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Device drivers, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, Troubleshooting, WED Blog, Windows 11

NonCNVi M.2 Wi-Fi Device Delivers LAN Access

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It’s always the little things that jump up to bite you (or me, anyway). In today’s case, it was my blithe assumption that Intel Integrated Connectivity (aka CNVi) wouldn’t prevent the AX201NGW M.2 Wi-Fi card from working on my AMD B550/Ryzen 3 5800X build. Yeah, right! But when I replaced it with a no-name (REKONG) Media Tech MT7921K module (depicted in the lead-in graphic), Device Manager picked up that non-Intel hardware immediately. After a bit of driver fiddling, this US$29 (tax included) nonCNVi M.2 Wi-Fi Device delivers LAN access as it should. It does have interesting limitations, though . . .

Fiddling Means NonCNVi M.2 Wi-Fi Device Delivers LAN Access

At first, after plugging in the device, I saw only non-working BlueTooth and Network Adapter devices in Device Manager. This informed me that Windows couldn’t find the required drivers on its own. But a quick search on “Windows 11 drivers for MT7921K” quickly turned up what I needed. They’re available from Lenovo, as it turns out, with a separate .exe for each of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

As the owner/operator of half-a-dozen (or more) Lenovo laptops, I’m quite familiar with their self-installing drivers. After downloading and installing them, here’s what I see in Device Manager:

NonCNVi M.2 Wi-Fi Device Delivers LAN Access.DevMgr

With the right drivers installed, the BT components and the Wi-Fi interface all show up. Good!

Just a Few More Things

Wi-Fi behavior on desktops can be interesting. The interface has a tendency to turn itself off upon reboot, I’ve learned. I’m also trying to figure out why I can access the LAN (via the nearby Asus AX6000 router), but I can’t yet get Internet access through this interface. I have a wired GbE connection that works fine, but had hoped to switch over to wireless. So now, I’m researching those two issues in hopes of finding solutions soon.

A little more time put intro troubleshooting the M.2 Wi-Fi card tells me lots of interesting stuff:

  • The lack of an external antenna means the device doesn’t see that many wi-fi interfaces as it scans the airwaves. Thus, for example, it doesn’t see the Spectrum-supplied router in my bedroom closet (all of my laptops in the same office see it quite well).
  • The fastest throughput I can get on the device is between 250 and 300 Mbps (observed through a connection to Fast.com).
  • The 2.4 and 5 MHz connections to the “office router” are flaky in interesting ways: sometimes, I can access one or the other to get on the LAN, but don’t get Internet access. At other times one channel or the other will be inaccessible. Again, I attribute this to lack of an external antenna. My son has a PCIe 802.11ax adapter card with triple external antennae in his bedroom, and he gets up to 900 Mbps from the bedroom closet router, and up to 500 Mbps from my office router.

No External Antenna Is NOT a Plus

I’m increasingly inclined to observe that an M.2 Wi-Fi card makes sense only where close proximity to a WAP is available. It’s probably not a good idea for machines that do lots of heavy upload/download stuff, either. That’s kind of what I wanted to learn more about, so I’m not disappointed by this experience. I feel like I understand the capabilities and limitations of these devices much better now. I will keep my GbE wired connection going forward, too: the M.2-based Wi-Fi is not fast enough for my needs. If I’m ever *forced* to go wireless, I now understand that a PCIe device is my fastest option.

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Windows 11 Makes Marketshare Radar

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In other posts here, I’ve groused about AdDuplex and its (IMO) over-reporting of Windows 11 marketshare. My February 1 item is a good example. Just yesterday, I noticed that a major desktop OS marketshare tracker — namely Statcounter –registers Windows 11 amidst the versions it follows. The lead-in graphic above, in fact, refreshed just this morning (April 1) grants Windows 11 an 8.47% share of Windows desktops overall. Good-oh! Now that Windows 11 makes marketshare radar I can trust, those numbers will get increasingly real.

