Windows 10 pro requirements

The requirements of Windows 10 for a computer system, as it turned out after its official release, are not so high. At least, users of licensed (or activated by third-party tools) modifications 7 and 8 could initially install it as a free upgrade. At that time, although it was a trial, it was a fully functional version in the form of a Technical Preview release. In some ways, the minimum system requirements for Windows 10 were similar to those for most of the tested alpha and beta versions (it is clear that at that time the system was quite raw). But, which surprised absolutely all users of Windows systems, the hardware could not be changed, since the new modification was installed without problems even on relatively outdated configurations.

Windows 10: what's new?

To begin with, consider the issue related to the innovations that appeared in the tenth version. The interface is made in the style of Metro with tiles without any hint of the use of volumetric or translucent objects that were in versions of XP and 7. Everything is flat in the spirit of the Metro interface that was used in Windows 8.

But the Start button has returned, although it may sometimes not work. A lot has been written about how to return the Start button and the menu for which it is responsible, so you have to turn to the Internet. This is how the widely advertised assistant Cortana does not work in the post-Soviet space.

But releases in the form of updates Anniversary Update and Creators Update somewhat modified the system (the first release was configured to update the interface and internal services, the second - to apply the possibilities of using 3D graphics and everything related to it).

Legacy Compatibility

In terms of upgrades, the requirements of Windows 10 look much tougher. The problem here is that initially it was possible to update the system only on licensed versions 7 and 8, and then on condition that the latest updates were installed in them.

To download the distribution kit and the files of the system itself, it took (and still needs) about 25-30 GB (although it is claimed that 16-20). But the installer itself can be run directly on an existing system, and not from a removable optical drive or USB drive.

To do this, just use programs like Windows Update Assistant or Media Creation Tool.

Alas, XP and Vista are not supported in the upgrade plan. But you shouldn't be upset. Now there is nothing easier than to install the system, as they say, from scratch, and save your files. Programs, however, will have to be re-installed anyway. But only this for Window 10 system requirements are not limited. Consider what is needed for the normal operation of the system.

Windows 10: 32-bit architecture system requirements

First, a few words for those who are going to install a 32-bit system. To correctly install the tenth modification as an upgrade over an existing system, you need to pay attention to the processor, RAM and disk space.

So the minimum requirements for Windows 10 in terms of this configuration imply the presence on a computer terminal or laptop of a processor of at least an Intel Atom class with an operating clock frequency of 1 GHz and 1 GB of RAM. You also need about 16 GB of free disk space in the system partition and a monitor (screen) that supports a resolution of at least 800 x 600 pixels, plus DirectX version 9 or higher and the presence of a WDDM 1.0 driver. You can install a new OS on a logical partition, but what's the point?

As practice shows, if we compare systems 7 and 10 similar in bit depth, the tenth modification works much faster, despite the huge number of additionally running services in the background, which many users do not even know about.

Windows 10: 64 bit system requirements

The 64-bit architecture looks much more preferable, because it works faster, using all the necessary resources of modern processor chips for this. True, the involvement of all the cores of the central processor is disabled by default (and after all, when they are turned on, you can speed up the system simply incredibly).

But for a normal installation, the system requirements of Windows 10 x64 are not so great. On board a computer or laptop (netbook), it is enough to have only a slightly more enhanced configuration at the level of 2 GB of RAM with the same processor and 20 GB of free space on the hard drive (in practice, at least 30-35 just for installation!!!). Residual files of the old system, if it is not planned to return to it, then it will be possible to delete it with a standard disk cleanup tool. The minimum requirements for Windows 10 also make themselves felt here, because after installation, it is not recommended to delete the files of the old system for 30 days (this is the only way you can return to the previous release).

Standard installation process

The initial installation, whether in the form of an upgrade, or in the form of a “clean” installation, does not provide anything special. If the system requirements for Window 10 are met in full, the installer will install the system without any problems.

