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(Trying to) prevent Windows 11

Created: 2024-01-15
Updated: 2024-03-12

A forced "upgrade" from Windows 10 to Windows 11 is a violation.

Perhaps you disagree. But here’s a concrete fact: I have family computers in this house that use hardware that will simply not work under Windows 11 (a professional drawing tablet and a self-feeding document scanner). My options are:

I know which one I’m going to choose for now. We’ll see what happens when MS officially kills Windows 10 in…​ Fall 2025?

Registry solution

This solution comes from the Super User StackExchange site. But I won’t bother linking to it because it’s the same thing you’ll find posted elsewhere and it includes the same small but vital mistake I’ve seen copied and pasted on the Web. So here’s the actual instructions and screenshot to match.

screenshot of regedit showing the settings mentioned below

Here goes:

Open up regedit (try Win + R to open the run dialog). Then go to:

  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

  • SOFTWARE

  • Microsoft

  • WindowsUpdate

Then create these keys (or edit them if they already exist):

  • ProductVersion type REG_SZ (string), value: Windows 10

  • TargetReleaseVersionInfo type REG_SZ (string), value: 21H2

  • TargetReleaseVersion type REG_DWORD (integer), value: 1 (will display as 0x00000001 (1))

I have NO idea if this will actually work.

If this doesn’t work, I’ll report back right away, so check this page’s created/updated dates.

Otherwise, I’ll try to remember to come back in a couple months to report success…​

Feb 6: 22 days in and no Win 11…​

March 12: Two months and still good. Looks like this method works!

Group policy solution

Apparently you can also prevent the Windows 11 "upgrade" with the Group Policy Editor. But I have no idea how to do that. We tried opening the editor "as Administrator" under Windows 10 Pro and were told that we don’t have permission. I didn’t pursue it further because searching for a solution lead to a typical maze of garbage.

Strong opinions

I’m a "full-desktop" Linux (and BSD) user. But I have Windows computers in my house for "reasons".

Windows 7 was the last decent release of Windows. If they’d stuck with that basic OS and added WSL (subsystem for Linux) and that new terminal application, I might still be on Windows to this day.

Windows 11 is an abomination.

Microsoft is getting away with absolutely intolerable anti-user stuff on their consumer Windows that Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer could only have dreamed about back in the antitrust days:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Microsoft_Corp.

"Business practices conducted by Microsoft, when tying its Internet browser and operating system, was monopolistic behavior per the Sherman Antitrust Act."

As far as I’m concerned, Microsoft in 2024 is ten times more openly hostile to competition than they were in 2001, most visibly regarding the Edge web browser, but in virtually every aspect of their OS, product, and Web presence.

My complaints about MS in 2024 are vast, but I’ll stop short of turning this page into an enormous rant.

Preventing even just one forced Windows 11 installation will make this page a success.