Installing Windows 11 on old PCs is incredibly risky. Here’s why

Time is running out for older PCs running Windows 10, with less than a year to go until the operating system gets the axe. If you’ve no interest in buying a new computer, an upgrade to Windows 11 may sound like the smartest, easiest choice… but you’d be wrong.

Sure, you can install Windows 11 on just about any PC, as the news this week emphasized. It doesn’t mean you should. The operating system won’t behave the same across the board.

Newer hardware will get Microsoft’s full support. Computers unable to meet the minimum system requirements (aka a whole bunch of aging PCs) won’t and Microsoft warns of potential compatibility issues and no entitlement to updates.

The wording is low-key, but the real-world experience for those older PCs could be rough. 

For example: This year, Microsoft withheld the 24H2 update for Windows 11 from PCs at risk of incompatibility or crashes due to an issue with select USB scanners. This move kept the day-to-day experience of supported Windows 11 computers smooth and hassle-free. But older PCs aren’t guaranteed such consideration. An update could rollout and break functionality severely, and you’d be stuck.

On the flip side, Microsoft could also choose to not push certain updates to incompatible PCs—which may include security patches and features. Without fixes for zero-day vulnerabilities, hackers can exploit them in order to, say, take over your PC or add code that steals sensitive data (e.g., financial info). Such outcomes can cost you real time and money.

Realistically, Windows 11 on incompatible hardware isn’t a true upgrade. It’s a concession from Microsoft that hides the price consumers must pay for the company’s goal of more secure computing. You can cough up now (by upgrading to a newer PC or investing time in switching to and learning Linux), or kick the can further down the road by doling out $30 for extended Windows 10 support. Don’t offer up your sanity instead; the potential headaches down the road aren’t worth it.