Windows 11

[Scottie Mom]

What in the hell were they thinking?????

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Don't know. I was just forced to get a new laptop over the weekend. Cannot get Windows 11 to recognize nor use

the drivers I downloaded from Brother for my printer/scanner. I just don't have time to pursue with either 'support' group. I'm leaving for Scandinavia on Saturday. I won't be back until May 15.

[Bad Thoughts]

42. Why were you required to get a new computer?

Is there specific software you need to use?

[sinkingfeeling]

47. My old one is 8 years old with a hard drive. The drive started having issues.

[Bad Thoughts]

54. Why not get a new drive?

You would need to get a driver set as well to get into the computer, but you would not have to put down the cost of a whole new system. It's rather easy to do.

[sinkingfeeling]

58. Already bought the new one.

[Cha]

2. What happened? I never did go to 11..

and my computer guy advised me against it awhile ago when I asked him about it.

TY.. Sorry!

[Timewas]

3. A step

Win 10 was the first step toward OS as a service.... I stayed with Win7,if that becomes useless will go to Linux.

[bucolic_frolic]

4. Who was thinking about what? /nt

[Scottie Mom]

53. About reality.

I have used computer starting in the early1990s with an IBM Clone two disk drive.

I loved Windows 7, 10 was sort of acceptable. My 10 would not upgrade to an 11 and for the type of work I do, I had to have Windows 11.

Windows 11 is freaking impossible to deal with. The problems are endless. I have had the former head of LAUSD computers at my home DAILY for two weeks, plus another man with a bachelors and as masters in Computer Science stepping in on days to see why printers will not work, scans will not work, why the computer will not save documents, etc. The problems of getting anything back to "normal" is impossible.

Right now, I would prefer to again have my IBM Selectric typewriter and carbon paper on my desk again.

[Biophilic]

5. It would help me if you were more specific.

I’m working on windows 10 which I like. I understand I’m going to have to upgrade to 11 before this fall. So far I’ve resisted all entries to change early. So what are you referring to, please.

[Strelnikov_]

10. May not be able to. Win 11 requires relatively recent hardware

like last couple years or so.

I have a number of 12 yr. old but very capable PC's I use for numerical simulations. Plus a couple of more than capable laptops. All on Win 10.

May just have to pay for one of those subscription services.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

18. Subscription services: rent-capitalism and surveillance-capitalism. . . . nt

[Polybius]

32. My rig is from 2019

Upgraded to 11, just had to change one or two things in the BIOS.

[Strelnikov_]

41. Did more checking, I was wrong. As you note, a BIOS setting change may be all that is required

Seems MS required system builders to include the necessary hardware since 2016. Probably even older systems may have it if it was a higher end board.

[TxGuitar]

45. Our machine is newer than 2016 but still had to do the BIOS update

I've been in IT for nearly 30 years so a BIOS tweak isn't a big deal to me although I can see how others would find it daunting.

[Scottie Mom]

16. You will see what I am talking about...

…. The first time you tried to do anything “normal “on your computer. I started using computers when they were double disc drive clones. I have never seen any windows program. This unwilling to be user friendly.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

36. Are you confusing "program" w "operating system"? Technically latter is one of former, but do you mean the latter?

I have not had the experience you have had with Windows 11. It's microsoft so there is always nonsense, but I don't know any "normal" thing I do on Windows 11 that should make you say what you are.

Speaking as a long time active programmer.

[Gore1FL]

6. They were thinking they needed a thread director

And better security.

[mwmisses4289]

7. Uh oh. Sounds like another ME in the making.

[SheltieLover]

8. They're trying to win the fuck you consumer contest

[canetoad]

9. Windows 11 is fine

Win 10 was good too.

You need to do your homework and look past the things that Microsoft and others want you to turn on, set up, login for, etc such as thinking you MUST have a microsoft account and set you computer up with security you don't need if you are the only user.

My Win11 desktop looks and feels exactly like a machine running Win XP but with the capabilities and security of a Win 11 machine. It can be done with a number of tweaks and a slightly adverturous spirit and lots of reading.

