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.

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".

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.

Windows 11 adoption has been way slower than Microsoft would like, no doubt, and part of the reason for that is that some PCs (particularly older models) can’t upgrade due to system requirements – and if you fall into that boat,

When Windows 11 was released, it set an ultimatum for people wanting to upgrade; have a CPU that supports TPM 2.0, or don't upgrade at all. Since then, the company has seen Window

The endless cat-and-mouse game between Microsoft and the community of devoted Windows hackers just took another turn.