Windows 10 News and Announcements...

I didn't really see a thread devoted to news and announcements related to upcoming Windows 10 releases, reported bugs, etc. So, here's one with the hopes to spread news far and wide regarding the trials and tribulations for those of us running Windows 10.

"Microsoft: Windows 10 to grab 7GB of your storage so big updates don't fail"

The 'reserved storage' coming with the next Windows 10 version is another reason to avoid PCs with little storage.
by Liam Tung

https://www.zdnet.com/article/micro...7gb-of-your-storage-so-big-updates-dont-fail/

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Just when you thought you had your SSD overr-provisioning size down correctly

"Is Windows 10 still telling Microsoft what you're doing even if you don't want it to?"

Microsoft baffles Windows 10 users by apparently collecting data about recently opened websites and apps when users have opted against sharing that information
By Liam Tung

https://www.zdnet.com/article/is-wi...what-youre-doing-even-if-you-dont-want-it-to/

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I wonder if Ultra Male's tweaks / fixes get around this issue.

"Windows 10 19H1: All the changes we know so far"

Here's all you need to know about Windows 10 update 19H1... scheduled for release this April.

https://www.windowscentral.com/windows-10-19h1-changelog

"Microsoft's killer Windows 7 patch: Breaks networking, flags legit PCs as 'Not genuine'"

Windows sysadmins wake up on Wednesday with an almighty Patch Tuesday headache.

This time they've found that its January security updates are bricking Windows 7 devices with an errant 'Not Genuine' Windows license error, and a bug that blocks administrator access to remote shares on Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7.

"We are aware of this incident and are presently investigating it. We will provide an update when available," writes Microsoft on both KB4480960 and KB4480970.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/micro...eaks-networking-bricks-legit-not-genuine-pcs/

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Oh no! Is the process which goes into checking for Windows 10 issues now spreading to Windows 7 land??

If MS keeps this up, I may ask the mods to change the title to remove the "10" portion.

 

Thankfully, I have Windows Update filth disabled, as should most that still run Windows 7.

 

Thankfully, easy to get back in control.
https://betanews.com/2019/01/11/disable-windows-10-reserved-storage/

 

Well... Nothing like a quick registry hack / work-around to control the behavior. Thx for the info!

 

Glad I am with 1803 for the time being and letting all other be the beta testers for 1903.

 

You must follow this repo for updated tweaks https://github.com/CHEF-KOCH/regtweaks

I'm waiting for 20xx series. I'm tired of redstones.

 

Then you gotta look for this tweaks... it is mandatory tweaks and best of all... it does everything with a single click and I see difference...(no.. it is not placebo)
https://github.com/jebofponderworthy/windows-tools

Read about what it does... and you will be amazed

 

Windows 10 does use them except for OVSS. But most users disable the scheduled task called Device metadata refresh and find that auto-clean doesn't work.
I disabled VSS since it was useless on W10 after I found MR Free PE.

 

That is totally true about VSS... it is no more useful and also... those tweaks gets updated for like every 2 weeks.. and he keeps adding & fine tuning the tweaks... if you really like to follow... he have his own blog were he says many information that you may rarely or never find those info here...
https://notes.ponderworthy.com

 

Bookmarked it.

 

"Microsoft is separating Cortana from search in Windows 10"

Microsoft is making some big changes to Cortana in Windows 10.

... planning to decouple search and Cortana in the Windows 10 taskbar

App like Microsoft Teams are showing that a command / search bar -- that allows users to quickly access app features or run commands in apps – is a much-needed feature for Windows.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/16/18185490/microsoft-cortana-windows-10-search-changes

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Wow! What an interesting concept of being able to type in a program or executable binary name off the task bar to run an app!! I think most people call this Windows XP thru Windows 7.

Note, I know this was already ninja'ed by Papusan in another thread, but posting as this is related to Windows 10 News

 

When everyone uses Mac w/ spotlight search Win 10 tried its hand and failed! Cortana rarely worked on new version and initial stages voice recognition was spot on, now its like I'm talking to myself and I'm always Getting Something Went wrong and couldn't hear ya! But I heard it and disabled Cortana, now you don't hear from me ever again!!!

