14 DAY TRIAL // The release of Windows 11 has caused a huge controversy due to updated system requirements, with millions of computers that seemed perfectly capable of running the operating system blocked from receiving it.
However, it looks like Microsoft is planning even more changes that could be received with mixed feelings by users out there.
The traditional HDD would no longer be allowed to be used as a Windows 11 boot drive, which means that having an SSD would become mandatory once this change comes into effect.
The Redmond-based software giant hasn’t publicly announced this change, but John Chen, CEO of storage research firm TRENDFOCUS, said in a statement that the change is already scheduled to go live at some point in 2023 or 2024.
Change coming into effect next year
Oddly enough, it looks like Microsoft originally planned to make SSD mandatory for Windows boot drives in 2022, but the company decided to push back the deadline because of a series of reasons, including the shortages that are currently affecting even the storage device inventory across the world.
Chen told Tom’s Hardware that the date when SSDs would become mandatory for Windows boot drives isn’t yet set in stone, but it should happen at some point in 2023.
“The original cut-in date based on our discussions with OEMs was to be this year, but it has been pushed out to sometime next year (the second half, I believe, but not clear on the firm date). OEMs are trying to negotiate some level of push out (emerging market transition in 2024, or desktop transition in 2024), but things are still in flux,” he said.
Microsoft hasn’t offered any statement on this front, so for the time being, both HDDs and SSDs can be used as boot drives for Windows 11.