Ich nutze nach meinem Resmed S9 AutoSet ein Resmed AirSense 10 AutotSet APAP-Gerät mit Befeuchtereinheit und Heizschlauch. Bin mit diesem Gerät zufrieden, insbesondere wegen der geringen Lautstärke. Weil ich Allergiker bin nutze ich Hypoallergenfilter (zusätzlich habe ich einen Luftreiniger).
Für noch feinere Filterung kann man in-line Filter nutzen. Bei Resmed Geräten sollte man damit die Option AB (antibacterial) Filter wählen, damit das Gerät den Druck entsprechend anpasst. Ich habe mit solchen Filtern noch keine Erfahrung – vermutlich funktioniert die Luftbefeuchtung nicht gut damit.
Besonders praktisch finde ich die Funktion SmartStart. Sobald man über die Maske atmet schaltet sich das Gerät ein, wenn man die Maske absetzt schaltet es sich aus. Sobald ich schlafen möchte setze ich einfach nur die Maske auf. Wenn ich nachts kurz auf die Toilette möchte lasse ich die Maske auf und trenne nur über den Schnellverschluss den Schlauch ab. Beim Ausstehen morgens setze ich die Maske ab. Habe die Ramp Time auf auto gestellt. Damit wird der Therapiedruck erst dann geliefert, wenn man eingeschlafen ist.
Ich nutze zwei Masken mit unterschiedlicher Auflage an der Nase. Die Nasenpolstermaske nur, wenn die Haut seitlich der Nase von der Nasenmaske mal zu sehr gereizt ist:
Meine KV trägt alle Kosten für Geräte, Zubehör und Ersatzteile. Ersatzteile bestelle ich per E-Mail beim Versorger (aktuell Löwenstein, früher MEDTEK). Die Lieferung erfolgt problemlos innerhalb weniger Tage. Auf Antrag erstattet mir meine GKV jährlich ca. 60€ Stromkosten. (Älter als 55J von PKV in GKV wechseln)
Habe zu APAP-Geräten speziell fürs Reisen recherchiert und mich gegen ein solches entschieden. Scheinen alle laut zu sein. Kein Gerät ist so klein und leicht, dass es ins Flug-Handgepäck passt – man muss es also sowieso als zusätzliches Gepäckstück herumtragen.
Zum Resmed Mini wird beim Rühmen der Kleinheit und des geringen Gewichtes meist verschwiegen, dass es einen externes 200g schweres proprietäres Netzteil braucht sowie proprietäre Schläuche und Masken (mit ein paar Ausnahmen).
Die schwerere Philips DreamStation Go ist kompatibel mit normalen Schläuchen und Masken und hat ein eingebautes Netzteil. Das Netzkabel lässt sich leicht durch eines mit länderspezifischem Netzstecker ersetzten. Seine automatische Druckregulierung wird von SleepHQ kritisch beurteilt.
Bei Flügen kann ein APAP-Gerät problemlos mitgenommen werden. Als medizinisches Gerät schränkt es die normal erlaubte Gepäckmitnahme (1x Handgepäck plus 1x personal Item) nicht ein. Manche Airlines (wie Ryanair: Medical Equipment Baggage Waiver Letter) bestehen allerdings auf umständlicher, vorheriger Anmeldung des Geräts – selbst wenn man es, wie ich, nur mitnimmt und nicht während des Fluges nutzt. Ich habe auch immer die ärztliche Verordnung (Patientenpass) und technische Spezifikation (Zoll Bescheinigung) in der Gerätetasche dabei – musste diese aber noch nie vorzeigen. An der Sicherheitskontrolle ist man mit solchen Geräten vertraut – die machen daran aber häufig einen Abstrich und Drogentest.
Wenn ich neue Masken(teile) oder Schläuche bekomme, dann packe ich diese aus, wasche sie mit Handwaschmittel und lasse sie über Nacht ausdünsten. Danach ist der leidige Chemie-Geruch erträglicher – völlig verschwindet dieser aber leider erst nach ein paar Tagen. Neue Geräte lasse ich ohne aufgesetzte Maske länger blasen – leider auch mit bescheidenem Erfolg.
