NotHereToPlayGames

Agreed! Especially considering your keyboard, mouse, and monitors will carry over to that "upgrade". Definitely easier than the software. But even migrating software to me seems a red herring, it's really not "that" difficult to migrate software from one computer to the next. Windows Updates are a much bigger PITA (of no concern to me, I don't install "updates", I do occasionally install hotfixes but doing so is not important to me, seen them BREAK software and printer installations WAY too many times). Proof that cost of hardware is a complete red herring - compare your computer to your PHONE (I don't have one!) and track just how much that PHONE costs you compared to your computer. And people will "upgrade" that phone every two years and not think twice! Constantly tied to a multi-year contract, RENTING the phone month by month, because the "phone was free" when they signed the "rental agreement".

But computers are like cars - you can spend $18,000 for a brand new Mirage or Rio and get from Point A to Point B - https://www.cars.com/articles/here-are-the-10-cheapest-new-cars-you-can-buy-right-now-421309/ Or you can spend $58,000 for a Lexus and not get from Point A to Point B any faster - https://www.cars.com/research/search/?style[]=luxury&years[]=2024&sort=highest_price

No. https://247wallst.com/special-report/2018/06/18/cost-of-a-computer-the-year-you-were-born-2/

That's just it. We don't need top-of-the-line. A mid to low level PC may require a RAM upgrade but computers really are CHEAP. None of us here at MSFN live in a Third World Country and the shear REALITY is we could ALL have a brand new computer if we really wanted one! Cost of computer in 1971 = $750. That's $4,659 adjusted for inflation. An Apple I in 1976 cost $667. That's $2,949 adjusted for inflation. An Apple II in 1977 cost $1,298. That's $5,389 adjusted for inflation. A Commodore VIC-20 cost $299 in 1980. That's $913 adjusted for inflation. A Commodore 64 cost $595 in 1982. That's $1,551 adjusted for inflation. An Apple Macintosh cost $2,495 in 1984. That's $6,042 adjusted for inflation. A Toshiba Satellite laptop cost $2,499 in 2002. That's $3,495 adjusted for inflation. A Toshiba Satellite laptop cost $330 in 2013. Point is, computers are CHEAP. This isn't 1977 where an Apple II cost 9.6% of an entire year's average wage.

The discussion was not in regards to "needing" that UA, but rather in regards to reverse-engineering what Chase.com is sniffing for.

I do have a "default" install of Win10 22H2. It's a VM and an unregistered Windows installation. Unmodified, default install. The only thing it gets used for is various software "dark mode" visual inspection. I am not a "dark mode" fan, but I am still curious at times and "dark mode" software just seems to 'coordinate itself' with Win10 better than any other OS - I say that based on only VM quick in-and-out "dark mode" testing. That 22H2 "default install" has become a very good comparison. I run the 22H2 VM with 4 GB RAM and things get sluggish even with 4 cores allocated. My tweaked 21H2 LTSB 2016 is quick and snappy with only 2 GB RAM and only 1 core allocated (it's also the version I use on real hardware, but it all starts in a VM until I get it to where I am happy with it). Processes / Threads / Handles side-by-side basically tells it all, Windows only, no background apps -

I'd have to review my history. But if memory serves, the only reason my three-iteration process includes NTLite is because WinReducerEX100 doesn't remove MS Print to PDF and XPS Document Writer (something I never use and if I did I would resort to third-party, not bundled with OS). I print PDFs via doPDF, I don't want the feature "bundled" into my OS.

Autoruns doesn't list it in the Services tab.

Neither do !. I've used Autoruns in the past, forgot all about it, thanks.

I actually use NTLite (but the free version). My media goes through three iterations to get my slimmed-down 10 to work to my liking. WinReducerEX100 free -> NTLite free -> WinReducerEX100 free. Since XP remains my true workhorse, not sure if I'll pay for a tool to improve upon my slimmed-down 10. Guess it will depend on just how much more I'll "need" 10 over XP in the coming years.

