this post was submitted on 18 Mar 2026
940 points (99.1% liked)

Steam Hardware

21512 readers
1166 users here now

A place to discuss and support all Steam Hardware, including Steam Deck, Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and SteamOS in general.

As Lemmy doesn't have flairs yet, you can use these prefixes to indicate what type of post you have made, eg:
[Flair] My post title

The following is a list of suggested flairs:
[Deck] - Steam Deck related.
[Machine] - Steam Machine related.
[Frame] - Steam Frame related.
[Discussion] - General discussion.
[Help] - A request for help or support.
[News] - News about the deck.
[PSA] - Sharing important information.
[Game] - News / info about a game on the deck.
[Update] - An update to a previous post.
[Meta] - Discussion about this community.

If your post is only relevant to one hardware device (Deck/Machine/Frame/etc) please specify which one as part of the title or by using a device flair.

These are not enforced, but they are encouraged.

Rules:

Link to our Matrix Space

founded 4 years ago
MODERATORS
 
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old

I used rufus to put windows on an sd card. The steam deck can boot from the card if you hold a volume button when you power on. Valve provides drivers for both lcd and oled. It’s worked perfectly since maybe a month after each model came out. It touches nothing. Rufus is the only trick, since microsoft is the uncooperative part.

I did it for modern warfare 2019. It wasn’t worth it. If you boot into windows every six months, you get to update for an hour. If you get logged out of steam, you should plug in a mouse and keyboard. It’s my only windows install since 8 came out which was my only attempt since 98. And it only convinces me to stay away.

[–] StarvingMartist@sh.itjust.works 17 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

This is perfect, this is what a steam deck is built for! Doing whatever the fuck you want with the hardware even if people don't like it

[–] alt_xa_23@lemmy.world 4 points 5 hours ago

Finally, the steam deck plays the best game, the random word generator!

[–] Widdershins@lemmy.world 27 points 6 hours ago (3 children)
[–] Jessvj93@lemmy.world 4 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

I....what...does Tongues -> God Doodle do??

[–] Widdershins@lemmy.world 6 points 3 hours ago (1 children)
[–] Jessvj93@lemmy.world 4 points 3 hours ago

I see, so this is what he saw in those visions.

[–] tehevilone@lemmy.world 11 points 5 hours ago

A truly blessed Steam Deck, praise be to HolyC.

[–] dankm@lemmy.ca 4 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

That's glorious. Now I want more information.

[–] Widdershins@lemmy.world 6 points 4 hours ago

You'll need a dock and keyboard if you want to accomplish anything. It took me two years to figure out how to get to that menu.

[–] chuckleslord@lemmy.world 8 points 6 hours ago

Guys! Relax, it's fine. We still have a VM for the Linux experience. It's basically the same thing!

[–] morgan_423@lemmy.world 7 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

I mean, if you just absolutely had to play a Linux-hating kernel anti cheat game, then install a small-as-possible partition for Windows, dual boot, and stay in Steam OS every single moment you're doing anything else but that game.

But most Windows-on-a-Steam-Deck people I've encountered just drive Windows all the time. I will never understand.

[–] Ricaz@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

I only have my Windows partition for the one weekend per year I play Rust

[–] pucker4676@lemmy.ml 4 points 4 hours ago

Which was an excellent Linux game. -_-

[–] moroninahurry@piefed.social -3 points 3 hours ago (2 children)

I bought an ROG Ally X specifically because it runs Windows. Steam just virtualizes Windows anyway. If you don't know how to whip Windows into your bitch that's on you.

It's hot garbage, learn to recycle.

[–] jaennaet@sopuli.xyz 2 points 39 minutes ago* (last edited 37 minutes ago)

Steam just virtualizes Windows anyway.

No, it doesn't.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_(software)

No code emulation or virtualization occurs

[–] maplesaga@lemmy.world 5 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

Meh, I'd prefer if they all run Linux, so that we dont have to pay more for the privilege of being data mined. We need to stop supporting these monopolies, they push out such hot garbage software.

[–] Astertheprince@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 7 hours ago

This really goes against the whole purpose of buying a Steam Deck considering on Windows you will have a poorer user experience due to the lack of Gamescope and Windows' very poor non touch friendly UI. Maybe there's somethings that can make it better but it won't ever be as good as just using Steam OS or any Linux distro set up to use Gamescope and proton.

[–] jeniferariza@lemmy.world 34 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

Windows on a Steam Deck just feels like a crime.

[–] Astertheprince@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Honestly I kind of wish Valve didn't release the drivers. Make people actually work to get that abomination working if that's what they really want.

