Windows 11
- Thread starter GypsmJim
- Start date
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!
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.
I thought I had bought my last computer. That's what I get for thinking.
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
Member
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.
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.
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 back 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.
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 back 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.
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
Member
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.
Last edited:
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.
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.
Neither do half of mine. There was a convoluted way to get around that when I upgraded my older stuff. MS has pretty much given up on trying to keep people from upgrading their old computers so it is much easier now. Look it up on Youtube. Lots of videos on how to do it.
