Windows 10 EOL by October 14, 2025

[phenomlab]

Windows 10 goes End Of Life on the 14th of October, 2025.

With the hardware requirements for Windows 11 likely meaning that those with older PC’s need to fork out for newer hardware, I wanted to put a discussion together to see how I can help others who may be concerned their current PC is going to be vulnerable post this date.

Windows 10 will reach end of support on October 14, 2025. The current version, 22H2, will be the final version of Windows 10, and all editions will remain in support with monthly security update releases through that date. Existing LTSC releases will continue to receive updates beyond that date based on their specific lifecycles.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/windows-10-home-and-pro

[Madchatthew]

I am thinking I will start switching over to Linux in Sept. I am unable to afford to buy new computer parts and don’t see that changing in the near future. So Linux for me. We do have one laptop at home that has Windows 11 on it. But the desktop and the laptop that my daughter uses, will need to be switched to Linux.

I kind of understand why MS wanted newer upgraded tech for the OS, but I think it is really stupid to force it and force people to purchase new equipment just to run their stupid OS.

[phenomlab]

@Madchatthew yes, if anything, I think all this will do is alienate the user base and see more users departing the Microsoft ecosystem defecting to Linux.

Another point here is sustainability and recycling. We’re already placing far too much technology into landfill and all this does is make that issue so much worse.

[Madchatthew]

@phenomlab yes, I 100% agree. And really, once people make that switch rather than buying a new computer/parts, I don’t think it will take long for them to realize that they can do the exact same thing in Linux that they can in Windows. Maybe it will be a different program than what they are used to, or a bit different way of doing something. The nice thing now, is that those that are updating and upgrading all of those Linux flavors are starting to have that in mind to help make that transition easier.

I will say thought, that it can be really confusing to new Linux users with all of the different flavors out there and there isn’t just one for everyone. Which is good and confusing. I wouldn’t say it is bad though. People just need to put the work in, like they did when Windows first came out.

[phenomlab]

@Madchatthew I’d move back to Linux in a heartbeat if I could. Sadly, as I work from home, I need the integration for work purposes and seeing as there’s no native Teams client for Linux anymore, and Zoom doesn’t have background support in Linux, it’s kind of Catch22 for me.

[Madchatthew]

@phenomlab yeah that is too bad. It is understandable though. When you need the OS that you work uses to be able to communicate and such, you really don’t have a choice. Same with me with work. I have to use Winblows, but they provide the laptop so I just have to use what they give me.

[Madchatthew]

So with Windows 10 being EOL soon, my plan was to run with Arc KDE but I also like Fedora. They seem to do a good job. You do have to restart the computer when they do operating system updates, but you don’t have to reinstall from scratch. They usually use the latest version of apps as well. I am kinda torn between the two. I like them both so much.

[phenomlab]

@Madchatthew my preference leans towards KDE for the desktop edition. I’ve only tried Fedora a couple of times but have heard good things about it.

From memory, the commercial edition is RHEL.

[Madchatthew]

@phenomlab said in Windows 10 EOL by October 14, 2025:

From memory, the commercial edition is RHEL.

Yeah the RHEL is the commercial edition. I think I am going to stick with Arch and KDE desktop for that version. It seems like Arch is really versatile and compatible with almost anything. Pair that to the experience that I have had for the server side of things, and the USB boot version I have, it is hard to beat.