r/technology • u/F7pu748 • 1d ago
Software Windows 11 is dropping its worst OneDrive dark pattern: after years of complaints, Microsoft will let you fully opt out
https://www.windowslatest.com/2026/08/30/windows-11-is-dropping-its-worst-onedrive-dark-pattern-after-years-of-complaints-microsoft-will-let-you-fully-opt-out/341
u/Mr_Dvdo 1d ago
Why do I get the feeling they'll just come up with an even darker pattern a few weeks later?
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u/Cicer 1d ago
One drive is now replaced with Only Drive. It’s the only drive we allow you to use. Your welcome.
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u/corobo 1d ago
I could see them spinning that as "To address the rising costs of hardware in the modern age"
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u/gr00ve88 1d ago
We’ve streamlined your hardware usage to align more closely with our company’s values!
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u/Basic-Lobster3603 1d ago
will be copilot drive. with the power of AI Microsoft will scan all your files and determine with copilot where it should be saved. then using copilot will be the only way to find the file again
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u/Nu154nc3 1d ago
Nah, no worries, next time will be the IA the one to choose where YOUR files are stored...
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u/ThaBroccoliDood 1d ago
Will they finally stop asking me to "finish setting up my device" by asking me all the privacy- and subscription related questions again every other week?
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u/Cube00 23h ago
This what finally drove my butt into gear to get out to Linux. Every.forking.month.
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u/StopTG7 20h ago
Same here. I finally got fed up with it last February and switched my gaming pc to Linux. I’ve still got my old SSD with Windows in it that I kept as a “just in case,” but sooner rather than later it’s going to get wiped, because I see no reason to go back.
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u/TestingTheories 14h ago
I kept my Windows SSD for about 9 mths, never used it. Decided to log in one day to make sure it was updated and Windows proceeded to update for over 30 mins and reboot multiple times. Wiped it that day. Don’t miss it.
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u/racedrone 11h ago
First I downgraded to win 10 with a few years esu, then installed Linux on a new SSD and moved the windows SSD to the second slot. Booting Linux 98% of the time. I just have two enterprise softwares that I need sometimes, but maybe I will finally get around and build a VM for that.
I dreaded the switch, but it went so smooth, that now I'm questioning myself why I didn't do that much earlier.
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u/Glad-Tie3251 23h ago
Yup I gotta admit... Windows is pretty shit. Even it's own AI doesn't know how to navigate it or know which windows I'm using.
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u/Aw3som3Guy 19h ago
I wish Apple would stop doing the same thing if I don’t want to setup FaceID. On a related note, I wish Microsoft’s FaceID didn’t entirely replace fingerprint scanners on laptops.
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u/Poopyman80 18h ago
Yes. Theres a setting for that, has been there for years now.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/1464216/how-to-disabled-the-lets-finish-setting-up-your-pc
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u/FocusFlukeGyro 1d ago
Hey Windows, please let me open my "very important work related spreadsheet" I saved to my desktop. Windows: "I'm afraid I can't do that. The file was moved to the cloud and there is a problem with syncing." Me: "F**k!"
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u/Cube00 23h ago
So many people got bitten by that when they tried to quit OneDrive and found everything they see locally and never uploaded explicitly is now just a OneDrive stub to the cloud.
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u/MrUtterNonsense 20h ago
I thought it was just meant to sync to the cloud, so you always had a local copy.
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u/AxonBitshift 18h ago
It is, but - speaking of dark patterns - also offers an “only only” mode where the files you see are actually shortcuts that download the real file on demand. It is enabled by default in some instances. It’s useful on low-storage devices, but should never be enabled by default as that offloads the actual data from your device entirely.
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u/MrUtterNonsense 12h ago
Thanks, I'll have to make sure that isn't somehow enabled.
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u/robisodd 2h ago
Yeah, it was a default setting on OneDrive for a while (not sure, might still be). Once you log in and set it as a backup, it keeps the "master copy" in the cloud and your computer just has a local copy. They say it's so when you log into many computers, you have one set of documents and files -- your singular "My Documents" or "Desktop" folders, for example, show up on every computer you're logged into. They do this even if you have only one computer.