What Windows 11 Makes Marketshare Radar Means

This means major tracking sites (NetMarketShare, Statcounter, Statista, and analytics.usa.gov) are instrumenting their sites to track Windows 11. This is a bit trickier than it seems, because Windows 11 presents itself as Windows 10 in its basic user agent info. One must use agent-hints to pick Windows 11 out from that crowd. Indeed, some programming effort is required to make this happen.

To me, that goes a long way toward explaining why Windows 11 has been off that radar since it made its initial debut on June 28, 2021. (Its public debut occurred on October 4, 2021.) Now it’s finally on at least one real radar (I don’t count AdDuplex, as I explain in the afore-cited post) so we finally have some statistically defensible means to figure out how many Windows 11 instances might be in use.

What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?

If indeed there are 1.5B instances of Windows in use (as MS has recently claimed) and 8.47% of them are Windows 11, that’s a simple calculation. The result is 127M, give or take 50,000. I had guessed in February that the number could be between 50 and 100 million. Looks like I wasn’t too far off the mark. Using the latest AdDuplex value of 19.4 percent, that number would be 291M. I just don’t believe it’s that big: now how, no way.

As more tracking sites start reporting Windows 11 desktop share numbers — and I have to believe they will, and soon — we’ll be able to refine our understanding of Windows 11 numbers further. Stay tuned, and I’ll keep you posted.

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Device drivers, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, Security, WED Blog, Windows 10, Windows 11

Windows Memory Integrity Now Covers Device Drivers

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With the latest versions of Windows 10 and 11, Windows Security gains driver level protection. I’m talking about Build 19044.1586 or higher for Windows 10. Also, 22000.593 or higher for production 11, and 22581.200 or higher for Dev Channel Insider Previews. Looks like those still running Beta (22000.588, or higher) are also covered. Go into Microsoft Security, under the left-panel Device security heading. Drill into Core isolation details, then turn on Memory integrity (see lead-in graphic). Do all those things, and Windows memory integrity now covers device drivers. I’ll explain. . .

What Windows Memory Integrity Now Covers Device Drivers Means

With Core Isolation turned on (requires Hyper-V and VM support turned on in UEFI or BIOS), you can visit the MS Support Core isolation page to learn more. It also provides detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to turn this feature on (note: a restart is required).

Here’s a brief summary:

1. Memory integrity, aka Hypervisor-protected Code Integrity (HVCI), enables low-level Windows security and protects against driver hijack attacks.

2. Memory integrity creates an isolated environment (e.g. a sandbox) using hardware virtualization.

3. Programs must pass code to memory integrity inside the sandbox for verification. It only runs if the memory integrity check confirms code safety. MS asserts “Typically, this happens very quickly.”

Essentially, memory integrity/core isolation puts security inside a more secure area. There it can better protect itself from attack, while prevents drivers (and the runtime environments they serve) from malicious code and instructions.

What Can Go Wrong?

If any suspect drivers  are already present on a target system, you can’t turn memory integrity on. Instead you’ll get an error message something like this:

Note: the name of the driver appears in the warning. Thus, you can use a tool like RAPR.exe to excise it from your system. Be sure to find and be ready to install a safe replacement because that may render the affected device inaccessible and/or unusable.

Should you attempt to install a suspect or known malicious driver after turning this security feature on, Windows will refuse. It will provide a similar error message to report that the driver is blocked because it might install malware or otherwise compromise your PC.

That’s good: because that means driver protection is working as intended. Cheers!

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Cool Tools, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, Tips, Tricks and Tweaks, WED Blog, Windows 11

Modern Winver Updates Its Namesake

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The old saying goes: “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” True that. And likewise true that Winver.exe still does what it always has. But there’s an enhanced version of this program now available from the Microsoft Store. That app, Modern Winver updates its namesake in numerous cool and interesting ways. The lead-in graphic shows the two programs side by side (classic left, modern right). But it only hints at all the things that the modern version does that its classic counterpart cannot.

What Is Modern Winver? Who’s Behind It?

Modern Winver is third-party software.  It comes from a GitHub project run by one torch (aka torchgm). It describes itself as a “modern and more functional replacement for the About Windows screen, providing details on Windows and your PC.”

Actually, I think the description is off a little, and the name of the program is actually more informative. As the lead-in graphic shows, it looks and acts like Winver, but provides more information than the classic version of the  program. Specifics follow under the next head.

