This post started out as a question, but throughout two days of googling it became this compilation of links. I will tell you everything worth mention that I found, share my plan with you, and expect some critics (for the infos of course, please not for the silly hyperactivity of my ADHD brain over such a trivial matter 🥲). Tell me what do you think, is windows 10 enterprise LTSC IoT actually the best OS for piracy? Is it Windows 7 for best fps with games despite DirectX11 being outdated? Or maybe everything could be done through Linux + Lutris&WINE for example? I’m moving out from ubuntu mainly cuz I still don’t know where to get Nvidia&Intel Drivers from 😂

So the windows community would infinitely shame you for using Windows 7 because it has no more security updates. Also I heard you neither have support for DirectX12 nor optimization for SSD, So windows 7 isn’t optimized for ex: gaming even though most repacks were released for it. I don’t know anything about Win8.1 and my experience with Win8 isn’t good, so I disregard them here.

So it is Windows 10 or Windows 11, but both are bloated with ads, telemetry, useless apps, processes and services (why do I have Cortana!?) and forces you to update. Win10&11 presented what is called “windows as a service” instead of “as a product”, a policy which sucks for us users.

But I heard about Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC, which has minimized telemetry and non of the annoying apps, I don’t know about auto-updates though, but I heard it doesn’t receive them often. I also learned that I better choose IoT version of the later for longer support (2032 vs 2027 for non-IoT LTSC). Now I have multiple choice of guides:

Downloading Microsoft’s official copies, debloating and activating them:

1- the r/piracy guide which suggests these two files, which are both 2019 versions. But I’m happy to see the size is 3.78 GB, so I can burn the 64x on a DVD!

2- the r/WindowsLTSC Megathread which sites to this guide, which again suggests this friendly thread, and seems to be extensive and up-to-date. The friendly thread suggests tb.rg-adguard for downloading the iso. If you choose the options on this picture then according to the files.rg-adguard.net database you’re downloading en-us_windows_10_consumer_editions_version_22h2_x64_dvd_8da72ab3.iso . Not Enterprise Edition, so I think we just disregard this particular part of the friendly thread and download from the pastebin in the Megathread.
—>cons: This is a bit extremely hard, especially since I’m on Linux rn.

3- Microsoft Activation Scripts developers also provide direct links to download , without the heavy guides. But will I be able to uninstall Microsoft Edge for example later? This one might be the easiest yet balanced route for now.

honorable mention: This Russian site, called nmclub, claims it offers 22H2 version of Windows 10 Enterprise IoT, but it is not LTSC I guess?

Modified Windows copies

1- Ghost Spectre Superlite which apparently doesn’t have an official site, rather an official Youtube channel (which I linked) but it is constantly updated on the tech-latest.com website. the videos prove that the system supports android emulation well (I think, tbh I’m not considering this one, just included it cuz people who tried it speak positively about it)

2-Revi Os I heard it has an active Discord community and has a GUI tool that allow you to enable whatever you want,

3-Atlas OS (this one is open source and has a Github page and is said to give the best gaming performance and least resources usage, I’m really considering it!).

—>PS: as far as I understood, both Revi OS and Atlas OS are applicable on your installed win10/win11 using this open source project called ameliorated which itself had its’ fixed Win10 1903 version.

4- Slimdown10: from the mydigitallife forum. The creator states:

The tool eradicates all cloud stuff, telemetry stuff, spying, tracking stuff, UWP bloatware, suggestions, ads, etc by removing them directly from DVD media (before installation, not after it). It also integrates latest updates and turns Windows Update into manual mode (no more forced updates). It is fully open source with no hidden stuff or blackbox features.

using Scripts

1- Win-Debloat-Tools Looks like the most maintained open source one out of them. Along with Sophia…

2- In this reddit comment, a user recommended to:

install Windows Enterprise or Pro, and use Sophia Script to remove the Bloatware that comes installed and use O&O ShutUp10 to disable the telemetry and spyware that is possible.
Because security updates are extremely ultra important when you are connected to internet.(?)

3- privatezilla: This one seems lightweight and easier to use, but not up-to-date, idk.

honorable mentions:

my plan:

  • I will just download the r/piracy 64x ISO file,
  • burn it on a 4.7GB DVD that I have (probably using ubuntu MATE’s Disk Image Mounter) cuz I don’t have a USB rn,
  • Activate using MAS Tool,
  • Download Drivers Manually,
  • Maybe use either Win-Debloat-Tools or winutil if I feel deranged. ngl, they got me sold just by having gui and being open source
          • @brax@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
            8•2 years ago

            No, not really. Distros like Ubuntu work pretty much out of the box. Dead simple to install, and easy enough to use that anyone should be able to handle it.

            It’s only tricky and confusing if you try to do more advanced things.

        • @SchizoDenji@lemm.eeEnglish
          -3•2 years ago

          The reason that an average pirate, let alone an average user does not have enough time to keep investigating shit that breaks down frequently.

          At some point everyone feels that the time you spend on setting up and getting things to work is better utilised in using a more standardized solution that doesn’t need investigating.

          • rushEnglish
            7•2 years ago

            If Linux broke that often (in comparison to windows), many of your devices and most of the internet wouldn’t run Linux.

            (other than windows PCs and maybe MacOS devices)

            • @Alborlin@lemmy.worldEnglish
              -4•2 years ago

              The person you are replying to is 1000% right. Not so long ago your wanted to play flash files i.e. entirety of YouTube on Linux , you had do this and that and what not… I stopped using Linux even the noob friendliest ones after that one. The ones that are used in “running” internet are specifically made for that purpose only and they are not general purpose ones. So they are more robust than your “working out of the box” Linux versions.

