Windows 11

October 22, 2024… Windows 11 24H2 is now “shipping”. There are reasons to avoid this update for a while. Some of them are shown in this page provided by Microsoft… Windows11-24H2 health status

This item from Chris Titus clarifies the recent discovery of “Recall components” being in Windows 11 24H2. The Recall feature has serious implications as relates to security and privacy. Chris Titus, recent discoveries about Recall.

August 14,2024… 14 more months before Windows 10 reaches “end of support”. For Window 10 users that have “put off or procrastinated” dealing with the subject there are “alternatives”. As of today, here is a short list of viable (in my opinion) alternatives.

1) “IF” you have some cash burning a hole in your wallet, find an appropriate new(er) computer at (Walmart, Best Buy, Office Depot, Costco, Amazon, Ebay, Newegg). Today's (mid 2024) hardware alternatives are likely to be faster and cheaper than the computer you have that does not allow Windows 11. Windows 11 is not certified for computers preceding Generation 8 of Intel Core I[3,5 or 7]. Which means… If your computer is more that 7 years old, it probably is not “approved” for Windows 11. If you need some help “selecting” the right answer for your specific needs, come to the Computer Club Help Center and we can probably help you find the “right” product. Recently, during one of my Walmart strolls, I saw “just fine” Windows 11 laptops in the $300 to $600 range. Size of screen seemed to be the “visual” difference that impacts price/cost the most. My older eyes like larger screens. I also noticed there are numbers of devices (laptops, tablets) configured with ChromeOS (Chrome Books) . If your computer activities only include email, internet surfing, online banking and shopping, a device using ChromeOS might be “all you need”.

The other, “I want a bigger hole in my wallet” approach is …. Buy an Apple product (desktop, laptop, tablet, phone). I have a 14 year old “recycled” macbook(laptop). I like it, but it was free, except for the SSD I installed. It is running the latest OS(Sonoma), which is sort of like running Windows 11 on a 14 year old laptop (Apple does NOT support my configuration). Swallowing the Apple pill is challenging but very doable. It is different, but in some ways a “good” different.

2) Stay with windows 10. As long as it was working before “end of support”. If Windows Defender updates continue as they have with Windows 7 then a longer useful life of Windows 10 (without OS or system upgrades/updates) is probable. September 2, 2024… The youtube channelBritec made me aware that 0patch.com is a service that will offer “security issue” patches for Windows 10.

3) Use one of the methods of installing windows 11 on unsupported hardware. If it works for you, and you keep backups of your data, then if Microsoft “really or eventually” disables the OS on your version of hardware, you have a better chance of using one of the other Windows 11 alternatives. If you do take this path…. Make sure you understand the bad side of “Bit Locker”. If you are not paying attention during Windows 11 installation/upgrade, Bit Locker can be turned on. The Help Center has helped numerous residents “resolve” bit locker issues that would not let their computer “boot”. As to hardware requirements for Windows 11 (not including processor age), more memory is better. You can “turn stuff off”, in windows 11 and that can be helpful.

4) Change to ChromeOS Flex or a “flavor” of Linux. I view ChromeOS Flex as a “flavor” of Linux, with guardrails. To be successful with either you need to have some “basic” understanding/skills with “where is my data”, folders, files and… You must be willing to invest a bit of time dealing with the “change”. The “major” benefit(s) to this approach are… ChromeOS and Linux are FREE. Either one will probably run “fine” on the hardware you have. However there is a “hmmm?” with ChromeOS. ChromeOS behavior has a “I want YOU” behavior that is similar to Windows 11 (Microsoft). Both operating systems want you to be part of their network services. ChromeOS will not let you use the computer the first time unless you are connected to the internet. Hmmm?? Apparently Google (like Microsoft) thinks you are a product. There is “lots” of Linux knowledge on Youtube and the internet. The bigger challenge with both solutions is, “How do I do that?”. Thankfully there are plenty of “how to's” on the internet (video and text) so other paragraphs of this wiki are likely to point to the details. Things to be aware of… ChromeOS and Linux can boot/run from a thumb drive. Linux can be installed on a “partition” of your “hard drive” and access your data on the Windows partition. Putting Linux on a “partition” means you can boot/use Linux or Windows. But if you are “content” with booting from a thumb drive then your “computer can be”, the thumb drive. You just need to find a computer that will let you boot from the thumb drive. Be careful with the “Linux on Thumb Drive” approach. There are “time requirements”, but the benefit of “free”, if you are “tired” of Microsoft methods.

October 6, 2021… Windows 11 has been released. Windows 11 is still a mystery. If you visit youtube.com and search for “Windows 11” or search the internet for “Windows 11”, you will find a lot of links/references. If you have time to determine which links or references might be helpful to the Sun City community please add your comments and/or observations to this wiki page.

