W10 Enterprise LSTC

BCS

Joined
Jul 20, 2021
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
...I have a small independent illustration studio running two systems. I was wondering if first, it is possible to, and second how to go about acquiring W10 Enterprise LSTC as I have no need for most of the standard W10 features (which the LSTC channel eliminates) and my work often involves long rendering processes that cannot be interrupted by feature updates I don't need and unexpected reboots (which the LSTC channel also bypasses).

I know Windows 11 (which is shedding a number of 10's features) is about to be released in a few months but LSTC 2019 would still run on my slightly older hardware while W11 would require a significant investment in new upgrades that would be a major drain on resources.

I also know that Microsoft tries to discourage those like myself from going with the LSTC channel but for my line of work I see it as a necessity.
 
Joined
Sep 26, 2017
Messages
3,446
Reaction score
616
Pages found about Win10 LTSC:
It is possible to keep running older Windows but it costs, examples are medical offices, manufacturing plants, public services such a food pantries, users that have proprietary programs that either are not up to date for the latest OS or can't be updated except at additional cost. Microsoft does make allowance for support of those users for more cost.
 

BCS

Joined
Jul 20, 2021
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
...I read most of Microsoft's LSTC publications, but it is still somewhat vague as to cost and whether someone in my position can acquire it.

I'd stay with W7 Pro on my production system but Nvidia is pulling GPU driver support for both 7 and 8.1 in a month or so. Just don't care to deal with the standard W10 without a long term channel on my work system because it means having to accept all the useless (in my view) features and interruptions that get in the way which I don't need or want.

As several core elements of my graphics tools do not support Linux that is not an option (or I'd already be there), and as I mentioned the cost to upgrade for W11 when its released this fall would be financially crippling due to the hardware requirements.
 
Joined
Oct 2, 2014
Messages
1,762
Reaction score
407
A lot of that stuff can be turned off using the group policy editor, if you have pro.
 

BCS

Joined
Jul 20, 2021
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
...a number of features are just sent into background and it still doesn't address the 6 month feature update cycle. You can defer them for a couple months but not completely like you could in W7.
 
Joined
Oct 2, 2014
Messages
1,762
Reaction score
407
True that eventually you'll have to do the feature updates, but I have my dad's set at 360 days. And you can set it to advise you of new updates, but not to download and install them. You can also set Windows Updates to not install drivers. If you need absolutely no interruptions, then the Enterprise LSTC is really the only way. It may be the only way to get support past 2025. I really haven't investigated it myself, so I don't know eligibility or price for a single license.
 

BCS

Joined
Jul 20, 2021
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
..still there are other facets/features of W10 I don't care for.

W7 worked the way I needed pretty much out of the box. The only things I needed to turn off were the cutsey animation for the search routine and the Aero interface as it conflicted with one of my graphics programmes. I also deleted the entire games folder at the outset and set updates to notify me but not install . That took maybe all of 15 min at most and I didn't have to keep doing it over after every patch Tuesday. I just installed the security updates/patches, and then only after I reviewed them for potential bugs (which with the new rollup format you no longer can do).
 
Joined
Oct 2, 2014
Messages
1,762
Reaction score
407
I agree. There's a lot not to like about Windows 10. I'd be all day giving my examples. Eventually I'll make the permanent move to Linux. My laptop doesn't suffer from a lot if what I dislike about Windows 10. Unfortunately Windows is moving toward a service rather than an operating system, so I don't see it getting much better.
 

BCS

Joined
Jul 20, 2021
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
...again if some of the graphics software I work with supported Linux I'd be there as well.

I even investigated performing some minor upgrades (less than half the cost of retooling for W11) to set up a W7 VM on a Linux host system (would have to expand memory so I could devote enough to the VM to support the my GPU (minimum of 24 GB, optimal 36) but the Nvidia driver support issue would still affect that.
 
Joined
Sep 26, 2017
Messages
3,446
Reaction score
616
I'll also be keeping a Linux machine running using the LTSC [correct acronym] versions as they become available.
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Top