Steam, Windows 7 - 2025

[Master.Constructor]

We're almost finished 2024 and we've had several Steam client updates as well as Windows 7 updates via UpdatePack7. So far Windows 7 seems to be running well and will carry me into 2025 at the very least.

I've been running Windows 7 since transitioning from XP after bypassing (and watching the fallout from) Vista. So far so good aside from DirectX12 and some driver restrictions.

I closely followed the roll-out of Win8, 8.1 and 10 waiting for a good time to transition to a newer OS, testing a few other options while I've been waiting (Linux, Windows Server, Tiny/Lite Windows). So far I haven't found anything that seems to worth the effort or privacy risks / compromise.

Windows 7 SP2/3?

In 2021 I found UpdatePack7 which is a monthly security pack for all editions of Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008R2 (seems to be in development since 2013) and have had very good results with it. There is a small ~1MB downloader program (v1.5.0.0) which will download and/or verify the update pack (~800MB). The latest release was three days ago (24.6.12) and no issues to report. It's a significant saving of bandwidth, time and drive space and I am very grateful for it's consistent and diligent development. It is essentially the SP3 that Win7 users were always waiting for.

If you're having issues on Windows 7 SP1, try running the following from CMD (as administrator) and post your results here.
chkdsk
sfc /verifyonly

Hint:
I find starting Steam offline is much faster and smoother. Here's my steps to starting Steam Offline:
1 - edit the file loginusers.vdf
... mine was located here: \Steam\config\loginusers.vdf
2 - change "WantsOfflineMode" from 0 to 1
3 - save and set file [Properties] to [Read-only]
4 - start steam to check

Also, to remove the red banner at the top I added this to my steam.exe shortcut:
-pretendeol-w10


Updates
=======
UpdatePack7 25.5.17 (Windows 6.1.7601.27717)
- Added KB5061196-x64 with disabling telemetry and checking processors (replaces KB5058430-x64)

UpdatePack7 25.4.10 (Windows 6.1.7601.27666)
UpdatePack7 25.3.12 (Windows 6.1.7601.27615)
UpdatePack7 25.2.12 (Windows 6.1.7601.27566)
UpdatePack7 25.1.15 (Windows 6.1.7601.27520)
UpdatePack7 24.12.12 (Windows 6.1.7601.27412)

Steam Version: 1730853000 (Thurs, Nov 7, 2024)
Steam API Version: SteamClient021

Steam Version: 1726604483 (Tue, Sep 17, 2024)

[Ontrix_Kitsune]

There's a lot of fake information floating around in this thread so I will do my best to try and keep things factual: Yes we can download the KB update packs for Windows server 2008 from the Microsoft Catalog website. However we still must have an active Microsoft ESU License tied to our key for Windows server 2008 to be able to use those updates legally.

If someone installs those updates either into Server 2008 without an active ESU license or into Windows 7 then that's illegal and piracy.

[KalGimpa]

Messaggio originale di bidulless:

Messaggio originale di KalCuey:

-snip-

hello
do what i've done :
build a windows 7 pro or home vm
then use this tool inside and you will get your answer ... it's the same os :
windows 7 , windows 7 embedded, windows 7 pro, windows 7 edu, windows 7 N; windows 77 enterprise,windows home ,windows 7 server 2008r2 ...
it you think it's a malware, good luck so ,) and if you guess malware can get a certificat since 2013 ...
do you really think i will explain you how dism is working when you do not want to test it yourself ??
so test it and come back with your discovery and i will tell your how it's done using dism.
also no, there is not trick : just open any windows 7 or windows 2008r2 or windows embedded ( where is the pro , edu, n,enterprise here ???) and open it using 7z and them open the pkg.properties files you see inside it )
i guess you can check my post history for that no ?
and, hehe, it does not run in "kernel mode" rofl xd

for a person who claims to hate bs

this is the biggest load of it

again

"go use it"

is exactly what someone that wants you to infect your pc would say

not willing to do the work to prove this is safe but willing to push it

yeah, you have no ball in that game, right?

some dude in ukraine, huh?

how many bots have you helped create with this mess?

