If you are running Windows 10, it’s time to plan for an upgrade or a new computer.

Windows 10 officially goes into “End of Life” status on October 14, 2025. Like Windows 7 before it, this means that after this date, Microsoft will stop publishing security updates, and the operating system will become unsafe to have connected to the internet.

It’s hard to believe, but Windows 10 was released all the way back in July of 2015, so it’s sunset date is more than 10 years since it’s inception. Time flies when you’re having fun.

For those folks with newer computer, it is likely possible to upgrade your system to Windows 11. This is a free upgrade, and done carefully, no data will be lost in the process. There are several requirements your computer has to meet to be eligible for an upgrade, however:

  • The CPU processor must be supported. There are long lists of supported processors available, and as long as the one in your computer is on this list, you pass this requirement.
  • You must have at least 4GB of RAM memory. Any computer that is currently running Windows 10 already passed this requirement. You should know, though that “acceptable” performance in Windows 11 really needs at least 8GB of memory and 16GB is preferred for best performance.
  • Certain minimum levels of graphics capabilities are required, also most computers that can run Windows 10 meet these requirements.
  • Your computer must support “TPM” (Trusted Platform Module) v2.0. This is the biggest hurdle. Your computer either supports this or it doesn’t, and if it doesn’t, you cannot run Windows 11. Because your computer may support this, but the feature might be disabled, it’s difficult to tell for sure if you meet this requirement without accessing the system’s BIOS – which is pretty high on the “Geek Scale”.

Windows 10 provides a tool than can help you decide. It’s called “PC Health Check” – not exactly an intuitive name there, Microsoft. To find it, hold the Windows logo key to the left of the spacebar and press the “S” key, which should bring up a search box. In the search box, type “PC Health Check” and then click on the icon to run the program. Once it comes up, click the ‘Check Now’ link.

Note that if this program says you aren’t eligible for Windows 11 because it cannot detect TPM v2.0, that could just mean that this feature is disabled in the system BIOS. If this is the case, please give us a call to arrange for a time for us to come and check this to be sure.

If your computer IS eligible for Windows 11, then you will need to plan on doing the upgrade before 10/14/25. If your computer IS NOT eligible for Windows 11, then you will need to replace your computer by 10/14/25. This might sound a little draconian on Microsoft’s part, but in reality, if your computer doesn’t support Windows 11, it is likely that it is an older model already more than 5 years old, which is the normal expected lifespan of a computer in any event. As always, please let us know if you have any questions about this topic – we’re glad to help anyway we can.