Windows 11 still sucks.

[frostknight]

I use mupdf.

Same

[UCyborg]

https://www.xda-developers.com/microsoft-cracking-down-people-creating-local-accounts-windows/

[back2themoon]

So, they don't really care for people hacking Windows/Office, but they sure do hate those offline accounts.

Interesting - and noted.

[Moonchild]

Considering their claim that "{the bypass allows users to} inadvertently skip critical setup screens, potentially causing users to exit OOBE with a device that is not fully configured for use", I had a look at what the difference is, exactly.
And, what gets skipped is:

• Setting a PIN for Windows Hello (also not something you are asked when using a work/school type domain setup)
• Restoring settings from another device (Microsoft account sync). Not critical, and not necessary for setting up a new device.
• Customize your experience: an optional screen where you can indicate the ways you intend to use the PC. Basically letting Microsoft know the intent for use, "to get personalized tips, ads and recommendations within Microsoft experiences". so... ad personalization.
• Linking your mobile phone (it asks twice if you say no...)
• Setting Edge to synchronize with your Microsoft account
• Advertisement for a free trial of Microsoft 365 Personal (office), and if declined:
• Advertisement for paid cloud storage with Microsoft 365 Basic, and if declined:
• Promotion to use Microsoft 365 for free, including office applications, if only you use outlook for your e-mail for everything... (they are really desperate to get your data and e-mail...)
• Advertisement for a Microsoft PC Game Pass

I mean.... wow, just wow. Critical setup screens? Yeah critical for Microsoft's income by trying to lure you into multiple subscription services. Remind me... is Windows 11 free because it's ad-supported? $139 for home and $249 for Pro, you say? I see...

[frostknight]

I mean.... wow, just wow. Critical setup screens? Yeah critical for Microsoft's income by trying to lure you into multiple subscription services. Remind me... is Windows 11 free because it's ad-supported? $139 for home and $249 for Pro, you say? I see...

All that data collection, manipulation and control on Microsoft's part... and a monetary fee on top of that of $100+

Just pure arrogance and greed... why should people be the product if they are already paying so much for the copy of windows?

The newer the windows versions are, the more I am just like...

"No." and also "WTF" and other things...

Windows 11 is shaping up to be worse than all the others combined it seems like. The whole snapshot of everything you do, makes this abundantly clear on itself.

I don't know if I should put off topic for all of this, but these are my thoughts.

[UCyborg]

Someone at work had the great idea to get rid of fresh MS SQL 2022 installation on fresh Win11 installation by the means of System Restore. Because "do you know how much crap MS SQL install leaves, you should have put on MySQL". I mean, c'mon, it will be for demonstration purposes of the software being developed here and I put on the best performing database server the software supports, so what?

So the System Restore bricked the Win11 install that it now always BSODs when login screen is supposed to show and now we're wasting time with "recovery" methods that rarely work anyway and in the end, you have to install Windows from scratch anyway.

Because some things are utterly broken in Windows since forever and others get broken by reckless rapid development. What happened to Service Packs and major releases every couple of years?

[daemonspudguy]

Service Packs and update rollups stopped being a thing after Windows 7. Regularly scheduled releases stopped being a thing arguably after Windows XP but Longhorn's development was exceptionally torturous so that one's a bit unfair and they did get back on track for 7, 8, and 8.1, so I'll say that that died after 8.1 to be nice.

[UCyborg]

1 day to go!

https://endoflife.date/windows (BTW, this site looks off on Pale Moon.)

OK, there's extended support for security updates for Win10 22H2 until October 2028, but other than that, Windows 10 is going the way of the deprecated and unsupported.

And the last Win11 (23H2) that can still boot on pre-SSE4.2 CPUs is going next month. I'm feeling old.

[frostknight]

Service Packs and update rollups stopped being a thing after Windows 7. Regularly scheduled releases stopped being a thing arguably after Windows XP but Longhorn's development was exceptionally torturous so that one's a bit unfair and they did get back on track for 7, 8, and 8.1, so I'll say that that died after 8.1 to be nice.

I feel like Windows is being currently run by a mixed personality of the godfather and foghorn leghorn. I bring this up because longhorn made me think of leghorn. Before 8.1, it was much less like the godfather though.

Although, Google could be said the same about as well.

So much bs from proprietary companies as they grew... shocking? No...

You let a bully get away with something, they will keep upping the ante.