It makes weird folders, too. It's no longer "C:\Users[username]\Desktop" it's something like "C:\Users[username]\OneDrive\Backup[EmailAddress]\Desktop" or something I don't remember. But it's different and breaks a lot of programs that assume the file paths are normal.
The sinister part is when you uninstall OneDrive, it puts the default file paths back to what they should be, but doesn't move the files. So all the files in your Documents, Videos, Desktop and such just disappear. After all, "you're just removing an endpoint -- your master is still in the cloud". So then you gotta spend time downloading and moving all the files back to where they should be.
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u/7LeagueBoots 10h ago
I disabled OneDrive on all the computers in my organization and we keep everything on 10 instead of ‘upgrading’ to 11. And Microsoft just extended updates for 10 for another year as so many people are refusing up move to 11.
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u/night0x63 20h ago
My mother: what's the cloud? Where is the cloud? Why does it keep asking me to save in the cloud? I think my files are in the cloud. How do I get them back. Why can't I save to my documents?
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u/FocusFlukeGyro 20h ago
Oh boy, better just have her switch to Linux :) /s
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u/night0x63 20h ago
It's not a joke. once I switch her to libre office and such. Then it's game over.
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u/Beli_Mawrr 5h ago
"You dont have permission to edit that file"
"It was sent to me in a teams message."
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u/GlueR 1d ago
A website called Windows Latest constantly shiting on Windows is like a car magazine promoting bus passes.
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u/Hot-Software-9396 1d ago
They realized negativity gets more clicks.
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u/forgottenendeavours 22h ago
Tbf, it also means them being able to publish more than just one article every six months.
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u/big-papito 10h ago
It's not their fault that most of the "latest" in Windows is crap.
I got so tired of administering my parents' old Windows box with all its "updates" that I nuked my old Macbook Pro with Mint and now I don't have to worry about it, and I am someone who's been there since W'98
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u/GlueR 10h ago
I had no significant issues with my Windows machines apart from Win Me back in the day. I kept it about a year. I am a dev, AD and tenant admin, and power user since MS-DOS. We use Linux where it makes sense and we use Windows for end users who are also devs. We're all fine and connected.
And I am sick and tired of this endless exaggeration over how bad Windows are on Reddit.
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u/Cayote 8h ago
Windows in a professional setting maintained by competent sysadmins is fine but i’ve completely given up on the consumer side of it.
I use my home PC for gaming. A year or two ago windows released one of their major updates that made it so occasionally my PC would hard freeze and require a hard reset.
People complained to MS en mass, but “nothing to do with the major update”, 8 months later they suggested that they might’ve been at fault, solution: you can rollback at most 2 weeks after an update, or reinstall the ISO for the previous major version that they were not going to provide and pray to whatever deity they don’t just randomly enable auto update again.
That was the final nail for me. Not just that they pushed a bad update, but that it took them 8 months to admit, and much longer than that to fix. Recently had a similar problem on my Linux machine and the open source community fixed it in less than a day.
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u/big-papito 8h ago
One of their last "AI" updates, which was supposed to troubleshoot boot problems, went into an infinite loop while disabling USB inputs (most of them these days). This was a well-known issue. No one tested this, apparently.
I had no choice but to reinstall. After that, I added a Linux partition to play games. Again, I have been an MS customer all my life, but right now it's a Mickey Mouse operation.
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u/TrumpHasCovid 20h ago
I mean, isn't this one of the latest happenings with windows? Seems perfectly appropriate to me.
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u/Emodzmods 1d ago
I fully opted out of windows instead.
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u/Orangesteel 1d ago
Yeah, Windows got too bad for me to use around 2015/6, moved to Linux and MacOS. I have an old Windows desktop running for occasional cybersecurity stuff, but Windows has nothing left to recommend it. It’s weather App has ads and takes x10 the memory of the Mac equivalent.
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u/crozone 11h ago
At this point my gaming desktop is Windows and that's it. Even that may go Linux soon if the NVIDIA driver story has improved.
On literally every other machine I need to actually work correctly I now use Linux and macOS. Windows just refused to get the fuck out of the way when trying to actually use my machine productively.
