OT - New Computer WIN 11 Pro Questions
Starkdog
Posts: 162
Hello All, I just purchased a new build house, and am moving in. Unfortunately, there is a lot of mold/mildew in my old apartment, and everytrhing smells musty and funky. As such, I'm throwing out a bunch of items that I cannot clean properly. I am looking to get a new computer, as it will take quite a bit of time to quarentine and clean out my old machine (GTX 1070 card). As much as I'd like to keep WIN 10, it appears that WIN 11 is what i'll have to get on a new machine. I'll order it with WIN 11 PRO, just so that I have better level of control on updates, settings, and such. My question is, does anyone have a proper WIN 11 setup guide, or recommend a YouTube video on setting up WIN 11 PRO without all the bloat and gasrbage? Whatever i find is very basic, rudimentasry information.
Thanks, -David
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I just bought a Win11 laptop with a RTX4090 card and jumped cold turkey into that version of Windows. With a few exceptions, I have found it pretty intuitive. Didn't think of a YouTube video. That is smart, it might have helped my frustration level on those few little things. I did find them finally and I like Win 11.
Not knowing how big your runtime is, don't underestimate your drive size for it. I bought a 4Tb and had to go back and bought a 14Tb pretty quick and started over transferring downloaded zip files from a Win10 DIM download drive. Saved me my internet usage.
Edit: clarify
The Winareo site has a number of useful guides for cleaning up Win11 such as this one for disabling ads. They do offer their own utility to make tweaks easier but they also provide descriptions how to use Win11's Settings app to do the same thing and even direct Registry tweaks if you're feeling brave.
If you methodically go through Win11's Settings page by page you can accomplish most of what you need to do, their guides just point you in the right direction. Note that various web sites may have information which applies to older versions of Win11 so watch out for descriptions that don't quite match up with your current version. However, there are other utilities for tweaking Win11 out there which work fine and hopefully other users will chime in with their favorites.
Good luck!
For mold & mildew with spray with a borax solution, not bleach, and then scrub with a scrub brush, vacuum up with a wet vac, and then again spray with a borax solution and let dry. Repeat 2 or 3 times if needed. The borax in a solution is asborbed by wood, brick, concrete, and stone and is anti-fungal/anti-mold/anti-mildew and stops new growth and spores from growing. My asthma symptoms are massively reduced since I did all that. You then must find and repair the leaks causing the dampness. Don't bother with bleach and such - as they don't remain embedded in the sprayed material once dry like borax does. A borax solution is best.
I know nothing about YouTube Windows 11 setup guides but I will say this, having witnessed home consumer grade security flaws firsthand. Criminals are stubbornly persistent even when it's apparent that their ROI is going to be massively negative. I guess it's their ego won't let them cut their losses. Still you don't want to have to waste your time dealing with them either.:
a) I recommend you use a Yubi Security Key with an online Windows account. It makes new Windows installs across multiple devices so easy.
b) Additionally use 2FA app from Google for sites that don't use a Yubi Security Key (which is most sites)
c) Don't use Wi-Fi but use cat 8 ethernet cables instead and unplug everytime you walk away from your computer. Don't configure a WiFi password even. Hackers edit Windows/Windows certificates to leave WiFi always on but look like it's off / disconnected when you connect/disconnect to WiFi.
d) Pay extra for a modern firewall router that lets you isolate each port on your router into different VLANs. It keeps devices seperate on your local LAN for if one device gets broke into they can't get to other devices on the LAN. I am now using a Cisco Meraki Firewall Plus GX50 at $333 USD but they have a cheaper option at $125 USD. Those are really good if you are not interested in studying network security and want to buy something that just actually works.Also TP-Link and most of the pricier $150 - $200 wifi routers have VLAN subsegment isolation available. Also consider the Cisco Meraki Go Wifi GX12 at about $170 USD for your IOT devices.
e) Buy external USB SSDs for your DAZ 3D products, and other products with a lot of data, eg Unity and UE.
