Microsoft has announced that from October 14, 2025, it will no longer support Windows 10 – and if you wish to continue to use the operating system, you’ll have to pay for security updates.

While the idea of paying to update Windows 10 is concerning a lot of people, sadly it’s a bit of an inevitability. By the time Windows 10 reaches that ‘end of life’ date, the operating system will be 10 years old.

By this point, it’s likely that Microsoft will have released Windows 12, while still also supporting Windows 11. The idea that even a company as big as Microsoft could offer full support for three different operating systems is rather fanciful.

In fact, as much as I hate to admit it, I think this will actually be for the best. I’d much rather Microsoft focused on supporting its current OS by releasing security updates, bug fixes and new features, rather than spreading itself too thinly with legacy support.

Sure, it would be nice to still get those Windows 10 updates for free, but I guess this is a way for Microsoft to justify keeping a small team for releasing essential security fixes for people who want to stay on the platform.

The choice is yours

This move, which was announced in a blog post (and reported by MSPowerUser), leaves Windows 10 users with a choice.

Firstly, they can upgrade to Windows 11. This is likely Microsoft’s desired outcome, as the company has been trying to encourage people to switch to the newer OS for years now, and despite various schemes, such as offering the upgrade for free, and littering users’ desktops with pop-ups suggesting they switch, many Windows 10 users remain reluctant to do so.

The threat of having to pay for updates could be enough to make them change over. While I don’t love that idea, Windows 11 is a decent OS with some useful features that people sticking with Windows 10 are missing out on. If you do upgrade, you get those new features, as well as free updates until Windows 11’s end of life, which won’t be for a while yet.

Another option is to stick with Windows 10. If you do, you’ll need to pay to get security updates (there won’t be any new features added once Windows 10 hits end-of-life). Microsoft hasn’t revealed how much this will cost, but it will likely be a subscription that will provide monthly updates.

You should also be able to use Windows 10 without paying for updates, as the operating system will continue to function after the date. This might sound appealing, but I really don’t recommend it. 

Without paying, you’ll likely not get any updates, which means if a new virus emerges or security vulnerability is discovered, your PC will remain unpatched and exposed to the risk. After Windows 10 enters its end-of-life period on October 14, 2025, there’ll be no technical support offered, either – so you really will be on your own.

Malicious actors will know that Windows 10 will no longer get free updates, so it’s likely they will begin targeting unpatched versions.

Finally, you could switch operating systems to open-source Linux. Linux distributions come in all shapes and sizes, can run on pretty much any PC hardware and offer a lot of the same features and applications as Windows 10 – and all for free. Many distros, such as Ubuntu, openSUSE and Mint, offer Long Term Support (LTS) versions, which have commitments to be updated and supported until dates far off into the future – and most of these are also free.

Of course, this is the option Microsoft would least like you to take (which might be enough to sell you on it, if you feel particularly put out by the company’s decision to charge for Windows 10 updates).

At least you won’t have choose an option soon, as there’s a while left until October 14, 2025 – and hopefully by that time we’ll all be playing GTA 6, anyway. Still, it’s worth keeping in mind for now, so you don't suddenly find yourself using a compromised version of Windows 10.

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Windows 11 is having serious issues with PC games due to the latest 23H2 update, according to a cluster of recent reports.

Neowin flagged up the performance hitches purportedly caused by the annual upgrade for Windows 11, which seemingly affects PCs with AMD processors in the main.

Redditor BNSoul describes the issue in a post that has garnered some serious attention, and a lot of other users chiming in that they’re suffering similar gaming woes.

BNSoul writes: “Every CPU benchmark shows significantly reduced CPU performance after updating to Windows 11 23H2 from 22H2, even after a fresh/clean install.

“I could add an endless list of benchmark results here but just let’s say it’s always 23H2 5-8% slower in every single one be it single or multi-thread compared to 22H2.”

They add: “Games are also affected with random stuttering, all of this fixed by rolling back to 22H2.”

Another user on Microsoft’s Answers.com forum, Anant Acharya, makes a similar complaint backed up by others further in the thread: “After I had updated to the Windows 23H2 update. I have been noticing sudden stutters and drastic FPS drops in the above-mentioned games [Valorant, CS:GO, Grand Theft Auto 5, Forza Horizon 5].”

