Windows 10 support ends Tomorrow (October 14, 2025)

is there any risk of hacking or anything if i continue to use windows 10? serious question here.
I rather ask myself then "Is there a reason to stay on any Win?" If you want to avoid MS, you better just use Linux anyway?!? I believe the compatibility is overall pretty good already and I assume a significant number of gamers might switch right now, which should improve official support also in the future.
 
this is definitely not happening.
I must have dreamed the dozens of youtubers and gaming magazines talking a lot about switching to Linux in the last couple of months then. Even some colleague of mine came up with that idea to my surprise. Because F MS... lol
I don't talk about reaching 50% and dominance. Just a few steps towards at least Apple numbers is certainly already significant short term and something that puts Linux actually on the radar of company support, at least similar as Apple is. Both alternatives have been somewhat supported now and then but never really consistently. I believe a few percent more could already trigger a change, more than Steamdeck alone was able to do.
 
I got the extended support for an additional year. After that I'll subscribe to something like 0Patch to keep getting security updates on Windows 10 until maybe 2030. My computer can't upgrade to W11 and I'm not going to be buying a new computer for Windows any time soon.
 
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"Most people" cant even upgrade to win11
Meaning GIF
 
Still rocking my copy of windows xp after 22 years of going strong with it. I have to do a fresh installation each two days because of various problems but it's ok in my book.
 
And they'll have to get out of their comfort zone whether they like or not.

Theres a reason why so much noise is being made over this forced upgrade, that being almost half of users are still on 10. And not by choice either, they simply cannot upgrade because they dont meet hardware requirements. Switching to linux will be among the alternatives they'll come across when these 600 million users start looking for solutions.
 
No they won't, what kind of fantasy world are you living in?
They'll either not care and do nothing, contact the shop to fix it for them or get upgrades, or just buy a new laptop.
The shop can do nothing about this, and average users wont be paying hundreds to thousands of dollars on new hardware for a windows update they clearly don't need.

They'll either stay on 10, ignoring everything and everyone around them warning of "security" risks, or pick a less usual solution, among which the easiest and safest for common everyday use is a linux distro

There is no comfortable patch left for hundreds of millions of users, thats the issue.
 
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I must have dreamed the dozens of youtubers and gaming magazines talking a lot about switching to Linux in the last couple of months then. Even some colleague of mine came up with that idea to my surprise. Because F MS... lol
I don't talk about reaching 50% and dominance. Just a few steps towards at least Apple numbers is certainly already significant short term and something that puts Linux actually on the radar of company support, at least similar as Apple is. Both alternatives have been somewhat supported now and then but never really consistently. I believe a few percent more could already trigger a change, more than Steamdeck alone was able to do.
Arrested Development Tobias GIF
 
The shop can do nothing about this
of course they can, if you are missing a tpm module or even just a turned off bios setting they'll fix that for you no problem, and at the very least they can walk users through getting ESU for another year if they are so deathly afraid of their machine exploding now.

There's no having to get out of their comfort zone, what you're proposing is pure fantasy; life will go on for most users without them ever knowing what linux even is.
 
of course they can, if you are missing a tpm module or even just a turned off bios setting they'll fix that for you no problem, and at the very least they can walk users through getting ESU for another year if they are so deathly afraid of their machine exploding now.
no, they'll say you'll need to buy a new CPU (or an entire new laptop if that's what you're using), subscribe to some MS service for 60 to 250 dollars for a temporary solution, or that there's nothing else you can do about it.

The cooler shops may walk them through some of the 'hacks', but that's about it.
 
subscribe to some MS service for 60 to 250 dollars for a temporary solution
Well good thing that the windows update screen in windows itself doesn't say that then, just click enroll now and even a free option presents itself 🤷‍♂️
The cooler shops may walk them through some of the 'hacks', but that's about it.
What hacks? turning on a bios setting or enrolling in ESU isn't hack.

Again, you're living in a fantasy world where this is somehow such a giant problem for general users they'll be required to jump out of their comfort zone; they won't.
 
Well good thing that the windows update screen in windows itself doesn't say that then, just click enroll now and even a free option presents itself 🤷‍♂️
That's only for europe's EEA region (i guess some EU legal thing), and still just a temporary solution.
What hacks? turning on a bios setting or enrolling in ESU isn't hack.
We're talking about normies, so much as entering the bios screen is a hack to them.

And judging from your answers, seems you yourself admited switching to 11 isn't an easy process for those users, as all of what you said involves remaining on 10.
 
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It's fine once you debloat it, prevent feature updates through Group Policy for a year (too many bugs), and block the telemetry.

And of course block Clippy 3.0 from installing.

