Windows update/upgrade advice

[citizenTwice]

Hi,
I have a PC with Windows 10 22H2 pro that I haven't turned on in over a year, now planning to 'revive' it in order to play with AI agents a bit. I dread what Windows is going to do when I turn the PC on, will I be forced to upgrade to Windows 11? I do recall this machine does meet the Windows 11 h/w requirements.
ChatGPT says to expect upgrade prompts/nagscreens but no forced upgrade - biggest issue would be lack of security updates, so it recommends upgrading to 11 anyway. What would you recommend?
Mac geek here, apologies for the probably dumb questions
Thanks

 

[Bplayer]

I am a fan of Win 11 so my bias would be to do the upgrade. But if you do not want to do that then use the free InControl app from GRC that block it.

 

[DanR]

@citizenTwice Agree! - GRC's free InControl tool will block any upgrade beyond Win 10 22 H2.

Note: You still may see an occasional NAG from MSFT. (I do. )

 

[citizenTwice]

@DanR @Bplayer Thank you very much, guys!
I thought something like ""Never 11"" existed but couldn't remember the actual name

 

[PHolder]

If you're going to stay on Windows 10, which is now out of basic support, you should probably at least take the steps to enroll in the free Extended Support Updates that will get you support until Oct 2026. If you're logged into an account with Administrator privileges it should offer you that option once you get updated to the last fully supported version from Oct 2025. To get the free offer, you need to link a Windows account to your Admin account. If that makes you squirm, make a second Admin account, do the enrollment with/in it, and then delete it when the enrollment succeeds. (It's stored with the PC in a special code much like the one that would be used to activate Windows from fresh.)

 

[citizenTwice]

If you're going to stay on Windows 10, which is now out of basic support, you should probably at least take the steps to enroll in the free Extended Support Updates that will get you support until Oct 2026. If you're logged into an account with Administrator privileges it should offer you that option once you get updated to the last fully supported version from Oct 2025. To get the free offer, you need to link a Windows account to your Admin account. If that makes you squirm, make a second Admin account, do the enrollment with/in it, and then delete it when the enrollment succeeds. (It's stored with the PC in a special code much like the one that would be used to activate Windows from fresh.)

Squirm is the right word. I do have a Microsoft account for Azure stuff but I've kept it strictly away from the Win10 PC. I just did what you suggested and it works perfectly. Big thanks!

 

[allusive]

What would you recommend?
Mac geek here, apologies for the probably dumb questions

You could wait until June and get an M5 Mac Mini. Then run Windows in a VM if you really need that.

 

[citizenTwice]

You could wait until June and get an M5 Mac Mini. Then run Windows in a VM if you really need that.

Ah yes, definitely looking forward to checking out the new models! My I have Parallels on my M2 Air - it handles Debian very nicely, it also offered to do one-click install of an ARM build of Windows 11 (trial) - it kind of worked but the out-of-the box Win11 experience surprised me (in a bad way!) though I am sure this forum would be a good place to look for info on 'setting Win11 straight', so to speak...