Forced Update to Win11

[Damo]

Hi.

Our IT nerds have recently informed me that they will shortly begin rolling out mandatory "upgrades" to Win11 for all machines across our national network.
Something to do with "Microsoft is phasing out support for Windows 10 due to its end-of-life status."
I am the ONLY SW user in our national corporate network and they (our IT goons) have little-to-no experience with SW.
I don't have a lot of say in what they will do but I am curious if anyone here has any personal experience from any nasty side effects of this change and if you have any insight/advice I may be able to offer these clowns before they potentially break my stuff.
I am currently running WIN10 Business 22H2 quite happily with SW 2014, 2016, 2022, & 2024.
That last, 2024, is currently only in limited use atm while I can assure myself it is not buggier than the very stable 2022SP5 I am currently very happy using as my daily drive.

Thank you.

[zxys001]

Hello Damo, you shouldn't have any issues, imho. I've done 3 upgrades from Win8.1, Win9 and Win10 with SW installed. BUT, for SW2014 and SW2016, you may need to run in "Compatibility Mode" if not aready?

[Damo]

Ah ok.. Cool.
I get nervous about that. I have not yet ever updated WIN OS without it being an actual all new machine with clean fresh install.
I've had issues with updating Solidworks to newer versions causing issues and I had to wonder.
I've even had issues with simple graphics drivers updating..

Good tip about the Compatibility mode. I do not need it so far. But... yes maybe...
Thanks Paul

Also...

...Win9 ...

...!?

[SPerman]

I upgraded a Windows 10 machine to Windows 11 with SW 2023 installed. There were no issues. Your IT goons are correct. Running an OS that no longer receives security update is creating a threat risk for no good reason. Windows 11 has been around for several years and is as robust as it can be in the age of "agile" programming.

As far as WS versions go, it is all a crap shoot. Upgrading from 2022 to 2023 fixed some bugs, but created others. So far in my very limited use of 2024, I haven't noticed any difference from 2023. It crashed on me yesterday while switching parts. Crashing randomly for no good reason is SOP for SW in my book, so no surprises there. Just more frustration.

[AlexLachance]

Most likely you'll get less issues with the more recent versions because it'll be more 'compatible' but you might get some issues with older versions such as 2014 and 2016.

[Damo]

Cool.
General consensus appears to imply I can anticipate a smooth trouble free transition.
After some of the experiences I've had from updating SW...

Cheers guys.

[rothers]

We run 2016 in Windows 11, it works fine. No need for compatibility mode.

[Uncle_Hairball]

There are two noteworthy problems with Win11:
1. It runs SW noticeably slower than Win10,
2. File management (in Winders) is massively more cumbersome because Microsoft broke Windows Explorer's Quick Access. Now you have to click through the file structure instead of using shortcuts.

#2 is much more of a problem than you would think and far more important than #1. Pay attention to how often you have to go through the file structure every day. In Win11, you'll have to start at the root and click your way to the folder you want for EVERY FILE. Very, very time consuming.

I recently had I.T. wipe my Solidworks machine and reinstall Win10 because of these two problems.

[dave.laban]

For your #2 I think there's a hotfix for PDM that might help you; https://support.hawkridgesys.com/hc/en- ... Vault-View

Certainly on Win11 I don't have any issues with Quick Access.

[SPerman]

I didn't notice any difference in speed when I upgraded my machine from W10 to W11. At that time I was on SW2023 SP5, PDM 2023.

[Stefan Sterk]

For me Quick Access does works fine on Win11.

[AlexLachance]

Our users on Windows 11 have no issue with either speed or Quick access either.

[Damo]

There are two noteworthy problems with Win11:
1. It runs SW noticeably slower than Win10,
2. File management (in Winders) is massively more cumbersome because Microsoft broke Windows Explorer's Quick Access. Now you have to click through the file structure instead of using shortcuts.

#2 is much more of a problem than you would think and far more important than #1. Pay attention to how often you have to go through the file structure every day. In Win11, you'll have to start at the root and click your way to the folder you want for EVERY FILE. Very, very time consuming.

I recently had I.T. wipe my Solidworks machine and reinstall Win10 because of these two problems.

Cheers Unc.

As for #2, I never use quick access, so this won't bother me at all. (I haven't used the Navigation Pane since Windows Vista.)

For me I think #1 would be my biggest issue. I struggle enough with how long SW takes to do some things even now and I have a fairly decent machine.

[Damo]

I didn't notice any difference in speed when I upgraded my machine from W10 to W11. At that time I was on SW2023 SP5, PDM 2023.

This is promising. Tho, I don't use 2023. (I may skip right past it..) My daily drive is 2022SP5.0 ... My latest version (Which I am still trialling) is 2024SP2.0

Do you know if that matters..?

[Damo]

Our users on Windows 11 have no issue with either speed or Quick access either.

Sweet.
What version are you running in your team.?

[SPerman]

This is promising. Tho, I don't use 2023. (I may skip right past it..) My daily drive is 2022SP5.0 ... My latest version (Which I am still trialling) is 2024SP2.0

Do you know if that matters..?

Well, if you believe some of the VAR's, every update comes with huge increases in speed.

[AlexLachance]

Sweet.
What version are you running in your team.?

We're on 2023 SP4. Thinking about perhaps moving the team to 2024 SP5 in the next month.

[Glenn Schroeder]

Our IT department updated my computer to Windows 11 a few weeks ago. I was apprehensive (because I'm old, and always apprehensive about new things), but I've been pleased with it. I especially like the ability to have multiple file explorer tabs open in a single window, instead of multiple windows.

[Damo]

Well, if you believe some of the VAR's, every update comes with huge increases in speed.

I would double check my VAR if they told me the sky was blue. I swear they're like telemarketers, just reading from script in hopes to gain commision from sales.