Windows 11

Martinr36

Martinr36

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Well I'm getting there, horrid blue ribbon gone & dark mode up and running, the thing that really gets me is if you want something to be available all the time in the notigication area you have to go into settings and turn it on, otherwise its hidden behind a dropdown arrow
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Martinr36

Martinr36

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Well this appeared on the update page of the laptop this morning, I'm wondering whether to do an in place upgrade using the media tool or to wait.

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ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
Martinr36 said:
Well this appeared on the update page of the laptop this morning, I'm wondering whether to do an in place upgrade using the media tool or to wait.

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If you asked for my advice I would always say clean install. Upgrade-in-place produces a myriad of niggly issues for many users when you just upgrade to a new Windows 10 version! It really depends on what other software and hardware you have installed, upgrade-in-place sometimes falls over third party drivers etc. In addition, ALWAYS run a dism /online /cleanup-image /checkhealth and abandon all hope of an upgrade-in-place if that reports any corruptions found. Then ALWAYS run an sfc /scannow and if that reports errors found and corrected then reboot before trying an upgrade-in-place.

Just because you CAN do something doesn't mean that you SHOULD. The wise option with ANY new version or release of Windows is ALWAYS to clean install - it's the only way to be sure that you have a stable and reliable system. :)
 
Martinr36

Martinr36

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
ubuysa said:
If you asked for my advice I would always say clean install. Upgrade-in-place produces a myriad of niggly issues for many users when you just upgrade to a new Windows 10 version! It really depends on what other software and hardware you have installed, upgrade-in-place sometimes falls over third party drivers etc. In addition, ALWAYS run a dism /online /cleanup-image /checkhealth and abandon all hope of an upgrade-in-place if that reports any corruptions found. Then ALWAYS run an sfc /scannow and if that reports errors found and corrected then reboot before trying an upgrade-in-place.

Just because you CAN do something doesn't mean that you SHOULD. The wise option with ANY new version or release of Windows is ALWAYS to clean install - it's the only way to be sure that you have a stable and reliable system. :)
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Cheers, I might give it a try just to see whether it looks much different over than the clean install that I've got duel booting on the desktop, see how it copes with already installed programs, if its really naff I can always then do the clean install,but think i might do it just for a reference case
 
ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
Martinr36 said:
Cheers, I might give it a try just to see whether it looks much different over than the clean install that I've got duel booting on the desktop, see how it copes with already installed programs, if its really naff I can always then do the clean install,but think i might do it just for a reference case
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The problem with that is that niggly issues might not crop up immediately. You might find that next week there's a strange glitch in some app and because its a while since the upgrade you don't immediately realise.

Ubuysa's rule #5: There are no shortcuts to a stable system. ;)
 
Martinr36

Martinr36

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Well I did it I did an in place upgrade of the laptop, now I need to get rid of all the bloatware that seems to come with w11, like clipchimp, solitaire, etc, hopefully MS will come to their senses and at least give us a switch to have the classic start menu turned on by default if that's what wewant, because this is crap, the apps aren't even in alphabetical order
 
Martinr36

Martinr36

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
Well that's tidied things a bit, various bloatware such as Line(had to google that, along with clipchimp), microsoft teams etc have been uninstalled, unpinned a fewand put everything else in alphabetical order
 
ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
Martinr36 said:
Well that's tidied things a bit, various bloatware such as Line(had to google that, along with clipchimp), microsoft teams etc have been uninstalled, unpinned a fewand put everything else in alphabetical order
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The All Apps menu is in alphabetical order but that tile menu you see is in whatever order you like. Its really no different to the Windows 10 start menu ethos.
 
Martinr36

Martinr36

MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
ubuysa said:
The All Apps menu is in alphabetical order but that tile menu you see is in whatever order you like. Its really no different to the Windows 10 start menu ethos.
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but the Tile menu is the default, you can't set the all apps menu as default (I wish you could), at least in W10 the alphabetical all apps menu was already on screen as soon as you opened the start menu, and you could then organise other stuff over on the right
 
ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
Martinr36 said:
but the Tile menu is the default, you can't set the all apps menu as default (I wish you could), at least in W10 the alphabetical all apps menu was already on screen as soon as you opened the start menu, and you could then organise other stuff over on the right
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Well nobody's forcing you to use Windows 11. ;)

In any case, I'm sure there will be a third party Windows 7-like Start Menu available.....
 
ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
@Martinr36, I think you're suffering the normal reaction to change, you're trying to make Windows 11 fit a model you've become used to. I see that you've already moved the taskbar icons (back) to the left. I've had the same reaction to almost every version of Windows they've released and wondered (sometimes aloud) why they couldn't just leave the interface the way it was.

You're an old 'un like me I think (apologies if you're a young whipper-snapper still in short trousers) and one advantage you get with age is that you worry about things less - and especially when you're retired (I think you are too?). The Windows 11 UI is very different to Windows 10, that's true. It's also true that many things that I feel were easier to navigate in 10 are less easy in 11. As you mention, now you have to click a button to see the alphabetical list of all apps (and that's another difference, they're apps now not programs).

I think that with something new it's worth taking the time to get to know how to use it the way the developer intended. I'm sure they didn't just wake up one morning and think "let's mess with their heads like this..."! There is probably a reason the UI works the way it does in 11, and possibly for reasons other than aesthetics.

I don't like the way optional updates are located in 11 for example, it takes several menu choices to get to driver updates for example, but there's an indicator on the main update screen whether there are any optional updates so going to get them isn't really that arduous.

In short, the more you use the Windows 11 interface the way it's designed the more familiar it becomes and the more you begin to see the advantages and the less you worry about the changes. It's true too that Windows 11 comes with a popup apps menu with the options Microsoft would like you to want to use and you have to spend time removing all the dross and adding in the things you really want there, but it's really easy to add icons, remove icons, and re-arrange icons on there. I'll figure out how I want it arranged for me in a few days I think.

As for the 'bloatware' well that's no difference to Windows 10, although there seem to be a lot fewer stupid games that I'll never play bundled in Windows 11. There's certainly a lot less dross to remove in 11 than there was in 10!

Don't try and fight it and don't try and make it look like Windows 10 (or 7). Just go with what there is and get used to using it as it is, only then can you really decide which features work for you and which don't.

Change is inevitable remember.....well, except from a vending machine. :)

BTW> I know this sounds incredibly patronising but I don't mean it to be.
 
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