Question Installing Windows 8.1 on newer machine - compatibility question

[Larry Post]

Hi, sorry I'm one of those weirdos who actually prefers Windows 8.1 to Win 7 and even Linux but equally can't stand Windows 10.
My old laptops really have now had it and I want to buy new.
No way am I getting Windows 11, that's a line in the sand for me, since Bill Gates really makes my skin crawl and I don't trust a thing he does. Win 8.1 is a compromise I can live with.

In 2022 is there any chance of a current machine handling windows 8.1? Whatsoever? An older forum said if it's built for windows 10 it can take windows 8/8.1 but I doubt it's still true. There are some Win 10 machines still available new, so it would be nice.

If not then I will have to go second hand, but it's not clear how late I can go since there is no clear cutoff.

[If there is no way that anything after about 2015 will work then I'll get super up to date machines and install Linux instead, which I am guessing won't be an issue at all. That would be my second choice]

I realise there is some uncertainty in what I am asking, but any pointers, specific or general would be much appreciated. Thanks

 

[mr_random]

the thing about running old operating systems is that they are no longer supported. so exploits and viruses can easily compromise your security. if you have no problem with security or performance issues then try it. another problem with old operating systems is that they don't make drivers for them anymore so if you buy the latest hardware it will have the latest operating system drivers.

 

[mr_random]

also why do you trust linux more than windows? if Linux will do everything you want on a modern system then why waste your time with windows 8

 

[Larry Post]

Thanks for the response, I do appreciate it.

As to why that particular choice, well, clearly there is no perfect OS and everything is a compromise. Where we set the equilibrium does depend on what we want from life, and vive la difference. Going into the specifics, does lay me wide open to argument and ridicule whichever way I frame it. Suffice to say I'm happy with those choices, even if they may seem perverse to others.

But I'll try: Windows is super convenient in all sorts of ways, highly versatile and easy to use. There have been some real garbage releases of it - Vista, Millenium etc. Only somebody who has never touched it since about 2012 could think that Linux truly is equivalent in terms of ease of use and functionality, and I know I will trigger a lot of die-hard linux fans when I say that.

But Windows 10 is cancer. It truly has crossed a line in terms of paternalistic technology. I don't like the way it tells me how I should set things up, or changes my settings to ones IT thinks are better, or installs updates I don't want etc etc. Essentially we have a system that over-rides the human whose needs it is supposed to serve, and which can't be stopped except by literally unplugging it. It is only a matter of time before they make one that you can't even turn off except with a hammer. Why ANYBODY thinks it is a good idea building such a thing, let alone inviting it into the running of their life is beyond me. It's sheer insanity, no less.

So, Windows 8.1 is the last release I will touch without a very long pole. But if it really has got too long in the tooth for the hardware then I would rather use Linux than Windows 10 or 11. In fact I would rather stick needles in my own eyes than have Windows 11.