I feel like Windows has been like this for 20 years at least. Windows 2000 & XP would auto-run executables on whatever CD or USB drive you plugged in (good luck

I feel like Windows has been like this for 20 years at least. Windows 2000 & XP would auto-run executables on whatever CD or USB drive you plugged in (good luck). Windows XP had auto-updates. Vista started downloading/updating drivers automatically. The registry has always been a train wreck. Even the ads aren’t a particularly fresh hell. I remember games minimizing from full screen so Windows XP could show me nag notifications about MSN Messenger. Edit: and the solution for these problems is also the same, for the last 20 years: build your own install media using enterprise tools, slipstream in all the updates and drivers you like, and disable all the crapware, insecure defaults, etc. I was very proud of my custom Windows XP distro as a high schooler (complete with custom Steam-like system theme).