Dell Precision / Windows 11 information

Microsoft has given a date of October 5 for the Windows 11 final release.
https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2021/08/31/windows-11-available-on-october-5/

Availability to upgrade older systems (through Windows Update) will not necessarily be immediate. They will be starting with new PCs and increasing scope through mid-2022.

Support for running Android apps will not be available at launch.
https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/31/22650000/microsoft-windows-11-android-apps-support

The situation on which if any updates will be made available to "unsupported" PCs remains up in the air. I saw a lot more articles on it yesterday and Microsoft is, so far, not offering clarification.

 

Today —
Microsoft is booting PCs that don't meet the requirements out of the Windows 11 insider program and recommending that they go back to Windows 10. (Not clear if they will actually be withholding future builds/updates. There is currently nothing other than a message popping up.)
https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/1/22651851/microsoft-windows-11-testing-pcs-requirements-changes

 

More updates today —

The Windows Insider Preview dev channel has moved up to build 22449, which is higher than the Windows 11 final build 22000. If you want to move towards the Windows 11 final release, you should be on the beta channel.

Microsoft has clarified that PCs enrolled in the Windows 11 dev channel that do not meet the base requirements for Windows 11 will not be able to move up to builds higher than 22000. These PCs will continue to receive cumulative updates offered to the beta channel until Windows 11's final release on October 5. What happens after that is still ambiguous. Microsoft's official line is that you will be expected to go back to Windows 10 via full reinstall. They've actually started sending out emails to insider program members about this. PCs that fail the CPU and/or TPM requirements but otherwise meet the Windows 11 requirements may stay on the beta channel (for now).

 

i7-7820HQ is added to Win11 list, but the same architecture and more powerful E3-1535M v6 is not included

 

The general thinking is that Microsoft added this CPU to the list because it is used in their Surface Studio 2 system, which was released in 2018 but is still on sale :-\
Though there is a caveat that it is only supported if the system uses all DCH drivers, which I do not think is the case with the Precision 7X20.

 

The one I recommended for our 7550's is there: i9-10885H. Wait... let me hit Post Reply before I have to pat myself on the back.

Homer

 

Windows 11 is now generally available (...as the time rolls around to midnight/October 5 in your region).

You can upgrade through Windows Update on supported systems (as Microsoft rolls it out to you) —


Or you can download the installation media to attempt an upgrade on any system.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows11

I've had a change in tune on my end. I previously posted that I would be upgrading my "daily driver" personal system at or shortly before release. However, after weighing things out, I changed my mind... This is the first Windows release that I will not be upgrading to immediately since Windows XP. I think that it is rushed to market in order to make it for the holiday shopping season, and the feedback period was too short for feedback to be seriously addressed. (Windows 11 was in preview for around 3 months... Prior releases spent at least 9 months in preview.) There are feature regressions in core areas like the Start Menu and Taskbar. There's an Alt+Tab issue that I ran into when testing on my M6700 which still needs to be fixed. I will be waiting at least a few months, to see how third parties step in to fill the gap, and to see if Microsoft addresses any of what users are complaining about in monthly updates or newer Insider builds. However, I am still using Windows 11 in test environments to get a feel for it, and I will be sticking around to support other users who want to upgrade now.

I'll update the front post and post additional information over the next day or so as information becomes available. Outstanding things that I am paying close attention to:
* How is Dell supporting Windows 11 in the Precision line? (Shipping on current systems / posting updated drivers.)
* What is the experience like for users running Windows 11 on "unsupported" CPUs?
(We'll find out next week if Microsoft is serious about withholding updates, or if that is just bluster.)

 

Windows 11 Pro can now be selected on (at least some) current Dell Precision systems when placing an order. They're not offering Windows 11 Pro for Workstations (yet?) so you have to get Windows 10 if you are ordering a system with a Xeon CPU. (You can just upgrade to Windows 11 after receipt in any case.) Windows 10 is still the default option.

Not seeing any specific driver support for Windows 11 just yet on the support pages.

 

I came here today when I just noticed my 7710 failed win11 compatibility check because of my e3-1535m v5 CPU from 2015. I didn't even know there was a win11. I've been away from this forum too long.

I'll plan to continue with win10 until 2025 or whenever they cutoff security updates to it. I might be ready for next laptop around that time anyway or maybe I'll do the regedit to ignore CPU when upgrading. I wonder if using that regedit "ignore TPMorCPU" if we still get security updates in win11. Or maybe I'll get a new laptop and then install linux on the 7710! That would be cool.

I think I'll try upgrading a VMware guest to WIN11, just to see what it's like. I'll use the regedit ignore TPMorCPU in the VM because the guest vm shows same CPU as the host (laptop).

 

This system should be fine with Windows 11. My general recommendation would be to wait until Microsoft starts offering it broadly (2Q 2022) or later though before attempting an upgrade, unless you would just like to tinker and are aware that going back to Windows 10, if you should need to, could require a clean install.

Security updates —
Right now, systems with "unsupported CPUs" are still getting Windows 11 security updates (confirmed after the first patch releases yesterday). The expectation is that this will continue. Microsoft is being pretty quiet about what the experience running Windows 11 on "unsupported hardware" will be like and they're doing everything that they can to discourage it. Though, they did publish that official documentation about how to bypass the requirements, so people will be doing it. I imagine that there'd be a moderate uproar if they denied security updates to any licensed system running Windows 11 (meeting requirements or not), given that the new requirements that they have put in place for Windows 11 are largely artificial.

Yearly feature upgrades will probably not come automatically to unsupported systems. Each version of Windows 11 will be supported for two years on Home/Pro editions and three years on Enterprise/Education editions. That "end of support" timer will reset with each new feature upgrade; these will be released yearly, in the fall. Users with unsupported hardware will probably need to take manual action to upgrade to each one. (This won't be confirmed until we see what Microsoft does with the first feature upgrade in about a year.)

A VM is a perfect way to experiment with Windows 11. I'm running a Windows 11 instance in VMware Workstation on my Precision M6700 and there hasn't been any issue with that. If you want to set up a new VM, you can just use the ISO image from Microsoft. Windows 7/8/10 product keys work.