Should We All Give In & Upgrade To Windows 11? Why I Prefer It To Windows 10

With the ‘end of support’ period for Windows 10 approaching rapidly (Microsoft have said this will happen in October 2025), an increasing number of people are asking whether they should upgrade to Windows 11.

I actually upgraded to Windows 11 just over a year ago, and I’ve been really happy with it. Yes there ARE some annoyances (like the start menu, task bar and right click menu) but in general I actually quite like Windows 11.

I think I prefer it to Windows 10 overall, since it feels better positioned for the future.

In this video I discuss a few things that I like and dislike about Windows 11, and also discuss what you need to know if you do plan on upgrading.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VcuZGdAw_E&ab_channel=TechOverwrite

If you prefer text over video, please read on for the guide/transcript version of this video.

Video Transcript And Guide

Intro

Hey everyone, when I built my current computer 2 years ago, I wasn’t sure whether to go with Windows 11 or not, because it all seemed a bit “too new” and also I do lots of video editing and I’d heard that some of Adobe’s software was a bit buggy on Windows 11. So I stuck with Windows 10. But a year ago I finally gave in and upgraded to Windows 11 and I’ve had no MAJOR issues. If you’re still on Windows 10 and getting CONSTANTLY nagged to upgrade to Windows 11, should you do it? Or should you wait until next year when Microsoft officially cuts off Windows 10 support?

Well in this video I’ll touch on a few things that I like and dislike about Windows 11, including the REALLY ANNOYING start menu. I’ll then cover what you’ll probably need to “relearn” if you DO upgrade to WIndows 11, before discussing users who definitely should NOT upgrade to Windows 11.

What I Like About Windows 11

So the first thing that I really like about Windows 11 is how it’s so pretty. It just looks and feels quite nice and modern.

Now I’m NOT one of these people who gets distracted by bling – I have zero Apple products in my house for example – but Windows 11 feels quite modern and fresh. I enjoy using it. However it’s also a bit badly done at times because you’ll be using your computer and be on the Windows 11 interface, then you’ll click something and en d up on the old style look and feel. It’s a bit jarring and disconcerting, and it almost feels like Microsoft just gave up halfway through. In general though, I do like it.

It’s More Touch Friendly

This sorta ties into my second point, which is that Windows 11 is much more touch friendly than Windows 10. That’s why Microsoft actually redesigned the UI (user interface) after all. Now you might be thinking “so what, I have a keyboard and a mouse, that’s all I’ll ever need” but so many devices are touch friendly nowadays that I think soon enough our desktop monitors will be touchscreen too – in-fact my next monitor will be a touch-enabled one.

We’ve already seen this trend with Chromebooks and various touch screen laptops, and many schools use touch screens in classrooms to teach children too. So I personally think that touch screens will be the future, and I like that Windows 11 supports this more than Windows 10.

Reliable And Stable

The third thing I like about Windows 11 is that it just works. It’s been really stable for me despite me being a “power user”. Performance when video editing and gaming has been fine; I don’t experience any program crashes nor have I had any Blue Screens Of Death:

Granted Windows 10 was ALSO super reliable for me too, but some people have delayed upgrading to Windows 11 due to reliability concerns and in my experience, such fears are just not really warranted.

CoPilot Integration

There’s actually quite a lot that I like about Windows 11, but I don’t want to waffle on too much here, so the final thing I’m going to discuss is that I like that Windows 11 integrates the AI System – CoPilot – fairly closely into the operating system. I know that “AI” can seem like an overblown fad BUT in many cases AI can be really useful, especially in office environments, so I like that Windows are putting this front and centre with a CoPilot icon – and bringing out a new line of keyboards with a specific AI key:

“AI” is a whole other topic, but I think that this will be VERY important in the future so I like that it’s clearly integrated into Windows 11.

Windows 11 Annoyances

With all that said, what do I HATE about Windows 11? Well, nothing – hate is a strong word. Sorry. But here’s three things I dislike about it. Firstly, I dislike how inflexible the taskbar is – y’know the thing that runs across the bottom of the screen. In previous versions of Windows you could easily make it bigger or smaller, or move it to the left, right or top of your screen. But Windows 11 just doesn’t allow this.

LOTS of users have asked how they can modify the taskbar, and just been told that Windows 11 doesn’t support this any more, which sucks. Now you CAN actually change this by installing third party software called Explorer Patcher, but you shouldn’t really have to in my opinion.

Right Click Menu Problems

My second annoyance was the right click menu… at least at first. When I first tried Windows 11, many of my most used programs like Notepad++ and 7Zip weren’t appearing in the right click menu.

