The Death of Windows 10

[JeffS7444]

Makes me wanna install Win11. Not sure if I'm going to reformat soon or use the box as it is. There is a script error occurring all the time but everything works good. Plus I have all my games loaded and passwords and stuff for logins all setup so the game accounts permit to me play. Soooo... I'm between a rock and a hard place. Additionally I would req a software to enable the taskbar to be located at the left side. Any ideas? Maybe I can pull off a MS repair job but would I lose the account and stuff in it that I have for admin?

If your PC is from the W10 era, chances are, you've already got TPM + UEFI Secure Boot enabled: Even my $250 cheapie from Target has it.

Looks like relocating the Taskbar currently requires a Registry hack, and I dislike modifying Registry keys by hand any more than I have to.
https://www.alphr.com/move-taskbar-windows-11/

 

[Trell]

Looks like relocating the Taskbar currently requires a Registry hack, and I dislike modifying Registry keys by hand any more than I have to.
https://www.alphr.com/move-taskbar-windows-11

Being forced to use an undocumented registry hack for moving the taskbar is a fail.

 

[Doodski]

If your PC is from the W10 era, chances are, you've already got TPM + UEFI Secure Boot enabled: Even my $250 cheapie from Target has it.

Looks like relocating the Taskbar currently requires a Registry hack, and I dislike modifying Registry keys by hand any more than I have to.
https://www.alphr.com/move-taskbar-windows-11/

I have a Z690 motherboard. TPM is enabled by me. Now that you mention it I don't know if I enabled the UEFI Secure Boot in the BIOS. I'll check for sure. I used to use all sorts of registry change installers and change settings myself and play with the services and I reformatted about every 2 to 6 months because of that...LoL.

 

[Trell]

If your PC is from the W10 era, chances are, you've already got TPM + UEFI Secure Boot enabled: Even my $250 cheapie from Target has it.

There are many older PCs that have UEFI Secure Boot, but not TPM.

 

[Trell]

I have a Z690 motherboard. TPM is enabled by me. Now that you mention it I don't know if I enabled the UEFI Secure Boot in the BIOS. I'll check for sure. I used to use all sorts of registry change installers and change settings myself and play with the services and I reformatted about every 2 to 6 months because of that...LoL.

Secure boot is a security feature that might give you some heartburn to enable. Only do that if you’ve got a backup of your data.

 

[sarumbear]

We do get our salary from somewhere, unless we’re living on a pension.

As a person who worked for myself for the last 43 years I tend to forget that

 

[Doodski]

Secure boot is a security feature that might give you some heartburn to enable. Only do that if you’ve got a backup of your data.

Thanks for the heads up. This box is for anything that I want and no docs or stuff on it other than some funny images from the ASR comedy section etc. If it crashes it crashes. I made sure to get the USB Win10 version so it's fast on loading the OS. I can install Win10 in the time it takes to have coffee.

 

[JeffS7444]

Secure boot is a security feature that might give you some heartburn to enable. Only do that if you’ve got a backup of your data.

Yeah, I recall the disk partitioning schemes being a bit different for each. Not bad if @Doodski had planned on re-initializing the disk and performing a clean install of Windows, though.

 

[Trell]

I don't think they will extend it this time because security has become more important than ever before now. They really are an OS for business, and so many businesses have now had issues with leaks, ransom-ware and other issues. The cost of new machinery is no more than a fraction of the possible value to avoid security accidents. I know businesses have typically given security short-shrift in funding IT, but the losses are mounting. Enough costly issues will get their attention eventually.

TPM is an important security feature, but it won’t protect against things like phishing like the urgent mail from the CFO telling someone to transfer money.

You can be pretty sure that many businesses won’t throw out their working PC for an increased security by TPM.

 

[Doodski]

Yeah, I recall the disk partitioning schemes being a bit different for each. Not bad if @Doodski had planned on re-initializing the disk and performing a clean install of Windows, though.

I think I'm going to play out the Steam and Epic games that I have loaded/setup with the server(s) and then after I'll check the UEFI Secure Boot in the BIOS and enable it if req'd. Then reformat. There was a hurdle loading Win10 with the ASUS ROG STRIX Z690-F GAMING WIFI motherboard. It would not install Win10 when using the onboard graphics. I had to put the RTX 3070Ti onto the motherboard and then I could install Win10. It was not expected to say the least. I was very confused. But now I know.

 

[Trell]

Yeah, I recall the disk partitioning schemes being a bit different for each. Not bad if @Doodski had planned on re-initializing the disk and performing a clean install of Windows, though.

Clean install of Windows, if possible, is the easiest one. He would have to enter UEFI in any case, though, as part of enabling Secure Boot.

One can do this from an existing Windows install, but that is not straightforward. A big issue is to convert disk from MBR to GPT but there is a tool for that from Microsoft.

 

[Berwhale]

That was a quick-n-dirty solution rushed out for admins. Public solution is in the works.

Yes, I know, it's mentioned in the last paragraph of the article I linked to...

"In July, Microsoft will issue a second release to simplify deployment of the patch. And by the first quarter of 2024, we'll have a final fix for the bug by default across all Windows devices."

 

[Keith_W]

If your PC is from the W10 era, chances are, you've already got TPM + UEFI Secure Boot enabled: Even my $250 cheapie from Target has it.