The only question is how long it will take, because during the installation process, not only a “bare” system will be installed, but also extremely important updates. But user intervention in this process is just to press the continue buttons in time.

Using specialized utilities

A "clean" installer, even downloaded from the official Microsoft resource, takes up a lot of space. The easiest way is to download the utilities described above in advance and start the installation process with their help.

Why download a full system image, which will take up as much space as the files after installation, when you can use these programs? They work like internet installers, downloading files and installing as they go.

But here in the first place for installing Windows 10, the requirements for the computer are to provide the fastest possible connection to the Internet. It is clear, after all, the higher the speed, the faster the download of the desired content will occur. Please note: download only, not installation. For the same version of Windows 10 (64), the requirements can be met in full, the files have been downloaded, but you will not achieve an acceleration of the installation. Why? Yes, only because the work of the installer itself at this stage no longer depends on the user, computer configuration or Internet speed, but solely on the sequence of actions that will be performed by the installer (this is included in the installation program itself).

Installing from a USB stick and related issues

Separately, it is worth dwelling on how to install Windows 10 from a USB flash drive. You can create bootable media using the above applications or use programs like Rufus. But for them you will have to use the installation image in ISO format.

The main problem of all users who took into account the system requirements for Windows 10 is that at first everything seems to be going on normally, but then the installer starts to "swear" due to the fact that the installation on this partition with the MBR boot record turns out to be impossible, and you can only install the system on a GPT partition.

Basically, this situation concerns hard drives with a capacity of 2 TB or more, which NTFS file systems of any version, not to mention FAT32, simply do not recognize. BUT! The paradox is that it is sometimes simply impossible to install a system even on a regular hard drive.

In this situation, the way out is simple: when you reboot, you need to enter the initial BIOS / UEFI I / O system and install the first device (flash drive) that does not have the “EFI” identifier at the very beginning of the drive name. Otherwise, many people advise to delve into the registry, rebuild system services, etc. This is the easiest and most effective way.

Disabled Processes

With all due respect to the developers of the new OS in Windows 10, system requirements are far from the main stumbling block. The problem is that, by default, so many processes are activated in the background that the user does not even realize.

The most negative thing is tracking in the form of geolocation services, not to mention the print services connected by default, the Hyper-V virtual machine and many other additional components that the average user absolutely does not need.

You can disable all this either from the settings section, or from the programs and components section, which is located in the standard "Control Panel", which is not so easy to access. But the system can be bypassed by entering the control command in the Run console.

In the corresponding section, you need to uncheck all items of unused services. The same can be done in the services themselves section (services.msc) by setting it to disable or start manually, in the group policy section (gpedit.msc) or even in the system registry (regedit).

Installation problems

Although the requirements of Windows 10 are not as high as it might seem at first glance, the installation of the system and its further use cause a lot of conflicting opinions.

The system installation problem is most often associated either with errors of the previous system (presence of viruses, lack of updates), or with the wrong choice of installation option, in particular, booting the installer from removable media that has the "EFI" attribute in systems with UEFI installed with a graphical interface instead of the standard BIOS.

Sometimes even a flashing of the primary system (Firmware) is required, which simply baffles many users.

Should you install Windows 10?

Finally, citing the requirements of Windows 10 as an example, I would like to note one more point related to testing different systems on the same configuration.

Comparison is subject to systems with second-generation Intel Core i7 processors (dual-threaded) with a clock speed of 2.7 GHz and 8 GB of RAM (extended modification of DELL Latitude 6520 series laptops). So: the “ten” is loaded with all its elements turned on for 37 seconds, and the “seven” waits about 2 minutes, not including the start of the antivirus and additional services (we are talking not only about the appearance of the “Desktop”, but also about the full launch programs that are not available while the system components are still being downloaded). And then draw your conclusions after that.

What does all of this mean?

So it's just that Windows 7, no matter how popular it is, goes into oblivion. Its constant updates have slowed down the work of the OS itself so much that now it is time to “demolish” it. Many fans of the "seven" may not agree with this statement, but, believe me, the "ten", if fine-tuned, works much more efficiently. And if you also enable the use of all processor cores and maximum RAM, you simply won’t recognize your system after such settings.

