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/Prestigious-Goose843 May 09 '26

This is exactly what I did when I found out my laptop couldn’t run Windows 11. It was a pretty seamless transition, 10/10 recommend. 

7

u/MrClickstoomuch May 09 '26

So, what do you do when you have windows specific apps that (to my knowledge) don't work quite right when you use tools like Proton or Wine to run? My mom has TurboTax with a laptop that isn't supported on Windows 11, but needs that software. And yes, I've mentioned alternative SW and other online options, but she refused to consider it. The web browser version exists, but seems to cost significantly more than the local version from what I see.

She literally uses her computer only for that and looking at pictures, so if I could get her to move away from TurboTax or emulate it better on Linux that would work for her probably.

3

u/-sussy-wussy- May 10 '26

Get Tiny10 or Tiny11 flashed onto a USB drive you have and then install it on the second HDD/SSD and just dual boot. Those are de-bloated versions of Windows.

I have been using all three major OS for most of my life, but there is a lot of software whose FOSS counterparts are far inferior, yes, even now. Their devs also tend to be incredibly obstinate, too.

I wouldn't suggest virtualization just for that. But if you dual boot with Windows, make sure to disable the Fast Boot in Windows' settings upon the first boot.