HP tells Win8 dodgers they're on their own if they want Win7
http://www.cio.com/article/721061/HP...s_to_Windows_7
Quote:
Hewlett-Packard (HP) has advised consumer customers not to downgrade new PCs equipped with Windows 8 to the earlier Windows 7.
In a message on its support website, HP said that consumer-grade desktop and notebook systems shipped after Oct. 26 -- the date Windows 8 launched -- will not support the older Windows 7.
"Windows 7 will not be supported on these new platforms, and no drivers, apps, or Windows 7 content will be available through HP," the company said. "If users choose to downgrade their HP consumer desktop or notebook system, HP will continue to support the hardware but if there is an issue where HP diagnostics are required or it is determined that the loaded software or upgrade operating system is causing the issue, HP may suggest returning the system to the original Windows 8 OS."
Downgrade rights -- which let customers replace a newer version of Windows with an older edition without paying for two copies -- are de rigueur with business-class editions of Windows, and are meant to let companies keep new machines on their preferred OS.
Only Windows 8 Pro comes with downgrade rights; the consumer-standard Windows 8 does not. Windows 8 Pro users can downshift to Windows 7 Professional or Vista Business.
Downgrade rights are available only from OEM copies of Windows, those that are pre-installed by computer manufacturers like HP. As with earlier downgrade rights, the customer is responsible for obtaining the installation media for, say, Windows 7 if he or she wants to downgrade from Windows 8.
HP noted that it will support downgrades on its business-class PCs, implying that it will provide drivers for those machines.
Although HP's for-consumers PCs come standard with Windows 8, customers who have factory-upgraded to Windows 8 Pro -- an option available on many machines -- acquire downgrade rights. HP charges $70 for the move from Windows 8 to Windows 8 Pro.
[continues]
I'm at a loss for words, really. All I can say is I look forward to HP's demise.
Re: HP tells Win8 dodgers they're on their own if they want Win7
Don't hold your breath (i'm sure you're not). When we dropped support for XP we got a few moans but really it was just about costs - development, support etc.
Re: HP tells Win8 dodgers they're on their own if they want Win7
Yeah, absolutely standard practice for the big companies I'd've thought. If you tune a system for running Win 8, develop all the drivers targeted to Win 8, and basically throw all your eggs in that basket, why should you support someone who chooses to install a different OS? That's like saying that you expect HP to support people who buy a Win 8 laptop and install Linux on it - or perhaps more accurately suggesting a phone maker should support customers who choose to install CM instead of sticking with the standard Android ROM.
HP are selling you a Windows 8 laptop, and they will provide support for that Windows 8 laptop. You put Windows 7 on it, it's no longer a Windows 8 laptop. Has any company *ever* supported consumer OS downgrades? I note the quote you've picked out states that they will be supporting downgrades on Business machines, so it's not like they're telling everyone to suck it up and use 8 - if your business requires 7 Pro you can still downgrade your business laptop and get support.
Re: HP tells Win8 dodgers they're on their own if they want Win7
Systems have often come with a choice of OS, I would suspect that the business oriented systems will have the choice of W7 or W8, either at first boot or when ordering. These systems will obviously still support W7. Or they may be the exact same systems that were running W7 a few weeks ago, so there is no big deal in them supporting that platform.
For new systems that have never had a W7 build on them, it's an entirely different proposition, and I can understand why HP would take this stance. More and more PCs are being regarded as an appliance, what you get is what you get. Any changes to that removes your warranty or support. This will only be a problem for a tiny minority of users of these systems. People don't usually upgrade, they replace.
Re: HP tells Win8 dodgers they're on their own if they want Win7
Quote:
Originally Posted by
dangel
Don't hold your breath (i'm sure you're not). When we dropped support for XP we got a few moans but really it was just about costs - development, support etc.
Not the same though - XP has been out for over a decade. Windows 7 is not that old and has sold over half a billion copies worldwide.
Re: HP tells Win8 dodgers they're on their own if they want Win7
Quote:
Originally Posted by
CAT-THE-FIFTH
Windows 7 is not that old and has sold over half a billion copies worldwide.
True, but they're not dropping Windows 7 support for all devices, they're just not providing Win 7 support for new Windows 8 devices. If you already own a Win 7 HP computer you'll still be getting support and updates for it (and possibly they'll provide Win 8 support for people who want to upgrade too). If you buy a Win 8 HP computer then decide to put Win 7 on it yourself, you're not getting support. Don't see the problem myself.
Re: HP tells Win8 dodgers they're on their own if they want Win7
Quote:
Originally Posted by
dangel
Don't hold your breath (i'm sure you're not). When we dropped support for XP we got a few moans but really it was just about costs - development, support etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
CAT-THE-FIFTH
Not the same though - XP has been out for over a decade. Windows 7 is not that old and has sold over half a billion copies worldwide.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
scaryjim
True, but they're not dropping Windows 7 support for all devices, they're just not providing Win 7 support for new Windows 8 devices. If you already own a Win 7 HP computer you'll still be getting support and updates for it (and possibly they'll provide Win 8 support for people who want to upgrade too). If you buy a Win 8 HP computer then decide to put Win 7 on it yourself, you're not getting support. Don't see the problem myself.
