Windows 7 compatibility excessive restriction

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Some drivers for Windows 8 will work with Windows 10. I've updated an old computer running Windows 7 to Windows 10. It works.

There weren't any Windows 8 drivers either. My old computer originally ran Windows Vista and I later upgraded it to 7.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

There weren't any Windows 8 drivers either. My old computer originally ran Windows Vista and I later upgraded it to 7.

Personally, I would have backed up the computer and then tried Windows 10 anyway.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Personally, I would have backed up the computer and then tried Windows 10 anyway.

I did. It was a disaster.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

I did. It was a disaster.

The problem is then that you have to get a computer that runs the OS you want to run and say goodbye to the old one (like you did). Same thing for Windows 7 when the computer can be upgraded to Windows 10. Say goodbye to Windows 7 and hello to Windows 10.

[ownedbycats]

Can't run Windows 7 on my current machine anyways. Microsoft actively blocks W7 updates for Ryzen processors.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Can't run Windows 7 on my current machine anyways. Microsoft actively blocks W7 updates for Ryzen processors.

I do have an old Windows 7 upgrade CD that I can use the key to do a fresh Windows 10 install. That old computer I mentioned is running Windows 10. I needed to put in a new drive so I put in a 500GB SSD drive and upgraded it to Windows 10.

[Ytierian]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The problem is then that you have to get a computer that runs the OS you want to run and say goodbye to the old one (like you did). Same thing for Windows 7 when the computer can be upgraded to Windows 10. Say goodbye to Windows 7 and hello to Windows 10.

I did upgrade - and half the programs I still use regularly refused to work. They either have no new versions that run on 10 or cost beyond what my budget can handle for the upgraded version. So I'm on 7 until they pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

I'm in my 60s...and been using computers since the early days of minis (early 70s), and worked as a programmer, network analyst and even a stint as MIS Director during my 40 years of full-time employment...so I'm not computer illiterate.

Looks like I'll be 'behind the times' running 4.23 until I retire from computers completely...when I'm in the mortuary.

[Peter Blaise]

"agnostic" = "independent", that is, programming that is untethered from other vendor's limitations, as suggested in the examples of Firefox and Opera working on XP when Google Chrome chooses not to, even suggested in my experience that Calibre 5 copies over to and works a charm for me in Windows 7.

"We" be "end users" who watch and figure out workarounds when something hits a brick wall.

"Free"? The value of any newer OS is not just measured in cost of acquisition of the OS itself, free or not, but in the cost of lost time, lost function, lost compatibility, lost control, lost access to peripherals, lost value of tips and tricks that no longer apply, and so on ( and the US NSA National Security Agency saying NOT to install it or not to leave it running, for security risk reasons ).

Yada yada, blah blah blah, all of this has nothing to do with Calibre.

All anyone has to say when presented with Windows 7 problems, and earlier, is

"... aside from using the last version of Calibre designed for your OS, just share your Windows 7 challenges with the other users here on the support forums, and work things out together, we don't even have access to older versions of the OS anymore, good luck ..."

... and move on, no need to castigate anyone, just diplomatically thank everyone for participating, and keep everyone happy.

More importantly, thanks to Kovid Goyal for a superlative program.

Now, c'mon, everybody, get along, BNBR, play nice.

See y'all in the Windows 7 support arena. ;-)
.

[r_sauve]

Just a heads-up regarding Windows 7 support.
The Calibre Windows download pages states:
If you are using Windows 7 or Vista please, use calibre 3.48, which works with all Windows 7/Vista machines, from here. Simply un-install calibre and install 3.48, doing so will not affect your books/settings.

However, one can install up to version 4.32 under Windows 7.
https://download.calibre-ebook.com/4.html

Thank you, kovidgoyal for providing the reasons why Windows 7 is not supported in version 5. Like others in this post I first thought it was due to a non-technical policy.

[Ken Maltby]

4.00 does all that I ask of it on my Win7 desktop PC. Nothing I can think of that could be in 5.0> would be so tempting as to make it necessary or useful to "upgrade".

