Windows 10 dies next week. Here’s how to keep your older PC alive

Option 0: Postpone the decision – pay for extended support

If you don’t have the time or energy to organize a longer-term solution and don’t mind paying a little extra, you can choose to take advantage of Microsoft’s extended support offer. The company announced last autumn that it would be offering a year of continued security updates for around $30, but that’s it. If you don’t want to spring for the money, you can also claim another year of free Windows 10 updates by activating Microsoft Backup or spending 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points.

Buying yourself a year’s grace may make sense, especially if you really want to get a new computer with Windows 11, but would prefer waiting until next year.

Further reading: How I finally learned to love Windows Task View

Option 1: Force Windows 11 onto your old computer

Perhaps the easiest way to continue using an older computer that doesn’t officially meet the system requirements for Windows 11 is to ignore the system requirements. Microsoft doesn’t recommend it, of course, and in a way it’s right. The TPM requirement tied to newer systems has to do with the ability to store private encryption keys and other secrets in a truly secure way.

But if the alternative is to keep running Windows 10 without security updates, it’s obviously much better to run Windows 11 even if your computer won’t be as secure as a slightly newer machine. One way to increase security a little is to use a hardware key or just your mobile phone for two-factor authentication.

In order to run Windows 11 at all, your computer must have a processor that supports the SSE 4.2 and Popcnt instructions. This basically means an Intel processor from 2009 or later, or an AMD processor from 2013 or later. If the option is available, you should also enable Secure Boot in the BIOS.

What you need:

• An .iso file of Windows 11 from Microsoft
• The latest version of the Rufus program
• A USB stick of at least 16GB

Start Rufus and select your connected USB stick under Device at the top. Locate and select your downloaded .iso file under Boot selection.

Leave the other settings as they should be by default: Standard Windows installation under Image, GPT for Partition scheme, and UEFI (non CSM) under Target system.

Then click Start and the Windows User Experience dialogue box will appear. Here you should tick the top option, Remove the requirement for 4GB RAM, Secure Boot, and TPM 2.0. That’s all that’s required, but if you intend to do a fresh install instead of an upgrade, you can also fill in any other options you wish, such as running local account instead of Microsoft account.

Click OK and accept the warning that the USB stick will be erased (you didn’t have anything important on it, did you?). The program will then chew for quite a while it copies all the files and makes the desired changes.

Upgrade

Now you can open the USB stick in Explorer and start the Setup.exe program. You will first need to accept the user agreement and click through some other things, then the program will check for available updates. It may take a long time so be patient.

Finally, it will finish and you can start the installation. When you install using this method, the default choice is to keep all personal files and installed programs, so you won’t have to redo any settings (other than what has changed between Windows 10 and 11).

Reinstallation

If you prefer to start from scratch or to test drive Windows 11 before switching full time, you can reboot your computer from the USB stick and install the system to an empty SSD (or hard drive, but I don’t recommend this as it will make your computer slow as syrup).

The Windows installer can be a bit tricky. If you have problems with more than one storage device in your computer, try temporarily removing all but the blank disc you are installing to.

Option 2: Switch to Linux – how to get started

If you’re tired of Microsoft’s shenanigans and feel ready for an adventure, try switching to Linux instead of harping on about Windows. Linux is more capable today than ever, and thanks to open source projects like Wine, Vulkan, and Proton, it’s easy to run many, if not most, Windows programs and games.

Linux is not a unified operating system that looks and works in a particular way. Instead, there are a large number of so-called distributions, different flavors of Linux that may use different graphical user interfaces and different tools for basic functions like system updates.

To give you an idea of what a jungle it is, I can list some of the major distributions: Arch, Debian, Fedora, Manjaro, Mint, Opensuse, Red Hat, and Ubuntu. There are many more, and often several variants of each distribution. It’s no wonder that many people who want to try Linux get decision anxiety and give up.

My recommendation if you come from Windows and have never used Linux is to start with Linux Mint. It has a graphical interface that is fairly close to Windows and is designed to work well right after installation without having to tinker with settings. If you don’t like it, you can always try something else.

I recommend starting by installing Linux on a separate hard drive or SSD alongside Windows, so you can easily switch back.

1. Download and create installation drive

Download an .iso file of the latest version of Linux Mint from the distribution website. Then download and open the Balena Etcher application. Select the .iso file in step one and a connected USB stick of at least 4GB (without any important files!) in step two. Then click on Flash and authorize to overwrite the USB stick with the Mint installer.

2. Start the installation

Restart your computer and press the correct key to access the start menu before Windows starts. Which key it is varies between different computer manufacturers, but it is usually, for example, the Esc key, F2, or F10. Select the USB stick and wait until Mint has started.

