Microsoft aggressively focused on delivering a similar experience for the Windows PC. Eventually, Microsoft’s fight against new rivals Google on the web and Apple in mobile took center stage. It was no longer about PC software but about tapping into the new trends in computing: mobility, internet search, and touch. Eventually, software like Windows Essentials suffered. The last version was released in 2012 and included support for Windows 8; there is no Windows 10 release for Windows Live Essentials, but the last version is still available for download. But not for long. Microsoft is planning to close the chapter on these still popular desktop apps and services.
End of Support for Windows Essentials 2012 on January 10th, 2017
If you plan to use Windows Essentials 2012, now would be a good time to download a backup copy; Microsoft will be removing access soon. The software will continue to work with some caveats. Windows Mail 2012 does not officially support the new Outlook.com (you can tweak your settings to use POP or IMAP). “Already installed applications will continue to work as they do today. There is an increased security risk associated with use of unsupported products past their end of support date” A list of recommended alternatives.
Mail is available as a free built-in application for Windows 8.1 and above.Photos is available as a free built-in application for Windows 8.1 and above. Live Writer is available as an open-source solution. One Drive is an inbox feature for Windows 8.1 and above. Family Safety is an inbox feature for Windows 8.1 and above. “Movie Maker will soon be available from Windows Store for Windows 10 users.”.
via Microsoft
How to Install Windows Essentials 2012 Offline
If you go to the Microsoft download page, you’ll be given a 1.18 MB file called wlsetup-web.exe that is just a front-end for downloading the actual applications. This won’t work after January 10, 2017. What you’ll need is the offline installer, which includes all the applications. It’s a bigger download (130 MB), and it’s called wlsetup-all.exe. You can grab it here: Windows Essentials 2012 Offline Installer.
Conclusion
Over the years, Microsoft has deprecated many apps that still have a loyal following of holdouts. Windows DVD Maker, which was removed in Windows 8, is a prime example. Similarly, Movie Maker has not seen any updates since 2012 or a universal version optimized for Windows 10. With its new desktop bridge technology, it looks like Microsoft will be moving the existing version to the Windows Store soon. Future revisions of Windows 10 might trigger compatibility problems when attempting to use apps within the suite. Apps like Photos in Windows 10 and Mail are the future, and Microsoft expects users to embrace them. So far, many users have complained about missing features and functionality in the modern versions of Mail and Photos. Microsoft is sticking to its strategy, though, and I believe with the new release cadence and Windows Store model of updating apps, users will eventually see missing features added over time. My main want is a movie maker that was as simple and powerful as Movie Make (original). Have not yet found one. Not computer savvy. Does this mean that if we don’t install the Windows Essentials 2012 offline installer, we will not be able to open our photos? If not, please offer suggestions. Please reply. Thank you. As I mentioned to Andre…I’m not computer savvy and I need some help in knowing how to save and download this Windows Live Essentials link. I only use the Photo Gallery for my photos, because I list on eBay. Can you or someone else out there help me please? Thank you. One) Click on the link provided by Andre in the article – it will ask you to save the offline installer, which you can keep for future reference – it’s 131 megabytes in size. Then just run the installer. Two) Get the online installer from Microsoft which is smaller in size, and then run that installer. Note that you won’t be able to run that next year, so it’s better to get the installer provided by Andre’s link. Here’s the Microsoft link for the online installer: https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/help/17779/download-windows-essentials Hope all goes well for you… Merry Christmas and have a great New Year. Ziggy from Australia – enjoying a very hot summer’s day! Bill The direct link is http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/windows_live.html -S http://web.archive.org/web/20170109223306/http://wl.dlservice.microsoft.com/download/C/1/B/C1BA42D6-6A50-4A4A-90E5-FA9347E9360C/en/wlsetup-all.exe It seems criminal that Microsoft has removed this software. It’s like saying you can’t open a Word document or can’t watch a video made with Movie Maker. I have 20k+ photos and hundreds of hours tagging people, tagging, captioning, describing etc. and now I am told I can’t even see my own work. How can this be right. It’s like they reached into my computer and deleted all my work I do see that there are ways of migrating facial information. Microsoft didn’t use a standard, maybe because they were early into the field but the metadata can be converted. Other metadata can be converted but how it is treated depends on the software, some, for example, take a caption and make it the description and title (or some combination of those three). Now to find an alternative for facial recognition that uses metadata and I trust. No disrespect for Adobe but LightRoom is the same annual cost as Microsoft Office is for the whole family. Thanks again. i wonder if you can help with wlxphotobase.dll is missing…… i ran into problems after using a program to delete supposedly obsolete files and all my windows essential programs disapeared, and microsoft office. It’s now June 2021 and I’d love to install Windows Live Mail 2012 on my brand new Windows 10 laptop. Does anyone know if Andre’s copy of Windows Essentials 2012 Offline Installer still works? Thanks in advance to anyone who can help. Comment Name * Email *
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