Installing Windows software

[Peter Flynn]

On 12/10/2024 13:32, Robert Heller wrote:
> MS-Windows 11 will only install on very new hardware. MS-Windows 10 is nearing
> EOL. You can't "just install" MS-Windows. You need to buy a license key to use
> it. (I don't know if it will install without a key, or if it will run in any
> meaningful way without a licence key.)

Thank you. I didn't know Win-11 was aimed at only new hardware (someone 
told me that "current" Windows -- probably Win-10 at the time -- would 
install even on quite old machines, but my memory may be playing tricks).

I believe I am still entitled to use my university's site license key, 
so I need to check that.

> There is already documentation on installing TeX Live on MS-Windows here

TeX is not the problem, fortunately: I've been using it for decades, 
just not on Windows :-)

On 12/10/2024 21:15, Phil wrote:
 >
> You can install Win 10 without a key and run it permanently with no
> real restrictions except personalizing the PC ie changing your
> desktop background, not a showstopper.
Aha. That must be what I getting confused about, thank you.

The real question is, for new-user screen-by-screen documentation, how 
much of a VISUAL difference would there be between running the TeX Live 
installer under Win-10 and Win-11? My understanding is that once inside 
the installer, it looks the same regardless of the OS EXCEPT that the 
presentation of key selectors like directory structures would be in the 
relevant format for the OS, so I would want to see them with colons and 
backslashes.

However, I still need to settle on VM, emulator, or sacrificial Win-10.

Peter