Windows 10 reaches end-of-line next year. Before it does, you’ll need to make a decision: will you stay with Windows 10 and risk the security of your system, or switch to Windows 11 – or even find another solution?

A new version of the popular Rufus utility once again bypasses the strict hardware compatibility requirements for Windows 11 upgrades. Your move, Microsoft.

Microsoft has given itself a seemingly impossible race against time. With almost exactly a year to run before Windows 10’s unpopular end-of-life hits users in October 2025, Windows 11 is still failing to hook the hundreds of millions more users it needs to prevent a generational support nightmare coming true.

Microsoft’s advice may make some sense from a limited perspective, but it glosses over concerns about a towering scrapheap of Windows 10 PCs

If your PC runs Windows 10, you can ignore those pesky compatibility checks and upgrade to Windows 11. Here's how nearly two dozen ZDNET readers got the job done and saved their laptops from the scrap pile.

As spotted by Neowin, Microsoft has quietly updated its official advice for unsupported versions of Windows, which currently includes Windows 8.1, Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP. These ageing operating systems no longer receive security updates from Microsoft and are therefore susceptible to attacks from hackers seeking bugs and vulnerabilities in software to access your personal and sensitive data.

If you're currently using any version of Windows other than Windows 11, then your system is either already unsupported (Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8.1), or soon to become unsupported (Windows 10). And Microsoft's best advice for anyone in that situation is "move to Windows 11 by buying a new PC".