Report: More PCs Running Windows XP, 7, and 8 Than Windows 11
- Paul Thurrott
- Apr 14, 2022
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58
A new Lansweeper survey of over 10 million Windows devices shows that 1.44 percent of them are running Windows 11, fewer than the number running Windows XP or 8. (Note that this data includes all versions of Windows Server as well.)
“Although the rate of adoption is increasing bit by bit, it’s obvious that Windows 11 upgrades aren’t going as fast as Microsoft had hoped, especially within the business environment,” Lansweeper Chief Strategy Officer Roel Decneut said. “Many organizations have been put off from having to buy new machines that meet these conditions, while others are simply happy with the current existence of Windows 10 which continues to be supported until 2025.”
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According to the Lansweeper survey, 1.44 percent of PCs are running Windows 11, up from 0.52 percent in January 2022. But Windows 11 usage trails that of Windows XP (1.71 percent), Windows 7 (4.7 percent), and Windows 8 (1.99 percent). Windows 10 is by far the most popular version of Windows, with 80.34 percent usage. And all versions of Windows Server are responsible for 9.15 percent of Windows devices collectively.
Lansweeper believes that Windows 11’s slow adoption is tied to its arbitrary hardware requirements: while 91 percent of the surveyed devices have enough RAM to run Windows 11, only about half (or 52.55 percent) meet the TPM requirements, and only 44.4 percent meet the CPU requirements.
“This situation will likely continue in the future unless businesses are given a compelling reason to upgrade,” Decneut added. “For those looking to adopt Windows 11, the first step is to assess which of their existing devices are capable of upgrading. It’s the reason why IT asset management is so important for organizations, capable of running in-depth device audits that can tell IT teams the hardware specs of machines so they can weigh up how many devices are capable of upgrading and the potential cost of such a move.”
Lansweeper offers tools that can help with this, of course. And you can learn more at the Lansweeper website.
Conversation 58 comments
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munkeybuziness
Log in to Reply<p>The general perception seems to be that it’s just windows 10 with a new skin on it and more bugs let alone the hardware requirements. Swing and miss big time. </p>
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will
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>…and regression of features.</p><p><br></p><p>The new Microsoft way!</p>
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hrlngrv
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p><strong><em>Making Windows simpler by removing features</em></strong><em> . . . you’re welcome!</em></p>
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dftf
Log in to Reply<p>Plus… with <em>Windows 10</em> supported until at-least October 2025 (depending which edition you’re running) then why not just skip <em>11</em> and wait for the inevitable <em>Windows 12</em>? </p>
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anoldamigauser
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Because it will still not be ready and more features will be removed?</p>
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robincapper
Log in to Reply<p>I bet a substantial number of incompatible PC’s will be on Win 10 long after 2025. The hardware requirements will hamper 11+ adoption for a decade or more going by how long 7/XP persisted</p>
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dftf
Log in to Reply<p>1.44%?</p><p><br></p><p>That’s <em>quite</em> a contrast from the recent-article titled <em>"Windows 11 Usage Stagnates in Latest AdDuplex Report"</em>, dated 30 March, which put the share at 19.4% to say-the-least!</p><p><br></p><p>(Also: <em>ouch</em> for <em>Windows Vista</em>: nearly <em>four-times</em> more PCs are still using <em>Windows 2000</em> than it!)</p>
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Donte
Log in to Reply<p>The surveys are from completely different perspectives. </p><p><br></p><p>This Lansweeper survey is an Enterprise only survey. It is saying of those that use their IT asset software, what the breakdown of Windows OS versions are.</p><p><br></p><p>The Ad Duplex is kind of flawed as well as it goes upon Windows Store usage. I have 4 – Windows 11 PC’s, I use the store on one of them. That said it is way more consumer focused.</p>
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dftf
Log in to Reply<p>Weird… according to <em>The Register</em> they say the <em>LANSweeper </em>study data is derived "from a scan of 10 million PCs, 20 percent enterprise and 80 percent consumer", suggesting it is not all from enterprise-only.</p><p><br></p><p>They also clarify that for the <em>AdDuplex</em> survey, the only PCs that would get included are those which have installed an app via the <em>Microsoft Store</em> that includes ads that are served from their servers. So anyone who has installed apps on <em>Windows 10 </em>or <em>11</em> devices, but for which not-one of those apps contains ads that come from servers ran by <em>AdDuplex</em> would get counted.</p><p><br></p><p>Shame that this site doesn’t contain this sort of useful information in the article!</p>
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Dan
Log in to Reply<p>Arstechnica.com just posted a story on Win11 usage by gamers using Steam data. Win11 usage is just a bad.</p>
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Donte