f) Use the internal SSD for only installing Windows and apps, keeping the app data on the external SSDs. Once set up, you then use clonezilla/rufus to clone your known good Windows 11 install to an external USB SSD and use that clean copy regularly (weekly/monthly/whatever/depends on your interests) to overwrite your installed computer system drive and then update that to current, and then clone that updated system drive right back to the external SSD. That way you don't need to do clean installs that can take a while to do.
g) I forgot to mention encrypt your DNS traffic. That function is built into the Cisco Merika Firewall Plus but you do have to create an account with them. If you want a cheaper option the TP Link Archer AC1900 lets you choose one of 3 encrypted DNS services, from TP Link itself, DynDNS, and Google. Again you must create an account.
All those network related security measures should be delivered standard with all consumer grade networking equipment without further effort by the consumer but that is not the case now.
I also pay for a VPN encryption service on top of all that, although I'm probably going to try out another provider. A note on the VPN, because criminals use VPN to cloak their activities some legitimate sites won't accept traffic from some VPN addresses, forcing you to uncloak to use the site, eg many financial and government sites. That is why you need the encryption of your DNS and the subsegmentation of your LAN to isolate platforms from each other, eg, without the platform isolation when my LAN was broke into the criminals tried to break my Amazon Fire TV, Amazon was aware and fixed the flaws the criminals were trying to exploit and the criminals failed to break the Fire TV.
A first to do that seems like a lot of extra work and expense but it reduces work & expense for you in the long run. So just a few hardware changes, software configuration changes, and minor behavioural changes will go a long way to keeping your Windows 11 system current and secure. Taken all together it does get a bit pricey unfortunately at about 1K USD altogether for the extra external SSDs, the firewall, and the Cisco Meraki GX12 WiFi.
I will also say Windows 11 has massively improved in it's security since the first break-in tnto my computer in 2012 so you are making the right choice to upgrade to Windows 11. Also much of the security changes I've made were unaffordable or not even available until the last year or two but now they are there for you at affordable prices. The ethernet cables is the securest and cheapest change you can make. Followed by the unpluggable external SSDs. It's still not a perfect setup though but is very good now.
...I was holding out for Windows 12, which has a target release date of late summer, however with more reports appearing in tech journals, I found out it really isn't what I expected.. The only differences are the move back to the three year schedule for a new version releases (like existed before W10),and it sounds as it it will be more AI based
According to the information I read W12 is also slated to employ what is termed "state separation". which will block off user access to certain core OS functions. Supposedly this is being done for faster updating but not sure (given that AI is involved) if it means users may have less control over updating and removing certain features (like the CoPilot.AI assistant).
Will continue to see how this develops.
https://www.youtube.com/@ChrisTitusTech - he has a video that shows that if you install using the International install then you wont get a lot of bloat. He also has his own paid for tool to debloat windows.
On that note, as a new Win11 user I can tell you that Explorer is buggy and the quicklaunch menu is gone. However, there are some really good fixes
Open Shell - https://open-shell.github.io/Open-Shell-Menu/
This will give you the old style Start Menu and more. I JUST use it for the start menu and set it to have no style so it looks no different then a menu. Simple and clean.
StartAllBack - https://www.startallback.com
This will restore your taskbar to be like the W10 and earlier taskbars, complete with quick launch menus. Also can give you an older start menu.
Both OpenShell and StartAllBack will try to do simular things so you have to go into the options to turn certain things off in each if you plan on using both.
Explorer++ - https://explorerplusplus.com
Opensource freeware replacement for Windows Explorer. Simple with some options
Directory Opus - https://www.gpsoft.com.au - Highly customizable Explorer replacement. $89 AUD price tag, has a 60 day trial, check it out before you say no cause of the price.
and just because...
Floorp - https://floorp.app - Firefox fork. Optimized for speed, has mozilla personal comtributing to the project.