How Modern Winver Updates Its Namesake

I’ll organize its difference by the four tabs shown just beneath the OS heading in the right-hand pane above — namely, About, System, Theme and Links:

1. About: Shows Windows edition (Home, Pro, etc.) as well as OS version, install date/time and build number. Shows machine name as well as logged-in account name.

2. System: Shows CPU name and type, base CPU speed, device architecture (x86, X64, ARM), plus levels and usage for CPU, primary storage and RAM.

3. Theme: Provides access desktop theme, wallpaper and lockscreen. Enables inclusion of About info on wallpaper and lock screen, if desired.

4. Links: Provides acess to Settings, System Properties, Tips and MS Support, plus links to the underlying Discord and GitHub scaffolding for this program’s development

Bottom Line: Classic Winver Plus

The simplest explanation of the difference is that Modern Winver does everything its namesake does, and a fair amount more. IMO, it looks better and is more fun to use. If you’re of the “like to play with new software and toys” persuasion, you’ll probably like it. If you’re of the “if Windows does it already, why do I need a third-party equivalent?” school, don’t bother. As for me, I’m having fun playing with and learning more about this new toy. Cheers!

Shout-out Added ½ Day Later

Thanks to the members at ElevenForum.com, who alerted me to Modern Winver, particularly @Graulges and @Berton. Thanks, people! I like to give credit where it’s due.

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Insider stuff, Recent Activity, Troubleshooting, Updates, WED Blog, Windows 11, Windows Update

Beta Promotion Difficulties Continue

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I must report that my various efforts to get from Beta build 22000.588 to Dev channel build 22581 have gone nowhere. Hence my title “Beta Promotion Difficulties Continue,” to punctuate my lack of progress. I did, however get a more informative error message from one of those attempts (see item 3 below), as shown in the lead-in graphic above.

Attempts Undertaken, as Beta Promotion Difficulties Continue

Here’s a list of all of the fixes I’ve tried in attempting to overcome this increasingly vexing hurdle (of which exactly  none have worked):

1. Simple repetition of the WU update/upgrade process (2 or 3 times, most automatic). I’ve now paused updates for a week to save time and energy.

2. Unplug all non-essential peripherals (an mSATA SSD inside a Sabrent USB 3 enclosure in this case).

3. Use setup.exe from the UUPdump.net website-based ISO for Build 22581.1. It didn’t work, but did provide the more informative error message shown in the lead-in graphic for this story.

4. Remove .NET 3.5 and all related Windows 11 features, and try again. Greatly speeded up the update and install processes, but produced the same outcome as the preceding item.

5. Run dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth and then sfc /scannow. No joy there, either.

So far, in fact, I’m getting exactly nowhere. Sigh.

What’s Next?

I supposed I could try a clean install of Windows 11 from the aforementioned UUPdump.net ISO. But recent reports of install problems (in completion, and in the state of Windows 11 after the fact) give me pause. I don’t think I want to go there just yet.

According to other advice tied to the 0XC1900101 – 0X30018 error code, I could also try some or all of the following:

1. Reset Windows Update components. The TenForums tutorial on that topic includes a handy-dandy batch file that also works on Windows 11.

2. Disable antivirus — in this case Windows Defender. This is working on my other X380 Yoga, so I wouldn’t expect it to help here.

3. My BIOS is up-to-date already and I’m not aware of running any “problematic applications.”

You can get advice galore at stories such as How to Fix Update Error 0xc1900101-0x30018 in Windows 10 (HowtoEdge.com) and others of that ilk. For the moment I’m not inclined to spend more time chasing rabbits and rainbows.

What, Then?

My current plan is to wait for the next Dev Channel build to appear (which it should do, if not this week, then next week for sure). At that point, I’ll try again — and hope for a successful outcome. At the moment I’ve spent more than enough time. I’m content to take a time-out and wait for another try. . .

