Building new system - want to END UP with Windows 11

I searched for a topic that covers what I’m doing, but didn’t realize there was a Windows 11 forum. The folks over at tenforums sent me here...

I’m about to build a new desktop system with a 12th Gen Intel CPU. Based on the most demanding things I do (image processing and maybe some video), it’s recommended that I use Windows 11 because:

“Windows 11 includes features that work closely with the Intel Thread Scheduler, which may be necessary to get the full performance possible from the 12th Gen Intel CPUs”
“In particular, in Photoshop we saw about a 28% improvement in performance when using Windows 11 rather than Windows 10.”
“It is a good idea to plan on using Windows 11 for the 12th Gen processors. Even outside of the performance, the optimizations to Thread Director should give you an overall better experience - at least, according to Intel.”

The current system is Windows 10 Pro. I’m pretty sure, back in 2014 it started as Windows 7 Pro, got upgraded to 8, 8.1 and finally Windows 10 Pro. I’ve got the activation code for Windows 10, which I think is an upgrade code. I’m sure it has accumulated a LOT of garbage over the years it’s been on the system. I'll probably be able to drop the SSD with the current Windows 10 system in and boot it if that's useful, but I'm planning to put the O/S on a new 1TB NVME drive.

IS there a “free” Windows 11 ISO, OR do I have to install a version of Windows 10 (I have the 21H2 ISO), THEN upgrade to Windows 11? I’d PREFER to put Windows 11 on directly, but don’t want to be paying $140 or $200 to do it (depending on whether or not I have to use 11 Pro).

I know they’ve stripped out the virtualization and sandbox from Windows 11 Home, but does the home version have the Thread Scheduler and other <whatever things> are providing the improved performance and “experience” spoken of above?

I have information encrypted on flash drives for safe keeping. With Windows 11 Home will I still be able to do at LEAST this, or have they completely stripped out ANY ability to use Bitlocker unless I install the “Pro” version of 11? And if so, is there a free or cost-effective equivalent of Bitlocker?

It doesn’t LOOK like most of the other stuff in Windows 11 Pro is useful to me, though I definitely WANT a local account, NOT a Microsoft one. Other than the local account and ability to use Bitlocker on flash drives is there ANYTHING else in the Pro version I’d need or want for doing the stuff (Office, image processing, normal daily browsing, email, etc.) I normally do?

11 Home as a local account

I haven't tried any of those. I use an MS account, but try to use the maximum privacy settings in Windows (that don't require hacks).

As regards your other question, 11 Home vs Pro Not sure what you'd miss, other than Bitlocker. The Group Policy Editor (unavailable in Home) is useful, but rarely for me.

If you're feeling lucky, you could try a cheap source for 11. Example: Guru3D This isn't a piracy site, but they frequently have links to low priced copies of Windows. I have no idea about the legitimacy of them. I did once buy a $40US key, and it worked. Not in use at the moment.

With regards to a local account. Yes, you can do that with Windows 11.
In fact, even for people wanting a Microsoft account, I always recommend installing Windows with a local account first, then switching afterwards.

You can get a Windows 11 ISO for free from Microsoft.

After upgrade to Windows 11, you will have Pro version basing on your current Windows 10 Pro, and it will be activated automatically if you haven't changed anything in hardware config and Windows 10 was activated with a digital license. I'd suggest not to change any hardware until successful upgrade. Also after fist successful launch of Windows 11 I highly suggest to create a reference system backup.

After that, you can install new SSD. If you want to have this SSD as bootable OS drive, the good option would be a system transfer using one of backup tools like Macrium Reflect (backup, then restore on new drive or clone). But after such hardware upgrade, your activation may be lost depending on number of previous hardware changes since first activation; in this case you might have to re-activate OS by phone.

Thanks for the replies…

Presuming I end up with 11 Home (which may or may not be since I’m going from 10 Pro)

In some of the topics I’ve read, they indicated that in 11 Home you CAN fiddle and get it to create a local account. So, I figure I can do that.

And it’s not a HUGE deal to lose Bitlocker, but there’s still stuff I’d prefer to have encrypted since it’s plain text backups of password manager contents. Anybody have a recommendation for a free or cheap alternative to Bitlocker if I end up needing one?

Windows 11 ISO is now downloading as I type! That’s one of the pieces I wasn’t finding when I rummaged around.

After upgrade to Windows 11, you will have Pro version basing on your current Windows 10 Pro, and it will be activated automatically if you haven't changed anything in hardware config and Windows 10 was activated with a digital license. I'd suggest not to change any hardware until successful upgrade. Also after fist successful launch of Windows 11 I highly suggest to create a reference system backup.

After that, you can install new SSD. If you want to have this SSD as bootable OS drive, the good option would be a system transfer using one of backup tools like Macrium Reflect (backup, then restore on new drive or clone). But after such hardware upgrade, your activation may be lost depending on number of previous hardware changes since first activation; in this case you might have to re-activate OS by phone.

Click to expand...

