Windows 11 LTSC 2024 arrives making TPM and Secure Boot optional — lower storage requirements, too

Tom's Hardware ^ | May 26,2024 | Jeff Butts

[fireman15]

Windows 11 officialy squeezed within the confines of 16GB storage.

Microsoft has published the system requirements for Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024, which recently started to roll out. The specification will help steer design decisions for upcoming devices and computers running Windows IoT Enterprise. Lowered minimum specifications, with TPM and Secure Boot optional, are among the most interesting aspects of this release.

Windows 11 IoT Enterprise is a full version of Windows Enterprise intended for fixed-purpose devices like ATMs, point-of-sale terminals, digital signage, kiosks, and industrial automation systems, among others. In other words, this version of Windows is not for your desktop or laptop computer, but rather for custom appliance-type devices you might encounter or use that need an operating system. However, the release may also be of interest to makers, modders, and tinkerers.

Microsoft offers two licensing channels for Windows 11 IoT Enterprise, a General Availability Channel (GAC) and the Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC.) The LTSC option provides a 10-year support lifecycle for these fixed-purpose devices in which there are unlikely to be any functionality changes.

What’s most notable about the system requirements for Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024 is that it can run on computing devices with much less storage than is typically required, as little as 16GB. Moreover, the TPM and Secure Boot requirements are optional for this version.

Additionally, Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC will support certain Qualcomm processors for the first time, in addition to AMD, Intel, and NXP processors. Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC included support for AMD, Intel, and NXP processors, but not Qualcomm. This new support is expected since Microsoft recently announced Surface laptops using the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite Arm-based processor.

[McGruff]

All three of my Windows 10 PCs have encountered a Windows Update error recently. Never had problems before. Odd timing.

[ducttape45]

I hear ya. That’s why I’ll be keeping a Windows 7/Linux system around. I just like how programs behave on Windows 7 as opposed to Windows 10. However, I’ll have a Windows 10 (1909)/Linux system around too, just in case.

[fireman15]

All three of my Windows 10 PCs have encountered a Windows Update error recently.

One of the recent updates required the recovery partition to be around 750Mb. Many Windows 10 installations have recovery partitions with around 500Mb. Most of the time it is not very difficult to resize this partition but of course users had to do some research to discover what was going on. I assume this idiocy has been corrected by now, but I don't know because the problem was fixed when I resized my recovery partitions. What would Windows be without this type of excitement?

[Myrddin]

My laptop is an Asus model sold through Costco. i7 CPU. 16 GB RAM. 1 TB NVME disk. It needed a BIOS update to successfully keep updating Windows 10. I pull it out infrequently. Time to charge and apply updates. I have it as a fallback when I retire and return my company laptop.

[fireman15]

Widows 11 is not only full of security holes.... it is full of bloatware, spyware, and gathers PII from you whether or not you want it to.... forget you privacy if you install this opsys.

The vast majority of work that makes it into all of the major Linux Distributions is funded by corporate interests and it is often difficult to tell what their motivation is. It is not out of the goodness of their hearts.

The common wisdom is that most Linux distributions are more secure than Windows largely because their user bases are much smaller. 77% of desktop and laptop computers run Windows vs 2% running Linux. They are a much smaller target for hackers. Linux users also are typically more tech savvy than Windows users... and there are other reasons for security issues. But there is less accountability with those developing Linux distributions and they tend to take longer to react to newly discovered threats.

But the major security threats to most people are not their desktops and laptops, but their phones and tablets. Samsung and Google provide the longest support for their products... 5 to 7 years. But other manufacturers such as Motorola provide only 2 years and some provide security updates only as long as the model phone or tablet is being produced. Phones, which most people use for financial purposes and all sorts of communication are woefully insecure.

But of course, fishing scams are the primary way people's personal information is stolen and even the best of us fall for this type of crap on occasion.

This discussion could go on and on... Personally, I use Windows, Linux distributions my phones and Apple devices for what they are best at. No operating system is completely bulletproof.

[ShadowAce]

The common wisdom is that most Linux distributions are more secure than Windows largely because their user bases are much smaller.

Sorry--Not the case.

Don't forget that while Windows has the majority of the user desktop market, Linux pretty much rules the datacenter and backends of many commercial/govt enterprises. The data Linux runs on/protects is MUCH more valuable than anything a desktop user may have.

While the user base may play a small part, it is not in fact the reason why Linux is more secure. It is more secure due to initial base design.

