Concern About Windows 11 ver. 24H2 Update

[hlewton]

I get a newsletter that advises against installing Windows 11 version 24H2 when it is offered. It goes as far as advising to install a utility called In-Control I'm not sure what do.

This app allows one to enter the Windows number like Windows 10 or Windows 11 by just entering 10 or 11. Then you enter the version you want to keep running, i.e. ver. 23H2. What are your thoughts? I thought Microsoft always gave us the option of whether or not to install major updates? Has this option been eliminated? Should I install this app to keep version 23H2 installed? Any advice here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[StuartR]

Do you know WHY your newsletter makes this recommendation. Windows 11 24H2 is not yet available to normal users, so it's hard to be sure what issues it might have, if any.

[hlewton]

Do you know WHY your newsletter makes this recommendation. Windows 11 24H2 is not yet available to normal users, so it's hard to be sure what issues it might have, if any.

As per Susan Bradley,

Why do I recommend holding off on 24H2? Most of its major changes are exclusive to Copilot+ PCs, which became available only a few months ago. The vast majority of users do not have such a PC and thus do not need to rush to 24H2. For the most part, I’m seeing only dribbled changes, most of which are insignificant. One potentially significant improvement is the ability to share content to your Android device, but this is also coming to Windows 11 23H2 in the September security updates.

There is more to the article but this, I guess, is her reason.

[HansV]

AskWoody ALWAYS predicts that the sky will fall and recommends delaying updates. While I don't think 24H2 will have much to offer to standard users, I don't think delaying it has much value. It wont hurt either.

24H2 will be released very gradually - it may be weeks or months before it is offered to you.

[stuck]

This is just Susan Bradley being her usual super cautious self. She consistently advocates delaying all updates but you have to remember that she her advice is primarily targeted at small businesses that have limited IT support staff.

In that context, unless the sky really is falling (in which case Susan will say patch asap), some caution in applying updates makes some sense. If an update causes problems, meaning the small company's IT gets stuffed, then with limited IT support the monetary impact on the business could be significant. Whereas by waiting a short time to hear the update is 'safe' then the impact on the business is likely to be minimal. For regular home users, a badly behaved update will cause disruption but that disruption is not likely to be costing you real money.

On the other hand, not updating as soon as updates are released means your PC is unprotected against publicly known security risks, meaning the Bad Guys^TM might get you.

Only you can decide what level of risk you are prepared to carry.

Ken

[hlewton]

AskWoody ALWAYS predicts that the sky will fall and recommends delaying updates. While I don't think 24H2 will have much to offer to standard users, I don't think delaying it has much value. It wont hurt either.

24H2 will be released very gradually - it may be weeks or months before it is offered to you.

Thank you. I was thinking the same thing but just wanted check what others thought.

[hlewton]

This is just Susan Bradley being her usual super cautious self. She consistently advocates delaying all updates but you have to remember that she her advice is primarily targeted at small businesses that have limited IT support staff.

In that context, unless the sky really is falling (in which case Susan will say patch asap), some caution in applying updates makes some sense. If an update causes problems, meaning the small company's IT gets stuffed, then with limited IT support the monetary impact on the business could be significant. Whereas by waiting a short time to hear the update is 'safe' then the impact on the business is likely to be minimal. For regular home users, a badly behaved update will cause disruption but that disruption is not likely to be costing you real money.

On the other hand, not updating as soon as updates are released means your PC is unprotected against publicly known security risks, meaning the Bad Guys^TM might get you.

Only you can decide what level of risk you are prepared to carry.

Ken

I know what you're saying and I am not much of a risk taker. When updates do cause me problems, I have to seek outside help in fixing them. That's the sad part in all this to me. Thanks for your reply.

[JoeP]

Susan generally separates her advice between business and personal users. She is very cautious about installing fixes and upgrades. I've been running the pre-release version of 24H2 since the end of May without any issues. I've also applied each month's cumulative update immediately without an issue. I've not spent much time with Copilot and do not have a Copilot+PC but everything else seems to running just fine. I don't notice any changes in my day-to-day PC "adventures".

My advice is to just take it when Windows Update wants to install it. Besides Microsoft gradually releasing 24H2, they will also be releasing various features on their own schedule.

[hlewton]

Susan generally separates her advice between business and personal users. She is very cautious about installing fixes and upgrades. I've been running the pre-release version of 24H2 since the end of May without any issues. I've also applied each month's cumulative update immediately without an issue. I've not spent much time with Copilot and do not have a Copilot+PC but everything else seems to running just fine. I don't notice any changes in my day-to-day PC "adventures".

My advice is to just take it when Windows Update wants to install it. Besides Microsoft gradually releasing 24H2, they will also be releasing various features on their own schedule.

Thanks for this advice, I appreciate it.

[JoeP]

Also, with any major update you should make an image backup of your system before starting the update process. If something goes wrong, you can recover.

[hlewton]

Also, with any major update you should make an image backup of your system before starting the update process. If something goes wrong, you can recover.

I purchases Macrium Reflect a couple years ago for that reason but never got used to using it, at least not correctly.

[JoeP]

I think it is prudent to do an image backup before a major update. You should take the time to figure out how to use Macrium. I'm sure someone here can help if you have specific questions.

[hlewton]

I think it is prudent to do an image backup before a major update. You should take the time to figure out how to use Macrium. I'm sure someone here can help if you have specific questions.

Thank you, I believe I I looked at a tutorial once and wasn't sure if I should create a clone of my hard drive or an image. You may just have answered that question for me. Thank you.