Windows 11

[Vasudev]

They will probably use KMS activators.

I've made 2 attempts to upgrade to 23H2, on one I even used an ISO directly from Micro$haft. The upgrade succeeded the it was essentially unusable. On Windows Explorer when you click the right mouse button it freezes. You also can't bring up the command prompt or powershell. Something's wrong somewhere.

Any incompatible hardware or drivers? Is secure boot enabled? If not enable secure boot and try the upgrade. Windows 11 is getting buggier than initial RTM version released last year. Brief stutters or slowdowns etc.
Try latest GPU drivers and see if it fixes the unresponsive explorer or maybe disable HAGS (Hardware Assisted Scheduling).

[humbert]

Any incompatible hardware or drivers? Is secure boot enabled? If not enable secure boot and try the upgrade. Windows 11 is getting buggier than initial RTM version released last year. Brief stutters or slowdowns etc.
Try latest GPU drivers and see if it fixes the unresponsive explorer or maybe disable HAGS (Hardware Assisted Scheduling).

Don't you hate trial and error  ? The problem with this is the highly unusual symptoms. It boots with no issues. It's when you hit right click on Windows Explorer that everything freezes. When you try to get Powershell or the command prompt windows, nothing happens. About 60 seconds later it comes up.

You know what? 22H2 works OK. I think I'm going to stay on 22H2 until I upgrade my hardware. Maybe one of these days I'll go crazy and try to build myself a new PC. For this a clean install is the way to go.

[Vasudev]

Any incompatible hardware or drivers? Is secure boot enabled? If not enable secure boot and try the upgrade. Windows 11 is getting buggier than initial RTM version released last year. Brief stutters or slowdowns etc.
Try latest GPU drivers and see if it fixes the unresponsive explorer or maybe disable HAGS (Hardware Assisted Scheduling).

Don't you hate trial and error  ? The problem with this is the highly unusual symptoms. It boots with no issues. It's when you hit right click on Windows Explorer that everything freezes. When you try to get Powershell or the command prompt windows, nothing happens. About 60 seconds later it comes up.

You know what? 22H2 works OK. I think I'm going to stay on 22H2 until I upgrade my hardware. Maybe one of these days I'll go crazy and try to build myself a new PC. For this a clean install is the way to go.

It could be due to some GPU driver. Faced them and after multiple Intel and nvidia driver retries I've settled on very old Intel iGPU driver that fixes from yours truly MS Update.

[Vasudev]

Released my final Win 7 SP2 Base and May 2024 ISOs with Ultimate Edition and it's not pre-activated! Linked Here

[humbert]

Released my final Win 7 SP2 Base and May 2024 ISOs with Ultimate Edition and it's not pre-activated! Linked Here

Who still uses Windows 7? I'd guess only someone with old hardware because it's financially impossible to upgrade.

[Shadow.97]

Released my final Win 7 SP2 Base and May 2024 ISOs with Ultimate Edition and it's not pre-activated! Linked Here

Who still uses Windows 7? I'd guess only someone with old hardware because it's financially impossible to upgrade.

My grandpa who doesnt like change.

[humbert]

My grandpa who doesnt like change.

I know the feeling. Just curious: what hardware does he have? If he has a 10 year or older PC and all he does is browse the net, check email, and be on social media, then an upgrade isn't really necessary. But if he likes to pay high end games, forget it.

People are generally very resistant to upgrades and like to stick with what they know. I remember a guy who bought a top of the line PC and installed Windows XP. Obviously the computer wasn't working as advertized, so he came here to ask for help. When explained the problem and asked why he was still on XP, he answered "it's what I know". Go figure!

[Shadow.97]

My grandpa who doesnt like change.

I know the feeling. Just curious: what hardware does he have? If he has a 10 year or older PC and all he does is browse the net, check email, and be on social media, then an upgrade isn't really necessary. But if he likes to pay high end games, forget it.

People are generally very resistant to upgrades and like to stick with what they know. I remember a guy who bought a top of the line PC and installed Windows XP. Obviously the computer wasn't working as advertized, so he came here to ask for help. When explained the problem and asked why he was still on XP, he answered "it's what I know". Go figure!

If I recall it is a first gen i7, 4gb ram. Spinning rust harddrive
A generic HP professional laptop bought refurbished.
He is currently looking for a new one to support all the applications. But the issue is teaching him a new OS.
It took around 4h of hand-holding to teach him how to open his new mailbox when it was migrated.
And around another 4 of re-holding that hand because he forgot it.

It will be a nightmare trying to teach him a new OS.

[humbert]

He is currently looking for a new one to support all the applications. But the issue is teaching him a new OS.
It took around 4h of hand-holding to teach him how to open his new mailbox when it was migrated.
And around another 4 of re-holding that hand because he forgot it.
It will be a nightmare trying to teach him a new OS.

I can't understand it. All OS's today use a GUI to make it easy for users. It's a simple matter of clicking an icon. In the case of Windows 10 or 11, simply touch the Windows key and you'll have your icons staring you in the face. Alternatively you can put shortcuts for the apps he uses on the desktop. You can also install classic shell and you've got an interface that's basically a copy of Windows 11.

With respect to email, what program does he use? Just about all that work with Windows 7 work with higher versions of Windows OR have an updated version that does.

Seriously: does he suffer from dementia or something of that nature?

[Shadow.97]

He is currently looking for a new one to support all the applications. But the issue is teaching him a new OS.
It took around 4h of hand-holding to teach him how to open his new mailbox when it was migrated.
And around another 4 of re-holding that hand because he forgot it.
It will be a nightmare trying to teach him a new OS.

I can't understand it. All OS's today use a GUI to make it easy for users. It's a simple matter of clicking an icon. In the case of Windows 10 or 11, simply touch the Windows key and you'll have your icons staring you in the face. Alternatively you can put shortcuts for the apps he uses on the desktop. You can also install classic shell and you've got an interface that's basically a copy of Windows 11.

With respect to email, what program does he use? Just about all that work with Windows 7 work with higher versions of Windows OR have an updated version that does.

Seriously: does he suffer from dementia or something of that nature?

No dimentia or anything.
A person with a rigid mind stuck a few years back.

You wont be able to teach this man how to use the "new ui" of programs. In this case it is Mozilla Thunderbird.
The new UI of thunderbird and windows 10/11 would be enough to give this man an aneurysm..

I think todays UI's are harder because you cant read what they do. He is quite picture blind. He needs the mental reinforcement of knowing 100% what something is. An icon does not suffice.
This is a person that shares facebook clips of AI generated content, and games thinking it is real life.