Windows started off as an app sitting on top of DOS. DOS itself was a single-user OS as it was designed before networking was a large concern, and before the basic end user even knew about networking (yes, networking existed, but was largely confined to educational institutions and commercial applications).

Due to the desire, or need, to maintain backward compatibility MS continued to build on that initial design philosophy. I'm not saying it was wrong, or bad (at the time), but it is what happened.

Linux, OTOH, was designed later on after multi-user systems were much more common. Given this different initial environment, basic design is a LOT different, with most decisions based on the multi-user aspect of the OS.

That is the main reason Linux is more secure. It's still not totally secure, but it is more secure.

[fireman15]

Is there anything better than the BSOD on your ATM machine...

I have not seen a BSOD screen on any of my Windows machines for years.

While it is true that Windows 11 Iot Enterprise is intended by Microsoft for devices other than desktops and laptops... The law of unintended consequences is already in play. People are already using it in desktops and laptops. It is bare bones but you can add what you need. The link I provided to Microsoft in my first post provides a 90 day free trial. Obtaining a license for Windows 11 IoT Enterprise is very easy and inexpensive from multiple sources.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Thanks. I’ll stick with my simple Arduino for tinkering and hobby work.

[fireman15]

Yes, I am very aware of the history of Linux and Windows and also that Linux dominates the server market. I have mentioned many times previously that I setup nearly all of my computers to dual boot and that I use Linux for home server duties.

The types of malware designed to steal information from servers is not typically the same as malware designed to steal information from or screw up people’s personal desktops or laptops. The goals are different, the environment is different and the tools are different.

I also acknowledge that you are much more knowledgeable about Linux than I am. I nearly pinged you to this thread along with dayglored this morning; I was not sure that you would be interested.

[ShadowAce]

I was not sure that you would be interested.

LOL!

Not particularly. I was bored and skimming through. Saw the comment, and just felt I had to butt in. :)

[fireman15]

I like to fool around with a wide variety of operating systems and software. Windows 11 LTSC 2024 is an interesting animal to me. I actually did have fun getting Windows CE devices to do more than what they were released to do. But Windows 11 is actually not a CE type derivative... it is more of a stripped-down version of the full animal.

I have it working in a virtual environment on a computer that does not meet Windows 11 minimum requirements, but I already had the full version working on the same machine both in a virtual environment and a “Windows to Go” external NVME drive so... that was no challenge.

So I spent part of the day trying to get Windows 11 LTSC 2024 to work on a 14-year-old Lenovo G5560 laptop with a Pentium P6200. Unfortunately, it didn’t work because of a driver issue. I am sure that I would be able to take care of this,,. but it is not actually worth the effort. It is a computer that I bought for $20 for parts years ago. It would just be a hoot to get it to run Windows 11 and see how well it handled it.

[Bob434]

[[Also... Widows 11 is not only full of security holes.... it is full of bloatware, spyware, and gathers PII from you whether or not you want it to.... forget you privacy if you install this opsys....]]

I know it’s an old thread, but Chris Titus on YouTube has an app that gets rid of all the bloat (most of it, but tells that you can singularly Uninstall the few remaining programs after the Titus app runs), it disables most if not all of the Spyware (though it has to be run after updates again sadly)

Just type his name in search on YouTube

[Bob434]

Old thread I know, but see my comment immediately preceeding this one.

Here is the direct link to his software-

https://christitus.com/windows-tool/

I ran it on a new install where my cpu was being overworked, and the processes were around 140 or soz- after using it the processes usage steess got down to 70 (of course they will go back up as time wears on, but that was a pretty good reduction I thought)

[fireman15]

Thanks so much for the tip... I have used Chris Titus software previously, but had forgotten about it. I appriciate the link and reminder very much!

The laptop that I use most often is several years old and is about ready for a clean install... It is taking a long time to boot up. I purchased a gaming laptop to run Flight Simulators, and video editing software, but it weighs far more and does not have a touch screen which I often find useful.

The older computer supposedly is not capable of running Windows 11, but I have a portable WIN 11 installation on an NVME drive in an external enclosure which boots up much faster than Win 10 on the internal NVME. The question is whether I should stick with Windows 10 or put Windows 11 on it. I will probably buy a larger NVME so that I can start fresh but have the ability to swap the other back into the laptop if needed.

