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General => Technical Help => Topic started by: Gadget on Wednesday 30 October 24 16:46 GMT (UK)

Title: Uninstall Win 11
Post by: Gadget on Wednesday 30 October 24 16:46 GMT (UK)
I accidentally installed Win11 on my desktop yesterday and, although I can use it OK, I prefer my old Win10 and would like to go back to it.

I thought I'd solved it by uninstalling the update (using the instructions)   but when it restarted, I see that I'm still on Win 11.

Is there anyway to get Win 10 back, please.

I'll stick with it if there's no solution but.......


Gadget
Title: Re: Uninstall Win 11
Post by: Biggles50 on Wednesday 30 October 24 17:16 GMT (UK)
Take a look at Settings > Recovery > Go Back

There is supposedly a 10 day grace period with upgrading to Windows 11
Title: Re: Uninstall Win 11
Post by: Gadget on Wednesday 30 October 24 18:19 GMT (UK)
Thanks.  I see it was updated last night so I have 9-10 days. I might play around with the settings to make it look/behave more like Win10 before I change it back.

What is your opinion of Win11?


Gadget
Title: Re: Uninstall Win 11
Post by: Pennines on Wednesday 30 October 24 18:39 GMT (UK)
Gadget - is it worth going back to Windows 10 for you?

It's only 'supported' until next October.
Title: Re: Uninstall Win 11
Post by: LizzieW on Wednesday 30 October 24 18:57 GMT (UK)
My laptop broke - it just wouldn't download anything one morning when I turned it on.  The computer engineer came round and told me that, somehow, my hard drive had been wiped.  Whether it had or not I don't know*** but he wasn't able to retrieve anything, so downloaded Windows 11.  I'm just about getting used to it, but I don't like it.  I don't like the fact that although I use Thunderbird, if I save an email to a folder, when I try to open it, it reverts to Outlook, unless I right click and bring up another menu, then go to "open with" and choose Thunderbird.  There are lots of other quirks like that, it drives me mad but I'm stuck with it.

I have no idea why they keep changing things, I guess it gives Microsoft employers something to do. ;D ;D

***  I consulted another company and they said as Windows 11 was now installed it would have overwritten everything else (and of course I have no way of recovering it), however, there are some companies that for a large fee, can retrieve anything from hard drives that have, apparently, been wiped.  The files and folders I lost, although important to me, are not important enough to pay up to £1000 to retrieve them.  I do have an external hard drive which was backed up to 2019/20 (sadly after that it hadn't been connected to the laptop - it is now) so I got most files/folders back and my family tree program, plus as I'd sent a copy of the family tree to one of our grandsons a few weeks ago, he could send a copy back to me so that any work I'd done since 2019/2020 wasn't lost.
Title: Re: Uninstall Win 11
Post by: Gadget on Wednesday 30 October 24 19:40 GMT (UK)
I'm slowly adjusting it to make it look and behave like Win10.


My laptop is on Win10 but can auto update if I wish.
Title: Re: Uninstall Win 11
Post by: Gadget on Wednesday 30 October 24 19:45 GMT (UK)
What I haven't work out yet is taking off all those mini-pics from the file folder icons.

And WiFi Settings are not as easy to access.

 ::)
Title: Re: Uninstall Win 11
Post by: Pennines on Wednesday 30 October 24 19:51 GMT (UK)
Must admit I'm still on Windows 10 and dreading updating.

However, I am of an age when I might not be here next October so will not have to face that hassle!!

(I do like to look on the bright side!)
Title: Re: Uninstall Win 11
Post by: Gadget on Wednesday 30 October 24 20:09 GMT (UK)
What I haven't work out yet is taking off all those mini-pics from the file folder icons.

I wonder if this will do it

https://www.lifewire.com/change-folder-icons-in-windows-11-5200732
Title: Re: Uninstall Win 11
Post by: Albufera32 on Wednesday 30 October 24 20:26 GMT (UK)
I would not recommend returning to Windows 10. In common with everyone here, I don't like 11 much, but the simple reality is Windows 10 will not be secure for much longer, and at least for me, my remaining Windows 10 laptop now takes forever to do anything, and indeed some programs no longer work at all.

