Microsoft outlines Windows 11 Insider Preview Program preparations
Microsoft announced Windows 11 yesterday, and it brings quite a bit of features to the table. The Snap options, centered Start Menu, Widgets, DirectStorage are just some new shiny things we can look forward to in the operating system, and being able to run Android apps in Windows 11 is amazing. The fact that it will be a free upgrade for Windows 10 users is the icing on the cake.
The big question, though, is when's the Windows 11 release date?
According to the announcement, the next gen OS will begin to roll out in the holiday season. That's a long wait, but not if you want to try a preview build. Microsoft has outlined the preparations for the Windows 11 Insider Preview Program. This isn't a roadmap per se, but more of how it plans to test the operating system.
The first build of Windows 11 will be released to the Insider Preview Program next week, the company is using a similar system like the one it used to test Windows 10 before it was released to the public.
You can check whether your computer is compatible with Windows 11 by running the PC Health Check app. If your PC passes the check, you may opt in to the Windows 11 Insider Preview Program by opening the Settings app in Windows 10, heading to Update and Security, and clicking on Windows Insider Program to opt-in.
I wouldn't recommend installing Windows 11 Insider builds on your primary computer, it may not be stable for daily usage. But if you have a system to spare, go nuts.
Here's a flowchart that I created to simplify Microsoft's chart.
If your PC does not meet the requirements
Now, for those whose computer does not meet the Windows 11 hardware requirements, there is some good news. You can install the Preview builds too, but the catch is that you need to have been in the Dev Channel of the Windows 10 Insider Program before June 24, 2021. This is Microsoft's way of rewarding existing testers, and that's kind of nice. The key point to note here is that the computer should be compatible with the minimum requirements as that of the Insider Program, i.e. it needs to be running on a licensed version of Windows 10, to take part in the testing process.
The bad news is that systems that don't meet the Windows 11 hardware requirements could run into bugs and issues which, in Microsoft's own words, "may not be fixed". There is another caveat, if you decide to downgrade the computer from the Preview Build back to Windows 10, you will no longer be eligible to participate in the Windows 11 Preview Program, as it will be considered a new PC.
Things will change slightly as Windows 11 transitions to the next phase. PCs that don't meet the system requirements will be moved from the Beta Channel to the Release Preview Channel.
If your computer isn't eligible for the free Windows 11 update, I wouldn't advise rushing to buy a new CPU and Motherboard just yet. Go to the computer's UEFI/BIOS and check whether the TPM setting is enabled. Things could change as the testing progresses, a computer that isn't eligible for the upgrade today might be upgradeable in the future.
What mental age of reader are you targeting with the first sentence? 10?
Why not write an article on how to *avoid* upgrading from W10 to W11. Analogous to those like me who avoided upgrading from 7 to 10 for as long as possible.
If your paymaster Microsoft permits it, of course.
5. Rufus
6. Ventoy
PS. I hate reading these “SEO optimized” articles.
I used Rufus to create an installer for a 6th gen intel i5 that had MBR. It upgraded using Setup. No issues except for Win 11 always prompting me to replace my local account. Still using Win 10 Pro on all my other PCs to avoid the bullying.
bit pointless to upgrade for the sake of upgrading as you never know when you’ll get locked out because ms might suddenly not provide updates to unsupported systems.
ps…. time travelling?
written. Jan 15, 2023
Updated • Jan 13, 2023
This happens when you schedule a post in WordPress and update it before setting the publication date.
Anyone willing to downgrade to this awful OS must like inflicting themselves with harm.
I have become convinced now that anybody who has no qualms with using Windows 11/10 must fit into one of the following brackets:
1) Too young to remember a time before W10 and W11 (doesn’t know better)
2) Wants to play the latest games on their PC above anything else (or deeply needs some software which already dropped W7 support)
3) Doesn’t know too much about how computers work, worried that they’d be absolutely lost and in trouble without the “”latest security””
4) Microsoft apologist that tries to justify that the latest “features” and “changes” are actually a good thing, that improve Windows
5) Uses their computer to do a bare minimum of like 3 different things, browse web, check emails, etc, so really doesn’t fuss
Obviously that doesn’t cover everyone, there’s also the category that:
6) Actually liked W7 more than 10, and held out as long as possible before switching, begrudgingly uses 10 now
Have I missed any group off this list?
You have missed in this group just about any professional user that uses business software like CAD programs or ERP Programs which are 99% of all professional users from this list.
Linux doesn’t help anyone who is not a linux kid and apple is just a fancy facebook machine.
Microsoft has removed KB5029351 update
only from windows update though
KB5029351 is still available from the ms update catalog site
1. This update is labaled as PREVIEW if it causes issues to unintelligent people, then they shouldn’t have allowed Preview updates ot install.
2. I have installed it in a 11 years old computer, and no problems at all.
3. Making a big drama over a bluescreen for an updated labeled as preview is ridiculous.
This is probably another BS internet drama where people ran programs and scripts that modified the registry until they broke Windows, just for removing stuff that they weren’t even using just for the sake of it.
Maybe people should stop playing geeks and actually either use Windows 10 or Windows 11, but don’t try to modify things just for the sake of it.
Sometimes removing or stopping things (like defender is a perfect example) only need intelligence, not scripts or 3rd party programs that might mess with windows.
Windows 11 was a pointless release, it was just created because some of the Windows team wanted to boost sales with some sort of new and improved Windows 10. Instead, Microsoft cannot support one version well let alone two.
Windows 11 is the worst ugly shame by Microsoft ever. They should release with every new W11 version a complete free version of Starallback inside just to make this sh** OS functionally again.
motherboard maker MSI has recently released a statement regarding the “unsupported processor” blue screen error for their boards using Intel 600/700 series chipsets & to avoid the KB5029351 Win11 update:
https://www.msi.com/news/detail/MSI-On–UNSUPPORTED-PROCESSOR–Error-Message-of-Windows-11-Update-KB5029351-Preview-142215
check out the following recent articles:
Neowin – Microsoft puts little blame on its Windows update after UNSUPPORTED PROCESSOR BSOD bug:
https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-puts-little-blame-on-its-windows-update-after-unsupported-processor-bsod-bug/
BleepingComputer – Microsoft blames ‘unsupported processor’ blue screens on OEM vendors:
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-blames-unsupported-processor-blue-screens-on-oem-vendors/
While there may be changes or updates to the Windows 10 Store for Business and Education in the future, it is premature to conclude that it will be discontinued based solely on rumors.
My advice, I left win 15 years ago. Now I’m a happy linux user (linuxmint) but there is Centos, Fedora, Ubuntu depending on your needs.
motherboard maker MSI has recently released new BIOS/firmware updates for their Intel 600 & 700 series motherboards to fix the “UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR” problem (Sept. 6):
https://www.msi.com/news/detail/Updated-BIOS-fixes-Error-Message–UNSUPPORTED-PROCESSOR–caused-BSOD-on-MSI-s-Intel-700-and-600-Series-Motherboards-142277
I try to disable the Diagnostics Tracking Service (Connected Devices Platform User Services) but it wont let me disable it, any help will be greatly appreciated.
Tank you for your help