Most of those bugs are merely annoying, but some are genuine productivity killers. After a major upgrade, Microsoft documents an initial wave of bugs, which are in turn patched as part of the security and reliability updates delivered on the second Tuesday of each month. But 'most' is not 'all,' and you'll be unable to get any work done while you're undoing the upgrade and restoring your system to its previous operating system. Your critical hardware and software might not be compatibleīecause Windows 11 is, at its heart, a feature upgrade to Windows 10, most devices and apps that are compatible with Windows 10 should work after the upgrade. Do you use a docking station with a laptop? Do you use multiple monitors? If so, the changes in Windows 11 are a substantial improvement over their Windows 10 equivalent, and the upgrade will probably be a positive one for you. Of course, this factor works in reverse, too. If anything on that list is a must-have item for you, consider postponing the upgrade. There's a lengthy list of features removed or deprecated in Windows 11. What's new in Windows 11? What are its minimum hardware requirements? When will your PC be eligible for the upgrade? We've got the answers to your questions. If your PC has a 7th Generation (or earlier) Intel CPU, its CPU is unsupported, which means you won't be offered an upgrade at all.

The biggest hurdle is the CPU compatibility requirement, which rules out most PCs that were designed before 2019. Most people will do just fine off sticking with the OS, hardware drivers, and utility software that their PC was designed to use.įor older PCs, the story is complicated by the hardware requirements for Windows 11.

If that's the case, you have the option to downgrade to Windows 10, but I don't recommend it. If your PC is brand new, it might have come with Windows 11 preinstalled. Your hardware might not support Windows 11 Before you do that, though, consider what can go wrong. If you're ready to upgrade, you can kick things off by clicking the big Download And Install button. If you're not ready to upgrade, all you have to do is click 'Stay on Windows 10 for now.' That action hides the upgrade option and removes the associated notification icon from the taskbar. Not ready to upgrade yet? Click that faint link to stay on Windows 10

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