I would like to take advantage of the offer to pay for another 12 months' support for Windows 10 while I work out what to do.

 

Does anyone know if this has option actually been released yet and if so how to access it?  I check the Microsoft site regularly and follow the prompts, but (surprise surprise) they always seem to lead back to suggestions to upgrade/trade in my PC and install Windows 11.

 

I understand the option will appear in Settings in Windows 10, but haven't seen it yet.

I wouldn't pay; you will still limited access to other MS products. 

 

I would bite the bullet and upgrade. If your pc is compatible. 

I never paid but did access support, very competent tech trying to help me resolve an Japanese font issue for my grade 6er at the time. LoL, still couldn't figure it, we ended up using googles font rather MS's.  He definitely knew what he was doing, did everything I tried and more.  Still, wouldn't, shouldn't, pay.

Got my windows support organised 

I was looking for this extended support too. Seems to be noted everywhere but still elusive, have had no luck so bought a new main board.   But now I still can't install 11 as I need a specific driver for my M.2 drive to enable secure boot, there isn't one for mine.

 

I haven't had this much trouble with windows in many years.

 

At least I can still play Stalker 2 in the meantime while I am looking into this.

Edited October 8, 2025Oct 8 by muon*

I followed the process outlined in this vid to successfully upgrade my nine year old "incompatible" desktop PC to windows 11 without any hardware changes. Happy days!

 

UPGRADE Your OLD PC Computer To WINDOWS 11 In 3 EASY Steps!

 

 

On 11/09/2025 at 12:46 PM, Bronal said:

I would like to take advantage of the offer to pay for another 12 months' support for Windows 10 while I work out what to do.

 

Does anyone know if this has option actually been released yet and if so how to access it?  I check the Microsoft site regularly and follow the prompts, but (surprise surprise) they always seem to lead back to suggestions to upgrade/trade in my PC and install Windows 11.

 

I understand the option will appear in Settings in Windows 10, but haven't seen it yet.

 

I think the extended support is mainly been offered to enterprise installations, where they just can't afford to upgrade 100's if not 1000's of PC's all at once.

 

But after a quick search I've found this.

 

To get extended support for Windows 10 in Australia, enroll in the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program through the Windows Update settings before the October 14, 2025, support end date. Eligible users must have Windows 10 version 22H2 and can enroll for free by linking their PC to a Microsoft account or by using Microsoft Rewards points, or opt for a paid purchase. 

 

Check for the Enrollment Link:

Go to Settings: Select the Start button and then click on Settings. 

Navigate to Windows Update: Select Update & Security, then Windows Update. 

Look for the Enrollment Link: Under the heading "Windows 10 support ends in October 2025," click on the "Enroll now" link. 

 

If the link isn't visible: 

Restart your PC:

Sometimes, restarting your device can make the enrollment link appear, according to Microsoft Learn.

Check for Updates:

Manually checking for Windows updates may also trigger the appearance of the link.

 

Enrollment Options:

Free Enrollment: Link your device to a Microsoft account by syncing your PC settings to a Microsoft account. 

Microsoft Rewards: You can redeem 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points to enroll. 

Paid Purchase: A one-time purchase is also available. 

 

Important Considerations:

Eligibility: Your PC must be running an activated copy of Windows 10 version 22H2. 

Microsoft Account: You will need to sign in with a Microsoft account to begin the enrollment process. 

Support End Date: Enrollment allows your computer to receive critical security updates until October 13, 2026. 

 

Having your PC up to date is imperative.

I'd also update your PC's BIOS, as I have a perfectly good 9th Gen Intel PC that Microsoft listed as comparable with Win 11, but no matter how many times I tried to update the PC it still wouldn't install.

After a ton of frustration I did a BIOS update which included a security update, that missing BIOS update was partially the reason windows wouldn't allow Win 11 to install.

 

I'd STRONGLY recommend ANYONE with a WIN 10 Machine to get at least 16gb or large USB stick and download a backup version of Win 10 from the Microsoft website so you can use the Media Creation tool to do a clean install if you need to.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/software-download/windows10

You can bet your house on it they will remove the ability to get a backup version the day Win 10 support ends. 