<OT> I've only ever had one job and one job only that scheduled employees to work weekends. 80% of us, myself included, only had two days off per month (a Sat and Sun), MANDATED to work all but 24 days per YEAR. Would even be MANDATED to work New Year's Day, Thanksgiving, and Easter. SOME were even MANDATED to work Christmas (I did have the "luck" of not having to work Christmas) - worst job of my entire life! I survived two rounds of layoffs but resigned after just over five years all on account of mandated overtime. Resigned without another job already lined up. BEST THING I've ever done, that job had a way of turning everybody into "sour" people, "mad all the time". I also always keep late afternoons and evenings free. I'll do anywhere from 8 to 13 hours in a day, but I get there at 2 or 3 in the morning and out the door when the kids' school lets out. I've had to basically retrain every boss I've ever worked for, "We can't have you here at 3am by yourself." I've involved HR at three different jobs over bosses telling me that, "Explain to me why so-and-so can work at 8pm here by themself but I cannot do the same thing at 3am?" HR takes my side each and every time! Because there is no difference! You either don't let anybody work outside of a standard "8 to 5" or you accept the early arrival and the late departure EQUALLY. We don't do family stuff every day of the week, but I am by no means absent. I have half a day in before anyone else even wakes up.

For now I am opting to revert to 2016 LTSB. I have ZERO use for "Windows Defender" and I'm not keen on running an OS with useless and unneeded "overhead" running in the background.

Is there a specific .ps script I should download/run?

LTSC is a version of 21H2.

Doesn't even launch for me!

I kind of have to assume that your XP VM is using an extended kernel or something. I don't know how to test for that as I don't use extended kernels (at least not yet, never know what the future brings). We should be able to tell by OS file timestamps, but I wouldn't know what files to compare timestamps.

I'm the OPPOSITE. I've had jobs that I hated and even one once that put me to "near tears" every time I drove into the parking lot. That d#mn job treated us like SLAVES, like we were property that they owned, "threatening" us every chance they got with "points". I resigned that position and all they asked was "where are you going?". Told them "No where! You MANDATE overtime and I'm good with my money, I can live a year just off of all the overtime money that my coworkers just throw into a brand new car every two or three years. I'm OUT. I'll sit at home and watch Netflix until something comes along that doesn't MANDATE my WEEKENDS and that RESPECTS their employees!". Took me two months which is longer than I was thinking it would take. Downright LOVE my job. Been at this one over a year. LOVE it so much that I work 50 to 60 hours every week without being asked to, come in when I want, leave when I want. No lunch on some days. Two hour lunches on other days. I've never been HAPPIER even though I'm "working" more hours than the SLAVE SHOP ever had me work. It's not "work" when you LOVE what you do!

Based on your screencap, it appears you are running from inside a VirtualBox VM. If you are running "seamless" then you may not really be running v108 or v92 from XP but rather from the VM "overlapping" your XP.

It's dated December 2016. Oops, that's my LTSB. It's dated October 2021.

Neither of those seem to work in 2019 LTSC

In my 2016 LTSB Win10, I could disable Windows Defender Firewall. I am aware of the "risks" associated with this - My computer, My rules, lol. I am in-process of upgrading two laptops to 2019 LTSC Win10 and the Windows Defender Firewall can no longer be disabled. This ( https://github.com/ionuttbara/windows-defender-remover ) looked promising but tons of errors in the console window during execution and Windows Defender Firewall is still enabled. Any suggestions or alternative solutions? Thanks in advance.

That's not technically how it works. But since this debate has already gone full circle, it really seems pointless to proceed. Sometimes people only see what they want to see, hear what they want to hear.

Word.

I can only speak for my build (which is what this thread is here for). I cannot do a full reverse-engineer of Humming Owl's release - but it connects to China! (at bare minimum, it connects to China on the very first launch, can't say I ran it "all day" to see if it connects "repeatedly".) edit - I cite this only as a caution, bring things from Humming Owl's release and "add" them to my release and you can be bringing in "unintended consequences". I have no plans to reverse-engineer to see WHERE this connection to China is coming from.