Muss ich unbedingt diesen Schritt des Upgrades auf Windows 11 gehen?

Do you know what operating system people are using on their computers these days?

As the end of support for Windows 10 is approaching, people may have to upgrade to Windows 11...

As we all know, starting from October 14th this year, Microsoft will stop all support for Windows 10, which is essentially urging everyone to upgrade to Windows 11.

For many older users, this may not be surprising. After all, Microsoft has made similar major updates every few years. However, this upgrade may be different from the previous ones.

For both Microsoft and users, this is an unprecedented challenge.

Let's put it this way. The major upgrade of Windows 11 happens to combine all the disasters of previous upgrades.

The first drawback is the huge hardware gap. As early as the Windows XP era, Microsoft suffered from hardware issues with Vista.

At that time, the hardware performance requirements of Vista were several times higher than those of XP. After the upgrade, ordinary XP computers commonly experienced problems such as lag and missing drivers. This directly led to the fact that from the release of Vista in 2006 to the release of the new Windows 7 in 2009, Vista never really became popular.

When we compare the mainstream Windows systems of the past three generations vertically, we can intuitively feel that the configuration requirements of Windows 11 have made a huge leap.

It can be said that Windows 10 has relatively gentle configuration requirements. The minimum requirements for the graphics card version and memory are the same as those of Windows 7, and even the oldest computers produced around 2005 can meet these requirements. The main idea is not to cause trouble for users. Without buying a new computer, most existing devices can still be used.

Top: Hardware requirements for Windows 7; Middle: Configuration requirements for Windows 10; Bottom: Configuration requirements for Windows 11

However, for Windows 11, the requirements in all aspects have been raised significantly. For example, the mandatory requirement for TPM 2.0 can only be met by chips produced after 2014 at the earliest.

There is a 6 - year gap between the release of Windows 11 and Windows 10, but the difference in the minimum configuration requirements is as large as 19 years. Such a huge generational gap naturally makes users feel uncomfortable.

The second drawback of Windows 11 is the extremely bad design of its UI. This was also recorded during the Windows 8 era.

At that time, in order to expand the tablet system market, Microsoft tried to force users to change their usage habits with the "Modern UI" in Windows 8. Even when using a mouse and keyboard, users had to operate according to the tablet - thinking mode.

Looking back now, it's really unnecessary for an operating system to be compatible with tablets. After all, it's 2025, and not all computers have touch screens.

Windows 11 has inherited this "fine tradition". However, there are still differences in the UI flaws between Windows 11 and Windows 8. We can only say that the visual design of Windows 11 is quite unique.

Many people complain that when opening seven system windows in Windows 11 at the same time, they will find that the visual design themes are completely inconsistent. Each of them has the shadow of a previous system, but there are more than one "previous system"...

Finally, the third drawback is the great success of its predecessor.

In Microsoft's history, only three operating systems have had a market share of over 60% - XP, Windows 7, and Windows 10. Each system after the first two, Vista and Windows 8, failed.

This is easy to understand. Just like if you've ridden in a Benz or a Rolls - Royce, you don't want to go back to a Mazda, especially in traffic jams.

Besides these three upgrade drawbacks, let's not even mention Microsoft's well - known problem of having a lot of bugs.

Take the recent incident as an example. Last week, there was an incident with Windows 11.

The cause was that many users of the Windows 11 24H2 version received a prompt that there was a major error in the firewall, which made everyone very panicked. After checking, it turned out to be a false alarm.

Since it was a false alarm, let's fix it with a patch. Then Microsoft did something strange: after updating the patch, not only did the original error prompt not disappear, but more computers started to report this error.

Although this is not a big deal and Microsoft quickly apologized, it's really something for Windows 11 to make such a simple bug into an incident...

In addition, many enterprises and users also have their own difficulties.

First of all, if an enterprise or department has security requirements, a system that is no longer maintained definitely cannot be used. If a hidden vulnerability is discovered one day, which causes data loss or leakage, the company will suffer even greater losses.

However, many enterprises say that upgrading the system is really painful. The compatibility of Windows 11 not only makes some software unusable, but also requires spending money to hire technicians to re - develop the software. In some cases, they even have to purchase new computers with higher configurations.

Kleynhans, the vice - president of the IT consulting firm Gartner, said that most enterprises reported that one or two old applications or old peripherals did not work well on Windows 11. Many companies also realized that the simplest and safest way to migrate to the new operating system was to buy new computers pre - installed with Windows 11.

For those enterprises that really can't upgrade, the good news is that Microsoft has launched the Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU) program, which can extend the life of Windows 10. The bad news is that it costs $61 per device per year, and the cost will double every year after that, and it only lasts for three years.

That means if a large enterprise has ten thousand Windows 10 computers and refuses to upgrade to the new system, it will have to pay more than four million RMB in "protection fees" next year.

So, enterprises only have two options: either upgrade now or be "cut" by Microsoft and then upgrade.

However, from the perspective of us office workers, if this wave can get rid of those old and hard - to - use computers in the company and replace them with new devices that can run Windows 11, isn't that a good thing?

But in fact, many companies are forcing the upgrade of computers that do not meet the minimum configuration requirements of Windows 11.

The idea of buying a new computer? Forget it. As long as the computer can boot up, it can be used. You have to overcome the difficulties by yourself.

After the company forced the system upgrade, netizens reported that the system was slow, shortcut keys didn't work, and files were lost. Anyway, these are all the old problems of Windows 11 that we are already familiar with. It would be strange if they didn't appear.

So in the end, the company fixes the security bugs caused by the end of system updates, Windows 11 gains market share, and office workers get a computer that can only run PPT.

Fortunately, perhaps because of the strong market reaction, recently, the tough - talking Microsoft has shown some subtle signs of softening. Instead of completely giving up all maintenance, it now says, "Don't worry, everyone. We can extend the free use of Windows 10 for individuals for one more year."

However, this unpredictable attitude towards individual users is in sharp contrast to its determination towards enterprises.

Maybe one day, when Windows 12 comes, we will have to face another challenge.

But before that, if we can still smoothly open Excel, PPT, and do our daily work on the computer, let's cherish this last moment...

This article is from the WeChat official account "ChaPingX.PIN". Author: ShiChao. Republished by 36Kr with permission.