Dear u/Daddy_Spez,
For reasons unknown, my computer has been refusing to install any Windows OS updates for many, many months now. Whenever I try to install the updates, it fully downloads and installs the update, and at the end of the process, bounces back with this message:
There were some problems installing updates, but we’ll try again later. If you keep seeing this and want to search the web or contact support for information, this may help: (0x800f081f)
Some of the errors I encountered in this previous post may have something to do with this one. The TL:DR is that my system had defective RAM and possible OS file degradation as a result: https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/comments/14hgp4z/im_getting_lots_of_bsods_due_to_either_drivers_or/
However, I ran DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth and sfc /scannow, and found no problems. I’ve tried some basic troubleshooting techniques for this problem I found on Google, and came up dry.
I also have some drivers out-of-date which I haven’t been able to update, that may have something to do with this problem. Specifically, my AMD SMBus Driver, my MarVell AQtion 10GBit Network Adapter, and my RZ616 Wi-Fi 6E 160MHz driver.
Additionally, just in case this may have something to do with something, my RAM and CPU are both overclocked. Just your standard PBO and EXPO, nothing risky. At least, that’s how I feel about it.
Here’s my computer’s specs:
Motherboard : MSI MEG X670E ACE (Wi-Fi 6E)
CPU : AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
CPU Cooler : Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB (Black)
Case Fans : DEEPCOOL RF 120 RGB Case Fan x 1, Corsair ML140 PRO x2
RAM : G.Skill TridentZ5 Neo RGB 32GB DDR5-6000 (AMD EXPO, 2X16GB)
GPU : MSI GeForce RTX 4090 SUPRIM X
Boot Drive : SK Hynix Platinum P41 (2TB)
SSD 1 : Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus (8TB)
SSD 2 : WD Black SN850X (4TB)
HDD : Seagate IronWolf Pro (18TB)
PSU : Corsair AX1600i (1600W)
Case : Fractal Design Torrent Compact RGB (Black)
Operating System : Windows 10 Pro 64-Bit
I’d be willing to “upgrade” to W11 as an absolute last LAST resort. Perhaps I’d sooner do that than reinstall W10, but I’m very, VERY much not a fan of opening myself up to that god-awful piece of spyware. If there’s any way I can make it light on resources and private without sacrificing features or ease-of-use, or modify it to be more in line with the Windows 7/Windows 10 experience I’m used to, I might consider it.
F100 government contractor here, working high up on the systems mangement/deployment side. It’s *no* different than 10 in which data is transmitted, and that’s publicly documented. Our infosec teams went and reversed/intercepted a lot too to verify this.
W11 is a great technical upgrade under the hood. And the “spyware” is the same as W10 and W7’s telemetry (admittingly, W7’s was added later).
That being said, on the personal side, from a game/stability perspective, i’ve seen some higher framerates - it even made one game (tom clancy ghost recon wildlands) playable on my system at 4K HDR while under W10 it wasn’t. I went to 11 on the first insider builds and was extremely happy with that. Sure, the start menu changes, but … especially on the latest versions, all the early 11 complaints are gone.
But light on resources and privilege? Even on 2GB ram machines i’ve noticed no difference from 10. Mind you - 2017+ machines.
Just run 11 with ‘security only’ or ‘basic’ telemetry set via local GPO.
Don’t run ‘debloating’ scripts - these really can and do break things, even if you don’t see it for a year or two. Right click and uninstall things you don’t want. Read the technet documentation (well, learn.microsoft.com now) to properly tweak/manage things using the already provided interfaces instead of 3rd party hacks
If spyware is your concern - from a security standpoint you’re going to be much better off with a patched Windows 11 than an unpatched Windows 10.