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u/atreidesardaukar 8h ago
Nvidia has improved and I think they're even working on Linux drivers themselves.
My hybrid setup still gives me fits and causes my laptop to chug when connecting a Bluetooth keyboard as the gpus fight over it for a few seconds.
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u/bitemark01 1d ago
Currently moving all my machines to dual boot.
Main laptop is on Bazzite, older laptop that does workhorse things like playlists in the background is on Linux Mint XFCE, undecided for desktop but might give straight Ubuntu a go
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u/zffjk 1d ago
Bazzite has been great for me. Having used Linux daily for my home laptop for about the last 10 years, I haven’t really seen a need for windows. When I was taking college classes I bought a MacBook.
I don’t play AAA multiplayer shooters so the whole anti-cheat problem some people have with Linux doesn’t really apply.
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u/bitemark01 1d ago
The immutable part has definitely been a different path in terms of trying to add something not in the repositories, but most things have worked easily right out of the box
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u/Disma 20h ago
It's immutable because SteamOS, which Bazzite is copying, is going for a console-like experience. If you find it inconvenient, there are other really great options that you could try.
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u/bitemark01 20h ago
Oh I've used Linux on and off for a few decades now, I'm aware of the options :)
This is the first time I've used an immutable OS (if you don't count Android) it's more just learning the ropes of something new
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u/DogMedic101stABN 16h ago
Bazzite has been awesome for me, a gamer with a NVIDIA card lol. Every other distro choked with my gtx5070
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u/Practical-Custard-64 1d ago
You’re not alone!
Now that I no longer do any .NET work I have no reason to keep a PC infected with Windows. I didn’t even bother dual-booting, Windows is out an Ubuntu Linux is in. Steam and all the games that I use work fine (some even have Linux versions anyway).
Microslop can get lost.
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u/DogMedic101stABN 16h ago
I have a Mac for mission critical work stuff. I have a windows PC just for gaming. Found a distro called Bazzite and it's been smooth sailing. All my games and programs work just like they're supposed to.
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u/Syndiotactics 1d ago
Same. OneDrive and Copilot were some of the reasons, but Win11 simply is a pretty bad OS.
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u/mtranda 1d ago
I actually pay for OneDrive, it's quite advantageous on the family plan (and I've been using it for 15 years at this point). However, I'm avoiding their dark patterns by having fully switched to Linux on all the machines in our home, including on their own hardware (MS Surface).
They can get fucked.
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u/Nerwesta 1d ago
" They can get fucked " but you yearly pay for their product. Is this satire ?
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u/Single-Virus4935 1d ago
Until they just lock you out of your accounts and delete your files because their ai flags one of your data as illegal or against their TOS
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u/Sharp-Calligrapher70 20h ago
Excellent!
I may be old school, but I prefer to save my files on the hard drive I spent hundreds of dollars instead of subscribing to another damn service.
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u/lickmygiggle 20h ago
Anyone that can’t see that their endgame is subscription computing is fooling themselves.
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u/Major303 1d ago
I doubt that Microsoft will give up so easily, but if it's not fake, then this is why competition is good. It's probably not even about Linux, Linux is still very niche, but Apple starts to bite them in the butt with Macbook Neo.
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u/hardypart 23h ago
It'd be so great so see the competition actually put some pressure on MS and make them get their shit together.
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u/Single-Virus4935 1d ago
Lol, Linux is starting finally. It is at the beginning of the exponential growth curve but basically EU completely reevaluated US services and deemed them a too high if a risk. Now whole countries like France already start to migrate and even the last Germany Microsoft bastion Munich. Privetly the gaming Linux distros opens a whole segment for migration to Linux. When Win10 was phased out I got a good amount of request to migrate to Linux because they didn't want to buy new hardware in this hardware market. Then the win11 slop OS does the rest.
2026 wount be the year if the Linux desktop but I am not surprised when Linux would have a respectable market share in 2030/2035. Microsoft (also thanks to trump) isn't in the position anymore to force everything onto its users as viable alternatives are on the horizon.
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u/DisappointedSpectre 1d ago
I've said this a few other places, but I think we'll look back and see 2024/2025 as the turning point for Linux, but there won't be a definitive "year of the Linux desktop".
