're running and what service pack you have installed. 
3. If you don't see an icon like that, you could be either blind, buried it in other desktop icons, or running Windows 8 or 10. 
4. Alternatively, you can click Start, search for "Run", click that and type MSINFO32 and enter. This will also tell you what system you're running. 

If you've discovered you're running Windows Vista you have three choices:

1. Buy a new computer (possibly the easiest, but most expensive option). 
2. Purchase a license for Windows 10, download and install it from scratch (you cannot upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 10). 
3. Download Linux Mint and install from it scratch on your computer.

All of the above options would first be preceded by this step: Back up your computer files!

Most computers that are running Windows Vista will quite happily run Windows 10 or Linux Mint like a champ, although you should check out the minimum requirements here and here first to see if your hardware can support it (you'll need to compare it to your current systems properties in MSINFO32).

I should also mention here that if you were running Windows XP (support ended in 2014), you'll probably be stuck with option one or three, although I would still check your system properties to see if you can support Linux Mint.

What's this Linux Mint you keep mentioning?

Linux Mint is a Linux operating system that will run really nice on older hardware, making it run just like new. There's very little learning curve to it, and if you're used to Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7, you probably won't find too many surprises.

I would only caution that if you are running a lot of third party programs, they may not be supported on Linux Mint (although there is a software manager on the system that provides thousands of free analogues to many popular programs to install).

My next blog will detail how to install both Linux Mint or Windows 10 (which will be forthcoming soon). All you need is the .iso file, rufus, and a 4GB stick (or larger) USB stick.

One last note... Windows 7 support ends in 2020, so if you haven't upgraded to Windows 10, it will be soon time to start thinking about it.