Future TechnologyYour Windows 11 upgrade checklist, eleven months into an unpatched Windows 10
Key takeaways
- Windows 10 has been without security patches since 14 October 2025, which is eleven months and counting
- The check is TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, and an 8th generation Intel or Ryzen 2000 processor or newer
- If the machine fails, the three options are Extended Security Updates, Linux, or replacement. There is no fourth
Windows 10 stopped receiving security patches on 14 October 2025. Machines still running it have gone eleven months without one. At that point the question is not whether to move, but what the machine in front of you is actually capable of.
The Windows 11 upgrade checklist for an old PC
Run PC Health Check first, because it answers most of this in a single pass. Then verify the parts by hand, since the tool is not always specific about which one failed. Press Windows plus R and run tpm.msc to confirm TPM 2.0. Check that Secure Boot is enabled in firmware. Confirm the processor is 8th generation Intel or Ryzen 2000 or newer. Take a full backup. Then take the free upgrade through Windows Update.
The order matters more than the list does. The backup is the step people skip, and it is the only one that cannot be redone after the fact.
When the machine fails the check
Three honest options, and no fourth worth recommending. Extended Security Updates buy time and nothing else, which is fine if the machine has a defined retirement date and bad if it does not. A Linux install is the best outcome for hardware that still runs well, and an old desktop with a working power supply makes a perfectly good always on box; our home server OS comparison covers what to put on it and the home server build guide covers the rest.
Replacement is the third option. It is also the one being pushed hardest by everyone with hardware to sell, which is worth holding in mind while you read the vendor pages.
On buying parts right now
If the upgrade path runs through a new drive, note that storage pricing this year is inflated and a backup target does not need to be fast. An external drive or a portable SSD covers the backup step. A boot drive upgrade such as a 2TB NVMe is worth it on a machine you are keeping, and worth postponing on one you are not. Recommending an expensive component to hit a deadline that passed eleven months ago is not urgency, it is just cost.
What to watch
Whether Microsoft extends the consumer ESU window again. Every previous end of support date has produced one round of pressure and one partial concession, and the number of machines still on Windows 10 is large enough that the same argument is available.
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