Jeden Morgen wasche ich meine Maske innen und an den aufliegenden Stellen mit Handwachmittel. Wöchentlich nehme ich dabei die Maske auseinander und wasche sie intensiver. Wöchentlich spritze ich etwas Handwaschmittel in den Schlauch, fülle etwas Wasser ein und lasse das Wasser mit zugehaltenen Enden hin und her schwappen. Danach lasse ich heißes Wasser durchlaufen. Alle paar Tage reinige ich den Wasserbehälter mit Essig – sporadisch gebe ich ihn in die Spülmaschine. Monatlich tausche ich den Hypoallergen-Filter. ResMed AirSense Cleaning Tutorial Von Ozon-Reinigern lasse ich die Finger. Es gibt Hinweise, dass diese den Schaumgummi von Apnoe-Geräten angreifen.
Resmed myAir via WiFi. Habe meinem AirSense erlaubt, meine Daten via der eingebauten Mobilfunkschnittstelle an Resmed zu senden (kostenlos, aber nicht datensparsam). Einige Zeit nach dem Aufstehen ist die Auswertung dann auf der myAir Website zu sehen. Bei Auffälligkeiten kommt eine Hinweis-E-Mail.
Ocsar via SD Karte. Freeeware, funktioniert mit vielen Geräten.
SleepHQ via SD Karte. Es gibt free und paid accounts.
Mein Lieblingshotel für Stadtbesuche in Karlsruhe. Zentral gelegen, modern und bezahlbar. Mir gefallen die recht kleinen, aber schlau ausgelegten Zimmer.
Window borders in accent color (where supported by app)
My favorite Office commands in Quick Access toolbar above ribbon
Outlook HubBar disabled for more horizontal space
My most uses apps pinned to taskbar
Greenshot tray icon always visible
‚This PC‘ pinned to desktop
Colored mouse pointer (here green)
My typical windows and apps layout3 Clocks and my tray icons
Install Windows
[In case you are angry at Microsoft making it difficult to install Windows without using an MS account: One reason for this might be that on modern HW Windows by default encrypts the system partition with BitLocker. If one loses the BitLocker key, one will lose all data in case of problems where the key is needed. Thus, Windows automatically stores the BitLocker key in the MS account.]
Even though being German, I prefer English as display language because the UI texts are shorter, there are no translation errors and it is easier to search for help with English texts and error messages. Sadly MS and many app developers confuse display language with locale, often resulting in apps with German UI even though I intended English.
Windows display language: English
Region: German
Keyboard: German
Add German language via language settings for proofing tools
Set up a sign-in PIN. This is safer than always using your password. In addition, I configure a fingerprint if the machine supports this.
Update Software to the newest version:
Force Windows updates
While in Windows Update enable:
Get Windows updates as soon as they are available
Receive updates for other Microsoft products
Force Windows Store apps updates
Install PC maker’s updates via their toll, e.g. via Lenovo Vantage
Configure a backup tool I don’t use File History because it does not support Boxcryptor encrypted files. It looks like MS has deprecated File History (for OneDrive folder backup?).
Macrium Reflect I use Macrium to – backup system images (free version) and – important files & folders (paid)
Let Macrium create rescue boot entry
password protect backups!
On ARM Macrium does not run I use ‚Backup and Restore (Windows 7)‘ which is still available in Windows 11 (under Control Panel) or via the command wbAdmin.
protect backups using Bitlocker on the external drive
turn on BitLocker auto-unlock
the drive can easily be unlocked other machines by simply entering the password (the key is needed only if one forgets the password)
Create a first backup to make it easy to revert to this point.
Create Windows system restore point Might have to enable system restore first.
Create System partition image backup using backup tool
Windows background: solid darkcolor I consider background images distracting noise.
Taskbar alignment left With a centered taskbar, pinned icons move when additional apps are opened. Left aligned looks nicer to me.
Show accent color on title bars and windows borders Without colored borders I find it hard to distinguish between layered windows when using dark mode. Sadly the colored borders settings is currently respected by MS Office and many older apps.
Additional clocks. Add two additional clocks via ‚Date & Time, Additional Clock‘. They will show in addition to the local time when pointing at the clock shown on the taskbar.
