Anyone upgrading to Windows 11?

[sarkwalvein]

for some tech people, yes.
for companies that use proprietary software that requires support (which is the vast majority) - they'll be sticking with Windows.

Well, to be honest, at least in the company I work for I've seen they have been gradually switching all systems to Linux, and this has been sped up in the last years after they being fed-up due to Microsoft's mishaps related to security holes and bad handling of updates. Lately they are not only switching OS in network/servers/infrastructure, but also in end-user hardware too.

Not so sure how much companies like Microsoft's (lack of quality) support anymore, I mean I've been seeing a switch in there.

 

[emmanu888]

Even though my main rig supports 11, I'm sticking with 10 with the ESU support.

The two mini PC's I have so far? One's running SteamOS which is Linux. The second one? Arch based image that's entirely dedicated to running ITGMania, a fork of Stepmania built by the ITG community.

I'm already planning on getting a 3rd mini PC to replace the Pi4 in my Iconic Arcade, its gonna run Batocera which you guessed it, that's Linux! I'm also gonna set up microSD cards with AmiDeb, Dosbian-x86 (Unofficial) and LibreELEC. All of those devices are running Linux or will run Linux.

I just can't bother dealing with Windows and how it gobbles up the RAM like a box of candy.

 

[Earthshine]

I don't think its W11 fear mongering

Oh. It is.

"The start menu being centered by default alone pisses folks off. It's been bottom-left of the screen since Windows 95, so that fucks with people's muscle memory."

Oh no! Please don't force people to take 5 seconds to change a built in Windows setting.

"Then you have the default theme being bright as fuck, which also sucks for everyone that is photosensitive and is used to dark-themed *everything* like myself."

And? Then switch it to a dark theme. OMG. The sheer hassle and horror! lol

And then you have the constant MAJOR issues when it comes to Windows 11 updates that are causing bootloops (24H2) and killing off SSDs (25H2).

Bootloops were not as widespread as the Win11 fearmongers would like people to think. Yes, they happened. But they were in the minority of all installs. The killing off SSDs thing was not the fault of Win11. The Win11 fearmongers are the ones that spread those lies around.

"The OS is anything but stable, and they're trying to shove it down our throats by shutting down Windows 10 faster than they should."

The OS is absolutely no less stable than Win10. There is no actual concrete proof of that statement anywhere and any stability differences can be based on specific hardware, software, and use case scenario. Win10 may certainly be more stable on some configurations, while Win11 will be for others. Trying to pass off "The OS is anything but stable" as an objective statement or be all end all fact is fear mongering.

"we can't even make offline accounts anymore."

That is not true.

"Having to install registry hacks just to get the right-click on the desktop back to normal and useful after installation"

That is not true.

"This whole OS is a huge pain in the ass right out of the box for the average person."

Again, a purely subjective comment pushed as being purely objective. Fear mongering 101.

 

[sarkwalvein]

Oh. It is.

"The start menu being centered by default alone pisses folks off. It's been bottom-left of the screen since Windows 95, so that fucks with people's muscle memory."

Oh no! Please don't force people to take 5 seconds to change a built in Windows setting.

"Then you have the default theme being bright as fuck, which also sucks for everyone that is photosensitive and is used to dark-themed *everything* like myself."

And? Then switch it to a dark theme. OMG. The sheer hassle and horror! lol

And then you have the constant MAJOR issues when it comes to Windows 11 updates that are causing bootloops (24H2) and killing off SSDs (25H2).

Bootloops were not as widespread as the Win11 fearmongers would like people to think. Yes, they happened. But they were in the minority of all installs. The killing off SSDs thing was not the fault of Win11. The Win11 fearmongers are the ones that spread those lies around.

"The OS is anything but stable, and they're trying to shove it down our throats by shutting down Windows 10 faster than they should."

The OS is absolutely no less stable than Win10. There is no actual concrete proof of that statement anywhere and any stability differences can be based on specific hardware, software, and use case scenario. Win10 may certainly be more stable on some configurations, while Win11 will be for others. Trying to pass off "The OS is anything but stable" as an objective statement or be all end all fact is fear mongering.

"we can't even make offline accounts anymore."

That is not true.

"Having to install registry hacks just to get the right-click on the desktop back to normal and useful after installation"

That is not true.

"This whole OS is a huge pain in the ass right out of the box for the average person."

Again, a purely subjective comment pushed as being purely objective. Fear mongering 101.

