Toni Dimaano Tech 01.24.2023 05:Jan AM EST

Microsoft Ends Windows 10 Download Offers Beginning February

Microsoft will stop selling downloads on January 31 in an effort to wind down support for Windows 10 Home and Pro.

However, until it is permanently retired in October 2025, it will continue to provide security updates for Windows 10, Engadget notes.

Microsoft Winds Down On Windows 10 Sales

The January 31 sales deadline was just added to Microsoft's Windows 10 product sites, but it is unclear how the software giant will handle related downloads and licensing keys offered by merchants like Amazon.

"Customers have until January 31, 2023 to purchase Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro from this site," a Microsoft spokesperson says.

Additionally, the spokesperson for the tech giant also urged users to download Windows 11 in place of the widely used Windows 11 instead.

Although Windows 11 has now taken its place, Windows 10 is still one of the top PC operating systems and is present on close to 70% of all Windows machines worldwide.

The Windows 10 product website has been updated to give users the most recent details on Windows 10 purchase options, according to Windows marketing director Amy Bartlow.

While Microsoft is reducing its own Windows 10 sales to customers, it is possible that Windows 10 license keys and even laptops and PCs with the OS preinstalled will still be available from third parties.

It can be remembered that Windows 10 will be retired exactly 10 years after its initial release, which was in 2015.

Just before the release of Windows 11, the company disclosed the end date in June 2021 as part of its "modern lifecycle policy."

The Verge notes that the operating system came after Windows 8, which received harsh criticism for abandoning the customary Start menu and button in favor of an entirely touch-based user interface.

Additionally, Windows 10 was the first version of Windows from Microsoft to be continuously updated, run as a service, and even referred to as "the last version of Windows" at one time.

Windows 10 Is Still Receiving Updates From Microsoft

Microsoft's Principal Program Manager Garrett Duchesne recently detailed the most current advancements the business has made in the evaluation of audio and display drivers for Windows 10 and 11.

The new driver assessment approach will examine Software Digital Rights Management (SWDRM) catalog refresh events.

This will aid in resolving related driver timeout problems during the viewing of software-based DRM material on Netflix and other akin applications.

In addition, the company is working to improve how it handles Audio Processing Object (APO; software-based DSP) crashes since the current approach frequently results in Audio Crash measures failing for a while on the driver submission.

According to Neowin, there are problems out there that frequently slip the reader's notice, even as Microsoft keeps working to enhance Windows drivers.

These difficulties can occasionally be traced back to Multiplane Overlay (MPO), a feature that appears to cause a number of display-related issues on both Windows 11 and Windows 10, which can resolve a number of flaws.

These issues include, among others, the white mouse cursor, the blank or white screen, the stuttering, and the flickering.