More tears--Windows 11 coming soon. Are you ready?

[Garzan]

3 hours ago, Garzan said:

Just as a heads up, Windows 11 has landed in the Insider Beta Channel instead of just the Dev channel. I'm in the process of downloading it now. 

All installed and working--so far so good. I'll probably install it on the HTPC and tablet in a day or two. Out of the box the Windows aids to people visually impaired have it minorly noisier, but that's all configuration stuff. A few system type menu option have moved around. I do like the updated File Explorer over the W10 version. My desktop is an i9 with 32G of ram, so it was quick to respond before. I'm not sure if I'd notice it being any quicker. 🙂 System responsiveness is just fine, and every application I've tried so far works just fine. 

Granted, this is now beta software, but still, I can't see me having any regrets about moving forward. And if you don't want to move forward, or can't move forward, there are still four more years of support for Windows 10.  

[Garzan]

This is an interesting and not wholly unexpected development. The tl;dr version is that while MS is sticking with it's hardware requirements, those hardware requirements will only be checked on upgrades. ISO installs apparently will not be checked. 

https://www.theverge.com/22644194/microsoft-windows-11-minimum-system-requirements-processors-changes

Microsoft is announcing today that it won’t block people from installing Windows 11 on most older PCs. While the software maker has recommended hardware requirements for Windows 11 — which it’s largely sticking to — a restriction to install the OS will only be enforced when you try to upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11 through Windows Update. This means anyone with a PC with an older CPU that doesn’t officially pass the upgrade test can still go ahead and download an ISO file of Windows 11 and install the OS manually.

Microsoft announced its Windows 11 minimum hardware requirements in June, and made it clear that only Intel 8th Gen and beyond CPUs were officially supported. Microsoft now tells us that this install workaround is designed primarily for businesses to evaluate Windows 11, and that people can upgrade at their own risk as the company can’t guarantee driver compatibility and overall system reliability. Microsoft won’t be recommending or advertising this method of installing Windows 11 to consumers.

It’s a big change that means millions of PCs won’t be left behind, technically. Consumers will still need to go to the effort of downloading an ISO file and manually installing Windows 11, which the vast majority probably won’t do. But for those happy to install Windows manually, the actual minimum Windows 11 specs mean that CPU generations don’t matter, as long as you have a 64-bit 1GHz processor with two or more cores, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage.

[Arnie85]

Who uses support for Windows anyway?  People talk about support for old software ending and people panicking about it.  I’ve used Windows as my OS since Win95 and I’ve never contacted support about something.  What is there to contact support about?

 

[Garzan]

The support commonly talked about is updates and patches, not calling some support person. I use "support" several times a month when I'm checking for updates and patches. 

Unpatched systems connected to the Internet are, in my not so humble opinion, silly. I'd use other adjectives but I'm trying to remember that Pattaya Addicts is a N2BN forum. :-) 555

[bangna]

I assume Microsoft knows there are many machines with AMD processors. My desktop and laptop use AMD A8 and A10 processors respectively.

[Ben75]

My guess is that they will come around and not only support installing on 'older'  systems but will support the most critical security updates on those systems. Runs fine here, but if they don't support security updates I'll not be using as a day-to-day system.

[Garzan]

11 minutes ago, Ben75 said:

My guess is that they will come around and not only support installing on 'older'  systems but will support the most critical security updates on those systems. Runs fine here, but if they don't support security updates I'll not be using as a day-to-day system.

30 seconds or so with Mr. Google...

https://gizmodo.com/microsofts-windows-11-workaround-for-unsupported-pcs-me-1847585069

Microsoft is cautioning that those who take an alternative road to installing Windows 11 on unsupported hardware won’t receive software updates.

Microsoft allows you to install the Windows 11 beta through the Insider program or load it via an ISO made through the built-in Media Creation Tool. But if you choose the latter method because your machine isn’t on the supported list, you won’t receive the essential updates needed to continue safely using Windows 11.

The Verge confirmed that unsupported PCs won’t receive regular Windows updates. Microsoft may not provide security patches and drivers either.

Microsoft has a history of randomly pushing out support drivers, even for its so-called retired operating systems. There was hope that the company would take the same approach for unsupported Windows 11 hardware down the line, at least concerning essential security patches. But that’s not something to hinge your bets on, especially if you need a stable copy of Windows 11 to get through the day-to-day. Of course, if you’re the kind of person who would pursue making an ISO and installing it in the first place, you could always do your diligence in ensuring Windows 11 stays updated with the latest patches made for supported systems.

