I’m the type of guy who loves to use things until they fall apart, and my computer is no exception. Like many of you, part of me always wonders if I really need a new computer, even if my current workhorse is close to ten years old.
If you’re managing employees, expecting them to use older computers isn’t a great idea for a variety of reasons. Program updates, including Windows, often introduce new features that may require hardware resources not available in older computers. Even if you are the patient type and don’t mind waiting a bit for the updated OS or program features to do their thing, there are other not-so-obvious reasons why you shouldn’t continue to use Windows 10.
I decided to take a Lenovo ThinkPad T440p and see if I could upgrade it to Windows 10. To be fair, it originally came with windows 8, so expecting it to live through three versions of Windows is a bit unreasonable. (Yes, some T440p laptops did ship with Windows 7.) I knew the laptop couldn’t be upgraded to Windows 11 because it lacked a TPM 2.0 chip and I couldn’t upgrade the existing onboard chip. So, a direct upgrade from windows 10 to Windows 11 was out of the question. (Yes, I tried because I’m a glutton for punishment.)
The only option was to erase the hard drive and perform a fresh install of Windows. The T440p had 16GB of RAM (the maximum capacity) and an Intel i7 processor (also the maximum the machine could handle). I installed a 2.5-inch SSD, but virtually all laptops manufactured over the past 10-15 years can take advantage of an SSD to some degree.
Installing Windows 11 on the laptop went smoothly. In fact, you wouldn’t even have thought that anything was wrong. After the initial setup, however, side effects started to show up. The first thing I noticed was that Core Isolation Memory Integrity was disabled, and I was unable to enable it. To be fair, I was unable to enable it on a budget computer that came with Windows 11. This was a driver issue related to some amateur radio hardware.
Core Isolation Memory Integrity is supposed to help prevent the injection of malicious code (programs) into the computer’s memory allowing it to take advantage of using your device for nefarious purposes. It sounds intimidating, but it is a good feature to have. macOS and some Linux kernels already implement this feature to some extent. This alone may or may not be a deal-breaker, especially if it’s a driver for hardware that isn’t so common, as is the case for me. If it’s a more common device such as a printer, a driver update may resolve the issue.
The next issue I noticed was that Bluetooth wasn’t working. I couldn’t even enable it; the option didn’t exist. I decided to download the latest available chipset drivers for my computer and see if installing them would be helpful. It worked, sort of. The computer could see the device I wanted to pair (In this case, a wireless keyboard), but the keyboard and the computer would not play nicely with each other. The temporary workaround for this was the use of a Bluetooth USB dongle. This worked without a hitch, even though I had to sacrifice a USB port on my laptop. The next issue was Wi-Fi. It worked, but it could only recognize 2.4GHz Wi-Fi networks, whereas before it could make use of both 2.4GHz and 5 GHz wi-fi bands. Again, a Wi-Fi USB dongle resolved this issue. Combo Wi-Fi/Bluetooth dongles seem to work without issue.
All of this seems minor and even manageable on the surface, but is it a good idea to use an older computer this way? What if a Windows 11 update in the future “breaks” something that is currently working on your “not supported by Windows 11” computer? You might be able to “roll back” the updates, but this could leave you stuck on a specific version of Windows 11 that will inevitably fall under the category of “unsupported”. That could leave your computer vulnerable to receiving necessary security updates.
The good news is you have a bit of time: October 14, 2025, to be exact. Windows 10 will still work after that date, and according to Microsoft under the subheading “What options do I have for staying supported on a Windows system?”, you can opt-in for a one-year Extended Security Update (ESU) for $30. Keep in mind, however, that this will only cover “critical” and “important” security updates, as mentioned under the subheading “What is the Windows 10 Extended Security Update (ESU) program?”. It’s a bit unclear how you enroll, but my guess is that you’ll have to do it within the Windows 10 settings on the computer you wish to enroll. Keep in mind, however, this will likely only get you another year of using Windows 10. It’s best to upgrade your computer, if Windows offers the upgrade.
The next best option is to purchase a new PC. It’s smart to shop around at stores like Staples, Best Buy, Wal-Mart or any brick-and-mortar store that sells computers. You don’t need to buy it from them, but at least see how the computer feels, specifically the keyboard. Do you require the 10-digit keypad on the right-hand side of the keyboard? How does the trackpad/touchpad feel? What size display should it have? A 13-inch display may be too small, yet a laptop with a 17-inch screen will be heavier and may be a bit harder to find. Do you require an Ethernet port and multiple USB ports, or are you fine with having 2-4 USB-C ports and carrying around adapters?
You can purchase computers anywhere online, but it pays to shop around. The same model with the same or similar specs can vary in price. If all you do is web surfing, sending emails and watching the occasional movie, a laptop in the $300-$500 range is likely adequate. A good rule of thumb when buying a machine is get as much RAM (16GB is my “bare minimum”) and get at least a 256GB hard drive. You can – and should – get more if your budget allows.
I’ve also noticed while shopping online that sometimes buying the additional memory preinstalled on the computer is more expensive than purchasing the RAM separately and installing it yourself. The same could be said for hard drives. RAM is easy to upgrade. The hard drive is a bit more involved since you’ll have to install Windows and move any data over to the new drive.
If you need help purchasing or upgrading a computer, Lock 12 Tech is here to assist you. If you’d like us to order the computer for you, we can do that and get it set up for you. If you purchase the computer yourself, we can transfer your data from the old hard drive to the new one. We can upgrade the RAM, which usually only takes minutes, not hours. Hard drives take a bit longer, but we can help you with that, too.
Trust Lock 12 Tech to help you make the switch from Windows 10 to Windows 11.