Windows 11 is the next generation of Microsoft’s hugely popular operating system. This latest upgrade was announced last week and will bring a swathe of new features and upgrades including a new Start Menu, easy access to info-packed widgets and improved integration with Microsoft Teams. Windows 11 users will also find it easier to keep their PCs updated thanks to downloads that are 40 percent smaller and Microsoft is boasting that laptops could see improved battery life thanks to better efficiency.
Windows 11 will start arriving on devices in the coming months but it seems some Windows 10 fans will face a big bill if they want to upgrade. That’s because this new software needs something called a TPM (Trusted Platform Module) chip to work.
This piece of hardware makes things far more secure and it seems Microsoft wants Windows 11 to be safer for people to use.
TPMs work by offering an additional layer of security on the PC itself and, with cyber attacks on the rise, it makes sense for Microsoft to beef up protection for its billions of users.
As Microsoft explains, “Trusted Platform Module (TPM) technology is designed to provide hardware-based, security-related functions. A TPM chip is a secure crypto-processor that is designed to carry out cryptographic operations. The chip includes multiple physical security mechanisms to make it tamper resistant, and malicious software is unable to tamper with the security functions of the TPM.”
Clearly, most people would agree that this is a good move from the US tech firm but it could mean some users will be to upgrade their PC before being able to install Windows 11.
Microsoft has confirmed that it will require PCs to have the latest TPM 2.0 installed on them and some older machines may not have that technology.
As spotted by The Verge, it appears that any PC running a processor that’s older than 8th Gen Intel Core and AMD Ryzen 2000 will not work. That means an expensive trip to the local gadget shop to buy a new computer.
To help users find out if they are going to need to buy a new PC, Microsoft has launched a dedicated webpage where users can check if their current machine is compatible.
You can use this tool to check if your PC will be compatible
Even if your PC can install Windows 11 there could be a long wait to get it.
Microsoft says it hopes to launch this new operating system later this year but that doesn’t mean everyone will be able to upgrade to it. It appears that a bunch of brand new PCs will be launched soon that will have Windows 11 pre-installed but, if you want to keep your current machine, then the release will be pushed out in stages.
That means some current Windows 10 users won’t see the new features arriving on their devices until 2022.
Explaining more, Microsoft said: “The upgrade rollout plan is still being finalised, but for most devices already in use today, we expect it to be ready sometime in early 2022. Not all Windows 10 PCs that are eligible to upgrade to Windows 11 will be offered to upgrade at the same time.”
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