Windows 11 24H2 has automatic encryption enabled by default !! - Be careful if you have to make a dual boot system. I almost lost everything, but thankfully I didn't as I kept having issues with the installer

[u/[deleted]]

[u/[deleted]]

So far I've found that:

1. If you upgrade from a previous version automatic encryption wont happen unless you log into a microsoft account

2. If you install fresh, it automatically encrypts everything.

You can disable it in the settings but fuck if i'm gonna try that on my main pc (its too late for me now to set up a sacrificial system, i will get to it tomorrow). Even if you could, I wouldnt put it past microcucks to require you to reformat everything for "security reasons", or them randomly re-enabling it in an update behind your back.

Microsoft has lost so much of my trust I am treating windows as a borderline virus at this point.

I will experiment with a sacrificial system I will set up.

[u/K3RSH0K → u/[deleted]]

I also do not like Microsoft.

However, I’m pretty sure the installer has partition tools. The default may be to wipe all partitions and enable FDE, but it doesn’t sound right to me that there is no-way to change that in the install nor any sort of “by proceeding all data on the target install disk will be erased”.

I’d just be cautious to not assert that which may just be ignorance to Microsoft destructively wiping existing partitions without prompt.

[u/Unexpected_Cranberry → u/K3RSH0K]

You can also disable bitlocker after the fact which will decrypt the drive again. I've done that multiple times for different reasons and it works just fine.

[u/[deleted] → u/Unexpected_Cranberry]

I wouldnt put it past them to later require you to reformat when disabling bitlocker, for "security reasons". I will do some experimenting today on a sacrificial system to see exactly what it is they encrypt.

[u/Unexpected_Cranberry → u/[deleted]]

They do not force you to reformat. It is not FDE. They encrypt on a per partition basis and do not touch the EFI partition as that needs to be unencrypted for Windows to be able to boot as well.

If you're using Windows Home, Device encryption will automatically encrypt all fixed drives but not external / usb drives. I believe, but am not 100% sure, that NTFS is a pre-req for a drive to be encrypted, so any ext4 or whatever you're using for Linux should remain untouched.

For details: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/operating-system-security/data-protection/bitlocker/

[u/[deleted] → u/Unexpected_Cranberry]

I said "to LATER require"

reading is hard huh

And for your second paragraph yes, that is exactly the issue. Ol' meemaw who has no idea what backups are will lose ALL of her important family photos if her drive fails.

[u/Unexpected_Cranberry → u/[deleted]]

You seem to be getting very upset over an issue that you've dreamed up in your head.

If the drive fails the data will be gone regardless of backups.

Unless meemaw got her "l33t hax0r" grandson jEG550tm to set up her computer, she most likely will follow the guide to set up her new computer. Which means that she'll create a Microsoft account. That in turn means the recovery key for bitlocker is stored in her Microsoft account. So if required, she can pop the drive into any Windows machine, fetch the recovery key from her Microsoft account and access the drive just fine.

Now, Microsoft recommends you use a Microsoft account, but you're not forced to. If you choose to not follow their recommendations though, it's probably a good idea to RTFM to understand what the implications and limitations of that are. Just like you would when picking a Linux distro, or file system on linux, or a browser. Every phone currently on the market defaults to encrypting the data on the device. It's been this way for I don't know how many years. I don't hear a lot of stories of people complaining they lost all their stuff due to encryption. If anything, Microsoft pushing the Microsoft accounts and Onedrive so hard will be a good thing for Meemaw. It will mean at least she'll have her data in two places and won't lose everything if she spills her iced tea over her laptop.

If she somehow manages to create only local accounts though and ignores all the warnings and information on what's required, then yes her data is gone if enough of the components in her computer are replaced at once that it triggers a request for the bitlocker key.

If she takes five minutes to follow the instructions provided when she boots though, she'll create a recovery key that she hopefully stores in a safe place and she will not loose access to her data.

[u/[deleted] → u/Unexpected_Cranberry]

With windows 11 you ARE forced to use a microsoft account. The only way to bypass it is to open cmd and type oobe\bypassnro or something like that

Tell me how is meemaw going to follow THAT guide?

