… Hardware drivers and motherboard firmware BIOS or UEFI play a big role in system stability and security. While Windows Update can sometimes handle these updates, you shouldn't rely on it completely. Outdated firmware, for example, can leave your system open to security risks. …
… BIOS updates From time to time, manufacturers release updates to the UEFI firmware for their computers and motherboards. These updates are partly about various performance optimizations -- for example, when AMD or Intel have released new processors, but primarily about security. …
… One prerequisite is up-to-date firmware or a suitable BIOS update. With older devices, it may be the case that such updates are no longer available, which means the certificate refreshes may fail. …
… You may also find that future Windows feature updates are no longer installable. Things to keep in mind Very old computers that still rely on BIOS rather than UEFI are generally not affected by this issue and will not receive the update. …
… Windows updates, too. There's more than just security updates in there. You can sometimes get improved performance or new features and I don't just mean whatever Microsoft is doing with Copilot that month . Don't neglect your BIOS/UEFI firmware, either. …
… Don't forget to stay up-to-date Operating system and firmware updates aren't going to magically make your laptop battery life longer, but Microsoft and laptop manufacturers do release efficiency and performance improvements sometimes. …