 

"It’s Official: Satya Nadella Confirms Cortana Defeat"

The challenge, really, is that Microsoft never made any serious effort to compete in this market. And that it let it fall through its fingers years ago, despite repeatedly talking about making the “next wave” after mobile.

https://www.thurrott.com/smart-home/197918/its-official-satya-nadella-confirms-cortana-defeat

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Cortana, I'd like to introduce you to Bob and his side-kick Clippy.

 

"Many Windows 10 Users Unable to Connect to Windows Update Service"

- For the past two days, Windows 10 users from around the world have been reporting that they are unable to connect to Windows Update.

- When they attempt to do so, Windows 10 will complain that they are unable to connect to the update service.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...-unable-to-connect-to-windows-update-service/

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With some of the changes we've seen, is there a silver lining in all of this??

 

"Windows 10 19H1: We'll fix confusing setup error messages, promises Microsoft"

- Would the average Windows user know what a KB is or what to do with one?

- Microsoft has finally realized that many average users have no idea what a KB and its numerical ID are and don't know what to do when they appear in a Windows 10 setup error notification.

- Users should see new, more helpful error messages in Windows 10 version 1903, currently in testing as Windows 10 19H1.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/windo...sing-setup-error-messages-promises-microsoft/

 

"Latest Windows 10 build puts desktop apps in a 3D world"

- No longer limited to Store apps, so you can now run Excel in VR.

-The strangest new feature is that you can now launch and run regular Win32 apps—2D apps built for the desktop—in the Windows Mixed Reality environment that's used for both virtual reality headsets and the HoloLens augmented reality headset.

- If you want to use Photoshop or Visual Studio with a headset on, you can.

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Reminds me of something like this, "Angel, can you help me with the calculation for six standard deviations?"

Spoiler: The reference to Angel within the operating system... just glad it wasn't Clippy

 

A dive into the Windows world / future.

Why Windows may never get another killer feature Computerworld.com | FEB 5, 2019
It’s a combination of things, but mostly it’s a shift in focus...

 

Microsoft May Cancel The Plan to Move MSPaint to the Store Winaero.com | Feb 13, 2019

Many people were not happy with this move from Microsoft. They were not ready to exchange the good old mspaint.exe with a completely different Store app because the old Paint has its own advantages and Paint 3D does not surpass it in every way. Classic Paint always loaded much faster, and had a more usable and friendlier user interface with superior mouse and keyboard usability.

However, in the latest Insider Preview build of Windows 10 Microsoft has silently removed the Product Alert notice. See the screenshot from build 18334:



The button is missing in the toolbar.

While the change wasn't officially announced, Microsoft might have figured out using the collected Telemetry data that only a small number of users actually use Paint 3D instead of the classic Paint app. So, we will see what actually happens with Paint this fall.

What? They have somewhat started use what they have above the shoulders? Shocking!

 

"Microsoft begins work on its 2020 Windows releases in new preview"

- Microsoft has published a new preview release of Windows 10, build 18836, to participants of the "Skip Ahead" group. But it's not quite the preview that they were expecting to get.

- today's Skip Ahead release to be a preview of 19H2, version 1909, due in October. But it isn't; it's skipping ahead not one but two releases, all the way to 20H1, due in April 2020.


https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/201...ew-build-skips-all-the-way-to-a-2020-release/

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Just in case you were wondering if Windows 10 would be around in 2020.

 

If they don't pull themselves back W10 will be deprecated in favor of Linux. I had enough of Windows 10.

 

"Microsoft just made Windows 10 updates a little easier to understand"

- Microsoft says in the upcoming release of Windows 10 version 1903 it will get rid of the 'Semi-Annual Channel (Targeted)' SAC-T label, making life a little less confusing for admins.

- The move should simplify things for IT pros and users who may have been confused by Microsoft's terminology and what it meant for deploying Windows 10 to devices.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-just-made-windows-10-updates-a-little-easier-to-understand/

 

A never ending story... @Ultra Male Why can't Redmond Morons do it properly?

Microsoft Confirms 3 New Issues in Recent Windows 10 Cumulative Updates Winaero.net | Feb 19, 2019

On February 12, 2019, Microsoft released a set of cumulative updates for all supported versions of Windows 10. Unfortunately, three new issues were found and confirmed in the released updates.

