There’s both LTSC and LTSC IOT versions. People have tried to build scripts that remove the stuff that’s not needed from standared Windows and have basically said it’s impossible. If it was possible, MS would not have released it as a totally separate product.
These two platforms let them stay in the game instead of people who need an embedded system going to some other vendor. I’m not sure it’s even profitable for them, but that has never stopped them before. I know a guy who’s building a platform that needs an embedded OS, and I was suggesting some different options. He was looking at one, then he sent me an email saying, “Nope, I’m going with Windows!” His system is extremly high-risk and has life-critical needs, in that if the software stops then people can die. I would not personally want to use the equipment he’s building because I simply don’t trust Windows for that level of reliability. Later, I found that he’s actually using LTSC IOT. That’s better, but still a bit scary. The biggest upside for him, actually, is that it allows him to source software from a wider selection of vendors vs. what his options would be if it was a more niche embedded OS product. That doesn’t help address the reliability issues, however. Woud YOU get on any modern aircraft if you knew that any version of Windows was at the core of all of their equipment? There are literally dozens of computers that are used on modern aircraft, besides just the avionics, and I cannot imagine anybody using any version of Windows for ANY of it. There are plenty of robust, real-time embedded kernals to choose from today. For life-critical things, I’d go with one of them long before I’d consider Windows. But for my own use, Win LTSC IOT is perfect because I want a stable, predictable environment that doesn’t go in and reset stuff without my permission, changing / resetting Registry settings, replacing drivers, and adding who-knows-what to supposedly “improve security” that exists in many cases because of all the holes their constant updates create. -David Schwartz > On Mar 26, 2026, at 2:18 PM, Stephen Partington via PLUG-discuss > <[email protected]> wrote: > > LTSC stands for Long Term Servicing Contract so places that need super long > support windows. The LTSC is the IOT version of this, for kiosks, etc, as you > said. > > I would personally recommend installing Windows using and autounatend file to > remove what you do not want (like the enterprise has done for a long time) > > On Wed, Mar 25, 2026 at 7:27 PM David Schwartz via PLUG-discuss > <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> > wrote: > I recently bought a Mini-PC on Amazon from KAMRUI that has an AMD Ryzen CPU > etc. It’s a fast, low-energy machine that’s promoted as an “entry-level > gaming machine”. It fits my needs perfectly for why I got it. > > The ad suspiciously does not mention an OS anywhere. Few of the ads from > KAMRUI do now. I wonder why? > > When I got it and started it up, I noticed it begin to run the installation > process for Win 11, which kind of surprized me. I went ahead and installed > it, doing the dance that lets you proceed without having to login to an MS > account. > > I didn’t care, because my plan was to install Windows LTSC IOT (Win 10 > version), which I did, and am very happy with. > > I watched a bunch of videos on YT about Windows LTSC, and some of them point > to sites where you can DL links to get installers and patches to tell the > registry to bypass things, as well as a file that works as a license key. I’m > not going to post them here. > > The thing is, this version of Windows is only licensed to companies who need > it, but it runs on most any Intel or ARM machine made thesse days. > > I spent the first 5 years out of college working at Intel on stuff intended > for use with embedded systems, beginning with a real-time embedded OS, and > many years after that building embedded applications for clients. It’s a > different world. The average vehicle has a couple dozen computers in it, and > every one of them is a uniquely designed embedded system. > > Every time I mention this to anybody, I get a lot of flack from people who > don’t understand the difference. Windows LTSC IOT was made for use by > companies that make standalone products and things (eg, kiosks) that need an > embedded OS that has no monitor or kbd attached because there’s nobody there > to watch them. There’s zero bloatware included. In fact, it doesn’t even come > with some basic stuff you’d expect. It’s even leaner than Windows Server > products. > > But if you install it on a desktop, you get a super-lean install of Windows > that will not auto-update EVER unless you explicitly tell lit to. Those > auto-updates are the kiss-of-death to embedded applications! They may be > connected to an internet, but not usually in a way that makes them vulnerable > to outside attacks. The LAN is going to be very local and typically behind a > firewall if they have public connections. > > The Win 10 version’s end-of-life is scheduled for 2035 or so, and they’re not > going to pester you to install Win 11 because that’s not what companies that > build embedded systems will do. The Win 11 version’s EOL is around 2045. > > If you look at the failures around the DIA underground baggage handling > system, I knew from the start it was going to fail because they were using > the only version of the newly released Win NT platform, which was for > desktops. It could not deal with real-time signaling, it got interrupted by > random background processes, and it was very unpredictable. That baggage > handling system was a perfect example of the need for an embedded OS. The > company that built it was an MS-certified Platinum service that had MS behind > the, feedign them the wrong product for this job. At the end, they sadly laid > the blame on the tiny vendor who provided the DB they used. I had been using > that DB for years, and it’s an excellent product. Win NT was the primary > cause of the failure and nobody who reported on it ever metioned that it’s > totally inappropriate for embedded systems. > > If you’ve ever been through public places with large-screen kiosks and one or > more are showing a Windows BSOD, you’re looking at the problem. Windows > assumes someone is monitoring the computer 24/7/365 and can respond to > unhandled exceptions inside the OS whenver they happen. Imagine if that > happend on an aircraft or inside of a computer running a bank of elevators, > or your microwave. > > It only took MS until around 2015 to actualy build something specific for > embedded designed — Windows LTSC IOT. (There’s a Win LTSC version that’s NOT > for IOT, which is different.) > > I’ve had no problems running it on my little MiniPC and it’s stable as can > be. No auto-updates. No bloatware. Nothing there that it didn’t come with or > that I didn’t install. > > -David Schwartz > > > > > > On Mar 21, 2026, at 10:47 AM, Keith Smith via PLUG-discuss > > <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> > > wrote: > > > > > > Hi, > > > > This is a very interesting video. It fails to state that M$ was extremely > > predatory in the 80's and 90's. > > > > I recently read that Bill Gates spent several billion dollars to > > rehabilitate his repetition. > > > > Fast forward and I recently read the Gates' reputation just took a big hit > > because of Jeffrey Epstein. It is being reported that Gates' wife left > > him, at least in part, because of Jeffrey Epstein. > > > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVv-dSmr6BA > > <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVv-dSmr6BA> > > > > Keith > > > > --------------------------------------------------- > > PLUG-discuss mailing list: [email protected] > > <mailto:[email protected]> > > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: > > https://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss > > <https://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss> > > --------------------------------------------------- > PLUG-discuss mailing list: [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]> > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: > https://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss > <https://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss> > > > -- > A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you from > rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button. > > Stephen > > --------------------------------------------------- > PLUG-discuss mailing list: [email protected] > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: > https://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss
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