Question Windows 11 Dev Channel?

[Muckster]

In installed Windows 11 on a new build recently and am still getting used to it. Honestly, I've spent a good deal of time trying to roll it back to Windows 10 in terms of some features or ways of doing things. Context menu, features that used to be on by default now turned off, lost features. etc.

In particular the sorting is messed up. Win11 doesn't refresh sort automatically like inside a folder when you add a new file. You have to "fresh" (F5). So annoying. In my case it does, but only on partition drives, not on the OS drive. Makes no sense and I've tried several work arounds.

Windows 11 has a new version of notepad and the photo viewer, but when I first install Windows 11, it has the older versions of notepad and photoviewer. (In February, I downloaded Win11 to USB from microsoft to install to my PC.). Then, at some mysterious point, Windows 11 upgraded me to the new notepad and the new photo viewer. Here's the problem for me. I like to keep a clean "image" of my OS which I can restore at any time. I keep this image of my OS very clean really only changing it when I do windows updates or other changes to my system that I want to keep long term. The problem is, whenever I go back to this image, I have the older versions of notepad and photoviewer installed. Then at some point, they just update themselves. It has nothing to do with Windows updates. Can anyone tell me what triggers Windows 11 to update these applications?

Does this have anything to do with Dev Mode? Am I, by default, on Dev Mode? Most of the information I'm finding on Dev mode goes back a year or two. In 2024, is there an alternative to Dev mode in Windows11 or is this no longer a feature? I just want a stable version of Windows 11 and I don't need or want to be a test dummy for M$ new features. What should I be running?

 

[zinkles]

Windows 11 has a new version of notepad and the photo viewer, but when I first install Windows 11, it has the older versions of notepad and photoviewer. (In February, I downloaded Win11 to USB from microsoft to install to my PC.). Then, at some mysterious point, Windows 11 upgraded me to the new notepad and the new photo viewer. Here's the problem for me. I like to keep a clean "image" of my OS which I can restore at any time. I keep this image of my OS very clean really only changing it when I do windows updates or other changes to my system that I want to keep long term. The problem is, whenever I go back to this image, I have the older versions of notepad and photoviewer installed. Then at some point, they just update themselves. It has nothing to do with Windows updates. Can anyone tell me what triggers Windows 11 to update these applications?

It could be that the windows version on the USB is different than the latest version. it probably is, considering its from February. Because of that reason, when installing Windows, you will get the previous version of notepad and such, but after a while it may be updating to a later release where there is a newer version of those notepad and stuff that is included in the Windows update OR it's installed from the Microsoft store as an update.

If you're in some preview version of Windows, you should opt out of it in order to receive normal and stable Windows releases from then onwards. This means that you will remain on that test/preview version of Windows till the next stable release comes out. (Assuming "Windows insider program" is what you called "Dev mode")

For opting-out & opting-in for the Preview versions of Windows, you can use this tool below.
Download it from GitHub > Unzip/extract it > Run the "OfflineInsiderEnroll.cmd" as an Administrator > Select the option "Stop Receiving Windows Insider Builds" >Reboot

https://github.com/abbodi1406/offlineinsiderenroll

 

[Muckster]

It could be that the windows version on the USB is different than the latest version. it probably is, considering its from February.

Thanks, I appreciate you taking the time to try to help.

However, that doesn't make sense. I'm mean February of 2024 which ended just 9 days ago and yet Windows 11 started rolling out the new notepad sometime late in 2021. I just went to the main M$ page and downloaded the latest version so I don't see why I would have gotten something older or some developer version, etc.

Because of that reason, when installing Windows, you will get the previous version of notepad and such, but after a while it may be updating to a later release where there is a newer version of those notepad and stuff that is included in the Windows update OR it's installed from the Microsoft store as an update.

As I said, so far as a I can tell, notepad and photoviewer does NOT update when I update windows. If the cause is M$ store updating, then it's updating at some sort of random interval. How can manually trigger M$ to update? If I can do that, I can at least see if that's what's causing the update to notepad.

If you're in some preview version of Windows, you should opt out of it in order to receive normal and stable Windows releases from then onwards. This means that you will remain on that test/preview version of Windows till the next stable release comes out. (Assuming "Windows insider program" is what you called "Dev mode")

For opting-out & opting-in for the Preview versions of Windows, you can use this tool below.
Download it from GitHub > Unzip/extract it > Run the "OfflineInsiderEnroll.cmd" as an Administrator > Select the option "Stop Receiving Windows Insider Builds" >Reboot

https://github.com/abbodi1406/offlineinsiderenroll

Again, I'm trying to keep a clean image to go back to. That might be a troubleshooting tool but I don't want to install things I don't need like github as a permenant solution. I don't understand why or how I got signed up for "Windows Insider program" or "Dev" mode, unless M$ is having these enabled on their default build from their website. Again, this was a totally fresh install on new hardware and I paid for the full verison of windows Home.

Can you help me first by simply identifying my version of windows enough to know what's going on? I'm open to going all the way back and downloading a whole new version of windows from M$ to my USB and starting over, but only if I know that's going to help.

Here's what my build reports:

OS Build: 22631.3155
Experience: Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.22684.1000.0

 

[zinkles]

That doesn't look like an insider build though. You would get a watermark saying "Windows 11 Insider Preview" at the bottom right of your desktop if you were on insider builds.