I have a surveying program that is not supported anymore and requires Win 7 to run. Is it still possible to purchase a desktop computer that will run Win 7, that of course will never ever be on the internet? I have the program on a laptop, but I fear it will crash at some point and will still need this program for years to come. @roamer_1
Nope. But there may be salvation otherwise
@mrpotatohead ...
Win10Pro has a superior emulation layer. You'd just have to go to Program Files (or wherever the program is installed), RClick on the executable, and you should have a dialog to open the file using that emulation - as a Windows 7 emulation... There is little I have found that will not run just fine in Win10
Equally, you can install a proper emulator - a VM such as VMWare or VirtualBox...
Now, this takes a pretty decent machine... heavy to cores and heavy to RAM - Each running VM is assigned (x) amount of ram and processor and storage... So it would take a fairly sassy box to use for the task and still use it otherwise.
So you'd rub it off hard, and then first install the VM, and then install Win7 INSIDE the VM... Along with whatever other operating systems you'd desire. What won't run in the Win10 emmulator will almost certainly run in the VM.
I run VMWare on a machine with 10(?) cores and 32g of ram... Something that tough or better. And it ain't for the uninitiated - If you don't know what you are doing, you will need pretty good access to a pretty good geek who can learn you, or at least set the box up and get it running, and teach you what you'd need to know to operate it... Though if you are savvy and can commit the hardware, you can do it on your own with a decent amount of experimentation.
Otherwise, try to find a low mileage or refurbished box from that era - Though I would prefer something better.
