Request of information concerning the end of Windows 7 support

[Hektor Riven]

I would like to know if there are more specific information on how will actually end the support for Windows 7.

I'll make some examples: will an update be published on January 1st 2024 that will prevent the Steam client from running? Has this update already been installed and is it counting the days thanks to the BIOS clock? Will there be simply an update to internet security credentials like what happened with Elder Scrolls Online, something that can be fixed thanks to a patch which still allows Windows 7 users to play Elder Scrolls Online (even if the launcher no longer shows news)?

I see there are already many discussions for either crying against Valve or insulting Windows 7 users. While I don't want to discredit these contributions (but being offensive is against rules and against ethics) I'm interested only in the technical aspects of the matter, so I thank in advance any user or developer or, better, moderator who will have some information to share.

Thanks in advance for the kind attention.

Thread header information
Here follow important contributions made by users, listed for convenience:

What I think could be a true solution has been suggested by Cat On Linux, and I'd like to put it in the thread header here:

Originally posted by Cat on Linux:

if you don't want to dual boot (to access your steam from supported OS) there's easy way to do that within windows 7 by using virtualbox.
you can create virtual image with win 10 or Linux, install steam, point it to some game folder on your disk outside of image (by sharing folder) and it will install game to use with win 7.
virtual image with win 10 would need 20-30Gb of free space and at least 2 Gb of RAM so it shouldn't be an issue for modern machine (4Gb of RAM if you have at least 8GB installed would be fully working without slowdowns).
I believe you should look into this option instead of looking for solution to keep old client alive. this way no matter what Valve does you'll have access to your library. + steamless and goldberg emulator to unlink game from steam DRM and you can play it from your desktop.

I've just found out this guide and I'd like to forward into this discussion too, hoping it may be of help:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2967855237

I'll keep also pinned the useful discussion and proposed solution by Brian and by the one who he quoted, Jerry:

Originally posted by Brian:

Windows 7 and 8 users will have to prevent the Steam Client from auto-updating itself before the deadline. That solution has been discussed in the Steam forums. There is a way to do that. Otherwise, the Steam Client will keep updating itself until Windows 7 and 8 users can no longer use it. The client will have to be blocked by a firewall or configured so that it can't keep updating itself. I understand why Valve didn't give Windows 7 and 8 users the option to turn off auto-updates. Those people would have complained about cyberattacks if Valve had kept letting them use the Steam Client without updates.

Originally posted by Brian:

I finally found the link to Jerry's instructions. I didn't have enough time to start searching for it earlier. https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/1/1639788130289877816/

Originally posted by Brian:

I recently learned there is one more command that needs to be in Steam.cfg to truly prevent the Steam Client from updating itself. That command is BootStrapperForceSelfUpdate=Disable. That should completely disable the auto-update process. A person should still be able to receive updates for installed games. I'm not sure how long that will last. Windows 7 and 8 users may not be able to connect to Valve's servers in January 2024.

Originally posted by Brian:

There is a file called loginusers.vdf. That file is in the Config folder inside the Steam folder. That file can be edited with Notepad++ to prevent the Steam Client from asking you if you want to start Steam in Offline or Online mode. Change "SkipOfflineModeWarning" from 0 to 1. Otherwise, you are going to see that warning every time the Steam Client starts in Offline Mode.

Another interesting path to undertake could be the one suggested by Cat on Linux, here:

Originally posted by Cat on Linux:

Hektor,
check this video with short view of Gamehub launcher. it can manage your games library, unify all games under one launcher and is easy to configure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvu6Tv9JZuE

It's plenty of discussions concerning an issue that, in the past, involved Elder Scrolls Online running on Windows 7. The fix was about updating the TLS protocols and it was provided by Microsoft itself. Here's the link to the discussion. Could also prove useful for us in the future.

https://steamcommunity.com/app/306130/discussions/0/3084394448721244140/

[Shaggy]

https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/4784-4F2B-1321-800A

[RasaNova]

It's not like a deadline where Valve is flipping a switch on Steam to shut off all windows 7 access, it's more a countdown to when the Steam is switching to a version of Chromium framework which is not compatible with windows 7.

