The only reasons are: - 10 year support - no forced upgrades Licensing doesn't really matter, KVA also works fine.
And: It doesn't require TPM / Secure boot / UEFI / or 4GB of RAM (so you can install it even on 10+ years old PCs) Barebone preinstalled applications (as Notepad, Paint "non-Store" classic versions) No reserved storage No Automatic device encryption No Microsoft Account required during first install No Internet Connection required during first install Less footprint on disk and less memory usage after install Permanent Digital License (HWID) activation via MAS script (which will also stay even after a clean install)
We already fixed that before 11 was released Not the real reason to go use it. Also circumvented when it first appeared That only would run when you use an online account and also can be disabled. Is that a hard requirement for any other SKU? I always set MRP to disconnect during oobe (no oobe updates, no msa needed), whatever i install ~ That is a good reason but does it hurt to re-run KVA after a re-install? Don't get me wrong, i run IoT Enterprise 2021 LTSC on my 2 main systems too, no particular reason, just installed it when i assembled the systems and as intended, stayed on it I am preparing to test IoT Enterprise 2024 LTSC on my i9 11900F, just to see if my constant drag and drop hanging (when the system is freshly started and when MEGA sync app is running) is fixed. I actually also will test normal Enterprise 26200.xxxx. On my third system, i7 8700 test pc i am running 26H1 but that already resulted in 2 system crashes wheen starting vmware, could be related to the old vmware i was running, also as a test
Oh, I was only comparing IoT Enterprise LTSC to regular LTSC, otherwise against Home/Pro you would also have: No Microsoft Store (which you can add later if you want) and no preinstalled Store apps No preinstalled Copilot/Recall or AI stuff No OneDrive preinstalled No ads or consumer features preinstalled Very limited telemetry (which you can also set to 0 via Gpedit) I use Win 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024 on both my main desktop PC for gaming and main laptop for everything else without a single issue and both run as fast as they can
I know the differences and the cons and pro's and honestly, i have seen all LTSB versions called the best ever and when the next one was released all went to that new one, for the new features they were kinda missing after 3 years i guess, this time it is a bit different with 10 > 11, now the real pro is the long support till 2032 for ioT and no forced upgrades, all other stuff can be circumvented. ALmost all mentioned stuff was being handled by MRP, i have never seen any ads ever in windows, education and enterprise all can be set to "0" telemetry wise. About copilot/AI, finally one big hardware company saw the light and acknowledged that normal users (the large majority globally) don't buy Laptops/PC's for AI, it only confuses people they learned at Dell. Atm i have no use for it either but we all said that too during the 90's about Cellphones ps, count on MSFT to f**k up windows 10 (non LTSC and LTSC) to the point most will give up and switch to 11, they did with 2015 LTSB and 2016 LTSB, let's hope they won't loose the focus on 10 that fast too.
All windows has some telemetry even Chineese Gov. Edition. Go to C:\Windows\WinSxS\amd64_microsoft-windows-u..tings-windowsclient_31bf3856ad364e35_10.0.28000.1_none_47bd801762787613 or C:\Windows\WinSxS\amd64_microsoft-windows-u..tings-windowsesrver_31bf3856ad364e35_10.0.28000.1_none_47bd801762787613 depending on your version of windows inside there perspective folders is global telemety files.
The packages being in the image does not mean they are applied or even allowed to apply by Product Policy. (IoT) Enterprise (LTSC) and Education are the only SKUs which can be set to Level 0 Telemetry, aka "Security". All others ignore Level 0 and set it to Level 1.
You are probably right. In Server SKUs using Sconfig command a user can set telemetry to 0. But I still delete these files just in case.
...and my mother said that about credit cards, said she didn't trust them...wrote checks until the day she died.
IIRC these can be circumvented on other editions, too - by using eg. Rufus On the other hand, the requirement for the SSE4.2/POPCNT cpu support can't be removed, regardless of the windows' sku/edition the oldest 24H2-compatible cpu families would then be: -intel Nehalem (Q4-2008) -amd Bulldozer (Q4-2011)
I have received quite a few older Laptops (and one desktop) from Friends & Family in recent times to clean off their Hard Drives before recycling, as they moved on from Windows 10 and into new machines. I use these old Boxes for experimentation, and I install various Operating Systems including ChromeOS, Linux, and of course various flavors of Windows. Sometimes I blow one of these away by installing something new. Until obtaining these 9 or so Boxes, I never tinkered with anything other than Windows. Some of these Boxes are very old and two of them didn't have SSE4.2/POPCNT CPU support. It took me a lot of head scratching before I realized it was this preventing me from installing Windows 11. One Laptop is an old Gateway that I installed Linux Mint Cinnamon 22.2 - my first Linux install. I was impressed by the installation of this OS but I really haven't used it to see how well it works in real life. Of course it's unfair to judge the OS on 14 year old hardware, especially when it's running the original rotating Hard Drive. I am debating on what to do with a very decent Asus GL552v Laptop manufactured October 2015. It just misses being officially Windows 11 compliant (CPU). My Mom bought it new (2016) and retired it in May of 2021 when it got flaky and bought an LG GRAM 17. It sat in my things to do pile for years as there was no urgency about it. I finally totally dismantled it, after I found the issue was overheating due to the Thermal Paste ceasing to function. After cleaning and new paste it runs very well with a SSD installed. But I really had to blow it apart for repair, and had it spread all over the Dining Room Table. Presently it has Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC installed. The remaining issue is the A4INI424 Battery needs to be replaced as it's totally shot. It's $40, and I can afford it, but what do I do with the laptop after? I've been chewing on this for months hoping to see a deal on the battery that would push me that direction as, I don't like to recycle working PCs. I recycled 4 of the Boxes after experimenting with them as much as i wanted, and some of them had hardware issues. I'm getting close to punting a cute Lenovo Thinkpad X201. It too has Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC installed presently, and runs well except for one or two annoying issues. Recently the OS stopped responding to the Keyboard / Pointing Devices on board even though a USB Keyboard and Mouse would work just fine. This happens at random, but seemingly more and more frequently. Another thing I noticed was the connection speed to the internet was definitely lacking. I did a Speed Test using my very solid Wi-Fi at home, and it struggled to get to 60-70 Mbps Down. (I can get near a Gig on my Main PC even though I use it wired. The Asus above gets near 400 Mbps Down) Anything near the theoretical maximum speed of up to 300 Mbps seems like unobtanium for the X201. I'm thinking it's time to recycle as I can see anyone living with that. I'm certainly learning a lot and appreciate the efforts of the members here. I know there a ton of expertise on Windows but I'm surprise I don't hear much about the hardware folks are installing it on, nor what the Boxes are used for. But I'm having fun with it.
@-Jim- 10 still is supported for at least 3 years (ESU) and when using IoT Enterprise 2021 LTSC it still is supported for 6 years. 11 will run on the hardware but with low ram and no ssd it can be very slow, so best is to enjoy the next years with Win 10
You may have a bad keyboard on that X201, this system is a bit dated. As for the wifi speed, 802.11n requires WPA2-AES encryption to run at full speed. Can you check it is not using only the 2.4Ghz band due to incompatible security settings? This laptop will run Windows 11 IoT, providing it has an SSD drive. Cheers.
Thanks for the comments. I suspected the Keyboard was going out. What pushed me to recycle it was after reading any wi-fi Card upgrade would need bios moods due to security built into the X201. I didn't want to go there on such an old device. I did have an SSD in it, but I pulled it - and the RAM, before putting in the new Recycle Pile I'm starting. I'm trying to clean up my Man Cave /Junk Room so it's more of the former => and less of the Latter.