Jul 23

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25163

Hi all, Last Wednesday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25163 to the Dev Channel.

Upgrades went smooth a fast here, the taskbar overflow needed an extra reboot before it appeared so if you want to test it, after upgrade do an extra reboot to trigger it.

New Taskbar overflow

Taskbar overflow is very nice, this was a missing feature for a long time.

The Share to OneDrive feature is a welcome extra too!

Happy Upgrades!

What’s new

Taskbar Overflow

We’re reintroducing taskbar overflow, with a newly designed experience for Windows 11. This taskbar experience has been thoughtfully crafted to offer you a more productive switching and launching experience when space is constrained. Your taskbar will automatically transition into this new overflow state when it has hit its maximum capacity. In this state, taskbar will offer an entry point to an overflow menu that allows you to view all your overflowed apps in one space.

Taskbar will offer an entry point to an overflow menu that allows you to view all your overflowed apps in one space.
Taskbar will offer an entry point to an overflow menu that allows you to view all your overflowed apps in one space.

The overflow menu will contain many of the current taskbar behaviors users are familiar with, such as supporting pinned apps, jump list, and extended UI. After invoking overflow, the menu will quietly dismiss once you click outside of it or navigate to an application.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment  > Taskbar.

Improved nearby sharing

The discovery of devices under nearby share when sharing a local file from the desktop, File Explorer, Photos, Snipping Tool, Xbox, and other apps that use the built-in Windows share window has been enhanced by using UDP (Network needs to be set to private) along with Bluetooth to discover nearby devices. You will now be able to discover and share to more devices including desktop PCs.

You can now discover and share to more devices with nearby sharing via the built-in Windows share window.
You can now discover and share to more devices with nearby sharing via the built-in Windows share window.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Files, Folders, and Online Storage > File sharing.

Share local files to OneDrive

When sharing a local file from the desktop, File Explorer, Photos, Snipping Tool, Xbox, and other apps that use the built-in Windows share window, you can choose OneDrive as a target to directly upload the file to OneDrive and share it further along with access control options. All this can be done right from sharing local files in File Explorer without any context switches or opening the OneDrive app.

You can choose OneDrive as a target to directly upload the file to OneDrive via the built-in Windows share window.
You can choose OneDrive as a target to directly upload the file to OneDrive via the built-in Windows share window.

(Please note this feature is currently only available for Microsoft accounts. A user will need to switch to their Microsoft account via the top right profile icon in the share window if logged in via AAD. AAD support will be added in a future update.)

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Files, Folders, and Online Storage > File sharing.

Fixes

[File Explorer]

  • Fixed an explorer.exe crash when dragging tabs around.
  • Did some work to fix a memory leak when using tabs with File Explorer.
  • Fixed an issue where the preview thumbnail for File Explorer in the taskbar, ALT + Tab, and Task View might show the title of an adjacent tab and not the currently selected one.
  • If “Show all folders” is enabled, the dividers in File Explorer’s navigation pane should no longer show. With this change, it should also address the issues where dividers were unexpectedly showing in some other folder pickers.
  • Fixed an issue where Narrator wasn’t reading out the titles of tabs as focus moved through them.
  • Fixed an issue where a closed tab might appear again in File Explorer after you dragged File Explorer across your monitors.
  • Fixed an issue where the tab row might unexpectedly expand vertically, covering the command bar contents.
  • Removable drives should no longer unexpectedly be displayed in a section by themselves in the navigation pane, which was breaking up the section with This PC and Network.
  • Fixed an issue where the add new tab button wasn’t clearly visible when using Aquatic or Desert contrast themes.
  • The add new tab button shouldn’t overlap with the minimize button in the title bar when using text scaling with a lot of tabs open anymore.

[Taskbar]

  • Fixed a rare explorer.exe crash that could happen while on a Microsoft Teams call, related to sharing windows from the taskbar.

