I wanted to add a few more details here.
READ THE FOLLOWING VERY CAREFULLY - ESPECIALLY THE WARNINGS.
IF YOU CHOOSE TO TRY ANY OF THESE OPTIONS YOU DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK AND WE CAN OFFER NO FURTHER SUPPORT.
YOU CAN FIND SEVERAL SETS OF DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT HOW TO DO THESE PROCEDURES IF YOU GOOGLE THE APPROPRIATE SUBJECT.
(WE WOULD, HOWEVER, CONSIDER THIS SOMETHING THAT ONLY AN "ADVANCED USER" SHOULD ATTEMPT.)
1. If you upgraded your computer from Windows 10 to Windows 11 within ten days you should have the option to "roll back" to Windows 10.
Note that, while previous versions allowed you to "roll back" for up to 30 days, Windows 11 only offers you a ten day window here.
2. If you upgraded your computer from Windows 10 to Windows 11 over ten days ago you should be able to reinstall Windows 10.
Even though the option to roll back the install will disappear after ten days you should be able to do a clean install of Windows 10.
In order to do this, you will need to do a full new install of Windows 10, and will lose EVERYTHING you have installed on the computer.
However your existing Windows 10 license should still work to activate Windows 10 after you install it.
Note that you MUST install the same version that matches your original license - either Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro.
3. You MAY be able to install Windows 10 on a computer that was purchased with Windows 11 on it.
This option is more problematic and carries additional risks.
According to Microsoft, a full Windows 11 license will work to activate a Windows 10 install...
Therefore you SHOULD be able to install Windows 10 on a computer that came with Windows 11 installed.. and it should activate with the existing Windows 11 license.
HOWEVER THEY WARN THAT THIS MAY NOT WORK WITH THE OEM LICENSE USED ON SOME BRANDS OF COMPUTERS.
They recommend that you ask the manufacturer of your computer to confirm whether it is possible on
YOUR computer.
(They note specifically that it can be done will a full purchased license and on most Lenovo brand computers.)
Note that you MUST install the same version that matches your original license - either Home or Pro.
4. Another option is to just buy an extra Windows 10 laptop for Dirac Live
Many older models still available as new stock will ship with Windows 10 installed...
In fact you will probably find better deals on computers that don't meet the requirements for Windows 11.
Likewise, most used and refurbished computers will probably ship with Windows 10 installed on them.
Dirac Live has relatively modest hardware requirements - so this may be a very cost effective option.
5. Finally, you MAY be able to update an older computer with Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 on it to Windows 10.
Even though Microsoft officially discontinued the upgrade program many years ago - at least until recently it still worked.
(This obviously may stop working at any time - or may not create a valid Windows 10 license as it should.)
NOTE:
If you wish to try any of these methods you can obtain an ISO image of Windows 10 to install directly from Microsoft using the Media Creation Tool.
Use Google to locate the Windows 10 version of the "Media Creation Tool" on the Microsoft website.
When you run the program after installing it, it will download the appropriate files, and create for you either a "Bootable USB Drive" or an "ISO Image File" of the original Windows 10 install disc.
THIS IS NOT GOING TO GET YOU A LICENSE - BUT IT WILL GET YOU A SAFE RELIABLE COPY OF THE LATEST VERSION OF THE ORIGINAL INSTALL DISC which will work with an existing license.
