October 2025 marks the end of the proverbial road, end of life, or EOL, for one of the most successful operating systems of all time, Windows 10. Not that this road is marked with a cliff or “bridge washed out” sign.
Many people will keep using Windows 10 for the foreseeable future. In the corporate and education sectors, the transition to Windows 11 has been underway for some time, although some with mission-critical applications not certified for the newer operating system may opt to pay a fee to keep running the older Windows 10.
For the typical home user, nothing will be apparent, save perhaps some nag screens pressing owners to upgrade to Windows 11. However, here’s the rub. Microsoft dug in its heels and decided the new operating system would not be allowed to run on older hardware.
Specifically, the Microsoft upgrade engines are set to look for a minimum standard, known as TPM 2.0 (Trusted Platform Module), which, if not met, becomes a complete roadblock. Oh, there are some workarounds, particularly something called Rufus, and also certain registry hacks, but the Redmond, Wash., company has shown it is capable of bricking machines with such workarounds, rendering them unusable.
In my own case I’m running three main Windows 10 boxes. None is capable of running the “11” upgrade. My plan is to retire one of the three boxes and replace it with a newer box, although I will likely buy it used through a local refurbisher where I’ve had success previously. The other boxes will be replaced over a longer time frame.
I also have much older boxes running Windows Vista, Windows 95, and even a Windows 3.1 unit by Compaq with an overlay by Xerox called Tabworks, but that’s another story altogether. These are really kept as museum pieces, and as gaming machines for the grandchildren.
Essentially users of Windows 10 fall into five camps when it comes to the EOL options for the operating system. (1) Those who elect to upgrade their existing machine if it is supported in terms of hardware requirements. The vast majority of people in this camp have already run their Windows 11 upgrade. Those who have not are likely skeptical of the “11” system and believe it may cause unanticipated problems.
(2) Those who realize their hardware is incapable of running Windows 11 and have decided to buy a new laptop or desktop either already running the latest OS or capable of a one-click upgrade.
(3) Those who simply elect to do nothing. These users are part of the “if it ain’t broke don’t touch it” brigade. They will simply stick it out, paying no heed to security warnings. Some of these people are still running internet-facing boxes running Windows 7, or earlier versions of the Microsoft operating system. They believe their computers are invulnerable to security compromises.
(4) Those who elect to use one of a number of workarounds to get their otherwise unsupported machine to install Windows 11. Their belief is that Microsoft is deliberately stymieing their upgrade efforts in order to drive the sales of newer hardware. In fact, the company says, it is trying to drive a common minimum standard for security in operating systems, one that older hardware can’t support.
(5) This last camp is one which has been promoted for more than a decade, without much notable uptake. Convert that older Windows box into a machine running Linux, the open source operating system popular with hobbyists and the technorati. Linux is indeed a wonderful operating system but its lack of widespread uptake underlies an inherent problem; it isn’t always easy to install, and its interface, depending on the flavour, of which there are many, may not be what most users are currently used to.
Will there be a significant move to Linux after October rolls around? It seems unlikely. Yes, there will be success stories, but the vast majority of Windows users will either replace incompatible gear, or ignore the warnings about persisting with Windows 10.
Microsoft has certainly aggravated some users in recent years, drawing not-so-subtle advertising into its operating system, hyping its Copilot artificial intelligence tool in nearly all aspects of the Microsoft ecosystem, and now effectively forcing an operating system upgrade which will presumably increase the e-waste stream considerably this year.
All of this even has a descriptive term … the ensh**ification of Windows, as used in various technology publications and online discussion groups. The term was coined by novelist and blogger Cory Doctorow in 2022 to describe the degradation of online platforms, and named word of the year for 2023 by the American Dialect Society.
With the Windows 10 EOL just four months away, what plans do you have for any computers you may have that are running the Microsoft operating system?
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