Windows 11 Releases October 5th, Free Upgrade from Windows 10

[lexluthermiester]

From what I've read, the reason why Microsoft is requiring newer CPUs is because of a technical reason. Starting with Windows 10, Microsoft included something called Virtualization-Based Security or VBS to isolate parts of system memory from the rest of the system. VBS includes an optional feature called Hypervisor-protected code integrity, or HVCI. HVCI can be enabled on any Windows 10 PC that doesn't have driver incompatibility issues, but older computers will incur a significant performance penalty because their processors don't support mode-based execution control, or MBEC. PCs without processors that support MBEC rely on software emulation called "Restricted User Mode," which does get you the security benefits but affects performance more (sometimes as much as 40% by some users).

Going forth, the optional security features of Windows 10 will be mandatory under Windows 11.

Why Windows 11 has such strict hardware requirements, according to Microsoft | Ars Technica

The problem with those conclusions is that not one of those hardware functions can not be emulated in software and just as securely. The only down side to doing it all in software is a somewhat higher system resource cost. This cost is minimal on a CPU with 4 or more cores.

So effectively microsoft is once again blatantly lying in order to justify their position. This only re-enforces the idea that this is a money and control grab, little more.

 

[trparky]

Did you see how I mentioned that some users were experiencing a performance loss of nearly 40%? That's nothing to sneeze at there.

 

[demian_vi]

Generalizations is always bad. It doesn't reflect the objective truth. In the cases of Vista and 10's early days the truth is that many people had many issues with these OS. Vista was so baf that Microsoft brought it down months later.

generalizations is all we do here. I doubt anyone blaiming Windows 10 has done any scientific research to back his claims. and vista failures doesn't foretold Windows 11 status

 

[lexluthermiester]

Did you see how I mentioned that some users were experiencing a performance loss of nearly 40%? That's nothing to sneeze at there.

But that is also not conclusive evidence as we do not know the specs of the systems in use in those situations. Context is important and without knowing by what metric that 40% applies, we can not arrive and any conclusion that has merit other than "some" users experienced a heavy workload. I have experience with the security features being discussed here and I can tell you that anything more than a dual core will not struggle with them being run in software.

So for example if many of those users are on dual core CPUs then yes, that would explain much and would be logical. However, it should still NOT be forced on the user. It should ALWAYS be the choice of the user.

 

[mb194dc]

People are actually looking forward to this?

Will be a buggy mess with early adopters MS free QA team as per Windows 10.

PC needs a real user friendly alternative to Windows. Pretty unbelievable it hasn't started already now so much is web based.

 

[lexluthermiester]

People are actually looking forward to this?

Yes.

Will be a buggy mess with early adopters MS free QA team as per Windows 10.

It's not a "buggy mess" now as of 22000.168 beta. What do you think is going to change in a month?

Silliness...

 

[Shatun_Bear]

Will steer very clear of this for - at the very least - 9 months because invariably there will be countless little bugs and my work is too valuable to lose days fixing things or waiting for patches.

Not going to be a guinea pig with this update.

 

[GamerGuy]

Was surprised to see a message on my Windows Update that basically stated that my PC met the minimum requirement for Win11 and that I should expect an update from 5th October onward. Only my main PC met with the requirement, my other two PC are pretty old so, that was not unexpected.

 

[mb194dc]

Yes.

It's not a "buggy mess" now as of 22000.168 beta. What do you think is going to change in a month?

Silliness...

Roll out on to wider variety of configurations and different use cases for which the bugs aren't known yet. Same as windows 10 updates. Get all the joy of being an unpaid MS QA tester a couple of times a year. Just have to hope your config isn't the one that ends up in a boot loop. You wonder why big Enterprises are on LTSC... ?

Windows updates used to be exciting... Going from NT4 to 2000 was pretty mind blowing etc.

MSFT lost the plot in the last 10 years unfortunately.

 

[lexluthermiester]

You wonder why big Enterprises are on LTSC... ?

Oh, not just big enterprises...

However, I have been testing 11 on a number of very different PC's and the closest thing to a problem I've personally had was the StartMenu jitter glitch and that was solved with the .168 revision. Dumbass requirements aside, this is the most rock solid beta of Widows I've ever seen.

 

[Legacy-ZA]

I can't wait to see the benefits of DirectStorage.

 

[medi01]

Isn't the issue with the upgrade that lots of existing PCs do not support Win 11 stuff, hardware wise?

 

[MikeMurphy]

Purchased my HP Pro x2 612 G2 brand new about two years ago...the processor is not supported.

View attachment 214950

It's the only device running Windows in the house. If I could find a suitable linux distribution to run on a tablet....It would be running something else, but I can't and believe me I have searched hi & low(Zorin and Feren OS are close). It's also quite hard to divine exactly what Microsoft is saying because they seem conflicted as to what they want to do...at least that is my interpretation after reading numerous articles from PC World. At any rate, if it ends up that my tablet pc isn't "officially" supported by Windows 11, I'll toss it on ebay and be done with this nonsense.

I'd call Microsoft a drama queen...but in truth, they give me the creeps.

From my perspective...Windows 11 is one step further in to a dystopian nightmare. When in truth...the company should have been broken up years ago. Same with Amazon, Google, Apple, Twitter, Facebook, and Walmart.

Walmart? They single-handedly destroyed just about every small town in America....Amazon is wiping up the residue.

Residue? Just take a trip down route 66...and see the carnage.

Enjoy!

Best,

Liquid Cool

Your CPU is Kaby Lake which was released in August 2016.

Regardless of when you bought the laptop the CPU is five years old.

