An author examined how easy it is to set up Windows. However, as the operating system gets younger, it becomes more extensive.
Taras Buria, a writer at Neowin.net, has explored in an article how extensive the setup of a Windows operating system is: He tested all systems from Windows Vista to Windows 11.
The setup of the popular operating system has changed significantly in the past 20 years, and not for the better. Buria describes today’s experience “as having to fend off an annoying salesperson rather than quickly making basic settings before getting to the desktop.”
The Steam Machine from Valve, by the way, does without the Windows operating system. We have embedded the trailer here for you:
Setting up Windows Vista took a few clicks, while Windows 11 is anything but user-friendly
How long does setup take? The very old systems Windows Vista and 7 can be set up relatively quickly and easily: You need no more than 5 or 6 clicks, apart from entering the username and password once. Windows Vista dates back to 2006, which is now nearly 20 years ago.
From Windows 8 onward, the number of pages and settings rises to 8, but most features can be disabled and/or rely on so-called opt-in: You must consciously decide to activate certain features. There is no obligation here.
From Windows 10 onward, Microsoft uses significantly sharper methods for setting up its operating system: There are fewer options than in Windows 8, but all features are enabled by default, which is not optimal in terms of privacy. However, you can still disable most settings.
What about Windows 11? Windows 11, on the other hand, significantly expands the scope of pages and advertisements: In total, there are 18 pages with many features, advertisements, and poorly placed buttons, making it possible for you to accept things you may not have wanted. The declination of certain features is also hidden behind additional pages.
As a bonus, the advertisements for certain Microsoft products in Windows 11 are ubiquitous after setup: You will find references to Game Pass, the Edge browser, and Microsoft 365 in many places in your system. Even useful features are reportedly undermined by advertisements, and a rejection is hidden behind several sub-pages.
What does the community say? Users in a Reddit thread, also draw a similar conclusion as the author, where the analysis is discussed. Many users recommend various tools to clean up Windows 11 and remove annoying notifications.
Recommendations include “Windows 11 Debloater” or “Chris Titus Tech’s Windows Utility,” with which one can free their Windows installation from a lot of clutter. Another alternative: replacing Windows with Linux, which, however, is not always the easiest way.
Windows 10 has officially been dead for several months now, yet millions still have the old operating system installed and now face a new problem: The rising hardware prices make switching to new hardware neither easier nor cheaper: Millions of users still have the old Windows 10 installed on their PCs and now face a new problem