[MonkehMaster]

Messaggio originale di KalCuey:

Messaggio originale di bidulless:

hello
do what i've done :
build a windows 7 pro or home vm
then use this tool inside and you will get your answer ... it's the same os :
windows 7 , windows 7 embedded, windows 7 pro, windows 7 edu, windows 7 N; windows 77 enterprise,windows home ,windows 7 server 2008r2 ...
it you think it's a malware, good luck so ,) and if you guess malware can get a certificat since 2013 ...
do you really think i will explain you how dism is working when you do not want to test it yourself ??
so test it and come back with your discovery and i will tell your how it's done using dism.
also no, there is not trick : just open any windows 7 or windows 2008r2 or windows embedded ( where is the pro , edu, n,enterprise here ???) and open it using 7z and them open the pkg.properties files you see inside it )
i guess you can check my post history for that no ?
and, hehe, it does not run in "kernel mode" rofl xd

for a person who claims to hate bs

this is the biggest load of it

again

"go use it"

is exactly what someone that wants you to infect your pc would say

not willing to do the work to prove this is safe but willing to push it

yeah, you have no ball in that game, right?

some dude in ukraine, huh?

how many bots have you helped create with this mess?

you can test stuff without being infected.

no one here has to explain to you how things work, you can easily look it up or do the testing yourself, like everyone else does across the world.

and now you have to toss out fake claims and where they may live as an argument....

1) no one has pushed anything.

2) what does where the person comes from have to do with this?

3) create mess and bots? what are you on about?

[bidulless]

Messaggio originale di KalCuey:

Messaggio originale di bidulless:

hello
do what i've done :
build a windows 7 pro or home vm
then use this tool inside and you will get your answer ... it's the same os :
windows 7 , windows 7 embedded, windows 7 pro, windows 7 edu, windows 7 N; windows 77 enterprise,windows home ,windows 7 server 2008r2 ...
it you think it's a malware, good luck so ,) and if you guess malware can get a certificat since 2013 ...
do you really think i will explain you how dism is working when you do not want to test it yourself ??
so test it and come back with your discovery and i will tell your how it's done using dism.
also no, there is not trick : just open any windows 7 or windows 2008r2 or windows embedded ( where is the pro , edu, n,enterprise here ???) and open it using 7z and them open the pkg.properties files you see inside it )
i guess you can check my post history for that no ?
and, hehe, it does not run in "kernel mode" rofl xd

for a person who claims to hate bs

this is the biggest load of it

again

"go use it"

is exactly what someone that wants you to infect your pc would say

not willing to do the work to prove this is safe but willing to push it

yeah, you have no ball in that game, right?

some dude in ukraine, huh?

how many bots have you helped create with this mess?

hello

so i guess you are trolling like so often ...
point me the bs into my post and aye , instead of talking about something that " run in kernel"( rolf no ?? ) ,may be you need help about what vm means ?? vm means virtual machine using virtuabox as exemple like i did here xd

note that i really wonder how you know it's running in 'kernel mode" without any clue what is means ...
and from my post history please copy past a link where i said that ;
"go use it"
and may be you're asking how i know this tool is been done by an ukranien .... so i let you check that yourself if you can ....
and last :
i am clearly open to critics when it's argumented

[KalGimpa]

Messaggio originale di MonkehMaster:

Messaggio originale di KalCuey:

for a person who claims to hate bs

this is the biggest load of it

again

"go use it"

is exactly what someone that wants you to infect your pc would say

not willing to do the work to prove this is safe but willing to push it

yeah, you have no ball in that game, right?

some dude in ukraine, huh?

how many bots have you helped create with this mess?

you can test stuff without being infected.

no one here has to explain to you how things work, you can easily look it up or do the testing yourself, like everyone else does across the world.


and now you have to toss out fake claims and where they may live as an argument....


1) no one has pushed anything.

2) what does where the person comes from have to do with this?

3) create mess and bots? what are you on about?

you are absolutely right

they do not have to prove anything if they do not want to be taken seriously

if you wish to know about the ukraine bit, read a little of our conversation

[SIMΩMEGA]

Messaggio originale di KalCuey:

Messaggio originale di SIMΩMEGA:

Unconstructive

maybe you will answer for me

what is it that this program is updating?

there have been no new updates for win 7

or even server 2008 that some said was basically side loaded

what is it that is being updated and how?

not just a list of what the program says it is doing

also

who are the people that put this together?

what is it that they have done to trick 7 into using it?

what have they done about all of the little side programs?

idk abt any of dat, dat wasnt wt i was talking abt, i was simply explaining 2 de guy above dat w11 is not as secure as he thinks

Not sure why u asked me, maybe u js thought i was knowledgeable? in dat case i cannot answer bc as i said (unless it was anoder thread) i only have beginner / intermed8 programming knowledge, i wouldnt boder wiv making win7 secure bc im planning 2 switch 2 linux in like a month or 2 anyways as soon as i get my new gaming pc, i was on win10 so far, dont like w11, trying 2 make win7 secure sounds like 2 much hassle, & eventually sm1 would js give up on updating it & i would have 2 js switch OS again, so yeah, im swapping 2 linux, maybe keep w11 (wivout de tpm requirement ofc 🗿) as a side-load option in case i wanna play any of dose games dat force kernel-level AC, but thankfully i h8 all of dose games lol

[SIMΩMEGA]

Messaggio originale di Princess Luna:

Messaggio originale di Lamiosa:

Just can give the advice: Never use an OS which support has ended.