In connection with the upcoming Anniversary Update, which is expected at the end of July, but you most likely do not know yet that the bar for the minimum system requirements for the operating system will be raised.

According to the Inquirer, after the update, the minimum required amount of RAM to run the 32-bit version of Windows will be 2 gigabytes instead of 1 gigabyte at the moment. Thus, the 32-bit version requires the same amount of memory as the 64-bit version. No other specification changes are foreseen yet.

Your old computer with 1 GB of RAM may be able to run 32-bit Windows 10, but you can probably forget about multitasking.

Of course, in most cases you can add memory, but sometimes it can be expensive or technically impossible, especially in the case of older laptops or tablet devices. Users of such devices find themselves in a very uncomfortable position.

Perhaps now they will regret the free upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7/8.1.

Strengthening security

The Anniversary Update for Windows 10 will most likely be released on the anniversary of the operating system's release, and the upcoming update will soon be tested by members of the Windows 10 Insider Program.

Also, a year after the release of Windows 10, Microsoft plans to equip all new computers with a TPM 2.0 module for improved security. The new technology is more secure than TPM 1.2 and supports SHA-256 hashing.

This will affect manufacturers of new computers, but there will be exceptions: TPM will be an optional element for Windows 10 IoT devices, such as the Raspberry Pi.

You can view the characteristics of a computer on Windows 10 by holding a few keys. Most of the information is presented in the Task Manager. You just need to know where to look. The rest of the data can be retrieved from the Options snap-in.

Today is not the best day to look into the System Properties for the specified purpose, but we will do that too. To ensure that readers have a full range of knowledge on a given topic. You will see that you can find out almost everything about your PC without resorting to the services of specialized utilities.

Command line

The command line is becoming more and more like a run tool. The only difference is the call method:

1. Command line via Win + X.
2. Run - Win + R.

Both tools can be called crosswise. Command line from Run via cmd, and Run from command prompt via C:\\Windows\\system32\\rundll32.exe shell32.dll,#61. You must understand that both instruments are very similar to each other. Let's find out the characteristics of the OS:

What do we learn from this screen? A lot of things:

• The professional version of ten is used.
• Anniversary update 1607 installed.
• Assembly - 14393.693.

But these data are still scarce. Why Billy Gates did not indicate the bit depth remains a mystery. Generally speaking, Microsoft has taken a course to get rid of 32-bit hardware, so that in 5 years no one will have such questions as we do.

Via System Properties

Press Win + Break to see a little more information.

Some data about iron is already presented here. In addition, we see that the system bit depth is 64 bits. Here's what you can understand from the screen:

1. 3.2 GHz Intel i5 generation processor.
2. The RAM size is 16 GB, of which so much is available.
3. The name of the PC and its working group have become known.

Actually, that's all. In our opinion, it is bad that the number of cores, the type of graphics, the placement and occupancy of DIMM slots, and the speed of memory access are not indicated. On some laptops, this combination does not work (given the fact that sometimes you have to press Fn). In this case, go through the Control Panel:

Via Options

In fact, we see the same thing as in the Properties ...

Task Manager

It remains for us to learn something about the graphic part of the PC.

Other information via DirectX dialog

• win+r.
• We type dxdiag.
• Enter.

Motherboard

Already in the first window we see the missing information.

After the language, the data comes in order:

1. Motherboard manufacturer.
2. Motherboard name.
3. BIOS firmware version.
4. Swap file size.
5. DirectX version.

Graphic arts

The following screenshot demonstrates the graphics capabilities.

In order, here are:

1. Graphics type. In this case, it is the HD Graphics 530 built into the processor.
2. Memory.
3. The current screen resolution.

You can also look at other bookmarks, but the information taken from there will tell a lot only to professionals.

What else?

