Installing Windows 11 vs Windows 10 on a new computer

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We will be taking delivery of a new HP Z2 Tower G9 Workstation in late December and are trying to decide if we want to set it up as a Windows 10 or Windows 11 machine?

The machine will be delivered with Windows 11 Pro and can be configured as a Windows 10 system through downgrade rights from Windows 11 Pro.

We plan on purchasing and installing all new software on the system and transferring data files from a PC that we will be retiring.

The work station’s hardware will includes:

• An Intel® Core™ i7-12700 Processor (2.1 GHz, up to 4.9 GHz w/Boost, 25 MB cache, 12 core, 65W) ECC + Intel® UHD Graphics 770;
• 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR5-4800 UDIMM Memory;
• NVIDIA® T400 (4 GB GDDR6, 3 x Mini DisplayPort) Graphics;
• A 450 W power supply;
• A 512 GB SSD, 2TB SSD, and 2TB HHD;
• Intel® Wi-Fi 6 AX211 + Bluetooth® 5.2; and
• A 9.5mm SuperMulti DVDRW Optical Disc Drive.

We know that there has been ongoing resistance to upgrading existing Windows 10 PCs to Windows 11 and are wondering if the same is true for new workstations.

So, what are the pros and cons of setting up the new computer using Windows 10 vs. Windows 11.

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New installs of Windows 11 have the option of enabling Smart App Control.  if you upgrade from 10 you aren’t able to choose this.  Now this may not be a deal breaker but it’s one data point of something you can only do with a clean install of 11 versus upgrade from 10.

We are three years away from end of life of Windows 10.  It’s hitting that spot where I start to wince at installing Windows 10 on new hardware unless I have a line of business app that’s keeping me on 10.

Can you roll out Windows 11 21H2 rather than 22H2?

Susan Bradley Patch Lady

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Kathy Stevens

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We are a month away from taking delivery of the new computer.

We will look into rolling out Windows 11 21H2 rather than 22H2 as we get closer to the setup date.

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I know that if a Windows 11 21H2 PC is updated to 22H2 it can be rolled back to 21H2 within ten days of the update.

But how do we get to Windows 11 21H2 if the new computer is delivered with 22H2?

I know that one option is to reinstall Windows 11 using an official Windows 11 ISO downloaded from Microsoft’s website to a bootable USB drive.

But if we use the reinstall approach, we will lose the other programs that HP ships with the new system.

Are there other options?

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I’ve not used W11 but it seems the issues people have are largely cosmetic, as they were with W10. I would go straight to W11 and see how it goes.

cheers, Paul

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Kathy Stevens

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I have now installed and used W11. Apart from the cosmetic items (you can easily move the menu and pinned items back to the left) there is nothing of note that makes it harder to use than W10. I used Susan’s hint to set up a local account and it’s trundling along nicely.

cheers, Paul

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legnoso, Kathy Stevens

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@Kathy Stevens

be sure to download & install the device drivers for that HP Z2 Tower G9 Workstation Desktop PC from HP’s support page.

they have them for Windows 10 (versions 20H2 to 21H2) and Windows 11 (both versions 21H2 & 22H2)

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Kathy Stevens

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We are still wrestling with using Windows 10 or 11 on the new machine.

Our practice has been to keep our operating system and software needs simple by configuring all of our PCs with the same operating system and software.

A move to Windows 11, on the new machine, is a deviation from our plan to retain Windows 10 on all systems until its end of life.

We do not have any line of business apps that require Windows 10 so that is not an issue.

Further pushing us to Windows 11 is Susan’s favorable comments related to Windows 11’s Smart App Control.

So, for now, it looks like we will be installing Windows 11 Pro unless we get any further feedback favoring Windows 10.

And it looks like our Windows 11 learning curve will begin early in the New Year.

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Hi Kathy,

I’ve been running Win11 21H2 for quite some time and it has been very stable. Tweaked to high heaven but so was 10. I actually find 11 easier on my eyes. Got bored one day a few weeks ago and upgraded to 22H2 and had some issues. They wouldn’t have been insurmountable but restored my 21H2 image figuring maybe they’d work out the bugs or I’d give myself more time to correct the issues. That said having at least one machine in your fleet as a guinnea pig isn’t a bad idea at all in my mind!

Never Say Never

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Kathy Stevens

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Figured I’d give an update on this. Downloaded a fresh iso from MS. Replaced the appraiserres.dll with a blank file as my cpu doesn’t pass muster and disconnected from internet. Ran the update with no issues and played with RDP and my beloved Dell Mobile Connect. Everything is working.

Can’t say I LOVE all the changes but something to play with the next week or so. Not too many changes to my privacy settings but it did add a background image to my login screen. A pretty lighthouse image that goes well with my user image of me in a RHI jumping a wave! Guess that’s a good sign? 🙂

Never Say Never

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Sounds like Windows 11 22H2 changed your lock screen setting to “Windows spotlight” possibly. I’ve gotten some amazing images from them. To see the latest one without logging out all the way, I just hit the 3 fingered salute and select “Lock” from the list.