Personally I still have OneDrive as I find it useful and just pause during gaming.
I disabled OneDrive and saw a big improvement in overall responsiveness.
Win 11 really is bloated with too much stuff running in the background. But it does work
 
That's only for europe's EEA region
no it isn't, ESU is free if you choose the sync your settings option
We're talking about normies, so much as entering the bios screen is a hack to them.
...what are you talking about now? enabling a bios setting or enrolling in ESU aren't hacks, the shop can do either for them within like 5 seconds if it's so incredibly hard for the user to follow the live instructions of having to press 3 whole buttons instead.
 
I disabled OneDrive and saw a big improvement in overall responsiveness.
Win 11 really is bloated with too much stuff running in the background. But it does work
I think pausing it gets you most of the way there. I will test to see if disabling is much better performance wise.
 
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no it isn't, ESU is free if you choose the sync your settings option
Individuals or organizations who elect to continue using Windows 10 after support ends on October 14, 2025, will have the option of enrolling their PCs into a paid ESU subscription. The ESU program enables PCs to continue to receive critical and important security updates through an annual subscription service after support ends.
It is only ""free"" if you're subscribed to 365, and still only a temporary solution.

...what are you talking about now? enabling a bios setting or enrolling in ESU aren't hacks, the shop can do either for them within like 5 seconds if it's so incredibly hard for the user to follow the live instructions of having to press 3 whole buttons instead.
Whatever method this is it isn't official, as the official ways require you to be subscribed to something. As such, shops wouldn't do it (unless they're the cool ones).
 
no it isn't, ESU is free if you choose the sync your settings option
Only actually free in Europe.

From what I've read: In the rest of the world it's "free" if MS help themselves to all of the content on your pc via unwanted OneDrive sync and a forced always on MS account (if you revert to your local account, you'll apparently lose your ESU after a couple of months without logging in using the MS account).

Apparently you pay (either with Points or cash) to avoid syncing.

Fundamentally, it comes down to a trust problem. The slimy shit they're pulling to try and grab all of the content on every PC (much of which is either highly private - in the case of personal machines - or highly confidential - in the case of work machines) is pretty brazen. If they're doing this now, just imagine what they'll get up to in a couple of years/months. It outperforms even the bullshit that Facebook does.

Individuals apparently don't care, so... whatever - but this seems like it would be a _big deal_ to corporate users. I wonder how this is going to shake out; if business can't trust their Business OS then there's a real problem.
 
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That actually gave me an idea that I didn't know was possible. I used massgrave in the past as always to activate my totally legit enterprise w10. Because of this, I'm not allowed to enroll in ESU. But I suppose I can just change my version to Pro? Thanks for link.
Well that went pretty smoothly. Did a OS version change to Win10 Pro. Ran some registry commands, forced ESU enroll prompt to appear, enrolled in ESU. I'll likely reformat and install Win11 once I decide to pull the trigger on a 2tb nvme upgrade from my 1tb nvme but at least it buys me some time for now.
 
Make sure your antivirus software and browser are up to date and there's no need to panic. Steam, Nvidia, AMD and other major app / driver providers won't abandon Windows 10 anytime soon.
 
Not loosing any sleep over this, I'm chillin' on Win10 IoT Ent LTSC 2021 til 2032 with security updates. I'm mainly a fedora/debian user, but still game on Windows.
 
It is only ""free"" if you're subscribed to 365
Wrong, it's completely free, because syncing doesn't cost anything.

How much does Windows 10 ESU cost?


You can enroll in ESU in one of the following three ways:


  • At no additional cost if you are syncing your PC Settings.
  • Redeem 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points.
  • One-time purchase of $30 USD or local currency equivalent plus applicable tax.

Whatever method this is it isn't official
confused jeff bridges GIF


It's completely official, it's literally the option presented in windows itself on the windows update screen, and if you've done the windows 11 check it will also tell you the TPM requirement could just be a bios setting away.
TPMTrusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0. Check here for instructions on how your PC might be enabled to meet this requirement.
Most PCs that have shipped in the last 5 years are capable of running Trusted Platform Module version 2.0 (TPM 2.0).
In some cases, PCs that are capable of running TPM 2.0 are not set up to do so. If you are considering upgrading to Windows 11, check to ensure TPM 2.0 is enabled on your device.
If you need to enable TPM, these settings are managed via the UEFI BIOS (PC firmware) and vary based on your device.
If you are unsure how to make any needed changes to the TPM settings, we recommend that you check your PC manufacturer's support information or contact their support organization.
Go gaslight someone else, I'm done with your nonsense.

No Way Abandon Thread GIF


Only actually free in Europe.
See above.
 
Wrong, it's completely free, because syncing doesn't cost anything.
Just your data. Still, only works up to a year, anymore than that requires you to pay. After that it'll be the same dilemma

confused jeff bridges GIF


It's completely official, it's literally the option presented in windows itself on the windows update screen, and if you've done the windows 11 check it will also tell you the TPM requirement could just be a bios setting away.
This method assumes you have a compatible CPU. It's completely worthless if you don't.

