Windows 10: Windows 10 without advertising? Will Server Essentials w/ GUI work?

I have a need for running a program under windows real time - a VM will not do. I also have a need for high security and no advertisements. Windows 10 Enterprise would do the trick except it is only licensed through volume licensing which is not a solution that is available to me.

Can someone enlighten me if it would be possible to achieve above requirements through Windows Server 2016 essentials and installing the GUI? Would I run into "gotcha's" in a standalone environment?

Many thanks in advance, Marinus

:)

 

Windows server essentials connector configuration wizard has stopped working

Exactly he same issue but without the server reinstall. I've been joining machines to the server pretty regularly (Windows 10 TP upgrades require a reinstall of the connector) but suddenly I now have two machines that will not run the connector configuration.
Same symptoms, right after credentials the connector crashes

 

windows server essentials connector configuration wizard has stopped working when trying to add Windows 10 machines to Server 2012 R2 Essentials

I've tried adding two windows 10 machines to our server 2012R2 essentials. One was a machine that was previously connected but I had to a bare metal restore and it wouldn't connect following that, so I deleted it from the server and attempted to reconnect.
It crashed the wizard after entering username and password (approx 10-20 seconds after). The machine has appeared on the list of devices on the server but the launch pad has not installed and the backups are not working.

The second machine is a clean install and the same thing happens. Again this has appeared on the list of devices and on both machines we can do a domain log in no problem but the backups are not working and the status is not being reported on the new machine
but is on the reconnected machine.

Windows 7 connects without a problem

Both have IPv6 disabled, both have the DNS server set to the server's IP address

Any ideas, have tried everything I've found on line but most of that is from 10-12 months ago?

 

For what its worth I'm running Windows 10 Education and not seeing any Adds. No Cortana in this version either, just the regular search.

 

Windows 10 Without the Cruft: Windows 10 LTSB (Long Term Servicing Branch), Explained

 

I never see advertisements in W10. I do not use Cortana. I see ads with browsing or Google, but that has nothing to do with W10 version. You may use an ads blocker or tweak your hosts file to reduce the number of adds during browsing.

 

Be careful, forum rule 13) No ad blocking discussions. This site depends on ads to pay for the costs of running and maintaining it.

 

Thanks for the replies sofar, I am aware of the LTSB and Education versions but neither is available to me. I am also aware of tweaking the environment however I need to keep the installation as plain vanilla as possible for reliability purposes. I've always paid for my licences and I find it a sad state of affairs that businesses seem to think that shoving advertisements and apps down someone's throat, ehh... force these things unwantedly on someone's computer, is the way forward rather than charging a reasonable fee.

I'm still looking forward to find out if using a Windows Server 2016 will have a GUI without advertising or receiving forced apps and can run a dedicated windows GUI application (which does not check if it runs on a server or not unlike some MSN software like Outlook).

Thanks in advance, Marinus.

 

What advertising are you on about? The OneDrive nag in File explorer?

I don't know but I doubt you would get it as Server 2016 doesn't have OneDrive by default - you have to install it. Therefore this ad (which is a File Explorer Sync Provider Notification you can turn off) presumably wouldn't appear.

There are quite a lot of ads/suggestions in Pro but I've not found any you can't turn off by toggling the various "show suggestions" buttons. So far...

 

Windows 10 Enterprise is available as subscription plans E3 (my recommendation to you) and E5. Plan E3 price is currently $7 + VAT per month.

You can only get Windows 10 Enterprise subscription plans through official Microsoft Partners. Microsoft does not sell them directly nor can they be bought on stores.

Find a partner near you and contact them: Find Microsoft Partners Near You - MSFT Partner Directory

More about Windows 10 Enterprise subscription plans E3 and E5: How to Buy Windows 10 For Your Business - Get Windows 10

 

If you want to run one dedicated app you might want to look into this

Set up a kiosk on Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, or Education