Should I go to win11?

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[krism]

I have been sitting safely on win10 on this new to me (6 mos ago) Lenovo Thinkpad P15s (specs in sig) for quite a few months and am not seeing much in the way of panic mode here on this forum. I pretty much only do FF browser, TBird, and Schwab SSE on windows. I mostly run Linux Mint 21 current cinnamon using citrix there for SSE. I back up with terabyte image which seems both win and linux very friendly, so escape would be super simple. I know that there is a trick to avoiding having to use a MS logon, though I don’t really mind if I have to use one as I have one somewhere (I think it is the one I use for Skype).

So win10 is not my production system – Mint is, though again, can image for easy escape.

Update is via WuMgr – win11 is currently “hidden”.

Thoughts?

Thanks!!!

(“offsite” is 1T WD NVME under HS&F via USB @ 10GBps, or one of 4 others.)

- Thinkpad P15s Gen1 20T4-002KUS, i7-10510U, UEFI/GPT, 16GB, Sammy 500GB M.2.
others...
- Mint Cinnamon 21 current, Win 10 22H2. WuMgr. HP laserjets M254dw & P1606dn, Epson 2480 scanner.

• This topic was modified 2 months, 1 week ago by krism.

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Windows 11 is still considered an “under production” system. Unless you like being a “guinea pig” consider waiting for an all clear to move to the latest Windows operating system.

Carpe Diem {with backup and coffee}
offline▸ Win10Pro 2004.19041.572 x64 i3-3220 RAM8GB HDD Firefox83.0b3 WindowsDefender
offline▸ Acer TravelMate P215-52 RAM8GB Win11Pro 22H2.22621.1265 x64 i5-10210U SSD Firefox106.0 MicrosoftDefender
online▸ Win11Pro 22H2.22621.1778 x64 i5-9400 RAM16GB HDD Firefox114.0b8 MicrosoftDefender

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Mike_Cat, OldMainframeGuy, NaNoNyMouse, TechTango, Alex5723, krism

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I probably wouldn’t switch until closer to the end of support of Windows 10, October 2025.  https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/windows-10-home-and-pro

Check if your computer is officially supported for Windows 11, using this https://github.com/rcmaehl/WhyNotWin11

2 users thanked author for this post.

jkazan, krism

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If it ain’t broke, why ‘fix’ it? Why take the risk?

…unless there’s something specific and unique to Windows 11 that you need. (Nope, I can’t think of anything either.)

5 users thanked author for this post.

BobDunkley, NaNoNyMouse, Cybertooth, BobbyB, krism

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Windows 11 22H2 is really disappointing me in how it’s not settling down to be well behaved.  And I’m not talking about the moments stuff either.

Unless you have a need to be on 11 – or support someone on 11 and thus need to know where the settings are, I’d sit tight.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady

9 users thanked author for this post.

chasrome, gwt10, OldMainframeGuy, BobDunkley, WSDTCM, NaNoNyMouse, BobbyB, TechTango, krism

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Susan Bradley wrote:

Windows 11 22H2 is really disappointing me in how it’s not settling down to be well behaved.

I’m not in a work environment, so I cannot speak to that.  But as a home user of Windows 11 Pro, fully updated, I haven’t seen any issues.  Admittedly I stripped out loads of junk when I first upgraded, but in my experience it is quite stable and well behaved.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We were all once "Average Users". We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do to our systems, we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

Computer Specs

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After the March updates, you probably have a security alert that won’t go away until or unless you’ve put in registry keys.  That is inexcusable IMHO.  (more on that in next week’s alert)

Susan Bradley Patch Lady

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Thank you/ My thoughts exactly.

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Dear Susan,

If Win 11 v.21H2 is pre-installed on a new computer, – should I upgrade to v.22H2?

If I am doing a clean install to a blank drive, what is your recommendation?

TY

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At the top of Susan’s Master Patch List, it says:

I recommend Windows 10 22H2 or 21H2 at this time. I do not recommend deploying Windows 11  22H2 as it’s too soon for production use.  

• Windows 11 22H2: Not recommended

• Windows 11 21H2: If you have a Windows 11 PC, recommended

• Windows 10 22H2: Recommended

• Windows 10 21H2: Recommended (if a vendor won’t support 22H2)

You can always check there for the status of Win versions.