I instead had to click “Show more options” to find these other programs. Luckily there’s some easy ways of “fixing” the new Windows 11 menu but I discuss them in detail in another video so I won’t repeat myself here. The short of it, though, is that I now sort of like the Windows 11 right click menu, but it DOES depend on what programs you have installed and whether they have been updated to be “Windows 11 compatible”.

Start Menu FTL

The THIRD thing I dislike about Windows 11 is that the “start menu” and search area is all a bit buggy. Sometimes it’s slow to work for me after booting up. It also has the uncanny habit of CONSTANTLY searching the web, even when I’m clearly looking for an installed program. And when it searches the web, it doesn’t use your default browser like Chrome or Firefox. Nooo. It opens Edge. It THEN nags you to set Edge as your default browser. Which is annoying. It’s also fairly distracting, with it showing me trending searches and suggesting random games to me, for some reason. Now you CAN adjust this a bit by right clicking and going to “Start settings”, but this is one area that I continue to dislike compared to Windows 10. I think that Microsoft is trying to be “touch friendly” and make this area a central “hub” that connects you to other parts of the OS and the internet, but the “start menu” still often feels a bit clunky.

Windows 11 Upgrade Process

With all that said though, if you DO like the sound of Windows 11, what do you need to know before upgrading? Well firstly the process itself can take anywhere from 10 minutes to 3 hours – it all depends on how fast your computer is and also your  internet connection . So make sure that you allow enough time for this, but certainly the upgrade itself is usually flawless and works really well. All your files and apps should be untouched. It kinda seems like I’m being sarcastic but I’m not. I’ve spoken to many people who have upgraded without a hitch, which is good to know.

Once you’re in Windows 11, you should find it fairly similar to Windows 10 to be honest, apart from the fact that they’ve redesigned the user interface. Make sure that you get acquainted with the new start menu and also the right click menu. If you find that something’s “missing”, like you can’t see your favorite app in the right click menu, then you SHOULD hopefully be able to tweak one of the many settings that Windows 11 has. But if you really dislike the new interface, programs like WinaeroTweaker and Explorer Patcher will allow you to tweak things further – or simply restore the old Windows 10 look and feel.

But THIS is really the only area that could potentially be an issue for you after upgrading from Windows 10 (assuming that you have fairly modern computers and hardware). People either seem to love or hate the new Windows 11 design.

Who Should NOT Upgrade To Windows 11

Before wrapping up, there’s some people who should NOT upgrade to Windows 11 yet. Firstly Windows 11 doesn’t work on all computers – especially ones that don’t have something called a “TPM module” inside them. There ARE ways around this restriction actually, but in general if your PC is a decade old, you might not be able to upgrade to Windows 11.

Secondly not all programs will work on Windows 11, especially older programs that haven’t received recent updates. Some of these will just lead to minor annoyances, like the fact that 7Zip doesn’t appear in the new right click menu.

But if you’re running quite an old bit of software, you might find that some features will just not work in Windows 11 – like this user discovered on their ancient Epson support software:

However it’s not just old programs that might not work – any time that you plug a device into your computer like a mouse, some headphones, or a printer, Windows will need to install “drivers” to make that device work with your PC. If you have a fairly old printer, for example, the drivers just might not exist for Windows 11 – as the same user found out with their 2009 era Canon printer. Whoops! So if you have a “peripheral” – a plugged in device – that is fairly old, it MIGHT NOT work on Windows 11.

And that’s the key point. If your computer, programs and peripherals are all from 7 or 8 years ago max, they should work fine – because they’ll all naturally have Windows 10 support baked in, and therefore everything should work well with Windows 11 too. Both operating systems are actually quite similar. But anything older than 8 to 10 years ago might be a struggle for Windows 11. Your only options then are either to NOT upgrade, or look for an alternative program, printer, or whatever.

Final Points

If you decide not to upgrade, though, just be aware that Microsoft have said that they intend to stop supporting Windows 10 in October 2025. This means that any new security flaws targeting Windows 10 could potentially affect your PC after that date, since Microsoft said that they won’t push fixes for those hacks and security issues any more. They might extend this deadline, but that’s what they’re saying right now so it’s worth bearing that in mind.

And that wraps up today’s video. Are you planning on giving in and upgrading to Windows 11? Or maybe you’ve already upgraded? Please let me know down in the comments. I hope you enjoyed this video. If you did, please click the thumbs up button – this tells the YouTube algorithm that more people should see this video. Please also subscribe to my channel if you haven’t already and thanks for watching!