Tech

Updated PC Health Check app will actually tell you why you can’t run Windows 11

Enlarge / It doesn’t fix how strict the new Windows requirements are, but the brand new PC Health Check app can at least give you detailed information and more useful recommendations. (credit: Andrew Cunningham) When it announced Windows 11 and its strict new hardware requirements , Microsoft also released a PC Health Check tool that […]

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Misbehaving Microsoft Teams ad brings down the entire Windows 11 desktop

Enlarge / Windows 11 sports built-in Microsoft Teams integration that may have brought down the desktop and taskbar in a recent preview build. (credit: Andrew Cunningham) Microsoft released a new build of Windows 11 to Windows Insiders late last week as it prepares for the operating system’s release on October 5, but the first testers […]

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Old PCs are getting booted out of the Windows 11 Insider Preview

Enlarge / Older-but-still-functional PCs like this Dell Latitude with a 6th-generation Intel processor can currently access Windows 11 Insider Preview builds, but that may end soon. (credit: Andrew Cunningham) Many older PCs have been happily running the Windows 11 previews for months now despite Microsoft’s stringent official system requirements, but that’s about to change. ZDNet […]

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Windows 11 arrives on October 5, Android apps will come later

Enlarge (credit: Microsoft) Windows 11 is no longer merely “coming this fall.” Microsoft will begin releasing the new operating system to the public on October 5, starting with newer PCs (and PCs being sold in stores) and then rolling out to other supported systems over the next nine or so months. The company also says […]

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Microsoft may withhold security updates from unsupported Windows 11 PCs

Enlarge / The latest Windows focuses heavily on improved task management, prettier UI, and a much more ambitious Microsoft Store. (credit: Microsoft) There are still a lot of question marks about running Windows 11 on unsupported hardware. We know that Microsoft won’t go to extraordinary lengths to keep you from running it, we know that […]

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You’ll be able to run Windows 11 on older PCs—if you install the update manually

Enlarge / Microsoft won’t officially support running Home windows 11 on old PCs, but the company won’t stand in the way, either. (credit: Andrew Cunningham) Microsoft officially announced some small additions to Windows 11’s official CPU support list today, along with additional details about the operating system’s security requirements . But another, quieter announcement should […]

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Why Windows 11 has such strict hardware requirements, according to Microsoft

Enlarge (credit: Microsoft) Windows 11 promises to refine window management, run Android apps, and to unify the look and feel of the particular operating system’s built-in apps after years of frustrating hodgepodge. But none of that matters if your computer can’t run the software , and Microsoft has only promised official Windows 11 support for […]

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Microsoft will support some, but not most, 7th-gen Intel Core CPUs in Windows 11

Enlarge If you were hoping for Microsoft to backtrack on Windows 11’s stringent security-focused new system requirements, we have good news and bad news. The good news is that a small handful of 7th-generation Intel Core processors have been added in order to the support list , and systems that use those chips will officially […]

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Windows 11 ISOs make it easier to test the betas with a clean install

Enlarge / New ISO files make it easier to do clean installs of the Home windows 11 preview (and to see its first-time setup screens). (credit: Microsoft) When Microsoft released the latest Windows 11 Insider Preview builds to Dev and Beta channel testers late last week, the company also posted traditional ISO files of the […]

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The once-doomed MS Paint gets its first redesign in over a decade

The redesigned (but not totally rethought) Paint app, coming soon to Windows 11. [credit: Microsoft ] The latest Windows 11 app to get a coat of paint is Paint, everyone’s favorite meme-making sketching and doodling app. It’s not available for download for Windows Insiders yet, but Microsoft Chief Product Officer Panos Panay posted a brief […]