Coming up in the near future we have the End of Life date for Windows 10, at which point the only Operating System supported by Microsoft will be Windows 11, in the past upgrading hasn't been a huge deal - indeed, Microsoft have made this a free endeavour to move from Windows 10 to Windows 11, however this time around you need to pass the Windows Compatibility checker before you're able to install your new operating system. This requires a more Modern CPU, leaving some users with a PC that won't be able to support the most current version of Windows, effectively sending Thousands of machines to electronic waste. While the intent of this requirement is to generally increase the security for the general public by using the TPM v2 chip to enhance security, it's fundamentally flawed in the most systems are still quite acceptably fast and don't need to be upgraded. So what other options do we have? ## Install Linux Mint ![[F0DEtlU.png]] Linux gets a pretty bad wrap for being fairly user unfriendly - but Linux Mint tries to minimise the unfriendliness of the Linux Ecosystem, and coupled with some of the nice Linux features make the experience really great. With enhancements focused on stability and usability first, these operating systems are rock solid. I personally run Linux Mint on my home PC, it has AMD drivers baked into it so I don't have to manually update my drivers, and with the automatic updates configured, it's displayed no noticeable update for any of the software I use. The biggest quirk with it, is using an SLR as a Web Camera, where by I need to open and run a command in a terminal, but it works fine for presenting it to Discord when I have gaming sessions with my friends. I've experiment with running Linux annually, and generally find some reason that makes me change back within 30 days or so, usually to do with gaming, this time however with the advances to gaming provided by SteamOS and it's Proton translation service, as well as WINE, I've been able to run games like Helldivers2, Starcraft 1, Guardians of the Galaxy, Apex Legends and Overwatch without any issues. It has worked so well in fact, that I have installed it onto my Grandfathers 13 year old Computer, and with little effort made it look like Windows 10 with some theme changes. Right down to the Icons looking how they do on windows. For him the computer is noticeably faster, and for the use case of Web Browsing and the odd spreadsheet here and there, we've given his computer a much needed extension of life. Some alternatives to Linux Mint would be ZorinOS, Pop!OS and for the more adventurous out there, NixOS which lets you carry your installed applications in a transferrable file, that will rebuild systems in exactly the same way each time, a cool concept that I'm interested in trying out. ## Bypass the TPM 2.0 requirements ![[rufus.png]] Using a tool like Rufus you can set up installation media that can speed up the installation process, and bypass the system requirements for Windows 11, and let you get it installed. You'll also need to download the Windows 11 ISO file. Rufus is an Open source utility that when downloaded lets you set up boot media for things like Windows 11. You'll also need a minimum 8GB USB drive to do this, but you would have needed this for installing Linux anyway, and they cost precious little to buy one from somewhere like Officeworks. - Download Rufus - Open it up, accept UAC - Browse for your Windows 11 ISO File. - Select MBR as the Partition Scheme. - Press Start - This will open a Windows Experience Box - Check the box for the Remove Requirement for 4GB+ RAM, Secure Boot, and TPM 2.0 option - Disable Data Collection (Skip Privacy Questions) - Remove requirement for an online Microsoft Account - Click OK, - Rufus will warn about deleting all data on the drive, Click OK This will let you install Windows 11, and speed up the process to boot. To get to usable fast, disconnect from the internet prior to doing this process and the computer will skip updating before you can use it. This means you can start using the computer faster, and download the updates in the background after using the machine. While this will work, you may run into some unexpected behaviour as in theory your system doesn't meet the required specs for Windows 11 to run smoothly. so put this one in the maybe pile ## Upgrade your computer You can also spend the money and upgrade to a supported computer, who knows you might benefit from the improved processor and stuff like that - but with cost of living as it is - and some of these systems certainly not being slow enough to warrant an upgrade, the above 2 options might extend your need to buy one for some time. ## Pay Microsoft for Extended Support Staying on Windows 10 is certainly an option, you pay an annual subscription to Microsoft to get extended security updates for the next 3 years, the cost for this service doubling each year, and it's not cheap - and downright unaffordable on year 3!!! ## Do nothing staying on Windows 10 for a period of time after it stops getting active security updates is certainly an option - but over time a growing number of vulnerabilities will be discovered, and continued use of the device becomes an ever increasing risk to you as a user. ## Closing In closing I have listed the above options in good faith to help extend the life of these older workstations with the lens of keeping some perfectly good systems out of eWaste. I've listed them in order of my own preference, but understand if your requirements are different to mine. Good luck with the upgrade! --- Hey before you go, I'm thinking about starting a mailing list I would use the mailing list to go into further depth on these blogs, augmented with videos on how to actually configure solutions. Let me know if you're interested here! [REGISTER YOUR INTEREST FOR A MAILING LIST HERE](https://mcsec.ck.page/ecc5642a3a)