A1 ComputaFix - Microsoft Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7, 8 & 8.1 Reinstallation

Windows 8.1 End of Life 10th January 2023

Microsoft dropped support for Windows 8.1 from the beginning of 2023. You don't have to throw your old Windows 8.1 or even Windows 7 computer away, however, in order to upgrade it to Windows 10, you will need to purchase a licence as Microsoft are no longer offering a free upgrade, making it a less attractive option. Furthermore, Windows 10 has a limited life (see below).

If you do decide to upgrade, other hardware upgrades can be done at the same time to improve performance or provide more disk space. In particular, upgrading to a Solid State Drive (SSD) will give a tremendous performance boost.

Windows 10 End of Life 14th October 2025

As things stand Microsoft will be dropping support for Windows 10 on the 14th October 2025. It should continue to work OK (in the same way that Windows 7 continued working after support was dropped). However, as time goes on, a range of security issues may accumulate due to Windows 10 PCs not receiving security updates. Also other software suppliers (such as Googe for Chrome, etc) will also drop support and ongoing usage will become less viable. Nevertheless, in my opinion there won't be any urgency to upgrade if your computer is running OK.

The problem is compounded by Microsoft's decision to deny Windows 11 support for most computers built before 2018. This bizarre decision will condemn perhaps hundreds of millions of otherwise quite serviceable computers to waste.

Windows 10 to 11 Upgrades

Most computers built after 2017 (possible some prior to then) will be able to upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11 without purchasing a new licence. Other computers that are already running Windows 10 can be forced to run Windows 11 without a new licence, however:

Microsoft may interfere with the forced upgrade process in the future.
Periodic Microsoft "Upgrades" to Windows 11 may require forcing in order to retain Windows 11 support.
Microsoft will not have tested Windows 11 on these computers so there could be stability or other problems.