I found this article about Windows 10 and security updates until 2032. Here is the link to the article: https://www.pcwelt.de/article/28613...tool-kostenlos-tool-downgrade-windows-11.html Has anyone else read anything about this, or has anyone even done this yet? Because you also need a Windows 10 LTSC licence for this, and that's probably not easy to get hold of. Or does anyone know where you can get a licence like this?
Hi, I remembered reading this article a while back which mentioned how to go about getting an LTSC install: https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/22/windows_10_ltsc/ From what i can tell it sounds like bit of a pain as you'll need an enterprise key to license it but you can only buy those for a minimum of five machines. For the limited amount of use and time my own pc gets now I'm thinking of ditching windows entirely now and switching to Linux as i can't stand w11!
I purchased my windows 10 Enterprise key for £15 from a cdkeys site. It worked faultlessly until I upgraded to windows 11.
I've used many Linux distro's over the years and yet to find one that offers a smooth gaming experience. If you do find one let us know please.
Really for gamers the options are quite limited… 1. Try and get Windows 11 to take on your potato PC, with the various workarounds and Rufus. However as I discovered the results were erratic, started off okay but then slowed right down so ended up reverting back to 10, Should I try again, I. I’ve probably run out of grace period to revert and ii. The wife will brain me for “LOVING around with that bloody PC again.” 2. Change enough components (in my case pretty much everything) so that Windows 11 will take and run sweet without resorting to dubious workarounds. 3. Bite the bullet and buy a nice new Windows 11 PC. 4. Carry on using Windows 10 and play chicken with no more security updates.
Yes, the tool is really nonsense, because you can also buy Windows 10 loT Enterprise LTSC 2021. Here, for example: https://software-markt.net/products...ltsc-2021?_pos=1&_psq=windows+10&_ss=e&_v=1.0 And there on the sales page it also says that you will receive updates until 2032. So that would be a very good option if you prefer to stick with Windows 10. And you'll also get these security updates until 2032!
Hello OldVern Yes, I don't have a problem updating my PC to Windows 11. But I just don't like Windows 11, so I want to be able to use Windows 10 for as long as possible. Windows 10 loT Enterprise LTSC 2021 and Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021 are both the fastest Windows 10 versions available and therefore very well suited for gamers. And you can buy these versions for just one PC, you don't have to buy a version for five PCs as chrism#4685 suggested.
Windows 10LTSC until 2032? Will leading edge games making use of the latest all singing all dancing features keep working w/o those core OS features? I doubt train driving games are in that 'leading edge' category since they require the player to acquire ever more DLC over years with core updates only every other few years, but what do I know? Apple will without a blink obsolete several whole generations and billions of dollars of still perfect hardware when it drops Intel architecture by the next OS come 2026. And render millions of iMacs inoperable by forcing a crippling update to a core component like internet browser with the pretext of 'user security'. Only to force those Apple addicts into spending another 4 figure sum on new hardware that essentially does the same as the purposely obsoleted previous iterations. There is no guarantee DTG, or any other gaming studio, will pull the same trick on their games regarding future W10 compatibility, is there? Registry hacks can extend the life of many games on older hardware but with the ever advancing integration of AI, cloud computing and 'always online' into the core OS, how long will it last?
My suspicion about my Win 11 install on the potato. We don't know what hidden checksums MS have built into the install or update and while Rufus might fool it for the initial change there's no guarantee future updates or version changes won't throw a yellow or red flag. At which point you have passed the option to revert to 10 without a complete reformat or reinstall. In my case, I really need a new PC anyway, so more a question of timing. My hope is that Win 10 will not be insecure immediately, more likely it will be good for a few months at least. And while I could drop money on one of the business versions of Win 10 with extended support, that's money better spent going towards a new box.
It's the way of the IT world unfortunately, OldVern. Conform or be cast out ... Or pull the LAN cable and keep playing and working with the same games and software that have faithfully served you for years previously. Apart from AI requirements on CPU and GPU, hardware and software are maxed out for years already and their inherent capabilities above 95% of what most common players and non-professianal users need. Obviously, when you disconnect your PC or Apple from the www, nobody from the bad internet will touch it or harm it. But there still can be hidden time bombs ticking away presenting you with some nasty message in the future. For potato PC and iMac, Linux will happily take the obsolete hardware over and run the basic browsing, email, text and spreadsheets without problems for the majority of users for many years to come.