I agree it's a tragedy that Skylake-era CPUs like yours aren't supported. I suspect the performance-harming security mitigations on the software side necessary to keep those chips secure was just too much and MS didn't want to carry those mitigations forward for the entire life of Win11.

 

[lexluthermiester]

I can't wait to see the benefits of DirectStorage.

And we'll see if it makes much of a difference. The theory is sound, but real life often proves theories wrong..

 

[Thefumigator]

it's a trap

 

[Chrispy_]

Your CPU is Kaby Lake which was released in August 2016.
Regardless of when you bought the laptop the CPU is five years old.

You're on the right track but your logic is faulty;

Kaby lake was the current for laptops right up until it was superceded by Whiskey Lake on August 28, 2018; barely 3 years ago. It would have taken 2-3 months for Whisky Lake silicon to be integrated into laptop models, validated, shipped out to distributors and sent on to retail/etailer shelves and available to buy, so realistically the state of the art was still Kaby Lake right up until the holiday season when new Whiskey Lake latops would have been rolled out (probably rushed out) in time for Black Friday/Cyber Monday and Christmas.

By not supporting Kaby Lake, Microsoft aren't even offering support for Intel laptops beyond about 2.8 years old which will be closer to 3 years for Win11's official launch.

When talking about hardware support, you have to remember that the "current" product cutoff happens when it's replaced by something newer, not its own launch date.

 

[lexluthermiester]

You're on the right track but your logic is faulty;

Kaby lake was the current for laptops right up until it was superceded by Whiskey Lake on August 28, 2018; barely 3 years ago. It would have taken 2-3 months for Whisky Lake silicon to be integrated into laptop models, validated, shipped out to distributors and sent on to retail/etailer shelves and available to buy, so realistically the state of the art was still Kaby Lake right up until the holiday season when new Whiskey Lake latops would have been rolled out (probably rushed out) in time for Black Friday/Cyber Monday and Christmas.

By not supporting Kaby Lake, Microsoft aren't even offering support for Intel laptops beyond about 2.8 years old which will be closer to 3 years for Win11's official launch.

When talking about hardware support, you have to remember that the "current" product cutoff happens when it's replaced by something newer, not its own launch date.

All of which is completely irrelevant. Windows 11 runs fine on older systems. The limitations imposed by microsoft are completely artificial and them stating that older systems are incompatible is a complete lie.

 

[Chrispy_]

All of which is completely irrelevant. Windows 11 runs fine on older system. The limitations imposed by microsoft are completely artifcial and them stating that older systems are incompatible is a complete lie

Well indeed, I'll be running Enterprise liceses via OVA on hardware as old as Haswell.
Like I said on page 1:

This sort of news is pointless because what Microsoft say and what Microsoft do are two very different things.

 

[lexluthermiester]

I'll be running Enterprise liceses via OVA on hardware as old as Haswell.

But will Windows 11 Enterprise run by default on older hardware? Or were you talking about 10 LTSB/LTSC.

 

[Chrispy_]

But will Windows 11 Enterprise run by default on older hardware? Or were you talking about 10 LTSB/LTSC.

Haven't really looked into it yet but I'd eat a shoe if Microsoft cuts out 95% of its enterprise customers.

Business computers don't need to be bleeding edge, but they do need an updated OS. This means that the overwelming majority of Microsoft's enterprise customers, AKA their highest-paying customers, do not meet the CPU requirements for the "consumer" Windows 11 upgrade.

 

[smiler3d]

I agree.

I got on Vista about a year after it launched. No issues. I thought it worked great. Unlike folks that first jumped on the wagon with Vista....many of those people said Vista was awful.

Vista was awful, period. It was never a good os.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Vista was awful, period. It was never a good os.

In the beginning yes. After SP1? No, Vista was solid. After SP2? Vista was excellent! Context is important and you seem to be missing some, perhaps because a lack of experience..

 

[Mussels]

In the beginning yes. After SP1? No, Vista was solid. After SP2? Vista was excellent! Context is important and you seem to be missing some, perhaps because a lack of experience..

Even at the end, vista had the problem of running audio tanking network traffic. some of its issues never got fixed.
The fix for the audio problem? caused the audio to crackle on network activity instead.... some derps were made there.

(I ran LAN parties, and we literally had a sticky note telling vista users to stop playing audio if they wanted to speed up file transfers for the game installers)

 

[Selaya]

Oh, not just big enterprises...

However, I have been testing 11 on a number of very different PC's and the closest thing to a problem I've personally had was the StartMenu jitter glitch and that was solved with the .168 revision. Dumbass requirements aside, this is the most rock solid beta of Widows I've ever seen.

I mean, this is more like Win 10.1 as this is possibly the most iterative new version they've ever launched. You could say that it's Windows 10 But With Bad Ideas About PC OSes.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Even at the end, vista had the problem of running audio tanking network traffic. some of its issues never got fixed.
The fix for the audio problem? caused the audio to crackle on network activity instead.... some derps were made there.

(I ran LAN parties, and we literally had a sticky note telling vista users to stop playing audio if they wanted to speed up file transfers for the game installers)

I never had that problem.

I mean, this is more like Win 10.1

I can't agree with that. WAY too much has been changed. It feels like a different experience.

You could say that it's Windows 10 But With Bad Ideas About PC OSes.

Not everyone likes it. That's cool. I like it because the UI is beautiful again and no longer look like it belongs in a program made for 5 year olds, settings and the fine grained controls have been restored making administering a system doable without head-aches and last but not least, lots of customizations. To me it's a return to good form, but with a couple of dumbass and annoying requirements and limitations. Windows 7 was still better, but 11 is thus far is a solid runner up.