Possible experiment...

Ghot · Jul 10, 2021

Bree said:
Yes, WizTree can do that. Though personally I prefer to use TreeSizeFree. Both do the same job though.

Yeah... I used WizTree.

Found out that MS arbitrarily decided to enable System Restore.
Now, I'm down to 36.3 GB

Still 1.3GB in the System Volume Information folder, even though the folder itself says 0 KB

Brb, I'm gonna try Safe Mode

Ghot · Jul 10, 2021

Ok... System Volume Information folder is down to 61 MB.

And the C:\ drive is down to 35 GB

Ok... brb, time for another backup.

/edit

Ghot · Jul 10, 2021

Hmmm... where is this bad boy hiding? Seems it must be already downloaded... somewhere.

@Bree

I'm just gonna let it install... then DDU it. :)

/edit

I told it to install... it disappeared. It obviously knows who it's messing with.

Ghot · Jul 10, 2021

The only thing that still needs fixed is the right click context menu (outside of Explorer), and the left click Start Menu.
Other than those...it's pretty much the same as Win 10.

Bree · Jul 10, 2021

Ghot said:
Hmmm... where is this bad boy hiding? Seems it must be already downloaded... somewhere.

never really looked into that, presumably somewhere like C:\Windows\servicing\Packages ? @Brink would know.....

Ghot · Jul 10, 2021

Bree said:
never really looked into that, presumably somewhere like C:\Windows\servicing\Packages ? @Brink would know.....

Yeah, I checked all the obvious places. Who knows. Anyway, it's gone...didn't even try to install when I told it... OK.

I especially loved that all the Win 10 tweaks to clean up File Explorer...worked on Win 11...

If anyone wants to set File Explorer up like this... the Registry Patches (to enable/disable all the useless folders), and the Text file directions (to remove Quick Access) are below...

The Registry patches are well labeled and self explanatory.

The directions in the text file, are a bit more complicated.

Note: Back up the registry before trying to remove Quick Access from File Explorer.

Ghot · Jul 10, 2021

Oh look, what's this?
I know... it's a Start Menu that makes sense.

/edit

Weird... every time I switch back and forth, tween the Win 11 SSD and the Win 10 SSD.... Windows turns on System Restore.

Also noticed Win 11 installing... apps, on the sly. Use Revo Uninstaller to keep an eye on the "Apps" programs list.

badrobot · Jul 10, 2021

NavyLCDR said:
I'm curious if you have actually seen this happen with Windows 10 or 11, or if it is theory?

It happened to me on Windows 10 when I was upgrading a PC recently. But I was able to unlock it. It will ask for your phone number and Microsoft will send you a code to unlock it.
As for Microsoft Office, the license is also locked on the hardware, There is an option to transfer the license online but I was getting an error, so a Microsoft IT guy connected remotely to my new PC to fix the license issue.

NavyLCDR · Jul 10, 2021

badrobot said:
It happened to me on Windows 10 when I was upgrading a PC recently. But I was able to unlock it. It will ask for your phone number and Microsoft will send you a code to unlock it.
As for Microsoft Office, the license is also locked on the hardware, There is an option to transfer the license online but I was getting an error, so a Microsoft IT guy connected remotely to my new PC to fix the license issue.

Well yours is the very first instance of anything like that happening that I have ever read about, that's why I was wondering. I have never heard of Microsoft sending you a code to unlock after giving them your phone number. Must be something totally new they have started doing.

badrobot · Jul 11, 2021

NavyLCDR said:
Well yours is the very first instance of anything like that happening that I have ever read about, that's why I was wondering. I have never heard of Microsoft sending you a code to unlock after giving them your phone number. Must be something totally new they have started doing.

There's probably more than one way to unlock your account or unblock the OS activation, but when I logged in to my MS Account I saw a message about my account being locked and I just follow the prompt and I was asked for my mobile number to get the access code to unlock it.

The text message is straightforward...

The reason I got the activation block is because before I even put together my PC, I already clean installed Windows 10 from another PC and activated it with it's own product key and I just transferred that OS drive to the newly re-built PC within 24 hrs. Double activation within the same day.

Ghot · Jul 11, 2021

@badrobot

I'm staying on the identical hardware (one machine), just different SSDs.

...and, I went back, again, to Win 10. I crumbled. Couldn't take the pressure.

Then, when I saw 3-4 new apps in Revo Uninstaller / Apps... I removed them, but I REALLY don't like that.
Unauthorized patches are bad enough... but 4 apps?

I only have one... assembled comp, really. I like it to be the same in the morning, as it was when I went to bed.

AddRAM · Jul 11, 2021

Ya I`m tending to like W10 more, but still fiddling with W11 :)

So I keep W10 set as the default OS.

Bree · Jul 11, 2021

badrobot said:
The reason I got the activation block is because before I even put together my PC, I already clean installed Windows 10 from another PC and activated it with it's own product key and I just transferred that OS drive to the newly re-built PC within 24 hrs.

Ah, you reused a unique product key from the other PC, that would explain it. That should never happen if the installed key was the generic key and the new machine had its own digital licence, which I think may have been what @NavyLCDR was referring to.

badrobot · Jul 11, 2021

Bree said:
Ah, you reused a unique product key from the other PC, that would explain it. That should never happen if the installed key was the generic key and the new machine had its own digital licence, which I think may have been what @NavyLCDR was referring to.

