99. Resident Exclusive- All About Windows 11

In this Resident Exclusives episode, Jason Prado walks you through everything you need to know about upgrading to Windows 11. Whether you're unsure if your device is eligible or you’re wondering what makes Windows 11 different, this episode covers it all.

🧠 What You’ll Learn:

• Why upgrading to Windows 11 matters (Hint: Windows 10 support ends October 14, 2025)
• What’s new in Windows 11 – design, performance, security, and Microsoft Copilot
• How to check if your computer is running Windows 10 or 11
• Steps to determine upgrade eligibility using PC Health Check and Windows Update
• Upgrade options and what to do if your device isn’t compatible
• Tech@Home’s device recommendations and how we can help

🌐 Learn More: www.parasolalliance.com/residents

💬 Feedback or Questions?
We’d love to hear from you! Contact us anytime through our website.

Find us online:
Website
Facebook
Instagram
LinkedIn

Transcript

Welcome to Raising Tech Resident Exclusives. You can find a full video demonstration on our website. W W W dot Parasol Alliance dot com slash residents

Hello there. My name is Jason Prado and I am a Tech@Home technician based in Wisconsin. Today we'll be covering all the things you need to know about Windows 11. This will include the important details of upgrading, checking whether or not you can upgrade, and what options you have if you cannot upgrade.

First and foremost, we'll go over why you would want to upgrade to Windows 11. So why would you wanna upgrade to Windows 11? There are quite a few reasons you [00:01:00] would want to perform this upgrade. First, Windows 11 has a new look and feel to it. It has a more modern and streamlined interface. Next, it has enhanced productivity tools such as snap layouts and integrated artificial intelligence provided by Microsoft's copilot.

It will also provide improved performance and app support. Enhance security features and continued support and updates since it will be the main version of Windows. Last but not least, the main reason to upgrade to Windows 11 is because Windows 10 support will end on October 14th, 2025.

Essentially, this means that Windows 10 will no longer receive security updates or bug fixes, which can make your device more vulnerable over time. Upgrading to Windows 11 will help keep your device more secure with the [00:02:00] continued updates. Now we'll go over some things you should know before upgrading your device.

Before upgrading to Windows 11, it's important to know a few things about the upgrade. First off, the upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11 is free as long as your device is eligible for the upgrade. When upgrading, your files will transfer over so you don't have to worry about losing anything during the process.

Next, the upgrade will take some time to complete, so you should expect at least an hour to a few hours for everything to finish. Also, during the upgrade process, you will not be able to use your computer so plan your upgrade accordingly. Finally due to certain requirements, not all devices are eligible for the Windows 11 upgrade.

So how do you know which version of Windows you are on? We'll go over that [00:03:00] in the next few slides. If your desktop looks very similar to this desktop, then that means your device is most likely on Windows 10. The logo shown is also the logo for the Windows 10 devices. Now let's take a look at the task bar at the bottom of the screen.

Another sign of Windows 10 is usually the location of the start menu. In this case, the start menu is aligned to the left of the task bar. If you look closely at the start menu, you can see the Windows 10 logo on it. Finally, let's take a look at the task bar icons here.

Again, Windows 10 usually has the task bar icons align to the left on the task bar. So if your desktop has all of these, then you most likely have a Windows 10 device. Now what if you're still not sure which version of Windows you're [00:04:00] on? Then we have another method that shows more information about your devices, Windows version.

First, we'll find the search bar and press on it, and like here on the bottom left, next, we will type in About PC in the search bar. Then we'll press on the option that says About your PC. After these steps, a window like this should pop up that says about at the top. Once here we can take a look at the window specifications area, which will tell us exactly which addition and version we have.

In this case, our addition is Windows 10 Pro Insider Preview, and your version is 2004. Now, if your desktop looks similar to this desktop, then your device is most likely on Windows 11. The logo here is the window is the logo for Windows 11. So if you notice [00:05:00] this logo is a little different from its Windows 10 counterpart.

Now let's take a look at the task bar on the desktop here. Aside from the logo, another tell for Windows 11 is the start menu. The start menu is aligned a little bit closer to the middle of the task bar, which also has the Windows 11 logo in it. And finally, the taskbar icons are aligned in the middle instead of being aligned to the left.