I mean, I have been using Windows 11 since the very beginning, and it is a piece of shit, you can live with it sure.
You can move the start button to the left, sure.
You can disable the idiotic extra right-click in the explorer to get a sensible context menu, but this even requires registry edition.
You can disable the awful amount of ads you get in the start menu, more work even.
But you still get continually pestered about using OneDrive, and plenty other shit that I already made myself become blind to, but it is still there... starting with the (intended) forcing to make a Microsoft account/mail to install the fucking OS and connect to the Internet, that is, unless you again hack the installer or go do weird unofficial stuff in the installer terminal.

Windows 11 is a fucking spyware... that you can live with at your own risk. Stop sugarcoating this shit. I agree to use this piece of shit, but don't sugar coat it.

 

[The Catboy]

Nah, staying with Linux

 

[Earthshine]

But you still get continually pestered about using OneDrive, and plenty other shit that I already made myself become blind to, but it is still there... starting with the (intended) forcing to make a Microsoft account/mail to install the fucking OS and connect to the Internet, that is, unless you again hack the installer or go do weird unofficial stuff in the installer terminal.

Windows 11 is a fucking spyware... that you can live with at your own risk. Stop sugarcoating this shit. I agree to use this piece of shit, but don't sugar coat it.

I do not EVER get petered about OneDrive. It's not even installed on my PC. The MS account bypass is extremely simple, you're exaggerating. I'm not sugar coating anything, I'm calling out Win11 fear mongering and fake bs like the SSD killing bit. I've pointed out several reasons for people hating Win11 that aren't even true. lol. This "But but you have to change da settings!!! So SHITTY to haz to change tha settingz!!!!" Please. As if no user configuration or tinkering or any kind is required in any Linux distros.

My thing about the spyware is not that I feel it's okay. It's that people only seem to bitch about it for Win11, when Win10 also has plenty of telemetry/data collection/spyware yet it's recommended by the same people who say to not use 11 for the same reason. lol. Most of the Win11 fear mongers are likely the same people have social media accounts, Google accounts, credit cards, and a million and one other things that collect data from them but... crickets.

I have no issue with people liking Linux over Windows. I have an issue with people saying to use 10 instead of 11 for "spyware" reasons, and issue with people acting like having to tweak a few things at setup makes 11 complete shit. Like you don't have to do that for XP? Or 7? Or 10? Or Linux? C'mon.

 

[sarkwalvein]

I do not EVER get petered about OneDrive. It's not even installed on my PC. The MS account bypass is extremely simple, you're exaggerating. I'm not sugar coating anything, I'm calling out Win11 fear mongering and fake bs like the SSD killing bit. I've pointed out several reasons for people hating Win11 that aren't even true. lol. This "But but you have to change da settings!!! So SHITTY to haz to change tha settingz!!!!" Please. As if no user configuration or tinkering or any kind is required in any Linux distros.

My thing about the spyware is not that I feel it's okay. It's that people only seem to bitch about it for Win11, when Win10 also has plenty of telemetry/data collection/spyware yet it's recommended by the same people who say to not use 11 for the same reason. lol. Most of the Win11 fear mongers are likely the same people have social media accounts, Google accounts, credit cards, and a million and one other things that collect data from them but... crickets.

I have no issue with people liking Linux over Windows. I have an issue with people saying to use 10 instead of 11 for "spyware" reasons, and issue with people acting like having to tweak a few things at setup makes 11 complete shit. Like you don't have to do that for XP? Or 7? Or 10? Or Linux? C'mon.

I don't see how having to bypass the stuff via unofficial ways, instead of having a clear option in the UI doesn't ring the alarm bells for you, but you do you. And windows 10 was also not good, we complained back in the day, and same as with windows 11 we were still able to deal with it, but the same way 10 out of the box represented a clear degradation of privacy and user control compared with 7; 11 goes another step into that direction compared with 10.

That said I still use it, and I still consider it garbage that works for my needs.

 

[SecureBoot]

Oh. It is.

"The start menu being centered by default alone pisses folks off. It's been bottom-left of the screen since Windows 95, so that fucks with people's muscle memory."

Oh no! Please don't force people to take 5 seconds to change a built in Windows setting.

"Then you have the default theme being bright as fuck, which also sucks for everyone that is photosensitive and is used to dark-themed *everything* like myself."

