Posted: 6/10/2026 1:28:04 PM EDT
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I have a friend who has an old Dell desktop pc and she was wondering if it could be upgraded to windows 11. She just wants to use it for when her granddaughter visits to have something to play around with on line, etc. I know it's light on RAM but being a desktop I'm guessing memory could be added if the appropriate chips aren't obsolete and can no longer be purchased? She took it to a local computer repair shop and was told it could be upgraded to windows 10 but not windows 11 and I was wondering why 10 but not 11? No important data on the HD so it can be wiped clean. Thanks. The particulars are: The main board is Dell OXR1GT Intel core i3 3220 OS is Windows 8 6.0 GB RAM WD 1TB HD |
Best Regards,
TonyF
Training Forum Moderator
"No such thing as tough. There's trained and untrained. Which one are you?" (Denzel Washington -- Man on Fire)
TonyF
Training Forum Moderator
"No such thing as tough. There's trained and untrained. Which one are you?" (Denzel Washington -- Man on Fire)
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Most old hardware can be upgraded to Win10 however it is end of life and only has less than a year of extended support left. Win11 has different hardware requirements than Win10 and under and if the CPU doesn't meet those, no upgrade for you. trying update RAM, CPU etc on it wont be cost effective either. That being said, that PC is garbage and not worth upgrading, recycle it. Assuming she is just surfing the web and checking email, youtube, etc. I'd tell her to buy a low cost laptop like an Acer Aspire 5 (off Amazon), a Chromebook or an Android tablet with a folding case and bluetooth mouse and keyboard. |
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That 3rd Gen i3 won't meet W11 requirements. If she really needs to update it and wants to keep the machine just drop Linux mint, Zorin or whatever your favorite distro is on it. As long as no specific windows software is required (that won't run with wine or proton) it'll be fine. |
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Windows 10 IoT LTSC sounds like the ticket. Microsoft will support this version until January 13, 2032. |
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Originally Posted By KitBuilder: Windows 10 IoT LTSC sounds like the ticket. Microsoft will support this version until January 13, 2032. ??? |
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Install Zorin OS on it. It’s a Linux distribution that’s focused on Windows users who want a better OS that will look very much like Windows and run on just about any hardware. If my parents, who are in their mid 70s, can use Zorin in place of Windows, anyone can. |
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Originally Posted By Deerhurst: That 3rd Gen i3 won't meet W11 requirements. If she really needs to update it and wants to keep the machine just drop Linux mint, Zorin or whatever your favorite distro is on it. As long as no specific windows software is required (that won't run with wine or proton) it'll be fine. ^this^ I second installing Ubuntu or Mint. That way you can run an up to date OS without having to hacked Win 10 in order to get updates. I own an i3 3220 and I had to go into power shell to make changes to keep getting updates. |
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Originally Posted By Primecube: ??? Originally Posted By Primecube: Originally Posted By KitBuilder: Windows 10 IoT LTSC sounds like the ticket. Microsoft will support this version until January 13, 2032. ??? The best Windows ever. All my computers run it. If you want to use Win 11 use Rufus to make your install media. It will delete all the hardware requirements and the need for a Microsoft account. |
But he sure found out the hard way
That dreams don't always come true
That dreams don't always come true
 Tiny 11 Is A Super Fast Stripped Down Version Of Windows 11, Needs On Only 2GB Ram! |
The mouse has it’s neck broken in the mouse trap because it doesn’t understand why the cheese is free.
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Originally Posted By KitBuilder: Windows 10 IoT LTSC sounds like the ticket. Microsoft will support this version until January 13, 2032. https://windowsforum.com/threads/the-ultimate-guide-to-windows-10-ltsc-stay-supported-stable-until-2032.361592/ My home workstation runs Windows 10 LTSC. My Framework laptop runs Windows 11 LTSC. Look up some of the other posts in this forum for more details. |
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Originally Posted By Moondog: ^this^ I second installing Ubuntu or Mint. That way you can run an up to date OS without having to hacked Win 10 in order to get updates. I own an i3 3220 and I had to go into power shell to make changes to keep getting updates. Originally Posted By Moondog: Originally Posted By Deerhurst: That 3rd Gen i3 won't meet W11 requirements. If she really needs to update it and wants to keep the machine just drop Linux mint, Zorin or whatever your favorite distro is on it. As long as no specific windows software is required (that won't run with wine or proton) it'll be fine. ^this^ I second installing Ubuntu or Mint. That way you can run an up to date OS without having to hacked Win 10 in order to get updates. I own an i3 3220 and I had to go into power shell to make changes to keep getting updates. i 3rd suggest something other than microsoft. it will run alot better |
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Best option would be what others have suggested and throw Linux on it, if you weren't updating the hardware. The CPU is an i3, bottom tier. 6GB RAM would be painful. Mechanical HDD would be more painful. The CPU is probably upgradeable. I've done that with older hardware, desktop and laptops. Look up what Dell says is the highest end CPU that is supported, find that on eBay (or as close to it), used, and install it. Will need new heatsink compound. Win 11 should be at least 8GB RAM, 16 is better. If DDR3, it's fairly cheap on eBay. DDR4 is more expensive. Throw a 250GB (or so) SSD in it. Doesn't have to be a top tier one, anything is better than a spinny drive. Or just find a cheap refurb desktop off of Amazon and roll with it. I've upgraded CPU/RAM/SSD on several older computers using DDR3, and I'm actually on one right now. It's an older HP desktop, threw a 1TB SSD in it (back when they were cheap), 16GB of DDR3 RAM, and a Core i7 CPU. It's fine for anything that's not gaming or CAD. Shitposting works fine. |
Award: 24/365 Most likely to be an appendix.
"Dealing with Congress is like trying to have an adult conversation about the credit card with your alcoholic bi-polar Ukranian import wife."
"Dealing with Congress is like trying to have an adult conversation about the credit card with your alcoholic bi-polar Ukranian import wife."
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Originally Posted By Moondog: ^this^ I second installing Ubuntu or Mint. That way you can run an up to date OS without having to hacked Win 10 in order to get updates. I own an i3 3220 and I had to go into power shell to make changes to keep getting updates. 
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Award: 24/365 Most likely to be an appendix.
"Dealing with Congress is like trying to have an adult conversation about the credit card with your alcoholic bi-polar Ukranian import wife."
"Dealing with Congress is like trying to have an adult conversation about the credit card with your alcoholic bi-polar Ukranian import wife."
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Originally Posted By Dopple: Got the details on the PS commands to run to keep updating Win 10? I'd rather do a clean install instead of an in-place installation, but this should help you get an in-place upgrade installation of Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021. https://github.com/TheMMC/In-Place_Upgrade_Helper EDIT: This guy demonstrates how to do an in-place installation/upgrade with just a simple registry edit (plus unplugging internet). I haven't tried this method.  Using Windows 10 Until 2032! - LTSC Installation & Demo |
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Originally Posted By KitBuilder: @Dopple I'd rather do a clean install instead of an in-place installation, but this should help you get an in-place upgrade installation of Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021. https://github.com/TheMMC/In-Place_Upgrade_Helper
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Award: 24/365 Most likely to be an appendix.
"Dealing with Congress is like trying to have an adult conversation about the credit card with your alcoholic bi-polar Ukranian import wife."
"Dealing with Congress is like trying to have an adult conversation about the credit card with your alcoholic bi-polar Ukranian import wife."
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Originally Posted By Dopple: Got the details on the PS commands to run to keep updating Win 10? https://www.ar15.com/forums/general/Want-another-year-of-support-patches-for-your-Windows-10-machine-/124-2812413/ |