Windows 11
Have a computer running Windows 10? It is time to upgrade to Windows 11.
Windows 11 is now the current standard operating system for college-owned Windows computers at Wellesley College. Microsoft released Windows 11 on October 5, 2021. Visit Microsoft’s website to learn more about the latest version of the Windows operating system.
Microsoft has announced that it will no longer provide security updates to any Windows 10 computers after October 14, 2025. Because Microsoft will no longer support Windows 10, all faculty and staff office computers will need to upgrade to Windows 11 this year unless otherwise required for software compatibility. All classrooms and labs have already been upgraded.
LTS will be contacting all Windows 10 users this year to schedule a time to complete this Windows 11 upgrade. You can also perform this upgrade yourself by following these instructions. After the Windows 11 upgrade downloads, you will have the option of restarting right away or scheduling the restart for later. Please note that once this restart is initiated, the upgrade can take between 60-120 minutes, and for much of this time you will be unable to use your computer. However, you do not need to be on campus or connected to the VPN for this upgrade.
Some important notes to consider before upgrading to Windows 11:
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If you are running an earlier version of Windows 10 than v.2004, you will need to update to the latest version of Windows 10 via Windows Update before you can install Windows 11. You can check for your current version of Windows by following these instructions from Microsoft.
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Windows 11 requires a TPM 2.0 chip, found in most laptop models released since 2018. It also requires a recent processor model. Microsoft has a comprehensive list of hardware requirements available on their website.
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If you use highly specialized academic software or have installed unique personal software, please verify with the vendor that it will be compatible with Windows 11 before upgrading, or contact LTS for assistance with this.
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Before any upgrade, as always, we strongly recommend that you perform a backup of all your data.
- If you think your computer should meet the Windows 11 requirements, but the PC Health Check app says that your computer isn’t compatible, there is a chance one of the requirements is disabled in the BIOS. If you run into this issue, please reach out to the Helpdesk for assistance.
LTS has actively tested College licensed software on Windows 11 and has found no incompatibilities. If you try to print directly after installing a printer and get a printer status error message, try printing again and the second attempt will go through. Sometimes the computer needs a little time to fully configure the printer on your computer.
Please contact the LTS Computing Help Desk with any questions.