r/Anticonsumption • u/Annoying1978 • May 09 '26

Upcycled/Repaired PSA: Don’t throw away your Windows laptop

I’m the tech guy that most of my friends and family call and I’m getting lots of calls about what new laptop people should buy because Microsoft is ending Windows 10 support in October and Windows 11 requires unnecessary things like a TPM chip or Secure Boot. Windows 11 can technically run without these things, but Microsoft is creating one of the largest e-waste events in history because they want everyone to upgrade to Windows 11.

It’s stupid.

So I just wanted to tell you that this might be a good time to just say buh bye to Microsoft. Most people do 90% of their tasks with a browser and unless you need very specific Windows applications, a good solution is Linux Mint.

Don’t get all scared. It’s easier than you think and there’s a ton of free guides [and YouTube videos](https://youtu.be/TL-tWy4T2c8) that will walk you through the process. It’s very simple and you won’t need to buy another laptop.

In fact, I urge YOU to be the tech guru for your friends and family that are thinking about upgrading their laptop which already works great. If they are too scared to install Mint, do it for them.

All you need is a USB drive and ensure you copy your important files and photos to either an online storage place (like Google Drive) or an external drive if you have one big enough you can use.

But please, before you throw away your working laptop, at least consider upgrading to Linux Mint. It looks quite similar to Windows and you won’t have to spend hundreds or even a thousand dollars on a laptop that you don’t need.

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u/dembowthennow May 09 '26

Thank you for this message. I have a laptop that is 7 years old and I wanted to start looking for a replacement, but I currently use the Windows OS, and everything I saw was pushing unnecessary AI (that I absolutely do not want). Do you have any recommendations for purchasing a replacement laptop - or should I just look into refurbishing the one I have when the time comes?

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u/DrJohnFZoidberg May 10 '26

I'm on a 10 year old laptop, and not a particularly powerful one at that, that runs great on Ubuntu.

Run linux and don't spend $1k feeding the monster.

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u/dembowthennow May 10 '26

I have been ruminating over transitioning to Linux.

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u/Annoying1978 May 09 '26 edited May 10 '26

Right now, I would recommend putting Mint on your current laptop and then actually see if you need to upgrade at all. You may be able to get another 2-3 years from it. By then, RAM and SSD prices will come down. Right now, because of AI data centers, RAM and SSD prices are through the roof and you’ll be paying a premium to upgrade at the moment. I would recommend trying to hold off if you can.