 

Nice. Micro$oft use older (still supported) Windows X versions as guine pig for their last new and pretty. Maybe too scared that they could risk screw up Win X 1809 even more if they pulled it out same time as their other Junk?

Microsoft pushes odd third-Tuesday cumulative updates for Win10 1803, 1709, 1703 and 1607 – but not for 1809
Posted on February 20th, 2019 at 06:31 woody Comment on the AskWoody Lounge
I think this is good news.

Yesterday Microsoft published cumulative updates for the older versions of Windows 10, but didn’t release one for the latest, version 1809. I take that as a good sign — perhaps Microsoft is letting its 1809 patches bake a little longer.

Moral of the story: Don’t click Check for Updates!

Details in Computerworld Woody on Windows.

UPDATE

We also have:

KB 4487016 – Preview of the Win8.1 March Monthly Rollup

KB 4486565– Preview of the Win7 March Monthly Rollup

The Microsoft Update Catalog also shows that several of this month’s Win10 Cumulative Updates were re-issued. Not sure what’s up with that, but it usually means there was a change in the metadata — which means it changes the installation logic.

ANOTHER UPDATE

Now at least one of the Knowledge Base articles is being changed to say that yesterday’s non-security updates do NOT fix the acknowledged bug:

• After installing this update, some users cannot pin a web link on the Start menu or the taskbar.

Windows Patches/SecurityKB 4487006, KB 4487011, KB 4487021, KB 4487029

 

Yeah, exactly. Their new trash need more love.


@Ultra Male Micro$h4ft need you badly Please download and install (Guinea pig version in the link below).
https://forums.mydigitallife.net/threads/windows-10-hotfix-repository.57050/page-374#post-1504672

 

Microsoft: fix security issue with non-security update. Instructions point to non-existent KB page Ghacks.net | February 21, 2019

Can things get any worse than this? Microsoft published a security advisory yesterday -- ADV190005 | Guidance to adjust HTTP/2 SETTINGS frames -- which affects Windows Server running Internet Information Services (IIS)

 

I have disabled all Win10 updates all the time, but error log was showing touchpad driver constantly trying to update, failing, trying again etc. Not knowing any better I decided last night to re-enable auto updates, hoping things get fixed on it's own, before I put auto update block again. Sure enough, as soon as auto update became available I had some driver updates and some critical update. After that I rebooted computer and that was the end of my working system, black screen on the boot up, nothing works. Trying hard resets-no, safe boot - yes once, no boot second time. Had no choice but restore system back few hours and disable auto updates again, so all it's working fine now. All I can say is WTF, but yes, things can get worse.

 

Wipe the error log with Bleachbit,CCleaner,wise cleaner and Dism++. Re-check and you will not get that pesky error log stating driver and critical updates failed to install. There's no compulsion to update drivers every now and then. I changed my policy recently and update driver when new W10 is released after GP testing from Ultra Male and others. Once they give green signal I jump on it.

 

Thanks for the advice, but any particular reason why you're suggesting 4 application to clean error logs or do you mean either one? I used DISM++ which does the job, CCleaner I have not updated since last spring and didn't even know it can clean error logs until now, Bleachbit I haven't run for a while but running now, wise cleaner I'm not familiar with.

 

Maybe Micro$h4ft should re-do their mess and go for maximum 1 major OS update each year?

Windows 10 1809 Finally Hits 21% Adoption Rate As We Await the Release of Version 1903

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Windows 10: New study shows Home edition users are baffled by updates Zdnet.com | February 26, 2019
How annoying are Windows 10's automatic updates? In a new study, a group of UK researchers report that users of Home edition experience unexpected restarts and inconsistent installation times, caused by inappropriate defaults and inadequate notice of pending updates.

The single biggest complaint about Windows 10 is its approach to security and feature updates. Monthly cumulative updates and twice-yearly feature updates are downloaded and installed automatically, which can result in unexpected reboots that disrupt productivity and risk the loss of unsaved work. That pain point is particularly acute for anyone running Windows 10 Home edition, which lacks any controls for delaying and deferring those updates.