So if your desktop looks similar to this, then you most likely have a Windows 11 device, as with the previous desktop. What if you're still not sure which version of Windows you're on? Then we will do the same steps we did with on the Windows 10 desktop. We'll press on the search bar here, type in about PC, and press on about your PC after that.

The about window should pop up with [00:06:00] more information about your device. We'll take a look at the Windows specifications area, which will tell us our addition of Windows and which version we have in this case. Our addition is Windows 11 home, and our version is 22 H two. Now, how do you know if your device is eligible for Windows 11?

We'll get to that in the next few slides. There are two methods to check whether your device is eligible for the Windows 11 upgrade. The first method is to use the PC Health Check app on your device. You can find this app by going to your search bar and typing PC Health Check. Um, once you find that, press on the app and you should get a window that pops up that looks like this saying PC Health at a glance.

If you notice that you do not have the app on your device, then you can [00:07:00] download it using this link, it should automatically, this link should automatically download to your downloads folder, where you can then finish installing the app. So once you have the app, you can open, uh, the app, and you can go to this area here and press check now to see if your device can upgrade to Windows 11 after pressing the Check Now button.

You should get a message saying whether or not you can upgrade. So these are the two different messages that will pop up telling you if you can upgrade to Windows 11. The first pop up here says this PC meets Windows 11 requirements, which means that the, this device can upgrade to Windows 11. Second popup says this PC doesn't currently meet Windows 11 system requirements, which unfortunately means that this device cannot upgrade to Windows 11.

Method two is using the [00:08:00] update settings that is built in Windows. To get there, you will type in "check for updates" and the search bar and press on "check for updates" to open the Windows update window. From there, we'll press on "check hardware requirements" to determine whether or not your device is eligible for Windows 11.

After pressing it, you should get a message saying whether or not you can upgrade. Again. There are two different messages that will pop up telling you if you can upgrade to Windows L 11. The first popup here says that Windows 11 is ready to download and install, which means that this device can upgrade to Windows 11.

The second popup says this PC doesn't currently meet the requirements for Windows 11, which unfortunately means that this device cannot upgrade to Windows 11. Now, if your device is eligible, [00:09:00] we'll go over how you can upgrade to Windows 11. So to upgrade to Windows 11, we will go through the same process of opening the Windows.

Update settings. You'll press on your search bar, type in "check for updates", then press on the "check for updates" app. Once done the Windows update window should pop up now to begin to upgrade. You can press on "download and install".

As I mentioned previously, this upgrade will take some time to complete, so please plan accordingly. So what if your device is not compatible or eligible for the Windows 11 upgrade? If your device is not compatible with Windows 11, you still have some options. First off, you can still use your Windows 10 device up until October 14th, 2025.

After that date, Windows 10 will no [00:10:00] longer receive security updates and software updates. This does not mean that your device will no longer be usable. Your device will still work even after October 14th. However, over time, your device will become less secure and will lose compatibility with software and apps.

So consider this a disclaimer. If you plan on using your Windows 10 device after October 14th, your other option is to purchase a Windows 11 compatible device or another device. We have two Tech at home recommendations if you plan on purchasing a Windows 11 device or another device for your needs. The first recommendation is an entry level, Windows 11, laptop or desktop.

The prices vary, but you can usually find them in the range of $400 or higher, depending on your needs. The second recommendation is a [00:11:00] Chromebook. These are pretty useful if you're mainly trying to get your emails or just browse the internet. If you have any questions regarding these recommendations, you can always reach out to your tech at home technician.

They'll be happy to assist you. So just a quick summary of what we went over during this presentation. Windows 10 support ends on October 14th, 2025. Windows 11 will provide continued support and updates for your device. Most modern devices can support Windows 11, and if your device does not support Windows 11, you have a few options that I mentioned earlier.

Well, that concludes this presentation. I hope you are able to learn a thing or two about Windows 11 and how you can prepare your device for this update. Thank you for watching. Have a good [00:12:00] day.

Thanks for tuning in! We hope you found this demo helpful and full of takeaways. This video was brought to you by the Tech at Home team at Parasol Alliance. Want to learn more? Visit our website and get in touch—we’d love to hear from you!