Log in to Reply<p>I just looked at the Steam Hardware survey results. </p><p><br></p><p>Windows 10 – 74.68%</p><p>Windows 11 – 16.84%</p><p><br></p><p>The other 8.48% is a combination of Windows 7, 8 Windows 10 32bit, MacOS and finally Linux bringing up the rear. </p><p><br></p><p>I think Windows 11 at almost 17% after only 7 months is pretty impressive especially since it won’t run on all hardware. It will only go up from there and rapidly. Any gamer running 12gen or greater Intel CPU’s will want Windows 11</p><p><br></p>
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sadsteve
Log in to Reply<p>Nah, I don’t want 11 yet (using AMD 5950 CPU). The first couple years of a new Microsoft OS release always seem to cause me problems so I’m going to wait till 2025. 10 was particularly bad, I had multiple machines that the only fix was to do a clean install. Things like stuck in a restart loop, or couldn’t do the latest feature update, etc.</p>
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DataMeister
Log in to Reply<p>Most businesses don’t pursue cutting edge computing power so the computers that they bought in 2015 are likely still handling the same workload just fine and there isn’t much to stress a computer in the day to day business.</p><p><br></p><p>Then the interface restrictions didn’t do much for attracting the early adopters either.</p><p><br></p><p>Microsoft should have made sure Windows 11 was as capable as Windows 10 before they released it.</p>
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Donte
Log in to Reply<p>My team manages 7K plus Windows 10 desktops/laptops. We lock it all down, taskbar, wallpaper, apps etc. We are already testing Windows 11 but probably will not roll it out until early next year. Out project list is just too long. </p><p><br></p><p>We have a locked down test machine and short of the UI changes the look and feel are quite the same. We move the start button over and lock it in that place.</p><p><br></p><p>Users do not care. They use the computers to run business software; the OS just fades into the back.</p>
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navarac
Log in to Reply<p><em>OS just fades into the back(ground).</em></p><p><br></p><p>That is the problem, I wish Windows would fade into the background. Windows and Edge keep forcing themselves straight in your face. People don’t "<strong><em>use</em></strong>" any OS, they use the Applications/Apps.</p>
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Donte
Log in to Reply<p>Our corporate default browser is Edge and Bing is the default search engine. We are a large Office 365 user and Bing searches our Sharepoint, OneDrive, Azure AD and BI data online when a user searches with Bing in Edge. </p><p><br></p><p>We ditched Chrome two years ago Users can’t change either. They can go to Google to search if they want. </p>
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DBS
Log in to Reply<p>And then you have those like me, who do have computers that meet the requirements but we refuse to downgrade from Windows 10 to the garbage that is Windows 11 with its absence of a proper Dark Theme, its useless Start Menu, its ugly rounded corners and tacky transparencies and its limited taskbar functionality.</p><p><br></p><p>Needless to say, I have also recommended everyone in my friends and family circles to stay away from Windows 11. </p>
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lvthunder
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>I feel for those who ask your advice on these things. You seem to have an irrational hatred of Windows 11. I guess you spend time messing with the taskbar more than actually doing something.</p>
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dftf
Log in to Reply<p>It like for those people who claim to live in the <em>Control Panel</em> — I’m puzzled <em>what</em> they are doing in there on such a regular-basis. Once I’ve setup a <em>Windows</em> profile initially with all the settings I like, I rarely have any need to ever go into <em>Control Panel</em>. You can uninstall apps from within the new <em>Settings </em>interface, and with what’s left I struggle to see what-else would be needed so-often? <em>Sync Centre</em>, perhaps, in a corporate environment, to manage times when two people have edited the same remote-file offline, but beyond that…?</p>
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miamimauler
Log in to Reply<p>@DBS</p><p><br></p><p>I also will be staying with W10 despite both my laptops being eligible for downgrade to W11.</p><p><br></p><p>My disillusionment with MS has grown over time and W11 has pushed me over the line. Their forced usage of Edge/Bing just to falsely increase usage numbers, the regressive start menu, unmovable taskbar, user hostile default settings are just a few reasons for my stance.</p><p><br></p><p>I have even taken the steps to completely remove Edge following the Tech Radar article and both my systems have updated and functioned perfectly since.</p><p><br></p><p>Nope, just nope MS. I will be remaining on W10 and will re-address this if or when MS stop being such d*cks.</p>
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Bart
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>If only people could move the taskbar. We’d be living in a different world?</p>
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Donte