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Insider stuff, Recent Activity, Troubleshooting, WED Blog, Windows 11

In-place Upgrade Repair Install Fixes Mystery Windows 11 Woes

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It’s an old-school repair technique that remains relevant even for the latest Windows version. While fiddling with my up-and-coming production PC this weekend, I encountered absent apps. This is my latest PC build — Asrock B550 Extreme4 mobo, AMD 5800X CPU, 64 GB RAM, 2TB Sabrent Rocket SSD, and GeForce 1070 Ti . At a bare minimum, I found both Windows Defender and Windows Terminal MIA on the then-current install. Fortunately, an in-place upgrade repair install fixes mystery Windows 11 woes.

Indeed In-place Upgrade Repair Install Fixes Mystery Windows 11 Woes Quickly and Easily

The principle behind this technique involves over-writing the current Windows image with an equivalent replacement. Essentially, it replaces all of the OS files and related scaffolding without touching local files and applications. It also re-creates the default app environment for Windows 11, which was my real motivation for this maneuver.

I visited the Download Windows 11 page to grab the ISO. I clicked on “Download  now” under the Create Windows 11 Installlation Media heading, and used the Media Creation Tool to create an ISO file. After mounting that ISO on the target PC, I ran setup.exe to perform the in-place upgrade repair install.

Before: no Windows Defender or Windows Terminal (the packages themselves were absent from the runtime environment). After: both Windows Defender and Windows Terminal were present and ran as expected. Total time involved in this repair: 10 minutes to download the ISO file shown in the lead-in graphic; 20 minutes to perform the install itself (total time: half an hour).

The Half-Hour Troubleshooting Rule

Once i figured out that the apps were missing completely, I immediately decided to run the upgrade repair install. Normally, I will troubleshoot for half an hour on a problematic Windows image. If I haven’t solved the problem by then, my next move is to try this repair technique. Most of the time, it works when problems are OS related (it may not help with application issues, though).

And fortunately for me, it worked as desired this time. I’ll continue my “slow migration” from my 2016 vintage Z170 i7-6700 (too old to meet Windows 11 hardware requirements) later this week, after I meet some pressing deadlines first and foremost. Stay tuned: I’ll keep you posted on progress and issues encountered.

 

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Backup/Restore, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, Troubleshooting, WED Blog, Windows 11, Windows Update

Troubleshooting Failed Beta 22581 Promotion

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I’d like to report on a snag in upgrading my Windows 11 Beta Channel test PC to Build 22581. As I wrote yesterday, MS has paired up the Dev and Beta channels with this build. Both of my Dev Channel PCs updated successfully; the Beta Channel test PC did not. So now, I’m troubleshooting failed Beta 22581 promotion. This is an interim progress report. Although I’ve already learned a lot, I’ve not yet resolved the problem. Here’s what I know so far. . .

Progress on Troubleshooting Failed Beta 22581 Promotion

The list of data about this update failure reads as follows:

1. The update fails during the final, final phase of post-GUI install after update progress gets to 100% complete.

2. WU Update History reports an error code of 0XC1900101 in its “Failed to install” error  message

3. MS Docs offers a Resolution Procedure for this error code,  from which the following $Windows.~bt items appear important:

3.1 This error code most typically indicates a driver install problem during the Windows install/upgrade process

3.2 If present, the \Sources\Rollback folder may include a minidump file named setupmem.dmp. (Mine does not)

3.3 Event logs may appear in \Sources\Rollback*.evtx (I have no such files)

3.4 The device install log can capture driver install issues, and appears in \Sources\Rollback\setupapi\setupapi.dev.log. I *DO* have one of these and have read it over, and shared it with install experts at ElevenForum.com. Looks potentially fruitful because I do see various errors therein.

4. A typical fix attempt when WU updates fail, is to try an ISO from UUPdump.net. I’ve built one, but I’m also reading online that nickel release ISOs — including Build 22581 — from UUPdump.net are not working properly right now. See this Elevenforum thread (especially pages 6 & 7). Just in  case it blows up, I’ve already made a Macrium Reflect image backup of the current working-but-not-upgraded install. Thus, I can restore it easily booting from the MR Rescue Media.

What Should Happen Next. . .

