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Windows 11 Is Here

(11 posts) (4 voices)

Started 3 years ago by mikiem2
Latest reply from Riverjoans

mikiem2
Moderator

neowin[.]net/news/microsoft-begins-rolling-out-windows-11-to-select-users-starting-today/

microsoft[.]com/en-us/software-download/windows11

neowin[.]net/news/here-are-the-known-issues-in-the-first-windows-11-public-release/

Microsoft offers a few ways to get Win11 at the 2nd link above. While it's rolling out via Windows Update to a relative few devices, chances are if you check Windows Update you'll either see a message that your PC/laptop doesn't qualify, or a message to check hardware requirements. When I clicked that link I got a Microsoft web page saying basically not yet, they're still working on it & testing compatibility.

Of course I went ahead and downloaded the ISO. :) I tried the upgrade on a bare copy [no software installed] of Win10, which leads to my 1st BEWARE warning... Win11 requirements specify Secure Boot Capable, but with the Insider [Beta] builds so far it Does Not have to be turned on. With this official build, unless you use one of the hacks to turn off checking qualifications, Turn It On before attempting to upgrade. If you don't, Win11 setup will, and that may not work out so well. Luckily the BIOS for this PC can [& did] reset itself, which was a PITA -- had to set all the BIOS settings -- but at least the system wasn't bricked. Not every BIOS will reset itself -- unless Microsoft changes something, I expect that there will be more than a few bricked devices.

My 2nd warning isn't so dire... If you use Windows Boot Menu to select which OS to boot into, upgrading to Win11 will mess it up [same as upgrading versions of Win10 if they use a re-installation]. EasyBCD was always a quick & easy fix, but Not In Win11... The result of editing / fixing the boot menu looked good, until I restarted, and then it was all messed up. EasyBCD did work back in Win10.

The Insider Beta channel hasn't had any Win11 updates, but the new ISO fixed that, giving me a chance to check out the script to bypass qualification checking. In my Win11 VM I unzipped the file I downloaded by clicking the download zip button on the GitHub page, and ran the script as admin. Then I ran setup from the attached ISO and it worked just like it was supposed to. I then ran the script a 2nd time -- I'm unsure whether you should run it that 2nd time or not, based on the page I've linked to below, but I figured only one way to find out. The main difference between this new copy of Win11 & the Insider copy is that now I have the new Store. [Note: The VirtualBox developers are rumored to be working on Win11 guest compatibility.]

bleepingcomputer[.]com/news/microsoft/new-windows-11-install-script-bypasses-tpm-system-requirements/

gist.github[.]com/AveYo/c74dc774a8fb81a332b5d65613187b15#file-skip_tpm_check_on_dynamic_update-cmd

I had held off on trying the EaseUS tool until the official ISO was released. I tried it in a VM, and while it did create a bootable Win11 install USB stick in about 15 minutes, it used a pre-release ISO. :{ I'll try again in a couple few days.

Posted 3 years ago #
Tiffany
Member

I checked mine today and got this message.

Great news—your PC meets the minimum system requirements for Windows 11. Specific timing for when it will be offered can vary as we get it ready for you.

Note: Some Windows 10 features aren't available in Windows 11. Certain apps and features may have additional requirements.

Hopefully when it comes it will be smooth sailing.

Posted 3 years ago #
mikiem2
Moderator

Hopefully when it comes it will be smooth sailing.

Got my fingers crossed!

I want/wanted to monitor what happens with unsupported hardware. If an update shows up in the copy I just upgraded to, will it also show up in the unsupported VM? Microsoft has been pushing the may or may not get updates line so much, I'm a bit anxious about it. It should do great on our convertible laptop, with a touch screen & a lowly i3 CPU, but I'm unsure so far if it will be worth the risk.

Posted 3 years ago #
mikiem2
Moderator

Of course there are lots of fluff articles out today -- sites are interested in those clicks, and when there's a topic folks are likely to be interested in, e.g. Win11 a day after its release, the floodgates can open. But there is some interesting stuff as well.

