Windows 11 compatibility Check up for your PC or laptop

[NamMedevac_70]

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-11#pchealthcheck

Although I am never an early adopter for anything and let others do the testing I did check the Microsoft website to see if my new Lenovo I Core 7 laptop would run Windows 11 in 2022 and it did pass the requirements should I choose to upgrade then. I have 3 other older laptops for backup and will check them in due time. I am not advocating for Win 11 or MS but posting the link for anyone interested in this check. Cheers

[thomasmnile]

1492, thanks for the info. Best Buy sold us the subscription when we bought the PC 4 years ago. We're just a couple of old people that have use for some features of 365. Don't really mind the annual cost and it's nice to have software that never goes out of style, as it were.

[Gdetrailer]

fj12ryder wrote:
Nice to know, all. Thank you for the information. I've not interest in Office, since I do use only spreadsheets and word processor, and OpenOffice works very well for that.

Thank you for the info on ransomware.

I wouldn't call Office 365 ransomware, MS is upfront with the fact if you don't pay it will quit working. The idea is to present a lower upfront cost on a subscription to the software and in return you get "free" upgrades to the next major release.

Subscription based products lure people in that would normally never be willing to pay full price for the software since it is priced so high to start with. MS gets a win in the fact they have pretty much guaranteed repeat business in subscriptions.

Generally perpetual license owners will often skip multiple version releases. This is often done to avoid major costs and hassles of retraining and supporting company wide users since most relase changes means the UI has changed drastically, tools may have be relocated or removed or some software they use may have dependencies which may require a specific file format which gets "enhanced" or removed.

As far are Open Office goes, yes, I have it, it works well, UI is a bit time worn (Office 97-2000 look) but for some folks that need to use documents with Visual Basic it is a non starter since Open Office does not support VB enable documents. The other issue with Open Office is it isn't actively being updated so as time goes on less and less documents will interchange.

I have looked at LibraOffice, a bit newer looking interface, it is being actively updated which should keep it a bit more compatible with other programs.

You can also still use MS Office 2000, I have loaded it on Win10 and it runs fine and yrs ago MS offered a Win2007 "compatibility pack" which can be added to Office 2000 that gives you the capability to open and save newer MS Office formats with file extensions ending in "X".

Recently had to help someone with Win11 so I got my first distaste of it.. It is more like putting more lipstick on a pig.. At least MS learned the lesson from the Win8.0 mess and left a desktop UI and not force a tablet UI on users again.. But man, what were they thinking on the task bar centering thing?

[fj12ryder]

Nice to know, all. Thank you for the information. I've not interest in Office, since I do use only spreadsheets and word processor, and OpenOffice works very well for that.

Thank you for the info on ransomware.

[Gdetrailer]

thomasmnile wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:
I'm wondering if Windows 11 will be closer to the rental rather than "owning" the OS.

Like how they turned MS Office, sorry, Microsoft 365, into a subscription software "service"?

Actually MS does offer Office 2019 as a one time perpetual license buy.

Office 365 IS the same thing as Office 2019 but is a "subscription" based version (Must renew license (pay) annually).

Direct from Microsoft..

HERE

Q: " How Can I Purchase Office 2019 With Outlook

I do not want to purchase an annual subscription to Office 365 and only want Office 2019, but need Outlook, Excel, Word and PowerPoint. Based on the information on Microsoft's website I cannot get Outlook with Office 2019. Is this correct?

If so, what are my options to get Outlook without paying for Office 365?"

A: "Also to clarify, Office 2019 refers to a one-time perpetual license whereas Office 365 is a subscription model where everything is constantly updated.

Whether Office 2019 (one-time perpetual license) or Office 365 (subscription) is the best choice for you is something only you can determine in terms of functionality and price points. "


One of the major distinctions between the two is Outlook 365 is always being changed, updated (or downgraded when MS decides they are no longer supporting a feature) and Outlook 2019 is not being modified, altered, new features or downgraded (features removed).

The option for perpetual license IS still available.

Very confusing on MS's part and most folks think Office 365 is the only game in town but yet it really is the same as Office 2019..

The downside to buying the perpetual Office 2019 is you will most likely not get any free upgrades to the next major Office releases but in reality you can still use the older versions of Office for many, many yrs.

I suspect Office 2021 is the same way as Office 2019, you have to dig around to find this info as MS intentionally wants everyone to buy a subscription instead of a one time buy..

