Hi peeps,

Microsoft stopped supporting Windows 10 last October.
My last update was KB5066791. This I did online. I rarely go online now, and do all my net stuff on an old iMac. It all works well. I backup regularly using Macrium Reflect, which is a fantastic prog.
I've heard bad things about Win11 , and really do not want to go down that path.

My worry now is that it is just a matter of time before my Win10 corrupts in some way. So (finally I get there ) is there a way to reload 22H2 with KB5066791 and leave all my progs and settings intact? Is there perhaps a repository of safe Win10 installers that won't mess with everything I now have installed (and there's quite a lot) ?
Huge gratitude.

Cheers!

 

Just stay where you are and make a full backup of a working version.

If possible, disable automatic updates for your software programs. Check what's enabled in your startup folder and disable as many as you can.
The real danger always lies in the updates themselves; on the one hand, updates fix bugs, but on the other hand, they introduce new ones.
Periodically, run a disk scan in the Command Prompt (CMD) --> sfc /scannow and scan your hard drive for viruses and malware.

Run System File Checker
In the Command Prompt window, type the following command and press ENTER:
sfc /scannow

CrystalDiskInfo
- An HDD/SSD utility software that supports some USB, Intel RAID, and NVMe.
https://crystalmark.info/en/software/crystaldiskinfo/

 

I don't get it, why do you need to refresh your installation? If there's no issues, why mess with it now?

IMO just enrol in extended security updates - (free) security fixes for Windows 10 until 2027. Then, if you want or need more time, enrol in extended ESU, security fixes for the next 6 years (and probably for longer than that, free if you use one of the many tools you can find out there).

But if you really want to refresh, why only up to October 2025 and not July 2026??

If you want to verify your current ESU status, you can run "slmgr.vbs /dlv" from the Windows Start Menu or "clipesu" in a cmd.exe prompt.

Code:

clipesu
[...]
Key-based ESU is enabled for at least one year...

 

Microsoft has extended support until 12th october 2027 through their Extended Security Updates (ESU) program.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/extended-security-updates?r=1