In an interview with the Computer Reseller News, a Microsoft exec said that the TPM and CPU-limiting VBS [Virtualization Based Security] requirements are necessary because they intend to tighten up Win11 security much more in the future. He then goes on to talk about how they'll make sure that software and software developers will take advantage of these more secure options, in essence making the whole Windows environment and experience much more secure. Sounds kinda nice but the guy's dreaming. Microsoft has exerted near Zero control over app devs so far, e.g. they can do whatever they want with the registry, and look at the failure of their Store, where every app was originally going to be sandboxed [they'd now made the store, just that, a store selling whatever anyone wants to submit]. And then there's the further puzzling problem of China, where TPM is illegal... they have their own version to do the same things. ZDNet's Ed Bott may have the most realistic take I've seen: "For new hardware, though, I'd probably recommend Windows 11, if only because it has a future that extends for another decade. For Windows 10, the clock is counting down."

neowin[.]net/news/microsoft-explains-why-tpm-20-and-vbs-on-windows-11-are-so-key-for-next-gen-security/

windowscentral[.]com/china-cant-run-windows-11-because-foreign-tpm-chips-are-banned

zdnet[.]com/article/windows-11-hands-on-microsofts-biggest-minor-upgrade-ever-is-all-about-new-hardware/

Windows Central had a rush of new articles on Win11 this morning -- one I think might be more useful lists a lot of stuff in Win10 that's gone in this new version.

windowscentral[.]com/everything-microsoft-removing-when-you-upgrade-windows-11

Posted 3 years ago #
mikiem2
Moderator

Microsoft published details about a registry key you can add that prevents Win11 setup from checking for TPM 2 or CPU requirements.

neowin[.]net/news/microsoft-makes-the-tpm-bypass-for-unsupported-pcs-official-but-with-lots-of-warning/

support.microsoft[.]com/en-us/windows/ways-to-install-windows-11-e0edbbfb-cfc5-4011-868b-2ce77ac7c70e

Neowin talks about a couple of common problems folks are having trying to install Win11. One is easy to prevent -- run the Installation Assistant as admin.

neowin[.]net/news/your-windows-11-install-could-fail-with-0x8007007-ox8cof0830-errors-but-there-may-be-fixes/

Turns out Win11 has a somewhat long standing memory leak that I was able to verify. Keeping track of its RAM usage in Task Mgr., open up a bunch of Windows [File] Explorer windows. They use more than twice the RAM that they do in Wn10, and the amount of RAM used doesn't go back down when you close all those windows. That said, we're not talking about huge amounts of RAM.

windowscentral[.]com/windows-11-memory-leaks-appear-be-less-severe-reports-indicate

pcgamer[.]com/windows-11-file-explorer-memory-leak-bug/

Posted 3 years ago #
mikiem2
Moderator

windowscentral[.]com/windows-11-may-hurt-gaming-performance-ryzen-chips-says-amd

Win11 is broken on AMD CPUs. Per AMD, L3 cache latency may increase by ~3X, & UEFI CPPC2 (“preferred core”) may not preferentially schedule threads on a processor’s fastest core. AMD & Microsoft are working on a fix they say [hope?] will be available in October -- my *guess* is that either Microsoft &/or AMD failed to spot the problem during Win11's very limited testing, or the problem may be complex enough that they haven't yet found a cure.

Posted 3 years ago #
Whiterabbit-uk
Games Guru

Darn it, was looking forwards to checking it out. Will have to wait for a fix as my main computer is a Ryzen chip.

Posted 3 years ago #
mikiem2
Moderator

Darn it, was looking forwards to checking it out. Will have to wait for a fix as my main computer is a Ryzen chip.

If you or anyone else simply wants to see what all the fuss is about with minimal risk -- there are reports for example of missing Start Menus with a new install -- and if you've got 64GB of hard disk storage to spare, installing a fresh copy of Win11 is relatively painless. [The reason you need 64GB is that's one of the Win11 requirements -- a fresh install takes up about 13GB.]