That brings me to the latest image for the lock screen. Once there, I can either click or hover over the unintrusive items/descriptions that show up and learn more about the image, including just where it was taken.

To get back to Windows, I just tap the Control key and enter my PIN or password in the box and I’m right back where I was to begin with.

In all fairness, I should point out that the above behavior is based upon my having and using Windows 10, not Windows 11. Since they are still somewhat similar, I thought that the above might hold true for Windows 11.

OK, enough of this as it’s somewhat off topic.

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cyberSAR

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Don’t think so. I have spotlight turned off as far as I can see and it showed up after multiple reboots with network disconnected. Did a search online for the image and don’t see it anywhere. Maybe my dear departed are messing with me 🙂

Never Say Never

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Maybe my dear departed are messing with me

Could be, you never know!

See if there are any pics that are suddenly in the Pictures folder of your profile. It also might be a new photo in a default set of pics that are now included with Windows 11.

But, hey, we’re getting off topic here if we take this any further, I believe.

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Looks like we will go with Windows 11 on our new HP Z2 Tower G9 Workstation when it is delivered at the end of December.

Hopefully it will be delivered with Win11 21H2.

If it comes with 22H2 we will have to figure out how to get back to Win11 21H2.

Now we are off to find a monitor that comes with Mini DisplayPort 1.4 connectors.  But that is for another thread.

Thanks all for helping me understand the best option to adopt.

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I would guess it comes with 21H2 but if not, don’t jump to change without playing with it. I don’t think it’s ready for prime time but if none of your programs have issues, why go through the grief!

Don’t forget to grab an image either way before doing much of anything and before getting online.

Never Say Never

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Kathy Stevens

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By the end of December 22H2 will probably have the worst bugs (if there are any) ironed out so no need to bother removing.

cheers, Paul

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Kathy Stevens

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The new HP Z2 Tower G9 Workstation shipped today.

We will find out what where we stand with Windows 11 next week.

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Tortoise and the hare scenario…
FWIW, I’d go with W10 initially over W11, then at least there’s an option to revert back to W10 should the need arise once on W11 with a W10 image 😉
If you go with W11 straight away, you don’t have that OS CHOICE failsafe.
Whatever your choice, Image backup that system immediately on arrival as another warranty failsafe! 😉

Keep IT Lean, Clean and Mean!

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Kathy Stevens, NaNoNyMouse

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We are taking Susan Bradley’s advice that, “New installs of Windows 11 have the option of enabling Smart App Control.  if you upgrade from 10 you aren’t able to choose this.” So we are going with Windows 11.

Yes, we will clone the system first thing to both an external drive and a new SSD that we will install just after we have the PC working.

I had not anticipated the complexity of putting together a conferencing capability on the new PC.

The PC has a NVIDIA® T400 (4 GB GDDR6, 3 x Mini DisplayPort) Graphics card.  Spent some time tracking down new monitors that were compatible with Mini DisplayPort 1.4 connectors.

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I started this topic with the question, “So, what are the pros and cons of setting up a new computer using Windows 10 vs. Windows 11.”

Well, the workstation was delivered with Windows 11 22H2 and it is up and running.  The primary programs on the machine, for now, are Microsoft Office Home & Business 2021 and Acrobat Standard 2020.

The question now is should we/can we roll it back to Windows 11 21H2?

My instincts are to stay with Windows 11 21H2.

Any thoughts?

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Stay with 22H2?

Yes; most of the slight inadequacies of Windows 11 21H2 are fixed in 22H2:

New Start menu folders to group apps.
New option to change the number of pins in the Start menu.
Taskbar ability to drag and drop files and apps.
Taskbar Overflow menu to hide apps that don’t fit.
New Snap layouts drag and drop interface.
New Task Manager with a modern interface.
New Live captions feature to improve understanding of spoken content.
New Voice access feature to control a device with voice.
New touch gestures for tablets.
New Smart App Control (SAC) feature to block dangerous apps.
Legacy interface with visual changes.
Updated Focus feature with focus session integration.
Updated File Explorer with tabs and redesigned navigation pane.
Updated Quick Settings with options to control Bluetooth devices.
Updated Print Queue and Print dialog apps with automatic printer detection.
Improved power management tweaks to reduce energy composition.
Option to uninstall updates from the Settings app.

WINDOWS 11 22H2 NEW FEATURES AND CHANGES

Windows 11 Pro version 22H2 build 22621.1485 + Microsoft 365 + Edge

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Kathy Stevens wrote:

Well, the workstation was delivered with Windows 11 22H2 and it is up and running.

Kathy Stevens wrote:

Any thoughts?

If it is up and running 22H2 and doing what you want it to do without issue, I see no reason to downgrade.

Create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates, in case you need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do. We don't all have to do the same things.

Computer Specs

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The new HP Z Workstation is up and happily running Windows 11 22H2.

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Paul T

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