His comment was not about the OP,but more about changing an OS though. Like you said Windows 7 support is not being dropped,but he is trying to insinuate that dropping Windows 7 support as a whole is no big deal, as where he worked dropped XP support entirely. Sorry,but with over half a billion sales on a OS released just over 3 years ago, which has another two years of normal support and around 8 years more of extended support, it is a different situation than an ancient OS introduced 11 years ago. Perhaps,in another 4 to 7 years he might have a point though!! ;)
Re: HP tells Win8 dodgers they're on their own if they want Win7
Quote:
Originally Posted by
CAT-THE-FIFTH
His comment was not about the OP,but more about changing an OS though. Like you said Windows 7 support is not being dropped,but he is trying to insinuate that dropping Windows 7 support as a whole is no big deal, as where he worked dropped XP support entirely. Sorry,but with over half a billion sales on a OS released just over 3 years ago, which has another two years of normal support and around 8 years more of extended support, it is a different situation than an ancient OS introduced 11 years ago. Perhaps,in another 4 to 7 years he might have a point though!! ;)
Support by who though? I'm not working for Microsoft :)
This is for new shipments, not for people with 7 already - HP will continue to support customers who bought W7 systems. They just don't want to pay for something that's going to cost them (and make them nothing in return). We do the same thing - we still support our customers on XP but we won't sell you a PC with XP on it now (and add to our overheads and costs). You're missing the point in that this is about incurring costs for retroactively downgrading products that are shipping in the future to what's now no longer the current Windows OS. It's not about cutting support for those who already have 7.
Re: HP tells Win8 dodgers they're on their own if they want Win7
Quote:
Originally Posted by
dangel
Support by who though? I'm not working for Microsoft :)
This is for new shipments, not for people with 7 already - HP will continue to support customers who bought W7 systems. They just don't want to pay for something that's going to cost them (and make them nothing in return). We do the same thing - we still support our customers on XP but we won't sell you a PC with XP on it now (and add to our overheads and costs). You're missing the point in that this is about incurring costs for retroactively downgrading products that are shipping in the future to what's now no longer the current Windows OS. It's not about cutting support for those who already have 7.
Good will isn't nothing. Nor is keeping consumers from buying from your competitors instead. Slightly higher expenditure > heavily reduced income.
Re: HP tells Win8 dodgers they're on their own if they want Win7
How many normal consumers are not going to buy an HP computer because it has a newer OS than their competitor though?
HP still sell plenty of Windows 7 machines; those that shipped before 26th October (of which there are plenty in stock at retailers). Consumers who want a HP computer with Windows 7 can get that and be fully supported. Consumers who want a HP computer with Windows 8 can get that and be fully supported, too. Consumers who want to buy a new computer with Windows 8, downgrade the OS to Windows 7, and still get support, can't get that from HP. And I strongly suspect you'd need a couple of decimal places to count the percentage of total consumer sales that would account for. Hardly heavily reduced income - I doubt HP will even notice any drop in sales against the background noise.
EDIT: as an aside, the only HP laptops on ebuyer that come with Windows 8 ship with the vanilla version, not the Pro version, which means there are no downgrade rights to the OS anyway.
Re: HP tells Win8 dodgers they're on their own if they want Win7
Quote:
Originally Posted by
aidanjt
Good will isn't nothing. Nor is keeping consumers from buying from your competitors instead. Slightly higher expenditure > heavily reduced income.
Show me the huge demand that says they've made the wrong decision. <1% of customers != all your customers etc. I know your view on 8 (lord knows we all do) but angry little men on the internet != everybody who buys an HP PC. Truth is (and again, we all know this) is the vast majority buy a "Windows" box and aside from wanting the latest thing (new, shiny, bigger number, and if this even enters their heads yadda yadda) they're probably more interested in how cool their new laptop looks. You might want it to be a different world, or even one where people go "ohh, I want linux" instead of Windows entirely but that doesn't change reality as it is now. Personally I've no problem with them offering 7 (and i'm sure they would if there was actual demand) but as a business decision this seems quite reasonable for new consumer PCs to me (and others). But, as you say, here comes HP's demise - wanna put some money on that hyperbole?
Didn't think so.
Re: HP tells Win8 dodgers they're on their own if they want Win7
It's a moot point really - no enterprise decision maker in their right mind is going to buy large volumes of units from a manufacturer that is clearly very confused about it's commitment and direction within the desktop market.
Butuz
Re: HP tells Win8 dodgers they're on their own if they want Win7
Nothing new, Dell did the same on Win 7 > XP.
To be fair, the machines my IT group downgraded from Win 7 to XP were horrific, so unstable it wasn't even funny.
