Microsoft is ending support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025. After this date, machines on this version of Windows will no longer receive security updates and will become vulnerable. Running out-of-date, unpatched software, including operating systems, puts your data and the university at increased risk, and UVM may restrict network access for devices running unsupported operating systems. All UVM-owned computers running Windows 10 must be upgraded or replaced by Summer 2025.
How can I tell if my computer is running Windows 10?
Find your Windows edition using 'About your PC'
- Press the key on your keyboard and search for About your PC. Click on the Best Match to open the About page in System Settings.
- You can find the Windows Edition under Windows specifications. If the value is “Microsoft Windows 10 Enterprise” or another Windows 10 edition, you will need to upgrade to Windows 11 by Summer 2025.
Find your Windows edition using 'msinfo32'
- Press the + R keys on your keyboard.
- A Run prompt will appear. Enter the command msinfo32, and then click OK.
- A System Information window will appear. The top item in the list will display the “OS Name.” If the value is “Microsoft Windows 10 Enterprise” or another Windows 10 edition, you will need to upgrade to Windows 11 by Summer 2025.
Upgrading to Windows 11
Windows 11 Installation Assistant
Running the Windows 11 Installation Assistant requires administrator credentials. If you have access to these credentials for your machine, you can enter them when prompted. Otherwise, you will need to contact the Tech Team for assistance.
- Visit Microsoft’s software download center and click Download Now under Windows 11 Installation Assistant.
- After downloading the file, click it in your Downloads to run it.
Plug in to a power sourceThis process can take some time, and you don’t want to lose power during it. If the computer is a laptop, make sure to plug in to a power source before starting these updates.
- When prompted, enter credentials for an account that has administrator rights on your machine and click Yes.
- After reviewing the license terms, click Accept and install.
May require PC Health CheckThe Installation Assistant may tell you it requires Windows PC Health Check to determine the machine’s Windows 11 compatibility. If so, you can click the link in that message to download and run the PC Health Check tool. After doing so, you should be able to click Refresh in Installation Assistant to continue.
- After installing updates, you will need to restart the computer. This will kick off another update with an automatic restart.
The process shouldn’t require more input. Once the automatic processes finish, you can check your Windows edition using the methods above to verify that Windows 11 installed successfully.
How can I get help with upgrading to Windows 11?
If you need any assistance, please email helpline@uvm.edu. Any details you can include will help up determine what the next steps should be.