Hello All,
Thank you all for the great advice,especially Nonesuch00 with the Borax solution tips. I can only take about 30 minutes in the apartment with N95 mask before I start massive coughing fits. I've been able to save pots, pans, dishes, most clothing, and several other items. I'll wipe down and donate my furniture, as even if I get it cleaned, I still don't want it in my new house. I'll catch up on a few setup videos and tutorials in anticipation of purchasing a new machine. Still have a lot of expenses to consider too. Also, with the DAZ Holiday sales, I think I might have half the store to download and install via DIM... Will be great to have everything on a clean install on a new and faster machine.
Thanks, -David
Pro has a few quirks Home didn't have. Look for the instructions for setting it up -- and to have the "Cloud" and "Document" folders NOT connected. [otherwise one [i.e. it happened here] one has everything being loaded on the computer in 2 places, removing files from one removes them from both ... and it's a nightmare!] So if not using "cloud" before uninstalling "cloud" find the disconnect instructions. [And it's a system folder so no we can't just delete the cloud folder, a few bits and pieces might still end up there but as long as my programs are working it doesn't matter.]
Also, for whatever reason -- on my rig D/S "had to" be installed outside of the official program folders. [otherwise some security thingie took a fit and wouldn't let D/S write files or whatever]. In not having D/S installed to the official program folders, so far the "only" plug-in for D/S that will not work, period, is HeadShop.
As for the Onedrive, you can always choose which folders you want to back up. See Attached.
Core Isolation is what is stopping Daz from Installing. See Attached. I always use custom install paths for just about everything.
Look for my first post for a tip about using encrypted DNS in case you don't do that already as I edited that post to add that as I forget to mention it earlier.
Interesting thread. I am about to set up a new rig also with Win 11 and dreading it. I don't want any MS features, onedrive, ads, account login or any of that crap so I have been looking at every YT video i can
My favorite Win11 tweak is to set the internet connection to "Metered" but with unlimited data cap. (Settings-->Network & Internet-->Advanced network settings-->Data usage) I do this even for my main system which uses an ethernet cable, not wifi. Setting the connection as metered helps reduce the amount of crap MS tries to load and gives you more control over updates.
Second favorite tweak -- did you know that by default your Win11 (or Win10) computer is automatically enrolled in a Microsoft bit-torrent-like peer-to-peer network? Your system can be accessed by random people around the world to download MS updates. This is called "Delivery Optimization" and saves MS bandwidth but I don't really like the idea of randoms connecting to my computers. MS claims it's all very secure and verified, but we know that MS's programming is not always bullet proof. So to avoid this, go to Settings-->Windows update-->Advanced options-->Delivery optimization and turn off "Allow downloads from other PCs".
You are wrong about Delivery Optimization. True, it is "on" now by default after previously being "off" by default, but it only allows via local lan by default. You must switch it to the other option to allow Internet connections as well. I turn if off for both options: local lan & internet. And it and similar schemes over the years are also why I have started using the firewall / router hardware to isolate nodes from each other on my LAN. Businesses and such are all for saving themselves money by using my tangible resources and my labour for free and those business practices keep leading to all sorts of trouble for me and others.
I think Win 11 is secondary here. If it is making you cough, the mold spores are still airborne.For this, I would get an ozone generator.
You can find these online for about $50 and up. You don't have to spend big bucks but it is worth a go for any items you plan to move into your new home. You dont want to have issues in the new place. Ozone generators will kill mold spores on the surface and can help penetrate fabrics, etc too. I would run it for about an hour every day. Let the ozone do its work then open up the room to outside air for about 30 min before you spend any time in the room, even it it is sub zero. And make sure no pets in the area while using the generator because it can kill the pets too. If you have a good quarantine zone at the new place, you could put that stuff in a closed off room and ozone it every day for a month.
You want to make sure to completely cycle the air after the ozone treatment before you go into the room though because it will kill mold, bacteria, pets, people. Pretty much everything. If you go this route, please read instructions as I am not an abatement specialist.
The ozone generator is a great ideal in tandem with the borax solution, which kills the molds & spores inside surfaces where the ozone cn't penetrate. I am going to check them out & get one myself if I can find one that can handle the 1000 sqft of my basement and another for the 1000 sqft of the groundlevel living quarters. Thanks for that.