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Microsoft Operating Systems Software Hardware

Microsoft Now Lets Surface Laptop Owners Revert Back To Windows 10 S (mspoweruser.com) 81

Posted by BeauHD from the one-step-forward-two-steps-back dept.
Microsoft is kind enough to offer Surface Laptop users the option to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro for free until later this year if they don't like Windows 10 S, which is installed by default and is only able to run apps or games that are in the Windows Store. The company is taking that generosity one step further by letting users revert back to Windows 10 S if they installed Windows 10 Pro and aren't happy with the performance and battery life. The option to revert back to the default OS wasn't available until now. MSPoweruser reports: Microsoft recently released the official recovery image for the Surface Laptop which will technically let you go back to Windows 10 S on your device but you'll be required to remove all of your files which is a bit frustrating. The recovery image wasn't available a few days after the Surface Laptop started shipping, but it is now available and you can download it to effectively reset your Surface Laptop. The recovery image is 9GB, so make sure you have a good internet connection before downloading the file. It is quite interesting how Microsoft isn't letting users go back to Windows 10 S from Windows 10 Pro without having to completely reset their devices, as the company would want more users to use its new version of Windows 10 for many reasons. Maybe this is something Microsoft will be adding in the future, but for now, we'll just have to do with the recovery image. If you own a Surface Laptop, you can find the recovery image here.
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Microsoft Now Lets Surface Laptop Owners Revert Back To Windows 10 S More

Microsoft Now Lets Surface Laptop Owners Revert Back To Windows 10 S

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  • Waiting for the MS hate (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward

    You fools will bash Microsoft for giving users a choice in this matter. Even though Microsoft is clearly doing a good thing, I'm just waiting for the rabid and totally irrational hate of Microsoft to show up. Mostly it comes from Democrats, who are obsessed with destroying business and creating more useless regulations. You Democrats should be ashamed of yourself for this predictable response, just like your desperate desire to generate scandals wherever you can create them for our President. Shame on you D

    • I'm not bashing Microsoft for giving the user choice. It's the damn worthless Windows 10 S that is bothered by. This castrated piece of 'OS as a Service' bullshit has no reason to even exist.

    • I have real work to do and have no choice but to use Windows. But I can choose my version.
      It needs to be one I can rely on to stay stable, stay the same, and stay out of my face.
      Guess which version that isn't.

  • This is not news.. If your computer came with a license for a given version of Windows, you have always been able to reinstall that versions of Windows.

  • "Back to"? (Score:3)

    by HalAtWork ( 926717 ) on Monday June 19, 2017 @08:40PM (#54651615)

    Why does MS ship one of their own products with the lowest/most limited tier of their OS?

    • Re:"Back to"? (Score:5, Informative)

      by gravewax ( 4772409 ) on Monday June 19, 2017 @09:06PM (#54651721)
      because it is meant to be a locked down device AKA apple style for the more clueless users. Their is actually a rather large section of users who would actually benefit far more from having far less choice and more restrictions, yes it isn't something most on this site or other technical users would ever want, but it certainly has a potential market.

      • So no. And even then this is the high end Microsoft offering meant for real work, not third parties scrapping it out for attention at the lowest price.

        • no it isn't a high end offering at all, it is the lower cost offering meant as a home or student machine. the high end offerings are the pro's and the surface books which do come with pro version.

          • $900-$1000 for the lower cost offering? What? That's going to flop if they're going after the Chromebook market.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by DrXym ( 126579 )
        If that's the fear then you release a single version of the operating system with a switch marked "Advanced mode" which you're asked to enable during setting if you want all the scary stuff.

        Even so, Windows S is just the thin end of a very large wedge ultimately intended to separate users from the freedom to choose where they get their software from.

      • There at least used to be classes of apps not available on iOS, but there were and are a tremendous variety of apps available for pretty much any sort of thing not proscribed. The App Store came along about a year after the iPhone, and has always been how apps get on an iPhone.

        I'd be surprised to find that the Windows Store had anywhere near the variety and quality of apps that the App Store has, and Windows users are used to being able to install software from anywhere.

    • Because they're jealous of iOS and their control over users and 30% cut of every app store sale. They want the same from Windows.
      If you've been following Windows 10 it's pretty obvious they want it to be a mixture of iOS and Android: It's full of publicity (lots of preinstalled crap apps in a Microsoft downloaded ISO, publicity in Windows explorer, lots of bullying to use Microsoft products and services), it spies on the user and they're turning the UI into a touch first mess.
      So they released a version of

  • Shouldn't "Pro" be better than "S" (Score:3)

    by mykepredko ( 40154 ) on Monday June 19, 2017 @08:48PM (#54651641) Homepage

    Unless "S" stands for "Supreme", but from what I've seen written about it before, I thought "S" was Microsoft's answer to ChromeOS.

    I can understand battery life being poorer for "Pro" if it gives better performance, but there's an issue of performance AND battery life. After re-RFTA, I'm guessing "performance" isn't just speed but again, whatever the measure, I would expect it to be better in "Pro" than "S".

    There is a serious amount of complacency within Microsoft if they think that product rollouts like this are acceptable and won't a) confuse and b) anger their customers.

    • There is a serious amount of complacency within Microsoft if they think that product rollouts like this are acceptable and won't a) confuse and b) anger their customers.

      I don't see anything wrong with confusing/angering Windows shee... err, sorry, customers. After all, they created this monster. I can only conclude that they enjoy getting it continuously up the back door. Sort of like right to suicide... no problem if you don't hurt anyone else while you're doing it.

    • > Unless "S" stands for "Supreme",

      "S" stands for sub-par stripped-down shit because (almost) no one wants Microsoft's crappy, small OS.

      > I can understand battery life being poorer for "Pro" if it gives better performance,

      Allegedly [gizmodo.com]

      There are far fewer programs running in the background. According to Microsoft, a laptop running Windows 10 S loads a user profile (including apps and preferences) 15 seconds faster than an identical laptop running Windows 10 Pro.

  • Quite interesting... or, really expected? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by MonkeyBob ( 904999 ) on Monday June 19, 2017 @09:23PM (#54651767)

    "It is quite interesting how Microsoft isn't letting users go back to Windows 10 S from Windows 10 Pro without having to completely reset their devices".

    Makes perfect sense to me. 10S is locked to the windows store, so who knows what sort of crap you might have installed on there before reverting to Win10. A full reinstall is really the only way to ensure that you dont have any lingering shit.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by janoc ( 699997 )

      You mean someone actually buys a *laptop* that is locked to only Windows Store?

      What would be the point of doing that? If I buy a Windows laptop, I want to be able to run my own applications, not only what is in the Store (which isn't a lot).

      This is not a laptop but a locked down disposable tablet with a keyboard (even the battery isn't replaceable - talk about planned obsolescence!)

  • And, in the chromebook, having the option to go to a GNU/Linux full distro for full flexibility and Application Support...

    And go back to GOOGLE ChromeOS if you do not like the complexity of the command line, and the multitude of choices for UI/WindowManager/InitSystem/Systemd/PulseAudio/ALSA...

    And the security implications of downloading applications from anywhere not vetted in the store...

    Think Grandma, or a technicaly inclined father that gets bored playing with the "Linux on chromebook" and decides to gi

  • Well, MS seems to have learned some honesty finally.

  • The company is taking that generosity one step further....

    Or put another way: the Mob enforcer generously allowed your broken leg to partially heal before he broke the other one.

    Microsoft and generosity do not mix.

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