The short of it is, we really wanted our new product launches of d7x and CryptoPrevent v8 to be ready for upgrades to phase out older products, and for new sales of course, but that isn’t going to happen just yet…  so…  When an older idea came around again about d7 Premium, we realized several things:

• the d7 product has aged far beyond being cutting edge
  • with 2016 just days away, this year will mark d7’s 5 year old birthday!
  • first developed in early 2011
  • first sold in 2012
  • discontinued in Jan 2014
• there are technical limitations in the platform which cannot be updated, making it ineffective in certain situations
  • e.g. working with long paths, unicode, limited MalwareScan functions, etc.
• it doesn’t recognize or support newer versions of Windows (8 and above)
  • XP was still the #1 OS when d7 was released (Windows v5.1 I think it was?) though built for that obviously it supported a lot of changes for Vista/7 usage which introduced the new Windows v6.x kernel.
  • Although 8/10 are still technically the Windows v6.x kernel, there are also a lot of features, repairs, and tweaks possible in newer versions of Windows which d7 will never support.
• in no way could it possibly compete with d7II for tech usage, much less the coming d7x

Despite this, it was a solid concept and worked pretty well, almost too good.   It still has a TON of great features that make a technician’s life WAY easier, plus it is a killer 3rd party app launcher, and can automate them as well.  So even almost two years since d7 Premium‘s discontinuation as a ‘for-sale’ product in Jan 2014, it has still grown in popularity and usefulness even to non-techs (despite my ‘end-user’ type warnings on the original page.)

Case in point, just yesterday before the announcement of this Christmas offer on our Foolish Tech Show we had an older woman call us earlier in the day.  She repairs PCs at no charge for others in her spare time, and recently had used the free edition of d7 (downloaded from majorgeeks.com) and it worked “beautifully” for her.  She wanted to thank us, and also to use more of the product in the future, removing limitations of the free edition, but couldn’t afford the subscription to d7II…

Earlier in the week, there was a one man operation seeking to reduce some monthly overhead.  Not by any means the first, this one wrote in such an email that he unknowingly gave me a strange sense being in his situation myself.  On the Foolish Tech Show yesterday I spoke about this, personally being in the same situation a few years back when trying to go at it in business by myself.  I would go weeks without a job, and then weeks more until another.  You might get a client and you know they’re going to be yours forever, but they gotta call you that first time.  Also, if you have any amount of integrity and pride in your work (in addition to having no other clients and plenty of time) it means you’re doing your absolute best work, and they won’t be calling back for help anytime soon after; best case is you don’t have to wait too long for one of their friends to get a problem and call, assuming word of mouth works in time for the next one…   Meanwhile no one is calling that overpriced phone book ad, or all the Googley stuff you did to get your # listed in local results isn’t paying off, and you don’t exactly have a sign out on Main St. promoting you.  Feast or famine is the saying, but I believe the vast majority of the time it’s the latter especially for the solo guys.  That guy told me none of this, but he didn’t need to.  I know it, in fact my story includes giving up entirely and moving 2 hours away for a job, and commuting home on weekends to be with my family.  I wasn’t buying any tech tools, that’s for sure!  (Though I was definitely always building my own for use on the job, which is exactly how d7 began…)

Then it occurred to us that d7 is still actively used by other technician tool makers in the industry!  There is a limited remote-only edition licensed for use with Instant Housecall’s remote software offering, which I believe they include with their software at each of their price points.  Even our friends at RepairTech, Inc. got their start by licensing the d7 code for a slimmed down/less configurable edition, now rebranded as “TechWARU” (where they’ve done a great job updating, including the look of the reports I might add,) and we recently updated them from the v6.7 code to the drastically improved v10.4.35 (final release) code upon request, although we cannot speculate on any implementation or release schedules.

Finally, the last deciding factor was that d7 started out as an entirely free product, and being free is why Foolish IT is on the map to begin with!  Despite the idea that we’re now followed by a growing wake of cheap imitations, d7 still shines as the beacon above it all, despite not having an update in almost two years!  So obviously getting a free product out there (a good one, that is) will spread the word, d7 proved it once.

It just makes sense to set it free again, with our BEST hopes that anyone using the older d7 code base, when no longer a one man op, or you’re having a little wiggle room in your overhead expenditures, might decide to try the current generation of technician tools from the best in the business!

We also hope we get to help the older folks doing free repairs in their spare time, ’cause that just feels good.

THIS TOOL IS INTENDED FOR EXPERIENCED PC TECHNICIAN USAGE ONLY.  It is NOT for anyone without a good working knowledge of the Windows OS and how it functions (not just how to use it…)  This tool can be very dangerous and destructive if you don’t use it properly, or are inexperienced in advanced or manual malware removal techniques when using related functionality.

Adding confusion to the issue, d7 doesn’t have many functions explained or phrased very well, which is difficult when space for a description is an issue.  Even techs working together in the same repair shop don’t always call the same ‘routine’ by the same name, so techs from different shops, cities, and countries have quite different terms for certain things and misinterpreting something could be an issue.  If you are unsure of anything please consult our manual, or just ask!  Although we do NOT provide support for d7 Premium free licenses, we will discuss it anytime on our live show so hop in the IRC if you have any questions.