On Sat, Sep 16, 2023 at 3:13 PM Giles Orr via talk <talk@gtalug.org> wrote:
On Fri, 15 Sept 2023 at 14:35, D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk <talk@gtalug.org> wrote:
[Always do backups before such drastic measures.]
The best way to install Windows is to go to another Windows box and use the the Window Media Creation Tool to create a bootable USB stick <https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/software-download/windows11> Alternatively you could download the WIndows 11 Disk Image.
During installation, you have to answer a lot of questions. It is extremely hard to evade linking the installation with a global Microsoft account (google to learn the ever-evolving tricks).
Good news: Windows can let other partitions on the disk remain. In earlier years, it would just grab the whole disk.
Once it is installed, Windows will spend a lot of time installing updates and rebooting. Installing updates is quite slow (perhaps due to anti-malware software).
And it lies about whether there are more updates. When it says there are none, ask it to look again.
You also need to separately run the Microsoft app store app and ask it to do updates.
You also need to run you system vendor's update thingee too for some driver and firmware updates. Even then, it is useful to see what firmware is available on the vendor's web site
This whole process involves multipler reboots, each requiring babysitting.
Regular readers of this list may recall that I recently bought a mini-mini-computer: the slim instruction manual basically said that if you wanted to avoid trouble (which I take to mean "having to connect to a global M$ account"), I should boot WITHOUT a network connection. Which I did, and it seemed to create a local account without hesitation. At which point I shut the machine down, imaged the drive, wiped it, and installed Linux. Windows might have fought me hard the second I booted with a network connection, but that really seems to be a great way to win that first fight. How long they'll leave that door open I don't know - I expect Windows 12 to say "I have no network connection, therefore this is not a real computer. Shutting down now."
AIUI Win 11 does not run on an air gapped system. (Know someone who is still on Win7 but air gapped.) Regards