Set Taskbar Widgets setting ‚Show Announcements“ off. This hopefully only shows weather info on the Taskbar.
Show most used apps: on (Win11 only) Shows most used app at the top of All apps in the Start menu
Tighten admin security This improves security and only costs a few additional confirmation prompts.
User Account Control settings: ‚Always notify me‘
Choose where to get apps: ‚Anywhere, but warn me before installing an app that’s not from the Microsoft Store‘
Set „If you’ve been away, when should Windows require you to sign in again?“ to 5 min.
Disable keyboard caps lock. I rarely need caps lock, but often hit it accidentally. This is easy to reverse. disable_caps_lock.zip
Enable Windows Voice typing launcher via CTRL-H, Settings.
Make Mouse pointer easier to locate
Green color I use a different color for each machine to help distinguishing which machine I am on when remoting.
Enable ‚Show location of pointer when I press the CTRL key‘
If the File Explorer OneDrive context menu with „Share“ or „View online“ is missing: Change the User Account Control policies to allow OneDrive context menus.To cumbersome to configure. I use OneDrive online to share. With the Win11 March 2023 update the OneDrive menu items are available by default in the right-click context menu via „Show more options“ or via shift+right-click.
Enable Remote Desktop Connection (RDP) to new machine I find it helpful to be able to remote into all my machines, e.g. for scenarios when they are running without peripherals connected or when they are not reacting to mouse and keyboard. Beware! If you did not RDP into a machine for a long time, it might refuse accepting the correct credentials. I typically fix this by running an app as admin on the remote machine, e.g. runas /u:MicrosoftAccount\[my account] cmd.exe
On modern HW Bitlocker is automatically enabled for the system drive (without notifying the user) and the key is stored in the Windows account
If the backup tool does not support password protection: enable BitLocker for the removable backup drive too
Backup Bitlocker Keys to
USB stick
Print to store in bank safe
Save to encrypted(!) cloud storage
Save to AD As my machines are connected to my work/school account BitLocker keys are saved to AD instead of my personal MS account. Because „Save… to AD…“ is not offered by the BitLocker control panel app is use PowerShell:
$BLV = Get-BitLockerVolume -MountPoint „D:“
BackupToAAD-BitLockerKeyProtector -MountPoint „D:“ -KeyProtectorId (($BLV.KeyProtector | where {$_.KeyProtectorType -eq „RecoveryPassword“}).KeyProtectorId)
Storage Sense Maybe change run ‚During low free disk space“ to monthly.
Import all EFS-Certificates I have lots from many machines. Some 10+ years old.Storage Sense
Enable Windows long paths To enable long file paths in Windows, open Registry Editor, create a new DWORD named „LongPathsEnabled“ in „HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem“ and set the value to 1.
Turn on the Diagnostic Data Viewer under ‚Diagnostics & feedback“
Install the Diagnostic Data Viewer app from the Microsoft Store
File Explorer options
Compact view
Single-click to open an item I am quicker with single-click. One only has to master selecting multiple files with single-click enabled.
Deselect ‚Hide extensions of known file types‘
Deselect ‚Hide protected operating system files‘ Always showing protected OS files is no longer helpful since after Windows XP.
Install Apps
[ToDo: try using the winget installer. It seems to offer most of my apps]
Windows apps
MS Office apps
Outlook
Add all my email accounts Next time I will try to add all my email accounts via importing the registry tree I exported from my profile under: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Profiles
Set download from the past‘ to ‚all‘ sometime one has to force OL to actually download all by navigating to the last email
Diable „Screen Tips“, via File, Options, General.
Restore Outlook signatures Sadly signatures don’t sync automatically between installations. I simply store them in a .txt file because I need them in different email clients. Alternatively Outlook signatures can be backed up and restored from: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Signatures
Configure secure email using an S/MIME certificate I gave up on email encryption because none of my contacts were interested, including businesses (as I still was working for a SW house) – how incredibly stupid!
Check if Outlook uses Windows indexing, via Outlook, File, Options, Search, Indexing Options. Note! the options Window here show Windows indexing setting more complete are readable than Windows Settings, Indexing options: e.g. Outlook, OneNote, … instead of cryptic mapi16//… names.