Looks like relocating the Taskbar currently requires a Registry hack, and I dislike modifying Registry keys by hand any more than I have to.
https://www.alphr.com/move-taskbar-windows-11/

Right click on your taskbar, and choose Taskbar settings ...

Go down to the drop down menu at the bottom and choose Taskbar alignment - Left.

 

[r042wal]

It is trivial to use Windows 11 without a TPM...still keeping my main machine on 10 until the upgrade is warranted

You can install Windows 11 without a TPM module:

• Go to the Windows 11 download page(opens in new tab) and select 'Download Now'
• When you get an error message, open the Registry Editor and enter 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup'
• Right-click 'Setup' and select New > Key, name the new key 'LabConfig'
• Right-click the key and select New > DWORD (32-bit), creating values for 'BypassTPMCheck', 'BypassRAMCheck', and 'BypassSecureBootCheck'. Set the 'Value data' for all of these to 1.
• Close the Registry Editor, click 'Back' in the Windows 11 installation tool, and attempt the install again.

 

[Ron Texas]

I agree, but there is a pretty serious bug with UEFI and Secureboot that does allow you to run unsigned code. A fix was included in the latest patch Tuesday release, but it has to be manually enabled as there is some stuff you have to do first to ensure that your PC will still boot afterwards!

More here: https://www.theregister.com/2023/05/09/microsoft_may_patch_tuesday/

I followed that link and a link it refers to. It says update your bootable media. I wonder if my USB stick with Acronis true image on it will still work. Maybe it will because I can turn off secure boot in firmware.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Leak of MSI UEFI signing keys stokes fears of “doomsday” supply chain attack

With no easy way to revoke compromised keys, MSI, and its customers, are in a real pickle.

arstechnica.com

Not good news if you have an MSI motherboard. Firmware updates compromised. Ouch!

 

[Ron Texas]

Leak of MSI UEFI signing keys stokes fears of “doomsday” supply chain attack

With no easy way to revoke compromised keys, MSI, and its customers, are in a real pickle.

arstechnica.com

Not good news if you have an MSI motherboard. Firmware updates compromised. Ouch!

They are going to have to fix that with a patch and new signing keys, if they can.

 

[rdenney]

You guys are missing the point. Of course I could buy all new stuff and it would work. (Thousands of dollars would be required.) Until a couple of years from now when one OS jerk or another decides I have to buy all new stuff again to keep it all working.

Is this stuff really needed or is it just what they do because they’re paid to do it?

But each new iteration makes it harder to do anything but what is required by the very most common use cases. Any deviation from that is getting more and more difficult.

I don’t for a moment believe a new OS can’t be made to easily support outdated standards, if the user accepts the responsibility. It’s just laziness to design only for the latest hardware by people who think our hobby is (or should be) continuously upgrading hardware.

It’s wasteful, particularly if precious life-minutes.

Rick “the guy whose stereo comprises mostly excellent older equipment because it works” Denney

 

[Henry's Cat]

Non of my P.C's meet the requirements to run Windows 11 so I'm certainly not going to buy new hardware just to be able to use it. I'm still using Windows 7 Pro for my Home Theatre P.C. on a Lenovo 6234 desktop. It's rock-solid stable and I use the excellent MusicBee to play back my audio files. The Lenovo did have Windows 10 installed originally but the driver for the TE7022 chip which converts a USB connection to an R.F. coax signal kept getting 'forgotten' and would drop out.

I have tried different versions of Linux but have found nothing that beats MusicBee which is only available for Windows. The problem I find with Linux is that when you run into a problem the technical help available is usually incomprehensible and assumes you have a high level of command line knowledge.

 

[anmpr1]

Weather News Applet Update: So this AM I opened the MS Weather Applet, and what do you know? News feed and ads were gone. It still wasn't the old format, but the basic info was there, sans ads. Actually a nice layout.

Why make the change, I thought? Did the company decide ads inside a weather app weren't a good morning door opener? Perhaps the American Federation of Amalgamated Dental Professionals realized that if folks need a local dentist, they probably aren't going to be looking for one in a weather app-- so they yanked the ad, and MS hadn't lined up anyone else. Who knows? In any case, kudos to MS when they do good community service, in this case by not mucking up the weather app.

And for those who remain accoutrement challenged, MS still offers advice on what to wear, and whether to leave home with an umbrella.

On another more thread related note, with one of my PCs unable to run 11 because of the security stuff, I did a bit of Linux slumming. Just to get back into the 'feel' of things. Surfed over to Phoronix, a Linux news aggregating site, and had to chuckle. Brought back memories of 'the old days'--Usenet's alt.os.linux, Stallman and Eric Raymond, etc.

Current discussion over whether to use X.org or Wayland on Asahi... which I thought was kind of arcane since Linux itself is pretty market penetration limited, and Asahi (which sounds like a Japanese beer--as in free) is even more niche, specific to Apple machines; so you know their user base has to be at least in the teens, or possibly high twenties (just kidding, but not really).

I remember the switch from XFree86 to X.Org, and all the anguish that caused? I guess the more things change...

Phoronix folks were still debating Libre over OpenOffice. Relentless.

I thought to myself (...who else could I think to?), "Screw this. I'm going hard core Cactus Jack. If MS abandons me, it's barbed-wire baseball bat time. Surf the Web? Emacs/EWW, preferably on GNU Hurd. If that isn't available, I need to find out if they've gotten Netscape Nav to run on Plan 9?"

I mean, there are always options. Right?