For example think of it like when Netflix makes a site upgrade which requires a browser upgrade. They're not shutting off your old browser or anything, but you need to meet the new minimum system requirements to use their site, so you'd have to upgrade.

[Hektor Riven]

Originally posted by Shaggy:

https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/4784-4F2B-1321-800A

Thanks for having quoted the announcement, I didn't got it under hand when I created the post,
we should all keep an eye on it while speaking in this discussion.

Originally posted by RasaNova:

It's not like a deadline where Valve is flipping a switch on Steam to shut off all windows 7 access, it's more a countdown to when the Steam is switching to a version of Chromium framework which is not compatible with windows 7.

For example think of it like when Netflix makes a site upgrade which requires a browser upgrade. They're not shutting off your old browser or anything, but you need to meet the new minimum system requirements to use their site, so you'd have to upgrade.

Your answer is very interesting. This may mean that the store features will be broken, yet the app could work offline as it did until the day before. Maybe it would be required to never update it from December 31st 2023, however, and this would prevent games from being downloaded if needed.

[Brian]

Windows 7 and 8 users will have to prevent the Steam Client from auto-updating itself before the deadline. That solution has been discussed in the Steam forums. There is a way to do that. Otherwise, the Steam Client will keep updating itself until Windows 7 and 8 users can no longer use it. The client will have to be blocked by a firewall or configured so that it can't keep updating itself. I understand why Valve didn't give Windows 7 and 8 users the option to turn off auto-updates. Those people would have complained about cyberattacks if Valve had kept letting them use the Steam Client without updates.

[Hektor Riven]

Originally posted by Brian:

Windows 7 and 8 users will have to prevent the Steam Client from auto-updating itself before the deadline. That solution has been discussed in the Steam forums. There is a way to do that. Otherwise, the Steam Client will keep updating itself until Windows 7 and 8 users can no longer use it. The client will have to be blocked by a firewall or configured so that it can't keep updating itself. I understand why Valve didn't give Windows 7 and 8 users the option to turn off auto-updates. Those people would have complained about cyberattacks if Valve had kept letting them use the Steam Client without updates.

Many thanks for this precious information too! I know I may look ignorant but what I mostly miss is time... I have always less time for my videogames and for this passion in general, so I miss the opportunity to be able to look in depth for solutions, hence I apologise for directly asking in the forums.

By the way, I'm sorry to ask, but I would really like to know if you, or anyone else, could point me directly to the discussions where it has been discussed a way to prevent Steam from updating, especially about "or configured so that it can't keep updating itself".

I understand this is an "hot" moment so forums are very bloated with many posts and I find difficult to navigate for the solutions.

[Brian]

Just do a Google search for "Disabling Steam client auto-updates". Jerry explained exactly how to do that. I'm not going to start posting links to websites.

[Blueberry {JESUS IS LORD}]

ya i have win10 running nativly with 7 in a vm for steam in offline mode

[Wolfstorm]

Can you tell me more about this ESO patch? I contacted their support, to help me to access the game without Steam, and also to gain access to the forums, but they only send automatized answers. Their support have no clue about it.

I was looking to buy the next expansion "Necron" but after Steam decided to ban Windows 7 it will be no longer possible to do it. The case of ESO is a mess, because they have a non-Steam version, but it seems you can’t recover your account and your characters if you buy this other version.

[Brian]

I finally found the link to Jerry's instructions. I didn't have enough time to start searching for it earlier. https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/1/1639788130289877816/

[✨Hot Soup✨]

switch to linux.

Pop OS is an easy to understand variant for new users coming from windows.

windows 7 was a great OS back in the day, but without support it's inevitably destined for the scrap heap.

[Hektor Riven]

Originally posted by Wolfstorm:

Can you tell me more about this ESO patch? I contacted their support, to help me to access the game without Steam, and also to gain access to the forums, but they only send automatized answers. Their support have no clue about it.

