It looks like the U.S. software giant has gone a step further by quietly ending sale for both the Windows 7 Professional and Windows 8 licences, which now can no longer be purchased with a new PC. According to Microsoft’s rules, the company stopped selling Windows 7 Professional or any version of Windows 8.1 to retailers or OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) as of October 31. Other versions of Windows 7 and Windows 8, such as Home Basic, Home Premium and Ultimate were already no longer available for sale. “End of sales refers to the date when a particular version of Windows is no longer shipped to retailers or Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). Examples of OEMS are Dell and Toshiba—PC manufacturers who often pre-install Windows software,” reported Forbes on Thursday. As a result, now Windows 10 only remains as a long-term choice for OEMs that pre-load Windows on their wares and users will no longer have ‘downgrade rights’ to get it with a previous edition. However, those who have enduring licences for Windows 7 and 8.1 can still install and run it, but you just can’t purchase a PC with either installed. Launched in 2009, Windows 7 was on sale for seven years, while Windows 8/8.1 was on sale for just four years. Retail sales of all Windows 7 versions ended three years ago and Windows 8.1 was pulled off from shelves on September 1, 2015. However, Microsoft will continue to provide Windows 7 with security updates till at least 2020 and until 2023 for Windows 8.1. Microsoft announced earlier this year that it would be rolling out two major updates for Windows 10 next year.
