Windows 11

Carne

With the announcement of the new OS, what's your opinion on it so far? Will you upgrade or wait a while when the time comes?

You can check if your PC is meets the requirements by using the the "PC Health Check" tool.

https://download.microsoft.com/download/1/d/d/1dd9969b-bc9a-41bc-8455-bc657c939b47/WindowsPCHealthCheckSetup.msi

Spear

There's some odd stuff about their requirements. The claim to only support fairly recent processors, e.g. Intel 7th gen is unsupported. So officially my i9 7900X apparently isn't enough, despite having 10 cores.

Their health check tool tells a different story though, and it states my CPU is just fine, as it clearly would be.

The TPM 2.0 requirement is also causing a lot of confusion, since many board vendors and CPUs have it implemented in firmware and disabled by default. And if it you do check your BIOS, the naming convention for it varies wildly. In my case it's called PTT, as opposed to fTPM, plain TPM or other variant names.

quaidox

i seem to remember reading that they were gonna use the windows 10 name for 10 years, did i imagine this??

honirelandboy

quaidox wrote: »

i seem to remember reading that they were gonna use the windows 10 name for 10 years, did i imagine this??

Nope you didn't. was under the impression that windows 10 was meant to be the final operating system and were going to release service packs.

But whats happening now is Moore's law is no longer valid and so they may as well go all out.

Cerco

There is a commitment to support Win10 with service packs etc but don’t know how long it will last. May depend on the uptake of Win11.
Disappointed by the PC Healthcheck tool in that it does not list the non-conforming characteristics of the machine under test. So the user must check each item of the spec to find the non-conformance. It would have been easy to have included it in the software. But then Microsoft are selling laptops ��

Spoke too soon. MS have updated today the tool to provide the details of the non-conformances.

zom

Carne wrote: »

With the announcement of the new OS, what's your opinion on it so far? Will you upgrade or wait a while when the time comes?

I only upgrade when I'm forced to. I follow the rule "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

Gadgetman496

So Microsoft have relented.

Machines without TPM will be able (allowed) to run Windows 11 but only via a new clean install, not via upgrade.

Carne

You'll be allowed to install it on older hardware but at a cost in that you'll get no support or updates.

marcbrophy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117943172#Comment_117943172

I thought they'd go with no updates for "Service" or "Feature" updates. Meaning you'd need to get a new iso every 6 months for 22H1 and 22H2 etc, but to not give any updates seems like a massive security hole for an option that quite a few are gonna choose.

It's stupid on the face of it!

Sam Russell

I checked my laptop (Dell XPS) and desktop (HP) for Win 11 - and both are not compatible. One has an Intel i5 and the other an i7 - both deemed no good because of the processor.

What a) can I do apart from getting new ones of both - or b) can I just load up Win 11 and see what happens?

I will just keep Win 10 going for a while anyway.

More planned obsolescence. What a bummer.

Would Apple be better?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117995376#Comment_117995376

Your processors are not listed here?

Sam Russell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117995396#Comment_117995396

No - The desktop is Core i5-4440. It is not that old - well it is 2014 vintage.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117995376#Comment_117995376

I would not say Apple is better, it's different. Windows, Mac, Linux all have large user basis so it is not a case of not being able to work with one of these environments. The real things to consider is the time, effort and cost to switch. You have to learn to use a new operating system and learn how they do things in the new environment etc... and in come cases you may need to use a different application to do some of the things you do now in windows, especially if you use a lot of hobby applications as they are often not directly ported to all environments.

If you are willing to consider Apple, then I'd suggest you consider installing Mint on you machines as an alternative when you come to the end of the line with Windows 10. That is how I breath new life into old machines. It's not windows, but from what I have heard Windows users find it an easier transition than to other flavours of Linux. My son's laptop reach it's end of Windows live about 5 years ago and he put Mint on it and he used it all through college and even still does today about 6 years later.

Wanderer78

ancient machine here, i ll wait till it dies, nearly there now though

Sam Russell

To upgrade my laptop (Dell XPS - Intel i7) would cost about €2k. I don't think so at the moment - I'll wait a bit longer - quite a bit longer.

My desktop is i5, and feels a bit slow, and a bit clunky on bootup. I thought of putting a new motherboard (€200 or so) and new processor (another few hundred), and then new memory (another few hundred), and probably a new graphics card (another few hundred). That is a lot of few hundreds - so a new desktop would make sense since it would cost less.

Then again, just because Microsoft bring out a new version of windows, why should I be bothered. I'll wait a while. I was just surprised to learn my powerful computers were out of date so quickly.

