Microsoft tries in every way to encourage more people to newer versions of Windows. How Thurott reports, Microsoft has warned that it will OneDrive the desktop application will stop syncing with personal Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 computers on March 1, 2022. The software will no longer receive updates from January 1 onwards. You can still use the web to manually transfer files, but this is obviously a problem if you routinely access cloud files from an older computer.
Business clients will also not have much more time to switch. Microsoft binds enterprise OneDrive support for the Windows cycle to relevant machines. Windows 7 and 8.1 users at work will have a deadline of January 10, 2023 (the end of extended support for both platforms), while Windows 8 users no longer have that luck.
This will help focus resources on newer Windows platforms and technologies, according to OneDrive developers. In other words, Microsoft really wants you to upgrade your system to Windows 10 or Windows 11.
This is not a completely unexpected move. Microsoft has long had trouble convincing some customers to upgrade their machines to newer versions of Windows, to the point where companies and governments would rather pay special support agreements than upgrade. This, of course, hurts Microsoft’s conclusion, but it also poses security risks. VannaCry ransomware took advantage of vulnerabilities in the protocols of organizations that use outdated versions of Windows.
The new OneDrive policy could really force some users to install newer versions of Windows, even some who are otherwise happy with the old ones.
More Microsoft news: Microsoft Edge for Linux is now available for all users
Microsoft OneDrive App Will Stop Syncing With Windows 7 and 8 (March 1st, 2022) Microsoft Onedrive