When Windows 10 support runs out, you have 5 options but only 2 are worth considering

ZDnet ^ | April 22, 2024 | Ed Bott

[fireman15]

Microsoft will officially end support for its most popular operating system in October 2025. Here's what you should do with your Windows 10 PCs before that day arrives.

In less than two years, Microsoft will draw the final curtain on Windows 10 after a successful 10-year run.

That news shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. The end date is right there on the Microsoft Support document that lists "products retiring or reaching the end of support in 2025." The schedule is defined by Microsoft's Modern Lifecycle Policy: "Windows 10 will reach end of support on October 14, 2025. The current version, 22H2, will be the final version of Windows 10, and all editions will remain in support with monthly security update releases through that date."

When a Windows version reaches its end-of-support date, the software keeps working, but the update channel grinds to a halt:

There will be no new security updates, non-security updates, or assisted support. Customers are encouraged to migrate to the latest version of the product or service. Paid programs may be available for applicable products.

That part in the middle sounds encouraging, doesn't it? "Customers are encouraged to migrate to the latest version of the product or service." Unfortunately, that's not a supported option for customers running Windows 10 on hardware that doesn't meet the stringent hardware compatibility requirements of Windows 11. If you try to upgrade one of those PCs to Windows 11, you'll encounter an error message. And Microsoft is adamant that it will not extend the support deadline for Windows 10.

Option 1: Ignore the end-of-support deadline completely

Option 2: Buy a new PC

Option 3: Ditch Windows completely

Option 4: Pay Microsoft for security updates

Option 5: Upgrade your old hardware to Windows 11

[kiryandil]

Also, talk with freeper Openurmind [you'll see his posts on that thread].

He gave me some great tips for the OS migration to Linux.

[Dr. Sivana]

Suppose, also, that you had a security system but they just decided, even though it still works, nope, we no longer accept alarm signals from your outdated system, you need to buy an entirely new system.

Both my 2004 Chevy Venture and my wife's 2018 Toyota Avalon had phone home with car info features that I did not like. I certainly would not have paid for GM Onstar. The good news is that the systems on both were 2G, so they can't phone home anymore. Yay!

[dagunk]

Wife has W11 but getting tired of turning off the microsoft crap that gets forced on the machine.

Looking at Linux Mint this afternoon on my experiment machine. comes up with everything she needs and stuff she won’t use but that’s OK. The Mint will be installed on her machine when I get aggravated enough.

One of my laptops has FreeDOS and Borland Turbo-C loaded. My other four desktops and one laptop have FreeBSD on them. Been using FreeBSD for over twenty years at home and at work. Backups are easy and I can reload a machine from scratch in about three hours. Reloads only occur when version support is turned off, anywhere from about 2 to 5 years.

And the BSDs rarely - years - crash.

[TChad]

Anyone interested in mixing Linux with Windows might or might not want to check out WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux.)

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/about.

I got Ubuntu sort of running under WSL2 with Windows 11. The project took more time than I was willing to give it, but it did work somewhat, which I thought was quite an achievement for Microsoft. If you want help setting it up, I'm the wrong person to ask. Good luck.

[Angelino97]

Yes, XP.

[Revel]

Congress should at least require windows 11 to be installed on computers that can handle it. Many computers that are locked out are very fast computers. Quad core Gen 7 Intel processors are even locked out. Meaning that Microsoft expects people to throw them away. That has a huge environmental cost. So where is congress?

[Paladin2]

Thnx

[Paladin2]

Thnx.

I still have XP in some VMs.

[Paladin2]

Quad core Gen 7 Intel processors that are being thrown out?

Please send me same....

[Paladin2]

THAT was a totally excellent video.

[Paladin2]

I’m gonna need a translation of that post to understandable Standard English please.

[Revel]

“Hello, Windows10 will be supported until October 2025.
The exclusion of 7th generation Intel processors has been tested in the Insider program and by many independent institutions.

simply - the architecture of the processors and the possibility of failure was decisive.”

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/windows-insider-program/windows-11-for-7th-generation-intel/td-p/3123345

And its all BS as some of the comments indicate. When you have computer that can encode video at fast speed then it sure shouldn’t have any problem running an operating system.

[ducttape45]

Try Comodo Internal Security. It’s what I use on my Windows 7 installations.

[SunkenCiv]

I got the notice about the impending end-of-life, and shrugged it off.

My newest wintel is a Celeron based laptop, circa ten year old, and I plan to swap in an SSD, fix a couple minor things, and use it as an on-the-go machine. Given that I rarely go anywhere, it’ll probably get use around her, hooked to the bedroom flatscreen for my bone idle bum lifestyle.

Tomorrow I pick up an Apple refurb. The other time I bought an Apple refurb was mid- to late-1990s, and I still have it. I have a drive problem to fix on it, and I’ll have time to fix it in a few weeks.

I’ve got a couple other old laptops that need a little TLC, and a few Raspberry Pi’s which work fine, but are not powerhouses.

I’ve got one of those NUC-style Windows cheapies that all of a sudden (a couple months back) won’t boot, so I plan to try it with an external drive. Oh yeah, and a Windows stick is on one of the TVs, haven’t tried starting that one in while, a long while, either...

[FalloutShelterGirl]

I’m old and computer illiterate and was surprised at how easy Linux was to use.

[BrandtMichaels]

Uh I felt ‘raped’ with every fricking release and I am quite certain much of the aggravation was scripted by you-know-who - he’d love to vax you too.

[napscoordinator]

You anti American jerk. You are shameful and have always been a military hater. Probably a Vietnam go to Canada loser.

[daniel1212]

Which is offensive to Linux devotees, and while we have on quite capable home built box running it for surfing, I have not found it justifying the time and energy I would want to make it comparable to Windows as customized, by the grace of God. As per post above.

I’m gonna need a translation of that post to understandable Standard English please.

Sorry, that was due to a "software" glitch and neglect to review code by the tired old hasty "programmer," who often imagines that what he is thinking gets clearly expressed in what he writes.

Which was,

Which reply ("Linux is not an option for most users") is offensive to Linux devotees, and while we have Linux running on a quite capable home-built rig, used mainly for surfing, yet I have not found Linux justifying the time and energy it would take to make it comparable to Windows as customized I would want it, by the grace of God, as described in my post above.

[daniel1212]

Congress should at least require windows 11 to be installed on computers that can handle it. Many computers that are locked out are very fast computers. Quad core Gen 7 Intel processors are even locked out. Meaning that Microsoft expects people to throw them away. That has a huge environmental cost. So where is congress?

Requiring Congress to do this is not a practice that should be encouraged. Once they do that, what else would they want installed?

[Paladin2]

Thanks.

I’ve found Linux Mint to be quite capable of performing my [retired user] daily needs for the last ~7 years barring some Windows apps with are run as necessary on some old ‘doze machines still hanging about or in Virtual Box VMs.

My latest ‘doze is 7.

Hopefully I can live out my years without any more “modern” levels of M$.