And? Then switch it to a dark theme. OMG. The sheer hassle and horror! lol

And then you have the constant MAJOR issues when it comes to Windows 11 updates that are causing bootloops (24H2) and killing off SSDs (25H2).

Bootloops were not as widespread as the Win11 fearmongers would like people to think. Yes, they happened. But they were in the minority of all installs. The killing off SSDs thing was not the fault of Win11. The Win11 fearmongers are the ones that spread those lies around.

"The OS is anything but stable, and they're trying to shove it down our throats by shutting down Windows 10 faster than they should."

The OS is absolutely no less stable than Win10. There is no actual concrete proof of that statement anywhere and any stability differences can be based on specific hardware, software, and use case scenario. Win10 may certainly be more stable on some configurations, while Win11 will be for others. Trying to pass off "The OS is anything but stable" as an objective statement or be all end all fact is fear mongering.

"we can't even make offline accounts anymore."

That is not true.

"Having to install registry hacks just to get the right-click on the desktop back to normal and useful after installation"

That is not true.

"This whole OS is a huge pain in the ass right out of the box for the average person."

Again, a purely subjective comment pushed as being purely objective. Fear mongering 101.

You don't need to bootlick MS. You clearly like it which is fine. It seems the sentiment here (including mine) is that people aren't comfortable with the unnecessary telemetry.

Personally, I want my operating system to get out of my way when I'm not using it and Windows is constantly hitting me with weird popups

 

[The Real Jdbye]

...

They constantly change things that don't need to be changed and make them objectively worse by removing functionality. The new start menu no longer has customizable categories or allows you to arrange icons in a grid any way you like, now it's a basic list of shortcuts. The customizability of the Windows 10 start menu was what made it good.
25% of the space is also reserved for a "recommended" section for some reason, which you can turn off with registry hacks but that just leaves a blank space there. There is no way to reclaim that space to use for shortcuts.

"we can't even make offline accounts anymore."

That is not true.

"Having to install registry hacks just to get the right-click on the desktop back to normal and useful after installation"

That is not true.

Without unofficial workarounds, which Microsoft are closing with each update, yes, it is. You really shouldn't need unofficial workarounds for such a basic thing, but whatever, it's not enough to be a deal breaker by itself.

Also, yes, it is. There is no settings toggle to switch to the classic Explorer context menu. Why they chose to make it so obtuse is beyond me. The new context menu is just objectively worse. Some options aren't clearly labeled and it takes more clicks to access some frequently used options.
Interacting with the OS is a means to an end, placing commonly used options behind submenus means you are wasting more time interacting with the OS and less time actually getting shit done. The only job of the OS is to facilitate common tasks and then get out of your way so you can get back to what you were doing quickly and Windows 11 fails at that basic thing.

 

[SecureBoot]

They constantly change things that don't need to be changed and make them objectively worse by removing functionality. The new start menu no longer has customizable categories or allows you to arrange icons in a grid any way you like, now it's a basic list of shortcuts. The customizability of the Windows 10 start menu was what made it good.
25% of the space is also reserved for a "recommended" section for some reason, which you can turn off with registry hacks but that just leaves a blank space there. There is no way to reclaim that space to use for shortcuts.


Without unofficial workarounds, which Microsoft are closing with each update, yes, it is. You really shouldn't need unofficial workarounds for such a basic thing, but whatever, it's not enough to be a deal breaker by itself.

Also, yes, it is. There is no settings toggle to switch to the classic Explorer context menu. Why they chose to make it so obtuse is beyond me. The new context menu is just objectively worse. Some options aren't clearly labeled and it takes more clicks to access some frequently used options.
Interacting with the OS is a means to an end, placing commonly used options behind submenus means you are wasting more time interacting with the OS and less time actually getting shit done. The only job of the OS is to facilitate common tasks and then get out of your way so you can get back to what you were doing quickly and Windows 11 fails at that basic thing.

Like or hate Linus Tech Tips, one of his best quotes is "My operating system should launch my programs, then get the hell out of my way". It is insane to me that a paid operating system shoves ads down your throat, feeds you headlines and splits system settings between the settings app and control panel

 

[Earthshine]

I don't see how having to bypass the stuff via unofficial ways, instead of having a clear option in the UI doesn't ring the alarm bells for you, but you do you. And windows 10 was also not good, we complained back in the day, and same as with windows 11 we were still able to deal with it, but the same way 10 out of the box represented a clear degradation of privacy and user control compared with 7; 11 goes another step into that direction compared with 10.