 

https://sea.pcmag.com/windows-10/45681/windows-11-wont-offer-windows-update-on-unsupported-devices

Microsoft has revealed that Windows 11 won't feature Windows Update, the utility that handles operating system updates and security patches, when it's installed on unsupported devices.

The company previously affirmed its decision to limit Windows 11 to recent hardware—it requires an 8th Gen Intel Core or 2nd Gen AMD Ryzen processor as well as a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0—despite criticism for withholding the update from three- or four-year-old systems.

 

But there's a workaround: Microsoft will reportedly allow Windows 11 to be manually installed on unsupported hardware using its Media Creation Tool. That should allow people to experience the upcoming operating system without having to buy new hardware during a global chip shortage.

The workaround had some obvious flaws. Microsoft seemed unlikely to offer support for problems on PCs that don't meet Windows 11's system requirements, for example, especially since it cited reliability issues as one of the reasons why it didn't change those minimum specs.

Losing access to Windows Update could be a more serious obstacle for many people. The utility is a one-stop shop for updates to Windows, Microsoft Defender Antivirus, and at least some of the drivers the operating system uses to improve compatibility with connected hardware.

There are other ways to get those updates—and they'll probably be familiar to anyone who managed their own Windows install before Windows Update became a core part of the operating system—but they aren't nearly as convenient as the one-click experience the utility provides.

The message is clear: Yes, Microsoft will technically allow Windows 11 to be manually installed on devices it doesn't officially support, but it would really prefer if people would just upgrade their three- or four-year-old processors and switch to a TPM 2.0 security chip instead.

[Garzan]

https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2021/08/31/windows-11-available-on-october-5/

Today, we are thrilled to announce Windows 11 will start to become available on October 5, 2021. On this day, the free upgrade to Windows 11 will begin rolling out to eligible Windows 10 PCs and PCs that come pre-loaded with Windows 11 will start to become available for purchase. A new Windows experience, Windows 11 is designed to bring you closer to what you love.

As the PC continues to play a more central role in our lives than ever before — Windows 11 is ready to empower your productivity and inspire your creativity.

[Garzan]

20 minutes ago, Ben75 said:

My guess is that they will come around and not only support installing on 'older'  systems but will support the most critical security updates on those systems. Runs fine here, but if they don't support security updates I'll not be using as a day-to-day system.

Good luck with that. Only time will tell. 

[forcebwithu]

24 minutes ago, Garzan said:

... Windows 11 is designed to bring you closer to what you love.

That is good news. I've been waiting a long time to meet a 500B LT that will clean and fold my laundry in the morning. 

[Garzan]

2 hours ago, forcebwithu said:

That is good news. I've been waiting a long time to meet a 500B LT that will clean and fold my laundry in the morning. 

For me, dark chocolate and raspberry beer. :-)

[Leo_Bia]

2 hours ago, Garzan said:

Windows 11 is designed to bring you closer to what you love.

[Downandup]

On 28/08/2021 at 12:05, bangna said:

I assume Microsoft knows there are many machines with AMD processors. My desktop and laptop use AMD A8 and A10 processors respectively.

I have an AMD Ryzen core and have been using Windows 11 since it dropped to the dev channel.  What you might see is that some updates that come out are compatible with one processor brand while most are for all types.  Therefore I could have the latest version while and Intel user could be a build behind.

[Garzan]

Microsoft has apparently just released a new 'is your computer ready' tool, that gives more feedback than just yes or no like the original tool did. 

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/09/updated-pc-health-check-app-will-actually-tell-you-why-you-cant-run-windows-11/

When it announced Windows 11 and its strict new hardware requirements, Microsoft also released a PC Health Check tool that would analyze your hardware and tell you whether your computer could upgrade to Windows 11. The problem is that the app wouldn't tell you why your computer failed the test, leading some people with relatively new PCs to believe that they wouldn't be able to run the OS without hardware upgrades.

FURTHER READING

Why Windows 11 has such strict hardware requirements, according to Microsoft

A new version of the PC Health Check app, now available via this official Microsoft link to people without Windows Insider accounts, fixes that problem. In our testing, it's still pretty bad at guessing the approximate age of the PC that it's running on, but it at least presents more detailed information when it's telling you that you won't be able to upgrade to a new OS.