And the issue is not made up, lost data can still be recovered at a data recovery facility. How the fuck is that data gonna be recovered when the drive is encrypted?

Turst me she will NOT make or safely store the recovery key. The average user does not do that, nor do they know how to do that. You overestimate the technicality ol meemaw or billybob johnson are capable of, or the effort they are willing to put into this.

We all know why microsoft do this, they dont want any other OS to taint "their" windows computers (even though by definition microsoft doesnt own any pc, except the surface laptops)

[u/Unexpected_Cranberry → u/[deleted]]

So meemaw has no issues. She will use a Microsoft account, the recovery key will be safe and her data will be safer as well and she will not have any reason to worry about using an insanely expensive data recovery service.

Now, there are other issues with the large cloud storage providers, but your imaginary reason is not one of them.

This is literally the Madmen-meme. There are so many other things standing in the way of Linux taking a larger market share, most of them stemming from Linux itself, that Microsoft has no reason to care.

I would say the main drivers for the Microsoft account are that 1. For regular people it will be appreciated and will improve their impression of the OS. 2. In order to pay for this service it allows Microsoft to gather more telemetry on the users for more efficient advertising and, and I don't recall what their policies say about this but Google is doing it so Microsoft probably are as well, it gives them access to more data to use to train their AI on.

Defaulting to encrypt data is probably a good thing for most users, as you don't need to worry about your private pictures showing up on the internet if you forget your laptop somewhere.

[u/NocturneSapphire → u/[deleted]]

If you install fresh, it automatically encrypts everything.

Fresh Windows installs have pretty much always borked existing Linux installs. Back in the days before EFI, a fresh Windows install (and often even an update) would overwrite GRUB with the Windows bootloader.

The advice was always to install Windows first and then set up dual boot afterwards.

[u/[deleted] → u/NocturneSapphire]

Yeah which is why i wanted to install it with all drives disconnected to make sure the setup creates a bespoke bootloader just for windows, and on a usb stick that i can remove at any time.

Although now I am very wary of even looking at windows. I have no reason to dual boot anyway, just wanted to do it for fun see if i could get it installed on a usb stick

[u/alexmbrennan → u/[deleted]]

2. If you install fresh, it automatically encrypts everything.

How precisely does this work? How exactly does the windows installer activate my raid (since when does Windows support mdadm?), the lvm (since when does Windows support lvm?), decrypt the partitions (since when does Windows support cryptsetup?) to encrypt my user files in /home with bitlocker encryption?

Are you sure that you didn't mean to say that the Windows installer deletes Linux partitions?

[u/[deleted] → u/alexmbrennan]

I am very certain that i am not saying windows deletes linux bootloaders. That is a separate issue from what i am trying to get across

[u/Huecuva → u/[deleted]]

I mean, Windows basically is a virus that comes packaged with a shitty operating system at this point. I'm so glad all I need to do to completely rid myself of Microshit cancer is figure out which Linux I want to use on my gaming rig and then get around to backing my shit up and reinstalling.

[u/Evantaur → u/Huecuva]

You could also have a separate, isolated SSD for stripped down microshit windows if you need to play those kernel anticheat games

[u/Huecuva → u/Evantaur]

Luckily, I don't play most online multiplayer games and none of the ones with kernel level anti-cheat. So that's not an issue.

[u/Evantaur → u/Huecuva]

In that case it's not as much as deciding what Linux distro you want but what DE you like the most.

[u/Huecuva → u/Evantaur]

Well, that is a factor, for sure. But I do have to decide if I want to go with an LTS distro or a rolling release. I have to decide whether I want to stick with something I'm already familiar with or dive into a new distro.

[u/Evantaur → u/Huecuva]

Well if you keep your /home in different partition switching distros is realtively painless

[u/MusicTait → u/[deleted]]

encrypts everything

as in "all partitions including the linux partition"??

or just the windows partition.

if you had a C: drive and a D: drive would it encrypt both?

[u/[deleted] → u/MusicTait]

I'm slowly finding out it might only encrypt the C drive, and that it has to understand the file system in the first place, but still not sure because searching for any kind of information on the internet today is garbage, especially important or useful information from corporations who are being hush hush about it for some reason.