Should I use Windows 7?

J

JoK

Weaksauce
Joined
Feb 24, 2017
Messages
119
Hi,
I am fed up with the rubbish on Win11 and (less) on Win10 especially with telemetry and broken windoes images.

So, I am really considering installing Win 7 on a PC I use as a file server.

I know Win 7 does not receive any security updated but I was wondering if a good antivirus with firewall should be enough.

Any feedback?

Thanks
 
No, you should use 2022 server, give the trial a shot. Drivers are the same as win 10,11 although sometimes you have to manually install them. Some win 7 drivers arnt even avalible..

The server os are very close to what windows should be without all the nonsense and adds. The trial is also very generous, with nemerous 180day extentions avalible for free. I have to imagine any free windows version uses some degree of telemetry, although it's not in your face or add focused like the consumer os.
 
Yes, now I have server 2022 but there is a mess with permissions and I can't figure out how to resolve it.

BTW, the machine works very well with 2022 but the permission thing drives me nuts
 
I've encountered a handful of issues with the server version. Normally resolveable and they arise as a result of better security practices of the os. I'd say it's worth just working through the issues.

Linux works great for dedicated servers, many easy to setup solutions for a file server.
 
no. try tiny11. and dont listen to the yahoos complain about the source not being their preferred tech person.
 
Dopamin3 said:
Why not Linux or FreeBSD? They are so much lighter and have no telemetry/bloat (though this might vary with what Linux distro you choose.)
Click to expand...
Linux is a mess. You need to spend time learning how to configure it.

BTW, would it work with WIndows 10 on a client PC?

I haven't ever tried FreeBSD
 
JoK said:
Linux is a mess. You need to spend time learning how to configure it.

BTW, would it work with WIndows 10 on a client PC?

I haven't ever tried FreeBSD
Click to expand...
To what extent are you using consumer Windows as a file server? You obviously aren't doing Active Directory or anything overly advanced or else you would need Windows Server (I know you briefly tried it and said you couldn't figure out permissions?? well that's a basic thing to learn if you're running a file server...)

Yes, you will need to spend time learning anything in IT you're not familiar with, but configuring SMB shares on Linux/FreeBSD is relatively straightforward and well documented. If you don't want to take the time to learn a new OS, good luck to you but regardless of what you do I would not suggest running Windows 7 or a third party modified version of Windows that doesn't show what they're changing. If anything there are plenty of debloat tools available for Windows 1x that you can actually see what they're doing.
 
Dopamin3 said:
or a third party modified version of Windows that doesn't show what they're changing. If anything there are plenty of debloat tools available for Windows 1x that you can actually see what they're doing.
Click to expand...
exactly what i meant by "those that dont like the source". you think its all fine to use some tool to debloat it but it too could be doing who knows what in the back ground.... if you are not using the original installer from microsoft, there is potential risk, but we are both recommending reputable alt sources.
https://www.thewindowsclub.com/what-is-tiny11
 
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pendragon1 said:
you think its all fine to use some tool to debloat it but it too could be doing who knows what in the back ground.
Click to expand...
I provided links to open source projects on Github. So you can actually see what they're doing in the background... These aren't random programs/scripts made by nefarious parties.
 
JoK said:
Linux is a mess. You need to spend time learning how to configure it.

BTW, would it work with WIndows 10 on a client PC?

I haven't ever tried FreeBSD
Click to expand...
As a file server, I use pure FreeBSD, and it works great in that role. It is much less bloated than major Linux distributions like Ubuntu and Fedora, and isn't a constantly moving target with massive changes every version. You do have to get used to editing config files, but the documentation is very good. Plus it makes for a great base to expand your knowledge or what you might be doing with your server. I would say this would be a step forward instead of going backward with Windows 7.
 
Dopamin3 said:
To what extent are you using consumer Windows as a file server? You obviously aren't doing Active Directory or anything overly advanced or else you would need Windows Server (I know you briefly tried it and said you couldn't figure out permissions?? well that's a basic thing to learn if you're running a file server...)

Yes, you will need to spend time learning anything in IT you're not familiar with, but configuring SMB shares on Linux/FreeBSD is relatively straightforward and well documented. If you don't want to take the time to learn a new OS, good luck to you but regardless of what you do I would not suggest running Windows 7 or a third party modified version of Windows that doesn't show what they're changing. If anything there are plenty of debloat tools available for Windows 1x that you can actually see what they're doing.
Click to expand...
No, i do not have crazy needs. I am the only person accessing the files.

I still have Win Server and I know all about permissions but in this case I can not make them work correctly. This is the problem I am facing https://hardforum.com/threads/the-system-cannot-find-the-path-specified.2034916/
 
I'm still running Windows 7. I'm working on a ISO for Windows 10. Once I finish it I will build my new pc that has been sitting for little over 1 year. If your into gaming 7 still works but Steam stop up dating it. But all of the 375 games I have still play. And they still update thru Steam.
 
Airbrushkid said:
I'm still running Windows 7. I'm working on a ISO for Windows 10. Once I finish it I will build my new pc that has been sitting for little over 1 year. If your into gaming 7 still works but Steam stop up dating it. But all of the 375 games I have still play. And they still update thru Steam.
Click to expand...
No, I am not into gaming so not a problem for me.

Any issues with security since WIn7 does not receive any updates from microsoft?
 
JoK said:
Any issues with security since WIn7 does not receive any updates from microsoft?
Click to expand...
Yes.

I would still put Windows (anything) as a poor choice for an at home file server, but if you're set on using it don't expose it to the Internet.
 
There some distro made to be fileserver and others of the type to play nice with windows machine on the network, almost right out of the box.

You can look at OMV (open media vault) or the truenas/freenas mentioned.
 
I've been a windows guys my whole life. 100% Microsoft.

I decided to try to start a small business and went into programming at home. Still with Microsoft Development tools using Blazor etc. I didn't want to have to pay for server os, and especially not paying for a Microsoft SQL Server license.
I decided to go forward with Proxmox hyperconverged and go forward with Linux server OS's and such. It wasn't as rough as I thought it would be.
My point is depending on what you're trying to do, Linux might not be as bad as an option as you might think... It does have a bit of a learning curve but if you have any technical skills you should be able to work through it.

I used Open Media Vault to create a file server and it worked just as well as it did with my Microsoft solution... It installs Linux and then a webserver where you access it through the web to create drives, set permissions, and create your window shares. Then you just map to it like you would any other computer. It was pretty flawless. I did not connect it to LDAP (Active Directory) but it has the ability to I think. With this installed on my hyperconverged proxmox using Ceph file system, it spreads its data over all 3 machines, so 2 machines would have to go kaput to lose any files. My file server is automatically backed up over 2 other machines due to this, and with Proxmox backup server I installed this on my old windows fileserver computer, and now I have "offsite" storage on a 4th computer.

https://www.openmediavault.org/screenshots.html
 
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