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I see no compelling reason to switch to Windows 11 when Win 10 is finally “good”. Feature set is stable, OS is mostly stable except for security update induced problems.

Win 11 is still buggy, still shifting features (and now “dribbling” them onto you). I’m still waiting for the ability to place my taskbar vertically on the right side of my screen without the use of third party addons (if any of the ones out there even allow that). I see flashes of excellence in some Win 11 features, but too much has been taken away and not put back yet, and I don’t trust it, therefore my production machine will continue to run Win 10 until end of life for that OS.

It’s funny – krism, you are already where I want to be; mainly using non-MS operating systems for the majority of computer time and only using Windows when it is the best -or only- choice.

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krism

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GeeBeeDee wrote:

I’m still waiting for the ability to place my taskbar vertically on the right side of my screen without the use of third party addons (if any of the ones out there even allow that).

StartAllBack.  Top, left, right or bottom.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We were all once "Average Users". We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do to our systems, we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

Computer Specs

2 users thanked author for this post.

dcurtis608, GeeBeeDee

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I would go a step further from what others have said and add that unless you have a specific need to use Windows I would go full Linux Mint. I did that almost 3 months ago now and it’s great to no longer have to worry about what I refer to as “Microsoft’s clown show”. In the odd event you do need Windows for something there is always the option to run a virtual machine via VirtualBox.

Linux Mint 21.1 LTS (Cinnamon). Windows 8.1 Pro virtual machine (with Classic/Open Shell) via VirtualBox.

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krism

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I do have a need for Windows.  And I still know how to run it better than any other platform.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady

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As do I, as am I.  I have to do a lot of digging and trial and error to get answers on Mint.

- Thinkpad P15s Gen1 20T4-002KUS, i7-10510U, UEFI/GPT, 16GB, Sammy 500GB M.2.
others...
- Mint Cinnamon 21 current, Win 10 22H2. WuMgr. HP laserjets M254dw & P1606dn, Epson 2480 scanner.

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I agree with you on that.  I find this Askwoody site a better place to get answers to my Linux Mint questions than the Linux Mint Site itself.

Experience is that marvelous thing that enables you recognize a mistake as soon as you make it again.

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That’s understandable considering your line of work and the support of this website which is predominantly about Windows. I also still know how to run the Windows platform more than any other having been in the IT industry for almost 25 years now primarily supporting Microsoft systems. However I have not directly supported or worked on them in some time, instead I’m more of just a user of them (Windows 10 and Office 365) now at work where I still get to experience all the typical pain points which has only re-enforced my decision to drop Windows completely on my personal systems and instead use Linux Mint where I still have easy built-in control over the OS and feel it respects my wishes (like Windows 8.1 that I migrated from) instead of Microsoft’s.

As to Mint I’ve found it very intuitive and easy to configure and use out of the box as it’s been designed to be very similar to Windows. But even so, the underlying OS is very different than Windows and does take effort and some time to adapt and learn how best to use the system (I’ve found a ton of useful information just via Internet searches). But I have enjoyed learning something new and pushing myself out of the comfort zone of using Windows for so long. Ultimately it’s been a very liberating feeling to no longer have to deal with Microsoft’s constant attempts of control or having to jump through hoops to avoid it. So I have no regrets in dropping Windows on my personal systems. In fact I wish that I had done it much sooner! 😀

Linux Mint 21.1 LTS (Cinnamon). Windows 8.1 Pro virtual machine (with Classic/Open Shell) via VirtualBox.

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Charlie

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I find win intuitive but perhaps since I have been with it (MS) since (DOS)3.11 . I remember talking on the phone with MS devs on 95 shooting a problem – now THOSE were the days!!! 🙂 But win10 22H2 with WuMgr has been pretty easy for me.

I have not found Mint intuitive. Had a problem with display lagginess and it wasn’t until SMG dropped in and said get rid of a certain applet that I had a fix. No clue otherwise.

