Is Windows 10 still supported?

Mainstream free support ended on 14 October 2025. The system keeps working, but it no longer receives security updates by default. Microsoft offers a paid Extended Security Updates option for consumers as a bridge rather than a long-term answer.

Will upgrading to Windows 11 make my PC faster?

Not meaningfully on its own. Upgrade for security support, not for speed. Whatever is making the machine slow — memory pressure, a full or failing drive, heat — will follow it across.

How do I speed up Windows 10 on an old laptop?

Trim startup programs, release what browser tabs are holding, get the drive back above 15% free, and turn off visual effects. If it still has a mechanical hard drive, an SSD does more than all of those combined.

What if my PC cannot run Windows 11?

You have three real options: pay for extended security updates as a bridge, replace the machine, or move to an operating system that still supports the hardware. Running an unsupported system online indefinitely is the one option worth avoiding.

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August 28, 2026 · 6 min read

How to speed up Windows 10 (and what its end of support means)

Windows 10 stopped receiving free security updates in October 2025. Here is how to make a machine still running it faster, and how to decide what happens next.

Windows 10 reached end of support on 14 October 2025. The machine still starts, everything still runs, and nothing visibly changed — which is exactly why it is worth saying plainly: it no longer receives security updates by default.

That does not mean you need to replace anything today. It does mean the speed question and the what-next question are worth answering together.

Making Windows 10 faster

Startup programs

Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) → Startup, sorted by impact. Everything enabled here holds memory from login until shutdown. Disable what you recognise and do not need daily; leave anything from Microsoft or your hardware vendor that you cannot identify.

Browser memory

On the older hardware that tends to still be running Windows 10, this is usually the largest single consumer. A browser open for days holds memory for every tab in it, and releasing the idle ones returns that memory without closing anything — how it works.

Visual effects

Search for “adjust the appearance and performance of Windows” and choose Adjust for best performance, or turn off individual animations. On integrated graphics this is genuinely noticeable; on newer hardware it is not.

Power plan

Control Panel → Power Options. On a desktop or a laptop that lives plugged in, High performance removes clock speed caps that exist to protect battery life you are not using.

Disk space and health

Settings → System → Storage, and turn on Storage Sense. Aim for at least 15% free. If the machine has a mechanical hard drive, replacing it with an SSD remains the largest improvement available to it — and is worth doing even on a machine you plan to retire, because the drive can move to whatever replaces it.

Search indexing

On older machines, indexing can be a real background cost. Narrowing indexed locations to the folders you actually search, rather than the whole drive, is a fair trade on hardware that is struggling.

Then decide what happens next

None of the above changes the support position, so it is worth picking an option deliberately rather than by default.

Upgrade to Windows 11 if the hardware qualifies. Do it for the security updates — it will not make the machine faster, and any existing slowness follows it across.
Take the paid extended updates as a bridge if the hardware does not qualify and you are not ready to replace it. Treat it as time bought, not as a destination.
Move to a lighter operating system. For a machine used mostly for web, mail and documents, this keeps otherwise serviceable hardware in use and supported.
Replace it. Reasonable if the drive is also failing, which on a machine of this vintage is worth checking before spending anything on it.

Whichever you choose, do the free work first. A Windows 10 machine with an SSD, a short startup list and a browser that is not holding three gigabytes is a perfectly capable computer, and knowing that changes what you should spend.

If it is slow in a way none of this addresses, identifying which resource is short takes two minutes and prevents buying the wrong upgrade.

Common questions

Is Windows 10 still supported?: Mainstream free support ended on 14 October 2025. The system keeps working, but it no longer receives security updates by default. Microsoft offers a paid Extended Security Updates option for consumers as a bridge rather than a long-term answer.
Will upgrading to Windows 11 make my PC faster?: Not meaningfully on its own. Upgrade for security support, not for speed. Whatever is making the machine slow — memory pressure, a full or failing drive, heat — will follow it across.
How do I speed up Windows 10 on an old laptop?: Trim startup programs, release what browser tabs are holding, get the drive back above 15% free, and turn off visual effects. If it still has a mechanical hard drive, an SSD does more than all of those combined.
What if my PC cannot run Windows 11?: You have three real options: pay for extended security updates as a bridge, replace the machine, or move to an operating system that still supports the hardware. Running an unsupported system online indefinitely is the one option worth avoiding.