Microsoft to ban HDD installation of Windows 11 in off-the-shelf PCs next year

Microsoft has urged PC and laptop OEMs to phase out conventional hard drives as the primary boot media for Windows 11 in 2023 and equip their systems with solid state drives instead. This was told by analysts from Trendfocus, referring to PC manufacturers.

Image Source: Micron

Portal Tom’s Hardware reached out to Microsoft for comment, but they replied that they had nothing to say on this issue yet. Curiously, the system requirements of the Windows 11 operating system itself do not indicate the need to use an SSD. Instead, Microsoft is simply reporting the need for media with 64 GB or more of free space to install and use the OS. However, an SSD is required to use DirectStorage Fast Boot technology, as well as the Windows subsystem to run Android applications on this OS. However, it’s not clear if Microsoft plans to officially change the system requirements for Windows 11 following 2023, and if it’s going to specify in them to make the SSD mandatory.

On the one hand, the transition to SSD is quite logical. Unlike conventional hard drives, these drives do not create noise and operate much faster than conventional HDDs. However, despite the decline in prices for SSDs in recent years, even the most affordable models of these media now tend to cost more than HDD models with the same capacity. If we compare SSD and HDD with a capacity of 1 TB, then the cost of a gigabyte of memory as part of an HDD costs regarding $ 0.05, an SSD with a SATA III interface costs $ 0.08, and in an M.2 NVMe format drive it costs $ 0.14. So a 1TB HDD is $45, a SATA III SSD is $75, and an M.2 NVMe SSD is $150.

Image Source: Tom’s Hardware

Many PC and laptop manufacturers are already equipping their systems with solid state drives without any insistence from Microsoft. However, there are exceptions. In emerging markets, where the range is rich in low- and mid-range offerings, computers are often equipped with hard drives to reduce their cost.

According to Trendfocus vice president John Chen (John Chen), when replacing a hard drive with a capacity of 1 TB, the system will have to be equipped with an equivalent SSD with a capacity of only 256 GB. And the transition to a 512 GB solid-state drive will lead to an increase in the cost of the entire system as a whole. Many buyers who care regarding the amount of persistent memory will not agree with such a compromise.

“Initially, Microsoft expected to make the transition from HDD to SSD as early as this year. At least that’s what the OEMs say. However, in the end, the implementation of this plan was pushed back to the next year. Most likely the other half. Now OEMs are trying to negotiate with the company regarding possible exceptions. For example, discussions are underway to delay the transition to SSD in the desktop or emerging markets until 2024. All in all, things can still change.”Chen commented.

It is not yet clear what measures are planned to be taken. Microsoftfor those PC and laptop OEMs who refuse to follow her wishes. According to Trendfocus, the change in media type will hit the demand for hard drives next year anyway.

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