Disable File Collaboration. I don’t work concurrently on Office docs on different PCs. Maybe that makes OneDrive faster and more robust.
Configure OneDrive Folder Backup for Documents and Pictures. Configure Folder Backup for Desktop on one PC only! Otherwise OneNote will create a merged mess of the desktops of several PCs.
Change the location of the Music folder to my OneDrive Music folder via properties, Location.
Add my OneDrive Camera Roll folder to File Explorer Quick Access – this is where OneDrive Android backs up my phone’s photos redundantly to Google Drive (one must configure this manually in OneDrive for Android via Me, Settings)..
Configure offline use. I select offline use for my desktop machines, and files on-demand for my mobile machines, marking some folders with ‚Always keep on this device‘. The 200GB local storage space required in my case does not bother me.
Sadly OneDrive for Business syncs quite slowly (the Personal version is quicker)- sometimes it takes several days to download my 170GB – which is especially annoying because during this phase required files don’t download on-demand.
OneDrive for business has annoying restrictions for path length and file and folder names. This stems from its underlying implementation (Sharepoint). I found out the hard way when migrating from OneDrive personal to business. This is totally unacceptable and MS should have changed their implementation long ago.
OneNote One of my favorite features of OneNote is that it automatically inserts a link to the source URL when pasting a snippet from the web.
Add from Windows store for auto updates Since Oct 2022 the store delivers the desktop version which is the version supported by MS in the future.
Skype In addition to the standard Skype functionality I have a Skype number (Skype Festnetz Telefonnummer) and use Skype to Phone (to cheaply call any phone number anywhere in the World) using Skype credit (no monthly plan).
Configure microphone and cam
Phone Link
Add new PC to the Android „Link to Windows“ app
Windows Sandbox
Enable the Sandbox Windows feature Is very slow on ARM.
Outlook: disable the HubBar I often use Outlook on a monitor in portrait mode and HubBar needlessly wastes precious horizontal space. Set HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\ExperimentEcs\Overrides\Microsoft.Office.Outlook.Hub.HubBar string to false
OneNote Beware! When opening notebooks, multiple versions may exists in different network locations. I always make a change on a machine which is currently in use to verify if this change propagates to the notebook opened on the new machine.
Force a OneNote backup
Other Apps (manual install)
Boxcryptor I consider zero-knowledge encryption of cloud data a must-have, see Thoughts and Experiments on Cloud Encryption and Datenschutz (Ende-zu-Ende Verschlüsselung, …) To include decrypted Boxcryptor files in Windows indexing ‚Enable Windows search‘ in Boxcryptor advanced settings and add the drive x: to Windows indexing. In Nov 2022 BoxCryptor was sold to Dropbox. I don’t know if and when Dropbox will offer good and safe E2EE encryption. The alternative Cryptomator does not support Windows on ARM. I moved to Tresorit, which works better than the Boxcryptor/OneDrive combo I used on Intel. I don’t use OneDrive Vault: It offers no E2EE. Backup tools cannot backup Vault files. Vault was unstable in my tests.
Tresorit For end-to-end encrypted storage of privates files in the cloud.
1Password A password manager is a must. For 2FA is use the MS Authenticator Android app. Many common assumptions about good password are wrong. See Toward better Master Passwords.
Macrium Reflect to backup system images (free) and important files
password protect backups
! Macrium cannot backup the Tresorit drive Thus I use Tresorit synced folders.
on ARM systems (like the Windows Dev Kit) Macrium does not work. I fallback to ‚Backup and Restore (Windows 7)‘ for image backups, which is still available in Windows 11 (under Control Panel).
Kindle for PC app While reading is way better on a Kindle ePaper reader I prefer the PC app or cloud reader if I need to search a lot or jump around in books – as one typically does with technical books.
Oscar To analyze my sleep apnea data from my APAP machine
Adobe Acrobat XI Standard The license came with my iX500 Scanner To edit and sign PDFs with a signature image
Configure signature picture to sign PDFs
AusweisApp2 For authentication with my German identity card. Works fine with the Android AusweisApp2 and a phone as ID card reader.
cyberjack RFID standard USB smart card driver and tools
Balsamic Mockups To design UIs
Markdown Monster
Veracypt ?
