u/Vin-Xy

So basically my SteamOS install broke while dual booting (I can't boot from file or roll back the version), and I think I'd have to reinstall it to get it working again. However I read that if I do that, while my SteamOS user data would be fine, the Windows 10 partition might get hurt. Contrary to that though, I've also read that it'd actually only delete the Windows boot efi (not the main windows partitions), which I might be able to recover/remake with a USB windows boot device. My question would be, do any of you have experience with this, or can you tell me if my Windows install would be safe, and how to recover the efi if it would be? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

“Users must enter a username and password to use this computer” option missing

So basically after I start my computer, the log-in screen gets skipped for some reason. I never had a password or anything, but I still used to have a log-in screen (first showing the time, then the pfp and log-in button showing up), but now suddenly that's totally skipped when I turn my computer on, it only appears if I manually log out. Here's what I've tried:
- I switched off fast startup, but it didn't help.
- I looked it up and people always say to tick the “Users must enter a username and password to use this computer” in netplwiz, but, as shown in the picture, I don't have a checkbox like that, instead in it's place it just says "Users for this computer:".
- I've read that if I disconnect my microsoft account, and make my account into a local one, it might appear, but it didn't.
- I tried creating a different user too, to see if that'd prompt it to appear, but no luck.
- I even went into regedit to check on some logon entries, but everything seemed to be in order there.
I don't know how to get my log-in screen back, and I'm running out of ideas. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

The barely noticeable bump that made me check my battery

My original inflated VDL battery

My first message to Steam Support

My new, completely flat battery

TLDR: If your battery is inflated, even if your warranty period is already over, and/or you modified your Deck to some extent, if you don't mind waiting, WRITE TO STEAM SUPPORT, they very well might replace it! (More info below the pictures)! Also, if you use your Deck docked a lot, limit it to 80% battery charge, Support's advice!

So a few weeks ago I made a post about an inflated Steam Deck LCD battery. I was skeptical about Steam replacing inflated batteries for free, because I figured that might be only a rumor based on survival bias, but I decided to give it a go anyway, as LCD batteries are more than double the price of OLED ones on Ifixit. And to my surprise, they were actually open to doing so! (See my original letter to Support and pictures of the Deck above!)

When they answered, they asked a few more questions before deciding if they'd replace it for me, such as;
- How is battery life?
- Does it get unusually hot when I use it?
- Have I opened the Deck before (that is, before the time when I opened it to check the battery), and if I did, what I did to it?
And they asked me to confirm my address in case they do decide to replace it for me.

I told them:
-The battery life actually wasn't too bad (1.5 hours on a graphically intense game, 3.5 on a simple text based game).
- It didn't get too hot, though the battery did remain warm a good 15 minutes after shutting of the Deck (idk if that's normal or not, but I decided to include it anyway).
- And that I replaced my eMMC to an SSD, but that's it.

I was afraid that hearing my battery isn't performing too bad, isn't too hot, and that I already lightly modified my Deck, they'd decide to not go through the replacement, but thankfully they did!

They told me to remove any parts not originally included in my Deck, and that instead of using my original packaging material (that I do still have), they'd send me some special material to pack my Deck into. And, in addition, they'd also pay for the whole shipping.

They sent me a box full of vermiculite, which is some naturally occurring silicate material (imagine it like gravel, but with the texture of plywood and dogfood), to protect the Deck and or the surroundings from the battery. Now I've gotten this question a few times after I commented about this before on the sub, no, they didn't ask me to remove the battery, as they probably don't want people who might not know what they're doing to risk their lives. So I put the Steam Deck into it's case, then I put the case into a plastic bag they also gave me, and then that went into the box with the vermiculite (and then while trying to package it, I ripped the plastic cover bag, and the case got dusty, don't be a fool like me! I just taped the bag though, and that was it)!

Then, I sent the Deck via UPS to where their prepaid shipping label was addressed. It took like 3 days to arrive at their Reconext repair center. Then, it actually only spent 2 days there, before they sent it back!

It took a while to arrive, because UPS sucks here in Hungary, where I live. But man it was worth the wait. They not only switched the battery with the new Getac type, but they also cleaned out the WHOLE DECK, forward and back, fixed my worn out power button completely on their own, I didn't even mention that to them, and they also gave me a "new" case for my Deck (it's probably not a new one, but a second hand one. Still, it's much better than my previous one), because all four corners of my previous one were falling apart. Basically my whole Steam Deck got a great life expectancy increase! And they did all this in under TWO days. They did an incredible job at Reconext, I was worried they might not care as much as it was Valve directly who switched the battery, but thankfully I was wrong!

Lastly, I heard a lot of online discourse about whether or not limiting battery charge to 80% can increase the life expectancy of the battery, so I decided to ask Steam support about it. And to my surprise, yes, limiting it if you use your Steam Deck docked a lot can actually increase it. Here's what they said: "A lower battery charging limit can do a lot to help preserve the long-term health of your battery. We recommend setting the battery charge limit to 80% if you leave your Deck plugged in often (such as on a dock) or do not commonly use a full charge in one sitting."

Now of course I can't guarantee at all that they'll do this RMA for everyone, if even for most people. Maybe I just got lucky! Either way though, if you have the same issue as I do, please don't be afraid to write to them, if you don't mind waiting 2-3 weeks. Especially now that Steam Deck prices have skyrocketed, you'll probably want to keep your Deck alive for as long as possible.

I wanna say a big thank you to the Steam Support people who helped me, Idk if I can say their names, so I'll just call them J, R, Y, P and K, and also to the people who did work on my Deck at Reconext, you all did a fantastic job, and I'm really grateful!

https://preview.redd.it/p2wr0uz2f33h1.png?width=525&format=png&auto=webp&s=4817518d6dcacdf934f215f10262db77d7a32678

It's like an actual virus at this point, it pops up every startup, if you close it too fast it pops up again (up to 4-6 times), and sometimes just randomly too after starting an app. I'm an adult btw, with all the spying they should really know that. I don't want to sign in, I DON'T CARE! SHUT UP! I've read disabling Parental controls in services can make it shut up, did that, and it still pops up! I don't know if it's okay to ask for tech support on this sub, but do any of you know how to make it go away?

On another note, I've heard about debloater apps or something for Windows. I've never done this before or look too deeply into it, and I'm sure this is a rabbit hole in and of itself, but if there are any that work well and are trustworthy, please tell me about it!

So today I decided to "get" Daybreak, got the DX version, and the english patch working too, but the game keeps crashing every 10-15 minutes at best. I have compatibility set to Win XP SP3, and I only use one CPU core. If I play in fullscreen, the game also constantly fails to show after any screen change, I have to alt+tab to get it working again. In the folders I'm also missing daybreak03.dat, although I don't think that has caused any issues yet. I've heard that version 1.11 is the most stable (I think), but I don't know if that's a patch for the DX version, or if it's just the DX release, or something else. Do you guys have any idea on how I could get the game into a more stable state? (Or find a more stable build, Idk if that's okay to share on the sub, so if you know of one, feel free to dm, me!)