The clock runs against Windows 10 and there is no doubt that, for quite some time, Microsoft has a problem of 1.4 billion devices. Or, at least, that was the global PC figure with Windows 10 in 2023. Now it is true that things are changing, but it seems not to the desired rhythm.
At the moment, With technical support ending on October 14, 2025, the company estimates that 240 million equipment will continue to use the unprotected system by then.
The numbers dance because while Statcounter speaks of 54% of computers even on Windows 10 (April 2025), the data of the US government analytics program show that migration to Windows 11 advances at a rate of 1.6% monthly. Too slow.
The Windows XP ghost – who was active a decade after his withdrawal – plans on Redmond. But there is a difference and it is that Windows 10 is more popular than its predecessor at its peak. As of October, only those who pay the Extended Security Updates program (ESU) will receive security patches. For the rest, the system will continue to function … but they will become a walking danger.
Will Microsoft extend the support? The answer is no
Microsoft has been clear and there will be no free extension. The company repeats the script used with Windows 7 and after the end of the support, there will only be the security patches commented, thought, above all, for companies that need more time. For foot users, the message is clear: «Update or buy a new PC».
The 5 outputs (no ideal) for users
- Pay for security: the ESU program will cost hundreds of dollars per year per device, according to the model.
- Update hardware: If your PC is from 2017-2018, you may meet the requirements. Microsoft offers free update to Windows 11 for these cases.
- Change to Linux: Distributions such as Ubuntu are free, but it is a change that will need you to learn a new system.
- Using without the Internet: would reduce the risk of malware, although it is obvious that it is already useless.
Despite all this, The truth is that Microsoft is getting closer to what seemed impossible: completely eliminating Windows 10 before the planned period. Although initially it was expected that this operating system had extended support until the end of the decade, the company already see that it is accelerating its strategy to encourage migration to Windows 11.
And it seems that it is working. Statcounter data does not lie and in March 2025, Windows 11 reached 42.69% global fee, while Windows 10 fell to 54.2%. But the really surprising thing is that in those three countries it is already the most used system.
Why Linux Lite wins the game to Windows on old pc
In the midst of all this drama, the truth is that the option with Linux resonates with more and more strength and, specifically, Linux Lite 7.4 is presented as an alternative to take into account: light, easy to use and with everything you need to work.
This version of Linux comes to be used from the first moment, with all the applications that most need: browser, office suite, multimedia player and even photo editor. All this in a system that consumes less resources than Windows XP.
It works on PC of the 2000s with only 1 GHz of processor, 768 MB of RAM and 8 GB of hard drive. In addition, it comes with tools designed so that this change is really simple if you come from Windows: a very similar start menu, icons that will sound to you and even the paper in the same place.
And here comes the best: being based on Ubuntu, you have access to thousands of free applications with just one click. Do you need something that does not bring installed? Your application store downloads it to you in a moment.
So you can see that real tests were performed with a 2012 laptop. They comment that Linux Lite’s start was only 25 seconds, while Windows 10 takes more than a minute. With 10 tabs in Chrome, Windows drowned, but Linux Lite or flinch. Windows updates stopped the PC half an hour, while Linux Lite are installed in the background.
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Tags: Updates, Microsoft, Computers, Windows 11, Windows 10