Log in to Reply<p>Completely meaningless survey. This an Enterprise tool used to maintain IT assets. It is not shocking, at all, that Windows 11 at the Enterprise level is being slowly adopted. SSDD for the Enterprise crowd. The "Enterprise", like they always do, will move to Windows 11 just in time to get off un-supported OS’es. This is the same thing that always happens. </p><p><br></p><p>I remember these same type of blog posts when Windows 10 came out, about how Windows 7 had more users…1…2 years afterwards. All of the nay sayers, where calling Windows 10 a failure. Now Windows 10 is the hero Windows OS and 11 is the failure.</p><p><br></p><p>The only thing shocking about this survey is that since this is a tool used by businesses, that some of them are still running XP and 7. I do hope those machines are on isolated subnets with no Internet access.</p>
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dftf
Log in to Reply<p><em>Windows 7</em> PCs may still be supported, if enrolled into the ESU programme.</p><p><br></p><p><em>Windows XP </em>is a concern though, yes, if not isolated.</p>
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qaelith2112
Log in to Reply<p>Right you are. My own organization manages the patch distribution as well, and not only are we still on Windows 10 (no real surprise there), we JUST got 20H2. *20H2*. We won’t get updated to another release for another year or year and a half, and by then we might get 21H2. Meanwhile we do get security updates for our current build after they’ve been out for a month or two. I don’t think my enterprise is all that atypical. I can’t say I’m that surprised that Windows 11 adoption by enterprises has been so sparse. I’d have been surprised had it not been. That would be true even if Windows 11 had been well received by pretty much everybody and you didn’t have people bitching about the taskbar and the hardware requirements.</p>
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hrlngrv
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>No distinction between Windows 8 and Windows 8.1?</p><p><br></p><p>Since this is enterprise PCs, are the Vista, XP and 2K machines running factory machinery, medical equipment, airport Arrival/Departure displays, ATMs?</p>
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proftheory
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>I chuckled when I saw a display in a mall that was running XP.</p><p>Linux or BSD Unix would be cheaper license update wise.</p>
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anoldamigauser
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>People don’t use Linux because it does not run the applications they use. License cost is not as much an issue with many of these users, as they do not pay for the OS anyway. Pre-pandemic, I toured Thailand and Vietnam extensively and almost every PC I saw was running Windows XP. Many medical offices here in the US were using XP until a few years ago, when the software makers finally updated their software to run on Windows 7.</p>
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spacein_vader
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Read their post again, they were referring to digital signage which absolutely can and should be being done with low powered Linux devices. Windows is overkill for that work, even a Raspberry Pi can do it. </p>
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wright_is
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>It depends on what sort of signage and who provides it. A lot of it will be legacy Windows stuff.</p><p><br></p><p>Out local golf course has a digital signage system for showing slots on the course and advertising at the clubhouse. The software only works on Windows and the PC the company that makes the system provides is old and loud!</p>
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hrlngrv
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>| <em>The software only works on Windows</em></p><p><br></p><p>I figure a fair amount of 3rd party software which doesn’t have to control non-PC machinery could run reasonably well under wine under Linux, but if it’s a soup-to-nuts vertical system, software licensing would legally prohibit testing that hypothesis.</p>
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wright_is
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>It depends, it is the software running it that is important, not the OS. If the software only works on XP, you don’t have a lot of choice. And updating BSD or Linux has the same problems as updating Windows, the software needs to support the new OS, if it doesn’t, it doesn’t matter how much or how little the upgrade costs. Sometimes, for Linux, it might just need recompiling, but if the source code doesn’t exist or the company that wrote it doesn’t exist any more, companies hands are tied.</p><p><br></p><p>Either they keep running the old system, which doesn’t cost anything (other than security issues) or they have to invest 10s or 100s of thousands in a new system. If the old system works and can be isolated from the office network and the internet, that is the lesser evil.</p>
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lvthunder
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>A better title would have said enterprise PC’s instead of just PC’s.</p>
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dftf
Log in to Reply<p>It would be incorrect though: 20% of PCs were enterprise; 80% consumer, at-least according to The Register’s article on this (<strong>theregister.com/2022/04/19/windows_11_marketshare</strong>)</p>
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SenorGravy
Log in to Reply<p>I’ve been using 11 for a month or two now on my HP Spectre and am puzzled by many of the changes they made. Microsoft didn’t add any functionality and only seemed to add an extra step to everything. I don’t "hate" Windows 11, but I won’t be upgrading any more of my boxes willingly.</p>