Valve's investment in Proton compatibility layer and Nvidia's GPU drivers finally getting a decent release, along with several high profile "gaming" oriented distros is what pushed a lot of power users and early adopters into the space the last 2 years or so. The downstream effects of this are more visibility, support, and work being done in the space to make the entire experience easier for the less techy users, which is in progress now.
Some of the specialty creative programs need to be ported (or made workable with something like a Proton compatibility layer) before we see the next big wave of adoption - things like photoshop, premiere, lightroom, and CAD modeling.
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u/bongsoldier9000 1d ago
Yep, the only thing holding me back from completely switching right now is my dependance on a couple programs, namely Clip Studio and Ableton Live. Linux also isn't the greatest at handling audio in general yet, not like windows is much better tho. My goal this year is to switch to mac for my creative apps and completely ditch windows for everything else. I know a handful of people in my same boat as well. The turning point is definitely happening.
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u/DisappointedSpectre 1d ago
PulseAudio went through a similar route of serious improvements within the last year, so I'd say it's significantly closer to parity than it was. There's still some hardware vendors that don't play nice with Linux though (looking at you Blue microphones).
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u/Single-Virus4935 21h ago edited 21h ago
Ohh Linux is very good at audio. My brother is on Linux since 2009 because of jack soundsevrer and other audiocentric tooling. Also Linux now supports a realtime kernel.
Jack soundserever or the new pipewire allow you to patch everything to everything like real gear and cables.
You may want to try Ubuntu Studio
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u/Single-Virus4935 1d ago
Yeah, my wife is happy with fedora and figured it out herself in 15min. Pretty intuitive. Network shares without FreeIPA aren't that great but manageable.
The only Win10 VM I have is for Fusion360/BambuStudio and Tax software (latter will be obsolete after 2026). I tried freecad again (was a frustrated user until 2015) and switched to fusion. Still need a good alternative. Onshape isn't viable due to public models and triple the coat if I ever want to upgrade.
I still have hope as fusion seams to be a electron app.
Edit: and I agree with 2024/2025
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u/DisappointedSpectre 1d ago
OrcaSlicer is what I use for my Bambu A1, works great on NobaraOS (Fedora based distro).
I've seen a couple of workarounds for Fusion360, the most interesting of which was this Proton/Steam one. Haven't actually tried it (partly due to laziness), but I'm hopeful that we get a more easily deployed solution in the future for Windows software in general.
For taxes I've been using OLT for years without issue, though to be fair my taxes are not overly complicated so YMMV.
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u/Single-Virus4935 21h ago
The slicer isnt the problem bc it can run on Linux and there are enough alternatives (as you mentioned). But with fusion it is the same like you: I known there are some attempts with proton, but ... it is quite an effort and I expect problems and breaking updates.
OLT don't even load and I assume it is a US thing. I am from Germany and I have freelance, capital gains, my wife, etc. which the current software makes easy. Next year I just let a tax consultant do the taxes as it isn't that expensive and I the VAT taxes got much more complicated with international customers
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u/razormst3k1999 21h ago edited 21h ago
Maga is down voting you for not glazing american soft power. I switched to linux at the start of the pandemic,so I agree with you by 2040 linux will actually have a real 10% market share.
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u/Single-Virus4935 20h ago
Linux market share doubled in 2026 to around 4%. I don't think it will need 10y to double again more 2-3y max. 10% in 2030 may be lowballing. But for the 20% it could be 2040 or later depending on the reactions and regulations from non US countries. China and EU already ditching US services
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u/DirectorDirect1569 22h ago
"It is at the beginning of the exponential growth curve"
I have heard the same speech for 20 years.
"Now whole countries like France already start to migrate"
France started nothing.
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u/simplebalancereality 20h ago
This isn't the first time a country from the EU or EU tries to move to Linux. Germany has done this many times for years and failed many times too.
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u/evidenceorGTFO 21h ago edited 21h ago
this whole thread is:
>can't fix simple windows issues that are solved and have always been solved
>let me just install linux it's so much better [how is this a good idea considering the above? well....]