The stuttering encountered is pretty bad according to those experiencing the problem, so this is a nasty one. The good news is that Microsoft has supplied a solution to the Redditor who made the original post, which we’ll discuss next.

Analysis: Defendius Kedavra

That solution apparently provided by Microsoft customer support involves resetting Microsoft Defender, so the conclusion tentatively drawn is that the security app is involved in some way here.

At any rate, the downside is that the procedure outlined is not completely straightforward, sadly, and involves using PowerShell commands – that’s not the tricky bit, mind, but it’s the main meat of the solution.

So, to fire up PowerShell, just right-click the Start button (or press the Windows key + X) and click on ‘Windows PowerShell (admin).’ While it’s not clear that you need admin mode – you could just run the plain ‘Windows PowerShell’ option – it might not hurt to use it.

Once open, run the following two commands in PowerShell (type them in and press enter). Firstly:

Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted

And then:

Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.SecHealthUI -AllUsers | Reset-AppxPackage

That second command resets Defender, and you then reboot your PC.

The instructions then say when rebooting you should head to your BIOS and ensure that CPU Virtualization is enabled. Rummaging in the BIOS is the slightly trickier bit – as BIOSes are all differently laid out and have their own interfaces and quirks (consult relevant help resources from your motherboard vendor) – but many PCs may already have this turned on anyway, so you might not need to do it.

Finally, when back at the Windows 11 desktop, fire up Windows Security (type that in the search box, and open the app that pops up), select ‘Device Security’ in the left-hand panel, and in Core Isolation settings you should turn on Memory Integrity. Again, you’ll need to reboot your PC.

Then you’re done, and according to BNSoul and others, this process gives you the same level of gaming performance for 23H2 as seen with 22H2.

If the above procedure sounds like a hassle, or doesn’t work for you, then you can always revert to 22H2 and wait for Microsoft to investigate and hopefully fix this issue. Or if you haven’t upgraded yet and you’re concerned about these reports, you can always hold off on the 23H2 upgrade for the time being.

We’ve dropped a line to Microsoft to try and find out what’s going on here, and whether a fix is underway. We’ll update this story if we hear anything back.

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Christmas might just have come early for laptop makers, as a new leak suggests that Windows 12 could arrive as soon as June 2024.

The news, which Tom’s Hardware originally reported on and KitGuru later added to, emerged in Taiwan’s The Commercial Times, will be good news for the PC and laptop market, which has seen a decline since the Covid-19 pandemic.

When people started working from home, many bought new PCs or laptops, along with webcams and other accessories, but this boom was not to last. With so many people using new devices, it’s understandable that they wouldn’t be in any rush to go out and buy a new one.

This has resulted in a downturn in PC and laptop sales – but the launch of a new operating system could help reinvigorate those sales.

According to the report, the June 2024 date for Windows 12 was mooted at the recent Taiwan Medical Technology Exhibition in Taipei, where Quanta Computer Chairman Barry Lam is reported to have said “next summer, when Microsoft launches a new generation of Windows operating systems, AI PCs will also be launched one after another.”

While it’s not entirely clear from the report where the June 2024 date came from, and Microsoft has not officially revealed its Windows 12 plans, there will be many in the PC industry who hope this is Microsoft's plan. We've also heard other rumors about a 2024 launch date in the past.

A new, powerful, operating system with innovative features could – if done right – encourage people to upgrade to new hardware. Whether or not Microsoft can do it right, however, is another issue.

Windows 11 woes

Windows 11 hasn’t exactly set the world alight. It’s a solid operating system, but there hasn’t been a killer app or feature that has made Windows 10 users want to switch.

Microsoft’s attempts to get people to upgrade to new laptops or PCs for Windows 11, due to its controversial insistence on TPM 2.0 compatibility, annoyed more people than it converted as well. 

So, if Windows 12 is to be the saviour of Microsoft and the wider industry, it’ll need to be a big upgrade from Windows 11, and one that makes full use of cutting-edge hardware. No pressure, then.

AI to the rescue?

Microsoft hasn’t been shy about its ambitions for artificial intelligence (AI), and while it’s been pushing AI feature in Windows 11 (and even Windows 10), it’s looking likely that Windows 12 will have even more AI integration – and it’s here that the upcoming operating system could differentiate itself from its predecessors.

