As we get closer to October and the demise of Windows 10, Windows 11 is starting to feel more like a marketing ploy than a necessary upgrade. The dead giveaway are the incessant reminders (that feel a lot more like ads) that keep appearing in Windows 10 providing links to new Windows 11 computers. Could it be more obvious?
Since the introduction of Windows 11, I’ve been receiving technical bulletins from Microsoft with moving targets for minimum requirements. On the Intel side alone, Windows 11 was supposed to install on 6000 series processors. A little later Microsoft sends out a technical bulletin stating we can bypass the minimum requirements at our discretion. Within a month or so I received a message stating 7000 series processors are the minimum and don’t bypass the minimum. Last week I noticed the minimum will be changing to 11,000 series processors.
C’mon Microsoft, get your stuff together and stop with the moving target already! I shouldn’t have to refer to their website weekly to relearn how to do my job.
Considering most of the machines I service range anywhere from 5000 to 8000 series processors it’s a little baffling that Microsoft is now putting in such strict requirements for 11. For that matter, Windows 10 was supposed to be Microsoft’s last Windows version. At least that’s my takeaway from 2015.
The pandemic created such stimulus and demand for new computers and laptops that manufacturers beefed up production and took on more employees to meet demand. Post-pandemic sales slumped causing industry wide turmoil, and for the manufacturers it meant layoffs and plant closures. Lead times for business class computers jumped to nine months during the pandemic. Lead times today are measured in weeks and no longer months.
In my opinion, companies like Dell, HP and Lenovo, the three largest manufacturers of computers, are pushing the fight for Windows 11. With these companies being Microsoft’s largest Windows customers it makes sense they would lean on Microsoft to stiffen requirements of the new operating system. Strong arming customers into new computers with tightened requirements means the lifecycle of a perfectly good computer is lessened to make way for something new that’s frankly not much better.
Like a good Boy Scout I followed Microsoft’s rules at the onset of Windows 11 and paid attention to the requirements for processor and TPM. If a machine did not meet their requirements, I suggested customers purchase new equipment. The simple reality is Windows 11 runs like molasses on Intel 4000 series and earlier. Regardless of the TPM requirement, earlier processors simply can’t handle the overhead. I’m now using my discretion and taking into account how the computer is being used and whether the customer will really benefit from modern hardware to handle Microsoft’s latest creation.
Part and parcel to my change of heart came from giant piles of computers in my recycling pile. Granted some of them legitimately needed to be tossed. But the majority were working computers that didn’t meet the requirements of Windows 11. Keep in mind, each computer or laptop in my recycling pile represents a new one purchased as a replacement.
All these changes to Windows 11 requirements are like playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey with a blindfold and a moving target. As we get closer to the end of life for 10, Microsoft keeps stiffening the hardware requirements. At this rate, come September brand new computers won’t meet Microsoft’s confusing requirements.
Bravo to those of you who are daring enough to say no to Microsoft’s requirements and are running Windows 11 on unsupported hardware. I am.
Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc with stores in Greenfield and Gardner MA. You can reach him directly at 978-413-2840