 

Windows 10 loses share as Windows 7 makes significant gains Betanews.com | Mar 1, 2019

There are lots of ways to measure Windows share including StatCounter and Steam. Like most other tech sites, BetaNews has always focused on NetMarketShare, and at the start of the year the analyst firm finally reported that Windows 10 had overtaken its main rival, Windows 7 (a move that was a long time coming seeing as others had reported this happening months earlier).

In January, the new OS consolidated its lead, but in February things were far less rosy for Windows 10...

 

Cant wait for that day when Linux overtakes Windows, or anything at the top besides Windows 10.

 

We'll wait for our grandchildren to grow up and ask them which they like, I hope they don't say iFruit. Linux market share might be 15%

 

True, but its nice to dream. Would be nice to have a viable alternative to windows.

 

Windows 10 May Soon Run on the Nintendo Switch Bleepingcomputer.com | March 4, 2019
Using a custom UEFI firmware, a Windows driver and UEFI developer is getting closer to installing Windows 10 on a Nintendo Switch.

The kids OS @Mr. Fox +++

 

Thats actually pretty cool. Reminds me of the hacks we did on the HTC WinMo Phone.

 

Win10 1809 second February cumulative update, KB 4482887, blamed for “crazy” performance drops in some games Askwoody.com | March 6th, 2019

Microsoft hasn’t acknowledged the bug yet, but it looks like the second February cumulative update (the “optional, non-security update”) for Win10 version 1809, released on March 1, is clobbering some games.


Moral of the story: Don’t go clicking Check for updates! That’s the only way you’re gonna get this “optional non-security” cumulative update.

Man, and I had hoped that the extended 1809 testing rounds would catch this kind of junk.

 

A follow up on
Windows 10 Update Causing Severe In-Game Performance Issues Tomshardware | Mar 7, 2019

Windows 10 Update KB4482887, has been confirmed by Micro$oft to severely hamper performance in certain games.



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And of course... Why not screw up Windows Server 2016 as well?

Blue screens acknowledged with the latest Server 2016 second February cumulative update, KB 4487006 Askwoody.com | Mar 7, 2019

Micro$oft has just acknowledged a Blue Screen error in Server 2016 if you install the “optional non-security” February patch, KB 4487006:

In some cases, Windows Server will stop working and restart when hosting multiple terminal server sessions and a user logs off. The faulting driver is win32kbase.sys.

Microsoft is working on a resolution and will provide an update in an upcoming release.

Yet another reason why you should avoid the second monthly cumulative updates until they’ve been vetted and rolled into a “real” Patch Tuesday cumulative update.

 

"Microsoft says Windows 10 is now on more than 800 million devices"

- In September 2018, Microsoft officials said Windows 10 was installed on more than 700 million devices. Now that number is 800 million, company officials say.

- ... the highest customer satisfaction in the history of Windows,

https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-says-windows-10-is-now-on-more-than-800-million-devices/

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Highest customer satisfaction in the history of Windows?? Hmmm...

 

Since worldwide new pc shipments in 2018 were about 260 million, September to March is about 6 months, so that's about 130 mln pcs, take out about 10 mln pcs for mac and Linux, so I'm still missing about 20 mln, what happened to those since you can't install old windows on new hardware without major driver issues, or can you? That's assuming no one downgraded to Win10 from previous versions.
I'm not sure what's MS bragging point is here, that they didn't completely kill PC yet?
It seems obvious MS didn't ask Mr. Fox and many other members here their opinions, but still seems like this customer satisfaction is a bit of a stretch.

 

What I can't shake is the total and complete lack of accountability. MS OS is pervasive, world-wide. Yet, MS is able to publish updates that are broken, impact performance and who knows what else. MS is a monopoly. No doubt. There is no real competition such as AMD/Intel.; AMD/NVIDIA. When Standard Oil/AT&T had this kind of market power, breakups were not long in coming.

 

I'm not trying to excuse MS for their messups at all, but complexity of Windows 10 software itself, various versions they need to support and all different hardware that exists and need to be supported, makes it kind of difficult to test every combination and make sure it works perfectly, so I would expect some errors to slip by. For the record I experienced numerous errors myself, due to bad updates, to the point of computer not booting up. What really gets me is lack of user control over those updates. I know some updates are bad and some security updates I need, but I can't choose and actually there is no official way of stopping those updates. So I get bad update, restore computer back to normal and it updates again with no official way to stop it. WTF

 

Man I miss Windows 7 when you would hit check for updates, then see a list of update categorized with OS updates, security updates, driver updates, and you can simply hide the ones you don't want. Wasn't life so beautiful?