Go gaslight someone else, I'm done with your nonsense.
lmao. It is a fact we have half of windows userbase on 10 still, and they all will have problems with this forced 11 update. Today or a year from now.
 
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A year mate, doesn't solve the issue.

Don't pretend you didn't read the rest of the phrase.
I said from the start the problem is people without proper hardware requirements mate.

If you don't have the proper CPU, you don't have it. No bios tinkering will solve that. The end.

You're having an entire conversation that I'm not having, so just go away and talk to yourself please.
i'm having a conversation you're autistically refusing to have for reasons beyond my comprehession.

A Win11 update won't be a press button prompt for a considerable amount of users. This is a fact. A fact that can push at least a few million more people to Linux distros.
 
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A year mate, doesn't solve the issue.
laugh make GIF


I said from the start the problem is people without proper hardware requirements mate.
No you replied with that to me and I said:
Meaning GIF


Because that was not the conversation or argument I was having, you replied with something completely unrelated; this is not going to make a significant amount of users switch to linux, that's a fantasy.
Repeating myself:
They'll either not care and do nothing, contact the shop to fix it for them or get upgrades, or just buy a new laptop.

Whether or not there's users that simply can't upgrade to 11 was never an argument I had, that's one you are having with yourself and tried to rope me into.
 
No you replied with that to me and I said:
Meaning GIF


Because that was not the conversation or argument I was having, you replied with something completely unrelated; this is not going to make a significant amount of users switch to linux, that's a fantasy.
My turn:
QPmeD7.gif


That was, very clearly, the conversation you were having.
Repeating myself:
They'll either not care and do nothing, contact the shop to fix it for them or get upgrades, or just buy a new laptop.
What part of "it's literally impossible to" you don't understand?
"Update to win 11? Sure!"
"[Your system doesn't meet the minimum hardware requirements]"
"oh... uh... ok? Now what?"

Of course, one can always just fork out $1k on a new laptop. Or they can do quick google searchs for potential alternatives that don't require literally $1k of investiments.

Whether or not there's users that simply can't upgrade to 11 was never an argument I had, that's one you are having with yourself and tried to rope me into.
It's a part of the argument whether you like it or not. It's the main reason why 43% of windows users as of at least july of this year haven't upgraded.

For the record, this has never happened in previous updates. There have been so many users simply being shut out of support, with 7 it was around 20% of the user base.
 
That was, very clearly, the conversation you were having.
Confused High Quality GIF

Where?
you better just use Linux anyway?!? I believe the compatibility is overall pretty good already and I assume a significant number of gamers might switch right now
this is definitely not happening.
dozens of youtubers and gaming magazines talking a lot about switching to Linux in the last couple of months then.
a tiny loud minority living in a bubble as always, most people don't care.

And then you come barreling in with
"mOsT PeOpLe" CaNt eVeN UpGrAdE To wIn11
Ok, thanks for this obvious piece of information?
Meaning GIF


doesn't make the fantasy real that a significant amount of users are going to switch now, they'll either:
They'll either not care and do nothing, contact the shop to fix it for them or get upgrades (as microsoft officially tells them to on the windows update screen itself), or just buy a new laptop.
 
Confused High Quality GIF

Where?





And then you come barreling in with

Ok, thanks for this obvious piece of information?
Meaning GIF


doesn't make the fantasy real that a significant amount of users are going to switch now, they'll either:
These "most people" you claim to not care are being forced into caring. Understand? Capisce?

They'll either not care and do nothing, contact the shop to fix it for them or get upgrades (as microsoft officially tells them to on the windows update screen itself), or just buy a new laptop.
You mean microsoft officially telling them to spend hundreds to thousands of dollars in a upgrade? Sure, i'll just go to the bakery in my neighborhood and buy an entire new laptop because a screen on windows told me to.
 
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1st time i tried win11 when it launched i hated it, found a good amount of bugs. This year got a new PC with win11, and i now like it a bit more than win10. Thers a good amount of feautures that i needed a 3rd party program on win10 that are included in win11. Other than that they are not that different. Positioning and layout of some stuff might need some time to get used to though.

I still think MS is killing support of win10 too soon.
 
These "most people" you claim to not care are being forced into caring.
They aren't being forced into caring about switching to linux, that's not happening; they are forced into caring to...not do anything at all and just keep on going, contact a shop, or buy new hardware.
you mean microsoft officially telling them to to spend hundreds to thousands of dollars in a upgrade?
John Candy No GIF by Laff

There you go with the gaslighting again.
microsoft officially gives the options to enroll in ESU or how to enable TPM and who to contact on their windows update page. They literally never tell you to spend anything for an upgrade, in fact they officially say:
Your PC will still work, but we recommend moving to Windows 11.
 