Acer CEO Jason Chen, who was also at the event, talked about how AI PCs will “continuously accelerate” the industry. These ‘AI’ PCs will likely come with Windows 12 preinstalled (as Lam suggested), and will rely on advanced hardware that’s been specially made for artificial intelligence.

Microsoft’s AI additions to Windows 11, in the form of its Copilot assistant, have been warmly received by users, but they still feel a bit like a gimmick. Nothing, so far, fundamentally changes the way we use Windows 11 or our PCs, as Microsoft has promised.

However, the thought of Windows 12 being built from the ground up to make use of AI, and debuting on laptops and PC with AI-supporting hardware, is incredibly exciting. If June 2024 does indeed usher in a new era of the best laptops and PCs, there certainly will be a lot of people who’ll be tempted to upgrade – including me.

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Windows 10 users are officially getting Copilot, with the desktop assistant rolling out now, but not everyone has got the AI yet – and if you haven’t, that could be due to a bug.

That glitch affects Windows 10 setups with multiple monitors, and it’s an odd one as highlighted by Microsoft in the known issues for patch KB5032278, which is the November preview update for Windows 10 – though it’s a bug Windows 11 users will be familiar with.

The problem is that icons on the desktop can shift in a seemingly random fashion across the different screens in a Windows 10 multi-monitor rig, and other icon alignment issues can manifest, too.

As mentioned this has been seen on Windows 11 already, and with Copilot now rolling out to Windows 10 users, we shouldn’t really be too surprised that the same thing is occurring.

Analysis: Upgrade block

If you haven’t yet got Copilot on Windows 10, and you run multiple screens, this is the reason why – Microsoft has put a block in place to prevent upgrades carrying the AI assistant from being delivered to these PCs (and the same is true for Windows 11).

Microsoft tells us: “We are working on a resolution and will provide an update in an upcoming release.”

Even if you don’t have multiple monitors, but you’ve run a multi-monitor system in the past, you may find your PC is blocked from taking on this upgrade. As Microsoft explains: “Copilot in Windows (in preview) might not be available on devices that have been used or are currently being used in a multi-monitor configuration.”

Of course, this new update for Windows 10 is optional anyway, and as a preview, it’s expected that it might be bugged in some respects.

The fix will hopefully come soon and Windows 10 and Windows 11 users alike with multiple monitors should then be able to enjoy Copilot – though the AI is pretty limited in its functionality in this initial incarnation, it has to be said. Eventually, it will have sweeping powers to manipulate Windows settings, but right now the reality is that Copilot is pretty much a glorified Bing AI in a side panel.

Via XDA Developers

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Microsoft could be giving its Copilot AI some new powers in Windows 11 (and maybe Windows 10 eventually), or at least this functionality has been spotted in test builds – including the ability to fire up the AI as soon as the operating system boots.

Windows Latest reported on some fresh options recently brought into testing for Copilot, and as mentioned one is a toggle to ‘Open Copilot when Windows starts’ (tucked away in the Personalization area of Settings).

In short, this means that when your PC first loads up the desktop, the Copilot panel will appear straightaway. This option carries some text notes explaining that this is primarily aimed at those with a wider screen (in other words, with the display real-estate to fit Copilot on as a constant companion).

Another move in testing for Copilot is unpinning the AI’s side-panel. This is a button present on the actual side-bar for the AI, and when clicked, Copilot collapses when you maximize another window.

As it is, the Copilot side-panel stays in place when you make another app full-screen, so you can still see the AI to the right of whatever program is running. When this switch is flicked, though, a maximized app will take up the whole screen, with the side-panel being hidden.

Finally, Microsoft is currently trying out the ability for users to resize the Copilot panel. This has been spotted in testing before, mind you. However, this time around Windows Latest shows us that as you enlarge the side-panel, at a certain point when the interface is big enough, recent activity and active plug-ins are shown.

Analysis: Some useful changes for tailoring the AI

If you’re a Windows 11 tester and you haven’t seen any of these options for Copilot, that’s not too surprising, as Microsoft is only trialing them with a limited set of Windows Insiders at the moment.

As ever with features in preview, they may or may not be carried forward, but if they are, all testers will get them eventually – and then they’ll debut in the release version of Windows 11.

The functionality to unpin, resize, and have Copilot appear by default after boot – if you want to, and perhaps have an ultra-wide monitor – are all choices that will prove useful and add versatility to the way Copilot’s interface works. And given that, we can’t see why they wouldn’t make the cut for inclusion in Windows 11 ultimately.

