As you might have heard Microsoft discontinued support for Windows 7 on January 7, 2020. This effects a myriad of software and Autodesk being one of them. With Windows 10 in full effect you might want to know how this affects some companies.
I have noticed recently that when upgrading client software that many of them still have Windows 7 and because of the Covid-19 virus were only planning to upgrade to Windows 10 (with new hardware) later in the year. This makes it tricky to install 2021 software because of the following specifications on the Autodesk website.
For Inventor
| Operating System | 64-bit Microsoft® Windows® 10. See Autodesk’s Product Support Lifecycle for support information. |
For AutoCAD
| Operating System | 64-bit OS that follows Autodesk’s Product Support Lifecycle policy. |
I am only looking at these 2 software packages but these specifications are persistent across all Autodesk software.
Please note that Autodesk does NOT work with any 32 BIT operating systems. This is also very counterproductive.
Now you might ask why this is all relevant.
If you try and install the software on Windows 7, it might install, it might even activate and work but if ANYTHING goes wrong there is no official support from Autodesk. You do not want to take a chance with your data EVER!
So what is the solution to this? When on subscription, Autodesk gives you the right to install up to 3 versions back. To counter the Windows 7, install Autodesk 2020 software. This is fully supported by Autodesk and will allow you to at least get some new features in, barring the 2021 ones.
