Windows: we noticed that you kept the useless search bar disabled since 2015, so we sent an update that re-enabled it without your permission

Classic microsoft move.

Linux has gotten great over the years and keeps improving while windows gets worse and worse every day. This has been going on for many years now.

I switched already and suggest you give it a shot as well. It's honestly much easier than windows if you know the basics and understand how things are done there.

Also: I SET A FUCKING GROUP POLICY THAT DISABLES THE SEARCH BAR; WHY THEY FUCKING IGNORE IT???****

because you dont own your pc. microfrost does

windows is malware

the fact they did this on ltsc as well is insane

I switched to Linux when the "We've scheduled your free update to Windows 10!"-like popup started appearing again and again on my Win7 machine even though I disabled it. I didn't like not having a choice and they only got worse from there. Meanwhile, you have full control over every part of a Linux system. You can even uninstall the update manager if you feel like it.

Same with 'compatibility telemetry runner' after every update I have to disable it and delete the .exe from system32. None of the permanently disable tricks work. Plus I always have to run "oo shutup" to disable the other privacy stuff. I wish I could switch to another is, but most of my software is windows only.

But don't you want to have what I've come to enjoy: Printer roulette?

Win, "printer", enter.......come on Printer and Scanner control panel, baby wants a new printer queue to kill that stuck job......dammit edge, no I don't want to search bing for an inkjet.

Win, "printer"...., enter.......come on Control Panel, you can do it......HP Smart Panel, you piece of crap

Windows, on my work computer, decided Monday morning was a good time to turn my default pdf reader to Microsoft Edging. Turns out you can't delete Edging from add or remove programs.

Welcome to Windows update. Where they revert any settings you make to the OS that won't benefit them.

My next gaming PC's gonna be Linux.

really looking forward to getting another SSD and just installing linux on it so I don't have to deal with that kind of bullshit anymore. The bullshit I will be dealing with will not be privacy related, just compatibility related.

When using Microsoft products and accepting their incomprehensible terms and conditions, you have no say and your opinion doesn't matter.

Group policy doesn't matter, domain administrator, GPO rules, all of it- none of it matters.

You'll get dogshit and you will like it. (Friendly reminder that it was extremely overpriced also) That's the tax you pay for being in their horrible, horrible "ecosystem" from hell. Enjoy! Grease up or take it dry, you're "taking it" either way.

Let's also not forget the update also installed fucking edge again even with registry keys telling it not to. Fuck Microsoft.

PC people: Many of you are now realizing what “Windows as a Service” means. Your OS is harvesting every bit of your data and sending it back to the MS Mothership.

And you’re kind enough to pony up the cash to supply the hardware for it to run on.

The Kingdom of Torvalds beckons.

So it wasnt just me that got the bar renabled

The enshittification of Windows continues apace.

The funniest thing is that people complain about Windows, but at the same time are afraid of switching to Linux. Linux has improved so much over the years that it is capable of doing most of the same things as Windows can do (and I don't mean restoring the search bar every update)

Me running ClassicShell/OpenShell since Windows 8:

Yup. I just re-started since it had been quite few days since my laptop had a reboot and boom I was shown this.

Like c'mon, even LTSC is Targetted with such BS, then I'm not sure wtf is going with W11.

I just spent more than an hour fixing this shit, everyone was right. It forced search bar on LTSC also. Which I thought was against Windows 10 LTSC policies for Enterprise editions? Or at least, against it's very core functions? lol

I don't even use the built in taskbar anymore, I always put mine up top and windows 11 broke that functionality so I'm using some other taskbar replacement

Why bother with group policy? You can disable it by just right clicking on the task bar and customizing it.

O&O shutup 10, get it and use it, you'll love your windows machine once you disable the bullshit

So that's what happened. Thought I just mashed buttons weirdly at some point and caused it.

If you have no choice but to use Windows download Microsoft 10 LTSC iot, lock down all policies and use Shutup10 and WPD to remove all telemetry. Blackbird can also block specific Windows 10 addresses that phone home but it's better to just get a third party firewall and block them because Blackbird can sometimes break things.

I also was able to remove Microsoft EDGE forever using this. Follow the steps exactly:

https://gist.github.com/ave9858/c3451d9f452389ac7607c99d45edecc6#file-uninstalledge-ps1

If an update you want forces edge back then just follow the steps again. If Edge "remnants" remain, use bulk crap uninstaller on any leftovers.

I've never had the search bar return or anything I didn't want to return on a locked down Windows 10 LTSC installation except Edge, and that's easy to remove. You can even turn off updates for a while if you want to, but I still update because you should.

If you have hardware that needs Windows 11, they're releasing an LTSC version of that, too soon.

As someone running a windows 10 update right now that I procrastinated to let install I am now having a bad day already. Can't wait for this to happen to my pc!

Windows: You will use Bing. Resistance is futile.

You fucking bastard. I hadn't noticed, and now I can't think of anything else.

Permanently Deleted

the only reason I'm still using windows is for my simulators and race sims and better setup compatibility. X-Plane works on Linux but even though the flight model is better on X-plane the sounds and graphics of Microsoft Flight sim it's hard to go back. I say this because I actually need them for my work. other than that Linux all the way.

Got the same message this morning. At least in the message is a button to roll back the unvoluntary change.

What language is this?

And what am I missing?

Is it hard to get two monitors running on Arch w/ i3wm? I can't really read another bullshit thing about microsoft again and thats all I am worried about for the switch.

Why all my window machines use ltsc fucking "feature" updates

Hahaha!

It is literally asking you for your permission if I understand the post.

More and more I am considering taking a vacation with the specific goal of migrating to Linux. I've got decades old workflows linked to certain programs and tools that I know for sure only exist in Windows, so I'll likely have to still run it in a VM for those, but my system setup is just kinda the place I call home the most, yet my patience for all this nonsense is rapidly declining.

For the 26482747th time,

Install Linux. Get rid of the microshit malware

You didn't read that pop-up above the search bar asking if it should stay disabled or not?

Almost like Windows caters to the average user, who might have disabled the search bar accidentally and doesn't know how to turn it back on ...

Windows in italiano? XD

Actually, I use the search bar a lot to find programs

Why not use win 10 ameliorated, no updates enabled

There are ways to make the search bar useful

If you hate Windows so much why are you still using it? At some point I can't be sympathetic to those shooting themselves in the foot.

I literally cannot comprehend how you can use windows without the search bar. Its a total clusterfuck otherwise imo.

"I installed malware on my computer and now the malware does what the author of the malware wants."

Oh no. Anyway...