That said I still use it, and I still consider it garbage that works for my needs.

There are clear options in the UI for several of the things people have complained about.

You don't need to bootlick MS. You clearly like it which is fine. It seems the sentiment here (including mine) is that people aren't comfortable with the unnecessary telemetry.

Personally, I want my operating system to get out of my way when I'm not using it and Windows is constantly hitting me with weird popups

You don't need to fear monger Win11. You clearly don't like it which is fine. As I've already stated, my point was not being fine with telemetry. My point was people bashing Win11 and praising Win10, when Win10 also has telemetry. And also the fact that most people that bash Windows for telemetry are crickets about the data harvesting in 101 other things they use.

I have absolutely ZERO popups happening. That's something on your end.

They constantly change things that don't need to be changed and make them objectively worse by removing functionality. The new start menu no longer has customizable categories or allows you to arrange icons in a grid any way you like, now it's a basic list of shortcuts. The customizability of the Windows 10 start menu was what made it good.
25% of the space is also reserved for a "recommended" section for some reason, which you can turn off with registry hacks but that just leaves a blank space there. There is no way to reclaim that space to use for shortcuts.

Without unofficial workarounds, which Microsoft are closing with each update, yes, it is. You really shouldn't need unofficial workarounds for such a basic thing, but whatever, it's not enough to be a deal breaker by itself.

Also, yes, it is. There is no settings toggle to switch to the classic Explorer context menu. Why they chose to make it so obtuse is beyond me. The new context menu is just objectively worse. Some options aren't clearly labeled and it takes more clicks to access some frequently used options.
Interacting with the OS is a means to an end, placing commonly used options behind submenus means you are wasting more time interacting with the OS and less time actually getting shit done. The only job of the OS is to facilitate common tasks and then get out of your way so you can get back to what you were doing quickly and Windows 11 fails at that basic thing.

There you go again, not knowing the difference between objective and subjective. The new start menu is SUNJECTIVELY worse for you. Get it straight.

Context menu doesnt require a registry hack. Obtuse? Just hold shift while right clicking, genius.

All of your complaints seem to be with cosmetics and "clicks". Nothing you're stating makes Windows 11 "objectively" shit. It's fine if you don't like it, but stop acting like your opinions are the be all end all. I've already pointed out where you're completely wrong about several things soooooo.... yeah. I don't have any of the problems you do. Your complaints are 100% subjective.

Like or hate Linus Tech Tips, one of his best quotes is "My operating system should launch my programs, then get the hell out of my way". It is insane to me that a paid operating system shoves ads down your throat, feeds you headlines and splits system settings between the settings app and control panel

I have ZERO ads or headlines being shoved down my throat. Anyone that does is doing something wrong on their end. There are very few settings in the og control panel that are not in the settings app. And how often does one need to swap back and forth? Do you spend 5 hours a day in the control panel and settings? Most everything is set once and done. Non issue. Not to mention the fact you can simple search for the setting in the start menu. For example simply start typing "taskbar" and it brings up the setting to align the start menu on the left. Don't even have to fully type out the word before it shows up.

Again... people complaining about having to change some settings after the initial installation of Windows. Ya'll acting like you don't need to do that with Linux is hilarious.

I've called out the fear mongering nonsense and have proven my points clear as day. The majority of the complains are 100% subjective. When I refer to fear mongering I am referring to all of the complains OUTSIDE of the telemetry. I do not feel that the telemetry is okay and do think mentioning it is fear mongering. My only point with that end of things is people making comments similar to "Screw Win11 spyware!!! I'm sticking with Win10!", which makes no sense whatsoever given the fact Win10 also has T3H SPI3ZWar3Z.

 

[SecureBoot]

There are clear options in the UI for several of the things people have complained about.



You don't need to fear monger Win11. You clearly don't like it which is fine. As I've already stated, my point was not being fine with telemetry. My point was people bashing Win11 and praising Win10, when Win10 also has telemetry. And also the fact that most people that bash Windows for telemetry are crickets about the data harvesting in 101 other things they use.

I have absolutely ZERO popups happening. That's something on your end.



There you go again, not knowing the difference between objective and subjective. The new start menu is SUNJECTIVELY worse for you. Get it straight.

Context menu doesnt require a registry hack. Obtuse? Just hold shift while right clicking, genius.

