Windows 10: Microsoft’s support docs are urging Windows 10 users to get Windows 11

Windows 10 end of support date is less than 11 months now. After encouraging everyone to upgrade to Windows 11 for the past three years, Microsoft has updated all the support documents related to Windows 10 and its devices about the older operating system’s retirement.

Windows Latest discovered a new banner related to Windows 10 retirement on a “Trouble installing Surface updates?” support page. It mentions in bold that “Support for Windows 10 will end in October 2025.”

Following that, it elaborates, “Microsoft will no longer provide free software updates from Windows Update, technical assistance, or security fixes for Windows 10.” It assures that the PC will still work but won’t have any future support from Microsoft.

Lastly, a button points to the End of Support page for all the retired or soon-to-be retired Windows operating systems.

It sheds light on the finesse of Windows 11 and its features, which are more than enough reasons to upgrade to Windows 11. But should you really do that?

Windows 11 forces capable PCs into retirement


Windows 11 security principles and hardware requirements like TPM 2.0 will render many capable PCs useless. If a laptop doesn’t have a TPM 2.0 but has 16GB RAM and enough CPU cores, it still doesn’t meet the criteria to upgrade to Windows 11. Desktop users can use an external TPM 2.0 module, but older-gen laptops will struggle.

There are means to bypass the TPM and Secure Boot requirements, even official ones from Microsoft, but why enforce such a feature in the first place?

If you have a capable PC and still want to stay on Windows 10 because it’s more stable or whatever reason, Microsoft won’t entertain that idea. You can use their Extended Support Update program by paying $30 a year for security updates. Don’t expect any new features after the official retirement date.

Here’s a more comprehensive Windows 10 end-of-support table created by WindowsLatest:

Version Start Date Mainstream End Date Extended End Date
Windows 10 Home and Pro Jul 29, 2015 Oct 14, 2025 N/A
Windows 10 2015 LTSB Jul 29, 2015 Oct 13, 2020 Oct 14, 2025
Windows 10 2016 LTSB Aug 2, 2016 Oct 12, 2021 Oct 13, 2026
Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019 Nov 13, 2018 Jan 9, 2024 Jan 9, 2029
Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021 Nov 16, 2021 Jan 12, 2027 N/A



Recently, we noticed more promotional banners about Windows 11 24H2 in the Windows 11 Settings app.



It’s clear that there’s no way around this decision, and one of the reasons for this is the decade-old operating system and Microsoft’s heavy push on the AI forefront in Windows 11.

Whatever the case, you can stick to Windows 10 until 2026, but eventually, you’ll have to upgrade to Windows 11.

The post Microsoft’s support docs are urging Windows 10 users to get Windows 11 appeared first on Windows Latest

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Microsoft Botches Up UEFI Support for Windows 7 on ASUS Motherboards



Microsoft suggests updating to Windows 10 to patch Windows 7

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• Chris Merriman
• 
  @ChrisTheDJ
• 05 May 2016

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MICROSOFT HAS confirmed a potentially lappy-borking problem that it won't be fixing, because Windows 7.

Woody Leonhard, the respected Windows columnist, points to a problem involving Asus motherboards, which also appear rebadged in a variety of other manufacturers' machines, and the activation of UEFI Secure Boot for Windows 7 in a patch KB3133977.

Short version: install update, welcome to Borksville, population you.

Both Asus and Microsoft acknowledged the problem. Microsoft entitled the article "BitLocker can't encrypt drives because of service crashes in svchost.exe process in Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2", but we prefer to just call it "Trevor for brevity."

The firm's advice was that it's an optional update, leave well alone, you'll be fine, or alternatively turn secure boot off.

Then Microsoft did a silly, silly thing.

It moved the update from 'optional' to 'recommended' and anyone who reads this site regularly will know what happens when Microsoft does this. That's right boys and girls - it makes it automatically install, unless you've specifically told your machine not to.

So now, if you have one of the affected motherboard and you keep your security updates automatic like wot Microsoft recommends, then your machine will stop working properly.

We should add it's not permanently bricked, but it will take some mucking about in the BIOS to fix and that's a pain even for an experienced computer user.

Microsoft has, by offering a workaround, suggested heavily that it won't be fixing the problem, though we have asked the question, so expect a response in about a fortnight.

But the real kicker is this piece of advice: "Note The Secure Boot feature is supported in Windows 10. To learn more about the security advantages of this feature and about the upgrade path from Windows 7 to Windows 10, go to the following Windows website"

Holy toledo, this company really knows how to rub people up the wrong way.

After all - if the advice is to manually avoid the update or move to a version of the operating system where there's virtually no control over updates, then Microsoft is dealing in massive contradictions.

A more cynical site would suggest that it's yet another example of Microsoft running Windows 7 into the ground and adding built in obsolescence to encourage quicker updates. But we're not that sort of site.

Its the patching to force secure boot that is the problem win 7 does not support secure boot
hence it borks systems and well microsofts answer is Cactus >your Asshole > insert

from the inquirer

 

Windows Media Player 11 Final for Windows XP Released

Microsoft has released the final version of Windows Media Player 11 for Windows XP. Version 11 has a redesigned user interface and incorporates seamless integration with MTV's URGE music service. According to Microsoft, the URGE online catalog provides customers with over 2 million songs by over 110,000 artists. Microsoft is also boasting that its improved search engine in Windows Media Player 11 provides faster results than any other media player on the market. You can download the player from here.

Source: DailyTech

 

Windows 10 Tweaks

As you may already know, Windows 10 (as well as Windows 8) allow you to log in with a valid Microsoft account, instead of creating a local account that only works on your machine. However, you may prefer to keep a local account for privacy reasons. If you do, though, some Windows 10 features—like Cortana—may not work. Despite the default behavior, the Windows 10 Store is not one of them. You can still log in to your Microsoft account for just the Store without switching to a full Microsoft account. The process, however, is not terribly obvious. To do so, follow these steps:

• Launch the Store from your Start menu.
• Click the user icon next to the search box.
• Click “Sign-in” from the menu that appears.
• Choose “Microsoft account” and log in like normal.
• When the “Make it yours” box appears do not enter your password. Instead, click “Sign in to just this app instead.”

from Lifehacker