Microsoft Windows 11 setup race: 21H2 vs 22H2 -- which operating system installs fastest?
Microsoft has just started to roll out the Windows 11 2022 Update, which fixes a number of annoyances and adds some welcome new features to the fledgling operating system.
The update itself doesn’t take that long to install, but what about if you were installing Windows 11 entirely from scratch? Which version would be faster -- 21H2 or 22H2 (the development name for the 2022 Update)? There can only be one winner…
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YouTube channel Blue Exposure installed both versions of the operating system in a virtual machine, recorded the process and put the two installations side-by-side in what turns out to be a pretty exciting race in which the leader changes places several times.
Obviously there is always the potential for variance, but to equalize the environment in which Windows 11 21H2 and 22H2 were installed (as much as possible at least) the following measures were taken:
- Both virtual machines are using the same NVMe storage device
- On both virtual machines network adapter and sound card are disabled (network adapter is only enabled during setup phase when Microsoft account is needed)
- First boot from media is equalized for both virtual machines
- Both virtual machines will be using 8 virtual CPU cores
- All sections during Windows 11 install where user input is needed are normalized (duration is equal on both virtual machines)
- Secure Boot and TPM are enabled
If you think you know which version of Microsoft's operating system will win -- the original Windows 11 or the brand new updated incarnation -- place your bets now and watch the video below to find out if you were right or not.