MS Powertoys I only use:
Awake to conveniently prevent the PC from shutting down
Image Resizer when I want to forward images
T (Win+Shift+T) Extractor to extract text from images
Will never buy HP printers again because several time they stopped supporting new Windows versions.
Fujitsu iX500 Scanner driver and tools
Other Apps (Ninite install)
Ninite is very handy to install common apps and automatically keep them updated. I am using this for years: reliable, minimal UI – highly recommended! The initial Ninite install is free (without any registration). The Ninite Updater costs $10/y. For alternative installers see Start Windows Sandbox With Preinstalled Apps.
Set preferred language for search results for each search engine, e.g. on https://www.google.com/preferences
My Firefox customizations with website in reading mode
Virus scanners, Windows optimizers
I don’t install any 3rd party virus scanners, the built-in Windows Defender is sufficient for me.
One can install the new MS PC Manager – while it seems to offer no new functionality to Windows it makes it easier to do Windows healthcare by offering existing features in one place. Beware that Windows defender reports PC Manager as „another antivirus program“!
I never use any optimizers or driver tools (except the ones from notebook vendors).
Clean Windows
For minimal Windows VMs I sometimes use the Debloat Windows PowerShell scripts by Chris Titus. Alternatively, one could modify the Windows setup to only install the wanted features and apps using the MSMG ToolKit.
Uninstall unwanted Apps. Windows 11 is less stubborn here and lets you uninstall more unwanted stuff.
Remove unwanted shortcuts.
Disable unwanted Windows startup entries
Create App Shortcuts
Pin frequently used apps to taskbar
Add frequently used web sites to desktop
Resize desktop icons (depending on monitor resolution) by selecting all vie CTRL+A and CTRL+MouseWheel
Final Backup
Create ‚config completed‘ backups to make it easy to revert to this point.
Create Windows system restore point
Create System partition image backup using backup tool
Backup BitLocker recovery keys:
Print to store in bank safe
Save to USB-Stick and encrypted(!) cloud storage
Store the Windows product key in 1Password Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SoftwareProtectionPlatform\BackupProductKeyDefault
Windows 10 vs. Windows 11
With Win11 I miss Win10 Live Tiles. Was using a full start screen with large Live Tiles for Mail, Calendar, 5 MS Weather tiles for different locations I like to travel to, 3 MS To Do lists and 3 MS Money medium tiles for funds and currencies I am interested in. I don’t get the rationale behind those Win11 widgets: no full screen, no multiple instances and these pesky clickbait news stories which you cannot get configured away, however hard you try [Jan 2023: getting rid of the clickbait cards is slowly improving].
I like the new windows snap layouts in Windows 11. Snapping a Window can be initiated by moving it to the screen edges or by hovering over (not clicking!) the Windows maximize button.
With single monitor setups I frequently use the multiple desktops feature:
This post describes my experience using the Windows Dev Kit 2023 ARM Mini PC as my office computer. This is not the usage scenario intended by MS, but I wanted to see how the little ARM machine fares as an office PC before using it for my app development.
GPU: Qualcomm Adreno 690 60Hz via USV-C at 3840×2560 50Hz via mini DP at 3840×2560
NPU to accelerate AI/ML workloads See Surface Pro 9 Hands-on NPU based Windows experience (Automatic Framing, Portrait Blur, Eye Contact, Voice Focus)
32GB LPDDR4x RAM
KIOXIA BG4A512GB NVMe SSD, M.2 2230 form factor Might upgrade to a 1TB fast Sabrent 2230 M.2 NVMe Gen 4 when it is available at an acceptable price. It looks like Gen 4 drives are compatible:
I bought my Dev Kit PC in the German MS Store. It was delivered within two days. When ordering, one must accept a no refund policy. I doubt this is legally binding with German online shopping consumer rights, but one should expect difficulties, when trying to return the machine.
The Dev Kit PC comes with a 2 year warranty. For hardware or warranty support you can create a support request on the Support for business services hub page.