Not reused. It is actually a new key (I have MSDN subscription). I attached it to a separate microsoft account which I intend to use on my newly re-built PC so that it will be a digital license. But I understand that there will be issue when I transfer that hard drive to that PC which I know will be fixable since it is an authentic key.

NavyLCDR · Jul 11, 2021

This is the way digital license activation of Windows 10 and 11 has been observed to work:

The first time a specific installation of Windows 10 or 11 is started on a specific computer, it calculates a Hardware ID (HWID). Since there is no digital license information stored in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\ClipSVC\GenuineTicket that matches the HWID, Windows 10 or 11 will attempt to connect to the internet and sends the new HWID to Microsoft activation servers. If a digital license is found matching that HWID on Microsoft activation servers, it is returned to that installation of Windows and stored in the folder mentioned earlier.

If Windows cannot connect to the internet, or no matching digital license is found on Microsoft activation servers, Windows will nag the user to enter a product key or purchase the license for the Microsoft store. Once the product key is entered, then the digital license for that edition of Windows 10 or 11 gets stored on Microsoft activation servers with the matching HWID.

Now reboot that same Windows on the same computer. Windows calculates the HWID and it looks in the folder specified above. This time it finds the digital license in that folder and remains activated. It works this way so that the Windows installed on that computer will remain activated indefinitely with no internet connection. I personally have had a Windows 10 computer not connect to the internet for 9 months and it never lost activation.

Now let's move this Windows installation to another computer - such as move the physical drive (including Windows installed on a USB drive), or backup and restore an image to another computer. The first time Windows boots on the new computer it calculates the HWID. It looks in the folder specified earlier for a digital license and discovers that the HWID has changed. Windows deactivates, and then if it is connected to the internet it contacts Microsoft activation servers. If it finds a digital license matching the new HWID and the same edition of Windows, the digital license is retrieved, Windows activates, the new digital license replaces the old digital license stored in the folder. Then Windows will continue in the activated state for as long as the HWID stays the same.

The fact that Windows will first look for a digital license stored in the folder specified above is why you would be able to boot multiple installs of the same edition (IE: Home or Pro) of Windows on the same computer without triggering some sort of digital license limit.

Nobody, yet, has found a limit to the number of times a digital license for Windows 10 for a specific HWID can be retrieved from Microsoft activation activation servers before it gets locked. I've had an installation of Windows on an external USB drive that has connected to and circulated between no less than 3 computers multiple times. I've had one installation of Windows that was moved from one laptop to another than back to the original laptop. Since all of these computers all had existing digital licenses already stored on Microsoft activation servers all that was required for Windows to stay activated was an internet connection. No new product keys are any user intervention was required. Specific product keys have gotten blocked for reusing too many times, but not a digital license. Nobody, yet, has found any evidence to suggest that Microsoft is tracking the origin of a digital license once it is created. Take a computer with an OEM activation. Change the product key to matching generic product key. It moves to the retail activation channel. Many people have reported moving (which is really copying, not moving) an "OEM" digital license to a new computer via their Microsoft account.

If you read what @badrobot wrote about their unlocking experience - it was the Microsoft Account which got locked. That is a completely separate issue from Windows activation.

badrobot · Jul 11, 2021

NavyLCDR said:
If you read what @badrobot wrote about their unlocking experience - it was the Microsoft Account which got locked. That is a completely separate issue from Windows activation.

It is separate but essentially the same issue because the locked account is caused by multiple activation. And with a locked MS account, the digital license will not work.
The main problem I think is the multi-activation activity within the same day.

Lance1 · Jul 11, 2021

Ghot said:
Check out this BS.... look at the size of the backups.

View attachment 2527

....and I didn't install anything, except the update.

MS adding bloatware yet again! How large will the final build be????

Bree · Jul 11, 2021

Lance1 said:
MS adding bloatware yet again! How large will the final build be????

Every in-place upgrade I have tried so far has ended up (after using Disk Clean up) with a smaller footprint for the OS than the Windows 10 install it was upgraded from.

NavyLCDR · Jul 11, 2021

badrobot said:
It is separate but essentially the same issue because the locked account is caused by multiple activation. And with a locked MS account, the digital license will not work.
The main problem I think is the multi-activation activity within the same day.

Lots of people are activated with a digital license with no Microsoft Account, including me every time I reinstall Windows which is about once per week, and did you ask Microsoft or otherwise informed by them it was due to multiple Windows activations? And, so far, you are the only person who has reported having their Microsot Account locked for too many Windows Activations. But I always activate mine from a local account with a digital license first, so maybe that's why my hundreds of activations hasn't triggered anything.

badrobot · Jul 11, 2021

NavyLCDR said:
Lots of people are activated with a digital license with no Microsoft Account, including me every time I reinstall Windows which is about once per week, and did you ask Microsoft or otherwise informed by them it was due to multiple Windows activations?

No. I did not contact MS about the locked acct issue. There was a pop-up message saying that Windows cannot be activated due to activation activities and told me to login to my MS acct. While attempting to login, there was a pop-up message again saying that my acct was locked and asked for my mobile number to send the access code to me to be able to unlock my account. The access code came almost instantly and I had to use that code to unlock my account. From there, I was able to remove the old device from my account and activate the new one.