Microsoft to Launch Windows 11 on October 5th
We finally have an official date when Microsoft will start rolling out Windows 11 to users, and it starts on October 5th.
Microsoft today announced that Windows 11 become available on October 5th of this year. The free upgrade will begin rolling out to eligible PCs and be preinstalled on new PCs as they become available on the market.
Windows 11 Launches October 5th, 2021
In the announcement, the company notes, “Today, we are thrilled to announce Windows 11 will start to become available on October 5, 2021. On this day, the free upgrade to Windows 11 will begin rolling out to eligible Windows 10 PCs, and PCs that come pre-loaded with Windows 11 will start to become available for purchase.”
Microsoft exec, Aaron Woodman continues, “The free upgrade to Windows 11 starts on October 5 and will be phased and measured with a focus on quality. Following the tremendous learnings from Windows 10, we want to make sure we’re providing you with the best possible experience. That means new eligible devices will be offered the upgrade first. The upgrade will then roll out over time to in-market devices based on intelligence models that consider hardware eligibility, reliability metrics, age of device and other factors that impact the upgrade experience.”
And he notes that all eligible PCs will have been offered the free upgrade by mid-2022. Microsoft also says that Amazon-powered Android app support (part of the redesigned Microsoft Store app) won’t be available on the initial launch.
However, there are plenty of other new features to look forward to in the new version of Windows. Including a fresh coat of paint to the UI, a new Start menu, Taskbar, Snap Layouts for Windows management, new Widgets feature Microsoft Teams Chat, new Virtual Desktops, and a lot more.
Windows 11 Minimum System Requirements
Remember that the following are Microsoft’s official “Minimum System Requirements” to run Windows 11 on a PC.
- A modern 1Ghz 64-bit dual-core processor
- 4GB RAM
- 64GB drive
- 9-inch display
- 1366×768 resolution UEFI Secure Boot & TPM 2.0 compatible
- DirectX 12 compatible graphics / WWDM 2.x
- Microsoft is not releasing a 32-bit version of the OS. But 32-bit apps will still work on Windows 11.
Important Note: You can technically create install media (on a flash drive or even a DVD) and install Windows 11 on Unsupported Hardware. But there is a risk with doing this. The company said it would allow the technical workaround to get Windows 11 on older devices, but they probably won’t receive any Windows Updates. That means you won’t get driver or security updates. This will make that PC a lot more vulnerable.
Can My PC Run Windows 11?
The main thing to note is your PC should have an 8th Gen Intel Processor or Newer or a modern AMD processor. You can view supported Windows 11 processors here. And your CPU needs to have Trusted Platform Module (TPM 2.0). Even some newer CPUs don’t have that.
To check if your computer has it, read how to check if your PC has TPM 2.0 support.
Other Tools to Check Your if Your PC Can Run Windows 11
Microsoft has also released an updated and much better PC Health Check app that will scan your PC to see if it’s compatible with Windows 11. If it isn’t, it will show you what your system is lacking.
If Microsoft’s app doesn’t give you the info you need, check out WhyNotWin11, a free download from Github.
Test Windows 11 Now
If you can’t wait until the official release date, you can download and install Windows 11 and install it on a virtual machine or secondary computer. Note that you need to be part of the Windows Insider Program. But Microsoft has made Windows 11 ISOs available so you can do a clean install.
For more on the new OS, make sure to check out our articles on how to do a clean install of Windows 11. Or, if you are just getting started, take a look at the new way to open Task Manager.
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