10/05/2021

Today (October 5) is the official release date for the new Windows 11[1] operating system, Microsoft has announced, but it will be a slow reveal. Radio amateurs may be eager to learn if it will run the station software they're running under Windows 7 or Windows 10, and if they'll need new device drivers.

"We are not too concerned," said Tom Wagner, N1MM, of the widely popular, free logging software that bears his call sign - N1MM Logger+. "One member of the team and one end user has tested with Win 11 and not reported issues. We will fix them if they arise."

The WSJT-X Development Group is similarly unconcerned. "A few WSJT-X users have been running on the beta Windows 11 releases without any issues," said Bill Somerville, G4WJS. "This seems reasonable evidence that there should be no serious problems."

Microsoft said that the free upgrade to Windows 11 has begun rolling out to eligible Windows 10 PCs, and PCs that come pre-loaded with Windows 11 will start to become available for purchase on October 5. A prompt to upgrade to Windows 11 will come to newer devices first, with all eligible[2] devices to receive their updates by next summer, according to Gear Patro[3]l.

Windows 11 has higher technical requirements than Windows 10, which will be deprecated in 2025. Microsoft no longer supports Windows 7 or earlier iterations. Machines will need to have a 64-bit CPU, 4 GB of RAM, and 64 GB of storage, and have Trusted Platform Module (TPM) v 1.2 or later enabled.

Aaron Woodman[4], General Manager of Windows Marketing at Microsoft, told The Verge, "We expect all eligible devices to be offered the free upgrade to Windows 11 by mid-2022."

The Verge recently reported that Microsoft not only clarified its minimum system requirements for Windows 11 but revealed a workaround for computers that don't meet them. You can install Windows 11 on any hardware[5] using an ISO method, as long as the PC has a 64-bit, 1 GHz processor with two or more cores, 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of storage, and at least TPM 1.2. If you use a workaround to avoid the TPM requirement, however, your PC will be in an unsupported state and might not be able to access Windows updates and security patches.

Noting the TPM requirement to load Win 11, Wagner advised, "You need to turn on security features on the motherboard that some older computers may not have. We still have users who want to continue to run [Windows] XP."

On existing Windows 10 PCs, Windows Update will let people know when the upgrade is available for Windows 11. You can also check to see if your device is eligible for the Windows 11 upgrade through Windows Update.

Not all of Windows 11's announced features will be available on October 5. Microsoft is bringing Android apps to Windows 11 in partnership with Amazon and Intel, but this will happen down the road, possibly in 2022.

If your PC isn't fully compatible with Windows 11, Microsoft will continue to support Windows 10 until October 14, 2025.


[1] https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-11
[2] https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-11-specifications
[3] https://www.gearpatrol.com/tech/a36902344/windows-11-release-date-features/ [4] https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/?p=176111
[5] https://www.theverge.com/22644194/microsoft-windows-11-minimum-system-requirements-processors-changes

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