What's the best Windows version in your opinion?

[V3ng34nc3 103]

I love Windows 7! Maybe it's just cause I grew up with it, but I don't like the simplicity of the new versions 

[ExplosionMare 25,469]

That's my favorite, as well! That and the early days of Windows 10 before they made everything harder to find in the settings. 

Really though, anything is better than Windows 8.1  ! I had to use that one in computer labs and it was so strange! I'm not surprised it wasn't used for long!

[Luna the Great of all the Russias 3,216]

I think back to Windows 7 very fondly. The Aero and Skeuomorphic styles are my favourite for technology, which was prevalent from around the mid-2000s to early-2010s: shiny, glassy, etc. I was very disappointed when the trend shifted towards minimalism, flat colours, and more abstract icons.

Beyond style, I like that... Windows 7 just worked. This is as opposed to Windows 10 onwards, when Microsoft increasingly undermined user's ability to control their own PC, and having users pay for a malware OS. I hope Linux becomes much more prevalent.

Windows 7.

Windows 11.

iOS6 vs. iOS7.

[Dawnshine Wonder 3,723]

55 minutes ago, Luna the Great of all the Russias said:

I think back to Windows 7 very fondly. The Aero and Skeuomorphic styles are my favourite for technology, which was prevalent from around the mid-2000s to early-2010s: shiny, glassy, etc. I was very disappointed when the trend shifted towards minimalism, flat colours, and more abstract icons.

Beyond style, I like that... Windows 7 just worked. This is as opposed to Windows 10 onwards, when Microsoft increasingly undermined user's ability to control their own PC, and having users pay for a malware OS. I hope Linux becomes much more prevalent.

Windows 7.

Windows 11.

iOS6 vs. iOS7.

I agree, Windows 7 is the last time I remember Windows being an actually good operating system, not just because of the aero interface, it was simple, stable and gave users control over their PC's more than any other Windows OS after it, now they're trying to force people to use their store app to get software instead of downloading it directly from a company that actually owns the software, so the exe install whatever cannot be backed up, it has to be downloaded every time a person wants a fresh installation of X application.

You shared a video link to people which showed I was not just imagining the biggest issue with Windows 11 right now, and it corrupts itself on SSD's that have a certain but commonly used controller in them, as it did on mine, I got fed up with it which is why I switched to using Ubuntu. Linux is known for not being compatible with widely used applications but then it's not like Windows is perfect with that either, what used to work with older Windows OS's, no longer does on Windows 11 and its so called "compatibility mode" sucks as it has limited ability to emulate a legacy OS. Steam Deck made PC gaming more accessible on Linux but there's more that needs to be done, it's not just gamers who use Linux, some people use it for work related reasons and may need it for Libre office for or something else.

[KPackratt 1,166]

For me, it would have to be either Windows XP or Windows 7. The former was what I used during my childhood, so I have fond memories of it, the latter was one of the last good versions of Windows before Microsoft screwed up later versions with unwanted nagware that can be difficult to disable and occasional stability issues.

If the software I use still supported it, I'd still be running Windows 7.

[Longhaul 9,551]

I have to agree with Windows 7, that was one of the better versions that I've used.

[Iforgotmybrain 7,711]

Windows 7, it was the last time they actually improved Windows imo. Every iteration since has gotten worse in one way or another.

[IronM17 6,297]

Well, for me, it is XP. It was in my opinion (and also the opinuion of others I know) the best version of Windows. I never had big trouble with XP (in contrast to it successor Vista wghich was in my opinion one of the worst versions). I am ok with 7 and 10, but XP will be always my favorite (as long as 11 or others who will come are better of course). 

[Nikrean 43]

Windows 7

OR 8.1 (YES I THINK 8.1 IS COOL DON'T SHOOT ME )

[Kitana 147]

Loved Windows 7 as well, it was really good!

[Clawdeen 25,027]

The way I never paid much attention to the different versions to begin with to even have a favorite lol. 

[Fluttershutter 3,238]

I dunno.  I have Windows 10 here. Don't particularly like it and they're ending service soon.

On 2025-08-23 at 11:34 AM, Luna the Great of all the Russias said:

I think back to Windows 7 very fondly. The Aero and Skeuomorphic styles are my favourite for technology, which was prevalent from around the mid-2000s to early-2010s: shiny, glassy, etc. I was very disappointed when the trend shifted towards minimalism, flat colours, and more abstract icons.

Beyond style, I like that... Windows 7 just worked. This is as opposed to Windows 10 onwards, when Microsoft increasingly undermined user's ability to control their own PC, and having users pay for a malware OS. I hope Linux becomes much more prevalent.

With Windows 10 ending soon and my PC being over ten years old I was thinking about a new one. Thinking about building my own. I'm woefully inept with technology but somebody told me "it's like legos these days."

I definitely think a lot about the losing the ability to control your own pc thing. Is linux hard to learn for somebody who's only ever used windows and doesn't know much about it to begin with?

[DubWolf 19,839]

Windows 7. Was the last "classic" version before they thought it was a good idea to make the layouts unnecessarily confusing every new version after.

