Windows 11

[GypsmJim]

I hate it when I am forced to do something I don't want to do. My old computer runs XP and I never changed. It still works, except for the annoying popup on startup. Although I had resolved NOT to upgrade the house computer from 10 to 11, it looks like I may have to.

This morning's email from Turbotax says the 25 version will not run on 10. I have been using them for 20 years and all the data is in the system. I hate to have to switch to another software and have to type in all that info over again.

So, what say y'all. Will I have a problem if I switch from 10 to 11? Have others had issues, or did it go OK?

 

[s&wchad]

You shouldn't have an issue with TurboTax.
Intuit saves the info on line. When you sign in, info from the previous year should automatically propagate the fields.



When you sign in, they'll send a confirmation code to your email on record. If you invest with Fidelity, they provide a link to get TT State and Federal free (including e-filing) and will automatically download your Fidelity tax documents.

 

[cmansguns]

I had no troubles at all some 4 years ago when I bought a new computer (HP Desktop Tower) and it came with 10 but said it was free to download and install 11. Did it and again...no troubles, not much different as far as home screen and more important ALL my old files (Word, Excel, Power Point, Adobe) and programs work just fine and that includes data from way, way back, State(s) and Fed tax returns from H&R Block, Turbo and others. All my picture files too (family, kids, guns, randoms, etc.).

Two years ago I bought a HP Laptop for travel from one of the on-line networks, and it came with 10 also. I simply clicked on the free up- grade to 11 and let it cook for awhile and now it is the same as my desktop. All of my work is done daily on the desktop and if I am travelling I simply stick in a flash drive and copy a few select files and bingo...everything is updated to the same on both computers.

I say go ahead and do it. You may not even notice much of anything different in your daily routine.

That's my experience anyway.

 

[Marine Corps Air]

[h1]Windows 11[/h1]

This required update requirement also "frosts my cookies". I'm not sure that these upgrades are an improvement. It does boost MSFT's profits and stock price. A post that I read a few years back reported that some hospitals were still using Windows '95. The time and working capital (cash) that is required for these migrations can be cost prohibitive.

In 2019 I bought a new computer that had Windows 10 pre-loaded that allowed me to use my Pro Series tax software. Now I have the option to install Windows 11 and pay an annual fee to MSFT for the next year, or buy a new workstation with Windows 11 and avoid the annual fee. Here's the scoop:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/tech...ou-cant-upgrade/ar-AA1KwdJq?ocid=BingNewsSerp
My wife taught this technology in the past and she moved to Windows 11. There are some changes and I have not heard anyone dancing in the streets about just how good it is. I'll let you know in when I complete my migration for my Windows 10 system.

In the interim, I have purchased the "Windows 10 For Dummies' and "Windows 11 For Dummies" just in case my outcome is not the same as MSFT says that it will be.

Film at 11:00!

Bill

 

[THE PILGRIM]

A 10 to 11 update shouldn’t be a problem.

 

[GnarlsR2]

GypsmJim,

Good timing on this topic.(y)

One of my good friends is an IT guru.

I've been thinking about upgrading my old Dell desktop from W10 to W11. I too do not like upgrading anything on my computer, especially if it does it without me approving it!

I asked him about the process. He said it takes about 30 minutes and it's not as bad as most feel it might be.

He said to make sure the old computer will truly run Windows 11.

"AI Overview

CPUs that will not run Windows 11 include any 32-bit processor, and most 64-bit processors that do not meet Microsoft's official hardware requirements, such as lacking support for the SSE 4.2 instruction set, Secure Boot, UEFI, or TPM 2.0. Specifically, the official list excludes Intel CPUs from before the 8th generation and AMD CPUs from before the original Ryzen generation. While it's often possible to install Windows 11 on unsupported hardware, it is not officially recommended and may lead to unexpected issues and a lack of support."

Since I am on a computer 4 to 6 hours a day, and my old Dell is about 5 or 6 years old, I may just upgrade to new faster one.
I don't do any gaming, so I don't need a Ferrari, so a new Hi-tech Toyota Camry will do fine.:)

 

[grover99]

I went to Apple 12 years ago and set out all of my PCs minus the hard drive out at the curb. They were gone in an hour. Will never go back to Bill Gates garbage for no amount of money.

 

[GnarlsR2]

I went to Apple 12 years ago and set out all of my PCs minus the hard drive out at the curb. They were gone in an hour. Will never go back to Bill Gates garbage for no amount of money.

