Windows 11 has been out for a while now, and Microsoft keeps nudging people toward it. Whether you should actually install it has less to do with opinion and more to do with what's inside your laptop.

Check the hardware requirements first

Windows 11 needs a TPM 2.0 chip and a processor from Microsoft's supported list, which quietly excludes a lot of laptops that are only four or five years old and still work fine. Running the free PC Health Check tool from Microsoft tells you in about ten seconds whether your machine qualifies.

If your laptop is on the list, the upgrade is usually smooth

On supported hardware, Windows 11 installs cleanly and keeps your files and programs in place. Most people notice a cleaner layout and not much else day to day.

If it's not on the list, don't force it

There are workarounds to install Windows 11 on unsupported hardware, and we'd steer you away from them. Unsupported installs miss security updates over time and can behave unpredictably with drivers that were never tested for that combination.

Windows 10 support has an end date

Windows 10 stops receiving security updates eventually, which matters more than most people think. A laptop with no security patches is a real risk, not a theoretical one, especially if it's used for banking or work email.

What we'd actually recommend

If your laptop supports Windows 11, upgrading is worth doing, ideally with a backup taken first in case anything needs rolling back. If it doesn't, and the hardware is otherwise solid, an SSD upgrade on Windows 10 can hold you over comfortably while you plan for a newer machine. Bring it in and we'll check compatibility and give you a straight answer.