You can order a replacement for a defective device via your MS account under Devices.
My setup experience
The Dev Kit PC comes without any user manual. There is only a leaflet describing the buttons and ports – with a link for more detailed information at Microsoft Learn: aka.ms/arm-dev-kit-tools. This is totally sufficient for me.
Windows 11 Pro and Office Apps are preinstalled.
The display on my monitor was garbled when connected via a mini DP to DP cable, but readable enough to go through the Windows configuration. I later switched to a passive mini-DP to HDMI(*) cable and then to USB-C. Windows setup might also work with a monitor connected via USB-C, but it will take about 25s before anything is visible.
Completing the basic Windows setup was quick and easy. For my complete typical Windows setup, see My Windows 10/11 Setup.
To be able to completely reset the PC in the future I made a copy of the Windows serial number, see ‚System, about‘. If needed, a Windows recovery image for the Dev Kit PC can be obtained here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/surface-recovery-image. Don’t select a product there! Only enter the Windows serial number.
Here my office workplace with the Dev Kit ARM Mini-PC in the back, standing upright in the back – I hope this positioning does not cause thermal problems:
My current home office setup with the Windows Dev Kit ARM Mini-PC
The incredible amount of cables I removed when switching to the Dev Kit PC unplugging my old tower PC – only connecting to it via RDP now:
Cables removed at my work desk 🙂Dual monitor setup on MS Site
Compatibility
Boxcryptor(*) works fine. This is a pleasant surprise, as I consider zero-knowledge encryption of cloud data a must-have, see Thoughts and Experiments on Cloud Encryption and Datenschutz (Ende-zu-Ende Verschlüsselung, …). Boxcryptor installed and configured without any hitches. Even Windows indexing of the (decrypted) x: drive works – after setting ‚Enable Windows search‘ in Boxcryptor advanced settings and adding x: to Windows indexing. [In Nov 2022 BoxCryptor was sold to Dropbox. I don’t know if and when Dropbox will offer good and safe E2EE encryption. The alternative Cryptomator does not support Windows on ARM.] For E2EE private files in the cloud I moved to Tresorit which works fine on ARM .
My Brother HL L2340DW printer(*)was detected via WiFi and works without installing any drivers – albeit printing is slow with long pauses between pages.
The external Thinkpad keyboard(*) and MS compact mouse(*) work fine. They are connected to the USB-Hub of the Samsung Monitor. I use a Thinkpad keyboard to make switching between my desktop and Thinkpad notebook easier.
Firefox, my preferred web browser for researching stuff (see Recherchieren – Warum, Wie und Womit), works fine with the newest updates after some initial hiccups. All my FF add-ons work fine too.
Windows Sandbox works. But web browsing is barely quick enough – slower than in Sandbox on my 12J old i7 desktop PC. Developers need VMs for testing and I assume the Dev Kit PC is too slow for running developer or test VMs. One will have to stack some Dev Kit PCs, use other machines or Azure instances – which is OK for me. [After some Windows updates and letting Windows run for a couple of days to let it ’settle in‘ the Sandbox performance is OK].
Casting audio and video to my Google Home devices including my Panasonic TV works fine using Chrome and Edge browsers.
AusweisApp2 (App to authenticate using the German identity card) works fine.
cyberjack RFID standard USB smart card reader works fine after installing its ARM drivers.
Sysinternals Suite seems to work fine. There is an ARM version! Did not try all tools.
Macrium Reflect refuses to install with an ARM CPU.
Backup workarounds:
To create a backup image of my Windows configuration I use the built-in Windows Tool WBAdmin: wbAdmin start backup -backupTarget:E: -include:C: -allCritical -quiet This backup can be restored via restarting from within Windows via System > Recovery > Advanded startup or by booting from a Windows recovery drive. Then select: Troubleshoot > Advanced options > See more advanced options > System Image Recovery My Windows system drive C: and my backup drive E: are Bitlocker encrypted System Image Recovery asks for both Recovery Keys – even for the backup drive, which is encrypted via Bitlocker To Go, it wants the key not the password! I have not tried an actual restore yet – but at least Image Recovery finds the image backup. BTW: Even from image backups one can restore single files: simply mount the image VHD file via Disk Management.
