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Comment by kwanbix | Hacker News Reader

Windows 10 IoT is supported till 2034.

Despite the name, this is a full fledge Windows Desktop. The full name is Windows 10 IOT ENTERPRISE LTSC 2021. It is the version I run on my PC.

99% of the PCs that can run Windows 10, can run Windows 11. The only problem is TPM, but if you burn your ISO to USB using Rufus, it has an option to disable TPM requirement.

Or you can also install Linux.

I don't see the problem here. Of course, it would be best if TPM was not an official (but skippable) requirement on Windows 11.

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Windows 10 iot is not windows 10. I don’t think it even has a desktop. It’s designed for embedded not a personal computer. It’s designed for machines that run one program only.

You can’t always “install windows 11 easily” the system requirements for 11 shut out a lot of older machines arbitrarily. Windows thinks my relatively new machine, built in 2020 with modern hardware, “doesn’t meet the system requirements” because it “doesn’t have a tpm” (it does). I think a bios change fixes it? But for now it keeps me on 10 and that’s fine with me.

Using Linux is an option, but not an easy one for many users.

Windows 10 IOT Core isn't. Windows 10 IOT Enterprise is though[0]. Good luck getting a legit license for it however.

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_IoT#Enterprise

> Good luck getting a legit license for it however.

It’s possible (with much effort) to get a legit licence for Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC.

But just get an evaluation copy, promote it to volume and KMS activate it and save yourself the hassle.

MSDN is enough to get several.

MSDN-acquired licenses can't be used in production. Probably doesn't matter much for home usage, but I wouldn't use an MSDN license on anything I use for work.

I use them all the time for lab work. What they're meant for.

If you really need LTSC for prod they are available too as such :)

No problem whatsoever.

The only requirement on Windows 11 is TPM. You just burn your ISO to USB using Rufus, and it disables the check.

You need specific hardware for Win 11. A motherboard for a Ryzen 7 I bought in only 2017 doesn't qualify.

My 2019 MBP does not support Windows 11 in Boot Camp.

The only requirement is TPM. If you burn the ISO to USB using Rufus, it disables the requirement and it works just fine.

And a supported CPU. Zen 1 is not officially supported, in spite of how new it was when 11 was released.

But yes, Rufus removes the stupid requirements.

Windows iot is designed to work on small devices such as the Raspberry Pi, and it is not a desktop operating system. You can run scripts on it, do things directly with the hardware, and that's about it.

The point is that a lot of perfectly good hardware out there that can run Windows 10 cannot run Windows 11 "easily" or at all. My laptop is one such a device. Even if it would let me, the dual core cpu would be unbearable under that environment.

Installing Linux is not a problem for people interested in using Linux. Younger people are more exposed to Linux because of devices like Raspberry Pi (the one place where "Linux on the Desktop" is absolutely a thing!). But there are a lot of folks who have never used Linux, and probably never will. And their systems will be more landfill fodder.

I run windows 10 iot on my machine. Is not for raspberry pi, at least not the x64 version. Of course it is a desktop operating system.

I doubt there is a PC that can run windows 10 that cannot run windows 11.

You're confusing the IoT core one that doesn't have a desktop. The LTSC IoT has a desktop and works fine.

You are right. Thanks for the correction. I don't use either, although I have seen the Core install on someone else's Raspberry Pi.

Linux doesn't solve the problem of TPM support, and in fact it kind of illustrates exactly the problem. There are a lot of services that you cannot use unless your device supports DRM with a certain set of properties. These services are the main reason that Linux is basically unusable as your only device.

So Microsoft is basically making the decision that you need a new device if you want to use apps that have a certain security level, and rather than just disabling those apps they've elected to disable the entire operating system.

Can you give an example of any current services that you can't use without TPM? I haven't run into any (yet!)

Not sure if TPM related but Spotify doesn't even let me log in in Firefox on FreeBSD.

The Peacock streaming service will not run at all on Linux and my understanding is that this is because it requires the OS provide a certain level of DRM. A main goal of mandating a certain TPM level to run Windows is clearly so that they can provide TPM-backed DRM APIs that are enforced at the OS level and can't be worked around in software.

I'm not sure if anything actually requires TPM per se yet because they still need to support Windows 10 but it's clearly the eventual goal.

How is Windows 10 iot relevant?

And no, in many cases you can't install windows 11.

You won't find the problem if you don't want to.

Windows 10 IoT ENTERPRISE LTSC 2021 is a full Windows 10 version with support till 2034.

The only requirement that I know of for Windows 11 is TPM. Burning the ISO to USB using Rufus removes this requirement.

Which can't be bought by individuals. And even then, buy the same OS again so that it can run on the same hardware?

And although I personally am a fan of LTSC it isn't what your typical user would expect.

Besides, the problem isn't primarily about the computer geek that like to fiddle with the computer. But the single parent on a tight budget and no interest in computers. Your grandparents etc.

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