All of your complaints seem to be with cosmetics and "clicks". Nothing you're stating makes Windows 11 "objectively" shit. It's fine if you don't like it, but stop acting like your opinions are the be all end all. I've already pointed out where you're completely wrong about several things soooooo.... yeah. I don't have any of the problems you do. Your complaints are 100% subjective.

I don't think you know what fear mongering is. Nothing in any of my posts is trying to make people scared of Windows 11.

Are you really telling me you've never had a popup that days "your computer is going to restart at this time. Would you like to restart now?"

Or applying an update and it takes you through the setup process again?

And any UX designer will tell you that an experience that confuses the user or extends the time it takes to perform an action is an objective problem

 

[cearp]

There are clear options in the UI for several of the things people have complained about.

There is not a way to have the task bar at the top of the screen anymore. It used to be possible via the registry, but not anymore on the most recent versions of 11.
On my work computer I use a tool called ExplorerPatcher to force it to the top, but it's not 100% perfect, I'm sure it contributes to the BSODs I seem to get every so often

Anyway, a small change that is very annoying, and for no apparent reason.

 

[Earthshine]

I don't think you know what fear mongering is. Nothing in any of my posts is trying to make people scared of Windows 11.

Are you really telling me you've never had a popup that days "your computer is going to restart at this time. Would you like to restart now?"

Or applying an update and it takes you through the setup process again?

And any UX designer will tell you that an experience that confuses the user or extends the time it takes to perform an action is an objective problem

I know what it is perfectly well. Going around telling everyone how incredibly SHIT Win11 is, for reasons that are 99% SUBJECTIVE, is fear mongering. Just because you're confused about something doesn't mean everyone else is. That means something is subjective.

There is not a way to have the task bar at the top of the screen anymore. It used to be possible via the registry, but not anymore on the most recent versions of 11.
On my work computer I use a tool called ExplorerPatcher to force it to the top, but it's not 100% perfect, I'm sure it contributes to the BSODs I seem to get every so often

Anyway, a small change that is very annoying, and for no apparent reason.

"There are clear options in the UI for several of the things people have complained about.", does not equate to ALL. Who in the world has their taskbar at the top anyway? Ewwwwwwww!!!! Or on the side like Linux. Double ewwwwwwww! I just keep it at the bottom but hidden. Pops right up whenever I need it. I also prefer taskbar icons/start menu centered rather than on the left like it always was in the past. For me it makes my production FASTER, as opposed to slower as other may feel. It keeps my eyes focused to where I do most work instead of having to look off to the side to see what I want to see. Which is a lot of extra eye movement/strain throughout the day on a 75" screen.

 

[SecureBoot]

I know what it is perfectly well. Going around telling everyone how incredibly SHIT Win11 is, for reasons that are 99% SUBJECTIVE, is fear mongering. Just because you're confused about something doesn't mean everyone else is. That means something is subjective.



"There are clear options in the UI for several of the things people have complained about.", does not equate to ALL. Who in the world has their taskbar at the top anyway? Ewwwwwwww!!!! Or on the side like Linux. Double ewwwwwwww! I just keep it at the bottom but hidden. Pops right up whenever I need it. I also prefer taskbar icons/start menu centered rather than on the left like it always was in the past. For me it makes my production FASTER, as opposed to slower as other may feel. It keeps my eyes focused to where I do most work instead of having to look off to the side to see what I want to see. Which is a lot of extra eye movement/strain throughout the day on a 75" screen.

What in my post indicated anything other than "this is my opinion and how I feel"?

In your response just now to cearp it seems like you are belittling other people's preferences which seems to go against how you are arguing against other people. For example, having taskbar in the left helps you landmark where the mouse is, or go to open a program without looking at all because you can drag your mouse to the very bottom left and click rather than having to track it to the bottom center.

And there are plenty of reasons to want a taskbar to the side or top. I have a 32:9 monitor and a taskbar on the side means it is truly out of my vision giving me more vertical space to work with. Taskbar on the top can be helpful for vertically stacked monitors. Someone might even have a visual preference that is different to yours (crazy I know)

The point is. Options were removed from windows 11 that were available in windows 10. There is an argument to be made that Windows 11 doesn't really offer any compelling upgrades to windows 10 that make the switch worth it depending on what kind of user you are

I can speak personally that my computing experience has only gotten worse since upgrading.

 

[cearp]

"There are clear options in the UI for several of the things people have complained about.", does not equate to ALL. Who in the world has their taskbar at the top anyway?