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joloriquelme
Log in to Reply<p>That’s what happens when you ship an unfinished and unnecessary software. </p><p><br></p><p>The first ones to notice this are business IT management areas. So, they don’t need more support phone calls or tickets. </p><p><br></p><p>Happened with Vista and Windows 8. Now, with Windows 11. </p>
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Donte
Log in to Reply<p>In business it happens with every version of Windows. Outside of a small company anyone with 100 or more Windows desktops or laptops to manage is going to take their time. </p><p><br></p><p>IT these days at most places, simply has more work than it can handle. Upgrading a desktop/laptop OS is never on the top of the list unless it is about to lose support, then it becomes a higher priority. A business will wait until it has been out a while, test their builds with the software they use and usually time it with hardware upgrades, so they only touch a user once. </p><p><br></p><p>My company plans on starting our rollout next time this year. We will target those departments with PC’s older than 4 years and roll it out in phases.</p>
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wright_is
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Exactly. We have it on 3 devices at work, but that is the extent of our test fleet, because some mission critical software, like Microsoft Outlook, don’t work properly on Windows 11!</p><p><br></p><p>Yes, Outlook! On Windows 10, we can set out-of-office notifications, on Windows 11, Outlook claims it can’t contact the server! The same server it has pulled all the emails, contacts, appointments etc. from and is currently connected to!</p><p><br></p><p>The user has to log onto the Terminal Server, running the same version of Outlook, and set their message there.</p><p><br></p><p>I have no idea why Windows 11 is blocking standard Outlook functionality, and with a new ERP system coming online in the next few months, we just don’t have the time or resources to bother looking into the problem. We just stopped the roll-out of test machines at the 3 we have and the users know to use the terminal server, if they have problems with Outlook.</p>
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Donte
Log in to Reply<p>What version of Outlook?</p><p><br></p><p>I was just out of the Office this week Mon-We’d at Veeam training and I use Outlook 365 on Windows 11 and I set my out of office and it worked just fine. </p>
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wright_is
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Office 365, latest stable and preview versions, but against an on-prem Exchange 2012.</p>
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jcbeckman
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Well, there’s your problem – how DARE you still be using an on-prem server? MS needs even more of your money and trust – just let them host it. (NO, don’t, you’re better off with your own server!).</p>
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dftf
Log in to Reply<p>Have you tried disabling the "cached mode" (where an offline OST file can be used) as in many-cases doing so, and so requiring <em>Outlook</em> to run "live-only", often fixes weird issues like that. (Or when <em>Outlook </em>is closed, delete the OST file and let it rebuild it.)</p>
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dave78
Log in to Reply<p>Eh Vista and 8 weren’t unfinished </p>
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mattbg
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>On the other hand, it’s impressive that the vast, vast majority are running Windows 10.</p><p><br></p><p>Microsoft can’t have had high early adoption targets for Windows 11 given the hardware requirements and known supply chain constraints. Does anyone know what their targets are, or is Lansweeper talking out of their hat in saying that they are not going as well as Microsoft had hoped?</p>
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dallasnorth40
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Windows 11 is simply the best version of Windows ever released. I upgraded all my computers at home and I’m getting my co-workers gradually upgraded as well. Good times!</p>
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Brazbit
Log in to Reply<p>Our organization is normally really forward leaning on upgrades. The instant over 80% of the machines can run a given OS we switch. So with some OS updates that is very early in the life and others it might be a year or two in. However, in 11s case a much larger percentage cannot run it due to the requirements so we will be upgrading by attrition rather than a massive roll out. That likely means we will be running some legacy 10 machines 5-6 years from now, when 2.5 years would normally be the maximum, simply because of the requirements. Self-inflicted delays this time by Microsoft.</p>
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SvenJ
Log in to Reply<p>If you are running <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">legacy 10 machines 5-6 years from now, you will be running them 2-3 years past support, i.e. security updates. At least that is the schedule, and assuming you are not going to pay for extended support.</span></p>
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dftf