Luck;
Ken

[blorg]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

No, I'm not going to get sued, I'm just going to have to waste MY time dealing with issues caused by an unsupported end-of-lifed platform.

And no, it runs fine for YOU, doesnt mine it runs fine in general. Search this forum for all the windows 7 related issues cause by qt webengine in calibre 4 and calibre 5 has an even newer version of Qt WebEngine.

>Wasting your time more of a problem than disappointing or scaring away millions of users

no further comments your honor

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by Peter Blaise

Qt quotes compatibility with Windows 7 at

[ https://doc.qt.io/qt-5/supported-platforms.html ]:

Windows 7 x86 and x86_64 MSVC 2019, MSVC 2017, MinGW 8.1 MinGW-builds GCC 8.1.0 (x86)

... just sayin'.
.

Originally Posted by Peter Blaise

Hey, Firefox and Opera work in Windows XP, Google Chrome brickwalling XP is whimsical.

Nice one. Let me draw your attention to a specific subsection of your own link.

https://doc.qt.io/qt-5/supported-pla...tml#exceptions

Individual modules might be available only on some platforms, or they might not support all configurations. For example, as Qt WebEngine has Chromium as a third-party dependency, platform or configuration limitations upstream also apply to Qt WebEngine.

In fact, calibre uses webengine as its ebook-viewer base in addition to one or two things in the main program. If webengine is unusable on Windows 7 due to Google being unpleasant to work with, well, guess what? You ironically called it.

Qt formally documents webengine as not supported on Windows 7 "because Google said no".

But you can use workarounds to install it anyway, and just remember to not use certain parts lest it crash on you or manifest as a blank screen.

Your problem is literally Google Chrome.

...

Aside: the Google Chrome situation is a disaster. With everything wrong with the overreach of the modern web, Google Chrome is somehow even worse and we all suffer for it. Unfortunately, everyone seems to be making the truly disastrous decision to embed chromium into their program in order to "do web stuff".

It's the only viable, maintained Qt module, since webkit is constantly issueful and at best getting drips of life support. But even webkit is basically embedded chromium.

Electron uses it. Because clearly we need to make all apps by running a separate, new instance of chromium to eat batter, refuse to go to sleep, etc.

Unfortunately, it is what it is, and ebooks do need to use *a* browser engine, being they use HTML and all... pity that browser engine must be chromium.

If you have a solution to this, I'm sure lots of people would love to hear it. chrome/webengine is unavailable on various OSes for a mix of ethical and practical reasons -- upstream chromium won't support non-glibc targets on Linux thus locking out many Gentoo or Void Linux users and all Alpine users, won't support anything else other than Windows/macOS thus locking out the *BSDs, and FSDG distributions consider chromium to be proprietary/nonfree and blacklist it as bad for the user.

And even if you don't care about the ethical or practical reasons for not permitting it to be installed, again, it is painfully slow and bloated. Because it is a browser!

I eagerly await your masterful suggestions. In the meantime, try to avoid assuming the developer is just downright clueless about Windows 7 support.

[binaryhermit]

(Gets off eschwartz's lawn)

You're not wrong, though. The proliferation of Chromium everywhere is... not good.

I almost wish they'd invent SiFoIP so I could remotely slap whoever thought electron was a good idea in the face. Repeatedly.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by blorg

>Wasting your time more of a problem than disappointing or scaring away millions of users

no further comments your honor

Perhaps a suggestion that it's his time and if he wants to spend it continuing development of calibre rather than supporting an obsolete operating system, that's his choice. One that I suspect the majority of calibre users would support.

Speaking as a tech support person who finally got to stop supporting Windows 7 this summer, I am happy not to have to deal with the security issues in Windows 7 that will never be fixed, the software programs that users wanted to install that no longer listed Windows 7 as a supported OS, the devices where Windows 7 drivers were not available, etc. Yes, Windows 7 was a great OS in it's day. Unfortunately for some people, that day is in the past.

Yes, I realize that some people have older computers that do not support installing Windows 10. For them, calibre 3.48 exists and works quite well. So take a cup of concrete and stop whinging.

[JJ Johnson]

Disappointed.