Windows 10 fresh install - What gives?

It's fresh - fresh - exciting. Uh, maybe? Let's see. Here's my review of Windows 10 Build 1084 after a fresh install, including account setup and configuration, desktop look & feel, privacy settings, installation of alternative software to default Microsoft application and associated annoyances, how to disable Windows Defender, Cortana, OneDrive, and telemetry, other observations, and more. Enjoy.

https://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/windows-10-fresh-install.html


Cheers,
Mrk

 

Thanks, very enlightening.
As to startups and regedit, wouldn't Autoruns work as well?

 

Well that's an option - but not everyone uses that, whereas registry is there in all the use cases.
Mrk

 

I really like the way you write

Do you use a script to configure Windows 10? Please share.

 

I only have a single win10 system, so no scripting.
Mrk

 

Thanks Mrkvonic...

 

Nicely worded, nicely done, once again. The more things change, the more they really are the same. It just takes a little more time and effort to do all the fishing. Thanks.

 

M$ always "fixes" these fixes.

 

Thank you, oh thank you, thank you!

Having OneDrive in Windows Explorer after I've used REVO Uninstaller to uninstall it has been bugging me for the longest time.

 

@zapjb, you can always use IFEO to block stuff from running.
Mrk

 

With 10 they truly have lost all touch with user base.

This brief is a huge help on many levels for different users, and yet another good reason 10 is set aside. Who on earth wants to spend gobbles of time and eye gouging effort pulling out tons of unneeded items, changing multiple settings, blocking everything that can be blocked all the time. Folks (this includes businesses too) just want a relatively tame and calm computing experience as much as what they enjoyed before this new New. Color me amazed @Mrkvonic swerves to give us Windows head's a little breathing space and some always helpful tips!

 

Your pain is my pain.
Mrk

 

Truer words were ever spoken. For a business as popular and heavy on spending, you would think by now they would have got more right then wrong. But the "fixes" keep rolling on........

 

Businesses can buy license for Enterprise LTSB version.

 

I would like to buy one of those for sure.
Mrk

 

I'm curious - are there any aspects of windows 10 that you guys have found to be improvements over windows 7? Any notable features etc?

 

Not really. Win7 was a major improvement over XP with 64-bit support. Win10 doesn't have any killer features.
I like they added exploit integration inside the system though - that's nice - but the ui needs improvement.
Also, hw has remained pretty steady for the last 6-7 years, so there's not much happening.
Mrk

 

if the defender service is disabled, does that disable the exploit mitigations as well?

 

Except for the Windows Explorer, Start Menu and Taskbar.

It comes with the most sophisticated telemetry system in the world
Microsoft calls it "telemetry" because data mining / spyware / malware / trojan horse don't sound very good even to inexperienced users.

 

You mean Vista.

 

There are many small improvements in security. In Win 7 lsass process could be interacted with in a way that would reveal hashes of passwords even by non-administrator processes. It was hardened in 8 or 8.1.

Win32k.sys lockdown introduced in Windows 8 is also an improvement. Chrome/Chromium uses that.

DirectX 12 (but I prefer Vulkan API that can be used by Windows 7, 8.1 and Gnu/Linux users) is also an improvement, but only if you:
1. Play newer games
2. Have compatible graphics card

 

@Joxx, I meant win7 - vista was a middle of the road solution, although:
https://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/windows-vista-best.html

@chrome_sturmen, no, the two are independent.

Mrk

 

I remember that article
I started using Vista after SP1, and what a visual treat it was compared to XP. Plus it was, by then, stable and the compatibility issues were mostly solved. I used it for 5 years with no issues, no crashes, all updates going smoothly; I still remember it as the OS.

 

improvements over Win7:

- hybrid boot
- better Windows Updates delivery (no eternal loops anymore).
- Windows Defender
- patchguard
- Appcontainer
- Control Flow Guard
- Exploit Guard
- Controlled Folders
- etc..etc...etc...

In term of security, Win7 is way but way behind, you can't compare it to Win10.
now about usability, maybe for some Win7 seems better, but for me, Win10 is as good, i don't have issues navigating.

 

1. Hybrid boot - good feature, but nowadays not so important because of SSDs. You could also sleep or hibernate Windows before. It is also advised to disable HB for people who dualboot Gnu/Linux and Windows and want to access Windows partition from Gnu/Linux.
2. WU - maybe it is better in some areas, but it also can interrupt your work.
3. WD - not important for users of other AV software or who don't want any AV.
4. Wasn't it introduced in Windows Vista 64-bit or even earlier - unpopular XP 64-bit?

Another security feature I see in Win 10 is running dwm.exe (Desktop Window Manager) on separate user account.