Windows 11 and Windows 10 were recently updated with “Windows Backup”, which has now become a system app. While the feature initially appeared as “optional” or something that could be easily dismissed, Microsoft is slowly getting aggressive with its new OneDrive backup campaign on Windows 11.
Windows 11’s “Windows Backup” uses OneDrive to back up many of the things that are important to you. This may include your credentials, settings, pictures, documents, videos, files, themes, or even audio settings. Microsoft wants the Windows Backup app to become the ultimate backup tool, but there’s a catch.
Windows Backup does not support offline backups and requires a OneDrive plan. By default, OneDrive offers 5GB of free storage, which is why some users do not want to backup their PC. But is that going to stop Microsoft from pestering users? Probably not. In a new server-side update, Windows 11 has started nagging users to try the Backup tool.
Man, they just keep burying their head further. I still have Windows 10 on my gaming PC, and that’s more because I plan on replacing it and will use that moment to transition to Linux, but up until a few months ago I could have been convinced to keep using Windows.
That was until they popped up a full screen ad in the middle of gaming, telling me my PC doesn’t work with 11 but they have great financing options forn a 11 capable PC. Followed by my lock screen having ads of a similar nature. Fucking gross.
That’s despicable. Popping a window up over everything enrages me even when it’s an application I intended to open. Popping up a fucking ad while I am in the middle of something is completely unacceptable. I can definitely see what that was the last straw.
Shut up, OneDrive.
Given ‘backup’ or ‘back-up’ is a noun, and ‘back up’ is the verb form, does the nag pop-up have the spelling mistake? It suggests the people writing (and reviewing) this code aren’t the star employees. Is it a make-work project from sales? Intern-chow?
Your PC is not fully backed up
Backup is not turned on for Credentials and Folders. Back up now to save them if something happens to your PC.
This is the prompt from the screenshot in the article.
Seems right to me.
Microsoft is teaching a whole generations to ignore them.
It’s the first thing I uninstall in a fresh install
Windows 7 was my last windows. Since then it’s been Linux on all machines. It was easy to see where Microsoft were going. And they will continue to go down this route.
When you run windows, it’s not your computer.
It’s the third god damned time I find newly installed MS software doing “something” in the background that I never authorized. I don’t even have Onedrive. I purged that sin from the metal as soon as I had the chance.
I already intend to change OSes. The real question is now if I do it when I decide to upgrade, or in the fast lane. Which is it Microsoft?
What drives me nuts about this is that it always uses the vague language of security and data protection without any consideration that, y’know, they have competition from other cloud providers and self-hosted solutions that do things that OneDrive can’t even do. I guess if you have your backups anywhere else it doesn’t count.
I think Windows 10 will be the last version I use. As time goes on, Linux seems more and more like a viable option, and I’ll be glad to have control over my PC for once. And who knows, maybe I will no longer have the mysterious freezing issue that’s been plaguing me for years…
The business side is only going to care if that popup is going to get them that 2% more revenue next year or not.
This. It is annoying for 100% of the users, but a small percentage will be fooled and end up using OneDrive and probably end up paying.
It literally works like spam. Very little effort to cast a wide net and a small succes rate is enough to make a profit. Of course long term they keep pushing people out. But hey, profits this year, we’ll see about next years when it hits us …
So glad I switched to Linux!