[Dawnshine Wonder 3,723]

6 hours ago, Fluttershutter said:

I definitely think a lot about the losing the ability to control your own pc thing. Is linux hard to learn for somebody who's only ever used windows and doesn't know much about it to begin with?

Linux is easy to learn once you get the hang of using terminal, and there are tutorials online to explain how to install, update or remove packages. It may not be the most user friendly operating system out there, but I've had it on my system for months and web browser use is pretty much the same.

 

Edited September 14 by Dawnshine Wonder

[Luna the Great of all the Russias 3,216]

18 hours ago, Fluttershutter said:

I dunno.  I have Windows 10 here. Don't particularly like it and they're ending service soon.

With Windows 10 ending soon and my PC being over ten years old I was thinking about a new one. Thinking about building my own. I'm woefully inept with technology but somebody told me "it's like legos these days."

I definitely think a lot about the losing the ability to control your own pc thing. Is linux hard to learn for somebody who's only ever used windows and doesn't know much about it to begin with?

I have used Linux to a limited extent for some years. Only more recently have I put more effort into trying to transition to it. I personally have a drive that has Linux Fedora on it. I customized it in a way that it resembles fairly closely to Windows 7 with its Aero theming and using the Windows logo from back then (ironically enough on a Linux OS).

For anyone more knowledgeable than me, correct me where I am incorrect. But, from what I understand, while there are many different types of Linux distributions, there are three main categories of them:

• Debian-based: The most stable. Most user-friendly.
• Fedora: An intermediate between stability and receiving new updates and features, customizability.
• Arch: Tends to gets new updates and features the most quickly, most customizable. But is decidedly for more advanced users who are able to tinker with the OS.
• Others: Not based on any of the three above. More niche.

So, for new Linux users, Debian-based distributions are the safest, which include the following:

• Ubuntu
• Mint
• Pop!_OS
• Zorin OS

For a Windows user who is new to Linux, I would probably recommend to you Linux Mint, at least to try using Linux. If the idea of using the Terminal is unappealing to you, I do not think you actually ever need to use it for at least Linux Mint. To learn how to use it would be rather useful, but I think you can stay using the GUI for a long while. I expect that there will be an extent to which you will need to tinker with things even with the more user-friendly Linux distributions, but I am reminded of someone who pointed out how, for instance, it is not necessarily the case that Windows is easy to use, but that people have simply gotten used to navigating around more unintuitive things about Windows.

One major concern about transitioning to Linux, regardless of which distribution you choose, is whether you can still do the things you need to do on a computer with Linux. Are you able to switch to open-source alternatives (if they exist), or are you specifically bound to certain software that only work on Windows?

I would recommend at least trying Linux Mint, whether on a virtual machine, a spare computer, or at least a spare solid state or hard drive. Some people recommended partition your existing drive, but I have heard of some experiencing problems booting into a system that way. I would more opt for a sacrificial computer or drive, so that your existing data is at least still safe (or at least this is my mentality anyway).

The following video explains some basic aspects of Linux, as well as giving recommendations to new users. Linux may take time to learn, but one big positive is that you have control over your computer.

Also: beware of anyone suggesting to you to type in the command

Quote

sudo rm -rf [Do NOT execute this command]

or something similar, as it deletes all of your data.

[Fluttershutter 3,238]

5 hours ago, Luna the Great of all the Russias said:

I have used Linux to a limited extent for some years. Only more recently have I put more effort into trying to transition to it. I personally have a drive that has Linux Fedora on it. I customized it in a way that it resembles fairly closely to Windows 7 with its Aero theming and using the Windows logo from back then (ironically enough on a Linux OS).

For anyone more knowledgeable than me, correct me where I am incorrect. But, from what I understand, while there are many different types of Linux distributions, there are three main categories of them:

• Debian-based: The most stable. Most user-friendly.
• Fedora: An intermediate between stability and receiving new updates and features, customizability.
• Arch: Tends to gets new updates and features the most quickly, most customizable. But is decidedly for more advanced users who are able to tinker with the OS.
• Others: Not based on any of the three above. More niche.

So, for new Linux users, Debian-based distributions are the safest, which include the following:

• Ubuntu
• Mint
• Pop!_OS
• Zorin OS

For a Windows user who is new to Linux, I would probably recommend to you Linux Mint, at least to try using Linux. If the idea of using the Terminal is unappealing to you, I do not think you actually ever need to use it for at least Linux Mint. To learn how to use it would be rather useful, but I think you can stay using the GUI for a long while. I expect that there will be an extent to which you will need to tinker with things even with the more user-friendly Linux distributions, but I am reminded of someone who pointed out how, for instance, it is not necessarily the case that Windows is easy to use, but that people have simply gotten used to navigating around more unintuitive things about Windows.

One major concern about transitioning to Linux, regardless of which distribution you choose, is whether you can still do the things you need to do on a computer with Linux. Are you able to switch to open-source alternatives (if they exist), or are you specifically bound to certain software that only work on Windows?