As an alternative I bought an external NVMe Enclosure(*) to clone my Dev Kit SSD using an Intel machine. Have not tried this yet
I am evaluating Zinstall FullBack. FullBack does not use disk imaging/cloning, but might be just what I need: a local, encrypted and ransomware protected backup allowing to restore my files and Windows settings to previous states.
I do not trust EaseUS.
My preferred VPN Private Internet Access does not support Windows on ARM. For my desktop PC this is not so important.
Could not get my ScanSnap iX500(*) Scanner to work with Windows 11 ARM. The SW does install fine, but does not recognize the scanner via USB or WiFi. Sadly it also does not work with Hamrick’s VueScan . As a workaround I configured a WiFi connection to the Scanner with an Intel machine and use it with the ScanSnap Android app on my Pixel phone or connected via USB to my Intel notebook.
I assume that most utilities and drivers for Scanner and (multi-function) printers that implement configuration options and features will not work until the makers supply ARM drivers.
Problems
The NPU based experiences „Studio effects“ (Automatic Framing, Portrait Blur, Eye Contact, Voice Focus) are not available on my Dev Kit PC using Windows 11 version 22621.1485. I did not find any info they should be available or if there are any prerequisites.
May 7, 2023: Currently one cannot re-install the ARM version of OneDrive because MS does not offer a download. A OneDrive reset messed up its settings, no longer allowing to add both my Personal and Business Account. Because MS offers no download of the ARM version, I am using the 32-bit x86 version now.
Printing to my Brother HL L2340DW(*) is very slow – there is a long pause between pages. On Win10 Intel it prints fast without pauses between pages. The ‚Start printing immediately‘ setting is not the problem, as I use this on all my installations. Win11 ARM currently supports this printer only via WiFi not via USB.
All my three different monitor models do not work properly when connected via the mini DP port.
The Samsung S27A850D display is garbled. I tried four different mini DP to DP cables. This passive mini-DP to HDMI(*) cable and this active mini DP to HDMI adapter(*) work, but not reliably: With the passive cable my monitor sometimes goes black, but wakes up when mousing to it. With the active Adapter the monitor sometimes goes black too which can only be fixed by hard rebooting the PC.
Garbled display when monitor connected via mini DP
My new Huawei MateView 28 monitor works with the above-mentioned passive mini-DP to HDMI cable, but because of HDMI limitations mouse and keyboard do not work with the monitor’s USB ports and the refresh rate is limited to 50Hz. Using USB-C to USB-C the monitor frequently turns on and off, I get a USB device not recognized warning on every Windows start and the built-in speakers stop working after a while.
My Dell U2410 Monitor frequently turns on and off.
Each of my monitors (different types) sometimes got to sleep while I am working. The only fix is restarting the Dev Kit PC remotely or unplugging the power.
Firefox frequently hangs with a display driver restart. To fix I had to kill Firefox – sometimes only a Windows restart helped. This has gotten better: currently FF (version 112.0.2) recovers automatically after some seconds. MS business support case#: 2303061420000492 Bugzilla Bug 1798465
The Dev Kit PC sporadically looses the WiFi connection to my Brother printer. Solved: This was not a connection problem. Somehow the paper size in Windows printer settings was set to letter instead of A4, even though in Windows setup I selected Germany as locale.
I did not find a good solution for scanning. Simply using MS Lens on my phone is not a good option, because I like the multi-page scanning and quality of the iX500. Currently I use the ScanSnap app on my Pixel phone or my scanner connted to my Intel notebook.
The Dev Kit PC does not charge via USB-C.
I experience Windows Hardware errors about every 3 days. The eventlog shows Windows desktop manager restarts followed by display driver resets at these times. Changing ports and cables did not help. This may be a Windows hardware or display driver problem or a Firefox bug. The MS diagnostics toolkit does not run on the Dev Kit PC, even thought it supports the Surface 9 ARM with the same hardware. Here the reliability monitor status of my current machines:
ARM Dev Kit PC4y old Notebook12y old desktopMy Dev Kit PC has many more reliability issues than my old Intel machines
I had a few File Explorer crashes. No longer happens.