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Microsoft has reversed course to remove a pop-up that it was trying out with some Windows 11 users that attempted to discern why they were quitting out of OneDrive.

Specifically, this move concerned the OneDrive sync client which resides in the system tray on the far-right of the taskbar (the little cloud icon). As the name suggests, this client oversees the syncing of the files on your PC with OneDrive in the cloud.

If you close it, you’ll see a pop-up telling you that your files will no longer be synced to the cloud, which is a fair enough warning to issue – but then Microsoft incorporated something else for some users.

As Windows Latest reports – and Neowin first observed – as November began, Microsoft added a survey pop-up for those shutting down the syncing client which appeared after the aforementioned warning.

That dialog box was piped through to a small group of Windows 11 users, we’re told, and it asked them to give a reason why they were quitting out of OneDrive sync. Reponses included ‘I don’t want OneDrive running all the time’ (which it is, in the background, with this client) and ‘I don’t know what OneDrive is’ among others. (If the latter would be your response, check out our guide to using the cloud storage service).

This annoyed a fair few Windows 11 users as you might imagine, so Microsoft canned the idea.

Microsoft told Windows Latest: “Between Nov. 1 and 8, a dialog box temporarily appeared for a small subset of consumer OneDrive users when closing the OneDrive sync client asking for feedback on the reason they chose to close the application.

“The prompt was removed after a sufficient sample of user feedback was gathered. This feedback helps inform our ongoing efforts to enhance the quality of our products.”

Analysis: Repeated aggravation

Microsoft is constantly testing these kinds of more intrusive elements in Windows 11, whether it’s ‘suggestions’ or ads for its services or polls, and like most people, we find that quite frustrating. Okay, so this was a limited subset of users, and it was quickly reversed – we’re not surprised and can only imagine the reaction (indeed, we’ve seen some of it on Reddit).

What was overstepping the mark here is that not only was this poll sent to users on the release version of Windows 11 (it may have been a test, but it wasn’t deployed in preview builds of the OS), it actually appeared repeatedly.

Yes, Windows Latest tells us that this pop-up would be summoned for affected users every single time they quit OneDrive sync. Surely, when Microsoft got an answer out of the user, that should have been it, done and dusted as they say?

Hopefully Microsoft will learn a lesson from the spicy feedback on this one and not try to insert any more such surveys cluttering up the flow of using the interface (and certainly not outside of preview versions of Windows 11).

Finally, it’s worth pointing out that for OneDrive sync there is a middle-ground in terms of not quitting, but not having it running either – the pause option. Right-click the icon and you’ll find the choice to ‘Pause syncing’ which will do exactly what it says, plus you can set the length of time (to a fairly hefty pause of 8 hours, or even 24 hours, from the drop-down menu). The app will still be running, but doing nothing, and so it shouldn’t be consuming any noticeable system resources.

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Windows 11’s 23H2 update has recently been released, and while that annual upgrade obviously adds features, some have also been dropped by Microsoft.

PhantomOfEarth picked up on this, spotting that Microsoft just added the latest round of cutting to its list of deprecated features for Windows 11, and posting on X (formerly Twitter) to let us know.

The big move here – and the only one that’ll affect consumers (the others are business-related) – is the deprecation of the Tips app in Windows 11.

This means that Tips will remain in Windows 11 for now, but in stasis, with no further development – and it’s scheduled to be removed in a future update of the OS.

Microsoft does, however, observe that in this case the app will continue to get (small) updates with info about new Windows features.

The Tips app provides help for Windows 11 users regarding customizing the interface, as well as imparting useful keyboard shortcuts and other miscellaneous tips, and highlighting new features that have arrived in the operating system.

PhantomOfEarth also recently tweeted about another interesting change for Windows 11, namely the ability to make custom commands for the Voice Access feature. This is still a long way off, as it’s not even live in testing, but hidden in the background – even so, it’d be an excellent addition on the accessibility front.

Analysis: Clearing the way for Copilot?

It’s likely that with the next major update for Windows 11 – which could turn it into Windows 12, maybe, later next year – the Tips app will get the axe and be fully removed.

In fairness, this app isn’t the greatest help resource anyway, but nonetheless, for those new to Windows, it could be useful. That said, we’re betting there’s a reason for it being ditched now – namely Copilot.