What more could you wish for than what we already have? Well, I would like to have an idea about the following parameters:

1. The name of the processor socket.
2. The number of slots for graphics accelerators.
3. hard drive interface.

In fact, many will be limited to this. That is, we have already received all the information from the system utilities, and now we are thinking where to get the rest. Usually resort to the help of AIDA. Here is an example of CPU data.

The socket type is now known - LGA 1151. With these data, you can look after a new processor. Could this information have been dispensed with? Oh sure. Third-party utilities are needed by professionals whose time is money. Billy Gates will help mere mortals get system settings in Windows 10.

Fortunately, there were no unpleasant surprises: the minimum and maximum system requirements remained almost at the same level as in Windows 8.1. Let's go over the points in a little more detail.

Processor requirements

Microsoft specifies only one characteristic of the central processor, which is critical for Windows 10: clock frequency must be at least 1 GHz. This is a very modest requirement. It turns out that even an old netbook with a single-core processor will completely master the latest system.

However, it is important to understand that this is exactly the most minimal requirement, i.e. the system itself will work, but, of course, you should not expect any comfortable work with large amounts of data with such a weak CPU.

In addition, Microsoft notes in a separate paragraph that some early 64-bit processors may not meet the requirements of Windows 10, and the corporation does not add specifics (processor models) to this paragraph.

RAM Requirements

Alas, the days when the “old lady” XP needed 128 MB of “RAM” are long gone. Already Vista required at least 512 MB. Today, Windows 10 system requirements for device RAM are 1 GB for x86 version and 2 GB for x64 version.

This does not mean that the system will immediately fill the indicated gigabytes to the eyeballs, but that is exactly how much it needs for normal operation, so in order not to spoil your impression of the new OS on a PC with less memory, it’s better not to try to cram the “top ten” into it.

Hard disk space requirements

If you look at the system requirements for the y disk, the corporation recommends at least 16 GB of free space on the hard drive for the x86 version, and for x64 it is already 20 GB. Interestingly, with Windows 10 there has been a slight change. Now for both versions recommended only 16 GB.

As in the case of RAM, the system, of course, will not immediately take up 16 GB on your disk or even close to it, but it will still need that much for it to work correctly.

Video card requirements

Brevity is the sister of talent, apparently Microsoft thinks and therefore all graphics requirements are described with the phrase “ Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver”, from which one can erroneously conclude that a very old card with DX9 support is enough for Windows 10.

In fact, everything is somewhat more complicated. If you are the owner of a Full HD monitor and an old video card, then starting with Windows 8.1 you may encounter an unpleasant feature: you cannot set the native resolution for the monitor. This is true, for example, for owners of AMD Radeon HD 4xxx and lower video adapters. They are guaranteed to run into this problem, which, alas, is impossible to solve, since AMD no longer supports these old GPU families and does not release new drivers for them.

In addition, the video card for Windows 10 must have both minimum 128 MB VRAM. This is a very modest, but still important requirement.

Display Resolution Requirements

Unlike the previous ones, this requirement is not mandatory, however, if you decide to familiarize yourself with Metro applications, then be aware that permission is required for them to work. at least 1024*768 pixels. This figure is better to keep in mind for those who decide to test the new Windows on a netbook or virtual machine.

Conclusion

System requirements are almost the same as those of previous generations of Windows. This is certainly a positive moment, which will allow a large number of users to try the new OS. Microsoft still continues to take into account the long-standing, but still bitter experience of Windows Vista, when the appetites of the operating system that rose at times left many PCs overboard, and owners of devices with hardware that met the requirements were forced to face a noticeable performance degradation.

However, it is still impossible to call the system requirements of Windows 10 absolutely identical to Windows 7 or Windows 8.0. On the one hand, the system has become more compact, which will definitely please users of fast, but low-capacity and expensive SSD drives.

On the other hand, to get acquainted with Windows 10, it is desirable to have a video card no older than five years, for which the manufacturer is still releasing up-to-date drivers.