If they want it badly enough they should have to write the drivers themselves.

[–] SparroHawc@lemmy.zip 9 points 6 hours ago

Eh, I really like the hacker mentality that Valve has for their hardware. They just want people to use it, because they know that the best place to get games for the hardware - whether it's running Linux or Windows - is Steam. And the more people find fun ways to abuse the hardware, the more press it gets, the more people want it, etc. etc. Great for Valve, great for the customers, great for the gaming industry.

[–] TheEighthDoctor@lemmy.zip 4 points 7 hours ago

And do not write this into an admin PowerShell window to activate it.

IEX(IWR get.activated.win)

[–] h4arts@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 7 hours ago

be ashamed of using w*ndows since i get to do a little linux superiority on you

[–] AllOutOfBubbleGum@lemmy.world 123 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago) (12 children)

You don't even need to "pirate" Windows anymore. You can download an ISO from Microsoft's website, install it, and when it asks for your license key, you click "I don't have one", and that's the end of it. If you look in the activation settings, it'll say "not activated", but nothing will ever become of it. This even works if you install it as Pro. It's not like the Windows XP/7 days where you'd get a 60 day scare timer. They just don't seem to care anymore, or maybe all that telemetry they siphon up from you is just that much more valuable.

[–] kieron115@startrek.website 1 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

It's pretty annoying though. I'm sure there's some way to remove it but until you activate there's a watermark that shows up over every single application telling you to activate.

[–] AeonFelis@lemmy.world 8 points 6 hours ago

Why would they enforce the activation? Window is no longer their product. You are.

[–] MIDItheKID@lemmy.world 2 points 5 hours ago

To add on to what everybody else said, it's probably not worth the time/money to have a team of developers play cat and mouse with pirates for the rest of time when they make the large majority of their sales off OEMs. Dell, HP, and Lenovo probably make up something like 80% of Windows license sales. And if it's a business buying them, then they are also making money off of M365, Azure, and Intune subscriptions. Losing the sales from people who build their own PCs is chump change to them.

You know, and all the data slurping and ad sales etc etc.

[–] cannedtuna@lemmy.world 227 points 15 hours ago (2 children)

PSA

If you see Windows 11 online DO NOT DOWNLOAD IT!!!

It will install a virus called Windows 11 and it will run Windows 11 on your PC!!!

[–] scintilla@crust.piefed.social 49 points 13 hours ago (4 children)

Which is known to BRICK YOUR SYSTEM in some cases.

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] jimothysupreme@lemmy.org 1 points 6 hours ago

This seems to be the case.

[–] tiramichu@sh.itjust.works 32 points 14 hours ago

You're right, they don't care.

The very fact they no longer care about enforcing licensing anymore is itself the strongest evidence that selling Windows as a product is not where the money is.

They want you on their operating system for any price - including zero -because once you are there that's when the advertising, cloud service upsell and data monetisisation can begin.

[–] tempest@lemmy.ca 9 points 11 hours ago

Microsoft missed the mobile boat by a long shot.

Windows is ever shrinking as people don't buy computers like they used to since phones can do what they need.

This means that for Microsoft growing Windows user base is a non starter. They are well into the extract portion of the product lifecycle. The os now only exists to support the products that still make money are extract what can be extracted from a shrinking user base.

[–] pulsewidth@lemmy.world 34 points 15 hours ago (5 children)

Even Windows 7 actually didn't care if you had no key.

You could leave it unactivated forever and the worst thing that would happen is it would have a "Activate windows" watermark message bottom right over the desktop, and it wouldn't let you change the personalization settings eg theming (oh no).

[–] Bytemeister@lemmy.world 1 points 57 minutes ago

Never had to pay for a key anyway. I just hopped on eBay and looked for machines that were "for parts only" where the seller took a very nice picture of the bottom of the computer.

It was very nice of them to share that software with me once they were done using it.

load more comments (4 replies)
load more comments (3 replies)
[–] TrickDacy@lemmy.world 41 points 13 hours ago

Be ashamed of using windows.

[–] gwl@lemmy.blahaj.zone 41 points 14 hours ago (1 children)
[–] FilthyHands@sh.itjust.works 60 points 14 hours ago (5 children)

Does linux even work on steamdeck? Has anybody tried?

[–] SatyrSack@quokk.au 29 points 14 hours ago

Nah, Valve would never allow it

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] OrionTheElder@lemmy.world 2 points 8 hours ago

I didn't stop to think if I should, I was preoccupied with whether or not I could.

load more comments
view more: next ›