That’s it, it’s over. Microsoft’s support for Windows 10 has officially come to an end, despite all that this implies from an ecological and financial point of view. Associations for consumer protection or the fight against planned obsolescence have mobilized around the world to make their voices heard. This is the case of HOP, associated with 21 other French organizations.
However, Microsoft did not reverse its decision and did not extend the monitoring of its operating system until 2030, as requested by, among others, HOP. From now on, computers running Windows 10 are doomed to become obsolete because they will no longer be protected by security updates.
However, the Redmond giant has granted a reprieve to Windows 10 PCs that cannot be upgraded to Windows 11 due to hardware limitations. We refer you to the list of prerequisites at the end of this article to ensure that your computer is indeed compatible.
A one-year deferral, conditionally free or subject to payment…
Although Microsoft did not give in to the demands of the associations, it decided to grant a one-year respite to PC users trapped under Windows 10. The American giant has thus created an Extended General Security Updates (ESU) program for Windows 10, in order to give users more time in migrating to Windows 11.
This new program will be valid until October 13, 2026. Therefore, you have approximately one year to join. After this date, unless a new reprieve occurs, Windows 10 will no longer be updated at all.
The manipulation itself is simple, in Windows:
- run windows update
- validate the registration
- Sign in to your Microsoft account
- confirm registration
However, to benefit from the ESU program, you must:
- Make sure your Windows 10 computer is up to date. The installed version must be stamped 22H2;
- Make sure that the account used to install the update is an administrator account (which is a priori the case for the default account).
- Sign in with a Microsoft account linked to an adult, which will be used to subscribe to the ESU license.
Use of a Microsoft account is required at the time of ESU license activation. But two options are offered.
- If you agree to stay signed in to your account afterward, you will be exempt from having to pay Microsoft for this extended support.
- On the other hand, if you do not want to remain connected, you will have to “make a one-time purchase to register,” explains Microsoft. You will be asked to make a payment of “30 US dollars or its equivalent in local currency, plus applicable taxes.”
Windows 11 or alternatives?
If this solution imagined by Microsoft does not interest you, then you only have two solutions left.
- The first: buy a new computer, something that many users seem to have started doing, since PC sales numbers began to rise again last quarter. This solution is obviously expensive and involves abandoning your old PC.
- The second: offer a new life to your PC by adopting another operating system, a Gnu/Linux distribution, for example, like Ubuntu, which is very easy to use and offers an experience very close to the current Windows one.
But in any case, once you decide to part with your PC, don’t forget to back up your data carefully so as not to lose any of your personal documents and photos. And then don’t forget that the seller, whether online or in a store, must take back your old machine for free to eventually recycle it.
What are the prerequisites for Windows 11?
Pre-configuring to benefit from Microsoft’s latest operating system is not extravagant.
It implies that the PC has:
– A processor (64-bit, dual core) with a speed of at least 1 GHz
– At least 4 GB of RAM
– At least 64 GB of storage
– A graphics card or integrated chip capable of handling DirectX 12
– A screen of at least 9 inches and a definition of 720p
Its secure boot is compatible with UEFI technology, introduced in the early 2000s. So many criteria that they are not very demanding.
In fact, the blocking point is the obligation for the computer to include a secure chip, the TPM 2.0 module, whose specifications were published in March 2014. This does not mean that PCs will quickly adopt this new module. Some machines up to five years old were sold with an older version of the chip.
Source: BFM TV