Sporadically after wake from sleep my monitor resolution is not detected properly (instead of 3840×2560 something like VGA seems to be used). This can only be fixed by hard rebooting the PC.
Status feedback via LED blinking when booting the Dev Kit PC: After pressing the power button the white LED turns on and then there is no additional feedback until the Windows Start screen shows. Especially with monitor problems one does not know what is going on.
MS should document the mini DP special cabling requirements. They do now. But this does not solve the mini DP port problems.
Résumé
For me personally, the Dev Kit Mini-PC currently is the perfect office desktop PC, especially from a value for money perspective. It just came at the right time, as I am currently downsizing to a more minimalistic lifestyle: smaller apartment, less and simpler hardware and less and simpler travel gear.
The Dev Kit Mini-PC is surprisingly small – which I really like. The performance is totally sufficient for all my office tasks. I never play games or do video editing, thus I know nothing about performance and app compatibility in these areas.
This is the quietest PC (Desktop or Notebook) I ever had. The fan usually does not run at all and when it runs, there is just a little low-frequency hum – not the high-frequency hissing noise of notebooks. I assume the fan only exists to prevent throttling. I did not experience any coil whine.
In contrast to my old desktop PC with the Dev Kit PC when waking up my Outlook inbox is immediately up-to-date and Windows updates are installed. I assume this comes from supporting the sleep state „Standby (S0 Low Power Idle) Network Connected“ and Windows Modern Standby. My 4y old Thinkpad X1 Tablet notebook supports this too.
I cannot generally recommend it for office use because of the questionable future of Windows on ARM (considering the developments by AMD and Intel), the display port problems and missing drivers for peripherals like printers or scanners. I don’t see any benefits of the ARM versions that are convincing for „normal“ users: yes, a little longer battery life, maybe a quieter machine, but still no real instant-on (MS does advertise this feature, but the Dev Kit PC does not work instantly as a smartphone does). I don’t understand the rationale behind the Dev Kit PC as a device to test ARM apps. Devs want to test their apps in an environment the users work in, which for ARM devices means a mobile, device with a directly attached touch screen, running on battery – none of which the Dev Kit PC offers.
However, my past assumptions about the success of technologies were often completely wrong – even in SW development, my field of expertise. E.g. I did bet on the Windows Phone and UWP and many years ago on the BiiN fault tolerant computer, jointly developed by Intel and Siemens.
Windows Sandbox is a standard Windows feature, providing a lightweight desktop environment (Windows virtual machine) to safely run applications in isolation. In a Sandbox you can safely test apps or browse „unsafe“ websites. In contrast to „normal“ VMs Sandbox starts quickly, e.g starting Sandbox and installing Firefox takes less than 30 sec on my notebook.
Windows Sandbox comes preinstalled with Windows. One must only manually enable it via „Turn Windows Features on or off“.
One of the main features of Windows Sandbox is that it erases all state when closing. While this ensures not leaving any traces on your host machine, I find it cumbersome having to install commonly used apps every time I start a Sandbox.
To automatically install apps when starting Sandbox, I use the <LogonCommand> of a Windows Sandbox configuration file to run installers at Sandbox startup.
The free Ninite installer is the fastest installer option and provides unobstrusive status info with a Sandbox LogonCommand and :
[BTW, I am using the paid Ninite Updater on my Windows machines to keep apps automatically updated. I especially like its minimalistic UX and installing most of my apps on a new machine with a single command.]
Select the apps you want on the Ninite website
Download the configured installer
Make the installer available in Sandbox
Set <HostFolder> to the folder containing the installer
<SandboxFolder> defaults to Desktop!
Set the installer to run via <LogonCommand>
Simply run the .wsb file to start Sanbox and install your apps
Apps offered by Ninite
The following .wsb file starts Sandbox and automatically installs Firefox and 7-ZIP via Ninite. It gives the Sandbox 6GB RAM too.
By default Windows Sandbox does not allow PowerShell scripts to run. My scripts do not disable this restriction generally, they only bypass it for their execution.
To force showing the PowerShell output of the Sandbox LogonCommand I start a PowerShell from within PowerShell [found no cleaner solution].
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