[Beringia]

22. You mean be a computer geek, it has wrecked me for the last weeks

even with online searches for help

[canetoad]

24. Yeah, I know it's a learning curve

You could always pick out one main annoyance that you'd like to change and post it in the computer help and support group. Explain your situation - ie that you are not an expert and I'm sure you will receive lots of help. Don't give up or let frustration get the best of you.

[Beringia]

27. Thanks for the encouragement

[valleyrogue]

31. There is nothing wrong with it. I have no problems with it in the five years I have had this laptop

upgraded.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

11. This is a very vague post.

Please clarify.

[RainCaster]

12. I've had it with Windows

I was a programmer there for nine years. I used to be proud of the company and what they accomplished. No longer.

I have gone to Linux, but I still need a Windows 10 VM to host TurboTax. Now TurboTax is warming me that for next year's version I will have to be running Windows 11. Fuck that, I will move to Apple instead.

[moonscape]

23. Yeah, the Turbo Tax thing bites.

[Sogo]

25. Am very glad to read your post.

I am fairly nearly totally tech challenged. I'm having a time of migrating to a new computer with Win 11 from a computer with Win 10 and am contemplating going to Apple. I just want to be sure that I can run Excel and Word on Apple. I used them constantly in my business. Do you know if using Excel and Word is a viable option on Apple?

[retread]

34. Yes. Office is available for Mac.

[Wonder Why]

29. Dump the Turbo Tax. I use online Free Tax. Works great on Linux. Think

of all the money you save on O.S., Ofice and other apps and upgrades.

I'm still running windows only Quicken 10 using Wine on linux.

[RainCaster]

43. I will look at Free Tax- thanks

[Wonder Why]

50. Sorry, I should have mentioned that it works and is free but it is an online product so it works

with Firefox or other browsers.

[suegeo]

38. Turbo Tax was wonky for me this year.

I saw a TikTok saying Free Tax USA reduced the taxes she had to pay. When compared with what Turbo Tax calculated.

So I used both Turbo Tax and Free Tax USA to "do" my taxes and sure enough, the amount I had to pay in was less. When compared with what Turbo Tax calculated.

Free Tax is on the IRS list of approved vendors. So I'm not going to use TurboTax any more.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

13. Context? Yes Windows 11 is a human made artifact. Context? I use it. So?

[JohnSJ]

14. There are ways you can install windows 11 on almost any unsupported PC. I have done

done it, and have no issues, though there is no guarantee that you will not have issues in the future.

Just google it and there are plenty of instructions how to do it, and bypass the checks Windows 11 does before installation.

[Woodwizard]

15. I like it better than 10.

But my older CAD program will not run on it I use my older 7 and XP machines for some of my older design software.
Would like to set up a partition and install 7 and dual boot but have had an issue getting 7 to install on the partition, not sure if its the computer or me not doing it right.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

20. Likewise using a Windows 7 machine for software that works fine but is before rent-capitalism overtook everything. . .nt

[Shermann]

17. I used Windows 11 Copilot to answer your question

Ah, the age-old clash between users and technology upgrades! Windows 11 has sparked some strong opinions, that's for sure. It's aimed to bring a sleek, modern look, better multitasking tools, and enhanced security—but for many, it's been a mix of love and frustration. Some users are unhappy with hardware compatibility requirements, changes to the interface, or software not playing nice with their devices. Others appreciate its performance improvements and new features like virtual desktops and Widgets.

What’s your biggest gripe with it? Maybe I can help troubleshoot or commiserate!

[OAITW r.2.0]

28. Can CoPilot audit your local system and suggest optimal settings?

That would be helpful to a lot of users, I think.

[Renew Deal]

19. Just move the start menu back to the left and you won't really notice the difference

[videohead5]

21. Download Rufus

And download the full ISO of Windows 11. Rufus can make a Windows 11 installation USB flash drive that will install Windows 11 on just about any PC. You can upgrade the computer from Windows 10 or do a clean install.

[GenThePerservering]

26. I'm not crazy about Win11

as it doesn't run a couple of the programs I use all the time, and there is no reason that it shouldn't save it wants everything on the cloud, which is just somebody else's server farm.

Emulating Win10 with it was a piece of cake, but there's still that incompatibility issue for those couple of programs.

