Upgrading to Windows 11 by October

ForkSnorter on 11/04/2025 - 09:33
Last edited 11/04/2025 - 09:33

Just built PC. Running Windows 10 (unactivated, with watermark in bottom right corner). Plan to upgrade to Windows 11 before October when support for Windows 10 will end.

I was sad to see negative comments about my OS SSD (Crucial P3 Plus 1TB) on a recent deal. More capacity would probably be handy one day too. Should I get a faster 2TB SSD to use for the OS and install windows 11 from a USB drive? Or seeing as the computer is running smoothly, should I just put up with my SSD, and upgrade to Windows 11 online so I don't have to reinstall all my games and put in all my passwords again, etc.? This would be much simpler. Also, can you use Windows 11 unactivated like Windows 10? Are you going to keep using Windows 10 after October? Most people seem to like it more.

Sorry about the dumb questions. Fairly new to PCs as have been a Mac user for decades.

Computing Microsoft Operating System

Comments

  • Hybroid on 11/04/2025 - 09:40
    +17

    There's nothing wrong with that SSD. It works, it's plenty fast, it's fine, and any faster ones will have no real world difference to you.

    There's one person on that post that seems to be post spoiling gibberish.

    Yes, I'm going to keep using Windows 10. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

    • Dr Phil on 12/04/2025 - 17:03
      -1

      I agree 100% with Hybroid on Win 10

      The end of support for Windows 10 will present huge problems as many people continue to use Win 10 for various good reasons
      Certainly many computers out there are classified as not compatible with Win 11 for a start.
      How many of us have seen that message pop up, even with a powerful Intel Core i7 7th generation with 16GB of RAM?
      And for many others its an entirely different system of operation that you must learn all over again

      However Microsoft usually continues to roll out security patches even after support ends.
      Just that they wont be rolling out any upgraded versions with new features.
      I can never work out the benefit of these anyway - just a bigger fatter windows that does the same things for most users

    • Nugs on 13/04/2025 - 04:35

      "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
      XP?
      .

  • CodeXD on 11/04/2025 - 09:45
    +20

    https://massgrave.dev/

    • skillet on 12/04/2025 - 14:59
      +1

      Better than buying cheap serial keys.

      • Brainwhacker on 14/04/2025 - 15:04

        Just checking if this will this be safe to run without risk of viruses etc

  • freefall101 on 11/04/2025 - 09:46
    +17

    People get too hung up on specs. The time to replace computer parts is when you notice issues.

    It’s also a bad time to upgrade, NVME prices aren’t cheap. I’d wait until you need space then look for a deal on a 4TB drive. You can also always clone the drive too to the new one, so you don’t need to reinstall everything.

    Only thing to worry about is keeping backups so your data is safe, that drive is otherwise fine.

    • pharkurnell on 11/04/2025 - 12:31
      +5

      People get too hung up on specs

      This guy wins… and very true….

      Some people blert out figures that are milliseconds different or at least unnoticeable to the human

  • jv on 11/04/2025 - 10:02
    -3

    1st world problems…

    • ForkSnorter on 11/04/2025 - 11:46
      +4

      Wow, this woman has the same problem as me.

  • RogerLoger on 11/04/2025 - 10:31

    Online upgrade ran fine for me on a Dell Inspiron. You can always reverse if you have an issue.

    Word of warning: check whether your manufacturer supports updates of BIOS and drivers before taking the plunge.

    If you decide to stick with Win10, you can get ongoing security updates via https://0patch.com/. To be useful, you need the paid version (24.95 Euro per annum), however, that delivers patches faster than MS.

  • netjock on 11/04/2025 - 10:33

    What SSD have you got right now also on what system?

    I upgrade from i5 gen 4 (SATA SSD DDR3 16GB) to 5600G (NVME, DDR4 32GB). Got a gen 4 MSI M460 but because CPU is PCIE 3 (not 4 which is maximum) my SSD maxes out 3500MB/S read. IF PCIE4 you'd expect 5000MB/S. From SATA to NVME is night an day but from PCIE3 to 4 probably not that noticeable (if you can reach the speed)

  • Davo1111 on 11/04/2025 - 10:39
    -2

    unactivated, with watermark in bottom right corner

    you know theres like a generic code you can enter that activates it right?

    • tenpercent on 11/04/2025 - 11:58
      -2

      DM me

    • GordonD on 11/04/2025 - 16:21
      +1

      No, there are generic keys that let you install the version of Windows 11 you want.

      But they do NOT activate it.

    • Mechz on 11/04/2025 - 19:57
      +1

      Google 'activate windows github' and follow the lead from there.