Start by figuring out if you've got a hard disk partition you'll repurpose, or if you'll create a new one. If you're using an existing partition delete it using a partitioning tool like AOMEI's or Windows Computer Management... Win11 setup wants unallocated disk space, and it will let you delete a partition while running setup if you prefer to do it there. If you're creating a new partition you'll need to shrink an existing partition. Select a partition with the necessary free space -- right click a drive letter [partition] in Windows Explorer & select properties, which will show you used and free space -- then if it's on a conventional hard disk, defrag it, so all data is towards the front of the partition. Then shrink the partition by at least 64GB, again either using a partitioning tool or Windows Computer Management. An alternative that might be easy for some folks is to add a small SSD to their PC -- you can usually find a 120GB SSD for around $20 on Amazon for example.

Backup your existing Windows installation(s), including the boot partition, using your choice of image backup apps, e.g. Macrium Reflect Free. You want to be able to put things back the way they were if something goes wrong.

Download the Media Creation Tool from Microsoft, which lets you create a bootable USB stick with the needed setup files. Make sure both Secure Boot and TPM [fTPM for Ryzen CPUs] are enabled in the BIOS, and that your existing copy [or copies] of Windows etc. are OK with that. Set your PC/laptop to boot from that USB stick, boot into setup, and install Win11 to that free space you made available. Note: you won't need a Windows key [it'll activate based on the already activated copy of Windows that's already installed on another drive/partition] but you will want to have your Microsoft account login info handy.

Once Win11 is installed and running, run the free EasyBCD to add your preexisting copy [or copies] of Windows to the boot menu -- you can rename each entry in Windows boot menu and select the default copy of Windows to boot to at the same time. And you're basically done... When you turn on the PC/laptop you get a menu asking which copy of Windows to run, and by default, 30 seconds to make your choice before the default copy starts.

Posted 3 years ago #
mikiem2
Moderator

neowin[.]net/news/windows-11-performance-patch-for-amd-ryzen-cpus-reportedly-rolling-out-next-week/

The Win11 issues with AMD Ryzen CPUs *should* be fixed next week. AMD's fixing the Collaborative Processor Performance Control (CPPC), likely in a new chipset driver package -- note: there's no notification or release notes for chipset drivers, so you might have to check the AMD web site. Also note: the driver install GUI has several boxes for different parts of the driver pack, and often all are checked -- mouse over the boxes to see if you need that particular update, & if not, uncheck it. Microsoft is allegedly rolling out the fix for the latency issue a week from today.

neowin[.]net/news/on-windows-11-pcs-brother-printers-are-facing-many-issues-when-connected-via-usb/

Brother printers are having several issues with Win11.

zdnet[.]com/article/microsoft-makes-windows-subsystem-for-linux-for-windows-11-a-separate-app-in-the-microsoft-store/

Microsoft is putting WSL [Linux in Windows] in Win11's store, but they don't know yet if that's a good move or not -- for now you can have both versions installed, at least until they figure out what users prefer. Mary Jo Foley explains it well I think.

Finally, it's Patch Tuesday, & Win11's included. My unqualified VM got the same updates as the qualified version installed on this PC -- So Far, So Good.

Posted 3 years ago #
mikiem2
Moderator

Microsoft released a patch for the Insider Beta & Pre-release channels Friday that allegedly included the Ryzen fix, along with fixes for a bunch of other stuff. I tried to get it this weekend and it wasn't offered -- I found comments online saying I was not alone. There's a chance Microsoft pulled it because it caused problems, so please take this week's scheduled release for the patch or patches with a grain of salt... if it happens, great, but don't make all your plans around it.

While it looks like we'll have to wait for the next version of VirtualBox [v.7] to get Win11 support, VMware just added that support to their free version -- V/Box is the only holdout far as I can tell.

neowin[.]net/news/windows-11-compliant-tpm-support-added-to-the-free-version-of-vmware-1620/

Posted 3 years ago #
Riverjoans
Member

Thanks for sharing this information.

Posted 3 years ago #

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