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Comment by presto8

3 months ago

Discovered Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC edition recently. It's great! It is supposed to get security updates through 2032. It doesn't have Cortana, OneDrive, CoPilot, Edge, etc. (Which is a good thing IMO.) Nor does it require a cloud account to use.

31 comments

presto8

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SeanAnderson  3 months ago

Are there any limitations with this to be aware of? Are Hypervisor/Docker/WSL2 all supported?

I'm trying to decide if I want to transition my work computer to Linux or Windows 10 LTSC. Most of my day is spent working inside of WSL2. So, it kind of seems like I should just get on with using Linux native, but several decades of sunken cost have kept me on Windows. I don't think I have a desire to 'upgrade' to Windows 11 and Windows 10 Pro is just about EOL.

  • jwrallie  3 months ago

    I recommend Linux native and a MS Windows VM using livbirt/virt-manager unless you have need for GPU acceleration in your workflow.

    This way you can slowly migrate your software to the Linux side and maybe eventually forget to turn on your VM for months.

  • trolan  3 months ago

    The only mid level hurdle you'll encounter is no Microsoft store. It was only an issue for me when gaming, but steam was fully supported. Same for Win 11 LTSC.

    • winkelmann  3 months ago

      Not sure if this still works, but you used to be able to run "wsreset.exe -i" to install the Microsoft Store. The command kicks off the process in the background, so there's no progress indicator, but the Store app just appeared after a few minutes.

    • xvv  3 months ago

      I am on an LTSC install. Installing the Microsoft store is as easy as typing `wsreset -i` into an admin powershell.

  • anaisbetts  3 months ago

    Yes, LTSC is literally missing parts that are standard on a Windows install - it's an operating system designed for ATMs and kiosks that run exactly one tested application, it is not a general-purpose operating system.

    If you happen to not need those pieces, and you don't care about running super out-of-date software? Sure it might work. But it's not a Good Idea in general.

    • whyoh  3 months ago

      That's not a fair take. The only things I noticed that were missing out of the box are the MS Store and some Dolby codecs. Both of those can be installed easily.

      I estimate that 95% of people would be fine with Windows 10 21H2 LTSC. The 5% might miss some 3rd party software that requires version 22H2 to run (just because it's the latest, not for any technical reasons).

      1 reply →

    • eviks  3 months ago

      > it is not a general-purpose operating system

      Name a single missing part that destroys the "generalpurposeness" of the OS?

  • chithanh  3 months ago

    Yes, limitations are that some services do not come preinstalled by default.

    Some like the Microsoft Store can be installed afterwards.

    Some like Windows Mixed Reality cannot be installed afterwards.

    So check carefully what you actually need and decide based on that.

    • mynameajeff  3 months ago

      Thanks for mentioning WMR. I was genuinely struggling to remember why I didn't install LTSC previously and that reminded me. Half the reason I'm stuck on 10 even if I wanted to go to 11 is WMR. LTSC would be perfect for me if it wasn't for that little caveat (and a few more if my memory serves correct).

      Awesome that they created and then gutted a standard that just bricks my $400 device that they barely even seem to care to support on launch. There's patches that exist for 11 but they're just that, patches, and my WMR experience is already very jank. Nvidia also seems to be the target for most development so I'm not sure where I'll go once this all settles as I have my gaming PC in a nice position where I can just hop on after work and everything just works with no interruptions or issues currently.

      11 is a hot mess and I already know that linux/proton simply won't work for the games I tend to quickly hop onto with friends.

      1 reply →

  • nwellinghoff  3 months ago

    Wsl2 features like nested virtualization only work in the win11 version. The ltsc releases seem like the only viable option at this point.

    • chithanh  3 months ago

      Nested virtualization is a problem for systems with AMD CPUs I think, Windows 10 Hyper-V supported nested virtualization on Intel only. Since Windows 11 it is supported on AMD too.

      1 reply →

pier25  3 months ago

Does steam work on that version?

That's pretty much the only reason I use Windows these days.

chii  3 months ago

how do you buy windows 10 LTSC without being an enterprise?

  • EvanAnderson  3 months ago

    Unless it has changed recently you need to have a minimum qty. license purchase. Any good reseller will sell you the one license of LTSC and pad the rest of the order with the cheapest qualifying license in the catalog. (In the past it was DVD playback licenses at a couple of bucks apiece, for example.) I was able to get licensing for my father's sole proprietorship DBA from a big name reseller w/o furnishing any kind of business-related docs and paying with his personal credit card. (In his case it was Windows Server and CALs, but the premise is the same for LTSC.) You'll probably have to talk to a sales gerbil but it's imminently feasible.