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Windows 10

The software expired. The hardware didn’t.

Windows 10’s free support ended in October 2025. Microsoft’s date is October 14, 2025. The PC can still turn on. Windows 11 may have said no. You still have a few honest choices.

Could my PC be Ready? is four questions, further down. It is a guess, not a promise.

Three honest options.

  1. Pay Microsoft for more security updates, if the PC qualifies.

    Extended Security Updates keep some Windows 10 PCs on security updates after support ended. On Microsoft’s ESU page, eligible version 22H2 devices can enroll by syncing PC settings at no additional cost, with 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points, or with a one-time purchase of $30 USD plus tax. The local price and the offer can differ by region. That page says the program runs through October 12, 2027, and that it is security updates — not new features, and not tech support.

  2. Buy a new computer.

    A fair choice when you want a new computer. Spareboot is not a reason to avoid one.

  3. Give this one a light system for browsing and docs.

    ChromeOS Flex, Linux Mint XFCE, Lubuntu, or antiX, from the publisher’s own page. Not cracked Windows. About $79 a year, and only if the machine is Ready.

Who it’s for

  • A Windows laptop or desktop from about the last ten years that still turns on.
  • Windows 11 won’t install, or you don’t want to buy a new PC yet.
  • The job is browsing, email, and a document.

Who it’s not for

  • Programs that only run on Windows, games, or video editing.
  • A machine that never powers on, or has under about 2 GB of memory.
  • A Mac. That checkup is at spareboot.com/mac. The Windows zip does not run there.
  • A Windows install, cracked or otherwise. Or a fleet rollout.

Ready

$0 until it’s Ready.

About $79 a year for one machine, and only when every one of these is true. If we stop early, you pay nothing. Checkout is still a waitlist until payment is switched on.

  • Boots the light operating system
  • Gets online
  • A person can browse
  • A person can write a document

Quick check

Could my PC be Ready?

Four questions. A plain guess. Not a promise, and not a bill. Ready still means it boots, gets online, browses, and writes a document.

Roughly how old is it?
How much memory, if you know?
What do you want it to do?
Windows or Mac?

If it’s a Windows PC, Extract All first.

Opening a file while it is still inside the zip often does nothing.

  1. 1

    Download the zip.

  2. 2

    Right-click the zip and choose Extract All. Or drag the spareboot-starter folder to the Desktop.

  3. 3

    Open that folder.

  4. 4

    Double-click Start-Spareboot.bat. Not the .ps1. Not a file inside the zip window.

Download the starter zipI have a Mac

Nothing is charged from this page. The yearly license is still only for a machine that is Ready.