Microsoft elaborates: “Windows 11 is the most current version of Windows. If you have an older PC, we recommend you move to Windows 11 by buying a new PC. Hardware and software have improved a lot, and today’s computers are faster, more powerful, and more secure.”

If your PC runs Windows 10, you can ignore those pesky compatibility checks and upgrade to Windows 11. Here's how nearly two dozen ZDNET readers got the job done and saved their laptops from the scrap pile.

Use precise geolocation data and actively scan device characteristics for identification. This is done to store and access information on a device and to provide personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. List of Partners (vendors)

If you're currently using any version of Windows other than Windows 11, then your system is either already unsupported (Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8.1), or soon to become unsupported (Windows 10). And Microsoft's best advice for anyone in that situation is "move to Windows 11 by buying a new PC".

Microsoft has given itself a seemingly impossible race against time. With almost exactly a year to run before Windows 10’s unpopular end-of-life hits users in October 2025, Windows 11 is still failing to hook the hundreds of millions more users it needs to prevent a generational support nightmare coming true.