[Bob434]

windows 10 will be forcing peopel to pay for updates pretty soon- I use it without activating though- I don’t care abotu the personal settings for it really-

I’ve been looking at desktops=- uggh- too many choices- I think though I’m gonna build my own- will be about $1000 less than prebuilt with the same specs almost-

[fireman15]

I think though I'm gonna build my own- will be about $1000 less than prebuilt with the same specs almost-

That depends on what type of machine that you are planning to build. I have put together a lot of desktops over the years; I used purchase the parts and assemble them for friends. These days it is very difficult to match a good Costco special. For example:

Black Friday Deal

iBUYPOWER TraceMesh 7 Gaming Desktop - 14th Gen Intel Core i7-14700F - GeForce RTX 4060 - Windows 11 - 32 GB RAM - 2TB SSD - Black

Item 1815274

Model TMI7N4601

Online Price $1,199.99

Less $200.00

Your Price $999.99

https://www.costco.com/ibuypower-tracemesh-7-gaming-desktop-—14th-gen-intel-core-i7-14700f-—geforce-rtx-4060-—windows-11-—32-gb-ram-—2tb-ssd-—black.product.4000251760.html

[dennisw]

Sometimes I have 2 browsers and 300 tabs open. My minimum computer requirements are—
NVME drive
16GB ram
CPU with passmark score of 10,000
Windows 11

What I am using right now has all the above and an 15-8400 CPU from last quarter of 2017. Actual passmark score is 9234

[Bob434]

I had seen that on Amazon as I was researching- I wanted though a machine where the bios wasn’t crippled, and the parts were premium- not oem. For the average person though, that is a great price, under $1 grand.

My requirement was a motherboard and cpu that is “future proof”, not so much to benefit me, but whoever comes after me, ie nephew or niece I suppose. So I went with an asus motherboard that has thunderbolt 5, which has read speed of 120 mb/s compared to 20 gb for thunderbolt 4- I also wanted pcie 5 which is a massive increase in speed as well for future products

I will likely,never need the speed, but I remember back when we bought our first comp for $3500, and thinking “I’ll never need more than 500 mb hard drive lol. I was using floppy disks, 1.4 mb, to put game trials on (not full,games, but the trials to see if I liked them)

My current 1 terabyte drive is chokerblock full right now- gotta upgrade it to 2 tb lol.

I went back and forth with the decision to buy pre-made or custom built with components I wanted- my end decision was made on the fact that i have never had things like boats, snowmobiles, motorcycles, campers etc, and im older now and spend most of the time in house, so the comp is something I enjoy and use a lot- not very frugal I suppose, but in the end it may be as I won’t have to update anytime soon

System is;

—Asus creator pro motherboard w pcie5 and thunderbolt 5
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DGW9S82G?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title
—intel i-7 ultra
(I’ve read the non ultras have been having a bit of problem with performance issues- maybe the ultra does too, but we will see)
—water cooler cpu cooler
—GeForce 4060ti
—32 ddr5 mgb ram 6000 mhz
—2 2tb drives
—Coolermaster case (which I hate th3 new cases, but I can modify to suit my needs, and do away with the stupid lights they include)
—850 power supply

I was about $1500 less than previous pre-built machines, usually around $3500 when all the custom choices were added to their pre-built customization choices- I always went overboard for sure, but back then I was heavy into photoshop and photography and computer art, so I opted for upgraded graphics and ram and such. Th3se days though, a $1000 comp just blows my previous builds out of the water- way more computer for far less money these days.

[Bob434]

The nvme adn thunderbolt were the reasons i finally decided 5o update computer- my current comp is perfectly capable of doing g everything I need it to, and will for many years to come, but it does it much slower than computers with nvme and new ram ddr5 etc. Not that I couldn’t have lived with my current machine and it’s slower speed, but th3 increased speeds with new comp will be much appreciated for sure.

My current cpu was an hp 12 core 190t extreme, and although it is an hp (uggh spit lol)it was a beast for many years, and still holds its own, but it won’t fit in new motherboards, otherwise I woulda kept it, and just got new mb, saving about $500. The only thing is that it was of course crippled bios, so couldn’t change hardly anything in it, but didn’t really need to- though I would for once like a bios that I can control more.

[Bob434]

Read8ng through the comments on that ibuypower computer, it looks like they do have premium parts, not oem parts- which is cool. The only downside for me though is the motherboard, cpu and vid card- I opted for the 4060ti 16gb card on my build.