Every single version of Windows since XP has been worse than it's predecessor, in my personal opinion, but you get used to the changes each time, eventually. Give it a year or two and we'll all be grumbling about our Windows 11 PCs being "upgraded" to Windows 12, like as not.

At least Vinyl is making a comeback.
Title: Re: Uninstall Win 11
Post by: Gadget on Wednesday 30 October 24 20:49 GMT (UK)
I think it will be OK if you have a decent virus etc protection.***

Does anyone remember Windows for Workgroups 3.11  :)


***
add - https://www.aztechit.co.uk/blog/windows-10-end-of-life
Title: Re: Uninstall Win 11
Post by: Erato on Wednesday 30 October 24 23:00 GMT (UK)
I've gotten used to Windows 11.  It took me about a week to streamline it the way I wanted it.  I still make little tweaks now and then to streamline it further.  Mostly for me it was a matter of turning stuff off.  For example, it kept insisting that I needed to "synch" with my other "devices."  I have no other devices, thank you. 
Title: Re: Uninstall Win 11
Post by: Gadget on Wednesday 30 October 24 23:22 GMT (UK)
I'm slowly coming to terms with it and doing what you have done, Erato.

Some more experimenting and tweaking required yet though.
Title: Re: Uninstall Win 11
Post by: ShaunJ on Thursday 31 October 24 08:47 GMT (UK)
It might be worth investing £9.95 (UK pricing) in Start11 which can make Windows 11 look like Windows 10 or even Windows 7.

I've been using its predecessor Start10 for years, to make Windows 10 look and feel like Windows 7.

https://www.stardock.com/products/start11/
Title: Re: Uninstall Win 11
Post by: Rattus on Thursday 31 October 24 20:50 GMT (UK)
Having worked in IT for decades, I'm comfortable with technological change. Having said that, I just couldn't warm to the default Windows 11 interface.

This was how I transformed it from bearable to enjoyable:
Now when I work occasionally on a Windows 10 laptop, I can't wait to get back to W11.
Title: Re: Uninstall Win 11
Post by: Rena on Thursday 31 October 24 21:19 GMT (UK)
I started off with Windows 95 then Win98 - plus a few FREE DOWNLOADED  "Shareware" programmes.  I lost quite a lot of images and documents when XP was introduced as most of the former programmes were not supported.  e.g. Images were on a Kodak programme and as I was not (and still not) computer savvy, I lost content that I had obtained from obsolete websites. 

It's a shame that small website owners who provided free information/images, were either bought out or "nudged out" by companies that needed to make a profit for their directors and/or shareholders.

Speaking of websites reminds me that I tried to gain access to my genealogy reports on "Ny Heritage" recently via the APP  that is on my  desktop   I was invited to pay a subscription charge  before I could enter.  I declined, which means that I am unable to check or enter the new names, dates and other information that I have not yet included in my tree.
Title: Re: Uninstall Win 11
Post by: Gadget on Thursday 31 October 24 22:34 GMT (UK)
I did that yesterday, Rattus .

I've used computers for my work since the late 60s  :)
Title: Re: Uninstall Win 11
Post by: louisa maud on Monday 03 February 25 16:43 GMT (UK)
We have a computer windows 7,  can't update that as windows 10  it  isn't compatible  with my family tree, I also have a windows 10 laptop and I don't like it,  and now they want us to upgrade to windows 11, not a  happy bunny

LM
Title: Re: Uninstall Win 11
Post by: KGarrad on Monday 03 February 25 17:10 GMT (UK)
I started off with Windows 95 then Win98 - plus a few FREE DOWNLOADED  "Shareware" programmes. 

I started with MS-DOS and CP/M. Then used Gem - a graphic interface similar to Windows.
I have used Windows since Windows 3 - but bypassed Windows 8 and 9!

I miss Harvard Graphics and WordStar!