A question is, how long and how well will software makers continue to accommodate Windows 10 after it's "officially" done? Seems like the choice too often will become fighting with Windows 11 to get it to run on an old computer or fighting with new software to get it to run on an old OS.
Yes, not beyond the bounds of possibility Steam could decide to ditch 10 as they did with 7 which would pretty much mean you have to comply to continue playing your games.
You can also simply install Windows 10 Enterprise IoT LTSC 2021 or Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021 as an update. This will ensure that all your data and settings are retained. You can see how this works in this video.
But that still doesn't protect against the likes of Steam or individual game developers deciding to no longer support Win 10. As I said, money that could go towards a hardware update or new PC that can run Win 11.
I think the Steam app is based on the Chrome browser, so it comes down to when Chrome stops supporting the operating system. EDIT: Found a link: https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/20/valve_steam_legacy_os/
No, that's not a viable solution for continuing to use Windows 10. In the short term, Windows 10 will no longer be supported after October 2025. What you've shared is a service version intended for specialized systems, such as transportation infrastructure or hospital equipment. If you install that version, you'll end up with a broken, half-baked version of Windows that's not suitable for regular use. For example, you won't be able to log in with a Microsoft account, which means you can't use apps or access the Microsoft Store resulting in a crippled Windows experience. And yes, Steam will also stop supporting Windows 10 after October this year. Without official Windows support, there's no reason for Steam to continue maintaining compatibility with Windows 10. I have to be honest I find this thread a bit clumsy and not the best advice. It's fine if you're experimenting on your own, but sharing tips like this publicly is risky, because it's not a safe solution for the average user. I want to be clear: what's being suggested above is not a good choice! Simply switching to Windows 11 is a much safer option unless you have extensive knowledge of software and truly know what you're doing. But hey, maybe I'm just an old grump. Still, I'm very satisfied with Windows 11. It wasn't the best when it first launched, but that's no longer an issue at all.
That's not true, jesper2805! If you watch the video in my last post, you can see that you can even update from Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro to Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021. And afterwards, everything works just as it did before. And Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021 will continue to receive updates after 25 October. And even if you were to do a new installation, you can reinstall everything you wrote. Just take a look at all the videos on YouTube. And I hardly believe that Steam will kick out Windows 10 on 25 October. Read this about Windows 7 in Steam. Windows 7 support was officially discontinued by Microsoft on 14 January 2020. Steam only switched the client to pure Windows 10 on 1 January 2024 (Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 are no longer supported). Since Windows 7 was supported by Steam for four years longer, Windows 10 will also work with Steam for a few more years. I realise that this is not for everyone. But there are lots of people who would rather continue using Windows 10 than switch to Windows 11. And even on Steam, most users are still on Windows 10. And people who want to try something like this know what they are doing.
Emmy_MAN "Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021 is a specialized version of Windows 10 designed for long-term deployment in critical systems. It offers a 10-year support lifecycle (5 years mainstream, 5 years extended) and focuses on stability and security updates over feature updates. This makes it suitable for devices where consistent behavior and minimal disruptions are paramount, such as specialized industrial equipment or medical devices." Please read this and you have you're answer here! "And I hardly believe that Steam will kick out Windows 10 on 25 October." Windows 10 will not officaly supported anymore and read above there you have the same answer.... What you promote is a backdoor use and not an official windows 10 support.
After doing some more research it appears there is another option: "Windows 10 Consumer Extended Security Updates (ESU) program". This is actually free if you agree to sync your settings to OneDrive, or $30 otherwise (and probably £30 in the UK). This will give you extended updates for a year. You will need a Microsoft account to do this. More information: https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb...-program-33e17de9-36b3-43bb-874d-6c53d2e4bf42 https://www.windowscentral.com/micr...ou-now-need-a-microsoft-account-to-pay-for-it https://www.techradar.com/computing...10-thats-going-to-seriously-annoy-some-people
I now have Windows 10, with this ESU programme securing another 3 years of updates. And it's even free! If you want to know more, feel free to send me a private message.
