Windows 10 is less than a year away from its end of support. Microsoft will no longer provide any feature of security updates for Windows 10 after October 14, 2025. While the easy solution to this problem is to just upgrade to Windows 11, millions of users can’t.
In 2021, Microsoft made Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 a requirement for its newly released Windows 11. TPM is a cryptographic processor that ensures sensitive information like passwords, fingerprints, and encryption keys are stored in a hardware-protected area. It also keeps the firmware and the operating system tamper-proof.Â
The problem is that because TPM 2.0 is a relatively new technology, many older motherboards don’t support it. This prevented many users from upgrading to Windows 11. Now that Windows 10 is reaching its end of life, all those users have no alternative but to buy a new computer. Or that’s what Microsoft will have you believe. But we think you can squeeze some life out of your old computer.
Upgrade to Windows 11
Just because Microsoft says you shouldn’t upgrade to Windows 11 doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t. Download the Windows 11 ISO from Microsoft’s website and flash it into a USB drive using Rufus. Rufus is a free and open-source software that helps you create bootable USB drives. And ever since Windows 11’s release, Rufus added the feature to bypass TPM requirements.
Now, yes, you will be losing some essential security features. But given that you didn’t have those features on Windows 10, to begin with, you should be fine. I tried this method on one of my older computers, and it worked just fine. I even get all the security updates. Microsoft says you might run into some compatibility issues. My only issue so far is that I can’t play Valorant on it because Riot’s anti-cheat tool requires TMP 2.0. Other than that, I did not encounter any major compatibility issues.
Stay on Windows 10
I’m not saying you should, but just because Microsoft is dropping support doesn’t mean your PC will stop working. The end of support means you won’t receive any updates from Microsoft. Now, you might not care much about feature updates, but security updates are important. And if you go long enough without new security updates, that could leave your device vulnerable.
I know a lot of you don’t regularly update your devices because you think it will “slow down” your device. I can’t really force you to update (even though it’s for your own good), and neither can Microsoft.
Switch to Linux
If you spend long enough time on Reddit, there’s always at least one user who recommends this as a solution to almost every problem. But seriously, you could just switch to Linux. Now, Linux distros and desktop environments can be a lot to digest. But you can’t really go wrong with long-term support (LTS) builds of Ubuntu.
Gaming on Linux has also come a long way. Thanks to the proton compatibility layer, you can now run most of your Steam library on Linux. Valve is rumored to release its SteamOS for devices other than the Steam Deck. But you’re adventurous enough, there are gaming-centric Linux distros like Bazzite and Garuda.
Windows 11 doesn’t work on chips released as late as 2017. As someone who is still holding on to an Intel 6th gen PC for word processing and browsing, I think it’s unfair that Windows 11 doesn’t officially support it. If your computer is still working well, it’s not obsolete.