I must investigate Linux - I assume Mint is a Linux version. I have some old desktops I could set up to try it out.

It was a surprise when I opened my desktop to fit a graphics card to find that all the connectors had changed since I last looked inside a desktop. The power supply units are different. The power connectors are all different. The slot(s) are different and much fewer. The HDD connector is a tiny one. I wanted to fit extra memory, but there a more types of slot than I can fathom out, or find on the market. I have two slots with one occupied - do I need to fit the extra (second) one as a pair - so do I junk the first one?

The whole inside is different - a whole new learning experience. Perhaps going to Mint could save me a mint.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117995501#Comment_117995501

7 years old is ancient in computing terms.

Sam Russell

Is there a replacement processor that could update the old desktop? The processor is quad core 64 bit but is not hyper=threaded. Maybe that is what is missing.

I have 8 GB of memory - which should be enough, and it was not cited as a problem.

At least I am not in a hurry to upgrade. I would like to see advantages for the upgrade first.

Jim2007

Yes, Mint is a version of Linux, it is considered the best choice for the average user, especially for someone coming from a Windows environment. The minimum memory requirement is 2GB, with 4GB for comfortable use, so 8GB would be very good.

You don't need to install it to test it. Burn the distribution onto a USB stick and boot your laptop for it. That way you can check out all of your devices etc and ensure they work correctly before installing and of course get a feel for working with it.

Esel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118056244#Comment_118056244

Do more research. I don't think your processor will be an issue.

TPM requirements could be, although I understand these can now be officially bypassed during upgrade/install.

FFVII

It's available for install on mine now....dunno if I want it. Anybody install it yet?

HeidiHeidi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118103689#Comment_118103689

I started the install, then changed my mind - and it installed anyway 🙄

I don't notice any difference, apart from the start up screen which is now in the middle instead of far left, and is a complete pain as a result.

I'm sure there's more stuff in the background, but nothing else has changed that I can see.

Gadgetman496

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118103708#Comment_118103708

You can move the start button back to the left if that's what you want.

Click the Start button and click the Settings gear icon in the Pinned apps section. Another option is to open the Start menu and start typing "Settings."

With the Settings app open, click on Personalization in the list of options on the left side of the window. Scroll down until you see the Taskbar option and click it. Once there, scroll to the bottom of the options where you'll find Taskbar behaviors and click the Taskbar Alignment dropdown that currently says Center; change it to Left.

HeidiHeidi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118104249#Comment_118104249

Hah!

Brilliant, thanks so much.

I love Boards!!

Sam Russell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118059087#Comment_118059087

What is TPM? I am not familiar with the abbreviation.

Gadgetman496

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118142770#Comment_118142770

Trusted Platform Module (TPM) technology is designed to provide hardware-based, security-related functions.

Maidhci

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118142770#Comment_118142770

Is appears that TPM version 2 is the minimum requirement for upgrading to W11. Not sure where I stand, the below are my Security Processor Details:

Manufacturer: Infineon

Manufacturer version 3.19

Spec. version 1.2

PPI spec. version 1.2

TPM spec. sub-version 2.2

Which of the above is the relevant specification to determine eligibility or non-eligibility, the minimum requirement per MS information is TPM version 2.

Thanks.

FFVII

Theirs a tool to scan your system and tell you.

riclad

From what i read windows 11 will allow microsoft to collect extra info on users, send you more ads , i think windows 10 is fine for ordinary private users as long as download all the latest security updates. I understand business users may install it as it offers more security options for TPM and the latest pcs that are less than 4 years old.i think pc companys like to sell more pcs and laptops so having a new windows os may bring in new business .i use most a browser ,music player, podcast app, i have seen nothing that says windows 11 is better.

i know that windows 11 has support for HDR monitors if you need hdr you may want to upgrade, but i just have a 1080p monitor.

tpm heres more info

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trusted_Platform_Module

smuggler.ie

hmm....

I understand business users may install it as it offers....

Might well depend on business ant their IT.

I could see IT object due to potential software compatibility issues and potential need of end user re-training to a new look/navigation.

Business might not choose to invest to new hardware if current is only 4-5 year old. Having mix of OS's, again, not IT preference.

but will see....

beachhead

I have a Windows 7 PC which starting "playing up" roughly a year-failing to connect with my mobile broadband dongle,connecting for a few minutes then disconnecting.For the last couple of months the dongle will not connect at all.Is this due to Windows 7 no longer recognising the dongle or has a setting changed? I use the dongle on Windows 10 and 11 PCs without a hitch.The PC is 2011 so older than any mentioned here.