Thsnks- I’m gonna listen to the video today, and start the process (I’ll have a macrium backup before I start though, just incase I do something wonky lol). I’m definately gonna try to rid it of the call home stuff as much as possible
One question if you don’t mind? Do you go online with the stripped down version? I have windows 20 installed on another backup drive but never registered it, so I can’t do things like customize the look or a few other things, but that is ok- but when I connect to the internet with it, it tries downloading stuff and I think if I remember right, tries to get me to register (it’s been awhile, so i might be mistaken on that- I haven’t used it in a few years as I only use windows 7 now)
Just wondering if the offline install will remain unregistered or if updates will cause it to want to register it or render it crippled?
You can go online if you wish, and as far as I know, you can run it without registering it, but like you said, it will be limited as to what you wish to ‘personalize’.
If you have had a legal version of Windows, but are no longer using it, you can use that number (you may have to re-register it through MS), and you can also purchase another new number, if you wish, through a web-site like Kinguin, which purchases overstock versions of software and resells for really cheap (I bought Win 10 & 11 for around $30 each).
Or, you can leave it unregistered and I believe the only limitation is personalizing it & a constant reminder in the lower right corner.
If I remember correctly, some of the updates may install stuff that you previously avoided installing (like the ‘call home’ Windows defender), so it would be a good idea to keep the utility handy and run it every once in awhile to make sure that stuff isn’t installed by an update.