I support business PCs and Windows Server domains, and in my view Windows has become a product that works against the people who run it. It ships with a configuration system Microsoft has never finished, sells to you from inside the shell, pushes you into an account, declares working hardware obsolete and delivers updates that break the machines they patch. "Spaghetti" is my word for the result, not a measured fact. Everything below that is a fact has a source at the end.
Two settings apps, one unfinished job
Windows 11 has two places to configure the system: Settings and Control Panel. Microsoft's own support page says many Control Panel settings "are in the process of being migrated" to Settings, and that Control Panel "still exists for compatibility reasons". Microsoft support page. In 2024 the same page reportedly said Control Panel was "in the process of being deprecated" before the wording was softened, according to Pureinfotech.
In April 2026 a Microsoft design leader, replying to a user on X, said his team was still "migrating all the old control panel controls" and that printers and network devices make it delicate. Windows Latest reported that adding a printer manually still opens Control Panel and that Device Manager is still part of it.
The older layers are easy to find. In early 2023 a developer catalogued Insider build 25267 and listed a Windows 3.1-style folder picker in the ODBC Data Sources utility, Windows XP icons on the driver copy screen, and Windows 95-era folder options and mouse settings. NTDEV That is one person's survey of a preview build, not a Microsoft statement. But when I read it I do not see a designed system. I see sediment, and that is my evidence for the word spaghetti.
An operating system that advertises
Microsoft calls them recommendations. In April 2024 it tested "recommendations to help you discover great apps from the Microsoft Store" in the Start menu in a Beta Channel build, with a toggle named "Show recommendations for tips, app promotions, and more". Windows Insider Blog Windows Spotlight on the lock screen has an option to "Get Fun Facts, Tips, Tricks, and More". Microsoft Support
In March 2022 an Insider build showed a banner promoting Microsoft Editor across File Explorer. Microsoft told BleepingComputer it was experimental, not meant to be published externally, and had been turned off. BleepingComputer I count that as a test, not a shipped feature.
A PC I deploy for an accountant should show the accountant's files, not suggestions. In March 2026 Microsoft itself promised "less noise, less distraction". Our commitment to Windows quality You do not promise less noise unless there is noise.
Setup that wants your account
Microsoft's requirements page says Windows 11 Home needs an internet connection and a Microsoft account to finish first-time setup. Microsoft Learn On 28 March 2025 Microsoft removed the bypassnro.cmd script from an Insider build, saying the change ensures "all users exit setup with internet connectivity and a Microsoft Account". Windows Insider Blog
In October 2025 build 26220.6772 removed two more local-account commands, which Microsoft said "inadvertently skip critical setup screens". Both removals were in Insider builds, not release versions. PCWorld Even the free route to Windows 10 security updates requires signing in with a Microsoft account that has administrator rights. Microsoft
Working PCs declared unsupported
Windows 11 requires TPM 2.0, UEFI with Secure Boot and a processor on Microsoft's compatibility list. Microsoft Learn For mainstream Intel Core chips that list starts at the 8th generation. Microsoft Learn In December 2023 ITPro reported a Canalys estimate that up to 240 million PCs could be scrapped, because incompatibility "massively reduces their value for refurbishing and reselling". ITPro
Windows 10 support ended on 14 October 2025. Businesses can buy Extended Security Updates at $61 per device for the first year, with the price doubling each year for a maximum of three. Microsoft Learn Consumers get $30, 1,000 Rewards points, or free enrolment by syncing settings through Windows Backup. BleepingComputer
I have no quarrel with security requirements. My quarrel is with a processor cut-off that leaves a working office PC without patches, and with a remedy that is a subscription or an account.
Recall
Microsoft announced Recall, which screenshots your activity, on 20 May 2024 and scheduled it for 18 June. By 5 June researchers had reported that its data sat in a plain-text SQLite database; Kevin Beaumont wrote that it let attackers "automate scraping everything you've ever looked at within seconds". Help Net Security
On 7 June Microsoft said Recall would be opt-in, require Windows Hello and encrypt the search index database. On 13 June it said Insiders would get it first instead of the 18 June launch. In August it said October, and on 31 October 2024 it said December. Windows Experience Blog In my view a feature that records everything on screen should have been threat-modelled before a launch date was announced.
Updates that break what they patch
Not every update is a disaster, and I will not claim that. What I can document is a pattern, and servers are not exempt:
- 11 January 2022, KB5009557: domain controllers could restart unexpectedly after an Lsass.exe error. Microsoft pointed admins to the 8 February update and shipped out-of-band KB5010791 on 18 January. Microsoft Support
- 13 August 2024, KB5041585: some Linux dual-boot machines failed with "Verifying shim SBAT data failed: Security Policy Violation". Microsoft says its dual-boot detection missed custom setups. The same page lists a BitLocker recovery screen after the 9 July 2024 update. Microsoft Support
- 14 October 2025, KB5066835: the day Windows 10 support ended, USB keyboards and mice could stop working in the recovery environment, and IIS sites on localhost could fail. Microsoft Support
- January 2026, KB5074109: Windows Latest reports Microsoft confirmed some commercial PCs failing to boot with UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME, needing recovery through WinRE. Windows Latest
- September 2026, KB5124008: Remote Desktop Services became unstable on affected systems, including servers from 2012 to 2025, with some hanging at "Please wait for the Remote Desktop Configuration". An out-of-band update followed on 14 September. Separately, some domain-joined machines lost their secure channel to the domain, and Microsoft resolved it on 22 September. Windows release health
Telemetry with a floor
Microsoft's documentation lists a "Diagnostic data off" setting that sends no Windows diagnostic data. It says this is only available on Windows Server, Enterprise and Education. Microsoft Learn On Home and Pro the lowest level is Required diagnostic data, which includes compatibility data about installed apps and a list of connected printers and external storage.
On a business PC I would like "off" to be a choice I can make. Needing a different edition to stop data leaving the machine is, to me, the wrong way round.
A business operating system should do its job and stay quiet; Windows now does neither.
What I take from it
On 20 March 2026 Microsoft's head of Windows published a plan to reduce "OS level crashes", reduce unnecessary Copilot entry points, move to a single monthly reboot and allow updates to be paused. Our commitment to Windows quality A company does not write that about a finished product.
I cannot prove the code is the worst ever written, and I will not pretend to. I do not need to. Microsoft's own pages show a configuration split it has not closed, promotions in the shell, setup that wants an account, a hardware cut-off with a paid way out, and updates that, in the cases above, needed a second update to repair them.
My own rule follows from that: nothing reaches a production domain before it has run on a test machine, and recovery media stays within reach.