Remember that in a year’s time, a fully developed Copilot AI – which will doubtless have been considerably bolstered over the course of 2024 – will be able to handle all help duties ably. We’d imagine that’s the plan, anyway.

Microsoft appears to be on a spree of tidying up Windows 11 of late, as we recently saw the Windows Maps and Movies & TV applications being removed from default installations of the OS.

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Microsoft released a new update for its web browser, Edge 119, through its Stable Channel (one of Microsoft’s release channels for new versions of Edge) on November 3. 

This update introduced many new features, including SplitScreen and an improved Sidebar app. Microsoft has also snuck in an interesting quirk into the settings of the sidebar: the toggle for turning Edge's sidebar on and off has seemingly disappeared. This has caused alarm for some users as some think this means that you can’t disable (or enable it) in some cases.

Before this update, there was an "Always Show Sidebar" setting that allowed you to enable or disable the sidebar in Edge which would be found by entering edge://settings/sidebar into Edge’s address bar. Version Edge 119 moves this toggle to Copilot’s settings. Windows Copilot is Microsoft’s new AI-fuelled assistant that the company is positioning to function all throughout Windows and many Microsoft products, including Edge. 

There does appear to still be a way to be able to turn the sidebar on and off by turning on the Show Copilot option. You can keep the sidebar on and choose to turn off Copilot, which should remove the Copilot icon, but doing that will hide the "Auto-hide Sidebar" option. You will not be able to toggle the sidebar as that specific setting will no longer be accessible. 

Microsoft put out the following description about this sidebar toggle change, according to NeoWin: 

“Always show sidebar: 

This setting is not available when Copilot in Edge is off”

This could be confusing to some users, especially if they don’t want to use Copilot at the moment. You can still disable Copilot, but it seems like it disables even the ability to enable and disable the sidebar, which many users (including those who aren’t sold on Copilot yet) like using. NeoWin goes as far as to posit that moving this setting to the Copilot settings feels like Microsoft is trying to push users towards using it to grow engagement. 

Regardless of where you stand on Copilot, there is still a way to turn the sidebar on or off (although, a roundabout one at that). To do this, go to:

Settings > Sidebar > Copilot > Always Show Sidebar

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A new Windows 11 preview build, KB5031455, that enables the AI-powered assistant, Windows Copilot, is reportedly causing havoc to desktop icons.

Windows 11 Build KB5031455 is one of a series of updates that have come to us via Windows Update and through the Windows Insider Program, Microsoft’s official community for Windows enthusiasts and industry professionals that help try new versions of Windows and features before they’re rolled out to all Windows users. Build KB5031455 was released in October and was packed full of new developments like Windows Copilot. Other feature updates include reworkings of the Start menu, File Explorer, and native system support for more archive file formats. 

However, it’s not all been smooth sailing, and some users are reporting problems. According to BetaNews, Microsoft has acknowledged that there’s a known problem with the preview build where desktop icons are shuffled around. This apparently happens due to Copilot’s interaction with Windows multi-display setups.

The update is pretty stacked feature-wise, so it’s somewhat expected that there’s an issue here or there for certain users. That said, the affected users will probably be hoping for a fix as soon as possible, especially as most are looking forward to getting to take Copilot for a spin. Also, this is the sort of feedback that these preview builds are for. 

What Microsoft has to say about the matter

Microsoft has shared the release notes for the preview build in a Support post detailing the nature of the updates and changes, as well as the known issues in the update. About the above issue, Microsoft writes the following:

“Windows devices using more than one monitor might experience issues with desktop icons moving unexpectedly between monitors or other icon alignment issues when attempting to use Copilot in Windows (in preview).”

It then goes on to explain that there’s no existing workaround or solution, and Microsoft recommends that Windows Copilot isn’t used on devices that are currently using a multi-monitor configuration. It does offer some consolation in that a resolution is currently being developed and will be released in a future update. 

This is a fairly typical response from Microsoft but it does also have a reputation for turning around solutions for such problems, even if it can take a little while. I think we can expect to see one soon, especially as this was picked up after a preview build was released. These are specifically released to test and monitor for feedback, so an opportunity to improve a feature is perfectly normal for a Windows release like this, and Microsoft will be keen to make sure its flashy new Copilot feature works well for as many users as possible - including people who use more than one screen.

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