Bill Gates is an evil dude and spends lots of money to depopulate humans.

Apple is not much better. 80 to 95% of what they sell is manufactured in slave labor facilities in China.

 

[TX-Dennis]

Windows 11 upgrade is usually fast and rather painless. I've done several including on a couple of machines that "can't" run Windows 11. No issues with any of them so far.

The only annual subscription that I know of is for the Office software. There are other options that work well. I recommend Open Office or Libre Office which are compatible with most MS Office files and work well although the UI is somewhat less polished than is Microsoft's.

 

[LVSteve]

Much to my surprise, the Win 11 update to my wife's computer went smoothly. My wife's laptop updated from Win7 to Win10 years ago and that worked better than expected, largely because I had upgraded the memory to 16 GB.

What REALLY frosts me is the "you don't own it" BS with Win11. Just no.

 

[DWalt]

I just got the same message about the new requirement to update to Windows 11 for use with TY 2025 TurboTax. Am really apprehensive about updating from W10 to W11, but it seems I will have no choice. If worst comes to worst, I can use my wife’s laptop which is newer and already has W11. Problem is she forbids me to use her laptop for anything. I think it would be better if Windows would migrate to the Cloud, and not even be resident on your computer.

 

[Marine Corps Air]

Windows 11

This is the one-year subscription:

"[h2]Pay for Extended Security Updates[/h2]
Microsoft actually isn't fully doing away with Windows 10 updates, but you will have to pay for them going forward. Microsoft previously announced that it will offer extended security updates (ESU). Enrolling in the ESU program will give you access to critical security updates for Windows 10. Though you won't receive updates for new features or bug fixes, and Microsoft will not offer technical support if you run into any challenges on your Windows 10 PC.

The ESU program is primarily targeted at businesses and institutions using Windows for commercial use or educational purposes, but this year, Microsoft will be rolling out a consumer version. The consumer plan is a one-year option priced at $30. Microsoft reports that program enrollment will open closer to Oct. 14.

This option is certainly cheaper than upgrading your laptop and far less risky than ignoring the end-of-support deadline and using an unsupported OS, so it's worth considering if you'd like to keep your old laptop for a bit longer."

I just checked with the Windows Instructor in our home (not me):

1. There are some minor cosmetic changes. The "Start" button/function has been removed (Sign Out, Sleep, Shut Down, Restart), but there is another button for this function;

2. After the upgrade all of the Microsoft Office 19 applications were reconfigured to be similar to Office 365 (the $100 annual subscription plan from "The Cloud") She said that after some period of time (not a long period) the functionality returned to the Office 2019 configuration. She told me to just be patient.

I will patiently wait for my tax software vendor (Intuit) to "drop a bomb on me" in that the 2025 tax software will not work on a Windows 10 device.

If you really want to run with the Techies - https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/software-download/windows11


Bill

 

[NYlakesider]

First off- I'm a 80YO Luddite/curmudgeon and my cats know more about computers than I do. Second off- as a good guess I probably only utilize about 1% of what my computer can do. Other than being a word processor & looking up info on line , that includes stocks info and being on a few forums thats all I ask of it

With that out of the way, I had my DIL come over and she put in 11. Been about 2 weeks now and other than a few location changes it appears to do all I want it to do. It took her about 3 hours, 1 hour to do 11 and 2 hours to put in all the updates that were floating around.

 

[TX-Dennis]

Windows 11

This is the one-year subscription:

"[h2]Pay for Extended Security Updates[/h2]
Microsoft actually isn't fully doing away with Windows 10 updates, but you will have to pay for them going forward. Microsoft previously announced that it will offer extended security updates (ESU). Enrolling in the ESU program will give you access to critical security updates for Windows 10. Though you won't receive updates for new features or bug fixes, and Microsoft will not offer technical support if you run into any challenges on your Windows 10 PC.

The ESU program is primarily targeted at businesses and institutions using Windows for commercial use or educational purposes, but this year, Microsoft will be rolling out a consumer version. The consumer plan is a one-year option priced at $30. Microsoft reports that program enrollment will open closer to Oct. 14.

This option is certainly cheaper than upgrading your laptop and far less risky than ignoring the end-of-support deadline and using an unsupported OS, so it's worth considering if you'd like to keep your old laptop for a bit longer."

