I saved a doomed Windows laptop by embracing Linux - The Verge

My laptop was supposed to be obsolete without Windows 11, but Linux helped me rescue it from the landfill — and you can use it to save your laptop, too.

If your laptop is stranded on Windows 10, the solution isn’t a new laptop. It’s a new operating system.

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Two weeks ago I set aside my M4 MacBook Air and picked up a nine-year-old ThinkPad. It’s one of an estimated 200 to 400 million Windows 10 PCs that don’t meet Microsoft’s requirements for Windows 11. When Microsoft officially ended support for Windows 10 in October, it became “obsolete.” The solution, according to Microsoft, is to get rid of it and buy a computer that can run Windows 11.

But that’s not good enough. This ThinkPad — like millions of other PCs in the same boat — is still perfectly functional. Its hardware is more than capable of everyday tasks. I’ve been using it for web browsing, writing in Google Docs, talking to my Verge colleagues on Slack, and even some gaming on Steam. Not bad for a laptop that’s supposed to be retired.

All you have to do is reject Microsoft’s framing. It’s not safe to leave it on Windows 10, since Microsoft chose to stop offering security updates, and Windows 11 isn’t supported. But who says this laptop needs to run Windows at all? There’s another operating system that runs great on older hardware, is still actively maintained, and can prevent millions of computers from being scrapped before their time.

That’s right: The secret to saving this laptop, and maybe yours too, is Linux.

The spec that blocked my laptop from running Windows 11

This story was written on a Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 5 with 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, and a 7th-gen Intel Core i7-7600U processor. It’s a more powerful version of a laptop The Verge reviewed when it came out in 2017. At the time, it was considered a high-end, ultra-portable workhorse of a laptop, offering upwards of eight hours of battery life in a surprisingly lightweight package. It started at $1,100 when it was released, but my configuration would have cost $2,100. I found this one used on eBay for just $250.

When it arrived, the ThinkPad was in almost new condition without any noticeable wear and tear. It even came with a new charger. It booted into the setup process for a clean installation of Windows 10 without any issues. After using it on Windows 10 for a few days, I had a hard time remembering it was a laptop from nearly a decade ago. It certainly didn’t feel like a device that was ready for the laptop graveyard.

2017 Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 5 (as tested)

- Display: 14-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS, 300 nits

- Processor: Intel Core i7-7600U (2 cores, Intel HD Graphics 620)

- Unified memory: 16GB

- Storage: 512GB SSD

- Webcam: 720p

- Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1

- Ports: 2x USB-C / Thunderbolt 3, 2x USB-A, HDMI 1.4b, microSD card slot, SIM slot, 3.5mm combo audio jack

- Biometrics: Fingerprint reader

- Weight: 2.9 pounds / 1.31kg

- Dimensions: 12.74 x 8.55 x 0.63 inches / 323.5 x 217.1 x 15.95mm

- Battery: 57Wh

- Price: $2,100 (at launch) / $250 (purchased used)

It seems like this laptop should be able to run Windows 11, but it can’t. Microsoft’s base requirements for Windows 11 include at least 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, a TPM 2.0 security chip, UEFI Secure Boot, and a 64-bit processor with at least 2 cores running at 1GHz or faster. My ThinkPad has all of that — except its processor is one generation too old. Windows 11 requires a processor that’s an Intel 8th generation or AMD Ryzen 2000, or newer.

Technically it still works, but continuing to use it on Windows 10 without security updates could be risky. Even if I decided to opt in to Microsoft’s Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU) program, that would only get me one extra year of updates, which ends on October 13th, 2026. So, whether now or later this year, this laptop is losing support from Microsoft.

Sure, you could use a tool like Rufus or FlyOOBE to upgrade to Windows 11 anyway, but that’s still only kicking the can down the road. Bypassing security requirements could cause problems with future updates. But also, who needs Windows?

Making the move to Linux Mint

This article is republished through the USVI News affiliate desk. Reporting, analysis, and viewpoints are those of the original publisher and do not necessarily reflect USVI News.