*** Microsoft Windows 11 Thoughts & Discussion Thread ***

[mrk]

I didn't bother with the 25H2 ISO in the end, read some reports of issues so will wait for WU.

I would go back to the stock start menu if it allowed full customisation and grouping like Windows 10 used to, but i doubt it. Will stick with StartAllBack anyway though as only that allows me to have a nice transparent floating taskbar and when combined with dynamic auto hide, looks and operates very OEM-like.

 

[Ayahuasca]

Had my first genuine frustration in a while. An update seems to have borked my taskbar and it's appearing before my cursor gets to the bottom of the screen!

 

[robj20]

When setting up a server recently was the first time I thought Windows was annoying.

First was trying to install with only a local account, had to jump through hoops to do that, can't believe it's not just a simple option.

Second getting it to start up straight to the desktop without a login screen.

Third needing to tweak settings in accounts so it doesn't repeatedly ask me to sign into windows for my convenience.

It's stable now but in the back of my head I have the feeling that one day my server will be offline because it's decided to do something I didn't ask for.

 

[ChrisD.]

^sounds like you chose the wrong OS.

 

[robj20]

^sounds like you chose the wrong OS.

Not really, I chose the OS that I'm most comfortable with. Still got it up and running faster than my failed attempt with Ubuntu.

 

[Vimes]

Not really, I chose the OS that I'm most comfortable with. Still got it up and running faster than my failed attempt with Ubuntu.

Totally relate. Whilst I can struggle at times with Windows, recently with Windows 11 shares over 24h2, I am still much more familiar and comfortable with Windows than any of the flavours of Linux that I have tried.

 

[ChrisD.]

Ubuntu is very straightforward, never had an issue installing it. Just spend a little time with it and try and learn it, if it's something that's headless or serving things such as Plex etc, it's going to be better long term than Windows.

 

[Vimes]

Ubuntu is very straightforward, never had an issue installing it. Just spend a little time with it and try and learn it, if it's something that's headless or serving things such as Plex etc, it's going to be better long term than Windows.

I have no doubt how right you are

I remember first trying Windows 3, not 3.1, when it was first released. My familiarity, not always a positive experience, has been forged over decades. Warts and all.
Each time that I have tried it something like Ubuntu or Mint, more recently, it would either fail for some reason using the live disk or, I'm going back a little while here, need command line understanding to do what I can manage without needing so using Windows. At that point everything would grind to a halt with Linux.
Yup, there are occasions when I will use Powershell with Windows, not often, so there is a syntax and command line there.

I recently bought a NUC N100 to run with a DAS attached, that is now put in the loft for, typically, RDP access, if and when needed. It came with Win 11 Pro installed, so a quick format and a fresh install of 11, all registered fine and I'm up and going. Well, apart from struggling initially with shares, over that of 10.

Rather than consider virtualisation as a means to try out Linux, at some point I might test it out on something like a NUC N100, and see how things go. Maybe.....



BTW I did take a quick look over at YT regarding sharing files and folders and mapping drives under Linux, with Windows machines..............................I decided to format and install Windows

It seemed as clear as mud to me.....................................

Spoiler

 

[robj20]

Ubuntu is very straightforward, never had an issue installing it. Just spend a little time with it and try and learn it, if it's something that's headless or serving things such as Plex etc, it's going to be better long term than Windows.

That sounds like a waste of time. Learn something that needs doing once in a blue moon, I'd forget everything by the time it comes to do anything else with it in a few years. Time better spent tweaking W11 even then I was done and dusted in about an hour Vs the multiple evenings is wasted trying to get Ubuntu working. Linux is not always the answer for everyone and everything.

 

[ChrisD.]

That sounds like a waste of time. Learn something that needs doing once in a blue moon, I'd forget everything by the time it comes to do anything else with it in a few years. Time better spent tweaking W11 even then I was done and dusted in about an hour Vs the multiple evenings is wasted trying to get Ubuntu working. Linux is not always the answer for everyone and everything.

That's a extremely negative perspective to have.

Use it to up-skill which could be very useful from a professional perspective if you work in IT, or in general for things around the home such as routers, Raspberry Pi's for Adguard Home/PiHole /w network wide malware/DNS blocking etc.

Then again if you spent many evenings trying to get something as simple as Ubuntu to work, perhaps it's best you stay away.

 

[Vimes]

That sounds like a waste of time. Learn something that needs doing once in a blue moon, I'd forget everything by the time it comes to do anything else with it in a few years. Time better spent tweaking W11 even then I was done and dusted in about an hour Vs the multiple evenings is wasted trying to get Ubuntu working. Linux is not always the answer for everyone and everything.

Indeed.

IIRC I installed Windows 10 on my N54L around 2015 and it ran with the same install up to a couple of weeks ago. Never being reformatted or reinstalled.
So a decades worth of it just working, with the odd blip, is good enough for me.

I suppose it could have continued, with extended support from MS, but I fancied a change. Not bad value from the media server bought most cheaply.

I changed to a NUC 100, supports Windows 11, more of a wish to try out a new NUC type system, with a five disk attached DAS. That just seems to work and, hopefully, it will have similar longevity, this time with Windows 11.

For me I am using Windows on my main PC and so I am always being somewhat familiar with how it functions, perhaps being aware also when it dysfunctions, well to a point. That understanding could be applied, if ever needed, to the NUC.

The N54L, that might still find a use at some point, maybe for a family member.

 

[robj20]

Indeed.

IIRC I installed Windows 10 on my N54L around 2015 and it ran with the same install up to a couple of weeks ago. Never being reformatted or reinstalled.
So a decades worth of it just working, with the odd blip, is good enough for me.

I suppose it could have continued, with extended support from MS, but I fancied a change. Not bad value from the media server bought most cheaply.

