What do we think of this? (Windows ENT LTSC 24H2 + 26H2 Enablement Package)

Watched an interesting video this week:


Where Rich made a solid case for being able to apply the 26H2 Feature Enablement Package against a standard install of Win 11 ENT LTSC 24H2 - and "claims" the installation should be valid and even went as far as indicating this type of install "should" be able to be updated properly in the future - even though this process does not make a lot of sense. (to me anyway)

Has anyone out there actually applied a feature update to LTSC (like say 25H2) and had success with future servicing updates?

S

This topic has been discussed elsewhere in length. Short answer: Yes, you can apply the EP to LTSC 2024.

But it's wholly unsupported, and don't expect it to be free of future compatibility issues when applying future Monthly Updates. The problem is now you have a mismatch of feature package metadata. The big brains on MDL tell you not to do it. I'm supposing they're smarter than Rich.

Is Rich going to tell you how to fix your install if it breaks 6 months from now?

garlin said:

25H2 EP was never intended for LTSC, because it's contradictory. LTSC branch exists so you don't get NEW FEATURES over the release's lifetime, only security and bug fixes. That's why it's considered a stable Windows, so the environment doesn't change for the users.

One of the major problems is MS doesn't always mark an update package as incompatible with a target Windows. So users can make the mistake of assuming a patch works on a release it was never intended to work on.

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garlin said:

Did MS offer the EP for your install via Windows Update, or provide a download from Microsoft Update Catalog?
Did you read an article suggesting you install EP on LTSC 2024?

No. While they could have restricted the EP's installation (like some other MSU's), this error wasn't something they anticipated since MS didn't make the file available to the general public. Don't blame MS.

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garlin said:

Just don't commit the mistake of trying to apply 25H2's Enablement Package to LTSC 2024. People do that for some weird reason. Yes, it installs but it's not a supported configuration (EP on top of LTSC).

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garlin said:

Is Rich going to tell you how to fix your install if it breaks 6 months from now?

Click to expand...

Oh I totally get it - he won't be able to help anyone. The chances of breakage is always high.

S

I don't how many times people go "I installed the EP on LTSC, and now I'm getting weird problems". The core of the issue is the EP isn't carefully packaged in a way that prevents an install on a LTSC image. So it slips through the cracks if you try it manually.

It's like the misinformed users who enable Group Policy Editor on Home, thinking all those GPO's will sudden work because of that. And they don't understand most GPO's don't apply to Home editions because that's how Windows is written.