Windows 10 is Reaching End of Life – Is Your Business Ready?


🚨 Microsoft is Ending Support for Windows 10, Office 2016 & 2019, Skype Business Server, and Windows Server 2012, and more🚨

If you didn’t already know Microsoft is retiring support, also known as the end of life (EOL) for the below widely used products in October of 2025. If your business still relies on any of the following, now is the time to start planning your upgrade or transition strategy.

Products Reaching End of Life:

  1. Windows 10 (All Editions)
  2. Microsoft Office 2016 & 2019
  3. Microsoft Exchange Server 2016
  4. Skype for Business Server 2019
  5. Windows Server 2012 / 2012 R2

Why End of Life Matters:

After the end-of-life (EOL) date, Microsoft will no longer be providing free security updates, patches, or technical support, which will put your systems at serious risk of vulnerabilities, compliance issues, and performance problems.

Need help coming up with a transition strategy? We Can Help.

Whether you’re facing hardware compatibility challenges with Windows 11 or need help transitioning away from Microsoft platforms, Giga Systems has you covered.

Fortunately, there are several options. You can pay for one year of extended support from Microsoft. If your system hardware is compatible, we can help you upgrade to Windows 11. We can get you a new system that runs Windows 11. Or we can need help you transition away from Microsoft and switch you to a Linux operating system, providing the software you need for your business is compatible with Linux. No matter what you decide, Giga Systems has you covered.

Don’t wait until it’s too late. Let Giga Systems help you stay secure and future-ready.

 Contact us today to schedule a consultation.

The Latest Versions of Windows 11 Will Encrypt Your Data (Hard Drive) By Default

Before I begin, this newsletter is focused on Windows, so unfortunately if you’re not a Windows user this newsletter won’t apply to you… Unless you find yourself on the market for a new Windows computer with the latest Windows installed or needing to install/reinstall the latest version of Windows.

You are now probably wondering, “what’s up”. Well a couple of months ago Microsoft announced that the latest version of Windows 11, will now have Bit Locker (Microsoft Encryption Software) enable by default. The challenge down the road comes when data recovery measures are needed, because of situations of system malfunctions, forgotten passwords, or hardware failures, is that most people would not know where to look for the required recovery encryption key.

What is Bit Locker?

You must be thinking now, what is Bit Locker? As mentioned, Bit Locker is the built-in Windows feature that is design to encrypt your entire hard drive using an encryption key (stored in a special hard-to-hack chip called a TPM) so that if your computer is stolen or hacked, the malicious individuals can’t just pull your data off the drive without logging in as you. The encryption isn’t a one-time thing, and Bit Locker continues encrypting your data as you add more data to your computer as you use it and all this works in the background, so you have the peace of mind that this is a layer of protection protecting your data from unauthorized users.

However, as mentioned, the challenge comes later down the road, when faced with the need to recover data from your device for numerous reasons not limited to system malfunctions, forgotten passwords, or hardware failures. Which leads us to the main reason for this newsletter to inform our followers that with Microsoft enabling BitLocker by default most people wouldn’t know where to look for the required recovery encryption key so you’re able to get access to your data again during data recovery.

Recovering Your Encryption Key

When it comes to where to find your encryption key the likely place to check for the recovery key is going to be on your Microsoft account. Many people when registering their version of Windows will use a Microsoft account which will then allow Microsoft to back up the Bit Locker recover key automatically, which can be found by going to https://account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey. Just make sure that the Microsoft Account you use is the same one you used to register Windows.

If your recovery key isn’t found by using the above method, chances are the device was registered under a work or school email account, and you will most likely need to contact that organizations IT support staff to see if they will check and retrieve your encryption recovery key for you.

Does This Sound Like Too Much?

If this sounds like a lot, and you’re in the process of setting up a new computer(s) and feeling overwhelmed Giga Systems is here to help. We can help guide you through the computer buying process, recommending computer(s), network equipment, and more all to meet your technology needs and your budget. We can also help you set up your computer(s) and network, making sure that any important data like the Bit Locker Recovery Encryption Key is securely backed up.

Once you’re up and running we have services available to help maintain your computer(s) and network by making sure important updates get installed to your system, and by making sure your data is backed up regularly. Giga Systems is also able to offer cyber security software like antivirus and password managers for all those who might be interested.

Contact Giga Systems Today! Email us at in**@*********ms.com or call us 405-877-9090 to setup a consultation today.

The Shut Down Power Option Doesn’t Fully Shut Down Your Windows PC (But Restarting Does)

Imagine! It’s Friday and the last thing you need to do before going home for the weekend is shut down your PC. You grab your mouse, you click on the power icon, and you gladly select the shutdown option, your PC turns off, you go home, and you don’t think about your PC until Monday. Now that Monday has begun, you power up your PC, take a sip from the beverage of your choice, and five minutes after your PC finishes booting you try to print an important memo, but the printer isn’t working. After trying to get the memo to print for the last 15 minutes, you call IT who says restart your PC, so slightly frustrated, you kindly inform IT that the PC has just been turned on less than 30 minutes ago. You and IT share a tense moment of silence, then IT asks when was the last time you restarted your PC? IT then goes on to explain that windows do not properly shut down the system anymore since Window 8.1.

To explain this scenario, we have to take a look at the year 2012, when Microsoft was set to release Windows 8, one of the chief things Microsoft aim to fix in the new version of Windows was how long it took the PC to boot up. Which is why Microsoft created a new feature design to make booting up your PC faster called Fast Startup/Hybrid Shutdown which has remained a default setting in the newest versions of Windows.

To understand what Fast Startup/Hybrid Shutdown is; you first have to know what the traditional power options in Windows were and what they did.

Shutdown – Fully shut down everything, discarding the running system state, and starts up the PC from scratch the next time it boots.
Hibernate/Sleep – Saves the entire system state, including all your open programs and files, to disk so you can quickly resume from where you left off.
This now takes us back to what Fast Startup/Hybrid Shutdown feature which is a mix of the traditional shutdown process with hibernation/sleep. Fast Startup/Hybrid Shutdown discards all your open programs and files (as it would during a traditional shutdown) but saves the state of the Windows kernel (the heart of windows operating system) to disk (as it would during hibernation). The next time you boot your PC, Windows restores the kernel and starts up the rest of the system.

The Fast Startup/Hybrid Shutdown is an awesome feature normally but there are times something in the kernel becomes funky, and the kernel needs to be dumped, and a new kernel created.

Which is why it’s important to remember that shutting down your PC won’t fix the issue but restarting it will. You can disable Fast Startup/Hybrid Shutdown as well. It will slow your boot time down, but on a modern fast computer it shouldn’t be too bad.

Did you know that Giga Systems sells computers, including this powerful mini-PC.

Beelink SEi12 mini-PC is maybe compact but it’s powerful! The size of this mini-PC comes out to 4.964.441.65 inches, so it is perfect for those who do not have a lot of space. This mini-PC is equipped with Intel i5-12450H Processor, 16G DDR4 RAM, WiFi 6, Display Port + HDMI, etc. To create a powerful combination to make your work easier and more efficient. For more detailed specs click here click here to learn more.

You can own Beelink SEi12 Mini PC today for $579 or bundled with a Logitech Wireless Keyboard/Mouse, and Lenova 21’ Monitor for $725. Plus applicable taxes and shipping.

To purchase or for more information contact Giga Systems at 405-877-9090 or email us at sa***@*********ms.com.