Microsoft published the list of minimum system requirements for Windows 10 a year ago. Same as recommended. The number of users of the new OS is growing, so it would be quite appropriate to recall this once again. Those who have already installed Windows 10 on their PC can compare their high expectations with the ordinary. The system requirements for Windows 10 for PC and laptop are slightly different from those for smartphones. We will also touch on this point.

On the one hand, the recommended technical parameters of a PC with Windows 10 installed on them should be approximately the same as for the 8th version of this OS. On the other hand, there are some nuances that do not allow referring the reader to similar materials for the G8.

For example, Windows 10 is expected to be installed only on machines equipped with an embedded crypto processor that supports the latest Trusted Platform Module (TPM) technology. Cryptographic protection of devices running Windows 10 will be given special attention. So, let's take a look at the standard system requirements for a computer and laptop running Windows tenth version.

Minimum for personal computers

To install Windows 10 on a desktop computer or laptop, the latter must meet the following system requirements:

• The amount of RAM >= 1 GB.
• CPU frequency >= 1 GHz.
• Hard disk size >= 16 GB.

The listed requirements apply to the 32-bit version of Windows 10. For x64, they will be different:

• The amount of RAM >= 2 GB.
• CPU frequency >= 1 GHz.
• Hard disk size >= 20 GB.

The requirements for the size of the monitor in Windows 10 are quite modest - for normal operation, a screen of 800 × 600 pixels is enough. The computer must support standard network interfaces such as Ethernet and / or Wi-Fi, and also have a sufficiently powerful video card with support for the latest DirectX versions, since this library is still the focus of attention for wine game developers. If we compare these figures with those required for the G8, we will not see any significant differences. But experienced users, especially those who have already installed Windows 10, recommend multiplying all system requirements by two. That's why they are minimal in order to differ from the real ones.

Minimum for smartphones

Hardware requirements for smartphones are even tougher. It is required, for example, that the screen resolution and the amount of RAM are in a certain ratio. Another, rather strange at first glance, wish concerns the size of the indent from the keypad to the screen and the outer edge of the device - it should be at least 4 mm.

Let us dwell in more detail on the relationship between screen resolution and the amount of RAM. For devices with small screens and a resolution of about 800 x 480 pixels, it will be possible to get by with 512 MB of RAM. If you want to have a better picture, for example, with a resolution like 2560 x 2048 or more, then Windows 10 will require at least 4GB of RAM from you.

The upper limit of the diagonal length for smartphones running this OS is about 8 inches. These are the uncomplicated claims from Microsoft to the owners of mobile devices. So, if you use a smartphone, then think ten times before choosing the top ten. Maybe it makes sense to do something simpler.

Processor and flash memory

Our further presentation also applies to mobile devices running Windows 10. Now we will touch on the minimum system requirements for this axis for the processor and flash memory.

The developers of the operating system stated that the "ten" can only be installed on processors of a certain model and quality. This is disappointing for owners of not very high-quality equipment - after all, without Qualcomm and Intel processors on board, it is pointless to fantasize about installing the latest version of Windows Mobile. The Microsoft website lists all valid "stone" models - there are eighteen in total.

As for flash memory, it also has its own nuances and limitations. It is clear that the amount of such memory is limited from below by a non-weak value - it means that the flash memory on win mobile cannot be less than 4GB. The second condition is that 1GB must be reserved for the needs of the user and free. The storage performance requirements are as follows:

• IPOS >= 700 IOPS.
• The speed of sequential reading from the device is from 10 MB per second.
• For recording, the same parameter >= 6 MB per second.

But the presence or absence of a slot for an SD card has nothing to do with the possibility of installing win mobile - there is no such requirement. The Internet press claims that the original system parameters for "vin mobile" were expected to be even more stringent. So we can say we are lucky.

We remind you that the transition to the top ten from previous versions: 7th and 8th is free of charge if all the necessary service packs are installed in the system.

The publication of data on the required minimum hardware came out unexpectedly late - just a week before the new OS went on sale.