Windows 7 drops the ability to upgrade from Windows XP, requiring at least Windows Vista. It is the last version of Windows that supports processors without PAE, SSE2 and NX, and is the last to include Internet Spades, Internet Backgammon and Internet Checkers and thus also the last client version of Windows to receive a Service Pack from Microsoft.Ī pre-RTM build, 7600.16384, was speculated to be the final version of the product but had a flaw in Internet Explorer 8 which prevented it from shipping. For Professional and Enterprise users, paid extended support ended on 10 January 2023. Mainstream support ended on 13 January 2015, while free extended support ended on 14 January 2020. It replaces Windows Vista and was replaced by Windows 8.

Windows 7 is the first version to support upgrade paths to Windows 8, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 and the only version to support upgrade paths from Windows Vista. It is one of Microsoft's most popular operating systems, still running on 3.72% of desktop and laptop computers as of March 2023. Windows 7 improved performance on older hardware, while also improving many areas of the Aero user interface. Windows 7 has NT kernel version 6.1, making it a minor update to Windows Vista. It is intended to fix many of the issues users perceived with Windows Vista. It is the eighth operating system in the Windows NT operating system line.

It was released to manufacturing on 22 July 2009 and made generally available on 22 October 2009.

Windows 7 is an operating system developed by Microsoft.

Windows 7 ultimate launch date