I was looking to buy the next expansion "Necron" but after Steam decided to ban Windows 7 it will be no longer possible to do it. The case of ESO is a mess, because they have a non-Steam version, but it seems you can’t recover your account and your characters if you buy this other version.

I'm so sorry but I cannot be of any help and I'm afraid I haven't explained well: I don't own Elder Scrolls Online on Steam, I bought it directly on the Zenimax website (after having been told on the forums "Steam is one more thing that could go wrong when starting the game"). The fix has been released by Microsoft itself back in the days and it's only related to the Elder Scrolls Online launcher which wouldn't otherwise connect anymore from Windows 7.

Originally posted by Brian:

I finally found the link to Jerry's instructions. I didn't have enough time to start searching for it earlier. https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/1/1639788130289877816/

Thank you very very much! I'll go for it!
First I'll download a Steam installer that's still compatible with Windows 7, just to have it as a backup. Then I'll completely backup all the Steam files (and the games) I have, and then I'll apply the fix proposed in the discussion you kindly pointed me to!
I hope I'll still be able to play my games offline and in case something happens to the files I'll backup them.

Originally posted by Trailer Swift:

switch to linux.

Pop OS is an easy to understand variant for new users coming from windows.

windows 7 was a great OS back in the day, but without support it's inevitably destined for the scrap heap.

I would gladly switch to Linux, but I'm afraid that most of my games wouldn't work. I play many older titles and there's a Vulkan translation only for a few of them. But thanks for the suggestion anyway!

[Cat on Linux]

Hektor Riven,
ESO works on Linux. the only hard thing is to install it. but you can use your installation on win 7 (symlink it to Linux library) and it will work nicely including updates,
I played it that way because I was lazy to install over 100Gb again. tho it has some performance issue (-10 FPS compared to same hardware on WIndows). If you're not struggling now performance wise you might find it acceptable replacement for windows.

login into Protondb site with your steam acc and see which of your games will work on Linux, you'll be surprised how many will.

[Hektor Riven]

Originally posted by Cat on Linux:

Hektor Riven,
ESO works on Linux. the only hard thing is to install it. but you can use your installation on win 7 (symlink it to Linux library) and it will work nicely including updates,
I played it that way because I was lazy to install over 100Gb again. tho it has some performance issue (-10 FPS compared to same hardware on WIndows). If you're not struggling now performance wise you might find it acceptable replacement for windows.

login into Protondb site with your steam acc and see which of your games will work on Linux, you'll be surprised how many will.

Thank you for your detailed suggestion. In extremis I may consider it, however there are many other games that I play which aren't on Steam and are even older, but I should check each of them.
For now I'll see to which extent I'll be able to keep using Steam on my Windows 7, but Linux will be a recovery solution.

[Hektor Riven]

I've just found out this guide and I'd like to forward into this discussion too, hoping it may be of help:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2967855237

I'll keep also pinned the useful discussion and proposed solution by Brian and by the one who he quoted, Jerry:

Originally posted by Brian:

Windows 7 and 8 users will have to prevent the Steam Client from auto-updating itself before the deadline. That solution has been discussed in the Steam forums. There is a way to do that. Otherwise, the Steam Client will keep updating itself until Windows 7 and 8 users can no longer use it. The client will have to be blocked by a firewall or configured so that it can't keep updating itself. I understand why Valve didn't give Windows 7 and 8 users the option to turn off auto-updates. Those people would have complained about cyberattacks if Valve had kept letting them use the Steam Client without updates.

Originally posted by Brian:

I finally found the link to Jerry's instructions. I didn't have enough time to start searching for it earlier. https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/1/1639788130289877816/

[Cat on Linux]

Originally posted by Hektor Riven:

however there are many other games that I play which aren't on Steam

Linux has wine to run DRM free games (or games from other launchers). you can import such game into steam app on Linux (thus applying Proton and controller support to it) or you can use wine to run it from your desktop directly. there are free launchers like Gamehub that will allow you to install and play games from steam, itch, indiegala, gog. it uses wine or steam's Proton to run these on your Linux PC.
I suggest to check some youtube videos where they show game in question gameplay on Linux. you'll see for yourself how it works in general.