: Free upgrades are no longer officially offered, and most of these older PCs lack the necessary hardware for Windows 11 [16, 19].
: If your hardware is compatible, you can upgrade to Windows 11 for free through Windows Update [28]. windows-7-8-10-11-obs-pc
Features a centered taskbar, TPM 2.0 security requirements , and AI "Copilot" integration [16, 23, 29]. : Free upgrades are no longer officially offered,
Attempted a touch-centric "Tile" interface that was largely unpopular with desktop users [26]. Ended (Oct 2025) Attempted a touch-centric "Tile" interface that was largely
Unified the experience across devices; reintroduced the Start menu [30, 33]. Active
: Windows 11 is the most secure version but has stricter hardware requirements , including the TPM 2.0 chip, which many older Windows 7 or 8-era PCs do not have [5, 16].
: Tools like Windows Backup and OneDrive are recommended for transferring files and settings to a new device [33].