 

Edited October 9, 2025Oct 9 by Tweaky

6 hours ago, pete_mac said:

I followed the process outlined in this vid to successfully upgrade my nine year old "incompatible" desktop PC to windows 11 without any hardware changes. Happy days!

 

UPGRADE Your OLD PC Computer To WINDOWS 11 In 3 EASY Steps!

 

 

I got a new motherboard but still had issues with secure boot, so i just did the command line install to ignore TPM and secure boot ect.. this avo.

 

Must say windows 11 is one bloated OS 🤣

2 minutes ago, muon* said:

Must say windows 11 is one bloated OS 🤣

 

That's a understatment.

I built a new PC in March, and I've spent most of my time removing the Bloat from Win 11 Pro, the problem has been there have been so many updates to it [25H is currently being slowly rolled out] that a lot of the stuff I've taken out has been reinstalled in one of the later updates.

I'm at constant war with Win 11 telling it NO I  Don't F'ing want OneDrive or Copilot.

 

Microsoft has also just removed any way of creating a local account according to this, that's unless you created a ISO of Win 11 23H2, install that, then update.

 

On 12/09/2025 at 4:04 PM, Andythiing said:

Got my windows support organised 

 

 

Nah,  https://www.linuxmint.com

 

Gah, now I see that my issue was my hard drive is formatted as MBR, if I had of just converted it to GPT and set bios to UEFI boot I would not have had to use the work around.

 

So I was left with my drive in MBR format, so no secure boot.

Just followed a youtube vid on converting it from MBR to GPT, and done, now it is GPT and no loss of data, just had to boot into bios and turned off compatibility mode in bios and made sure  it was set to UEFI.

 

 

Edited October 10, 2025Oct 10 by muon*

OK, have gone back to Win 10, 11 is just too intrusive, more than is needed IMO.

 

Don't need no friggin AI BS 🤣

For extended support it should show like this in updates in windows 10.

 

I means logging into your microsoft account after clicking enroll now, after that I do not know as I didn't follow it further beyond where it asked me to sign in.

If it is not showing this try clicking "Check for Updates" So go to Settings > Update & Security.

 

Edited October 16, 2025Oct 16 by muon*

11 hours ago, muon* said:

Don't need no friggin AI BS 🤣

 

2 hours ago, muon* said:

I means logging into your microsoft account after clicking enroll now,

 

Bloated, intrusive, slow...  and why do you need an account to just run your own operatings system?   This is why I switched to Linux many many years ago.  Get yourself a copy of Mint.  Just wait till you see how easy updates become...

Mint won't run Stalker 2 😞

 

But agree with that view otherwise.

Edited October 17, 2025Oct 17 by muon*

26 minutes ago, muon* said:

Mint won't run Stalker 2 😞

 

But agree with that view otherwise.

 

Actually I run all sorts of Windows games under Steam/Proton on Mint.  I searched and it would seem that it does run.

Hmm...Stalker 2 taxes high end system running under Windows, I'd be sceptical.

 

It requiers things like Drirect X and Microsoft Visual C++.

 

Edit: I may investigate Steam OS.

Edited October 17, 2025Oct 17 by muon*

On 10/10/2025 at 8:25 AM, muon* said:

Gah, now I see that my issue was my hard drive is formatted as MBR, if I had of just converted it to GPT and set bios to UEFI boot I would not have had to use the work around.

 

So I was left with my drive in MBR format, so no secure boot.

Just followed a youtube vid on converting it from MBR to GPT, and done, now it is GPT and no loss of data, just had to boot into bios and turned off compatibility mode in bios and made sure  it was set to UEFI.

 

 

obviously a different context, however really reminds me of the runarounds and workarounds that were routinely expected and endured in the 90s/early 2000s windows computing.

 

bios this, firmware that, registry editor the other,...

55 minutes ago, muon* said:

Hmm...Stalker 2 taxes high end system runing under Windows, I'd be sceptical.

 

It requiers things like Drirect X and Microsoft Visual C++.

 

Edit: I may investigate Steam OS.

