Microsoft Ending Windows 10 Support – What Are Your Options?
It has come to my attention that Microsoft is stopping support for Windows 10 in October 2025.
However, there are ways out of having to buy a new Windows 11 machine.
Option 1: Use Flyby11.com (available at Flyoobe (https://github.com/builtbybel/Flyoobe)
- Possibility: Flyby11.com will let you upgrade your Windows 10 computer to Windows 11 even if Microsoft’s own tool will not. This is not sinister or illegal. Microsoft allows it. Even though it is not encouraged (for obvious reasons).
- Risk: It may not work.
Option 2: Move Away From Microsoft Products
This is only viable if you are not dependent on specific Microsoft software. Most non-corporate and non-business people are not dependent, because for every Microsoft product, an equivalent exists under Linux:
- MS Office → LibreOffice (can create and edit MS Office files)
- OneDrive → Nextcloud, ownCloud, pCloud, MEGA, Dropbox
- Outlook (Mail + Calendar) → Evolution, Thunderbird (+ Lightning Calendar), KMail
🔗 See a longer comparison list here.
Many popular apps — Libre Office, Firefox, Thunderbird, Brave, Chromium browser and others — run on both Windows and Linux. So even if you upgrade to Windows 11 you can get a benefit from the many free, open source programs available today, that do exactly the same as the for fee programs.
Why Consider Linux?
If you’re fed up with being:
- coerced to upgrade to a new computer when yours still runs well (sustainability)
- constantly asked to pay more monthly or upgrade fees
- monitored so big tech can sell your behavioral data for profit
…then you can take charge of your computing by upgrading to a community-supported Linux system.
Generally, the programs are free of charge and open source (the code can be reviewed and is constantly updated and bugs are fixed by a wide community of volunteer programers. Thank you for your generousity).
My Linux Recommendations
I have personally reviewed these systems:
Linux Mint
⭐ Top Recommendation.
A complete and well-supported OS with access to all Linux software.
Q4OS
A sleek, slim OS ideal for older computers.
I tested it on a 10-year-old laptop — it worked great thanks to efficient configuration, providing nice graphics or great functionality. Everything you would expect from a modern computer.
Ubuntu 25.10
Another strong, well-supported OS, on par with Linux Mint.
Winux
A hot contender if you want a look and feel close to Windows 11.
It can run some Windows programs — but don’t expect every game to run smoothly out of the box.
How to Try Linux Without Changing Windows
You can test Linux on your current computer without altering your Windows installation:
- Download the OS you want to try. Click the OS headings above
- Create a bootable USB stick with that Linux version. (How is that done?)
- Restart your computer and boot from the USB stick. (How is that done?)
- Explore Linux in “Live Mode” — no changes are made to your Windows system.
Once you are happy that Linux Mint (or one of the other OS) is good for you you can install it either side-by-side or in replacement of your Windows install.
ALWAYS BACKUP YOUR IMPORTANT FILES BEFORE DOING THIS.
Installation is described in the respective OS’s documentation. How is that done? or do your own search or I use ChatGPT for a lot of these projects to cut down on the amount of information I need to get through and let ChatGPT just give me the essence.