Windows Life Cycle Manual

Original address: Http://windows.microsoft.com/zh-cn/windows/lifecycle

Windows life cycle Specification Last updated: April 2014

Every Windows product has a life cycle. The lifecycle is counted from the time the product is released and ends when it is no longer supported. Understanding the critical dates of your lifecycle can help you make informed decisions about software upgrades or other changes. Here are the rights and limitations regarding the Windows lifecycle.

End Support

End support refers to the date that Microsoft no longer provides automatic patches, updates, or online technical help. At this point, you should make sure that you have the latest updates or Service packs available. Without Microsoft support, you will no longer receive any security updates that can help your computer defend against harmful viruses, spyware, and other malicious software that may steal personal information. For more information, go to the Microsoft support life cycle.

client operating system	latest update or Service Pack	main end of support date	extended End Support Date
Windows XP	Service Pack 3	April 14, 2009	April 8, 2014
Windows Vista	Service Pack 2	April 10, 2012	April 11, 2017
Windows 7 *	Service Pack 1	January 13, 2015	January 14, 2020
Windows 8	Windows 8.1	January 9, 2018	January 10, 2023

* Support for Windows 7 RTM without Service Pack ends on April 9, 2013. Ensure that Windows 7 Service Pack 1 is installed immediately to continue receiving support and updates.

Sales End

End of sale refers to the date when a specific version of Windows is no longer shipped to the retailer or original equipment manufacturer (OEM). OEMs typically refer to the computer manufacturer that preinstalled Windows software, such as Dell and Toshiba. When a version of Windows reaches its sales end date, it is a good time to consider the upgrade.

This table provides the sales end date for a specific Windows operating system.

client operating systems and updates	Public Release date	Retail Software sales End Date *	Sales End date for pre-installed Windows computers
Windows XP	December 31, 2001	June 30, 2008	October 22, 2010
Windows Vista	January 30, 2007	October 22, 2010	October 22, 2011
Windows 7 Home Standard, Home Premium, Ultimate Edition	October 22, 2009	October 31, 2013	October 31, 2014
Windows 7 Professional Edition	October 22, 2009	October 31, 2013	Not yet determined * *
Windows 8	October 26, 2012	October 31, 2014	Not yet determined
Windows 8.1	October 18, 2013	Not yet determined	Not yet determined

* Please note that when a retail software product reaches its sales end date, it can still be purchased through an OEM (company that manufactures the computer) until it reaches the end of sales date for the computer that preinstalled Windows.

* * Microsoft will provide a one-year notification service before the sales end date.

Windows Life Cycle Manual