Windows 10 has a year (8 months) left to live – but are users prepared to upgrade to Windows 11?

Tech Radar ^ | October 15, 2024 | Rosario Blue

[fireman15]

It’s official: after 10 years of noble service, Windows 10 will reach its end on October 14, 2025, and what a great decade it’s been. For many users, Microsoft redeemed itself after a run of disappointing operating systems – the mere mention of Windows 8 still sends some people into a rage – but Windows 10 got it right.

That’s why the announcement of Windows 11 came as a shock. It felt too soon, too rushed – and unnecessary. Many believed that Windows 10 deserved more time to marinate. At least until it finally managed to migrate the whole Control Panel to Settings.

Jokes aside, Windows 10 made its mark with its support of legacy software, flexibility and its introduction of enhanced cloud integration in the form of OneDrive, which made accessing your files from any internet-connected PC a breeze. Its regular security updates and long-term servicing channels (LTSC) made it especially popular with businesses. (If you want to see the good stuff you will have to follow the link above.)

[unread]

Thanks for your help. I may try some of that, but I don’t think I’m savvy enough about the subject to venture too far into the bios..

[fireman15]

I don't think I'm savvy enough about the subject to venture too far into the bios..

I probably made it sound harder than it is. There is just a check box to enable booting from USB in the boot section of your bios. There are plenty of helpful videos on YouTube. If your computer is running slow this would be a good way to find out if your operating system is the culprit. You do need to have USB3 however or it is so slow that it is not worthwhile.

If you are currently running Windows 10 it might be a good idea to make your Windows To Go disk Windows 10 as well in the same version home, pro or whatever you are currently running. You can also do the same thing with Linux builds. This is just something that I have found to be extremely helpful.

... It would be great if you had a tech savvy relative or friend to help you out however.

[unread]

Thanks, I forgot about Youtube.. I ain’t no brain surgeon but I think I can pull it off with a couple of YouTube videos.. :)

[fireman15]

I have seen several suggestions that Windows 11 will make full integration into the cloud automatic. Is this true? If this is the default option, is this something from which I can opt out, given that I am not a tech savvy user and don't want to be fooling with tricky fixes?

Sorry that I did not notice your post a few days ago.
Although it can be very convenient if something bad happens to your local storage, I personally am annoyed by all of this cloud integration. I was doing some work on a laptop that we use for a computer controlled indoor bicycle trainer that was previously my wife's primary computer. Each time I would add programs to the desktop it would screw up her new computer's desktop. This was because by default “OneDrive”, Microsoft's primary cloud connection was “syncing” the two desktops.

I am not sure why a group of geniuses at Microsoft thought that it was a good idea to sync all of the desktops of computers on an account by default. These days most people use more than one computer, and they likely have different purposes for each. My wife became very annoyed because she did not understand what was going on with her new computer. All I had to do was turn off the syncing of desktops in OneDrive and it stopped doing it, but I got annoyed enough about this constant nonsense that I just uninstalled OneDrive all together on the older laptop.

And that is the primary answer that I think that you are looking for. If you do not want to worry about “Cloud Security”... just go into add/remove programs and uninstall OneDrive.

If you want to get really serious about it.. save all your data and do a clean install by downloading the ISO file for your operating system directly from Microsoft and load it into Rufus... I covered this pretty well in post #136. After you hit the start button to create your installation media check the box that says you want to create a “local” account, and check the box that says disable data collection, and while you are at it check the box that says disable bitlocker. (If you do not create a Microsoft account it is quite easy to lose your bitlocker keys and lose your data)

[fireman15]

Just get LTSC IoT. Good till 2032.

I downloaded the correct ISO file and checked it against the HASH from Microsoft. I burned it to a USB Drive with Rufus and am planning am installing it on an old laptop for kicks and giggles today.

[ducttape45]

Doesn’t work. Snapd won’t install.

[Paladin2]

Sorry, I didn’t try it myself.

I do have a version of FreeCell from XP [16 bit?] working on my Linux [64 bit] computers. [And I can’t remember how I did it, (though WINE was somehow involved).]

[fireman15]

Just get LTSC IoT. Good till 2032.

I installed it on an old Lenovo G560 laptop today that is worth about $20 if one was lucky. It was designed for Windows 7. I downloaded 3 legitimate ISOs and one from a questionable source that has some “mods” that make it appealing. For my first try I used the one from the questionable source. I will be trying to determine if it is compromised in some way. It is just finishing up the last updates...

So far it just looks like a stripped-down version of Windows 10 and seems to be working quite well on this really old broken-down laptop.

So far it looks like a stripped down version o

[ducttape45]

I’ve heard of Wine but was told it can be a cumbersome process to employ.

[fireman15]

I wanted to thank you for your post. I had kind of written off Windows 10 LTSC IoT as probably not being a good solution for most folks... Legitimate licenses are not available through normal channels and there are some limitations. But overall, I can already report back that the licensing issue was not as much of a problem as I had thought that it might be. And most of the crap that has been stripped out of this version can be added back if that is what one really wants.

The enterprise edition can apparently even be used as a Hyper-V server, although I have not tested this yet. And it is actually working very well on my old laptop that I bought for parts several years ago. I think that I will be doing a separate thread on this sometime in the near future.

In the meantime, I am going to be rushing to setup each of my machines that are not good candidates for Windows 11 and acquiring licenses and linking them to a Microsoft account. I suspect that Microsoft will begin plugging the holes in this opportunity before they end support for most Windows installations.