 

I work in an industry where lack of adequate software quality assurance means the difference between someone going home at the end of the day. MS's behavior in forcing updates to users whether they requested them or not is no different than having an outside organization take control of all user choices. $6000 is a lot of money to say to someone, "come and get it."

Best we can do is protect ourselves and delay the inevitable. Looking forward to the day MS pushes an update on person or organization of authority, resulting in catastrophic disaster.

Lack of software quality assurance will surely get you there:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therac-25

 

If they can't test their patches and OS properly they should stop push for two major updates each year (Windows as services is a huge mess). A good start is to hire more PAID employees instead of relying on guinea pig + only one major update every year. What they throw out now doesn't woks.

Edit.
Microsoft's data-focused approach to Windows Updates requires an update Ghacks.net | Mar 8, 2019
Microsoft uses a data-focused approach to determine if updates are ready for wider distribution and it appears that the company is very content with the approach.

Issues of recent updates suggest that Microsoft may need to rethink its strategy when it comes to Windows Updates.

Microsoft started a new series on the official Windows Experience blog some time ago in which company representatives lift the veil in regards to the company's strive for quality.

 

Windows 10 to Automatically Remove Updates That Cause Problems bleepingcomputer.com | Mar 11, 2019

Windows 10 will automatically uninstall Windows updates that cause startup failures due to incompatibility or issues in new software according to a support document published by Microsoft today.

Windows updates will be automatically removed when Windows detects that it has recovered from a startup failure after all other "automatic recovery attempts have been unsuccessful."

In addition, as a countermeasure for future issues caused by the uninstalled updates, Windows will also blacklist them from installing during the next 30 days.

 

That doesn't sound like a bad move, should be useful for folks that aren't too tech savvy and don't have drive images that they can apply easily.

 

A somewhat random post, but these are the registry settings & values you want enabled if you want to ensure that retpoline is enabled in your Windows 10. (I'm partially writing this here so I can link the picture to a Guru3D forum, as it only accepts url's rather than uploading images)


Also, I found out that by using InSpectre to disable & then enable Spectre protection - it doesn't play nice with the retpoline patch, in as much as it doesn't revert the registry back to all the correct values if you decide to re-enable Spectre protection. If you want retpoline functionality to go back to normal after disabling & then re-enabling Spectre protection using InSpectre, then you'll need to use RegEdit to go into the registry and make sure both of these entries have the values listed in the pic above (InSpectre will leave one of those variables with the wrong value).

 

Actually Win10 should not start update without user approval and it should rollback to last good configuration from the very beginning, in case of no boot, wasn't that already implemented in Win7 ? I could swear I've seen that option somewhere, but haven't have any issues with Win 7 for years, so not remember details.

 

"Microsoft Asks Users to Call Windows 10 Devs About ALT+TAB Feature"

- Microsoft has started to display notifications in the Windows 10 Action Center asking users to have a phone call with Microsoft developers and provide direct feedback about the ALT+TAB feature in Windows.

- Windows 10 product team is looking to "understand our customer needs" and would like to have an anonymous 5-10 minute phone call with the user.

- ...the phone call will be with Microsoft engineers to discuss how users use the ALT+TAB feature to switch between apps.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...o-call-windows-10-devs-about-alt-tab-feature/

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They just can't leave some things well enough alone. And since they're thinking about possible design changes, let's redesign an automobile so that foot pedal on the right is the "right" turn signal and the foot pedal on the left is the "left" turn signal. Oh, and also, let's redesign the screw so a clockwise turn will loosen a screw.

I guess on the bright side is it doesn't say they're going to get rid of ALT-TAB altogether. SMH

 

Windows Calc Source-Code: A Nightmare…
Posted by Borncity.com | March 24, 2019

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Windows Calc app is located on billions of computers, because it is sipped with Windows. Recently the source code of the program was released as Open Source on GitHub. Some people have inspected the program code, and came to the conclusion, that’s a nightmare. Memory leaks, clipboard content goes to Microsoft server, calculation errors and more.