Now I’m confused… I’ll have a new system with new hardware. Are saying I should NOT install Windows 11 directly, but instead install Windows 10 then upgrade to Windows 11? My current system will not upgrade to Windows 11, and even if it would, I’m hoping to get rid of all the junk accumulated over the last several years, so something is going to be a new installation.

One of my concerns is the problem of activation. I've had to go through this stupidity before with Microsoft, so whatever I put on here, and however I wind up at Windows 11, I need it to be smart enough to activate without the normal Microsoft nightmare... If that means I put Windows 10 Pro on first, then do an upgrade, I can do that. If I can use the ISO I'm downloading to install it directly and activate it, that's even better, but I'm not sure how that would work...

It would be easy to install the W10 pro 64, get it settled and activated and then download an ISO of W11 pro directly from Microsoft. The motherboard BIOS would have the correct version of TPM built in, which might need switching on, there is no need to buy a TPM module and secure boot can be enabled. ACHI should be enabled in BIOS and nvME if you use an M2 SSD. It helps to have a Microsoft account, which is easy and free to set up.

That was my thinking... A little more involved, but maybe a lot less painful than trying to get Windows 11 activated.

I'm going to try the laptop as a guinea pig. It also has Windows 10 Pro, but it's new so it'll run Windows 11. I'm doing the creation process to make a USB drive. I'll do a full backup of the system so if the thing is a nightmare I can just roll everything from the current O/S back onto the system.

GracieAllen said:

(snip)

One of my concerns is the problem of activation. I've had to go through this stupidity before with Microsoft, so whatever I put on here, and however I wind up at Windows 11, I need it to be smart enough to activate without the normal Microsoft nightmare... If that means I put Windows 10 Pro on first, then do an upgrade, I can do that. If I can use the ISO I'm downloading to install it directly and activate it, that's even better, but I'm not sure how that would work...

Click to expand...

If you have a suitable Windows 10 license, you can clean install 11 and use the key to activate it.

I admit that I'm not clear on what licenses are suitable. Maybe this thread would be helpful: older OS licenses and 11

I installed it on the laptop... I haven't crapped it up nearly as much as the desktop (haven't had enough time yet), though it IS HEAVILY crapped up with Dell junk...

Anyhow, Windows 11, took a long time, but eventually it installed Windows 11 Pro - ON THE LAPTOP (I have NO idea what it'll do with the new desktop)....

At first glance..... Its quite different in the user interface, and it LOOKS even less productive than Windows 10.

Somewhere vaguely I remember going from Windows 7, which was less productive than XP (by productive I mean the junk stayed out of the way and gave me the fastest possible way for adults to grab what they needed to do actual work), but I managed. Then, there was an update to something horrid - maybe Windows 8, with something Metro, and other desktop something... It was the most unproductive, time-wasting setup I'd ever seen. Fortunately, 8 went away and was replaced by 8.1 in about a week, and again - not perfect, but survivable.

Then came Windows 10. The built-in start is pretty wretched - alphabetical, no grouping of functionally related programs, generally good if you're 12, but not great if you're actually trying to get work done. But, you could put stuff in tiles, and everything important got put on the desktop. So, the ONLY time I ever needed the Windows Start was when I couldn't do it from the taskbar or the desktop.

So far, from my very limited experience, Windows 11 sets a NEW bar for unproductive... WHY take away the ability to invoke the task manager with a simple right click on the task bar?

And this kludge that replaced the tiles? How is this a productivity improvement over the one in Windows 10? Instead of a square tile, I now have little icons, and it HELPS me - right there in front I have Xbox, Spotify, Disney+, To Do, ClipChamp, Prime Video, TikTok and Instagram.

I"m gonna have to do a lot of fiddling, and I suspect I'm going to wind up going back to Classic Shell... But, it's on, and we'll see!

OK, tell the truth... Microsoft is pranking us, right? There's NO WAY they'd dumb down the taskbar this much. And throw away the context menu that makes it quick and easy to get the Task Manager and change the size of the taskbar icons. There's no WAY they'd come up with something dumber, less useful, and more painful to deal with than those tiles. There's no WAY they'd force you to find some minuscule spot buried in the invisible corner at the bottom right of the screen to switch to the desktop..... Can someone tell me HOW to put an icon on the taskbar so I can jump to the desktop WITHOUT having to go on a scavenger hunt for the magical corner spot?

They're gonna turn all the stuff they've made stupider back on, right? 'Cause it's not really all that funny...

So far I've spent most of last evening on one system (Windows 10) searching for ways to make the laptop (Windows 11 Pro) at least SOMEWHAT more productive, 'cause when I read all the stuff about how much MS took away in terms of configurability and convenience, I thought they were kidding... but this is way worse than getting used to Window 10 was.

When I bought my laptop, a Lenovo, I got it settled down for a few weeks and then used Mini Tool Partition Wizard to make a clone of the HDD with a USB3 portable HDD. This was double backup just in case. I had a 500Gb SSD which was fitted to the laptop and I did a clean install with an ISO of W10 home 64 which worked perfectly. No more junk in the system, and when that was fully updated and settled, I used the USB drive to make a clone of that as backup. The original drive from the laptop eventually got fitted into another portable case and used for other backups.
That laptop is only a sixth gen i3, but it has secure boot and TPM as well as DDR4, but it can stay with W10 as I don't use it much, just enough to keep the battery in good condition.