My observations… so far…. The tool that Microsoft supplies, to determine if your computer is Windows 11 compatible, is “suspicious”. Why? In the past, the tool indicated some of my computers did not qualify but the list of “processors” did indicate my computers would work. Hmmm? Inconsistent. Today, one of my machines indicated it would not work but it met all of the “Microsoft stated requirements”. Hmmm??? There is inconsistency in the tool or the statement of requirements.

May 4, 2023: This is todays better option: Explaining Computers, Unsupported Hardware. The short version… Use Rufus to construct a thumb drive that contains the Windows 11 installation media. Rufus can “modify” the installation media to avoid some Windows 11 installation limitations. Here is a link to the “source” of rufus: https://github.com/pbatard/rufus

July 26, 2024: Here is a newer (might be considered friendlier) way to create a (modified) Windows 11 install media. , CyberCPU, no prompts, unsupported hardware, no network The secret sauce is here: https://schneegans.de/windows/unattend-generator/ You might find some of the “other stuff” on schneegans.de “interesting”?

This process is NOT for the novice. Reference: CyberCPU youtube channel

Which refers to: Github.com and this project: Force-Windows-11-Install

March 17, 2022: Here is a youtube video by Craft Computing that was worth my time. Clues starting at about 9:15 in the video.

When you are prompted to create a Microsoft account, do the following… “Shift F10” will present a “command prompt” window. Type “taskmgr”.. In the Taskmgr window, find the task “Network Connection Flow” and (end the task): Now you can create a local account that does not require network connection. Suggestion… Do not create a password for the local account until after the installation is complete.

This tool, identified in the Craft Computing video, looks useful: Github ThisIsWin11

Has anyone tried? Do as Microsoft desires and create the first account as a Microsoft account. After the system is “Up”, disconnect from the internet. Then create a local Administrator account. Logout of the first account. Login with the local/Administrator account. Then delete the first(Microsoft) account.

March 29, 2022: I attached a 2.5 inch hard drive from a Windows 10 computer to a new Dell with Windows 11. Why? I wanted to copy all the user files from the Windows 10 hard drive to the Windows 11 drive. I wanted to copy all the user folders and the ProgramData folder. Strange stuff happened. I would start the paste process, it would appear to finish, but the new files I expected to find on the Windows 11 drive would not be on the Windows 11 drive. It appeared that copy/paste did not work. Then I googled “Windows 11 copy paste failure”. Nice… This is a known bug. WOW!!! I will try robocopy. April 1… April fool, kinda. Further investigation revealed the real problem. File Explorer on Windows 11 has a default configuration that does NOT show hidden files. The ProgramData folder is a hidden folder. Whoops. The solution… Enable hidden files as “viewable” in Windows 11 File Explorer.

This item on youtube.com by Thiojoe has some good stuff. The links that follow might be helpful. BUT, as with any link on the web, BE CAREFUL! Start11 not free. Everything, a better search, free. Directory Opus, not free. Winaero Tweaker, free. O&O Shutup10++, freeware, Microsoft PowerToys, free

Why would you care about a smaller and lighter Windows 11.

1) Windows 11 is not “officially” supported on a lot of older and useful hardware.

2) Windows 10 will reach its “end of life” in a couple of years.

3) Windows 11 delivers a lot of “baggage” that can be removed.

4) Big questions??? Will “stripped down” versions of Windows 11 be able to get “updates”? Will Windows Update install stuff that was removed by the Tiny 11 process?

March 11, 2023: This week I discovered youtube “stuff” about Tiny 11. Below are links to tools and process's for creating “interesting versions” of Windows 11.

The results of a duckduckgo search for Tiny 11.

A TomsHardware.com item about Tiny 11 builder

An item on the minitool.com site about Tiny 11 Builder.

Tiny 11 project on Github.

This video needs some written documents . There are a lot of steps so getting it right will need some testing.

More youtube surfing revealed this: Tiny11 comparison with GhostSpectre . This led to my discovery that GhostSpectre is a youtube channel. Finding a place to “download” GhostSpectre led me here: tech-latest.com . Following the links on tech-latest.com is “dangerous” because of “click bait”. This is the web page that provided a "real download" and the "password" to unzip the download. The resulting download did unzip with the provided password and Windows Defender did NOT find a virus in the unzipped iso.

March 26, 2023… I tried Tiny11 and GhostSpectre on/in a VM(Virtual Machine) . I used Vmware Player version 17 on a Windows 10 host running on an AMD 5600G. Both of them worked. Additional testing needs to be done on unsupported Windows 11 hardware.

This item by Chris Titus might be helpful. The secret sauce is:

do this in the “Run” prompt.

shell:::{A8A91A66-3A7D-4424-8D24-04E180695C7A}“

Here is an opinion… reasons-people-moving-windows-11-back-to-windows-10