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Windows 8.1 exams kept alive six more months, Win 7 tests immortal

How hot, or not, is Windows 10 when Redmond has no plans to retire some Windows 7 tests?

Microsoft may be hustling the world onto Windows 10 just as fast as it can, but it seems there's residual demand out there for Windows 8.1 and Windows 7.

We make that suggestion because Microsoft has extended the life of certifications for its last-but-one desktop OS and has no plans to can all Windows 7 education.

On the Windows 8.1 front, Certification 70-687, aka Configuring Windows 8.1 and 70-688, Supporting Windows 8.1, were due to be struck off Microsoft's list of certifications on January 31st, 2016.

Microsoft's not saying why, but it's now revealed that both exams have been kept alive for another six months. July 31st, 2016, is now the last day on which you can take the exams.

The Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) that the two exams counted towards will, however, be retired on the current early 2016 schedule.

Why might Microsoft have made these changes? The company's sensitive to the fact it has a pipeline of students who may have paid for and/or commenced study at a time that makes exam retirements unfair or leaves them out of pocket. Perhaps there's also a pool of customers and partners telling Microsoft they'll be using and/or administering Windows 8.1 for quite some time yet so could use some more time to get their staff trained on the OS.

There certainly appears to be such a pool of Windows 7 users: Redmond is about to retire the Windows 7 MCSA but the exams that go towards it – one for “Configuring” Windows the OS and another for “Enterprise Desktop Support Technicians” - “will remain in market and earn a Specialist credential”. Microsoft's not set a date for those exams to be retired. ®

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