Impending Win10 losing support

[Mock Turtle]

Well a year off, but even if I might go for one of the options available for this PC as to updates - not from MS probably - I have another computer that should still be usable and which still has Win7 on it. Not used for some time and it is basically a better computer. This one seemingly can't be updated to Win11 and I'm not really that interested - not liking to be pressured into such like many others no doubt.

Any suggestions as to what Linux I could install on either and where I might not have to get loads of software to make them usable (but not that short of money). It's some time since I had to delve into such things, although having started with MS-DOS (on an Amstrad), through Win 95 and 98, Win7 & 8, I have had to do all the various things to install or update the various OSs - just a bit old and not too interested now.

Any thoughts?

 

[Wu Wei]

A Linux Distro, but check them out and see which ones will work for you...
Most of my experience in Linux is with CentOS which is now defunct. But CentOS was just a free version of Redhat.

 

[ChristineM]

Take a look at Linux Mint. I found it much easier to work with than the others I've tried Susi, ubuntu, irix, and a couple of unmemorable ones.
With Linux most of the software you'll need is open source and free to download.
You'll need to know more about the nitty-gritty of your computer when setting it up (unless they've improved setup since i used it)

With windows 10 there is a registry hack that bypasses the hardware check when installing 11 (and other options). If your pc is reasonably modern it should be ok.

How to upgrade your 'incompatible' Windows 10 PC to Windows 11: Two ways

 

[libre]

I'd say Ubuntu is the best distribution to go with for consumer endpoints. Hardware support out of the box is unparalleled, .deb packages are the defacto standard for most programs developed for linux, and it's maintained by one of the biggest players in the space.

If you run into any problems with your system you'll also find way more forum and issue history online for Ubuntu than spin-offs.