Emmy_MAN Thats a better solution It normally costs $60, but indeed, there are ways to get it for free through the black market. I wonder what the benefit really is you get three extra years, but no updates at all. Switching to Windows 11 requires TPM 2.0, which means you'd need to buy a new motherboard, and those aren't that expensive anymore, right? For AM4, you can get one with TPM 2.0 for just a few bucks. For laptops, it's a different story, and after those three years, it's pretty much the end of the line for your laptop. But playing games on a laptop is in general waste of money!
Of course, with the ESU programme, you normally get updates for Windows 10 for another year. And I'll get updates for another three years with the ESU programme. And I've always had Windows 10, so something was mistranslated in the other post. And I don't have a laptop, but a PC, on which I could also install Windows 11. But I want to stick with Windows 10 for now, and with one programme I can now get Windows 10 security updates for another 3 years.
jesper2805 It's $60 for businesses and $30 for individuals. It's free if you are willing sync your settings with OneDrive.
That's exactly right, Arcsin. But you can also get updates for three years without OneDrive, without a Microsoft account or anything else that's required. Anyone who wants to can secure three years of updates with this tool. It doesn't matter which version of Windows you have. If you want to know more, feel free to send me a private message.
Depends how much time you spend travelling. I for one definitely find a decent gaming laptop with a solid dedicated GPU worth it.
Princess Entrapta Sorry, I have a €2,500 PC at home and a €1,200 tablet, so I’m definitely aware that gaming on a tablet just isn’t necessary (I also travel a lot). For me, gaming is something I do at home, and I use my tablet for work. That said, everyone knows what gaming on a laptop is like they’re simply not built for it. If you buy a “gaming laptop,” you’re basically getting ripped off. That’s always been the case. Prebuilt systems are massively overpriced and never truly deliver what you’d get from building your own PC, like I did at home. I chose every component myself to match my needs. Buying a prebuilt PC always ends up falling short in some way, at least in my experience. And I’m not the only one people around me agree. Sure, if it works for you, that’s fine. But you’re definitely paying way too much for what you get
I think many people don’t really understand the difference, but the bigger issue is that a lot of people still use old hardware that doesn’t support TPM 2.0. With a desktop, you can easily replace the motherboard, although many people lack the knowledge to do so and haven’t really felt the need to think about it neither now nor in the past. Now that Windows 10 is nearing its end, those same people feel forced to take action, even though Microsoft announced years ago that users should switch in advance. It’s fine if you refuse to do so, but then this is the consequence. So that’s one of the contributing factors.
Oh I definitely disagree. These days gaming laptops can be excellent for gaming. I've tried a couple and have been very impressed. I'm seriously thinking that my next PC will be a laptop hooked up to my widescreen and Raildriver. Much more compact and efficient.
It isn't bad, it's a solid operating system as far as I'm concerned. Windows 8 on the other hand......
I knew exactly what I was getting for my money, precisely the specs I was looking for. A system with a 240hz VRR-capable integrated 1440p display, a 16-core 32 thread CPU, 32GB of memory and a dedicated GPU with 16GB of VRAM, that runs Cyberpunk 2077 in full pathtraced RT overdrive mode with everything maxed out at 90-100fps, which smoothly simultaneously handles gaming on my HTC Vive Pro and two external monitors and crucially which I can just pick up, take with me, and use every time I am sitting on a train or in a hotel room. Literally a day to day use case for which a desktop system is wholly unsuited. The power of the system makes it dual function for productivity-intensive workflows that need a high end system for rendering and the like, something needed on the go when travelling and working to a deadline, as well as perfectly satisfactory for gaming, a thing which breaks the tedium of being stuck away from home.
Lucky you! But let’s be honest: the prices of prebuilt gaming PCs are simply too high compared to building a desktop yourself at home. That’s the business model behind them, after all. And on top of that, it’s much harder to get exactly what you personally want. That said, if you enjoy it and you’ve got the money why not? I mean, I do have the money, but I prefer building it myself, and that results in a much better end product. Of course, you do need to know how to do it.
