MS end of windows 10 support

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BlakJak

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#3387590 27-Jun-2025 10:09

mattwnz:

BlakJak:

I've been running Linux Mint on my desktop machine for over a year now, it lets me do pretty much everything. If you really aren't buying new gear with Windows 11, I would strongly suggest abandoning Windows entirely. All these hoop-jump scenarios have fish-hooks IMO.

Only good if you have software that will run on it, and don’t have old windows software you need to run.

If you can't run Windows software on Windows 11, have you looked into whether you can run it under Wine?

If you have a business operation that requires you to run a no-longer-supported OS then you need to do some work - replace the platform, or find another way. It's not like Windows 10 EOL wasn't notified well ahead of time.
The 'other way' could, for example, mean walling off the machine - run an isolated network segment to let you continue to run the legacy software without concern about external security risk.
There are plenty of organisations who need to do this, especially with embedded windows variants running science and engineering equipment which can't readily be upgraded.

I can't believe we're still spinning on this after all this time.

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mattwnz

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#3387602 27-Jun-2025 11:19

It is related to older hardware not beibg permitted to run windows 11. That wasn’t known before Windows 11 got released. Most people would have presumed they would just be able to upgrade to the newer version. Newer versions of windows had historically usually always worked on older hardware unless the hardware has been very very old and not capable of running it Not based on an arbitrary processor speed, despite older slower processors still being able to run it

BlakJak

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#3387616 27-Jun-2025 12:58

The original article published by Microsoft about running W11 on hardware that doesn't meet their minspec is dated 2021. (Updated late 2024).
So we're talking about something where there's been literally years of notice.

I'm not saying it's a great situation - I do not personally own any W11-capable assets, though there's a couple in my household - but there's been no real secret around the minspec. Scrambling to keep W10 running is lost energy for little return, honestly.

The Operating System grants you the means to use other software, to meet other business requirements, you need fit-for-purpose tools and if that includes being used on the Internet, you need something that's getting regular security patches from the distributor. Windows 10 is not that. And hardware that runs W11 has been ubiquitous for at least 3 years. People in business have no real excuse; people in the personal space with tight budgets are also unlikely to have legacy software dependencies that can't be ring-fenced in some way IMO.

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mattwnz

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#3387644 27-Jun-2025 14:04

People did expect that Microsoft may backdown or provide another option due to the unprecedented update. In some ways they have a little by extending support to consumers for another year via the 3 options which they have never done before. Normally that is solely for corporates. A lot of the issue is around the amount of e waste it is going to create for hardware that is perfectly fast and safe to use. Eg Linux doesn’t require window 11s higher specs

BlakJak

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#3387661 27-Jun-2025 14:46

Keeping old hardware on the off chance that Microsoft may back down? That's objectively hilarious. They've been really clear about their minspec, any concessions they make are a bonus (and perhaps a welcome one) and I wouldn't want to gamble on it. My point really is - there are other ways to solve the operational issues imposed by Windows 10 EOL and it'd be smart to ensure the option you depend on doesn't depend on a concession from Microsoft, or, throwing good money after bad.

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mattwnz

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#3387662 27-Jun-2025 14:56

It really depends what you mean old hardware. I use a keyboard that is over 20 years old, and in terms of other computer hardware, it lasts a lot longer than it used to due to CPUs being so fast now. When trying out win 11 on an unsupported CPU it was still very fast. According to this consumer article there are some PCs purchased as recently as early 2021 prior to the spec announcement, that may not be able to upgrade. I suspect they will be running lower spec chips and hardware, as intel do sell older chips for years at a cheaper price. https://www.consumer.org.nz/articles/consumer-nz-urges-microsoft-to-extend-support-for-windows-10-software Many people won't do anything until the last minute an until they need to.

BlakJak

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#3387712 27-Jun-2025 18:42

Peripherals aren't the point.
Back to - Microsoft have defined some minimum specs for Windows 11 and (rightly or wrongly) they can control whether or not they enforce this (or not). Yes, you've been able to buy non-compliant hardware (essentially ticking time bombs) for a while, and Consumer picks up on that - none of that is the point, really. In a business context there remains little excuse for being W10 dependent _and_ not being able to contain that W10 footprint securely. (it may be annoying). In a residential context, i'd say that if you chose to buy new gear in the last couple of years without checking for W11 support, then you take some responsibility - but i'd also say that retailers who didn't make it clear, are probably not meeting their obligations under the Consumer Guarantees Act.
"Many people won't do anything until the last minute and until they need to" is exactly right, but my original position stands IMO - jumping through hoops to continue using W10 in a 'normal' sense is wasted effort.

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fe31nz

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#3387735 28-Jun-2025 00:00

The minimum hardware specifications for Windows 11 are actually pretty low - 1 GHz processor with 2 cores, 4 Gibytes of RAM, 64 Gibytes of disk. The problem comes in the list of compatible processors, where they specify only processors that are late enough to have a whole pile of CPU hardware bugs fixed. The particular bugs are apparently unfixable in the Windows kernel or in CPU firmware, and cause nasty security problems. So it is not about making older hardware obsolete, it is about getting security for Windows 11 users. So you should really be complaining about the the CPU manufacturers, not Microsoft.

networkn

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#3387736 28-Jun-2025 00:04

BlakJak:

I've been running Linux Mint on my desktop machine for over a year now, it lets me do pretty much everything. If you really aren't buying new gear with Windows 11, I would strongly suggest abandoning Windows entirely. All these hoop-jump scenarios have fish-hooks IMO.

Trading the learning curve that almost everyone would need to change from Windows, to Linux Desktop, even one that is UI Centric like Linux Mint, is pretty insane IMO.

BlakJak

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#3387763 28-Jun-2025 09:28

The learning curve to do what exactly? Firefox, Chrome, Thunderbird, VLC, GIMP, all work the same. The file explorer is very close to the same. LibreOffice is like a Microsoft Office install from pre-ribbon era . And the web versions of Office and Google Suite all look and work the same.

Ubuntu - and Mint in particular,- have made the learning curve far easier, if we remember that we use computers to carry out tasks using applications. The OS is just our way to reach them.

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SpartanVXL

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#3387766 28-Jun-2025 09:44

Not sure why residential is being discussed, majority will run it until it dies just like 7 and xp and so on. They don’t care as long as it does what it needs for less $$. If they try and take it in for something and get told they need to bin it because of win11 they leave and find someone who will sort it, very similar to car mechanics. I have seen very hacky 7 and xp boxes kept running just because the hardware refused to die.

cddt

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#3387802 28-Jun-2025 15:48

A pertinent quote by Douglas Adams —

"The idea that Bill Gates has appeared like a knight in shining armour to lead all customers out of a mire of technological chaos neatly ignores the fact that it was he, by peddling second rate technology, led them into it in the first place, and continues to do so today."

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