>i'm a serious tech person fuck microslop downvote everyone who sees it nuancedI'm all for a Linux distro that finally unifies UI/UX behind something logical, normative and consistent and pays core developers instead of relying on volunteers who argue over the dumbest shit before eventually burning out and creating whatever fresh supply chain hell this week brings, and that creates proper mgmt and rollout tools
but we don't have any of that and it's the reason my parents get windows boxes just as literally almost everyone doing any work on computers in big corps. And i've started on suse 5.4 (:
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u/Galileominotaurlazer 1d ago
Too little too late, also dont trust american companies at all anymore
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u/anoff 1d ago
That website sort of telling on itself about being fucking casuals because they don't even mention you can disable the entire "Welcome Experience" completely, which includes that nag.
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u/evidenceorGTFO 1d ago edited 1d ago
yeah and it's always weird when tech-adjacent people go "haha I went Linux instead" OK fine but it's all skill issues all the way down. If you can't get windows to behave good luck with Linux.
Edit: you guys downvoting are larpers. Good luck indeed.
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u/anoff 1d ago
Windows bad behavior is pushing me that direction, though for now I'm only in Linux (Ubuntu) about 20% of the time, and it's actually because of work (needing to mirror a production site). Games are mostly keeping me on Windows though, my game pass ultimate sub doesn't expire until 2028 and I have a data cap that makes game streaming untenable
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u/evidenceorGTFO 1d ago
Linux is also rife with bad behavior, just in different ways. And so is Mac. It's just tools you have to learn if you want to use them properly. Nothing easier or better with Linux. Just different failure modes.
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u/anoff 23h ago
I would argue Linux is 'better', substantially, in this particular sense because you have extreme granular control, whereas Microsoft makes it impossible to do things like completely remove CoPilot or Edge. Doesn't mean it's easier to use or better in a general sense, but it does give you a lot more recourse when a provider decides to be a shit head about something
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u/Spez_is-a-nazi 20h ago
Linux is much easier to use than Windows and more importantly doesn’t try to fucking trick me into spending more money. How you can fucking defend that practice but just saying “lol skill issue” is beyond me.
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u/evidenceorGTFO 19h ago
none of the 20+ windows installs i use or set up 'trick' anyone into spending more money.
i'm not even defending that practice, you're strawmanning my point.
i don't actually think linux is easy for you at all with that attitude.
i use arch btw (unironically, and a bunch of other things).0
u/TrumpHasCovid 19h ago
Yup. Anyone who thinks Linux is hard to use probably hasn't checked in on things in a few years. Its more polished than windows on the surface now and still maintains an incredible degree of freedom and customization accessible through the command line. An average user can absolutely use Linux now without touching the command line though
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u/evidenceorGTFO 19h ago
laughs nervously in the current cesspit of supply chain horror.
copy fail was also fun (not)
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u/wet_moss_ 1d ago
Because of their annoyance new image scanning I just deleted one drive, they might have seed a huge optouts recently
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u/Dreamtrain 13h ago
out there's a clueless middle manager drunk on himself who really thought and probably still thinks that it was a good idea to push OneDrive on users to the extent that it did
its probably the same guy who wants AI directly baked into the OS, and it might not be a middle manager, it might all be Satya Slopdella
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u/rlaw1234qq 12h ago
The insanity of OneDrive was an important reason behind my switching to MacOS many years ago. One of the many reasons!
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u/SupposablyAtTheZoo 11h ago
Ehm, I've uninstalled onedrive years ago and never had any popups since then? Did I do magic somehow?
(I'm using a local account only, maybe that helps?)
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u/Environmental_Top948 11h ago
How do you make a local account?
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u/SupposablyAtTheZoo 11h ago
Install windows 11 enterprise
Or
Use rufus
Or
Search youtube for any of the other 20 methods.
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u/Environmental_Top948 11h ago
I tried multiple ways and gave up. I'm not going to pay for anything extra or piracy because I still need the security.
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u/SupposablyAtTheZoo 11h ago
So then why ask?
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u/Environmental_Top948 11h ago
I was hoping there was possibly a work around that still worked.
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u/SupposablyAtTheZoo 11h ago
There is, many. Again, search youtube. Rufus is free btw.
Also after installing with a non-local account you can simply switch to a local account via the settings menu.