That's twice you've gone to this false equivalence. A prebuilt PC and a laptop are not comparable in the way you are doing. They are wholly different beasts. With the exception of a few specific bespoke vendors, you cannot custom build a system (And trying to build one yourself from parts, while possible, is only viable if you are buying the components in sufficient wholesale quantities to manufacture systems for sale). Sure, laptops aren't modular to nearly the same degree, because of the specific space and thermal requirements which lead to more stuff being on the board. But nor can you build a desktop PC with equivalent specs that you can lug about as easily. At the end of the day it's like buying a car vs buying a boat. Both are viable options for transportation, which meet different needs, and which have some overlap in how they can potentially both get you to the same place - but you won't get very far, and might end up quite wet, should you try using the wrong one for the wrong job. You *do* have a fairly wide variety of combinations of hardware to pick from, though. I have never had a problem in the last decade finding one with a processor from a specific AMD range I wanted, all the expansion ports with the requisite specs I need, and the specific GPU of my choice. Sometimes a particular combination is only found with a specific manufacturer, so sure, if you dislike, say, Asus' keyboard layout, it can be a nuisance. But lately there's just so much choice available.
I mean, given the space constraints I have seen friends run into when it comes to renting - lucky you if you've never run into the problem of not having the space between your bed, desk, and wall to fit a full size tower case, much less have it properly ventilated.
You mean I can't build a laptop myself? Or a computer in general? I build a desktop PC myself. From RAM to GPU and from LED lighting to NVMe, absolutely everything. I was referring more to the waste of money with laptops, the major limitation being that you have virtually no way to repair or improve the hardware, while you pay a hefty price for gaming laptops. Price-wise, that's not a particularly good purchase. If something vital breaks, the laptop is practically obsolete. A lot of good parts end up in the trash. So yes, it's quite a waste. That's not the buyer's fault, by the way, but they do have influence by not buying it.
In the UK both PC Specialist and Overclockers UK offer the option to configure your own PC. If/when I replace the potato that’s the option I will take. Wouldn’t touch the likes of Curry’s/PC World predefined builds with a bargepole.
OldVern That's actually what I meant... Don't just buy off-the-shelf in stores, but look at other options. I understand not everyone can do that, build an own pc but there are plenty of companies that will do it for you, and then you’ll have a PC that’s exactly how you want it. I think retail sales aren't fair because they sell PCs that are way too expensive compared to their actual value. Often, the prices are 30 to even 50% higher than if you build it yourself. Having one built is a bit more expensive, but still a much better alternative! Unless you're using it for basic home tasks like email, watching a video now and then, or playing Candy Crush then that's fine, and an expensive laptop or PC is a whole different story. In that case, a gaming laptop or PC is totally unnecessary, and you're talking about a completely different segment
Because they are overpriced, stuffed with garbage pre installed on the hard drive and quite often can't be upgraded. For example they put the lowest wattage rated PSU in the case they can get away with. Not PC World but years ago I made the mistake of buying a PC from Tiny Computers, who were all the rage on the High Street back then. Non standard components and everything was sealed with glue to the motherboard preventing removal or replacement, even if the MB supported it. Vowed after that it was either custom build or build my own.
I have bought all my pc's from Dell since about 2005. I configure them on the website, choosing my own components. One reason I do this is because, as Vern said, prebuilts almost always have insufficient power supplies.
Crosstie Do you understand why i was written that play high quality games on a pre-build computer or laptop is not satisfying?! What you write there is exactly the point. Sorry if i had choose a little strong words but in the end thats what i was pointing out. All most all pre-build pc have parts that not allign together and mostly create a bottleneck or what you written not enough Power. For my experience its always something that they are put in what not make sense
In the case of the Tiny PC it was something like a 200w PSU which even back then struggled to run the hardware. I did end up swapping it out with a Hiper modular unit but as said had a devil of a job as whoever built Tiny’s PC’s had put blobs of glue on the lead plugs where they attached to components.
Not had any issues with Currys or PC World in the past. A number of my relatives got very good PC's from them. You just need to do the research first and stand your grkund when they try to upsell virus checkers, support contracts and warranties. As for Tiny Computers, they wont be missed. Only PC I've had that was dead on arrival. Though it was at least standard components so I worked out what was wrong and they sent me the parts to fix it myself. Worst PC I've had recently was an HP Omen. All low grade no name parts ant totally inadequate cooling. My current PC is one that was a heavily discounted customer return. Basically got it for tbe price of the graphics card. Tjen stripped out the parts I didn't like and replaced them when they've been on sale. It's running Windows 11 but with a utility installed to make it look like 10 which is a good compromise for me.
