Gig Performer and Windows 11

This is a FYI post.

I just upgraded to Windows 11 yesterday, and it reset the license for Gig Performer 4.x (what I am currently running) and had to re-enter my email address, license key and reactivate it. Not too bad, but it also broke the indexing service for Outlook, which was caused (I think) by the fact that TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot has to be enabled to run W11 and those databases then get various security keys. That was more of a pain in the neck. TPM and Secure Boot may or may not be enabled on your machine, and it must be running an UEFI (bios) and enabled operating system. For older machines or custom installations running a legacy BIOS setup you have to convert your system from MBR to GPT. If you have a really old machine which doesn’t have TPM (a few exceptions for this which get fairly technical) you won’t be able to run Windows 11.

The official Windows 11 (which is a free upgrade) release date was Oct. 5, but Microsoft is planning a staggered rollout, and many devices will not see the upgrade until well into 2022. Don’t worry though, the new OS will not automatically install if your system doesn’t pass the compatibility check. However, manufacturers have insured that all new Windows PCs meet the prerequisites and the new OS will be automatically installed (depending on your machine’s update settings) as part of the Windows Update process.

Windows 11 marks a big departure from Windows 10 in terms of design, but the two operating systems are very similar under the hood. Visually, the two are quite different, but there are also key under-the-hood changes that set the next generation of Windows apart from the current generation.

The reason I bring this up here is that you should be aware of what is in the offing if you have a Windows 10 PC (Windows 8.x and earlier would have to be upgraded to W10 first), especially if it is new, and even more so if it is a new Microsoft Surface computer - they will be getting the update at the start of the cycle. You don’t want your machine to automatically upgrade a few hours before a gig or other critical performance event and find that Gig Performer and/or something else doesn’t work! If you are in this bracket I would suggest that you do NOT have Updates automatically enabled, and if you find W11 is available for installation that you have ample time to get familiar the new system and make sure that everything works.

Beyond the above, I have been playing around with W11 for the past few days and my general impression is that it is OK. Visually it is a lot better, but things are not in the same place as W10 and the Start menu is completely different, more like Windows 8.1 was. Much better performance for video and graphics intensive applications if you are in that category. After I re-entered my registration details and re-activated GP it worked fine including all my libraries, plug-ins and instruments - or at least that I can tell so far. I’m sure more stories will come from others as the update is rolled out, but fore-warned is fore-armed! If I encounter any other nasty surprises I will update my post.

1 Like

Meh – it’s probably really just Windows 10.1
Windows 10 was really Windows 8.1
Windows 8 was really just Windows 7.1
Windows 7 was …

Well, you get the point :slight_smile:

1 Like

@dhj Time will tell, but it is never good when you get ‘dinged’ and not expecting it! :thought_balloon: :zap: :zap:

2 Likes

Gig Performer runs OK on Windows 11.

I don’t like the GUI, so I have to spend lots of time on customization.

P.S. there is a way (workaround) to upgrade to Windows 11 if you don’t have TPM 2.0.

1 Like

with reg DWORD AllowUpgradesWithUnsupportedTPMOrCPU ? :wink:

3 Likes

@Hermon and @npudar

Yes, there is, but you shouldn’t. You can read more about how, and why you shouldn’t, HERE. There are other workarounds but it depends on your particular machine and current installation.

Microsoft has stated that they won’t push critical updates to machines that are not compliant through the regular Windows Update channel. Why anyone would want to deal with that IDK. You are far better off staying with W10 which won’t reach it’s retirement date until October 14, 2025.

The main point of my original post remains the same: don’t upgrade to W11 unless you have time to fix any unexpected problems.

I would note that the same malicious software could be installed on Windows 10 now so “upgrading” to Windows 11 without TPM does not leave you any worse off than you are with W10.

Yes, I agree.

But that applies on any update/upgrade.
I wouldn’t update OS, AV, plugins, … at least two weeks before a show (and regular backups are a must).

1 Like

I wish Windows would offer the long term service branch to non enterprise users. Updates can be a good thing, and there are some tools in Win10 to delay the inevitable update, but it’s far more common to just get pushed hot updates and that makes it very hard to track variables.

I run Workstation Pro Win 10 and spent a week customizing the interface when I first set up my machine. I now have that process down to hours but what they send out of the box is so laden with cruft and intrusive ‘social/news’ integration, even the workstation edition, that it’s a must do step.

2 Likes

Since July 28, 2016 Microsoft has required all manufacturers to include TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot to license and use OEM versions of Windows. Some manufacturers, for various reasons, did not enable it by default in the BIOS settings, primarily because not all software installed at root kernel levels were signed with a certified and approved digital signature. The game industry in particular had a number of issues in this area, but enterprise machines almost always had TPM and Secure Boot Standard mode enabled by default. Even now most of the BIOS updates that have been rolled out to support W11 put Secure Boot in Custom mode so that a user who is physically present at a machine can reset the various DB and PK keys to alleviate any issues that would cause grief for non-enterprise users. For example, this is the default setting (Custom) on the latest Asus BIOS update issued a few days ago for my MB. The bottom line is that it was possible malicious software (like rootkits) could be installed on some W10 machines but not others. Microsoft has just closed the loophole more with the latest requirements.

Microsoft explains why Windows 11 requires TPM 2.0 HERE.