I’m up against a major deadline today, so I don’t have time to follow all the leads I’ve found. But I do have a task list to follow when the weekend rolls around and I have more free time:

1. The afore-linked Resolution Procedure recommends another WU attempt with all nonessential peripherals unplugged. I’ll do that next.

2. If that doesn’t work, I’ll attempt to use the UUPdump ISO to perform an in-place “repair upgrade” by running its setup.exe file.

3. If that doesn’t work, I’ll check back into the ElevenForum thread to see if any of my appeals for guru help have produced suggestions.

4. If I can’t resolve the issue through typical troubleshooting, I’ll wait and try again when the next Dev/Beta build is released. In my experience of nearly 8 years as a Windows 10 and 11 Insider,  that works more often than not. I’m inclined to believe this is possible because one of my other working Dev Channel PCs is a near-identical Lenovo X380 laptop (only config difference is the built-in NVMe drive: one’s a Samsung, the other’s a Toshiba, now Kioxia).

Stay tuned, and I’ll keep reporting on progress. Cheers!

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Build 22581 Hits Dev and Beta Channels

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Just yesterday, MS released a new Insider Preview build for Windows 11. That said, they changed that target audience up a bit. Whereas Beta and Release Preview channels had been paired, Build 22581 hits Dev and Beta channels. Out with the old pairing, and in with the new! I’m updating my beta test PC accordingly as I write this. But what does this mean?

If Build 22581 Hits Dev and Beta Channels, Now What?

For some info and possible insight, I turn to the 22581 Build Announcement. It makes the following observations about the change, ranging from channeling “Captain Obvious,” to a limited switcheroo, to ruminations on the roles that Dev and Beta channels play. Here are some illustrative quotes, under related headings.

Captain Obvious says:

Insiders in the Beta Channel can now try out new features such as Live Captions, Start folders, the redesigned Task Manager, tablet optimized taskbar and much more.

Switcheroo Info:

Now that the Dev and Beta Channels are receiving the same builds, the limited window has opened for Insiders to switch channels if you wish to do so by following these simple steps:

  1. Open Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program.
  2. Select Choose your Insider settings.
  3. Select Beta Channel.
  4. The next time you receive an update, it will be for your new channel.

IMPORTANT: This window will close once we release builds with higher build numbers to the Dev Channel. If your device stays on the Dev Channel and receives a build that is a higher build number than what is in the Beta Channel, you will have to do a clean installation of the released version of Windows 11 on your device to switch to the Beta Channel.

See the announcement for more details, but I understand this as a promotion from Beta to Dev, with the opportunity to drop to Release Preview for those so inclined.

Channel Role Ruminations:

As a reminder, we are evolving the way we develop and release to Insiders with the Dev and Beta Channels now representing parallel development paths from our engineers. The Dev Channel will be a place where we will try out different concepts, incubate new ideas, and work on long lead items that may not get released to general customers. The Beta Channel will be the place we preview experiences that are closer to what we will ship to our general customers. However, this does not mean every feature we try out in the Beta Channel will ship. We encourage Insiders to read this blog post from last month that outlines the ways we’ll try things out with Insiders in the Dev and Beta Channels.

The Change Is Here, But…

I fired off my Beta test PC as I started writing this piece. When I just went to check status, the update had failed. A new error message appeared in WU “Save your work, and please try again.” Right now, I’m doing as directed and watching the update process. It sat at some while at 17% complete, but the count-up continues (and just jumped to 100%). Now it’s sitting at 100%. . . Another restart . . . spinning circle . . . Working on updates (with count-up) . . . and taking its sweet time (about 35 minutes total for post-GUI updates), it ultimately got back to the Windows 11 desktop.

AND NOW: my beta test PC is still running Build 22000.588. Here’s what WU has to say about the situation:

Obviously, further investigation is needed. Wonder what’s up? To that end, I’m using the Powershell cmdlet Get-WindowsUpdateLog to show me what happened. I’ve got some research work to do. But it may end up making sense simply to install the update using a mounted ISO to run setup.exe. I’ll report further tomorrow. Good fun!

