In recent weeks many users of Windows 10 have been greeted with an ominous message when starting up their machines. The note warns that support for Windows 10 will end soon and recommends upgrading to Windows 11. What does this message really mean, and how long does one have before experiencing negative effects?
First, Microsoft is simply informing users that Windows 10 is facing what is known as End of Life, or EOL (because we IT folks love our acronyms). EOL means public technical support will no longer be available for a product, in this case Windows 10. Microsoft has garnered some criticism for sending out such warnings so early, as the actual EOL date for Windows 10 is Oct. 14, 2025.
The concept of EOL is not specific to Microsoft; virtually all vendors follow this approach. Apple’s Mac OS 12, for example, goes EOL on Nov. 30. And the options in dealing with Mac OS EOL are similar to those for Windows.
What happens if you continue to run Windows 10? Well, it “should” still continue to be operable well after the EOL date. And there’s still a wealth of information on the web, including Microsoft’s own knowledge base, that will help to troubleshoot any issues.
But the most pertinent part of “no tech support” is that software updates, patches and hot fixes will no longer be available. Those are especially crucial these days, since multiple new security breaches crop up every day. Merely running Windows 10 could represent a huge vulnerability to cyberattacks.
EOL has a ripple effect. While the operating system itself might function properly, you could have difficulty adding new applications or peripheral devices. Application software vendors and hardware vendors are loath to support EOL operating systems because they can’t get technical support, either.
Of course, nothing is ever simple, and that includes upgrading from Windows 10 to Windows 11. Computers more than about 6 or 7 years old generally don’t meet the requirements to run Windows 11.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that those computers actually do run Windows 11, but this is not supported by Microsoft and could eventually cause issues. As such, if your computer doesn’t support Windows 11, your best option is to bite the bullet and buy a new machine. But if it does support Windows 11, you’re in luck, and the upgrade is normally quite straightforward.
In terms of servers, Windows Server 2012 (and 2012R2) went EOL on Oct. 10 Microsoft has provided the option to continue receiving security updates for Server 2012, called Extended Security Updates (ESU, because we needed another acronym).
This is a bit tricky because it requires you to enroll your server into Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing environment and enable Azure Resource Control (ARC, yet one more acronym). But that might be easier than upgrading to Server 2022, which is not trivial and can be the subject of another column (or two).
Of course, ARC ESU isn’t free, but the monthly cost for using it isn’t too bad and buys you time to figure out how to get off of 2012. But a gotcha with ARC ESU: You will be back-charged for the licenses, meaning you will pay for license usage from Oct. 11, 2023, regardless of the day you start using it.
Because Server 2012 is a server operating system, it is used mostly by organizations such as businesses and government agencies. Windows 10 is a desktop operating system. So it isn’t likely an option similar to ESU will be made available for Windows 10.
John Agsalud is an IT expert with more than 25 years of information technology experience in Hawaii and around the world. He can be reached at jagsalud@live.com.