  • ode1online on 11/04/2025 - 10:42

    Your SSD is fine for OS and a few games no worries
    You can always add another drive for extra storage, you can easily make windows use the extra drive for games, storage app etc.
    That also goes for steam, you can have multiple locations where steam stores your games. Just need to point steam to the added location

    Activate windows 10… just buy a key from Gamers-outlet. but be sure if you want HOME or PRO versions

    Then when you are ready download windows 11 and it will also be activated

    • CrispyChrispy on 11/04/2025 - 12:27
      +1

      Activate windows 10… just buy a key from Gamers-outlet. but be sure if you want HOME or PRO versions

      Windows activation scripts, as already linked above. Don't have to pay a cent and don't have to worry about keys being revoked.

  • overthinking on 11/04/2025 - 10:50
    +6

    overthinking it mate

  • djsweet on 11/04/2025 - 11:14
    +4

    Don't worry about the NVMe drive. People love to get cray on technical details. It will be fine.
    If you are going to rebuild everything on a new drive, then just go straight to Win11. If not doesn't really matter when you decide to upgrade. Win10 > 11 is usually pretty seamless.

  • FireRunner on 11/04/2025 - 17:23

    SSD is fine, it might not be on the top of the lists in performance or value but there’s nothing concerning that it warrants being replaced.
    If you had bought an SSD from Temu then I’d be recommending a replacement as soon as possible.

    As for Windows, it’s not difficult to upgrade from 10 to 11 without needing a fresh install.

  • n3ck3ntry8bort0rgasm on 11/04/2025 - 18:48
    +2

    as someone who already upgraded to Windows 11.

    I wish I found this video earlier.
    https://youtu.be/s9dYV75sY3s

    I literally saw it a few days ago, apparently Windows 10 IoT LTSC will be supported until 2032. I don't know if that's far away enough for you but I would have just reinstalled windows for 7 more years if I knew about it. at most all you need to buy is a key which they tell you where in the video (with a code for 25% as well).

    not sure if you feel confident reinstalling windows, but I was able to do it once just back up files to external SSD and take screenshots of your start menu programs.

    • n3ck3ntry8bort0rgasm on 12/04/2025 - 15:40
      +1

      also just in case you skip past it in the video. if you install Windows 10 IoT LTSC you need the LTSC license. the video will show you what the page looks like on the key website. LTSC license is also cheaper than a Windows 10 Home license. (but as the video and another comment said below, I think LTSC license is only 1 computer each license, while Home is like 5)

      also I called it a "key" but it's really a long code that gets sent to you and you have to enter on the activation area.

  • ozpat on 12/04/2025 - 08:27
    -1

    Tiny11 is another option. It's a stripped down version of Windows 11.

    • GordonD on 12/04/2025 - 14:06

      My Tiny 11 is saying the Windows version it is based on is expired and out of support. I didn't think Windows 11 versions were at that stage in their product life yet. But its still working happily and getting updates anyway.

  • Sunshines bright on 12/04/2025 - 08:40
    +1

    I didn’t know you could use windows without activating it?? What’s the point of activating then?

    I have 11 don’t recall activating or not, tbh. I love 11 now but it did take some getting used to.

    I did try a few years of Mac but missed a lot of the technical things I could do on windows and was hard to do on my mac, might have just been learning curve. And I constantly transfered files movies from windows to my Mac

    • GordonD on 12/04/2025 - 14:08
      +2

      If you don't activate it, personalisation doesn't work.

  • H4nd0 on 12/04/2025 - 09:10
    +1

    The retail versions of Windows 11 24H2 are nasty. They are loaded with bloat and ads and designed explicitly to track you. Do not recommend them. Also, never perform "in-place" Microsoft operating system upgrades (e.g. W10 -> W11). Backup, then wipe your HDD and install from scratch. It's a pain in the neck but avoids compatibility issues.

    The notion that Windows 10 is going end of life this year is FUD. LTSC IoT variants still have at least 6 years of life left in them. Reddit has an active LTSC Community. The operating system won't "stop working" just because it's no longer receiving feature and security updates.

    Here are your options to stay on Windows 10 with security updates:

    If you need to buy a "cheap and real" Windows license, try Software Mart. Note that they are one-time activation licenses, so if you rebuild, you will have to purchase again. I've bought from them for point installations in the past.

    As for your SSD … they are commodity. Buy the capacity you need. Download the OS ISO and "burn" to USB via Rufus.

    Hope that helps.

