Windows 11, yes or no?

[tomato]

Sorry if this has already been asked and it is sort of resurrecting the Win 10 upgrade discussions that went on, but are folks going to upgrade to Win 11? 
 

When Win 10 came out I was in the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” camp but I acquired a couple of new machines with it installed, got a bit nervous about the Win 7 no longer supported messages, so decided to install Win 10 on all my machines. All my software and kit worked fine with it, and apart from the annoying updates and everything being referred to as Apps, I’ve got along with it.

Just wondered if I should do it all again?

[ONIKKINEN]

Not for many years. No reason to upgrade from WIN10 and there are no guarantees the new version is any better. In my opinion the first few years after a new OS gets released is just unofficial beta testing from early adopters. Im in no rush as WIN10 will still be supported for 4 years.

 

Also, the strangely strict hardware limitations will turn just about 90% of the existing desktop PC crowd away from the upgrade, including me. In 4 years i might retire my I7 6700K/GTX1080 combo, which is still top tier stuff after years of use. I find that hardware hasn't really improved all that much in the recent years, so why upgrade?

[rl]

You may not even be able to install Windows 11....Microsoft in their wisdom have made it a requirement to have a "Trust" module present....only machines made in the last 3-4 years with the latest Intel / Amd processors have this facility. There are probably 10 PCs/ Laptops in my house...not one will handle Windows 11.

There is an online facility somewhere to check if your PC is suitable. 

Intel / AMD must be laughing all the way to the bank.....and I would'nt be surprised to see the secondhand prices of machines without this facility drop through the floor.

[almcl]

I was in the same camp, and put off upgrading to 10 until Win 7 support ended and then upgraded all 4 machines without too many problems although some of the copy protection systems on older software needed bypassing.

But with Win 11 there's a different issue (for me, at least): only one machine is capable of running it.  Either the processor isn't supported or the boot mode isn't or the lack of a TPM module or all three, means only the main desktop could make the leap (and I spent most of Friday swapping components between the two desktops to get to that point). 

Having been a serial upgrader of hardware for at least 30 years, I suppose I'll have to make the jump eventually, but won't be in any hurry.

Be interested to hear others' views 

[Dr_Ju_ju]

If you're lucky enough to have hardware that meets the specification, and not part of a local domain, then currently you can upgrade for free, if your brave enough....  I have it on a test laptop, but honestly, I doubt I'll be upgrading any of my other PC's as, for me, it just doesn't offer any advantages, and for some software, will actively try to inhibit from running, as it doesn't meet M$'s perceived view of what or what is not safe to run....  

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

Yea the processor compatibility list is pants. I'm not spending £100-300 upgrading my perfectly decent for 1080p gaming and every day tasks, overclocked & liquid cooled AMD 1600x cpu just to upgrade to Windows 11.  When the B350 gaming mobo/1600 cpu/Nvidia 2060 gfx/16gb 2666mhz ram starts struggling to make 60-75 fps at 1080p I'll make the move.

 

Edited October 17, 2021 by ScouseSpaceCadet

[tomato]

Thanks for the replies, I probably only have one machine that will run Win 11, so will leave it alone for now.

[Alien 13]

I have a high end gaming laptop thats only a few years old and MS says NO, meets all requirements apart from the i7 processor version not being supported.

Alan

[DaveS]

I think only my tablet PC can run Win 11. All the rest are either too old or don't have a high enough spec of processor. TBH my office PC that I do my imaging work on is now 10 years old so could do with replacing as the imaging PC. I recently had to replace the graphics card as the old one died.

[rwillett]

I can't see what value win 11 will bring. At the end of the day, you run applications, not the OS, that's just there to let the apps run. If all your apps run Windows 10 and it's still supported, stay with it. 

As other people have said, Windows 11 is picky on the hardware. It's entirely possible that 60-70% of current Win 10 PC's will never run Windows 11. Are Microsoft going to give that market up? Unlikely. 

As an aside I have just downloaded Windows 11 for Arm Insider preview to try it on my mac mini m1 under Parallels. Works well though doesn't run Battlefield 4 yet 😁 however the ui has changed yet again and so I couldn't find anything. 

I'm stopping with Win 10 for at least another, possibly two before I even think about it. 

Rob

[Xoc1]

When a major OS supplier like Microsoft bends over backwards to get as many people as possible to adopt Windows 10 with a wide compatibility list and a promise of longevity. Then releases a new windows version with a restrictive compatibility that will eventually make the majority of windows PC's in current use obselete, Unless we run the risk of insecure software or migrate to Linux you have to question the motivation.

In these times where we should all be thinking green and reducing our carbon footprint, I wonder what this move will cost the planet.

 

 

[Anne S]

On my main imaging laptop, one that was upgraded from W7 I found that W10 took a dislike to Ioptron Commander which is the Ascom driver for my mount. It kept quarantining in!

My newer laptop wasn't bothered. There's nothing worse than setting up and then having to waste time trying to fix something that's always worked perfectly. I only upgraded to W10 because software vendors kept saying they wouldn't support W7. I think W7 was vastly better than W10. Several times the laptop has started upgrading itself outside active hours just because I turned it on before to check everything was working and it started downloading....

