Windows 10 "upgrade" to Windows 11 Anyone tried it?

In the latest updates on my laptop is an invitation to upgrade to Windows 11, has anyone done it yet. I'd be interested to hear what peoples experiance has been. In truth I am a bit nervous about doing it.

It will not work if you have an older computer without a tpn module. Older motherboards like mine have a socket and you can install one, but it may not be worth the cost.

Niall

Mrs Diogenes did the update to her laptop a few weeks ago - I've just been and had a peek, it's Windows 11 Home and was installed on 25th October.

I haven't heard any wails of anguish, so I guess was painless - I think she let it 'do' the 'standard' install itself, and then turned off the features she didn't want (Cortana etc.).

As far as other the software that she has, Firefox, the 'OpenOffice' suite, PhotoscapeXPro all seem to functioning okay.. ..it doesn't look vastly differEnt to 10, to me.

If there's anything specific you'd like me to check, just ask..

Edited By DiogenesII on 04/12/2021 11:44:57

Diogenes II, no there is nothing specific. In general i'm in favour of running the latest software, just need to be aware of any negative issues before I take the plunge and her ladyship does likewise. It'll be all my fault if anything does'nt work!

I think the update will check whether the system has the necessary capabilities to accomodate it - it refused to install itself on my (<3yr old) PC, promising me continuing updates for W10 instead - I'm expecting the 'Ending Support...' email to arrive in about 12months time..

I upgraded my desktop a month or so ago .... No problems in the upgrade, in fact the easyist/cleanist I have ever done.

I have seen no problems since upgrading, a few things are different but a quick google sorted those out!

No crashes or hangs, only program I had to reinstall was Clickbooks.

It does seem smoother and faster .... I am running a Dell 8930 (Intel i7 - 6 core/duo) with 32Gb of RAM and a 1Tb SSD as the System Disk and a 4Tb HD for Data. Also Windows 10 Pro to Windows 11 Pro.

Dave

To find out if your pc will run W11, download from Microsoft the Windows Healthcheck file and run it. Also open W10 menu and select "run" type tpm.msi and click enter that will tell you if TPM is enabled or available to be turned on in the BIOS of your pc.

I am running W11 on an unsupported pc without any problems. Every program I have on the pc is running fine. I am also getting all updates from MS.

regards

Neither of my two Windows 10 machines are compatible, one is too old, the other too new! I'm investigating.

Two issues when upgrading Microsoft:

• Technical: assuming the hardware is compatible, will old software still work, will I have to learn loads of new tricks, are there any workarounds for anything that breaks? Good news, provided the hardware is OK, Windows 11 appears to be straightforward, more like W10 Mk2 than anything new.
• Privacy: Microsoft used to profit by selling operating systems and software. Like the rest of the industry, they are increasingly selling services that depend on collecting personal information from customers. For example, by default, W11 now requires owners to set up a Microsoft Account, and it issues a series of recommendations that are in fact adverts. W11 'phones home' and the information it collects can be used for good or evil. I avoid giving personal detail to anyone on the web. So I strongly suggest anyone installing W11 should search the web for 'Windows 11 Privacy Settings' and switching off the intrusions. (Or buy a magazine.) Privacy is your job, and keep an eye on your lock-down because Microsoft upgrades often revert silently back to more open settings - home users have to reapply them manually.

Dave

It's reassuring to hear that there are few if any serious issues to sort out.

Thankyou for the feedback so far, its looking good!

Regards Dave J

I have been running it for some time, and while it can be run on older generation hardware, the security features will only work properly with a more recent machine. If you visit the Windows 10 or Windows 11 forums, there are links to which processor generation is approved and how to set up your pc. My laptop does not meet the standards despite having a sixth generation Intel processor and DDR4. If you are still using a pc with DDR3 or earlier, it will not have the necessary features, even if it is a top end one. Microsoft are attempting to combat the malware that is ever present on the internet and getting worse every year.

 Windows 10 will reach end of life in 4 years time, so there is no reason to panic just yet.

Edited By old mart on 04/12/2021 16:35:16

I purchased a new laptop 2 weeks ago, motherboard failure. It came with Win10. During the setup I was prompted to upgrade, all worked fine.

Have had more issues with Debian. old Debian 10 image would not boot. Issue was new hardware, had to install Debian 11 and upgrade the kernel to 5.14. All good but my old Win 10 image will not boot.

If the update icon on windows 10 says ' upgrade to Windows 11 is ready for your pc ' do I assume that this machine is fully compatible anyway , ( its 2 -3 years old ). ?

I don't want to waste any more of my life waiting for an upgrade to take place and then it to tell me after 2 hours that it can't complete due to xxx or xxx,

I would interpret that message as saying that your PC is suitable. In settings > update, my recent PC is currently saying "Great news, this PC meets the minimum requirements for W11" and offers a download and install button.

OTOH, my elderly Laptop clearly said "This PC is not suitable for W11" with no prompting from me.

A "Health Check App" is also available to download from Microsoft for this purpose.

If by chance your PC is not suitable, the installation procedure will abort at a very early stage since ir runs a suitability check as a first operation. If you still really want W11 this check can be circumvented by various means.

Edited By Clive Brown 1 on 05/12/2021 12:16:28

I have been using Windows 11 for about a month now, I am still getting used to the start menu being in the middle of the task-bar, and whilst I know you can change that back to the left I will try and get used to it as I am sure I will start to see it on customers systems soon.

The only software I have found I can not run is my version of Adobe Premiere Elements 12, but I am not sure if I had used that on Windows 10 and it is rather old now, it won't even start in compatibility mode. Photoshop elements 12 is fine though,

Baldric,

Thanks for the info Clive. I never had to manually accept the offer of a download - it did it in the background some while back. I didn't even know - just thought when it went into super go-slo mode it was just doing usual security updates etc!

Its useful to know that it will abort early if it finds issues though.

regards, Mike

(Gone back to W10!)

Update. Installed W11 a few days back and to be honest couldn't see a great deal of difference apart from cosmetics, desktop functions altered around etc etc. I know from the Microsoft blurb it has all sort of advanced apps and bells & whistles, but generally not the sort of things I would use anyway in all probability. My machine was ok for this upgrade (minimum 4GB memory) according to MS.

I just found it slowed everything down chronically to the point where my reasonable-spec HP laptop (2 yrs old) was unusable. It would regularly just go into 'sulk' mode and examining Task Manager whenever this happened the CPU was really high, disk often up to 100% and memory 80% plus, and stop like that for ages. Several times I couldn't even access the 'start' menu to reboot the damn thing.

OK, I could have possibly tweaked things a bit I suppose, even put more RAM in - but why should I spend another £50 to get a machine that works as good as with the old OS? I know it will become unsupported in time but by then I'll probably be in the market for new hardware anyway. I have now rolled back to W10 (quite trouble-free and quick) and everything I want is running great!

Obviously my experience may be very different to others out there as H/W varies enormously, as do individual's needs and expectations.

Regards Mike

I shall wait until Open Shell is stable for Windows 11, since the Microsoft user interface turned to crap* after windows 7 and only gets worse with every new release.

* I don't want games, weather forcasts, Orifice, photos, microsoft's software store and all the other trash littering my screen every time I go to run a program.

Mark

Have a look at Start 10 by Stardock which allows you to use the Win7 desktop on Win10. Single licence fee of GBP4.99. There is a Start 11 also available. Gets rid of all the MS clutter.

I would have changed to Linux years ago if it would have run AutoCad.

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