I just checked with the Windows Instructor in our home (not me):

1. There are some minor cosmetic changes. The "Start" button/function has been removed (Sign Out, Sleep, Shut Down, Restart), but there is another button for this function;

2. After the upgrade all of the Microsoft Office 19 applications were reconfigured to be similar to Office 365 (the $100 annual subscription plan from "The Cloud") She said that after some period of time (not a long period) the functionality returned to the Office 2019 configuration. She told me to just be patient.

I will patiently wait for my tax software vendor (Intuit) to "drop a bomb on me" in that the 2025 tax software will not work on a Windows 10 device.

If you really want to run with the Techies - https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/software-download/windows11


Bill

Ah. Gotcha. I was thinking he meant a subscription for Win 11.

By the way, anybody remember when Windows 10 was advertised as "the last Windows?"

 

[ameridaddy]

I lost my router and CPU to a lightning strike a few weeks ago and was forced to buy a new unit with Win11. I still run and much prefer old Win 7 Microsoft games and Office 2003 over the subsequent stuff. I've had a little trouble with Word and Excel 2003 running under Win11, but I'll take that over renting*spit* Microslob's newer Office products with their utterly over complicated formats and their relocated functions in unrecognizable drop downs. Otherwise, after a few days learning where things are because the user interface looks a little different, Win 11 is OK by me, and I'm now running Solidworks CAD 2025, Office 2003, Quicken 2007, Family Tree Maker 2019 and whatever the latest Mozilla Firefox browser is with only a few minor annoyances in Word and Excel 2003. Everything else is flawless so far.

 

[Tom S.]

Bill Gates is an evil dude and spends lots of money to depopulate humans.

Apple is not much better. 80 to 95% of what they sell is manufactured in slave labor facilities in China.

I hate to defend Apple in anyway, but can you prove their products are made by slave labor? I've seen lots of rumors since 2020 but no smoking gun (pardon the pun).

 

[GnarlsR2]

I hate to defend Apple in anyway, but can you prove their products are made by slave labor? I've seen lots of rumors since 2020 but no smoking gun (pardon the pun).

The slave and forced labor thing came up recently in conversation because some of my good friends use IPhones and Apple computers.

I believe there is more than enough valid evidence of what has been taking place for decades, and still is, regarding the countries that use forced labor.

Apple may try to monitor the labor practices and any laws, but they can't control everything outside of one of their facilities. The components, precious metals, and cobalt in Apple's iPhone Supply Chain have been well-documented.

In 10 minutes of research you can find the evidence, e.g Bureau of International Labor Affairs and a very recent document by
Frederick Jozaitis at University of San Diego.

I would bet that some of the evidence has been fabricated or "adjusted" in favor of minimizing the actual truth and facts.

Whether you define that information as "proof" is up to you.

That's just my worthless opinion.

 

[pasound]

The latest scuttlebutt on blogs from ZDNet, Ask Woody, and cNet say that Microsloth will (or is) going to offer a one-time "update subscription" of $30 to continue sending updates to Windows 10 for one year. No links to it yet, but possibly available around Oct. 14. It does not keep your Windows 10 running, that's not the case - there's no kill switch. It's supposed to keep it running without pop-ups and other annoyances.
And I'll believe that when... :unsure:

 

[fiasconva]

Thanks for the info on Turbo Tax. I was wondering what was going to happen with the update to 11. I was going to put last year's forms on a cd in case I needed to. I still may do it just in case.

 

[TX-Dennis]

Thanks for the info on Turbo Tax. I was wondering what was going to happen with the update to 11. I was going to put last year's forms on a cd in case I needed to. I still may do it just in case.

Having a backup is never a bad idea. Things can go wrong at random.

 

[GypsmJim]

Thanks for all the comments. Since nobody had anything negative to say, I guess I'll go ahead with it.

I won't do my second computer anyway, since there are no important documents on it.

 

[Denverd0n]

I hate to have to switch to another software and have to type in all that info over again.

You do NOT have to type all that info in again. I switched from Turbotax to HRBlock four or five years ago, and the HRBlock software had no problem at all importing the data from my last Turbotax return.

Personally, I will not be upgrading to Win 11 for the simple reason that my computer does not have the hardware that Win 11 requires. It is 14 years old, which I admit is pretty ancient, but it serves all of my needs perfectly well. I keep getting messages that I have to upgrade, but I CANNOT upgrade! I see no reason to buy a new computer at this point, just so that Bill Gates can make yet more money, and have yet more control over my system. Thanks, but NO THANKS!