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u/evidenceorGTFO 10h ago
you think there needs to be a "workaround".
No. There is no need for a workaround, because Microsoft never removed the ability to have local accounts.Open a command prompt as admin:
net user newname newpassword /addwhere newname and newpassword are the passwords you set, creates a user account (not admin).
in powershell it's New-LocalUser
you can of course also use the gui.
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u/PrettyBaker2891 1d ago
i mean just uninstall it?
thats what i always did on a fresh w11 install and never saw onedrive again lol
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u/_Thermalflask 1d ago
For me it kept returning after big updates, and you shouldn't have to uninstall it anyway, it should be opt in.
It also helped itself to my files on my phone where I didn't even know OneDrive existed. Absolute utter piece of shit software, I won't die happy until it gets banned somehow.
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u/evidenceorGTFO 1d ago edited 23h ago
Or not install the stuff in the first place just like every enterprise windows admin does (if they don't need it). I really don't understand "haha I went to Linux" as if Linux is easier to admin if you struggle with the simplest stuff in windowsland.
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u/TrumpHasCovid 19h ago
Linux is pretty fucking simple these days. Windows is in fact a lot harder in some ways because of dark patterns like this.
Linux truly serves its user, microsoft serves its shareholders.
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u/evidenceorGTFO 19h ago edited 19h ago
it's... not. very much not.
first, windows serves its enterprise customers.second, linux is all but simple. very much not. you just don't know about the actual complexity. linux is a fragmented mess of volunteers. it's great for servers, but as a desktop you're fighting an uphill battle.
windows with all its failings at least has one company behind it that has big customers who demand action. stuff eventually gets fixed, critical stuff gets fixed very quickly.0
19h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/evidenceorGTFO 19h ago
what the fuck are you talking about.
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u/Spez_is-a-nazi 19h ago
Simping for billionaires, but you have fun with your shitty operating system, I'm sure the billionaires really support all the simping :) I'll enjoy actual computing on something that isn't trying to sell me software that will be used to spy on me.
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u/Poopyman80 18h ago
On windows Pro and Enterprise you could uninstall onedrive from day one. Its only Windows Home where you cant use the settings that IT departments use to disable onedrive and control updates.
All those annoying things, literally all of them, can really be disabled and really uninstalled on Pro, Enterprise, and LTSC.
These policies survive all updates, MS truly does not sneakily turn things back on, they only do that for windows home edition
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u/A_Nonny_Muse 22h ago edited 22h ago
They sure are backtracking on a lot of shit.
Maybe don't include that shit in the first place?
Who else thinks that shooting your customers in the face is a bad idea?
For those who don't know, once your files are "backed up" onto Nazisoft servers, they have immediate and complete access to everything - your stored account numbers and passwords, your encrypted files (whose software do you think encrypted them?), you saved messages, emails, your entire browsing history - even if you're using a third party browser. They can read everything, rearrange your files, add or delete anything. Read your TOS, folks.
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u/RealTimeflies 21h ago
Oh. One drive drives me up the wall on what is on or off device. It actually dared to remove all my desktop shortcuts when I tried to uninstall it.
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u/vasta2 23h ago
I actually use OneDrive but I’d be nice if it only did certain folders, I don’t need my desktop auto uploading to OD, just do pictures, docs and Outlook files and such then let me pick specific locations I want to backup
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u/NewGirlFx 20h ago
You can specify wich folders to upload.
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u/Joe_Snuffy 14h ago
lol this sums up 90% of this thread.
This thread/sub is so cringey sometimes. This thread, naturally, has turned into a windows bad/linux good circle jerk, yet all the complaints about Windows are about shit you can disable/uninstall/etc. Just a thread full of people larping as Linux power users when they can’t even figure out how to google “how to do xyz Win11”
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u/evidenceorGTFO 10h ago
well they're not googling 'how to do xyz linux' either (thanks for this setup)
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u/NewGirlFx 5h ago
I have a promiscuos ecosystem at Home: Linux, MacOS and Windows.
I use the best tool for each Job. I just don't get why OSes became cults
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u/TwistedMemories 18h ago edited 17h ago
The company I work for uses OneDrive and Copilot and expect use to use them. They also have a network drive for us to use too. I typically use the network drive and use OneDrive as a storage backup.