[Settings]

  • Made a change to help fix an issue where using Windows Spotlight on the desktop might revert to a solid color background.
  • Improved the padding around the uninstall button when using Apps > Installed Apps in grid view.
  • Fixed a couple issues that could lead to Quick Settings crashing on launch.

[Input]

  • Fixed an issue which was leading to certain apps freezing after a copy action if Suggested Actions was enabled.

[Other]

  • Fixed a high hitting crash impacting suggested actions reliability.

NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.

Known issues

[General]

  • We’re investigating reports that SQL Server Management Studio is failing to launch for some Insiders.
  • Some games that use Easy Anti-Cheat may crash or cause your PC to bugcheck.

[File Explorer]

  • The up arrow is misaligned in File Explorer tabs. This will be fixed in a future update.
  • We’re working on a fix to address reports that launching File Explorer in certain ways when using dark mode (for example, from the command line) is showing the body of File Explorer unexpectedly in light mode.

[Widgets]

  • Notification badge number may appear misaligned on the taskbar.
  • In some cases, the notification banner for some badging will not appear in the widgets board.
  • We’re working on the fix for an issue causing Widgets preferences (temperature units and pinned widgets) to unexpectedly get reset to default.

[Live captions]

  • Certain apps in full screen (e.g., video players) prevent live captions from being visible.
  • Certain apps positioned near the top of the screen and closed before live captions is run will re-launch behind the live captions window positioned at top. Use the system menu (ALT + Spacebar) while the app has focus to move the app’s window further down.

For developers

You can download the latest Windows Insider SDK at aka.ms/windowsinsidersdk.

SDK NuGet packages are now also flighting at NuGet Gallery | WindowsSDK which include:

These NuGet packages provide more granular access to the SDK and better integrate in CI/CD pipelines.

Microsoft Store Update

We are beginning to roll out a Microsoft Store update (version 22206.1401.2.0) with the following improvements:

Browse and search with updated price designs: We made it easier to understand the prices, so you have all the info you need when searching for a new app, game, or movie.

Updated pricing designs in the Microsoft Store.
Updated pricing designs in the Microsoft Store.

New ways to find game editions: We made it easier to find different editions of a game. View standard and deluxe editions so you can choose the game you want to play.

Comparison between different game editions in the Microsoft Store.
Comparison between different game editions in the Microsoft Store.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Microsoft Store.

source: Windows Blogs

Jul 16

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25158

Hi all, Last Wednesday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25158 to the Dev Channel.

I installed it on my main device while on free wireless hotspot during a week off with the kids, it went surprisingly fast & smooth

The new search experience in the taskbar looks nice!

What’s new

Notification badging for Widgets

We’re beginning to roll out even more dynamic Widgets content to your taskbar with notification badging for Widgets. Below is an example of a notification badge for Widgets.

Notification badging for Widgets on the taskbar.
Notification badging for Widgets on the taskbar.

When you open the Widgets board a banner will appear at the top of the board providing more information on what triggered the notification badge.

Breaking news notification shown at the top of the widgets board.
Breaking news notification shown at the top of the widgets board.

[We are beginning to roll those features out, so the experience isn’t available to all Insiders just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment  > Widgets.

Changes and Improvements

[General]

  • Thank you to all the Insiders who gave us feedback on our first exploration of lightweight interactive content on the Windows desktop! Starting with this week’s flight, we are concluding this initial exploration, so if you received this experience, it will be removed on your next reboot.
  • As described in our in our blog post here, Windows Insiders who use the Dev Channel may get to try out new ideas, longer lead features, and experiences that are intended to help validate concepts. Starting with this build, some devices will receive different visual treatments for search on the taskbar. We are excited to learn from your feedback on this, so please use the Feedback Hub to provide feedback if you receive this experiment. NOTE: A reboot is required after updating to this build to trigger this experience but please note that not all Windows Insiders will have this experience enabled even after reboot.
Example of new visual treatments for the Search entry on the taskbar.
Example of new visual treatments for the Search entry on the taskbar.