Just be glad it's not that garbage Win8. Every other OS Microsoft comes out with seems to be kind of rubbishy.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

37. Yeah, 95, XP, 7 were good ones, the others not so much. Skipped Vista & 10. . . nt

[LogDog75]

30. I have two computers; one running Windows 10 and one running Windows11

My 12 year old desktop runs Windows 10 and it works fine.No issues with startup or viruses but it doesn't meet the Windows 11 upgrade requirements. I looking at buying another HP or going with Dell. I still need to go through the specs of the machines. My concern is whether transfer programs like Office 10 to a new computer will still work on the new computer. I don't do any serious number crunch8ng or need to have a lot of computing power but I will get one with more power than I really need. One thing I will do on the new computer is to delete the bloatware or just transfer the programs to a memory stick or in a file on a backup hard drive.

My laptop has been running Windows 11 for a couple of years without any problems. I know a lot of people are wary of Windows 11 but I for me it works fine.

[Polybius]

33. Windows XP was the best

I started with 3.11.

[Mosby]

49. Part of the NT family.

It was a great OS. 95 was pretty good as well.

Vista was the worst.

[BoRaGard]

35. G.O.P.-style software sucks

[themaguffin]

39. Do you have anything to add? What is the context??

[Scottie Mom]

51. Response

Try adding a bookmark to you bookmark bar. You CANNOT edit to shorten words...unrecognizable ions only.

[RainCaster]

40. My work laptop was upgraded to Win 11

It was a very high end machine and quite responsive on Win 10. After the "upgrade" it slowed away down and so many of the apps really slowed down significantly. Seeing that, I don't want to change over to Win 11 for any machine in my home.

I'm truly thankful that I retired this year so that I don't have to deal with those technology frustrations any more.

[Celerity]

44. I like Windows 11, and it is hardly new (launched in 2021). It is vastly superior to Windows 10 IMHO.

[Jacson6]

46. I upgraded to Linux. Works 100%. n/t

[GreatGazoo]

48. According to internal memos from the 2001 antitrust case they are thinking:

"Put the customer on a treadmill and force feed them upgrades."

[AnyFunctioningAdult]

52. Not a big deal

My staff has upgraded over 1,000 machines during the last couple years and we have had very few issues. It is night and day compared to Windows 2000 to XP or XP to Windows 7 migrations dealing with driver incompatibility issues, etc.

They moved some of the menus and GUIs around. There are free tools available to make it look more like 10 or 7 did.

For those that do not know, Windows 10 goes end of life on October 14th of this year. That means Microsoft will not be releasing patches and updates for it any longer, although I would expect them to release important security updates for awhile since they did the same thing after Windows 7 went end of life.

Windows 11 is a free upgrade from 10 just as 10 was a free upgrade from 7/8/8.1.

[Scottie Mom]

55. Free?????????

I just paid $650 for a Windows 11 computer and over $440.00 to get it set up and my Window 10 programs loaded into the new Windows 11 machine. And it is STILL not done.

Worse of all...Windows 11 is the worst of all of the multiple Windows systems I have used over the many years i have done word processing on a computer.

WINDOWS 11 IS BEYOND AWFUL.

[Bad Thoughts]

56. There are hardware restrictions to Win 11

Many computers that are but a few years old won't be able to upgrade unless Microsoft changes that or the users jury rig the upgrade.

[Bad Thoughts]

57. A solution to being locked out of Win 11: Linux

Some of you may be facing compatibility problems with the Windows 11 upgrade, not having the update hardware required. You may also find your laptops can't be upgraded, as the processors and gpus are soldered into place.

Before you buy a new system (especially with new tariff regimes taking place), consider converting your system to Linux, a group of operating systems that support software that is free and open source. This might especially be good if the programs you run are less for advanced business and design purpose.

I still have a ten year old Lenovo Z80 laptop. It has a massive screen I don't want to give up. A few years ago, I created three partitions on a new SSD: one for storage, one for Linux Mint, and another, smaller partition for Windows 10. Most of my computing is done on the Mint partition. It has great compatibility for hardware, the available free software is excellent, and the selection of available video games is good. It's rare that I use the Windows partition, but it is an option.