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Should I update to Windows 11?


Billy86

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Being offered a free update to Windows 11. I'm thinking, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." My computer is 99% CbB use.

Anyone on Win 11 seeing advantages or disadvantages with things like plugin compatibility, improved CPU efficiency, or anything else? Thanks.

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Been on Win11 a few months, haven't really noticed much of a difference and definitely no issues. Although when I recently switched my audio interface, both Windows and CbB just worked without me having to do any configuration -- I thought that was kind of cool.

I was a hold-out for upgrading, but the thing that convinced me was when they added file explorer tabs last fall. I find that pretty useful.

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I did a bunch of benchmarks on my hardware and had no appreciable difference between 10 & 11, and 11 is just ugly to me with not a ton of options to unUGLYfi, so no reason to (Microsoft will continue to support at least one Windows 10 release until October 14, 2025).

I have test machines at the office with it, and still don't like it after a few months ...but I'll get there.

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15 minutes ago, hockeyjx said:

I did a bunch of benchmarks on my hardware and had no appreciable difference between 10 & 11, and 11 is just ugly to me with not a ton of options to unUGLYfi, so no reason to (Microsoft will continue to support at least one Windows 10 release until October 14, 2025).

I have test machines at the office with it, and still don't like it after a few months ...but I'll get there.

There are "unUGLYfi" options in Winaero Tweaker.

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8 minutes ago, gustabo said:

There are "unUGLYfi" options in Winaero Tweaker.

When I decided the company needed to migrate to 10 as the standard (primarily when hardware wouldn't support 7 anymore), we used Classic Shell. It was ok for a bit and then seemed to include malware - so we ditched it obviously. If you have to use a 3rd Party Tool to make the GUI usable for the masses, it isn't time to switch yet IMO. 

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I upgraded many moons ago, never looked back.

you.ll find some threads on the Computers part of this website about the same subject.

One thing i do however is to automatically re-install the audio drivers (Focusrite and Soundcraft) just in case,

The update from 10 to 11 is free anyway, if your PC can pass the MS mini specs. They have a tool that can help you check this. If you’re offered the update via Windows Update, then you’re good to go.

J

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16 hours ago, hockeyjx said:

When I decided the company needed to migrate to 10 as the standard (primarily when hardware wouldn't support 7 anymore), we used Classic Shell. It was ok for a bit and then seemed to include malware - so we ditched it obviously. If you have to use a 3rd Party Tool to make the GUI usable for the masses, it isn't time to switch yet IMO. 

No malware in OpenShell

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1 minute ago, gustabo said:

No malware in OpenShell

I know I can get tools, but I'm not rolling that out to an organization. Also, my company's line of business is NOT tech forward, so we're just making more work for our team.  Once we blow through inventory, the new laptops will have to be 11, and thus, "fix the glitch".

 

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I had audio driver failures when I upgraded from Win7 to Win10, but none from Win10 to Win11. The one main ongoing issue I have is not with Win 11 per se, but with MS's major updates every six months. They change the machine ID and blow up some of my software authorizations. Melodyne is a good example of that. I have to reauthorize Melodyne after every major update. After the last one, Melodyne wouldn't allow any more reauthorizations, telling me I had authorized it to too many different machines. A review of my account showed that the PC name was always the same. Celemony tech support were very nice and quick to resolve the issue, acknowledging the problem and resetting my authorization count to 0. Melodyne Studio is back up!

Edited by John Maar
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6 minutes ago, John Maar said:

I had audio driver failures when I upgraded from Win7 to Win10, but none from Win10 to Win11. The one main ongoing issue I have is not with Win 11 per se, but with MS's major updates every six months. They change the machine ID and blow up some of my software authorizations. Melodyne is a good example of that. I have to reauthorize Melodyne after every major update. After the last one, Melodyne wouldn't allow any more reauthorizations, telling me I had authorized it to too many different machines. A review of my account showed that the PC name was always the same. Celemony tech support were very nice and quick to resolve the issue, acknowledging the problem and resetting my authorization count to 0. Melodyne Studio is back up!

Melodyne has done that for me as well, but I would say that is more on them and not Microsoft. We all know there are going to be major updates.

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56 minutes ago, hockeyjx said:

Melodyne has done that for me as well, but I would say that is more on them and not Microsoft. We all know there are going to be major updates.

Does Microsoft have to change the machine ID when it updates Windows? I mentioned Melodyne, but I have a couple of others that lose their authorization status too.

I prefer soft-licensing to dongle licensing. Peeps have differing opinions on iLok. I hate them as a company, going back to their Centronics parallel port dongles that were app specific (I had two, but only the one directly connected to the computer worked; I was swapping them all the time), but I have to admit that their soft-licensing works well. Their USB dongle was never reliable for me, so I wrote off my Slate plugins as money down the drain. And I would NEVER go near their cloud licensing.

Even Steinberg has migrated away from dongle use. How do the new Steinberg apps that use soft licensing respond to Windows updates that change the machine ID?

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16 minutes ago, sjoens said:

After the last Windows 11 update I simply removed this computer and re-entered it for Melodyne.

I've got to remember to do that next time. I've always just clicked on the "Authorize" link. In Gig Performer, I've got to remember to deauthorize before updating, and then reauthorize. I admit to having forgotten to do that, too. Good thing they also have excellent customer service.

Edited by John Maar
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5 hours ago, hockeyjx said:

I know I can get tools, but I'm not rolling that out to an organization. Also, my company's line of business is NOT tech forward, so we're just making more work for our team.  Once we blow through inventory, the new laptops will have to be 11, and thus, "fix the glitch".

 

Regardless, there is no malware in OpenShell...

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I built an Intel based DAW last summer and installed Win 11. The only hiccups I encountered were from me learning the new windows architecture, and learning about MMCSS and UA Apollo. After that bit of education, Cakewalk is working great with Apollo and all my VST plug-ins. No crashes and no audio dropouts.

All of my other standalone audio programs have no issues with Win 11 and working well with Cakewalk. (iZotope RX, Melodyne, Sound Forge Pro, etc.)

My Win 11 was a fresh install, not an update from Win 10 so this may or may not make a difference.

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