Can’t upgrade your PC to Windows 11? Buy a new one is Microsoft’s laughable solution
Windows 11 adoption has undoubtedly been much slower than Microsoft would like, and part of the reason for that is that some PCs (particularly older models) can’t upgrade due to system requirements – and if you fall into that boat, the software Giant has a simple piece of advice for you: buy a new PC.
New noted that Microsoft has a help document about what it means if you’re running an unsupported version of Windows (spoiler alert: being online at all is a huge security risk), which currently means PCs running Windows 8.1 (or 8) and Windows 7 or earlier.
However, it’s worth noting that this will also be the case for Windows 10 devices a year from now if owners don’t take action, as that operating system approaches end of support in October 2025.
Microsoft’s article takes the form of a short discussion followed by an FAQ, and the main update applied to the document concerns the options to remain supported by Windows, with a new choice added here: ‘Recommended: new PC with Windows 11.’
So this is Microsoft’s main recommendation if your unsupported PC is not up to par hardware-wise for Windows 11: buy a new computer.
Microsoft explains: “Windows 11 is the most recent version of Windows. If you have an older PC, we recommend that you switch to Windows 11 by purchasing a new PC. Hardware and software have improved greatly and today’s computers are faster, more powerful and more secure.”
Then there’s a link to ‘View Windows 11 PCs’ which takes you to Microsoft’s hub, where new devices from itself and partners are shown.
Analysis: That enormous landfill looming on the horizon
That first (‘recommended’) choice of buying a new PC is obviously not the only option covered in the FAQ. Microsoft also lists a number of other options, including upgrading your old computer to Windows 11 – perhaps through Windows 10 first – but this may not be possible with older PCs. A PC running Windows 8 (from before 2015, when Windows 10 appeared on new hardware) will most likely not meet the necessary system specs for Windows 11 (the CPU will likely be too old and the TPM security requirement may not have been met either) .
And in fairness to Microsoft, upgrading such an ailing PC to Windows 11 may indeed be relatively impractical (since you’ll likely have to replace a number of components – the CPU, the motherboard) to get a socket that will work on the new CPU fits, and probably also memory, and maybe more). By the time you reach the end of the component shopping list, you might as well buy a new PC (with a new warranty to boot), and of course some PC owners won’t want to undertake such an upgrade, or do they have the technical knowledge to do this?
So in this case, Microsoft’s main recommendation to purchase a new PC at least makes sense. For those with rapidly aging PCs, they honestly may not have much choice in some scenarios, especially if they aren’t tech savvy. or they have a laptop (or all-in-one PC) that can’t be upgraded anyway.
However, it’s just as true that some people (perhaps quite a few) could upgrade to Windows 10 (with the lighter system requirements) if not Windows 11, a possibility that Microsoft touches on – while at the same time noting that support for Windows 10 expires within one year. , a fairly extensive warning. And therein lies the problem indeed: we must remember that this article’s advice will apply to Windows 10 PC owners next year, when they find themselves in the unsupported boat.
Given that, it would be nice to see Microsoft working on a solution regarding the newer PCs that goes some way toward addressing some of the alarming statistics we’ve been hearing about the number of Windows 10 machines. that ends up in the landfill. the future. This is a potential environmental disaster that could send hundreds of millions of PCs unceremoniously to the scrap heap.
And since these concerns were raised, we haven’t heard anything from Microsoft about how to address them. What Windows 10 users (who can’t or don’t want to upgrade) can do is pay for extended support after October 2025 – but that could prove expensive, especially after the first year if Microsoft’s previous pricing on these schedules everything is possible.
Logically, then, Microsoft must look for a way to keep Windows 10 alive – for those completely blocked by Windows 11’s stricter requirements for security and elsewhere – that is much more cost-friendly for users, in an effort to possibly a much heavier price to pay for saving the planet. In short, ‘buy a new PC’ isn’t going to be the answer we need at the forefront here anytime soon, and pushing people to buy a new computer is already a highly questionable first port of call given the challenges we face in the future to get.