GracieAllen said:

OK, tell the truth... Microsoft is pranking us, right? There's NO WAY they'd dumb down the taskbar this much. And throw away the context menu that makes it quick and easy to get the Task Manager and change the size of the taskbar icons. There's no WAY they'd come up with something dumber, less useful, and more painful to deal with than those tiles. There's no WAY they'd force you to find some minuscule spot buried in the invisible corner at the bottom right of the screen to switch to the desktop..... Can someone tell me HOW to put an icon on the taskbar so I can jump to the desktop WITHOUT having to go on a scavenger hunt for the magical corner spot?

They're gonna turn all the stuff they've made stupider back on, right? 'Cause it's not really all that funny...

So far I've spent most of last evening on one system (Windows 10) searching for ways to make the laptop (Windows 11 Pro) at least SOMEWHAT more productive, 'cause when I read all the stuff about how much MS took away in terms of configurability and convenience, I thought they were kidding... but this is way worse than getting used to Window 10 was.

Click to expand...

You don't have to use 11, 10 will receive full support until Oct 2025.

But to answer your question, you can go to the start menu and set each app to the task bar just as you can in 10.

GracieAllen said:

There's NO WAY they'd dumb down the taskbar this much. And throw away the context menu that makes it quick and easy to get the Task Manager ....

Click to expand...

the right-click on Start still gives a context menu for that....

GracieAllen said:

There's no WAY they'd force you to find some minuscule spot buried in the invisible corner at the bottom right of the screen to switch to the desktop....

Click to expand...

I throw the mouse cursor in the general direction of the bottom right corner, and when it inevitably overshoots it gets stopped at the exact spot needed.

Unfortunately, because what I do much of the time apparently runs considerably better/faster on Windows 11, especially with the 12th gen CPU, I'm most likely going to have to find a way to work with it. But the sheer level of tone-deafness needed to do this many appallingly unproductive things in one swoop, is annoying. Most of them, like the replacement of the previous settings with what's there now is pretty awful, but not something you touch a dozen times a day.
But, for example, replacing the extremely simple process of connecting to a network in Windows 10 - one click, the networks display, click connect on the one you want and you're set, with this labyrinthine process of clicking the network, then clicking settings, then clicking Network & Internet, then clicking Wi-fi, then clicking Show available networks, then FINALLY selecting a network is abysmal. If you have multiple data streams, and need to switch depending on what you're doing, it's dreadful. SO FAR, I haven't found a way to do a single click and even see the available networks, so if there's some way to reduce the laborious process, I'd love for somebody to tell me.

But worse is those trivial things that get done a dozen times a day - yes, I KNOW I can drag the mouse over to the start Icon and right click and go up the menu to Task Manager, but I cannot IMAGINE a reasonable rationale for taking AWAY the ability to simply right-click ANYWHERE in the task bar and do the same thing.

But to answer your question, you can go to the start menu and set each app to the task bar just as you can in 10.

Click to expand...

I haven't found the trick to setting up the "task" in the task bar that does "Show Desktop". How do I do that so I can put it next to the Start icon and STOP opening Outlook every time I jump over there and hit the icon where that used to be?

Again, like we've all had to in the past, I'll get used to it, but in general, Windows has been dumbed down incredibly, and seems geared toward small children or something. It's like the Windows 8 Metro of 2022. I foresee either Classic Shell or StartAllBack in my future.

I use Open Shell newer version of Classic Shell on the left and the Win11 Start in the Centre, basically as a replacement for Quick Launch, having disposed of the rubbish MS seems to think everyone wants and disabled Recommended.

Pretty sure the new interface is aimed more at finger pokers and Tablets, Surface etc.

I'm pretty sure I'll be doing something 'cause so far Windows 11 is NOT impressive.

And yeah, this is what happens when you try to shove the same operating system at multiple, incompatible platforms... It winds up being dumbed down to the lowest common denominator. That's seems to be what we're seeing here.

GracieAllen said:

I'm pretty sure I'll be doing something 'cause so far Windows 11 is NOT impressive.

And yeah, this is what happens when you try to shove the same operating system at multiple, incompatible platforms... It winds up being dumbed down to the lowest common denominator. That's seems to be what we're seeing here.

Click to expand...

I would suggest you stick with Windows 10.

NavyLCDR said:

I would suggest you stick with Windows 10.

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Perhaps with something other than a Gen12 Intel CPU, so there is no concern about support for the new architecture.

Maybe 11 is still the best choice, as it appears to be supplying "GracieAllen" a lot of entertainment.

bobkn said:

Perhaps with something other than a Gen12 Intel CPU, so there is no concern about support for the new architecture.

Click to expand...

Yes, if your new machine has Alder Lake CPU, you definitely should install Windows 11 directly and then tune the UI if you don't like its current look, as many of us have done. Because if you install Windows 10, you will have to upgrade to 11 soon or later anyway.