Windows 11

[thirdline]

Hi, my pc is advising me to upgrade from windows 10 to windows 11, which is a free upgrade. However I wonder if anyone has done this and what issues if any it caused on Railmaster, hopefully none.

Thanks in advance,

Mick.

[Chrissaf]

According to the previous posts of members who have either upgraded to Windows 11 or purchased a new PC with Windows 11 on it, RM will run on Winows 11 if it is running OK on Windows 10, but in my opinion I am reluctant to be an early Windows 11 adopter as Windows 10 remains supported until 2025.

At the current time, Windows 11 requires to be installed with an active 'Microsoft Account'. My personal choice is to run my Windows 10 PCs (2) using 'Local Accounts' thereby making it more difficult for Microsoft to spy on how I use my PCs. Microsoft hate users who choose "Local Accounts" as it denies them free Marketing information. Which is, I believe, why the "Local Account" feature has been excluded from Windows 11.

I am also of the view that leaving any upgrade till the last minute (2025) means that the early adopters will find the bugs and issues and hopefully have them fixed before they can affect me.

The "let us upgrade" offer for Windows 11 in Windows Update includes near the bottom in small blue text a "not now" option. I chose this option back in November, and so far Microsoft have not offered Windows 11 to me again. For those who have a change of mind, the "not now" option can be overridden at any time of your choosing.

[96RAF]

Adopting Win 11 also means accepting certain security obligations which may not comply with your personal views on big brother keeping an eye on your computing activities.

My decision is made for me as my PC is not eligible due to some TPM in-compliance malarkey.

[Chrissaf]

Adopting Win 11 also means accepting certain security obligations which may not comply with your personal views on big brother............

 

 

Hence this comment in my earlier reply:

"My personal choice is to run my Windows 10 PCs (2) using 'Local Accounts' thereby making it more difficult for Microsoft to spy on how I use my PCs"

[thirdline]

Thanks guys, I’m so glad I asked. I’m going to take your advice and stick with Windows 10 till the bitter end.

Thanks again.

[Fishmanoz]

Chris and Rob, I have continuing involvement with industry including in the cyber security sector. Without going into the detail, the first step in advice to be cyber secure is to keep all programs etc updated to the latest version as that will include all available cyber patches. This advice is coming from both government and knowledgeable industry sources.

Based on this advice, I took the earliest opportunity to upgrade 2 laptops to W11. I have had no issues whatsoever with either.

My third and still main laptop is slightly older with a non 11-compatible processor and so still running W10. I run with an MS account, the same on one 11 machine and the 10 and the synch between them is seamless with exactly the same Outlook email content and file access via OneDrive.

While 10 is still supported, I worry that security and other updates will take second priority to 11 with the potential for exposure although temporary and the likelihood this will become worse not better over time.

I applaud your commitment to not being beholding to MS, or anyone for that matter, but in this day and age this approach carries its own risks which need to be weighed up when making such a decision.

Weighing risks requires knowledge and then informed actions to support the decisions made. For the average user, the late adopter approach may not always be the best or most secure.

[96RAF]

@fishy

I am normally an early adopter of these things, but in my case my two old Win 10 machines (i3 and i5) do not have TPM so I am stymied there. The newer i7 laptop states it is likely to be good, but held from Win 11 update pending HP getting round to ticking the boxes so no progress there either.

Having spent a week getting my Train-PC back on its feet after bodging a simple cloning from HDD to SSD I must have read every page of the MS help site on the iPad whilst waiting for things to load, so I now have an appreciation of the security issues.

Of interest when RM was put back into play from the recovery it was faultless, thus proving to me anyhow that many of the problems seen are user induced.

[RB51]

Thanks Fishy, I hadn’t appreciated the wider security issues although I do install all updates. I operate W10 on a 8yo Dell laptop [via an MS account] which fails the TMP check. It will need replacing at some point. R-

[Brew Man]

I think a lot of people will fall into this boat, i.e. processors not up to W11 requirements. I will take my chances for the time being. I doubt it is in MS's, (or anyone else's, apart from hackers of course) interests to lapse on OS security as there will be still a vast amount of people and businesses still operating on older systems. When I do upgrade to W11 I will make it a new laptop, although by then there should be plenty of refurbs at lower prices.