[Downandup]

5 hours ago, Garzan said:

Microsoft has apparently just released a new 'is your computer ready' tool, that gives more feedback than just yes or no like the original tool did. 

I installed that last week and found out that my cpu is too old to run windows 11 although it's working fine.  Either Microsoft will support older processors or else I will be forced to revert back to windows 10 at some point.  

[Garzan]

My understanding today, no telling what Microsoft will do tomorrow, is that you can put W11 on older devices but when it's released, you won't be able to get updates. W10 is still going to have five years of support, so worst case isn't that bad. 

My laptop is too old for W11, but my desktop and tablet aren't, so I have some of the same issues. I never bothered to try to get W11 on my Gen 4 laptop. 

[Gary Loei]

My older HP ProDesk has 16 GB of RAM and an i5 4670 CPU. The hardware is much faster than Windows 11 requires but the CPU needs something called TPM. This CPU doesn't support TPM simply because it is too old. I plan to continue using this great old computer until it dies. No way am I going to buy a new machine just to use the new Windows.

[Garzan]

4 hours ago, Gary Loei said:

No way am I going to buy a new machine just to use the new Windows.

I've got a Gen 4 i5 Intel NUC computer, and a Gen 4 i5 laptop. Both are perfectly good computers. It's fortunate that MS is still going to provide full updates and patches to W10 for another four years. 

Now, that said, I do really like W11 on my new desktop, but like you, not enough to replace those two perfectly good systems before they die from whatever failure. 

[BigLicks]

I am still using Windows 7 ultimate, used it now for a good number of years, I tried Windows 10 for a while but went back to 7, I love it, I have no plans to change until I have to...

[Garzan]

3 minutes ago, BigLicks said:

I am still using Windows 7 ultimate, used it now for a good number of years, I tried Windows 10 for a while but went back to 7, I love it, I have no plans to change until I have to...

Yes, while it is of course up to you, there's no way I'd be using an unpatched and unpatchable system plugged into the internet. It's really just a big 'fuck you' to everyone else on the internet. 'So what if my machine gets turned into a bot. It still works good for me.'

I know you aren't alone in still using W7. It is entirely up to you for what you want to do, and what you might possibly be doing to others, with or without your knowledge. 🙂 

[Gary Loei]

I replaced my Dell Precision with the HP. The Dell is older than the HP. I was going to take the Dell to my Jomtien condo. I fired it up today and was a bit surprised that it will run Windows 11. It is downloading as I write this post. It's a huge download. If it works OK and I like Win 11, I may take the HP to my condo.

[Garzan]

Just now, Gary Loei said:

If it works OK and I like Win 11, I may take the HP to my condo.

I've seen a few articles about getting around the TPM and generational restrictions on W11. I haven't tried any of them yet on either of my older machines. Part of that has been waiting for the release version of W11 to come out. And part of it is just being lazy. 🙂 

[gatorade88]

You can install Windows 11 without any of the TPM or CPU requirements if you do a clean install off an .ISO - or if you want to keep the inplace upgrade there are hacks around skipping the requirements check by replacing install files from a Windows 10 version. So far running on unsupported hardware has not excluded the receiving of updates (the first cumulative Sep-21 update has come through).

However, not convinced the changes from Win 10 -> Win 11 so far (mostly superficial visual) are worth it at the moment...

[LarryDarrell]

The phony new hardware requirements for Windows 11 are just a giveaway to OEMs so that they can sell more new PCs.  Once I found out that none of my current machines would be officially supported for an upgrade I made the decision to finally quit using Windows as my primary OS.  I have used Windows since version 2 and now the journey is over.

95% of all ransomware is targeted at Windows.  Add to that all of the problems with Microsoft Exchange, Office, OneDrive and other things and you have an ecosystem that is just one big failure waiting to happen. 

[Garzan]

8 hours ago, LarryDarrell said:

Once I found out that none of my current machines would be officially supported for an upgrade I made the decision to finally quit using Windows as my primary OS.

In my own opinion, that makes complete and total sense. If a particular operating system is not working out for you, by all means change to something else. 🙂 There are lots of options out there, and some free ones are arguably "better" than Microsoft Windows. 

 

For me though, even for a formerly fairly rabid anti-Microsoft person, I'm pretty happy with Windows 11. But there are lots of fine options for people who aren't so happy with Microsoft's latest efforts.