Windows 10/11 is so good supported that users get new bugs and problems every day.

https://www.pcworld.com/article/2645613/windows-10-users-struggle-with-several-problems-after-march-update.html

What a nice guys work in MS

Messaggio originale di Lamiosa:

You can always run applications in compatibility mode, if you want a downgrade and if that is not enough, you can run a VM with an old VM on your client.

16-bit games from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Entertainment_Pack does not work for me in 64-bit Windows 7.

W10 / 11 being bad doesnt make his argument wrong, as he said, u shouldnt use an OS dat stopped getting security upd8s (unless u dont connect it 2 de internet, in which case its fine).

[SIMΩMEGA]

Messaggio originale di Ontrix_Kitsune:

Messaggio originale di bidulless:

it upgrade the os with kbxxxxx

A note to everyone: Windows 7 can not be updated or upgraded as there is nothing to update or upgrade it to. There are no new updates for Windows 7 that can possibly be installed.

Messaggio originale di bidulless:

it use dism to do this job and it's been possible because it's the same os (windows nt 6.1)

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 are NOT the same operating system.

Messaggio originale di bidulless:

all the files listed in each kb the programm is using ( just check/compare the os 's files and the files listed by the kb on mikeysoft website , there is a cvs files for every kb)

This is a double post from the above comment: There are no new Microsoft KnowledgeBase (KB) files for Windows 7 that can be installed.

"A note to everyone: Windows 7 can not be updated or upgraded as there is nothing to update or upgrade it to. There are no new updates for Windows 7 that can possibly be installed." yes official support has ended, but like ive said, reverse-engineering exists, im not saying dat w7 is gonna b more secure dan 10 or 11, but if ders enough ppl caring enough abt reviving it, dey can happily do so, im js saying, dat technically speaking, u could patch an old os 2 make it secure even if official support has ended, dats not false information, its simply de nature of hacking / internet / etc..

[SIMΩMEGA]

Messaggio originale di Ontrix_Kitsune:

Messaggio originale di bidulless:

remember i won't allways answer you

I'm not concerned if you answer or not. I will be right here to make sure your false information is debunked every time you try again. As I have told you before: You will not succeed with your agenda of trying to persuade the public that there are new updates for Windows 7. I will make sure of that.

new official updates* dat wld b correct, but unofficial upd8s? Whole oder story.

[HIVEmind]

yay. lets pull out my old vista and tinker with its guts. oh. thats right you need a vm or a old pc. yay play with a old pc.

the only good thing for a old pc is a nas. your cpu and network card determins speed. probably really slow.

your only option printer server.

[SIMΩMEGA]

Messaggio originale di HIVEmind:

yay. lets pull out my old vista and tinker with its guts. oh. thats right you need a vm or a old pc. yay play with a old pc.

the only good thing for a old pc is a nas. your cpu and network card determins speed. probably really slow.

your only option printer server.

i never said anything abt using it, if u read 1 of my previous replies, i said i wldnt boder wiv running w7, or any oder old OS (not on my everyday PC dats connected 2 de internet, anyway);

i was js st8ing, dat patching w7 & making it js as secure as linux is well wivin de realm of possibilities, never said it wldnt be time-consuming or worth it, why make smth like TempleOS? Bc he had de knowledge & de guy js wanted 2, so if anybody wants 2 take de challenge & make w7 secure, den nobodys stopping dem

[Ontrix_Kitsune]

Messaggio originale di bidulless:

so i guess you are trolling like so often ...
point me the bs into my post and aye , instead of talking about something that " run in kernel"( rolf no ?? ) ,may be you need help about what vm means ?? vm means virtual machine using virtuabox as exemple like i did here xd

note that i really wonder how you know it's running in 'kernel mode" without any clue what is means ...
and from my post history please copy past a link where i said that ;
"go use it"
and may be you're asking how i know this tool is been done by an ukranien .... so i let you check that yourself if you can ....
and last :
i am clearly open to critics when it's argumented

All microsoft KB packs install into the root of the operating system with full administrator privileges in to a Microsoft Windows operating system. That's how Microsoft Windows Updates work. Any app or program that installs Windows Updates also has full administrator access to our computers. They couldn't install the Windows Updates without it. This means that UpdatePack7 has full access to our computers including full Administrator access (equivalent to the root user in Linux). Again: If it didn't have that it couldn't install Windows Updates.