Luckily for me, I spent 10 years as a Redhat Linux administrator before retiring in 2021. So if worse comes to worst, I will load my machine with one of the Linux distros. In fact, I have been thinking about going ahead and doing that anyway!

 

[armadillo]

I already checked and was told that I can buy a new computer for what it would take to upgrade my old desktop to run 11. At least Turbo Tax warned me early.

I thought I had bought my last computer. That's what I get for thinking.

 

[Golddollar]

My computer with Windows 10 conked out on me, so I ended up buying a new computer with Windows 11 already loaded in. The only saving grace was that the new computer had about twice the horsepower of the old one.

 

[DWalt]

I have all my TT data files going back to the early days of TT. Also the original TT floppy discs. Extremely unlikely they will ever be needed, but I have everything just in case. I also still have an external floppy disc drive that handles both 3.5" and 5.25" floppies, unused for at least 30 years. Long ago there was only one TT program that handled everything, instead of the four or five now. I don’t know if my present laptop has everything needed internally to upgrade to W11. I guess all I can do is to try it and see.

 

[JohnRippert]

I have updated a few computers here at he house from 10 to 11. No problems with any of them and a couple were on hardware supposedly too old to run Win11. my 12 year old Acer laptop runs it just fine.

 

[GnarlsR2]

For those who are thinking about upgrading anything, you might consider doing a backup to an external SSD before starting the upgrade.

https://a.co/d/8tz0RAn

I had my desktop computer external hard drive as file backup drive fail.

I lost gigabytes of data that I did not attempt to pay for a possible recovery. It crushed my ego, because I felt like a dummy.

Last year my external hard drive to my Dish Network Hopper failed with 15 years of movies, concerts, and newsworthy special events. I have not attempted to recover the lost data. That crushed my ego and I felt like a big dummy.

Now I have a backup hard drive attached to my Dish Hopper.

I have 2 Samsung SSD 1 terabyte backup drives. One for my Dell Desktop computer, and the other one to backup the backup SSD.

I do a file backup of my main computer, my cell phone, and the Dish Hopper about every 60 days.

I still have a cloud backup with Norton, but I want to have possession of my files. In case of an emergency and I have to quickly leave the house I can grab my go-bag with the Samsung SSDs.

 

[Denverd0n]

I have updated a few computers here at he house from 10 to 11. No problems with any of them and a couple were on hardware supposedly too old to run Win11. my 12 year old Acer laptop runs it just fine.

It's not the age of the computer that is the issue. It is whether or not it has certain hardware/firmware components in it. Mine does not.

 

[DWalt]

I have both of my laptops mirrored onto external hard drives. You can buy used hard drives and external housings very cheap off eBay. If the hard drive resident on your computer goes AWOL, just pull it and replace it with the mirrored hard drive. You really don't need a SSD as a mirrored backup. Any old disc hard drive will work as long as it is large enough.

 

[pasound]

I had many years at work being the unofficial computer IT. Spent a lot of my time recovering "the only copy" of files from coworkers' dead or dying computers. I always taught them - save three copies - one to use, one to lose, and one for the backup you'll really need.
Also told them all to NEVER TURN BITLOCKER ON. And if the overarching IT department turned it on while you were not looking, copy everything ASAP while you have access when you are logged in.
Modern solid state and most new spinning drives are many times more robust and crash tolerant than just a few years ago. Data can be recovered from machines that won't boot, as long as you have a slot or caddy available for the old drive. But without the Bitlocker key, it will never work. Always make sure you have the key, written down, not stored on the drive you want to recover.
There are ways to force W11 to work on hardware that is not "compliant". Probably the best is a free tool called "Rufus". Rather than try to explain it all here, it makes a bootable usb drive with your windows 11 iso install "fixed" so that it bypasses the hardware and security problems. Google or DuckDuck search for "rufus windows 11" for full explanations and download links.
One more thing - almost all retail Windows 11 machines have the Home version installed. It is limited, almost crippled in many aspects. Go to www.stacksocial.com and check regularly for licenses for Win 11 Pro. They are very inexpensive - I've bought them for myself and friends for $20-25, and these are legit. No "crack" or "patch" file. Just a good serial number and a clean install every time. (Note - clean installs do not save apps and files). They also have discount Office licenses - even got one for my MacBook, a standalone 2023 version, not the Office 365 that you have to rent.