Using the monitor I use, I want the task bar at the top. It's annoying when something like that changes, Microsoft's reason being "simplification", when a user may have been using it that way for 10, 15, 20 years!
Fine to change the UI defaults I guess (like centering the start button etc), but don't actually take things away.

Nice that with the open source OSes you have much more control of the UI, and can keep it looking like you're in the 1990s if you want to

I believe it's a bigger picture of things getting "worse" / more locked down, like how it's hard to get full control over your mac computer whereas a few years ago it wasn't, google making sideloading stuff harder...
Microsoft and Apple are trying to make their desktop OS more touch friendly and less "complicated", and of course that's going to be at the expense of power users.


---
With any luck they'll return it back - this recent post says the task bar thing is one of the most requested features haha

Last, if you prefer an official solution, you can submit feedback through the Feedback Hub app in Windows 11. Microsoft has acknowledged this as one of the most requested features, but there’s no timeline for its return.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/a...ant-i-move-the-task-bar-to-the-top-of-the-scr

 

[Earthshine]

With any luck they'll return it back - this recent post says the task bar thing is one of the most requested features haha

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/a...ant-i-move-the-task-bar-to-the-top-of-the-scr

Perhaps one of these will work better for you for moving the taskbar to the top and maybe also get rid of the crashes possibly caused by explorer patcher?

https://github.com/dremin/RetroBar
https://www.startallback.com/

 

[bonkmaykr]

You mean downgrading?

 

[Earthshine]

You mean downgrading?

I'll take Win11 over Win10 any time, any day. For me personally it's been far more responsive, I like the majority of the changes and added features (many things like auto hdr, snap layouts, explorer tabs, etc.) , and I have not had a single BSOD since installing 11 upon release. I can't say the same about 10. Not even close. At the end of the day, it's all down to personal choice/opinion.

 

[Fabax01]

Retail windows is in a downward spiral ever since the release of Vista/7, which, to be honest, are "pretty good" even if a bit bloated with Aero... (Biggest sin was breaking Directsound3d & Directdraw)
I run 7 ("Thin PC", so embedded based) on an old Aspire One 722 netbook and it's enough for my needs - "Edge Enterprise" is your friend.
Windows 8 & 10 are "passable" enough for modern UEFI only PCs (Intel Macs from 2012 onward)
On a work device I had to use Windows 10 and IMHO it was so damn bloated.
But it's nothing compared to Windows 11... What an awful OS. At least the TPM requirement saves people with old PCs with having an auto update to this piece of shit. Just do the ESU trick and stay on 10.
NOTE:
Unless, like, you need modern software (just use latest retail Win10 then...) Enterprise LTSB 2016 is the "best" Windows 10 version, before they broke old fullscreen games with their "exclusive mode optimization" and bloated the OS even more. A friend runs it on Atom+SSD and it is near Win7+HDD speeds. I also tested it on my netbook (we're talking sub / around 1ghz speeds) and found it acceptable enough.
You can run latest Firefox ESR this way - just use a decent lightweight AV suite like paid Spybot or disable defender with Defender control - else your CPU gets hammered hard and you can't do shit.
---
Server editions? (Note: not for the faint of heart - everything runs as an admin with no UAC by default)
Now that's another story - Server 2025, which I installed for a friend, is good!
One-use product keys are cheap, no TPM requirements and runs like a champ on an old Bulldozer machine.
For some god unknown reason MS chose to bundle the Bluetooth stack on the server editions (??? no really, the hell? Who uses BT of all things in a server environment...) so he games on it with a Series X controller (pad driver on server editions requires manual installation, transplanting files from a windows 10 machine, iirc it was detailed on a blog post by a Chinese person)
One small change between Server & Consumer editions of windows is the DEP policy which defaults to ALL on the former and ONLY OS on the latter - to be honest, you should use ALL even in consumer windows, but older programs can crash if DEP is applied indiscriminately so a "bcdedit.exe /set nx optin" may be necessary.
MTP (If I remember correctly it wasn't available before, last time I checked was with server 2012 r2) also works, so you can connect and manage smartphones by USB.
Obviously, expect some software to bitch about (not many... only had to help with a HP printer setup) and refuse to install. As long as you're smart (unpack installer, install driver files manually or edit setup script) enough you can bypass everything. No issues since the install (dec. 2024) elsewise I would've gotten a phone call