I, who even if I don't want to be, am like the computer scientist of my social circle, have already had to update some computers of people I know to Windows 11. In some cases I have been asked and I have told them yes, if they want to continue receiving support they must upgrade. There are also cases where a computer is not compatible, and as long as it is possible, Rufus allows you to remove certain restrictions. That is something that Microsoft will not do, and they have another piece of advice for you if your PC is not compatible with the latest version of the Windows system.
Windows 11 requires some minimum requirements to be installed. The ones that attract my attention the most are the 64GB of storage, which seems like a lot to me, UEFI compatible with Secure Boot and, of course, support for TPM 2.0. The latter is public enemy #1 for upgrading to Windows 11, although there are ways to "bypass" it. Not officially, whose answer we have in this link.
If your PC can't handle Windows 11, throw it away
«What does it mean that Windows is not supported?", we read in the title. The rest is the answer, and it begins by explaining what we already know: will no longer receive updates from Microsoft, which include security patches. New features will not be received either. This last point is my own: it will work as long as it works, which may be forever, but for example the browser will lose capabilities until it becomes difficult to navigate with it.
The interesting thing about this support page is the following paragraph: «If you have devices that are running an unsupported version of Windows, we recommend that you upgrade them to a more current, serviceable, and supported version of Windows. If your devices do not meet the technical requirements to run a more current version of Windows, We recommend that you replace them with others compatible with Windows 11«.
Use Rufus as long as possible, or switch to Linux
Nobody likes it Throw away your PC when it works perfectly. This is more serious in Macs, since they can be left in the lurch in 5 years, but it also happens, as has been clearly shown, in Windows PCs. If it works perfectly, why do I have to change them?
If you have a team with a certain power, you can install it any Linux distribution. Ubuntu is the most popular, but there are also Fedora or Manjaro/EndeavourOS/Garuda if you are looking for an Arch-based one without the difficulty of the pure, among others. If the equipment is a bit tight, I would recommend Linux Mint in its MATE version, which has come to resurrect a computer of mine that seemed more dead than alive. And if not, another option is to install ChromeOS, either on its Flex version, FydeOS or the official one with some hack.
If you're looking to play games, Steam supports Linux, and Valve is interested in maximizing compatibility so we'll buy more games.
Or stay on Windows 10 as long as possible
This is an unpopular opinion, but it is something worth considering. When Windows 10 ends support, it will no longer receive updates from Microsoft, but Developers may have other plansThey will likely continue to release compatible updates for several more years, and as long as it still works for what we need it to, it should be fine.
For example, Windows 7 ended support in January 2020, while Chrome, the most widely used web browser, dropped support for that version of Windows just three years later in January 2023. So, if all we needed was a web browser, Google would have decided that our computer would be useful for another 36 months.
Of course, you have to know that security updates for the operating system would not arrive during that period of time. Although Windows 7 was already very well polished, security flaws continued to be discovered, and it is up to each person whether they prefer to extend the life of the computer by running the risk in this way or not.
But, as we explained in the previous point, the best thing to do is to make the change to Linux and start using a fast computer that is good for everything, at least at the user level. And if not, then buy another PC as Microsoft says.