As you’re probably aware, Microsoft has officially pulled the plug on Windows 7 support for everyone except those who are paying for the privilege via the company’s ESU (Extended Security Updates) policy.
The final Windows 7 update was KB4534310. After that, unless you’ve paid for ESUs, no further updates are coming, no exceptions.
Well, except for this one exception.
After Microsoft issued their final Windows 7 update, users complained of an issue where if you’ve selected a custom wallpaper and you use “stretch” mode to display it, instead of getting a stretched version of the image you selected, you get a black screen.
Microsoft acknowledged the issue and announced that they’d fix it for ESU members only, in the next update. This didn’t sit well with the still surprisingly large Windows 7 user base, who complained loudly. The company caved, and has subsequently announced that a fix for the desktop image issue will be made available to all Windows 7 users.
It’s a small victory, to be sure, but a victory nonetheless. Windows 7 users can pat themselves on the back for getting one final update out of Microsoft after the company announced end of support for Windows 7. It would be a mistake, however, to believe that this is the new norm. That all the users have to do is complain loudly about issues and Microsoft will swoop in with a fix.
The end of support for Windows 7 has been on the company’s radar for more than two years. They’ve announced it at regular intervals and bent over backwards to try and entice Windows 7 users to upgrade, and they’ve gone out of their way to provide extended support.
With this fix, we’ve essentially reached peak patience. It’s extremely unlikely that the Windows 7 user base will get anything more from the company. If you’re not already doing so, it’s well past time to start making plans to migrate away from Windows 7.
Leave Your Comments