Hi pilots,
I’m currently looking into the possibility of installing a “light version”, performance and resource optimized of Windows 11 for MSFS. There are some versions on the internet that look more or less trustworthy and functional. Have any of you had experience with such a debloaded Windows version for MSFS?
Thanks,
Ron
I’ve not tried with Windows 11, but I use Atlas OS with Windows 10 on a very old laptop and the performance improvement was definitely notable. Might be worth a shot!
This is what you seek:
“Windows 11 Enterprise LTSC was first announced by Microsoft in 2023. But the company hasn’t confirmed its release date. According to some rumors, it is supposed to be released in the second half of 2024 . So, you can call it Windows 11 Enterprise LTSC 2024.”
I’m very sceptical this would offer any significant benefit on modern hardware.
@RonMULTIPLAYER
Whilst I empathize with the preference for Windows to have a smaller footprint, I’d avoid these de-bloated versions. Apart from the whole security & safety aspects of such systems:
w.r.t. @BegottenPoet228 's comment on Windows LTSC:
I’m not an expert in this, but I thought LTSC was a licensing channel for Windows server (see this MS website).
Stock in-box apps and Microsoft Edge are apparently not part of an LTSC OS, but neither are regular updates, as, (quoting from this news article) LTSC is a version of Windows Enterprise that’s designed for stability and as such, feature updates are infrequent and can be delayed or skipped entirely, and only opting for crucial security patches and fixes is an option.
How does that work? Is it a modified version of Windows that you need to boot into separately? Is that even legal? Does it run everything that Windows would? Which Windows is it based on, 10 or 11?
As long as you don’t have resource-heavy stuff like Norton or other AV’s running in the background, you shouldn’t see any hit in performance. Virtually all rigs sold in the big chain stores will have some bloat, but as long as it’s not running hard in the background, you should be fine. I have two home units. My older Asus laptop came pre-loaded from (I think) TigerDirect. It came with a couple of apps for configuring the RGB keyboard and some system tweaks, but thankfully nothing else. My tower is a custom build with a clean copy of Win 11 Home, and again, just enough extra to control the RGB features and such.
I’ve had a Windows Update break my computer. Have you ever tried to turn automatic updating off? It’s not impossible, but it’s not easy. And if you do, you lose automatic security updates.
I like the idea of my OS - security updates notwthstanding - being ‘frozen in time’ and fully supported for 10 years.
Considering a Windows LTSC deployment? Key benefits include:
· Stability: While regular security updates are provided, all other features and functions remain the same, ensuring continuity.
· Reliability: In October 2019, a Windows 10 update broke the Start Menu, and in November, another upgrade caused File Explorer problems.
· Support: Microsoft has promised 10 years of support for each LTSC version released.
. Lean OS: LTSC doesn’t include all the ‘garbage’ apps that are almost impossible to permanently remove.
OP asked for ‘debloated’ Win 11. LTSC is it.
You could try it but, honestly, you shouldn’t have to do anything more than a clean (official) OS installation followed by removing of apps you don’t want or need (through Windows app removal, not with a 3rd party software), and even the app removal is probably optional.
The idea that Windows processes are eating sim performance, and the endless chasing of frames through gutting the OS, is more wishful thinking than anything else. Tangible performance issues are usually indicative of configuration problems, hardware faults, and software conflicts. In fact, I would go so far as to say you will risk performance more by messing with the OS through debloating than just leaving it alone.
If you are experiencing anything other than negligible (as in measurable but not noticeable) differences in performance due to the presence of Windows-based processes, is probably means a hardware upgrade is in order.
Hi guys,
many thanks for your response and thoughts. The only reason try to install a debloaded system is to give the CPU (little bit) more headroom. I’m happy with my OC 7800X3D, but as you know, the sim is a mainthread limited biest.
I am very keen to experiment :)…still thinking about it.
Maybe the new MSFS 2024 will eliminate all of our main thread headaches.
Well I have debloated my system to run at 70-80 processes @ idle, only by using christitus win-util. It also has the ability to use a micro-win. I would suggest looking into this tool.
My first impression after further research in this case:
Looks like the most benefit using a debloaded system is get more space on your windows installation drive…and little bit more free memory but finally without better performance.
You’re triggering my grammar OCD… 
It’s ‘debloated.’
You are a very attentive person 
Thanks guys again for this constructive communication.
Ha! You should see me when I’m allowed to get on a roll.
I tell my co-workers, “Nobody reads my emails.”
They tell me, “That’s because you use 500 words when 100 will do.”
I tend to go overboard on grammatical precision… 
Yes, it’s completely legal to disable resource-hogging services and uninstall bloatware, you can do it without an app if you have the time. This is not a new version of Windows, it just modifies your existing install. Note though that it does require you to reinstall Windows first in order to modify some things that I think need to be modified at install time (which is why I haven’t done it on this PC yet.)
Their “Getting started” page explains that it doesn’t violate the Windows EULA. The FAQ page explains what’s removed. Pretty sure even Linus Tech Tips has covered it, but the best thing is it’s open source so if someone was especially paranoid and tech savvy, they can see the entire code base on GitHub to see what it does.
Just reiterating though, I have not used it on the machine I have Flight Sim on, so I can’t say with any certainty that it helps. People have reported improvements in other games and general OS performance, but Flight Sim is complicated so who knows if it would help.
EDIT: I wanted to offer a counterpoint from the LTT forums: https://linustechtips.com/topic/1503189-promoting-atlasos-is-irresponsible/
I’d recommend reading through that thread before using it. The laptop I’m using it on is literally only used for coding and watching movies, but I’d be more hesitant to use it on my daily driver given some of the concerns raised by those folks.
For our imaged machines at work, the difference between a Pro, and Enterprise install is a KMS license key. It doesn’t affect the software installed, but does affect support lifetime.
Sounds cool. Good to know that it exists, even if I can’t bring myself to look into it more deeply right now =)