    • rogerm22 on 12/04/2025 - 12:15
      +1

      There usually is no need to clean installs, unless you're having serious issues with Windows. I installed Windows 10 six years ago. Since then I've used the same installation of Windows on four different PCs with different hardware and have upgraded to Windows 11. It still runs fine. I also regularly upgrade from 10 to 11 on other PCs, with few issues,

      • H4nd0 on 13/04/2025 - 10:23

        Each to their own, but I reinstall Windows religiously each year due to Windows rot. I'm equally suspicious because I've been the victim of one too many Windows updates and botched upgrades. I'm right in the middle of one now, where, after the upgrade, the TrustedInstaller service crashes when installing a specific MSIX where the code signing certificate uses a specific signature algorithm. It's inexplicable. IMHO, in-place upgrades are making a deal with the devil.

        • rogerm22 on 13/04/2025 - 13:22

          If you do a clean install, you have the benefit of starting with a fresh install of Windows, which can give you a much better experience, if you were having issues with Windows. Although some issues can be fixed by upgrading, as corrupted system files are replaced with working ones and issues in the registry are fixed. However when Windows is running just fine, in my experience, upgrading typically won't cause any issues.

          Windows 11 now natively includes the option Fix problems using Windows Update, which does In-Place upgrade. Sometimes this is enough to fix issues without having to start from scratch. I just upgraded a computer to Windows 11, after reinstalling Windows 10 with recovery media. After upgrading, there was one update that kept failing to install. Doing the in-place upgrade fixed the issue.

  • ColonialBoy on 12/04/2025 - 09:34
    +2

    Crucial/Micron Technology is the only US memory manufacturer left. Then have factories in the US and China. Samsung manufactures it own memory & SSDs too. They have silicon foundries.

    Most of the others like Kingston just buy memory from Micron, Hynix, Nanya, etc. Its actually an easy business model because all they do is assemble chips made by everybody except themselves. They have consumers hoodwinked to some extent.

    I used to buy Samsung, now I buy some of the cheaper Crucial offerings & have never had a problem with either.

  • ChickenLips on 12/04/2025 - 09:46
    +1

    Maybe this is a good time to dip your toes into a Linux distro. There are a few gaming oriented distros like CachyOS, Bazzite, or Nobara. Very easy to set up and if you use KDE as desktop environment you will feel quite at home coming from Windows.

    With Proton every one of my single player games works. I’ve given up on competitive multiplayer, so every multiplayer game I play also works too :)

    • Russ on 13/04/2025 - 01:10

      dip your toes into a Linux distro.

      I reckon the most virus-proof option would be using a Linux distro as the host of a VM running Windows. Don't let the VM have internet connection, and in theory you can run Win10 (or even older versions like WinXP) forever!

      But anything that needs internet access will have to run under the Linux distro.

      Anyone have experience doing this?

      • H4nd0 on 13/04/2025 - 10:41
        -1

        It grinds my gears when I see the "most virus-proof option." That's patently false. All OSes are subject to infiltration and exploitation via ransomware, crypto miners, web shells, rootkits, trojans, botnets, backdoors, and keyloggers, subject to their usage domain. Review CVE and CVSS against the Linux kernel. We are 13 days into April, and there are 50+ exploited Linux kernel vulns doing the rounds. How good is your distro? How regularly do they update? How regularly do you patch? No different to Windows, macOS, BSD or any other OS.

        • Russ on 13/04/2025 - 22:10

          You seem to be reading my comment as though I said "Linux is completely secure."

          That's not what I said, read it again. I'm just making a comparison of the OSs, and I believe Linux is the least likely to be compromised. Do you disagree, and why?

          • H4nd0 on 14/04/2025 - 14:54

            @Russ: Dude … there's a human at the keyboard. OS is irrelevant in the face of HCI. Most compromises I deal with have little to do with the specific OS. It's related to how it's deployed and used.

            "Mary is a Linux genius and understands how to deploy Rocky 9.5 securely, lock down user accounts, deploy SSH with key encapsulation designed to defeat PQC (i.e. ML-KEM), and apply POSIX file system ACLs appropriately. She also knows that she should patch regularly and deploy an EPP/EDR solution that protects against malware, vulnerabilities, cryptojacking, malicious insiders and compromised user accounts."

            vs

            "Bill is a storeman who likes to play CoD on weekends"

            In the face of an advanced adversary, the operating system is irrelevant. What users click on and download matters.

            EDIT: hence my resistance to the "hurr durr Linux is more secure". It isn't and never will be when there are humans involved.

  • skillet on 12/04/2025 - 15:06
    -1

    Windows 11 runs on virtualisation so it may cost you a bit of performance. You might want to disable it but you lose some win11 security features.

  • ratman on 13/04/2025 - 08:54

    I'm using an ancient 512gb SSD for windows 11 and it's fine, not sure what you think might be wrong with yours.

    Id also look into some of the scripts you can run to remove the activation watermark.

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