Windows 10/11 Compatibility Checker: How to Use This Tool

As obsolete versions of Windows no longer receive support from Microsoft, users are forced to upgrade to Windows 10, respectively 11.

There are countless reasons why the latter option is preferred, so many users are treating it as the default anyway.

Of course, migrating to a new OS isn’t all that simple, since you first have to make sure that your hardware can handle it.

While Windows 10 is optimized to run on older systems, it is better to be safe than sorry.

The first thing that may come to mind would be to simply go online and check out what are the minimum system requirements for Windows 10 as well as for Windows 11.

You can visit Microsoft’s official site and check the system requirements presented there. Feel free to also check out the Microsoft list with the Windows 11 system specifications and more.

Keep in mind that these slightly change over the years. As hardware gets more affordable and accessible, the prices also fluctuate, therefore newer machines will be equipped with more powerful components.

Since Microsoft said that they’ve decided to continuously update Windows, more features will be added, thus it might affect the system requirements.

How do I use a Windows 10/11 compatibility checker?

To make things easier for you, here is a list of the current system requirements:

• Processor:
  • 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster processor or SoC
• RAM:
  • 1 gigabyte (GB) for 32-bit or 2 GB for 64-bit
• Hard disk space:
  • 16 GB for 32-bit OS 20 GB for 64-bit OS
• Graphics card:
  • DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver
• Display:
  • 800×600

While that is indeed a good way to start, there are certain aspects that need to be observed in order to see if your new hardware is fully compatible with Windows 10 or 11 as it was with Windows 7.

Using a Windows 10 compatibility checker is fairly easy and self-explanatory. Microsoft has one, and it is known as the Update Assistant or the Media Creation Tool.

This tool is extremely easy to acquire and use, as you will see from the steps below.

Keep in mind that this is the same set of steps that you need to take when upgrading your PC from Windows 7 to Windows 10.

The only difference here is that you don’t have to go all the way with the process.

How do I check my computer for Windows 10 compatibility?

If you are looking to upgrade your OS to Windows 10, you can use Media Creation Tool from Microsoft. It is compatibility center also known as Update Assistant.

Media Creation Tool can scan your PC and evaluate whether it can run Windows 10, and then it can also help you install it.

1. Download Windows 10 Media Creation Tool.

2. After the download is finished, launch the program.

3. On the License terms page, select Accept.

4. On the What do you want to do? page, select Upgrade this PC now.

5. If the program detects that your PC is too old to run Windows 10, it will send you a notification, and stop right there. If you don’t get any notification, it means that the system is compatible and that you can upgrade to Windows 10 without worries.

6. Follow the on-screen instructions to upgrade to Windows 10.

Another thing you should remember is that if you want to use the Media Creation tool to upgrade to Windows 10, you will need to also have a Windows 10 license key at your disposal, in order to activate it.

Do you find these methods of checking system compatibility useful? Let us know what other methods you use in the comment section below.