Double-click on the Install Linux Mint icon on the desktop and the installer will start. The first thing to do is to select the language. Then select the keyboard layout and move on. In the next step, you should tick Install multimedia add-ons.

Next, it’s time for disc formatting. Select Erase the disc and install Linux Mint and move on. The next step is important: Choose the right disc to install on. You can usually start from the size. For example, if Windows is on a 1TB SSD and you’re installing Linux on a 512GB SSD and you don’t have any other SSDs or hard drives, simply select the 512GB drive. Click Install Now and then Continue.

While the installation is running in the background, select the time zone, fill in a username and password, and a few other things. Then just sit back and wait for it to finish.

Further reading: Newbie’s guide to Windows BitLocker: Why you need it and how to set it up

3. Getting started with Linux Mint

When you restart your computer after installation and enter the password you chose, you’ll be greeted by the Mint desktop and a welcome program to help you get started. The First Steps tab provides shortcuts to a number of important features that you can use right from the start.

Here, for example, you’ll find Driver Manager, which you should run to see if there are drivers for your hardware that are not pre-installed. If you have an Nvidia graphics card, this can be particularly useful, as the system does not pre-install the company’s proprietary drivers, which often work better than its open-source drivers.

To install software, you can usually use the Software Manager application, and system updates are installed using Update Manager. However, there are exceptions. For example, if you want to play Windows games from Steam, go to store.steampowered.com and click Install Steam, and do not use the version that appears in the Application Manager. Valve has made it very easy, and most games will work as long as you have enough modern hardware.

Try it out! Much of the system is similar enough to Windows that you should be able to find your way around as long as you are curious.

If you run into trouble, a quick web search is usually enough, but there are also plenty of forums with helpful members, not least on Reddit. It can help to keep in mind that Mint is based on Ubuntu, so if there are no instructions specifically for Mint, you can usually use those for Ubuntu.

‘Linux Lite’ with Chrome OS

If you don’t fancy getting into Linux “for real,” Google’s Chrome OS can be an alternative. This is the system that powers Chromebooks, and although it is essentially Linux, it is greatly simplified and almost all interaction with the system is via the Chrome browser.

Option 3: Keep Windows 10 – how to protect yourself

If you don’t want to give up on Linux or force Windows 11 onto your old computer, you really only have two options: Buy a new computer or keep running Windows 10 without any updates.

Microsoft isn’t kidding when it says you’re exposing yourself to a security risk if you choose to continue running Windows 10. It’s impossible to say how long it will take, but sooner or later someone will find a serious security flaw that can be exploited to take over your computer.

If you’re lucky, such vulnerabilities will still require you, the user, to be tricked into clicking a link or opening a downloaded file. With less luck, it could allow computers to be hacked just by visiting a website with malware.

That said, there are some things you can do to protect yourself from the biggest risks and avoid the worst consequences. Here are some tips:

1. Keep your programs up to date
Just because Windows doesn’t get updates doesn’t mean that other programs on your computer can’t be kept up to date. Browsers are by far the most important, but so are email clients like Thunderbird and various chat programs.

2. Antivirus
Pay for a good security package and make sure all antivirus features are switched on.

3. Be extra vigilant about what you do online
Avoid visiting “dodgy” sites and only install programs that you know come from trusted sources.

4.Use your mobile phone for two-factor authentication
Log in to all your important sites with an extra code (or key/passkey) that you store on your mobile phone and not on your now vulnerable Windows computer. This way, malware or hackers cannot take over your accounts via your computer.

5. A firewall can protect
Use an application firewall like Glasswire or Safing Portmaster that can block individual programs’ internet access and detect when a program is trying to “phone home.”

6. Protect via DNS
Use Pi-hole or similar to block advertising and malicious websites across the network.

7. Minimize your exposure
If possible, use a computer or mobile device with a more secure operating system to log into important accounts and manage sensitive data. If you don’t have anything sensitive on your computer, there’s nothing for a hacker to pick up.

8. Backups are becoming even more important
Perhaps the biggest risk as an individual running an operating system with known security flaws is being targeted by an extortion program that encrypts all files on your computer. This makes it even more important to have a good backup strategy. Don’t keep all your backup devices connected to your computer at all times, otherwise an extortion program could also encrypt your backups.

Other possibilities

If you can’t do any of the above yourself, there are other ways to keep your old computer out of the scrapyard. One option is to give the computer away to someone else who has more energy. Another is to use it as a server in a home lab. Yet another is to use it as a gaming computer, without connecting it to the network. You can copy over new games from a newer computer using a portable hard drive.