Oh boy, a 200W PSU is indeed very outdated for gaming. I personally installed a 1000W one, hehe. Glue in a PC is extremely amateurish, yeah. Any self-respecting builder would never use such things in a build, and nowadays it's completely unnecessary anyway. The only 'paste' you use is thermal paste for the CPU cooler.
This was many years ago, probably late 90's or early 00's. Eventually Tiny Computers went bust, followed not long after by the other High Street box seller Time Computers who were nearly as bad by all accounts.
All the problems described here with ripoff prebuilt desktops don't apply to laptops, though, which was where this tangent in the discussion began. Laptops are not being built by cramming together whatever poorly compatible clearance parts the vendor picked up cheap in bulk, because you can't bodge together a laptop on the cheap the same as you could a desktop in that way. The reduced modularity is ironically in some ways to the consumer's benefit for this reason, as it cuts down on the means by which a seller can scam you, beyond simply trading on the same level of purchaser ignorance among the non-computer savvy mnasses where you show them a screen and say it's "full colour high def, and has wifi and bluetooth" and their jaw gapes and they buy it immediately without asking the specs. The boards, not being as modular, are designed so as to avoid internal bottlenecks, in part simply to save on additional unnecessary expense. There's no point as the manufacturer spending more money on components that nothing can make use of, when they cannot use that as a selling point at retail. You'd lose money doing that. Far more efficient to hang on to any bulk components you get saddled with and flip them for a premium for spares.Sure, you will run into bottlenecks with whatever hardware someone tries to plug into them, like slapping a 4090 EGPU into a gaming handheld via a USB dock, since there's nowhere near the bandwidth, but the same holds true of any silly edge case with peripherals like that, and that's 100% on the end user. At worst, the RAM will be inefficiently matched to the board, that and the internal SSD will often be a generation behind what's on the board. It's usually here where they cheap out and overcharge you for what you get. But I generally get a configuration with the cheapest possible options for those, and will have separately purchased larger, faster memory sticks and SSD myself to go in a new laptop. That 512GB Gen3 SSD that's not taking full advantage of the Gen4 interface on the board can get slapped in an external enclosure and have a bootable Linux distro stuck on it for recovery jobs*. It's actually quite impressive how a 150W laptop GPU can compete with a 350W desktop GPU on performance, even as it obviously fails to keep up with it's matching named 450W desktop sibling. I remember seeing a couple of those back in the day. Yeowch. Thankfully folks tended to come to me for advice on a new build after an experience like that. Anyway, back on the original thread topic, part of why I got my current system when I did was to have the most powerful laptop on the market for some time that wouldn't need me to switch to Win11 for its hardware features to all work, since I heavily rely on a lot of legacy Windows NT functionality.. *And speaking of those, again on why the two are not comparable in their use cases, try showing up to someone's house 2 hours away with your desktop to try and diagnose their issues.
Shifting the conversation slightly, how does one go about buying this $30, or for UK probably £30, extension to Win 10 support from MS?
Princess Entrapta You’ve got a point when it comes to laptops, but I think that’s mainly because comparing the availability of pre-built laptops to pre-built PCs isn’t really fair. The number of laptops you can buy online is insane, while the number of pre-built PCs is much lower mostly because more and more people build their own desktops. So yeah, it’s easier to find a laptop with a configuration that suits your needs. Still, that doesn’t change the fact that the price-to-performance ratio especially in the higher-end segment is completely out of proportion. Anyway, I’ll say it again: spending your money purely on a laptop for gaming is just a waste. You’re free to disagree, but it is what it is, and you won’t convince me that buying a laptop for high-end gaming is a smart move. Sure, it’s fine for a round of Candy Crush, but it’s absolutely not a fair product to play games like Cyberpunk on ultra settings if only because a laptop screen just isn’t the right size for a proper gaming experience.
You can also simply pay in dollars in the UK... if you buy something online for a dollar, your bank automatically converts it to pounds. It's never exactly the same because the currency doesn't have the same value. So if you pay 30 dollars, it's obviously not 30 pounds.
