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I upgraded my personal desktops to Windows 11!
Just do it!
Keywords:
windows, software, clients, experience, computer
Key Takeaway:
As I write this article in November 2024, I
have quite a lot of clients already running Windows ll.
Category Insights:
MICROSOFT — This article covers recent technology news involving
Microsoft.
Why Did I Wait?
I originally wrote this article in November 2024 and I updated it for 2026. I
was a holdout on WIndows 10, but I have quite a lot of clients already running Windows ll.
However, I was a stickler and procrastinated upgrading my own computers for various reasons.
These are the same reasons many of my Windows 10 clients expressed as well.
- New operating systems tend to have issues when first released. I like to wait a year or more for those issue to be worked out before I upgrade. I did this with Windows 10 as well.
- The bulk of my clients are still on Windows 10, so I was in no hurry and had no immediate need. There has been a reluctance for many to make the switch.
- I wasn't sure if all my hardware and software would work on Windows 11.
- I was somewhat concerned about being able to find things with the new interface as Microsoft loves to rename and move things around. This frustrates the heck out of people. Old, habits are hard to break!
These concerns turned out to be unfounded.
Before Starting a Major Operating System Upgrade
Based on experience with Windows in the past I did the following to each computer before starting the upgrade. These precautions will make the upgrade experience go a LOT better. Failure to take these steps can greatly increase your risk of having problems.- Backup any important data
- Remove any software thats not being actively used.
- Remove 3rd party Antivirus software.
- Make sure the computer is NOT infected with viruses or malware.
- Make sure there is no drive corruption.
- Make sure Windows 10 is in good working order before upgrading to 11.
Primary Computer Upgrades
Gaming PC
I upgraded the living-room gaming PC first. It had the least amount
of software installed which made it the logical choice. Luckily, it had no
issues at all and went quickly. Easy peasy!
Office PC
Based on that experience, I upgraded my work machine in the office
which has a LOT of software on it. This is where compatibility issues might
arise. I pulled the trigger and started the upgrade.
Wife's Business Laptop
She is self-employed and uses this laptop with Excel and an older
version of Quickbooks. Low and behold - it also upgraded with no issues.
Old equipment
I have two laptops are considerably older and cannot be upgraded. I plan
to made one of them into a Linux Mint machine. (I have been learning Linux and this
made sense for me.) The other laptop can remain on Windows 10. It's used for my
other hobby to run my HO Scale train layout. It doesn't need to be online for what
it does. Neither of these laptops contains anything critical to the business.
Blog post
#17
discusses this option.
Going Forward
The next challenge will be to convince more clients to switch to Windows 11! In 2026, I
still have multiple clients still using Windows 10 and even a couple on Windows 7 who
steadfastly refuse to change. Some of these concerns were money issues and others didn’t
want to learn a new version.
Update after several months of use
- With the exception of a single item, all software has worked without issues.
This was a big concern for me when I did the upgrade but the concern was
unfounded.
I discovered my older and outdated Logitech C910 webcam has drivers that stop the installation of the 24H2 update. This was rectified by manually removing the old drivers. I want to get a new/better webcam anyway! This was by no means a deal-breaker. - The option on the context menu to delete and rename files were moved. Its
hard to break old habits and I find this really annoying as I find myself
searching for something I used to do in a split second on Windows 10.
I did find a solution to this issue. There is a registry key that can be added that will revert the context menu back to the Windows 10 version. This was a great help! Please contact us if you have the same issue. - Microsoft did remove some very old legacy printer drivers for devices that are no longer
made. These drivers were never updated by the printer manufacturers and did not meet
current security standards. I have not encountered any problems with this personally or
with any of my clients.
- Some gamers are reporting slightly slower performance on Windows 11 vs Windows 10. This won't be an issue for most people.