My husband had his laptop waste an hour imaging time waiting for it to turn on after an update!

I begin to wonder who owns the laptops, me or Microsoft....

[PeterCPC]

My desktop fails on the processor (i5-6400) but otherwise meets all the requirements. I can't see the point of replacing a perfectly good desktop just to get W11. They say that you can still run W11 using an ISO file but then you won't be getting any further updates - maybe that's a good thing. If it's not broke......

[Alien 13]

I run win 10 home and can honestly say that I have never had an update forced on me, in fact I have to actively go looking for them. I have only the basic settings for active hours etc enabled but do check for any updates for Win or system/drivers/software on a weekly basis.. 

As a side note on my android phone I get updates to my apps every day sometimes 20 or more at a time and updates to the system at least once a month.

Alan

[Anne S]

2 hours ago, PeterCPC said:

My desktop fails on the processor (i5-6400) but otherwise meets all the requirements. I can't see the point of replacing a perfectly good desktop just to get W11. They say that you can still run W11 using an ISO file but then you won't be getting any further updates - maybe that's a good thing. If it's not broke......

I've just checked my desktop, it's failing with the processor too, i5 7400. It's got tpm switched on. I read somewhere the computer manufacturers may have something to do with it, they want us to buy new pcs.

There's also some suggestion W11 may be a flop because so many people won't be able to upgrade! We're not made of money.

[Skyline]

One of the most fundamental requirements are you are using TPM 2.0 for your pc to qualify.

 

Edited October 18, 2021 by Skyline

[wulfrun]

My laptop fails due to the processor but it does have the tpm bit. It works fine and does all I ask of it, so it'll be staying on W10 for now. By the time they stop supporting W10, I'll be migrating it to Linux (if the W10 updates haven't driven me there beforehand!). I won't be upgrading it until I feel it's too out of date, rather than due to OS issues. I like Linux anyway, so no tears over W10.

[iantaylor2uk]

I have a fairly new gaming PC (AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 6-core  processor + 16 GB ram, with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card), and it does meet the requirements for Windows 11, but I'll leave it for a few months in case there any teething problems for early adopters. 

[Anne S]

On 18/10/2021 at 12:22, Skyline said:

One of the most fundamental requirements are you are using TPM 2.0 for your pc to qualify.

 

I've just checked, my desktop is running TPM2.0 version 1.16. It fails on the processor. My year old laptop passed. It's got TPM2.0 version 1.39.

If TPM is the key issue then I should be OK on my desktop! I may upgrade it a little further down the line but at the moment it's quite nippy enough for me. It's got a SSD and ordinary hard drive so quick to load software.

[Cosmic Geoff]

My elderly Win7 desktop which I am typing this on has a TPM chip, which however needs enabling or something.

PC Pro magazine has run a couple of articles on Windows 11. The impression I got was that it is nice but non-essential.  Will it make your astronomy software run better? I don't think so.  I don't like Windows 10 that much.  The Windows Explorer has too many self-generated folders, and Windows 10 networking is awful and almost unusable, in contrast to Windows 7 networking which works every time.

I'll leave it till I have to buy another (used) machine and it comes with Win 11 installed.

[sterec]

On 18/10/2021 at 12:58, iantaylor2uk said:

I have a fairly new gaming PC (AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 6-core  processor + 16 GB ram, with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card), and it does meet the requirements for Windows 11, but I'll leave it for a few months in case there any teething problems for early adopters. 

I thought something similar about my computer but TPM 2.0 can be activated in the BIOS.  If often has a different name depending on the motherboard manufacturer.

[rwillett]

There is a MS documented way around the TPM module not being present and that's to install Windows 11 manually.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/ways-to-install-windows-11-e0edbbfb-cfc5-4011-868b-2ce77ac7c70e

MS put loads of warnings about this, and you take your own risks, but I would argue that simply having Windows installed is a risk itself, and no, thats not a joke. If you want stability get a Unix, Linux or BSD box, if you want a reasonable amount of stability and some nice apps, get a Mac. YMMV

Rob

[Alien 13]

It seems to me that there are more than a few of us that are fine with the TPM chip but fail on the processor version, what is it about the older i7 chips that win 11 doesn't like?

Alan

[PeterCPC]

25 minutes ago, Alien 13 said:

It seems to me that there are more than a few of us that are fine with the TPM chip but fail on the processor version, what is it about the older i7 chips that win 11 doesn't like?

Alan

I get the impression that it's an "age thing". MS decided to draw the line somewhere. I think that older processors would run W11 quite happily but MS are being very restrictive.

[900SL]

One of the motivations for MS bringing Windows upgrades to market is their ongoing development of better ways to monetise you as a consumer. Which means an improved integrated platform for data collection, targeted sales and media/software/product etc consumption. They lag behind Apple in that regard but are catching up. Forget the old days of paying for an OS that did just that.  

 

No Win 11 for me.