[daemonspudguy]

I would be able to understand removing bypasses to the Windows setup procedure if we still lived in a world where automatic updates weren't configured by default but we no longer live in that world. I still didn't think that bypassing the setup screen was, um, a good idea but it is fucking ridiculous that they're going out of their way to even let you not use a Microsoft account (or whatever they're called this week, anyone else remember .NET Passports?) to use your computer.

[frostknight]

I would be able to understand removing bypasses to the Windows setup procedure if we still lived in a world where automatic updates weren't configured by default but we no longer live in that world. I still didn't think that bypassing the setup screen was, um, a good idea but it is fucking ridiculous that they're going out of their way to even let you not use a Microsoft account (or whatever they're called this week, anyone else remember .NET Passports?) to use your computer.

You mean they are going out of their way to force people to need a microsoft account.

It sounded confusing the way you phrased it.

But I think that was what you meant?

If so, yeah...

If you are saying the opposite, that's crazy... no one should need an email from microsoft to login to their Operating system.

[daemonspudguy]

You mean they are going out of their way to force people to need a microsoft account.

It sounded confusing the way you phrased it.

But I think that was what you meant?

If so, yeah...

That is what I was trying to say. Sorry for any ambiguities.

[UCyborg]

Rufus' option to setup Win11 installation media without MS account requirement still functions for 25H2. But, if you reboot during OOBE and don't finish it, the OOBE will want you to setup MS account afterwards. New way to get around that that works on 25H2, when you arrive on OOBE screen, SHIFT + F10 to open CMD, then type "start ms-cxh:localonly" (without quotes) and confirm. An app window will open, prompting for desired user name and password, after confirmation, it will set it up and log you on.

Just tested today since I setup that PC at work from scratch.

Off-topic:
Since when Edge doesn't allow choosing search engine? Does it have anything to do with it running on Win11 Home? So much BS.

[Moonchild]

New way to get around that that works on 25H2, when you arrive on OOBE screen, SHIFT + F10 to open CMD, then type "start ms-cxh:localonly" (without quotes) and confirm

That will go away. current early access removes it and the oobe command workarounds

[UCyborg]

Think there won't be a way to nuke whole OOBE and pre-create the local account?

This is on Windows 10 1809.

You'll probably just have to use a less ancient version of Windows 10 if you want to use the latest versions of Teams, VS, etc.

I wonder if reason for Teams not working is something superflous.

I tried using Performance profiler today for the first time in Visual Studio 2022. It refused to start and suggested repair install. Visual Studio Standard Collector Service 150 refused to start. Reason, long story short, it crapped out after being unable to enable RedirectionGuard, some security mitigation available in newer Windows versions. I opened the service's EXE with x64dbg, patched a single conditional jump instruction to become unconditional and now the profiler works.

[back2themoon]

Workarounds are becoming a bit too hacky to trust, and base an entire OS installation on. I wouldn't. Let alone bypass CPU restrictions too, which if "de-bypassed" by MS the system will fall apart in an instant.

Definitively staying with W10. No SSD issues, no data loss, no unexpected breakage (you never know, of course). I contacted the single developer/company I found so far claiming spec: Windows 11 alone. They replied they don't block installation on Windows 10, "just" no more official support (presumably because Microsoft doesn't either, catching up with latest "features" etc.). Which is BS.

If MS keeps this up with Windows 12 (zero indication they won't), then W10 becomes the final, bearably trustworthy OS from them. Who would've thought...

[Moonchild]

If MS keeps this up with Windows 12 (zero indication they won't), then W10 becomes the final, bearably trustworthy OS from them. Who would've thought...

Actually, Microsoft itself thought so.
They only did a 180 on the "Windows 10 is the last version of Windows, with perpetual updates" once management changed and there suddenly out of the blue was Win 11.

[back2themoon]

You are correct. My "who would've thought..." remark was aimed at Windows 10. At time of release, it was a bug-fest too (but contrary to W11, it did reach stability) and also considered a telemetry monster (which it remains, I guess). At least compared to earlier versions.

But "who would've thought..." also fits perfectly to Microsoft themselves. They went full greed-mode.

[UCyborg]

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5585440/kb5066835-update-causing-iis-service-to-not-work
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/79790827/localhost-applications-failing-after-installing-2025-10-cumulative-update-for-w
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1460237-kb5066835-causing-http2-protocol-errors/

Microsoft's updates causing havoc again. See, that's the kind of issues you avoid by shunning auto-updates.

[jobbautista9]

Off-topic:
Wait, does Edge support HTTP/2 without TLS? And what even is the point of HTTP/2 by default in localhost?