Windows 7
Introduction


**Windows 7** is a major release of the [Windows NT](/wiki/Windows_NT "Windows NT") [operating system](/wiki/Operating_system "Operating system") developed by [Microsoft](/wiki/Microsoft "Microsoft"). It was [released to manufacturing](/wiki/Software_release_life_cycle%23Release_to_manufacturing_%28RTM%29 "Software release life cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM)") on July 22, 2009, and became generally available on October 22, 2009\. It is the successor to [Windows Vista](/wiki/Windows_Vista "Windows Vista"), released nearly three years earlier. Windows 7's [server](/wiki/Windows_Server "Windows Server") counterpart, [Windows Server 2008 R2](/wiki/Windows_Server_2008_R2 "Windows Server 2008 R2"), was released at the same time. It was succeeded by [Windows 8](/wiki/Windows_8 "Windows 8") in October 2012\.

Extended support ended on January 14, 2020, over ten years after the release of Windows 7, after which the operating system ceased receiving further updates. A paid support program was available for enterprises, providing security updates for Windows 7 for up to three years since the official end of life.

Windows 7 was intended to be an incremental upgrade to [Microsoft Windows](/wiki/Microsoft_Windows "Microsoft Windows"), addressing Windows Vista's poor critical reception while maintaining hardware and [software compatibility](/wiki/Software_compatibility "Software compatibility"). Windows 7 continued improvements on the [Windows Aero](/wiki/Windows_Aero "Windows Aero") user interface with the addition of a redesigned [taskbar](/wiki/Taskbar "Taskbar") that allows pinned applications, and new window management features. Other new features were added to the operating system, including libraries, the new file\-sharing system HomeGroup, and support for [multitouch](/wiki/Multitouch "Multitouch") input. A new "[Action Center](/wiki/Security_and_Maintenance "Security and Maintenance")" was also added to provide an overview of system security and maintenance information, and tweaks were made to the [User Account Control](/wiki/User_Account_Control "User Account Control") system to make it less intrusive. Windows 7 also shipped with updated versions of several stock applications, including [Internet Explorer 8](/wiki/Internet_Explorer_8 "Internet Explorer 8"), [Windows Media Player](/wiki/Windows_Media_Player "Windows Media Player"), and [Windows Media Center](/wiki/Windows_Media_Center "Windows Media Center").

Unlike Windows Vista, Windows 7 received critical acclaim, with critics considering the operating system to be a major improvement over its predecessor because of its improved performance, its more intuitive interface, fewer [User Account Control](/wiki/User_Account_Control "User Account Control") popups, and other improvements made across the platform. Windows 7 was a major success for Microsoft; even before its official release, pre\-order sales for the operating system on the online retailer [Amazon.com](/wiki/Amazon.com "Amazon.com") had surpassed previous records. In just six months, over 100 million copies had been sold worldwide, increasing to over 630 million licenses by July 2012\. By January 2018, [Windows 10](/wiki/Windows_10 "Windows 10") surpassed Windows 7 as the most popular version of Windows worldwide. [Windows 11](/wiki/Windows_11 "Windows 11") overtook Windows 7 as the second most popular Windows version on all continents in August 2022\. , just 3% of traditional PCs running Windows are running Windows 7, although it remains relatively popular in parts of the world, such as China (where it is tied with Windows 11\), and is second most popular in some countries.

Windows 7 is the final version of Windows that supports processors without [SSE2](/wiki/SSE2 "SSE2") or [NX](/wiki/NX_bit "NX bit") (although an update released in 2018 dropped support for non\-SSE2 processors). Its successor, [Windows 8](/wiki/Windows_8 "Windows 8"), requires a processor with SSE2 and NX (for any then\-supported architecture).


What is the server counterpart of Windows 7?