Upgrade to Windows 11 for older PC's

[sc10]

If your PC is slightly older, it might not meet the MS hardware requirements for Window 11 upgrade.. But with Tiny 11, a stripped down Windows 11, you can switch to Windows 11 with a PC merely with 2 Gb ram and 8 Gb storage. However, the PC must have a 64 bit processor. Tiny 11 is developed by NTDev (not MS). It does not have bloatware and reported it runs very fast. If you want to give it a try, download the Tiny 11 "iso" file from NTDev and burn it into a bootable usb (8Mb min) drive using Rufus. Boot your PC with the usb drive and you will be in business. Tiny 11 does not include Edge or any other browser, so you have to download your favorite 3rd party browser and install it yourself.

[m995706a]

Personally, I am done with Windows.  I do understand that some people feel tied to using Windows because so many popular programs run on it, but there are also alternatives for many programs that allow you to use other operating systems.  The breaking point for me was using Windows 10 on my Asus VivoBook Max.  This laptop should never have come with Windows 10, which in my opinion uses too much system resources for the hardware.  I also got fed up with Windows automatically going into update mode whenever I booted up my laptop, regardless of how I changed the settings.  After setting up my laptop to dual boot Windows 10 and Linux Mint, I realized I was using Linux a lot more than Windows, and just deleted Windows from my laptop.  I am much happier without Windows!  I realize that installing a completely new operating system isn't for everyone, but if you're a little tech savvy and adventurous, I highly recommend putting Linux onto an older PC.  There are many versions to choose from, all of which are FREE, with Linux Mint being one of the most popular versions for people coming from Windows as it has a similar desktop (interface).

[EricC28201]

Well said @m995706a . 

I bought a laptop years ago with Windows 7 preinstalled.  When the free Windows 10 upgrade was made available I got the auto-notify that the laptop was eligible.  I tried it and it failed.  Automatic Updates was also disabled.  After getting no help from either vendor I did a backup and restored the O.S. from the recovery partition...no improvement.

Ended up formatting and installing Linux.  Still use it for web research, email, and can create Documents and Spreadsheets that will convert to Office format if somebody needs them that way.

I still gut and rebuild my desktop case every few years and I always configure it to dual boot both O.S.'s.  Linux gets so much more use that soon I may stop bothering with Windows.

[az8739]

I understand with Windows 11 that Microsoft is making hardware with so-called Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chips on the motherboard mandatory:

Why Windows 11 is forcing everyone to use TPM chips - The Verge

Any idea if NTDev gets around this requirement?

[sc10]

I have not used Tiny 11. From reading about the hardware requirements, TMP is not in it. Only 64 bit processor and 2Gb ram and 8 Gb of storage. Of course more is better.

[sc10]

I finally installed Tiny 11 on an old PC. The PC is around 8 years old with an Intel i5 processor and 500 Gb SSD hard drive. Overall experience was rather painless. Initial reaction is it runs quite fast since it did not have all the bloatware in it.

Here are some comments:

1) Download from NTDev site is very slow. It would take more than 2 hours. You can use Bit Torrent and get it in a few minutes since there are a lot of resources there.

2) When use Rufus to burn the iso image to an USB drive, choose "MBR' as the partition scheme.

3) You need to find what key or combination so you can boot from the USB drive.

4) There is no web browser included. You can go to Microsoft store to download the browser you want. I installed Firefox and Brave. Just a little tip about Brave browser, it blocks ads (don't know if it blocks everything). But running Youtube without any ads is quite enjoyable.

5) I am just going to go with the free versions of Microsoft Office by using the Office app or the web version from office.com.

6) Upon reboot after installation, there was an update. I don't know why someone said there is no update on Tiny 11.

I have not try a lot of software on it yet, but everything I throw at it seems to work faultlessly.

[az8739]

Oho, just found this!

This Tiny11 version of Windows should install on any PC and will not hold you to any of the system requirements, including the TPM requirement...

Found here: Make a Windows 11 Image That Runs on 2GB of RAM With Tiny11 Builder | Tom's Hardware (tomshardware.c...

[Tempest332]

I bet it wouldn't install on my old 486, or perhaps my Pentium II.😉

[EricC28201]

lol @Tempest332 ...bet not...I still remember when somebody with a 486 processor 512k memory and a 33.6 baud modem was screaming down the information super highway.  🤓

[Tempest332]

My first PC in '84 was a 256K, with a single 5 1/4 floppy, with no hard drive, meaning I had to load DOS (2.1) then load my program, occasionally having to re-insert the DOS disc to load a command it needed.  Actually had a double sided Floppy (Bonus!).  

One of my old 486 (or 386) DX's sits in the corner, I occasionally turn it on to get sucked into a game Wolfenstein, once I get past the battery issue & go through setup.  I always keep an older PC around for bookwork I do offline.  

[sc10]

I think you would be right. Pentium 2 is a 32 bit processor. It takes a 64 bit processor to run Tiny 11.

[Tempest332]

My Pentium 2 bit the dust last year, a 98 system I was still using it to browse some internet content or read E-Mail. I was able to make that do all kinds of stupid pet tricks... actually ran USB 3 devices.

Never liked any OS past 7, too internet reliant & "phone/tablet like". 

[EricC28201]

On board with the Windows assessment.  It seemed to start with Vista, then 7 was more sane, but 8 etc. make it look like 7 was just a tease...been exploring alternative options.

[Tempest332]

Windows Vista & 8 were nasty phone like interfaces, at least 7 & even 10 I can dumb down enough to look like Windows 95/98/XP ... to a point, I hate the tiled interfaces.  I don't have a Smartphone nor will I ever. 

[sc10]

My journey of operating systems:

MSDOS

Windows 3.1

Windows 95

Windows 98

Windows XP

Windows 7

Windows 10

Windows 11

[KellytheBelly]

I personally liked Windows XP, but definitely liked WIN 7-- resurrected that machine twice, and then support was ceased. Initially, was not a fan of WIN 10, because of all the already installed. I customized to my liking, and got used to it. MS said they'd only update WIN 10 and there'd be no new OS, but when the WIN 11 upgrade announcement came about, and my machine was not approved for the cross-over, I knew it was all about the Corporate greed. Thus, not touching WIN 11. I will just 'keep on keeping on' with WIN 10. But...please, please, please, bring back moviemaker! 🙂

P.S. Although we rely so much on desktop and our OS doing all the thinking, I think it's essential for everyone to understand the C: prompt and how our machines work. Somehow I want to go back in time to rekindle the cmd of things. It's been a long time on auto-pilot.

[Tempest332]

I never had it though I had runtime versions on Windows 2 which was more like the Apple interface.

Windows 3.1 actually evolved up to 3.11 which I used for several years before jumping to 98.   

[EricC28201]

Apple IIE (So I guess DOS but I did nothing with it)

Windows 3.1

Windows 95

Windows 98

Windows NT (Under Appreciated)

Windows 2000 (Under Appreciated)

Windows ME (Garbage)

Windows XP

Windows Vista (64 Bit Pro was stable and reliable)

Windows 7

(Also skipped both 8's because somewhere along the line signed up for Windows Insider and was so disgusted with the pre-release versions)

Windows 10

Back in the XP days, family was mucking up the household computer so much I started investigating Virtual Machines and alternative OS's.  Finally got to a point, during Vista Days, that the kids had their own systems running on virtual machines on external drives and that was the only way they were allowed to access the internet.  It was amazing how much better things got on the Host System.