Staying with W8 was not an option as there are no longer any security updates for it. If you are having problems with software not running on W10 then that is for the software provider to sort out, not Microsoft.

I hated Windows 8 more than any OS I have ever run, switched to 8.1 as soon as it was available because of the normal start menu and I prefer Windows 10 over both of them, can't comment on Windows 11 as my hardware is not up to the job.

In reply to a post by dect:

I hated Windows 8 more than any OS I have ever run, switched to 8.1 as soon as it was available because of the normal start menu and I prefer Windows 10 over both of them, can't comment on Windows 11 as my hardware is not up to the job.
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Totally agree, I installed it and was back on W7 pro within a week. I left W10 alone for about a year before installing it and its the best OS MS produced IMO. I'm running W11 on a couple of machines but don't nothing to get excited about.

I installed W11 on a couple of old PCs to 11 using Rufus...out of interest not necessity

In reply to a post by gomezz:

Staying with W8 was not an option as there are no longer any security updates for it. If you are having problems with software not running on W10 then that is for the software provider to sort out, not Microsoft.

Windows 8 is end of life sadly, so yes security updates is a problem now. I meant Software not running on Windows 8 became a problem.
As a test, a few months ago I reinstalled Windows 8 on my PC and so much of my software would just not install.
UI on Windows 8 was awful, but as I said that was easy to solve with third party software, I used start is back, in fact I still use the updated version of start is back on Windows 10 as I hate the tiles start menu on Windows 10.
I found Windows 8/8.1 ran smoother than Windows 7 on my then AMD bulldozer machine. Windows 11 seem to feel the same way, the OS just seems more fluid and responsive than Windows 10.
I kind of like windows 11, there are some things that could be better, like being able to get rid of the large gap on the start menu when recommended section is turned off or the multiple search boxes.

At the end of the day it makes little difference now, Windows 8 is end of life and if you are worried about the lack of updates then yes you have to change, I know a couple of people who are still using Windows 7, and they still have no intention to change, myself for what they use their computers for and the age of the machine I would put a Linux distro on them, something like Mint, but up to them at the end of the day.

In reply to a post by dect:

I hated Windows 8 more than any OS I have ever run, switched to 8.1 as soon as it was available because of the normal start menu and I prefer Windows 10 over both of them, can't comment on Windows 11 as my hardware is not up to the job.

A few third party start menus were around to get rid of the start screen on Windows 8, start is back, and classic start were two, made Windows 8 work more or less like Windows 7, but had better memory management, which is why I think Windows 8 worked far better on my old AMD bulldozer based machine than Windows 7 did.
I liked Windows 7, but there was just something about it that it seemed to not be smooth when using multiple software and opening windows.

What do you mean your hardware is not up to the job of Windows 11? If you mean it doesn't meet MS recommendations, That means very little unless it is real old hardware, but if it will run Windows 10 it will most likely run Windows 11. I put Windows 11 on my Ryzen R7 1700 based machine, I used Rufus to make an image, that changes the installation to allow it to be installed. MS thinks my CPU is not good enough to run windows 11 and yet the machine does. Rufus will also get rid of the need for TPM and other stuff, the latest one also bypass the need for a Windows account.

https://www.ghacks.net/2022/03/04/rufus-3-18-adds-su...

I put Windows 11 on my brother's computer and that is not supposed to be able to run it and yet been running it fine for nearly a year now.

I heard someone has it running on a old AMD dual-core CPU. I may have a muck around at some point and see if it will run on my old AMD bulldozer cpu, that is if I can find the board, it is somewhere around here in a box with CPU and memory still attached.

I did a rufus install on an AMD Phenom, no problems.

So whats the story these days regarding licencing for Windows 11? I've got some new hardware coming soon thats destined for my pfsense firewall that I wouldn't mind putting Windows 11 on for a few months to see if its worth considering as possible a long term solution for another project.

A proper licence is around £100-150

https://www.scan.co.uk/shop/computer-hardware/micros...

There are of course plenty of places that will sell you a dodgy licence key for £20, not recommended.

In reply to a post by dect:

So whats the story these days regarding licencing for Windows 11? I've got some new hardware coming soon thats destined for my pfsense firewall that I wouldn't mind putting Windows 11 on for a few months to see if its worth considering as possible a long term solution for another project.

As andynormancx said, you can buy a licence direct from Ms or other providers. There are also places that sell them cheap, he calls them dodgy, but not all of them. I got one for my brother a couple of years ago. By all accounts they buy them from companies that got them for a job lot or something from MS and find they don't need them, or something like that, MS are not happy about it, but it is not illegal.
You may also be able to buy a OEM version of Windows 10 cheap and then update to 11 using that key, but again only the OEM version.

You can run Windows 11 without a key, but you will not be able to customize it

Hardly worth buying a licence just to evaluate Windows 11.