The concern of everyone is what is UpdatePack7 doing with that Administrator access in our machines? What is it installing? Only Windows Updates? Other programs? Other code? No one knows because the code for the installer program for UpdatePack7 is closed-source and not distributed to the public. To make it worse it's self-signed by 1 random person somewhere in the world. Everyone here in this thread defending UpdatePack7 is repeatedly telling others "Just go install it, it's fine." ... "The person is trusted. Trust me bro it's fine."

No independent audits of the program have been performed by security analysts. It's literally just a random program by a random person somewhere on the internet claiming their program is safe.

[Ontrix_Kitsune]

Messaggio originale di SIMΩMEGA:

"A note to everyone: Windows 7 can not be updated or upgraded as there is nothing to update or upgrade it to. There are no new updates for Windows 7 that can possibly be installed." yes official support has ended, but like ive said, reverse-engineering exists, im not saying dat w7 is gonna b more secure dan 10 or 11, but if ders enough ppl caring enough abt reviving it, dey can happily do so, im js saying, dat technically speaking, u could patch an old os 2 make it secure even if official support has ended, dats not false information, its simply de nature of hacking / internet / etc..

Unfortunately no that is not possible. For someone to create patches for Windows 7 like Microsoft did they would have to have access to the full Windows 7 source code so they could examine the bugs and create the patches. If they don't have that then they can't patch it. You might want to note also that decompiling code for a licensed product like Windows 7 is illegal as well.

[MonkehMaster]

Messaggio originale di Ontrix_Kitsune:

Messaggio originale di bidulless:

so i guess you are trolling like so often ...
point me the bs into my post and aye , instead of talking about something that " run in kernel"( rolf no ?? ) ,may be you need help about what vm means ?? vm means virtual machine using virtuabox as exemple like i did here xd

note that i really wonder how you know it's running in 'kernel mode" without any clue what is means ...
and from my post history please copy past a link where i said that ;
"go use it"
and may be you're asking how i know this tool is been done by an ukranien .... so i let you check that yourself if you can ....
and last :
i am clearly open to critics when it's argumented

All microsoft KB packs install into the root of the operating system with full administrator privileges in to a Microsoft Windows operating system. That's how Microsoft Windows Updates work. Any app or program that installs Windows Updates also has full administrator access to our computers. They couldn't install the Windows Updates without it. This means that UpdatePack7 has full access to our computers including full Administrator access (equivalent to the root user in Linux). Again: If it didn't have that it couldn't install Windows Updates.

The concern of everyone is what is UpdatePack7 doing with that Administrator access in our machines? What is it installing? Only Windows Updates? Other programs? Other code? No one knows because the code for the installer program for UpdatePack7 is closed-source and not distributed to the public. To make it worse it's self-signed by 1 random person somewhere in the world. Everyone here in this thread defending UpdatePack7 is repeatedly telling others "Just go install it, it's fine." ... "The person is trusted. Trust me bro it's fine."

No independent audits of the program have been performed by security analysts. It's literally just a random program by a random person somewhere on the internet claiming their program is safe.

"the concern of everyone", only seeing 3 asking, 2 of which obviously dont care as they come and go, leaving one which is you....

whats it doing, installing ,ect...? as mentioned, you would know this if you had done your own research, or testing.

show us where "everyone" in here "defending" this program, is telling people "repeatedly" "just go install it, trust me bro its fine"? you cant cause it doesnt exist and hasnt happened.

fyi, no independent security analyst checks anything on the internet first off, secondly they dont analyse the security on a windows update, they build and push out their updates and are microsoft, thus no one is combing updates for security issues lol, so not sure where that came from.

yep, random programs, from random people on the internet, yep... thats the internet, been that way for decades... nothing new to anyone who has been using pc's for any long length of time.

[SIMΩMEGA]

Messaggio originale di Ontrix_Kitsune:

Messaggio originale di SIMΩMEGA:

"A note to everyone: Windows 7 can not be updated or upgraded as there is nothing to update or upgrade it to. There are no new updates for Windows 7 that can possibly be installed." yes official support has ended, but like ive said, reverse-engineering exists, im not saying dat w7 is gonna b more secure dan 10 or 11, but if ders enough ppl caring enough abt reviving it, dey can happily do so, im js saying, dat technically speaking, u could patch an old os 2 make it secure even if official support has ended, dats not false information, its simply de nature of hacking / internet / etc..

Unfortunately no that is not possible. For someone to create patches for Windows 7 like Microsoft did they would have to have access to the full Windows 7 source code so they could examine the bugs and create the patches. If they don't have that then they can't patch it. You might want to note also that decompiling code for a licensed product like Windows 7 is illegal as well.

Never said anything abt it being easy, or legal eider