If I had relied on the Mint forums I would not have discovered a solution to a lost grub, Folks on there always say it’s an easy fix but their methods don’t work (probably because most of them are running a linux only system – no help to me!) I had to trial and error and borrow a couple commands for boot order and voila. That’s the only reason I am back on mint for most of my work. Should be childs-play. Is not…

BUT, my attitude is use what is simplest and works for you! The end!!!

- Thinkpad P15s Gen1 20T4-002KUS, i7-10510U, UEFI/GPT, 16GB, Sammy 500GB M.2.
others...
- Mint Cinnamon 21 current, Win 10 22H2. WuMgr. HP laserjets M254dw & P1606dn, Epson 2480 scanner.

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gwt10, Mothy

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Susan Bradley wrote:

Windows 11 22H2 is really disappointing me in how it’s not settling down to be well behaved.  And I’m not talking about the moments stuff either.

Unless you have a need to be on 11 – or support someone on 11 and thus need to know where the settings are, I’d sit tight.

And it seems the Win11 22H2 March 2023 update (or updates) are causing some slowdowns on some modern NVME SSD drives

https://borncity.com/win/2023/03/21/windows-11-march-14-2023-updates-slow-down-some-ssd-nvme-boot-drives/

2 users thanked author for this post.

TechTango, krism

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Well, that was quick!!! many thanks to all – unanimous!. I will definitely stay on WIN10, at least for now. That’s easy!!!

@Mothy, I value windows and need it for running a decent windows-fully-compatable image backup (terabyte) as well as having it available for whatever/whenever. Linux will never be that. However, its small (user population) (Mint) seems perfect for me for practically all of what i do. So I will continue to use it for that.

- Thinkpad P15s Gen1 20T4-002KUS, i7-10510U, UEFI/GPT, 16GB, Sammy 500GB M.2.
others...
- Mint Cinnamon 21 current, Win 10 22H2. WuMgr. HP laserjets M254dw & P1606dn, Epson 2480 scanner.

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Well I have it here in Bootcamp and it runs ok but Win10 is far better unless you fancy trying a game of “Hide and Seek” when you need to alter system settings, appearence, file attributes, etc and they even managed to make the Context menu (right click) a two step process for a few settings, Why?
I managed to survive the iterations of Win8.0 and 8.1 and that turned out to be a half decent system when you got past the “Metro Apps” but Win11 is just a pain.
So its a “nope” from me alas.

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My NAS runs Windows 10 22H2 fully updated.  I frequently use Remote Desktop to jump over to my NAS.  My NAS uses the StartIsBack++ GUI and I use StartAllBack v3.6.3 for Windows 11.

My NAS and my desktop are hardly different in any way, other than my desktop is hardware-updated, so it’s a bit snappier.  The most common complaints I read about for Windows 11 can disappear with StartAllBack.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We were all once "Average Users". We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do to our systems, we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

Computer Specs

1 user thanked author for this post.

krism

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You can have 10 and 11 at the same time with Mint if you use virtual Box to emulate 11. That allows you the luxury of testing out 11 without having to commit right away.

Ideally, you should have at least 8 gigs or more (of ram…most new PC’s have that today) and a fast SSD drive. A nice advantage of VM’s is the ability to take snapshots, so restore is easy.

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Yes, I could………

If I were to use win in a VM I would use win10 21H2 simply because it works. win10 22H2 gives me probs. No thanks on win11 anywhere for now – see above posts.

- Thinkpad P15s Gen1 20T4-002KUS, i7-10510U, UEFI/GPT, 16GB, Sammy 500GB M.2.
others...
- Mint Cinnamon 21 current, Win 10 22H2. WuMgr. HP laserjets M254dw & P1606dn, Epson 2480 scanner.

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NOOO… stay with Windows 10 or older OS. Windows 11 is made by morons at MS that were on some kind of mind altering drug.

This user said it best. Stay with Windows 10 as long as you can and do NOT TAKE a risk on Windows 11.

Rick Corbett wrote:

If it ain’t broke, why ‘fix’ it? Why take the risk?

Total agree with this statement.

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Plus you have until Oct. 14, 2025 until support stops for Win 10.  That’s roughly 2.5 years.

Experience is that marvelous thing that enables you recognize a mistake as soon as you make it again.

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