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Device drivers, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, Troubleshooting, Updates, Windows 10, Windows 11

GPU Driver Update Fixes Flickering Solitaire

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I cheerfully confess: I start most working days off with a rousing round of Microsoft Solitaire. When the game pane started flickering this morning, I asked myself “Time for a new Nvidia driver?” Sure enough, a new one issued on March 22 (yesterday). And, as usual, that GPU driver update fixes flickering Solitaire as desired.

Keep Calm and Carry On: GPU Driver Update Fixes Flickering Solitaire

I upgraded the Game Ready Driver to yesterday’s version 512.15 using GeForce Experience. The whole process took under 10 minutes. No reboot was required. Interestingly, Reliability Monitor collected no errors nor warnings while the monitor was flaking out on me, either.

It’s a good thing that the symptoms are both obvious, and easily diagnosed. And FWIW, a keyboard GPU restart (CTRL+WinKey+ Shift+B) didn’t fix things. That’s why I was hopeful that a driver update would make it all better. Luckily for me, that turned out well.

What If a New Driver Flops?

Things rapidly get more interesting if a new GPU driver fails to fix monitor flicker. First and foremost, I’d check cables next, starting (in this case) with the DisplayPort cables that stretch from the Gigabyte RTX 3070 Ti GPU adapter to the affected Dell 2717D. If a cable swap didn’t fix things, I’d try rolling back two driver versions or more (for Nvidia GPUs, that means using its manual driver search facility). If no joy after two or three older driver attempts, I’d next run monitor and GPU diagnostics.

Most of the time, it’s the driver. If it’s not the driver, it’s usually the cable. If I have to get down to diagnostics (usually available from GPU and monitor makers), things can quickly get expensive. Glad to have avoided such issues this time around.

But, here in Windows-World, it’s always something, right?

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Insider stuff, Recent Activity, WED Blog, Windows 11, Windows OS Musings

Windows Ads Go Another Round?

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On March 15, The Verge published a story that raised a familiar Windows spectre.Responding to a tweet from fellow WIMVP Florian Beaubois (it serves as the preceding lead-in graphic), MS spokesperson Brandon LeBlanc is quoted as saying “This was an experimental banner that was not intended to be published externally and was turned off.” Indeed, it could be used in File Explorer to advertise the Microsoft Editor in future releases of Windows 11. If one ad is possible, others could easily follow. Is this cause for concern, or even ire? Whatever the case, it’s possible Windows ads go another round in upcoming versions.

If Windows Ads Go Another Round, So What?

There are several, hopefully worthwhile observations I can offer on the topic of Windows ads. Here they are:

  1. As the previously cited Verge story states, MS tried out ads in a 2017 File Explorer version. They were relatively easy to disable, and didn’t last very long.
  2. MS already uses ads on the Windows 10 lock screen, its Start menu, and in the taskbar. Once again, they can be disabled for those willing to search out related fixes.
  3. Other OS vendors — the Verge mentions Apple and Google specifically — also include ads on various products (e.g. iPhone, Apple TV and YouTube) that they bring to market.

Monetization Is Hard to Resist

What’s driving this phenomenon comes straight from what might be called “the capitalist imperative.” That is, seek out and exploit any and all opportunities to generate revenue. It’s what created Google, and what drives their biggest revenue streams. It’s what funds their search engine, and most other search engines besides.

I take comfort from knowing that there will be ways to turn off ads should they appear. If outright switches to disable them aren’t readily available, third parties will provide ad-blocker software to turn them off. I already use (and happily pay a voluntary “donationware” sum) for the “free” AdBlock Plus program to block web ads.

If I must, I’ll do likewise for Windows. I certainly hope it doesn’t come to that. But where there’s a will, there’s almost always a way to exert it as desired. Time will tell what happens with the ad capability recently shown to be possible in Windows 11. In the meantime, I’ll continue to enjoy that OS in its present (mostly) ad-free state.

Note [Added 1/2 Day Later]

Kudos to Sergey Tkachenko who published a story at WinAero this afternoon entitled How to Disable Ads in Windows 11. it provides a nice overview of all of the settings changes and registry tweaks needed to put them out of sight (and hopefully, out of mind) — if you’re so inclined. ‘Nuff said…

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