The least time-consuming way to do this is to boot up with a Windows-To-Go Disk with Microsoft Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021 installed on each of the machines that might need it. Then change the license key to one of the others that has been purchased. Then log into the Microsoft account that you want to associate it with. I will be linking all of my Microsoft Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021 licenses to one account to keep things less confusing and make it look more like an actual business. My biggest concern is that the services providing keys for these installations will begin raising their prices as October 14 gets closer.

One has to remember that each of these computers will have to be set up with a clean install.

[freedomlover]

Type Windows key,

then type in “System Information”

[Still Thinking]

Glad that was helpful to you!! I used to buy LTSC VLKs (which can be converted to IoT after install) on Ebay for like $15/seat, but they seem to be drying up so I don’t have any sources I can recommend.

[fireman15]

Glad that was helpful to you!!

Your response turned out to be a bit of an epiphany for me. I tend to hold on to computer equipment for a long time. Hoarder might be an accurate descriptive term. We have three computers that work well with Windows 11, but several others which for various reasons are not as suitable for it. These are computers that I actually do have useful purposes for work very well with Windows 10 Pro.

I have spent the last several days experimenting with Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021. I believe that it will be the best solution for my computers that do not play nice Windows 11.

If one uses Google with the search terms: “Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021 Key”. Numerous vendors claim to have keys available from $10 on up. I have had good luck previously with keys purchased from a vendor that was asking $22 but gave a 15% discount with a code that I found online.

I am not completely sure of the legitimacy of this key, but the vendor has not let me down in the past. So, I will keep my fingers crossed.

[sushiman]

Will Microsoft be forcing Windows 10 users to download newest version of 11 ? I noticed a few days ago a blue circle in an icon on the bottom right side of my screen that when hovered over by the mouse says Windows 11 version 24H2 is ready to install .

[fireman15]

I do not have this blue circle icon showing on any of my computers. Does your computer meet the minimum requirements to upgrade to Windows 11?

I have one laptop which met the requirements for Windows 11, but when I installed it, the graphics driver worked poorly. I was unable to get it to work properly even after going to a lot of trouble. To ensure that we can keep using this computer with Windows 10 after October 14, 2025 I paid about $20 for a license for Windows 10 IoT Enterprise 2021 LTSC which will receive security updates until 2032.

To do this I had to do a clean install. To save time I had saved all of the Windows 10 drivers that had been installed on the computer before I updated it to Windows 11. There are some very simple commands that allow you to save and restore all of your drivers.

Windows 10 IoT Enterprise 2021 LTSC is very bare boned as it is intended for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) who build and sell dedicated appliances and devices such as cash machines etc... But it is very easy to add which ever additional components that you desire. There are many instructions and videos that tell how to do this.

[dennisw]

Sees Daves Garage you tube for the lowdown on Windows 10
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Windows 10 Is DEAD! What You NEED to Know Now!
Dave’s Garage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN3ShDRoQvQ

[dennisw]

I prefer real desktop computers. But if I had to buy a new one due to windows 10 becoming inoperable riddled with security holes.... I would buy a Dell Latitude laptop Intel 12th generation that is off corporate lease on eBay. They have a year or more left on their Dell warranties.16GB RAM minimum. Plus a 24”-27” Dell comfortview monitor to plug into the laptop for two screens. With 27” QHD preferred.

or

A 12th gen Intel off lease OptiPlex with intact warranty, to plug the 27” QHD monitor into

[sushiman]

Apparently my PC meets the minimum requirements , hence the MS message saying I can install . I don’t want 11 . I know those who already have 11 will be automatically upgraded to the latest version . My question is will Windows 10 users be forced to download 11 , or , as it has been for a couple of years now , an option ?

[fireman15]

I have not heard that Windows 10 users who have computers which meet the minimum requirements for Windows 11 will be forced to upgrade.

To prevent the nags, you might go ahead and modify your group policies. I have always upgraded all of mine to the Pro version so this is very easy for all of them. Go ahead and search for, “how to stop your computer from upgrading to windows 11” for a more complete answer.

[fireman15]

I prefer real desktop computers.

That is very admirable in certain circles, I am sure. I too have a preference for Dell laptops and desktops, but I often have ended up settling for HPs because they often have more issues so on the free market you tend to get similar specifications for a better price.

Windows 10 Is DEAD! What You NEED to Know Now!

I am also very familiar with Dave's Garage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN3ShDRoQvQ

I am certain that he has more knowledge about many aspects of this subject than I do, but you do have to take his videos with a grain of salt. I went through most of the video and am unsure why he makes no mention of Windows 10 IoT Enterprise 2021 LTSC. I am sure that is not a path that his "former" employer would like him to go down.

But he is correct that if you have a machine that can use Windows 11; it is definitely the path of least resistance... unless like me you have a laptop with an unusual GPU that never received a driver update for Windows 11 which causes certain software not to work with it. If it was a desktop I could have just swapped in a different GPU.

I do have the equipment necessary to remove the BGA chip on the motherboard of the laptop and replace it with another chip, but this solution is fraught with minefields of possible problems. And the laptop has a value far less than what the trouble would be.

His comments about Linux were funny, but actually I feel that Windows 10s End of Life will be the biggest thing to ever happen to Linux distributions. They have come a long ways since Windows 7 and Windows XP. It is super easy to make a Linux live disk and if you use an NVME drive in a USB3 enclosure, you can try it out without major performance issues.