Microsoft is attempting to nudge extra individuals towards newer Windows variations. As Thurott reports, Microsoft has warned that the OneDrive desktop app will cease syncing with private Windows 7, 8 and eight.1 computer systems on March 1st, 2022. The software program will now not obtain updates from January 1st onward. You can nonetheless use the net to manually switch recordsdata, however that is clearly a problem if you happen to routinely entry cloud recordsdata from an older PC.

Business prospects will not have a lot of a reprieve, both. Microsoft is tying company OneDrive assist to the Windows cycle for related machines. Windows 7 and eight.1 office customers may have till January tenth, 2023 (the top of prolonged assist for each platforms), whereas Windows 8 customers are already out of luck.

The firm wasn’t shy about its reasoning. This will assist “focus resources” on newer Windows platforms and applied sciences, based on OneDrive builders. In different phrases, Microsoft actually needs you to improve to Windows 10 or Windows 11.

This is not a very surprising transfer. Microsoft has lengthy had hassle persuading some prospects to improve to newer variations of Windows, to the purpose the place corporations and governments would moderately pay for particular assist contracts than replace. That hurts Microsoft’s backside line, after all, but it surely additionally poses safety dangers — WannaCry took benefit of organizations operating outdated Windows variations. The new OneDrive coverage could push some customers to put in newer Windows variations even when they’re in any other case pleased with an previous working system.