              Linux is hard and ABSOLUTE SHIT for a n person who wants things to just work., I mean can you search on Firefox a software like Irfan view or sony Vegas and install it and be fine in 10 minutes max? Nope … You find a relative similar software then you install it via package manager, and you think you are fine but as you run it it throws some error, do you go search for it . Turns out you need xyz dependency for it , then you search how to install dependency , all the forums tells you via terminal it’s just one command. So you try to do that but you forget/a or-s somewhere and …

              Linux doesn’t work for general purpose easily. It’s good one for specific purpose. That’s what my personal experience been…

              • rushEnglish
                0•2 years ago

                The last time that YouTube used Flash Player, was in 2015. That is about 8 years ago, nearly a decade. I’ve installed Linux Mint on devices by relatives and they have not really had any major issues since, the first instance of that was 2 years ago.

                Since 2015, which seems to me was the last time you tried a Linux Distribution, things have changed dramatically. About 5 years ago, Valve released their first version of Proton - a compatibility layer for windows programs based on Wine, DXVK and other tooling - that has been able to run tons of programs up to this point and has only been improving. In the games department alone about 87% of the top 1000 games have been marked as playable by the community. In terms of other software there’s been a massive shift from trying to run Windows Software to instead looking for alternatives and/or programs which fill your needs, as you should when switching operating systems. After all, when someone switches to macOS from Windows or vice versa, they wouldn’t expect to have the same Windows-Only software, or macOS-Only software.

                Last year, the Steam Deck released, which ships with a full, user-facing version of Linux developed in-house by Valve called SteamOS. That marked the moment where another, decently sized development team working on various different aspects of the Linux desktop stack was being paid to continue developing to ensure a better experience, and Valve is known for upstreaming their fixes and changes where possible, contributing back to the experience for the benefit of everyone.

                I don’t know when you’ve last tried Linux on the desktop, but in case it really hasn’t been since 2015 I encourage you to give it another try. Things have changed, and whilst - like any software - the experience still isn’t perfect, it has come a long way from the experience you’re describing, even when comparing it to a shorter timespan like from 2019 to now.

                • @Alborlin@lemmy.worldEnglish
                  1•2 years ago

                  Just today in piracy forums, there is person asking for how to play Minecraft on SO EASY LINUX. Just read the comments to know HOW EASY LINUX is to a beloved game available everywhere.

            • @SchizoDenji@lemm.eeEnglish
              -12•2 years ago

              What “most of the internet”? Unless you’re counting android, not even 10% of devices run Linux.

              • rushEnglish
                10•2 years ago

                by “most of the internet” I mean a HUGE majority of the websites you interact with being hosted on servers that run, you guessed it, Linux. Additionally, your WiFi router probably runs linux, almost any non-iPhone runs Linux, IOT devices (say, security cameras) usually run Linux, and Linux is even on Mars.

              • NeshuraEnglish
                8•2 years ago

                Almost every web server in existance runs linux

        • people_are_cuteEnglish
          -6•2 years ago

          Video Games.

          No matter how good Proton gets, native will still be better. Also, trying to find support on running pirated games on Linux will get you kicked out of most forums.

          Also, Nvidia hardware sucks on Linux

          • Miku Luna \ she/itEnglish
            7•2 years ago

            No matter how good Proton gets, native will still be better.

            If Proton sucks for a game, try a different Proton version (maybe even Proton GE), if it still sucks, try a KVM with PCI passthrough. If you don’t wanna do that shit, dual boot.

            Also, trying to find support on running pirated games on Linux will get you kicked out of most forums.

            !linuxcracksupport@lemmy.world

            Also, Nvidia hardware sucks on Linux

            Not really under X11 with the proprietary driver. Also Team Red has good hardware to offer too.

  • Display NameEnglish
    11•2 years ago

    I expected a discussion about linux from the title not about which windows version.

    • @zaknenou@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPEnglish
      -3•2 years ago

      I left that part for the comment section as an exercise, since it took me 2 days just to figure out which version of Windows 10 to download. Those who think windows 7, windows 11, ubuntu, manjaro, linux mint, Pop!_OS, Arch or fedora are all invited to share their stance, with mention to problems like: drivers, lightweight, internet connectivity, privacy …ect.

  • @gr522x@lemmy.mlEnglish
    6•2 years ago

    If you care so much about avoiding analytics and advertising why on earth are you “googling” your questions on the world’s largest advertising and analytics website?

    • @zaknenou@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPEnglish
      2•2 years ago

      google is manageable for me, especially because of firefox extensions, but windows is unmanageable, ads on desktop and using my data plan (limited GBs) secretly. My problem is not with privacy, it stems from the performance of my pc and internet. Much like the problem with Denuevo. Also, I don’t sacrifice performance for the sake of privacy, for instance I’d uninstall google apps from phone cuz they use resources, even little, but I won’t use a VPN cuz it will make net usage slow.

      • JustEnoughDucksEnglish
        3•2 years ago

        Any linux can use whatever you want.

        Arch comes by default with nothing but a terminal and then you can install X.org or Wayland, whatever you want.

  • @odium@programming.devEnglish
    3•2 years ago

    The best OS for piracy is any security focused Linux distro like Qubes and Tails.

    The second best pirate os is any general Linux distro.

    Pop os is a distro with nvidia drivers pre installed.

    • @zxkhngjh@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      1•2 years ago

      For whatever reason, on my Pop!_os the app store didn’t really work. Maybe I just used the command line to install things improperly, but I switched to mint a while back and everything’s been going great so far.

  • @cyberhaggis@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    0•2 years ago

    I would recommend Manjaro. Very beginner friendly, has access to the AUR and a great community forum where you can find the answer to any question or problem. I took the leap years back from Windows to Linux and it was one of the best things i ever did.