As some of you may already be aware, Microsoft has begun to roll out a new version of Windows: Windows 11. It hasn’t however, been able to escape controversy and heavy criticism, especially around its new hardware requirements. From Windows 95, to XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10, Microsoft has always made the upgrade process super easy and super cross-compatible on all machines. It’s remarkable to think that software and hardware from Windows XP’s era, is still cross-compatible today with Windows 10 software/hardware. Truly universal from one version to another, allowing all users to seamlessly update.
However, with Windows 11, Microsoft has decided to take a step back on this founding principle it’s always had, and which its users have always enjoyed. This time around, for the sake of profits, Microsoft has decided to implement what some are calling “artificial requirements” in order to be eligible for the Windows 11 upgrade, a first in Microsoft’s history. Some of these requirements include the CPU(processor) having to be 8th gen or higher. If you didn’t already know, Intel 8th gen processors were released in Oct 2017(/start of 2018). Yes, you read that right; Microsoft is limiting Windows 11 to users that have a laptop which is 3 or less years old. Regardless of how well it works. This is like you having a slightly older phone, which works perfectly fine with no issues and does exactly what you wish, and then suddenly the manufacturer decides to completely lock it out, forcing you to walk into a shop to pick up a new one and throw out your perfectly working phone. Ludicrous!
Some speculate why Microsoft is doing this. Microsoft themselves claim that it’s for added “security”, while others claim that the reason behind this is to push users to buy new kit, to spend money, regardless of how well their current laptop works. There are certainly going to be a few very wealthy people happy with this news. Big corporate retailers such as Curry’s PC World, Argos, Amazon etc, are all thrilled with this. They are going to have a wave of people walking through their doors looking to buy brand-new laptops. People who until now had no reason to buy new kit, they were doing just fine and their kit was working perfectly well as intended. However, now they’ve been served with an ‘artificial’ requirement to go out and spend money.
This news hits refurbishers/tech recyclers like ourselves the hardest. The people and businesses who are tackling the ever-growing problem of e-waste (electronic waste), and its damaging effects on the environment. Companies like ourselves that recover and repair laptops that were on their way to the landfill, will feel this the most. Windows 11 news will further escalate e-waste. Until now the problem was already bad as is, with people throwing out electronics that were genuinely broken, but still repairable (which is bad and a waste in and of itself). Now however, people will be throwing out perfectly usable working kit (for the first time ever in history!), all due to a new artificial ‘hardware’ requirement. The environment was already under-strain with the flow of genuinely broken e-waste piling up, now however, we’ll have to deal with a new additional wave of kit being thrown out for a totally different reason. Fully working IT equipment that doesn’t have Microsoft’s stamp of approval!
Some also speculate that this could all be a big bluff from Microsoft, they think that Microsoft is coming out with all these requirements initially at the beginning, to get most people to buy new kit, especially some of the “big whales”, like schools, government institutions, large office buildings, etc. These are entities that hold a ridiculously massive amount of laptops and computers. All it takes is to convince the tech admin manager at one of these entities to think that an equipment reversion is due, and boom, you have thousands of laptops and computers being switched out and upgraded at once on a massive scale. Cha-Ching! Then, after putting up the initial ‘front’, some speculate that Microsoft will start to slowly drop some of the hardware requirements, and open the floodgates to the millions of everyday users that until then were locked out of Windows 11.
There are already some signs of this happening. Originally Microsoft said that there would be NO workaround or “quick fixes” to get past the requirement checks, that they would be strictly enforced, and that they would even block any that do come out. Technically saying that it would be impossible to install Windows 11 on older machines. This has now been dropped🎉. Microsoft themselves have added an embedded function into Windows (via Regedit) to allow Windows 11 installations on, quote, “unsupported” hardware(which we all know is supported & totally fine), and even Microsoft themselves have released instructions on their official website on how to do it. It has been extensively documented online with countless pieces of evidence showing that every machine, old or new, can run Windows 11 perfectly fine without any issues or crashes, further enforcing that the requirements are merely artificial to boost sales of new devices. Links to articles demonstrating how Windows 11 runs perfectly well on all devices have been included at the bottom of this page.
Windows 11 Extended Universal Installation
• What is Windows 11 Extended Universal Installation?
Windows 11 Extended Universal Installation is Microsoft’s official Windows 11 installation, but with its artificial software ‘requirements’ stripped out, thus allowing the end user to install it on any computer they wish!
Full installation how-to and download links
Below are some noteworthy articles that further dive into these topics:
– “No New PC Needed: Windows 11 Runs on a 15-Year-Old Intel Pentium 4 Chip” FULL INFO:
https://uk.pcmag.com/migrated-3765-windows-10/136375/no-new-pc-needed-windows-11-runs-on-a-15-year-old-intel-pentium-4-chip
– “Windows 11 performance on “Unsupported” PCs unaffected. No drop in performance and speed after upgrade.” FULL INFO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zkAxYOe_IM
– “Microsoft allows “unsupported PCs” to received updates, after initially stating they would not be eligible for them” Scare tactic? Yet again, Microsoft is dropping another ‘bluff’ requirement. Will any be left in a few months? FULL INFO :
https://www.slashgear.com/unsupported-windows-11-pcs-might-still-get-updates-after-all-13695100/
– “Microsoft has accidentally released Windows 11 for unsupported PCs” FULL INFO :
https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/9/23160968/microsoft-windows-11-unsupported-pcs-22h2-update-release-accident
“Twitter and Reddit users were quick to spot the mistake, with hundreds of Windows Insiders able to upgrade their Windows 10 machines on older CPUs. Microsoft has strict minimum hardware requirements for Windows 11, leaving millions of PCs behind, so the mistake will once again highlight the company’s controversial upgrade policy.”
This article is simply the views and free opinions expressed by Gadget Centre. We are not official Microsoft experts/representatives. We always encourage additional research/verification on topics.