Updating to a new computer won’t work for me

A reader has a lot to say about updating to Windows 11:

I do not have Win11.  According to the “eligibility,” my otherwise totally serviceable, somewhat older but not ancient computer won’t support it.  In order to have Win11, I would have to buy a new computer, which is an expense upward of $1000 to get the (other) features I want.  I paid, I think, $1200 for the desktop box I have now (just the box; I kept using all the usable peripherals), plus the cost of the necessarily replaced peripherals (couldn’t get drivers for my color laser printer or my scanner).  This is part of what I have:

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6700 CPU @ 3.40GHz 3.41 GHz
Installed RAM 16.0 GB
System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

It might be possible to update the TPM.  I have seen instructions on this, but they were sort of complicated.  But updating the processor really isn’t possible.

I don’t know how the adoption of Win11 is going, but I don’t immediately see myself buying a new computer if I otherwise don’t need to.  Changing computers, reloading all the software and drivers, finding new software and drivers if necessary, whatever, is a multi-day task and a serious pain in the ass.  I generally take the new box to my local guru for out-of-box setup and get the old hard drives removed and either installed in the new machine if there are enough bays, or put in adapter boxes, so I can continue to access them, assuming they haven’t failed, in case something is missed or goes awry in the transfer.  I have files and data going back to 1997, and a couple of critical items got lost in the last transfer, and the old box will no longer boot up.  I do have somewhat more redundancy now.

There will be a large number of consumers and businesses who simply cannot afford to buy all new equipment.

I understand that MS is going to remain inflexible about this, but it will again find itself with a lot of people with old systems that they can’t upgrade.  The first paragraph on the “you can’t update” page says, “You might want to consider buying a new computer.”  Yeah, and to quote an old saying, “If wishes were horses then beggars could ride.”

I understand your frustration. It’s one shared by many owners of perfectly serviceable appliances who find that there are just aren’t any parts available for something they’d like to keep using.

The process of updating the TPM isn’t all that difficult if your processor is supported. There are a few processor that had TPM built-in but didn’t have it turned on by default. Unfortunately, your processor is not on the list.

I’ll assume you want to stick with you Windows operating system and there are some options to help keep your computer safe. One is to disconnect it from the Internet and use it strictly as an offline PC, using another device to access email, surf the web etc…

You can also operate it with a non-administrator account that doesn’t permit anything to install. If you’re using Windows 10, you can set it to S-mode, which only allows apps from the Microsoft Store to install.

If you have a tech guru you trust, they might be able to help you locate a decent used computer or a replacement motherboard that supports TPM.