 

You'd be surprised how well Proton supports games' requirements.  It's also not an emulator, just a compatibility layer, so performance doesn't suffer nearly as much as for a virtual machine/emulator.

Just now, aussievintage said:

 

You'd be surprised how well Proton supports games' requirements.  It's also not an emulator, just a compatibility layer, so performance doesn't suffer nearly as much as for a virtual machine/emulator.

Yes been reading up on it, doesn't seem to be a viable option for me at least.

Went back to 11, going to have to sooner or later.

 

Ran DoNotSpy11 on it and changed it to local account.

57 minutes ago, muon* said:

Went back to 11, going to have to sooner or later.

 

Ran DoNotSpy11 on it and changed it to local account.

 

Hard to get around it really.

The thing is, even if your old PC can upgrade to Win 11, it depends if its capable of running Win 25H2.

If its only able to run Winn 11 23H2 or 24H2, then eventually you are going to be in the same boat as having a Win 10 machine, support for the older Win 11 versions will come sooner than most will expect.

 

The main thing that stops a older PC from being able to run the latest version of Win 11 [Found this out personally a few months ago] , is usually because of some security update to the CPU's BIOS that was probably released 5-9 years ago, is not installed

 

That's what I found with my 9th Gen Intel CPU, I was getting the "This PC is not able to run Win 11 alert" every time I used the Microsoft's PC Health Check App.

I opened up the hood, looked what MB name/Number it was, went to the website, and  updated the BIOS to the latest one, and it runs Win 11 fine now, if fact I was just able to update it to Win 11 25H2, so there's a few years left in the old girl yet, OS wise.

 

I mean honestly, how many people [That are not gamers ] do you know that update their PC's BIOS....... EVER ?

15 minutes ago, Tweaky said:

 

Hard to get around it really.

The thing is, even if your old PC can upgrade to Win 11, it depends if its capable of running Win 25H2.

If its only able to run Winn 11 23H2 or 24H2, then eventually you are going to be in the same boat as having a Win 10 machine, support for the older Win 11 versions will come sooner than most will expect.

 

The main thing that stops a older PC from being able to run the latest version of Win 11 [Found this out personally a few months ago] , is usually because of some security update to the CPU's BIOS that was probably released 5-9 years ago, is not installed

 

That's what I found with my 9th Gen Intel CPU, I was getting the "This PC is not able to run Win 11 alert" every time I used the Microsoft's PC Health Check App.

I opened up the hood, looked what MB name/Number it was, went to the website, and  updated the BIOS to the latest one, and it runs Win 11 fine now, if fact I was just able to update it to Win 11 25H2, so there's a few years left in the old girl yet, OS wise.

 

I mean honestly, how many people [That are not gamers ] do you know that update their PC's BIOS....... EVER ?

 

 

These hoops you are being forced to jump through are unnecessary.  Microsoft never (NEVER) knew how to write a good operating system, and they have gone backward from their best efforts (from years ago).   IT people labour to keep things from blowing up, every day.   Apple were always better, but it comes at a steep price and locks you in to their ecosystem - even more than Windows.   Most people just don't need either of these systems.    Today, most people do the majority of daily stuff on phones, 70+% of which are Android, not Windows, not Apple.  Android is a modified form of Linux - which is free.  I hate sounding like a Linux fanboy, but sheesh - with all these troubles, you'd think people would be starting to realise they have been had.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 18, 2025Oct 18 by aussievintage

By the way, there are some pruned down versions of WIndows 11, that run reasonably well.  Try a lightweight version of Ghost Spectre, for example.  It runs quite reasonably, even in a virtual machine

On 18/10/2025 at 6:03 PM, Tweaky said:

I mean honestly, how many people [That are not gamers ] do you know that update their PC's BIOS....... EVER ?

The thing that was stopping me was lack of Secure Boot and TPM, but even then after buying a new motherboard I had to convert the hard drive from MBR to GPT patitioning.

I update bios as a mater of course when I buy a new board (casueal gamer), or if I see any other reason to. Had to do it with my last board to be anble to run a series 5000 Ryzen.

After building computers for myself and friends for the last 20 years It's just a normal thing to do for me.