Microsoft Corp. is pushing the new Windows 11. Owner/Buyer Beware. Microsoft has spent the past decade refining Windows 10 into a stable product. Unfortunately, it may be another 10 years before Windows 11 has the same credentials.
To-date we can see no reason to upgrade to Windows 11 if you have a perfectly good running copy of Windows 10 already installed. Windows 10 provides support for migration from previous operating system and drivers to support legacy 32-bit hardware. Variants of the older hardware have been sold and installed since Windows 10 was first revealed, for over a decade. It is very likely that your existing physical device–laptop or desktop–has some legacy 32-bit hardware components that are not compatible with Windows 11.
Even if your hardware manufacturer documentation insists your device is a 64-bit computer, Windows 10 may still report that it cannot be upgraded to Windows 11. It is a sure sign that some components are not as advanced as they say they are, or that memory requirements have not been met for Windows 11. The message, which Microsoft has begun displaying under Settings->Windows Updates, should be taken as a positive affirmation to stay safely on Windows 10 for as long as your hardware will run. Further, the Microsoft evaluation that your device is indeed eligible for Windows 11 may be extremely misleading. Certain new component drivers may not yet have been included with the weakened hardware device support Windows 11 now minimally includes.
Windows 11 will only run on newer 64 bit hardware. Not all hardware that says it is 64 bit is truly 64 bit throughout.
Windows 11 will only run on 64-bit hardware. Windows 10, in contrast, will run on 32-bit and 64-bit hardware, and retains a full suite of component device support. The beauty of Windows 10 is its ability to automatically detect hardware and reconfigure itself automatically. However, as quickly as I write this, it is likely Microsoft will re-engineer their Windows 10 updates in such a way as to begin removing legacy hardware support. In other words, a day may soon arrive that Windows 7 machines and Windows 10 machines on older 32-bit hardware cannot be upgraded to Windows 10 any longer. Support for Windows 10 will wane in the next few years, and consumers will be forced into purchasing newer computers.
Especially when it involves our pocketbook, most consumers loathe being told what to do or when to do it. B.A. Computer Services is here to help navigate through options with as little affiliation to any particular operating system as possible. Our philosophy promotes helping ensure technology suits the individual for whom it is designed. Simply stated, does it work, and, does it work well for you in your station of life?