Very late to the party - Windows 11 update woes

[mynameistrouble]

Hi All,

I'm extremely late to the party on this as I've just been studiously ignoring the W11 update prompts due to it being so low on my list of priorities. Finally get round to this and discover the dreaded TPM 2.0 issue is the only thing standing between me and W11.

I bought my laptop from PCS 7 years ago and got it as overpowered as I could justify a) because it was for music production and b) to assist in future-proofing as far as possible. I'm not prepared to just let it die but as essentially the only thing I use it for it bedroom music production (I have a separate work laptop) I'm reluctant to go over to Linux because, if nothing else, my interface does not play well with linux.

I am looking for some reliable info on what the whole TPM 2.0 issue is and what my options are. I have a Clevo P7xxTM1 motherboard.

I'm not beyond tinkering with the BIOS if I am sure I know what I'm doing/what will happen, but I have a few questions:
- can someone please explain to me what the TPM 2.0 issue is and why, when I messaged PCS about this, the response was that because the system was pre-2020 'it is very unlikely to legitimately activate this feature'? The pinned thread about TPM suggests that motherboards from 2016 are able to accommodate this requirement
- if I do nothing at all, what is actually going to happen in real terms? I basically use this laptop to run Reaper, open gmail and occasionally use spotify...

Appreciate any advice and apologise because I suspect this has been asked a million times before, but the search function wouldn't accept 'TPM 2.0' as a search term...

 

[BlessedSquirrel]

I'm reluctant to go over to Linux because, if nothing else, my interface does not play well with linux.

Are you sure? Linux support for audio interfaces tends to be far better than windows generally going back a long way. Which interface do you have? Reaper is actually a native Linux DAW also

I am looking for some reliable info on what the whole TPM 2.0 issue is and what my options are.

TPM is a hardware/firmware level storage controller used to store cryptographic keys used in encryption. It’s a hardware level thing, the device either has it or doesn’t.

Your options are:

Do nothing, use it still with windows 10 and accept that the device will be compromised, don't use it connected to the internet at all.

Replace the device with a modern device that supports windows 11.

Move to Linux.

if I do nothing at all, what is actually going to happen in real terms? I basically use this laptop

Your device will be unprotectable from zero day flaws at the OS level of windows 10, which means essentially it will broadcast like a beacon over the internet and any hacker / malware would be able to gain access very easily as the OS itself is compromised. Doesn’t matter what AV / Firewall protections you have in place.

If you just go into the BIOS usually to the security section, look for fTPM