Updating to Windows 11?

Checking further, I see that the main issues are System firmware UEFI which the computer tells me I may be able to activate and TPM v 2.0 which is needed but again may be obtainable.  Is worth trying to do this? 

A well designed automated upgrade would check your hardware/software prior to attempting an upgrade and simply bomb-out if it found insufficient resources, leaving your PC healthy, at Windows 10.  Presumably Microsoft has plenty of experience in this area.  

Windows 10 has been around a while.  It's highly unlikely to develop a new problem that would require a critical update.  

If your PC uses Microsoft's native Defender software for anti-virus protection, you would want to continue to receive those updates.  I would be very surprised if Microsoft no longer supports Defender upgrades on Windows 10, but that is something you could look into.

weekends said:

A well designed automated upgrade would check your hardware/software prior to attempting an upgrade and simply bomb-out if it found insufficient resources, leaving your PC healthy, at Windows 10.  Presumably Microsoft has plenty of experience in this area.  

Windows 10 has been around a while.  It's highly unlikely to develop a new problem that would require a critical update.  

If your PC uses Microsoft's native Defender software for anti-virus protection, you would want to continue to receive those updates.  I would be very surprised if Microsoft no longer supports Defender upgrades on Windows 10, but that is something you could look into.

How would I be able to  find out if Microsoft will continue updates for their anti-virus software?  

joan_crystal said:

Checking further, I see that the main issues are System firmware UEFI which the computer tells me I may be able to activate and TPM v 2.0 which is needed but again may be obtainable.  Is worth trying to do this? 

yes, it's worth trying. I did it on one of my pcs a couple of months ago and it's been running fine. Your CPU model looks like it's perfectly capable of running it. 

Here's one place that has the instructions for doing it, as of Sept 2025

How to Install Windows 11 25H2 on Unsupported PCs: Methods, Risks, and Tools | Windows Forum

There are several ways to install it. I think I used this one, which was very straightforward. It's on the page linked above:

The “server” setup trick (command-line)​

Am not that knowledgeable but consider a very inexpensive Chromebook instead of a computer.

You like most of us older people don't really need a computer anymore,

just access to the Internet and Chrome and our email and various websites for banking and such...

Ron

rcarter31 said:

Am not that knowledgeable but consider a very inexpensive Chromebook instead of a computer.

You like most of us older people don't really need a computer anymore,

just access to the Internet and Chrome and our email and various websites for banking and such...

Ron

well, it depends on whether joan is one of those people. 

if you have a lot of documents and stuff on your computer, trying to access it from a chromebook could be a big pain.

joan,

I bought my license from stack social for only 10 bucks. It was a limited time deal, but it also wasn't a one time thing, and they'll probably offer something similar again .

but even now they're selling it for 30 bucks. If you want to wait for a deal I'd suggest getting on their mailing list.

https://www.stacksocial.com/sales/microsoft-windows-11-pro-6

"How would I be able to find out if Microsoft will continue updates for their anti-virus software?"

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/extended-security-updates

Do you know if your PC currently runs Defender?  Perhaps you have purchased and run McAfee or Norton AV?  

Not every PC works the same, but if I wanted to check the status of Windows Defender/anti-virus on my PC, I'd go to: 

Settings

     Privacy & Security

          Virus & Threat Protection

or simply type 'Virus & Threat Protection' from the magnifying glass on the Task Bar.  This should bring up a screen that will help you see what your native Microsoft anti-virus/security programs are doing.  

I just enrolled in the extended security update thing in lieu of updating to 11.  It takes a minute.

bub said:

I just enrolled in the extended security update thing in lieu of updating to 11.  It takes a minute.

... and is only good for a year thus far.

just upgrade to 11, it's pretty painless. and 11 is pretty good. better than 10, imho.

Joan, the CPU you listed isn't Microsoft approved for Windows 11, nonetheless, some folks perform the upgrade successfully.  The result is Windows 11 running on a non-supported platform.  What is the point?  Just like Windows 10, there's no support for that configuration.

There's nothing wrong with Windows 10.  It works and will continue to work.  Despite what Microsoft wants people to believe, millions and millions of PC will be running Windows 10 long into the future.  

It's disappointing, but not surprising, that Microsoft plans to charge for their Windows 10 AV upgrades going forward.  Have you determined whether your PC runs Windows anti-virus?  You could consider using Norton Anti-virus instead -- or any other AV program -- but those aren't free either.  Also, (editorializing) they aren't any better than the native Microsoft AV.

weekends said:

Joan, the CPU you listed isn't Microsoft approved for Windows 11, nonetheless, some folks perform the upgrade successfully.  The result is Windows 11 running on a non-supported platform.  What is the point?  Just like Windows 10, there's no support for that configuration.

There's nothing wrong with Windows 10.  It works and will continue to work.  Despite what Microsoft wants people to believe, millions and millions of PC will be running Windows 10 long into the future.  

It's disappointing, but not surprising, that Microsoft plans to charge for their Windows 10 AV upgrades going forward.  Have you determined whether your PC runs Windows anti-virus?  You could consider using Norton Anti-virus instead -- or any other AV program -- but those aren't free either.  Also, (editorializing) they aren't any better than the native Microsoft AV.

saying "there's no support for that configuration" is not really true, since if you installed 11 on that platform, you would continue to get regular updates, which is all the support that most people need. The only time you might not get support is if you opened a case with Microsoft about some technical issue and tech support somehow knew or discovered that you were running on unsupported hardware, though in my experience they never ask what model of cpu you're running on, so that's unlikely.

However if you tell tech support you're running 10, which you do have to do, they simply will refuse.

continuing to run 10 will place you in a position where you won't be formally supported at all. you would stop receiving the following:

Security patches
Bug fixes
Feature updates
Technical support

which is riskier in this case? staying on 10 or going to 11?

as for defender updates, it looks like those will continue until Oct 2028 for win 10 at no charge, so need to switch to another AV. However I couldn't find that policy directly stated, it's only inferred through other statements, but continuing free updates seems to be the consensus understanding. 

weekends said:

Joan, the CPU you listed isn't Microsoft approved for Windows 11, nonetheless, some folks perform the upgrade successfully.  The result is Windows 11 running on a non-supported platform.  What is the point?  Just like Windows 10, there's no support for that configuration.

There's nothing wrong with Windows 10.  It works and will continue to work.  Despite what Microsoft wants people to believe, millions and millions of PC will be running Windows 10 long into the future.  

It's disappointing, but not surprising, that Microsoft plans to charge for their Windows 10 AV upgrades going forward.  Have you determined whether your PC runs Windows anti-virus?  You could consider using Norton Anti-virus instead -- or any other AV program -- but those aren't free either.  Also, (editorializing) they aren't any better than the native Microsoft AV.

I know my computer runs Windows Anti-virus.  I canceled my Trend micro subscription years ago when a friend pointed out that the Microsoft anti-virus on my computer was as good or better.

Thank you so much.  Based on concerns of Windows 11 installation still being considered unsupported and possibility of boot issues coupled with likelihood that anti-virus updates would continue and availability of anti-virus options if they do not, I have decided to stay with Windows 10 for now and look into getting a new computer if/when the need to upgrade for technology improvements arises.  I could not have comfortably made this decision without the help of all those who who provided such useful information and encouragement.  This is indeed a wonderful community.