Log in to Reply<p>That’s assuming Microsoft chooses to <em>offer</em> any extended-support: the ESU programme, at-least on the consumer-side, was born with <em>Windows 7</em>, wasn’t it? <em>Windows 8 </em>is still set to die come January, with no talks of any extensions.</p><p><br></p><p>If enough people are still using <em>Windows 10</em> come October 2025, they might decide to continue the updates for-free though, past that date. Wouldn’t be the first-time: <em>XP</em> ended support in April 2014, even-though it should have ended in October 2011. And <em>Windows 98 Second Edition </em>and <em>Windows Me</em> were both supposed to end-support on 31 December 2004, but finally did so on 11 July 2006.</p>
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dpdpowered83
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>Why would I upgrade/migrate to a product that’s incomplete and rushed out?</p>
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mjdamron
Log in to Reply<p>I’d get Windows 11 but I hear it blows chunks. </p>
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ChuckD6421
Log in to Reply<p>Call me a Luddite if you must, but after 25 years supporting Windows (Server and WS) and the various *NIX systems, I’ve seen what drives MS and it’s not for the customers’ benefit. In our house we’re stopped at Windows 7 x64 except for one tablet that came with Win8.1.</p><p>Those of us with longer memories remember that MS got itself in trouble trying to corner the market back in the 90’s, and that tendency hasn’t subsided one bit. But now they’ve also focused on collecting user data which can be sold (ala Goggle). Yes, we use G and Amazon, etc who all do the same but we try to be mindful of what we hand over, and I cannot blame companies for resisting upgrades foisted on them by MS and I won’t fall for it either.</p><p>That said, we’re lucky in that I have some experience in locking down pc’s and networks, and I don’t recommend it otherwise. But we have several machines here that are about ten years old and do exactly what we need them to do, and we’re in no mood to now have to drop a couple thousand just so we can hand over more personal data (and what… lease a license? Please.) and relearn how to use the computer, to what ought to have stayed just an operating system company.</p>
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Patrick3D
Log in to Reply<p>4 out of 5 PC’s in our home are running Windows 10. I know how to enable the security feature in the BIOS that would allow Windows 11 to install on them but I’m not going to do it. There are too many changes to the basic functionality of Windows to push it on my parents, they barely understand Windows 10 as it is and I have no desire to start at ground zero with them. If their computers die they’re getting Chromebooks or iMacs, depending on whether my Dad insists on using Microsoft Office or not. </p><p>I have no desire to "upgrade" my other PC’s to it either. I’m tolerating it on my main machine for the sake of learning it for work in IT, but I hate it.</p>
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gpitman
Log in to Reply<p>I assume you have included Windows server for the people that run WS as their desktop OS, something I used to do back on the day when I worked… found it to be the best of the for stability.</p>
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ebraiter
Log in to Reply<p>I have a 4th generation top of the line Core i7 desktop. Exactly why should I spend money so Microsoft should push their security requirement on us? Just like everything else, it should be up to the user to decide if they want to be [possibly] unsecure. Look how many people are running unsupported operating system. Soon you will have Windows 8.xusers followed by Windows10 users in under 3.5 years.</p>
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ralfred
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>People have proven again and again, that they cannot be trusted with the security of their computers. Sure, it’s not that bad now, but a big part of that is Microsoft pushing updates to peoples computers and forcing security unto them.</p><p>There are people that know what they are doing, but the vast majority don’t. </p>
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sjgibb99
Log in to Reply<p>Wait, there’s still computers running Windows 2000??</p>
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vladimir
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>I wonder why Microsoft is surprised by this. There is not one single reason to upgrade. The best case scenario is the loss of functionality. The worse case scenario is that something you need does not work with win11. I am one of those enthusiasts who always wants the new thing. I upgraded one single machine to win11 out of curiosity. After using it for a month or so I didn’t even consider upgrading the others. I am sticking to win10 and considering switching again to MacOS for my next buy</p>
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brettscoast
Premium MemberLog in to Reply<p>wow Windows XP has a higher percentage of users than Windows 11, which doesn’t bode well for future takeup.</p>
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dftf
Log in to Reply<p>I’m not sure it really means as-much as you think it does.</p><p><br></p><p>Clearly there will be many PCs from the early 2000s which are not powerful-enough to run anything past <em>Windows XP</em>, which will explain that stat. Remember at one point, <em>XP </em>use surpassed <em>Windows 7</em> until it overtook; and likewise <em>Windows 7</em> was more-used than <em>Windows 10, </em>until that eventually overtook<em>.</em></p><p><br></p><p>By your logic we could say that all modern games-consoles have also failed, as none have surpassed the sales of the <em>PS1 </em>or <em>PS2</em>… though I would bet you that all modern-consoles see more use thesedays than those older ones!</p>