I changed to a NUC 100, supports Windows 11, more of a wish to try out a new NUC type system, with a five disk attached DAS. That just seems to work and, hopefully, it will have similar longevity, this time with Windows 11.

For me I am using Windows on my main PC and so I am always being somewhat familiar with how it functions, perhaps being aware also when it dysfunctions, well to a point. That understanding could be applied, if ever needed, to the NUC.

The N54L, that might still find a use at some point, maybe for a family member.

Mirrors my feelings as well, I have an MSI Cubi NUC, very neat little unit only using 6w at idle. Think it's a Core5 120U
Getting things like Remote Desktop working was very simple as well.

 

[Vimes]

Mirrors my feelings as well, I have an MSI Cubi NUC, very neat little unit only using 6w at idle. Think it's a Core5 120U
Getting things like Remote Desktop working was very simple as well.

I sometimes spend a little time within the Linux section within this forum, and noted this post, and response.....

How on Earth do you get OpenRGB to work with ram?

I've tried every Google search under the sun, and I cannot get anything to work. The main problem is that Linux won't let me drag files into the bin folder or the other couple of folders it needs. Like, okay, I'll open it as admin... Nope, still not doing anything. Okay, I'll just run the script...

forums.overclockers.co.uk

....noting Chris's replies, I do get how Linux can be an option, for some.

It reminds me of a friend of mine who had enough of using his Asus router, for VPN client and other needs, and so bought a small box and used pfSense. All well and good if something uniquely fills a specific need, and you have the skill and inclination to master that. But, in this case, Windows does what is needed, with considerably less effort than Linux has shown for me so far.
There can be some aspects of Windows updates that can cause me issues, but, overall, I am a more accomplished alchemist with Windows than Linux.

I was pleasantly surprised at the NUC N100 from Aliexpress. The cost and performance was great. I needed to understand that the 2242 M2 SSD slot was for a B and M keyed type drive. But £39 for a 1TB drive, excellent.

 

[ChrisD.]

....noting Chris's replies, I do get how Linux can be an option, for some.

I'm not talking in the context of main OS though, I'm talking about a headless box sat in the loft/cupboard serving media or some other 24/7 function. Linux fits this use case perfectly, and once over the initial fear/change of method to set it up, it will work perfectly fine. Yes, Windows will do it, but Linux will do it using less power, without any Windows update associated headaches, and no faffing about circumventing online accounts etc.

 

[Vimes]

I'm not talking in the context of main OS though, I'm talking about a headless box sat in the loft/cupboard serving media or some other 24/7 function. Linux fits this use case perfectly, and once over the initial fear/change of method to set it up, it will work perfectly fine. Yes, Windows will do it, but Linux will do it using less power, without any Windows update associated headaches, and no faffing about circumventing online accounts etc.

I really do get what you are saying, and agree that for some that would be a good choice to make.
Windows 10 had done what you noted for the last decade, with no real issues associated with the OS that I can remember. It just worked.

For me, and my familiarity with Windows, I am yet to find enough motivation and willingness to change from something that is both familiar and meets my needs.

But, as noted, I am still tempted to try Linux on a NUC at some point, to evaluate at leisure, as well as to learn some basics in my own time....... Maybe

I must say though, it is not necessarily the enticement of Linux, in itself, that would pursuade me, but, of all things, aspects of how Windows 11 is developing..!

 

[Mercurial]

Not seeking to change anyone's mind (especially in the Windows 11 thread ) But, the big blocker is the majority of people are conditioned by how things are done the Windows way, a way they've probably been doing for decades, and also probably with a nice GUI.

Simply put, other operating systems don't work like Windows, and quite often for good reason, but it seems jarring and overcomplicated if it is something you are not used to which is understandable.

As ChrisD points out, it makes sense to use Linux as a headless file server as you can build it so that's all it pretty much does, without all the baggage/bloat that comes along with a Windows desktop OS. So there's very little to do with it once setup and also crucially very little to go wrong or if it does go wrong, to fix. The initial investment in setting it up is paid back over years of you not having to do sweet FA, (maybe update it every once and while if it is internet facing of course ).

Once you get into the mindset of how *nix operating systems work, things start to become clearer - and more logical (spoiler - everything user-definable refers back to some sort of config file).

Also Youtube (or videos) are terrible for trying to learn to do anything in Linux, I've been using it for decades, but still refer to lots of sites, ie. https://pimylifeup.com/raspberry-pi-samba/ for what is being discussed in Ubuntu, it's written for a RaspberryPiOS but it will work for pretty much anything *nixlike (once samba is installed). But there's loads of decent sites like askubuntu/ItsFOSS/pimylifeup/mint forums/Archwiki etc if you google something you want to do. The added benefit for using text as opposed to video, is you can just cut and paste as you read along, basically cribbing someone's hard work

Edit: not always sites, I still have an O'Reilly (now 4th Edition) pocket guide sat on my desk wherever I am . I miss the cowboys though (iykyk).

 

[Rroff]

To be fair even as someone with a fair few years of experience of Debian and spent far too much time using SSH, I still tend to gravitate to Windows if I can - though there are merits to a headless server in some cases but my current setup I'm making heavy use of Remote Desktop and the systems have 6" touchscreens attached on the outside - little bit fiddly compared to a larger screen but does the job.

 

[Vimes]

To be fair even as someone with a fair few years of experience of Debian and spent far too much time using SSH, I still tend to gravitate to Windows if I can - though there are merits to a headless server in some cases but my current setup I'm making heavy use of Remote Desktop and the systems have 6" touchscreens attached on the outside - little bit fiddly compared to a larger screen but does the job.

Is that to do with more familiarity or specific needs that are easier to do within a Windows environment than anything else..?