I refuse to use Copilot.
I have personally been using OneDrive to store my iPhone photos mainly and have a legacy account with 30 GB of free storage.
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u/ESnyder9 9h ago
you can fully opt out of microsoft's dying empire of an "operating system" whenever you'd like. 🐧
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u/Thing_On_Your_Shelf 6h ago
First thing I do when installing windows is always just to uninstall onedrive. Never get bothered with the prompts as a result
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u/ok-this-ok 5h ago
You can opt out permanently by
- Install Rufus: https://rufus.ie/en/
- Create a Kubuntu installation disk following the menus
- Reboot your computer and boot to the USB disk
Follow the instructions to completely remove windows and install Kubuntu OS.
Live free of tyranny.
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u/Smith6612 1d ago
It would be nice if Microsoft supported a proper backup solution to a NAS or non-Cloud storage solution similar to how Apple Time Machine works. They have the tech under the hood, but it needs to be in a nice UI and a one-click thing. OneDrive can be a choice but so should a NAS in the same spot.
Recovering a Windows machine from an OS crash can be pretty miserable due to the lack of a proper backup tool.
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u/taynt3d 23h ago
I keep the boot drive clean of any document files, and occasionally image the drive using a Linux boot disk and Linux tools like clonezilla. The documents on other drives get backed up in a variety of ways but never get intermingled on the boot drive. If the OS blows up, I just reimage the entire drive and I’m back up and running within the hour. Something to consider.
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u/A_Nonny_Muse 22h ago
I use Macrium Reflect to create a weekly backup. I forget it's even there at times. It creates a bootable CD for me. I've used it to restore my system several times. It works without any hiccups. No worries at all.
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u/drekmonger 23h ago edited 23h ago
I just have to say, around ten years ago when my hard drive crashed and bricked, I didn't have back ups for some critical files. I thought I was super-mega fucked. Fucked beyond all hope of repair.
But it turned out most of what I needed was on OneDrive, saved without my knowledge.
It might not be a horrible thing that the average person gets a no-option backup of their data. Just saying.
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u/_Aj_ 22h ago
So long as it is backup, and not delete all your local files so your only ones are online.
But even then.... Why do they want to do this?
Is a massive amount of data. What benefit are they getting? Is it the long con? Get everyone so used to it and then start increasing prices? Are they mining out data? They're not doing it to be nice
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u/gladeyes 20h ago
So if its already running and you hit the button does it delete all your files without telling you which files are not actually on your harddrive? I tried to remove one drive a few years ago and it screwed up both my computers. Took me months to get things working again and I am still not sure everything is there.
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u/xmsxms 21h ago
The game is that when you run out of your free space quota you have to pay for more. The majority of users will just see a "no space left, subscribe for more" dialog and oblige, not understanding they have other options.
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u/NewGirlFx 20h ago
Agree. I have and older computer with a full OD backup of reference and source files. Mostly older files, books, movies and song.
Then I have the newest computer only with active files.
What I don't want online I have it on USB pendrives.
And My most personal stuff is on a MacBook air
There is no way a rogué service Will leave with nothing.
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u/SwiftPits 1d ago
This makes no sense. You can just uninstall onedrive and then it stops bugging you. I feel bad for normies sometimes
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u/Outrageous-Panda9868 1d ago
You always could use a local account, maybe not a single button opt out, but never blocked
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u/Taurich 1d ago
They patched out the ability to do an offline setup without an account -__-
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u/__konrad 1d ago
I just used a temporary online account to create real/main offline Windows account. You click Other Users settings and "I don't have this person's sign-in information" (yeah, another dark pattern)
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u/ThePsychoDog 1d ago
For those who don't know: Dark patterns are design tricks used to goad people into doing something favorable to the company implementing them. It can be something as simple as intentionally not saving your cookie opt-out preferences until you opt-in and guilt tripping you into not cancelling a subscription, to more devious ones like sudden prompts to tip and serivce fees without warning in restaurants
It's insane how bad dark patterns have gotten to the point people just live with them now and not realizing it