I would recommend at least trying Linux Mint, whether on a virtual machine, a spare computer, or at least a spare solid state or hard drive. Some people recommended partition your existing drive, but I have heard of some experiencing problems booting into a system that way. I would more opt for a sacrificial computer or drive, so that your existing data is at least still safe (or at least this is my mentality anyway).

The following video explains some basic aspects of Linux, as well as giving recommendations to new users. Linux may take time to learn, but one big positive is that you have control over your computer.

Also: beware of anyone suggesting to you to type in the command

or something similar, as it deletes all of your data.

Yeah...sounds really intimidating. 

[Luna the Great of all the Russias 3,216]

38 minutes ago, Fluttershutter said:

Yeah...sounds really intimidating. 

I do not think it is that bad. With Linux Mint at least, you do not need to use the Terminal if you do not want to. Installation is simple, and becoming familiar with Linux Mint is fairly easy. Mind you, it is a different OS, so you definitely would have to become familiar with how it works. But different does not necessarily mean difficult. It certainly is much better now than it has been in the past in terms of accessibility.

If you are intimidated by Linux, I would suggest trying to use it on some sort of virtual machine, so that you can become familiar with it, without affecting your main machine. The following is a guide on how to set that up, so that you can try Linux Mint (or whatever distribution you want to try, but Mint is among the most popular for a beginner-friendly distribution), and see whether you like it.

Transition to Linux may be intimidating, and it certainly acquired that kind of reputation. But a great deal of it depends on the distribution you choose. I do not think there is much to concerned about when it comes to the more beginnner-friendly distributions like Mint, Ubuntu, Pop!_OS, Zorin to name some notable examples. Distributions like Arch Linux is definitely for a more advanced user, but you do not need to deal with that, if you simply want an OS that works "out of the box", so to speak.

For myself, I am becoming increasingly annoyed by large technology companies generally becoming more invasive, forcing features I never wanted...generally making me lose control over my own computer. Perhaps something can be said about trading off control over your computer for convenience, but it strikes me that we are increasingly losing control without the benefit of convenience. The prominence of "AI" into everything is especially annoying to me. At least with Linux... while I am definitely still learning much about it... it would be very nice to have full control over my own computer again; at least if I were to break something, it would be completely my fault, instead of something breaking because of the negligence of the large technology company.

So, soon you may have to decide between purchasing Windows 11, or switching to Linux. I think at least trying out Linux in a safe environment would be worth doing; see whether you like it or not. Also, it is free.

 

Edit: I realized that I veered off from talking about Windows to talk about Linux.

[Spark Thunderbass 1,988]

I used to think XP was the best, now it's got to a point where it doesn't really matter, just as long as the new versions work as intended.

[ZiggWheelsManning 14,705]

I have a 3-way tie for 98, XP and Vista.  Credit goes to those cool designs, software and sounds  Waiting in the horror when 12 comes out.  

 

Windows 98?  Ah yes, 1998, that season the Falcons went to the Super Bowl  

[Dawnshine Wonder 3,723]

1 minute ago, ZiggWheelsManning said:

I have a 3-way tie for 98, XP and Vista.  Credit goes to those cool designs, software and sounds  Waiting in the horror when 12 comes out.  

 

Windows 98?  Ah yes, 1998, that season the Falcons went to the Super Bowl  

Windows 98 had that memory glitch, however I think the issue was overblown at the time, because 512 megabytes of RAM was still a lot back then. it became a problem by the time Windows XP came out but by then Windows 98 was already obsolete. It does however, still serve a purpose for people who play old PC games. Windows 7 was the last good Microsoft OS I remember, however I do have fond memories of Windows 98, those screensavers were fun to play around with. 

[Cash In 23,331]

Windows 7 is my favourite, solely based on ease of use and better functionality in my experience. It also has a charm that I don't any of the subsequent versions managed to replicate.

I also have a bit of a soft spot for Windows XP, mostly based on memories of using it when I was a wee child.

[Retro*Derpy 3,648]

I can agree with most people in the thread that windows 7 was probably the best version of it. Windows XP was really good too though.

I don't like windows 11 at all, and I don't think that the next operating system is going to be getting any better. A lot of settings have been out right removed since it either confused certain users or businesses simply didn't like it. I also hated that I had to go look up a command line to get past the windows 11 starting setup, because I didn't have an Ethernet cable hooked up to it and the startup literally will lock you out if you don't have an internet connection, unless you do the hidden command to get around it. So stupid and meaningless. The reason I didn't have an Ethernet hooked up is because I need more room to remove my hard drives, but for whatever reason when reinstalling windows, if you have multiple drives the partition software just doesn't work properly. I was getting BSOD all the time trying to install with multiple drives, and when I got one instant of it working I check the disk management only to see the system files were completely scattered between partitions with different file systems.... So I took all the drives out and installed it on the one and it worked. Long story short I just miss windows 7  Though I learned in cybersecurity class that it takes about 80 seconds for a windows XP computer that is connected to the internet to be breached by attackers   

[Astralshy 30,360]

From the windows versions Ive used 'the bests' (least annoying) versions were Windows XP (with sp 2) and Windows 7

But I alos like to add that I would consider the best windows version one which is not installed on a computer