As far as Win 11 goes, not going to move there myself yet, there are ways to get around the hardware checks and run "unsupported". Not a fan of the stuff on the task bar being centered.. Why is that even a thing?

[1492]

1492 wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:
Yeah, maybe. But I believe a lot of the successful ransomware attacks have been on Windows 10 machines ...

That's not quite the complete story. Those recent ransomware attacks were the result of social engineering malware, where the end user allowed the malware to run by falling for phishing emails.

Good luck running Window XP/7 on the internet, as hackers only need to exploit an unpatched vulnerability and install malware without you knowing it. Even kill/disable any security software you have running.

To expand on this, Kaspersky data suggested 98% of the WannaCry ransomware infections involved unpatched WIN 7 machines. Not WIN 10 PCs. One of the biggest reasons to keep your OS and software updated. Notably bad for unsupported systems.

You need to take ransomeware seriously as new more dangerous variants are popping up in the wild. Many evolving into extortionware, were hackers threaten to post or sell sensitive info. such as financial, medical, etc. on the Net without payment.

There is also a variant of ransomware as a service, where hackers license their cloud service or software to other bad actors in exchange for a percent of the ransom payment.

[1492]

Wade44 wrote:
5-6 year old hardware with some exceptions is generally the cut off line for being able to upgrade to W-11. Hardware needs to support UEFI and be secure boot capable along with TPM 2.0.

After taking 2 recent webinars given by Microsoft to our IT dept for MS to develop training for our general staff, WIN 11 is primarily an interface/security upgrade. Otherwise, not much different from WIN 10 feature wise.

You may be able to install WIN 11 on older non-supported PC by modifying the registry to bypass install checks . You'll have to see how stable your particular PC is running under WIN 11 in that case.

Though MS is not preventing you from doing so, they don't guarantee support for devices with ongoing updates using this method. MS might not be able to in instances where a security patch involves a vulnerability specific to hardware/bios your older PC does not support.

[1492]

thomasmnile wrote:

Like how they turned MS Office, sorry, Microsoft 365, into a subscription software "service"?

You can still get a lifetime license if you desire. Popular Science has a limited deal for Microsoft Office Professional 2021 license for $50 (ends 4/16/2022). It's only good for 1 PC, but you can transfer to another computer by deactivating the previous one.

I'd be tempted getting a license for personal use. Though our enterprise Office 365 licensing allows employees to install up to 20 copies of Office 2021 standalone on our personal PC/MAC devices.

[FlatBroke]

New Windows 11 sure likes to hang onto its browser, Edge. I loaded Chrome and changed all my defaults but that pesky Edge still likes to stick its nose in it.

[thomasmnile]

fj12ryder wrote:
I'm wondering if Windows 11 will be closer to the rental rather than "owning" the OS.

Like how they turned MS Office, sorry, Microsoft 365, into a subscription software "service"?

[wa8yxm]

Oh C*RAP. Looks like this machine is Win-11 Compatable so Small and Squishy (Microsoft) will try to upgrade it. Some of my programs are not win-11 compatible.

[Wade44]

5-6 year old hardware with some exceptions is generally the cut off line for being able to upgrade to W-11. Hardware needs to support UEFI and be secure boot capable along with TPM 2.0. All are motherboard / bios level requirements and if not supported on current hardware forget about it in most cases. I put my desktop used for graphics intensive flight simulator use together in 2018, and the top of the line at the time MSI motherboard and bios rule out W-11.

[jessieba]

Windows is definitely a great solution for everyone. Easy to use. The intuitive interface makes it possible even for a kid to freely control the system (of course, if he reads the inscriptions-letters) And at school age, you can already give your child your own computer — he will help in his studies, and he will be able to entertain in sad moments (for example, when summer is leaving). It is also easy enough to activate it in order to use all its features. You can easily find the Windows 10 pro product key.

[1492]

theoldwizard1 wrote:

Win 11 is basically a revenue enhancement for Microsoft.

It's a free update for WIN 10 users. Guess they're making tons of money from that?

[1492]

fj12ryder wrote:
Yeah, maybe. But I believe a lot of the successful ransomware attacks have been on Windows 10 machines ...

That's not quite the complete story. Those recent ransomware attacks were the result of social engineering malware, where the end user allowed the malware to run by falling for phishing emails.

Good luck running Window XP/7 on the internet, as hackers only need to exploit an unpatched vulnerability and install malware without you knowing it. Even kill/disable any security software you have running.