[Augustus Caesar]

First off there is an incorrect statement by my fellow mod Chrissaf in that you need a Microsoft account to install Windows 11. This has never been the case to have to install any MS account in any Windows OS least of all W11.

While doing the install either fresh or through an upgrade all you do is pull your Ethernet cable (or drop the wireless connection) and when the OS asks to connect to the Internet to setup the MS account just tick the box to say you have not got an Internet connection. The OS continues automatically with a Local account setup.

Once you have bypassed that section make your connection to the Internet active again. Simple as that.

If you are asked earlier on to enter a license key just pass that over at all times otherwise the system tries to use the Internet to activate the license and will default to an MS account install. This also stops you entering a key when doing an upgrade as the Win10 key is used from the BIOS.

Windows 11 is essentially W10 with better security and uses UEFI instead of the older legacy BIOS. Some users still call the motherboard settings incorrectly as the system BIOS when they have the newer motherboards with UEFI built in.

If Windows says that TPM 2.0 isn’t present when testing for an upgrade to W11, it could just be disabled by default in UEFI and you might need to enable it in your computer’s 'BIOS'.

Some computers have a firmware-based TPM. Intel calls this feature iPPT (Intel Platform Protection Technology), while AMD calls it fTPM (Firmware Trusted Platform Module). Other compatible motherboards (without TPM 2.0 being part of the UEFI) will have at least one socket to fit a hardware module to do the same things. Those things include encrypting data on your hard drives so hackers cannot easily get access to it. The system uses BitLocker to do this. TPM 2.0 is not new either. It has been around since the back end of July 2016.

As for processor compatibility... this is somewhat of a niggly area. The reasons are that some processors do not have the correct functionality included to use W11 properly so they are listed as incompatible. However, some people claim their processors DO work when listed as incompatible but, as time goes on, there is a likelihood added code or updates will force users to rethink or the system will begin to give errors that are not fixable.

Personally I have had no issues with W11 at all. The interface has changed a little and there isn't so much bloatware but it is extremely fast and is helped, not hindered, by the newer security measures.

Railmaster works just fine with no issues when I tested it recently. My PC itself is also connected through Server 2019 at home and is running more than efficiently. W11 in my view will give less crashes and headaches than W10 when it arrived and RM had many teething problems. Remember, W10 was a new concept... W11 is built on a solid background.

[Chrissaf]

First off there is an incorrect statement by my fellow mod Chrissaf in that you need a Microsoft account to install Windows 11.

 

 

All I can say is that Microsoft must have relented to customer pressure. When W11 was first muted for release I read a few pre-public release online reviews. These reviews specifically highlighted that the conversion performed after initial installation from a MS Account to Local Account utility had been removed from W11. So either the decision to remove the 'Local Account conversion utility' has been rescinded or the reviews of the reveiwers I read were just plain wrong.

Having just googled this again, the Account Conversion utility appears to be documented again.

[Augustus Caesar]

Absolutely fair comment Chris. What I might add is that in development editions or pre-release versions too MS will turn off facilities or just not include them in those releases because it is not necessary to have it there during an install for testing because they already know it works and is not part of that process. For the official release it is then switched back on or simply added.

This process will also include other parts of a new OS version that may not be present for devs but will be in the public release version.

So I fully understand why you commented as such and can probably assure you this would never have been removed permanently. It would make no sense whatsoever in terms of networking. Those reviewers were probably wrong or just copied info to be clever. Anyway... all cleared up.

[Chrissaf]

The 'Local Account' issue was my key reason for not being an early adopter. So now it seems it is now present again as an option, I will update to 11 but not with any urgency. I shall probably do my Laptop first as a trial and see how it goes, then consider doing my Desktop production PC at a later date. I will still leave it a good six months though to be sure that it is stable.

[Augustus Caesar]

I have battered Windows 11 Pro with all the gusto I have given to previous incarnations of the Windows environment and can, with some ease, say Windows 11 is mega stable.

Of course with different hardware it may give an odd glitch.

However I have not been aware of major issues. With all my years of ripping Windows apart to find glaring errors etc Windows 7, 10 and 11 have been the most stable apart from very early doors 10 as we all know.

Not everyone will agree but then it would be rare to find two members here having the same systems and therefore stability.

I understand your caution Chris but when you do move on to 11 you will see quite a difference... and I don't mean visible desktop but rather the nuts and bolts.