Upgrading to Windows 11 .... now that the end of Windows 10 is looming :-(((

[Mognet]

Microsoft have removed their documentation on how to install Windows 11 without an account https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/06/microsoft-removes-documentation-for-switching-to-a-local-account-in-windows-11/ Looks like they're going to insist on users having an account with them.

Getting a Linux laptop is becoming more tempting!

[DaveL59]

That's not good 😞 

Even tho I do add a MS account I only use a local one. Even better the PC's always whinge about a 'problem with the MS account even tho its valid and works, it just doesn't get logged on very often. Did the same on Woes-10 too tho. I only ever added the MS account so it'd register the digital license for the win install, turns out tho that don't really work either since it doesn't seem to have any memories of any of them last I looked.

Wonder if having a domain server running AD would get around it? Not that I really want to go to the hassle of setting one up again but...

[Paul M]

I recently got 2 new mini PC's, generic machines with N100 processors. They came with W11 preinstalled, but I just blasted over it with Ubuntu.

Of my 6 Pc's, 1 is W10 - my imaging PC, and one is W11 - my daily use lap top.

I only suffer windows now because APT ( Astrophotography Tool) is Windows only. Unfortunately that is unlikely to change and will not be a reason to stay with Windows going forward.

[malc-c]

11 hours ago, DaveL59 said:

 

Wonder if having a domain server running AD would get around it? Not that I really want to go to the hassle of setting one up again but...

There will always be a way of removing the need to set up an MS account as the bulk of the income for MS is generated in the business sector and having to setup an MS account on each machine in a business environment would be impractical. It could well be that adding a machine to a Domain through Active Directory disables the need for an MS account, I don't know, and most of the youtube channels that demonstrate the way to get round this and other requirements of  installing Windows 11 focus on private user / domestic set ups rather than business machines

Edited Wednesday at 10:07 by malc-c
typo

[Gfamily]

Is there a hope that with the ending of support for Win 10 it will become update- free? 

For the record: none of my machines are Win11 ready. 

[Xilman]

5 hours ago, Paul M said:

I recently got 2 new mini PC's, generic machines with N100 processors. They came with W11 preinstalled, but I just blasted over it with Ubuntu.

Of my 6 Pc's, 1 is W10 - my imaging PC, and one is W11 - my daily use lap top.

I only suffer windows now because APT ( Astrophotography Tool) is Windows only. Unfortunately that is unlikely to change and will not be a reason to stay with Windows going forward.

Does your APT run under WINE?  (My APT, Aperture Photometry Tool, is OS-agnostic.)

If not, how about a virtual machine with an elderly release of Windoze? Such systems are extremely easy to firewall off from attacks coming in from the interweb thingy.

Note to self: see if Lesvedome runs under WINE or in a VM. Lesvedome is the only component shackling my TCS to MS. Not yet tried it because hardware control is notoriously tricky except on natively hosted systems.

 

[Paul M]

1 hour ago, Xilman said:

Does your APT run under WINE?  (My APT, Aperture Photometry Tool, is OS-agnostic.)

If not, how about a virtual machine with an elderly release of Windoze? Such systems are extremely easy to firewall off from attacks coming in from the interweb thingy.

Note to self: see if Lesvedome runs under WINE or in a VM. Lesvedome is the only component shackling my TCS to MS. Not yet tried it because hardware control is notoriously tricky except on natively hosted systems.

 

I looked at WINE earlier this year but only a very old APT version was available.

I'm not desperate yet, I've got an old HP EliteDesk mini PC that I recently refurbed. It's running Ubuntu 24.04 nicely and I've got kStars/Ekos installed along with all the usual gubbins; PHD2, ASTAP...

I've not had chance to try it under the sky yet, but assuming everything plays nicely then that'll be my route.

I did have a period of KStars et al a while ago as part of Astroberry but my Pi 4 was devastatingly unstable...