Microsoft wants to ban manufacturers of Windows computers from using an HDD as boot medium from 2023.
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Microsoft wants to ban HDDs as boot drives in new Windows 11 computers.
© intel.com
An SSD is installed as a boot drive in most new Windows computers. Some manufacturers rely on the M.2 standard or use the outdated SATA models instead. Classic hard drives can still be found in some new computers, but these usually only serve as a data grave. Microsoft apparently wants to prohibit manufacturers of Windows 11 computers from using an HDD as boot medium in new computers from 2023. This emerges from a report by memory analysis company Trendfocus. According to this, hardware partners from Microsoft will be obliged to install an SSD as boot medium in computers with Windows 11 from next year.
SSD not listed in hardware requirements
Interestingly, the hardware requirements for Windows 11 do not specifically include an SSD as a boot drive. Instead, it only mentions a data carrier with at least 64 GB of storage space. Accordingly, attempts were made by manufacturers to postpone the deadline set by Microsoft. With this step, Microsoft probably wants to increase the spread of the DirectStorage and Windows Subsystem for Android technologies. These rely on an SSD, but are not absolutely necessary for the use of Windows 11.
Only relevant in emerging markets
In view of the significantly higher performance of an SSD as a boot drive, Microsoft’s move is understandable. Inexpensive computers that rely on a classic hard drive as the boot medium only appear in emerging markets. Most new computers come with a 256 GB SSD, and Trendfocus believes that increasing it to 512 GB would increase the price of new PCs too much.
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