They aren't being forced into caring about switching to linux, that's not happening; they are forced into caring to...not do anything at all and just keep on going, contact a shop, or buy new hardware.
They are being forced into looking at solutions. Among them, linux.
John Candy No GIF by Laff

There you go with the gaslighting again.
microsoft officially gives the options to enroll in ESU or how to enable TPM and who to contact on their windows update page. They literally never tell you to spend anything for an upgrade, in fact they officially say:
Your PC will still work, but we recommend moving to Windows 11.
You mean the temporary solution that only works up to a year, or the one that only works if you have the required hardware to begin with? We've been through this dude.
 
They are being forced into looking at solutions. Among them, linux.
Meme Lol GIF by ALL SEEING EYES


Yeah, no; the solution, for the "normie" as you put it, is to look at their windows update screen and follow instructions, not let me look up installing a completely different OS I've never heard of before and have no idea how it works or is even compatible with all the things I need for work etc, because all my computers so far came pre-installed with the operating system so I have no idea what I would even be doing.
A significant amount of users now suddenly switching to linux is pure fantasy only entertained by people living in a bubble.

We've been through this dude.
Yes we have, so I dunno why you keep bringing it back up; THEY'LL EITHER DO NOTHING, or follow instructions/call a shop for assistance, or buy new hardware.

What they aren't doing is switching to linux en masse.
 
If you want to bypass the stupid MS checks and you want to upgrade from win10 to win11. Download windows11 iso from MS .If you want to do "upgrade" and keep your files and programs, make sure to pick right region version of windows. Whatever version you have installed, have to match iso you download( i personally had to use two versions International and US to upgrade my old gear).

Once you have it right click and "mount" iso, then CMD(with administrative rights) to the mounted drive letter( whatever it is on your pc , for this example i use F) typing F: then once you in correct drive type:
setup.exe /Product Server /compat IgnoreWarning /MigarteDrivers All

It will tell you it does install server but it actually windows11, just click on "keep your files etc" button- if it is greyed out, most likely your region settings or version of windows you downloaded is wrong.
Tested on one as old I7- 5820K but it should work with earlier CPU types, space needed is about 30-35GB.
 


Serious question, not rhetorical, why does MS go out of their way to break these secret local only setups every update? Only super nerds are fresh installing their OS in the first place, and an even smaller subset up them are using secret console command bypasses. This is an infinitesimally small niche of a niche of windows users who will immediately remove the fake sock puppet MS account from the system MS's trying to force them to make. There's absolutely no monetary value or financial incentive for MS to do this, quite the opposite, they're paying teams of million dollar salary employees to break it and QA all the shit they change every update, as well as server and bandwidth costs for dormant sock puppet accounts. It's completely irrational and illogical.
 
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Meme Lol GIF by ALL SEEING EYES


Yeah, no; the solution, for the "normie" as you put it, is to look at their windows update screen and follow instructions,
Instructions that may as well be impossible to follow since they involve spending copious amounts of cash.

So yeah, they may just end up in a situation where they're looking up how to install a completely different OS they've never heard of before and have no idea how it works or if it is compatible with all the things they need for work. They may not pick it as their solution, but they'll look into it. Just as how they'll look into other work-arounds like using Rufus or the IoT enterprise LTSC solution.

Point is, they'll be forced out of their comfort zone, which leans them into the possibility of using linux.

A significant amount of users now suddenly switching to linux is pure fantasy only entertained by people living in a bubble.
No one expects half of windows users to suddenly switch to linux, but blows like this one where half of an OS userbase is being locked out of essential updates is exactly the kind of thing that turns needles.

In case you don't realize, linux market share used to be less than 1% in 2010, by 2020 it was less than 2%. Now its more than 4% five years later, 5% in some regions. That's not counting things like usage among developers, servers or website hosting where usage can easily reach half or almost 100% of the base. Linux is definitely growing, and situations like this one are contributing to that growth.
 
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R Reizo Ryuu you abuse the term "gaslighting" more than the combined effort of women-only subreddits, but I'm inclined to agree with your general point. There's no upgrade path from W10 to W11 that is more complicated than switching to Linux.

Find a way to upgrade, find a relative/friend/business to do it for you, or get a new machine.

Each of these are far less involved than switching to a new OS, because even if someone suggests and installs a Linux distro for you there's a whole new learning curve to tackle.

I'm going to go back to choosing between Bazzite and CachyOS for my new dedicated Linux drive, because I'm in the minority of nerds that happily do things like that. And I'll never talk to my friends about it because none of them will ever give a shit about operating systems.

SteamOS has the biggest chance of changing minds in the coming years, and if it ever pushes the Steam stats into double digit percentages it will have surpassed all expectations I could ever have for it.
 
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