VSCode Insiders 1.71 wouldn't start

[lorand-horvath]

Does this issue occur when all extensions are disabled?: Yes/No

• VS Code Version: 1.71 Insiders
• OS Version: Win 7 x64

Steps to Reproduce:

1. Since 1.71 Insiders, VSCode won't start, even though it installed without issues

[bpasero]

We are possibly not supporting Windows 7 anymore with the Electron update.

See https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/supporting/requirements#_platforms

[deepak1556]

Yup it is known issue in Electron electron/electron#35219

Also, we don't officially support Windows 7, you can instead use our web version https://code.visualstudio.com/blogs/2021/10/20/vscode-dev

[bpasero]

We might want to release note that.

[tomato013]

Could you please tell me what's the latest version that supports Windows 7? Thank you.

[deepak1556]

We might want to release note that.

Yup will do that.

I think 1.70 which is based on Electron 18 should still work on windows 7 but haven't verified it.

[lorand-horvath]

@deepak1556 In my other bug reports I've been told by @isidorn and @Tyriar that Windows 7 has been dropped since about April 2022... but I haven't been able to find information about the silent removal of Windows 7 support.
#146737 (comment)

Point is 1.70 still works for me, so I'm not sure why official support has been removed at least since 1.66, but all the while, it has been allowed to install on Windows 7 even up to 1.70. This doesn't really make sense and needs to be addressed in some way.

I would, however, very much like to see 1.71 (with the new Electron 19) work on Windows 7.

[lorand-horvath]

@bpasero If Electron 19 fixes the broken Windows 7 support as per electron/electron#35219
will VSCode 1.71 continue supporting Windows 7, will it start working again? Would like to have your thoughts on this. Thanks.

[lorand-horvath]

If anyone is interested, here's the error log when trying to start VSCode 1.71 Insiders (Electron 19) on Windows 7 x64

[main] [error] SystemError [ERR_SYSTEM_ERROR]: A system error occurred: uv_os_gethostname returned ENOSYS (function not implemented)
    at Et.initServices (C:\Program Files\Microsoft VS Code Insiders\resources\app\out\vs\code\electron-main\main.js:77:68046)
    at Et.startup (C:\Program Files\Microsoft VS Code Insiders\resources\app\out\vs\code\electron-main\main.js:77:63904)
    at process.processTicksAndRejections (node:internal/process/task_queues:96:5)

[bpasero]

Since for a while now we have made the decision to not list Windows 7 as supported platform anymore, consider it unsupported. We are not investing specifically to make it work in Electron 19, at least we have no plan for it at the moment.

[Tyriar]

@lorand-horvath here is where our supported OS's are declared: https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/supporting/requirements. Windows 7 is end of life and no longer even gets security updates, you should really upgrade to a newer version of Windows or some other OS to protect yourself.

[zbyna]

Bug in Electron 19 seems to be patched Are there any other obstacles for running future vscode version in win7 at present?

[lorand-horvath]

@zbyna We'll know when VSCode updates to at least Electron 19.1 or 20.2
I wouldn't hold my breath though.

[Tyriar]

We've shipped the last version of VS Code for Windows 7, see the release notes for details: https://code.visualstudio.com/updates/v1_71#_windows-7-support-has-ended