[DNS over TLS]

  • DNS over TLS testing is now available for Windows DNS client query protection. DoT is another protocol in addition to DNS over HTTPS (DoH) which is already supported in Windows 11 and Windows Server 2022. For setup instructions, see this Windows Networking blog post. The setup requires command line use and is recommended for advanced networking users.

[Input]

  • The Nyala font has been updated to support syllables for the Gurage language orthography from the Ethiopic Extended-B Unicode range. Also revised and replaced Ethiopic kerning to fix gaps and errors in earlier implementation improving the overall texture of text in Ethiopic languages.

Fixes

[General]

  • Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to experience bugchecks with error message KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED in NetAdapterCx.sys in recent flights.
  • Fixed an issue which was leading some PCs hanging at black screen when resuming from a low power state in recent flights.
  • Fixed an issue believed to generally be impacting performance across Windows shell experiences in the last few flights.
  • Fixed an issue where the Mica material and Acrylic blur effect was rendering incorrectly in OS surfaces like the Start menu, Notification Center and other areas sometimes in recent flights.

[File Explorer]

  • Fixed an issue where closing command bar flyouts could in some rare cases crash explorer.exe.
  • Fixed an issue which could lead to explorer.exe crashing when navigating through File Explorer with OneDrive enabled.
  • CTRL + F4 should work to close the current tab now. We updated the tooltip when hovering over a tab to suggest using CTRL + W to close the tab (rather than CTRL + F4, which didn’t work).
  • Opening a zipped folder in a new tab should no longer have a blank tab name.
  • If focus is on the tab row, CTRL + W will no longer unexpectedly close two tabs instead of just the tab in focus.
  • Fixed an issue where CTRL + Tab wouldn’t cycle in the correct order after rearranging tabs.
  • We made some adjustments so when using “Show full path in title”, the folder name is always visible in the tab at the top of File Explorer.

[Taskbar]

  • Fixed an underlying issue which could lead to pinned app icons getting stuck on the taskbar after uninstalling the app in recent flights.
  • Fixed a high hitting explorer.exe crash in the last few flights related to loading Widgets.

[Start]

  • Start shouldn’t crash anymore when using CTRL + Shift + Right Arrow to move a pinned app into a folder that’s the last item in Start.
  • Fixed a crash some Insiders were experiencing when opening Start.
  • Narrator will now read the prompt that opens when trying to uninstall an app from Start correctly.

[Search]

  • Fixed an issue when using IRowsetPriorititization where setting the scope priority for a query rowset did not properly alter the indexing speed of the rowset, resulting in slower indexing overall.
  • Searching for “power mode” should now return an entry for power modes in Settings.

[Settings]

  • Updated the “System” entry under Network & Internet > Advanced network settings > Data Usage, to now be called “System and Windows Update” to help make it more clear.
  • Made another fix to address an issue where the “Listen to this device” option for audio devices would stop working after a reboot.
  • Fixed a crash some Insiders were seeing when navigating Bluetooth & Devices > Printers & Scanners.
  • Fixed an issue where the “Allow Bluetooth devices to find this PC” checkbox under Bluetooth & Devices > Devices > More Bluetooth Settings wouldn’t display the correct state sometimes.
  • Fixed an issue which was causing Quick Settings to crash for ARM64 PCs when attempting to use the Cast section to cast to certain devices.
  • Fixed an issue that could cause the eye icon beside the Wi-Fi password box in Quick Settings to disappear after its first use.

[Input]

  • Fixed a crash in textinputhost.exe initialization which was happening in some cases in recent flights.
  • Fixed an issue where the “Sync across your devices” option under Settings > System > Clipboard wouldn’t stay enabled.
  • Updated the Times New Roman font family so it includes U+061D / ARABIC END OF TEXT MARK.

[Windowing]

  • We made some improvements to help with the performance of opening Task View.

[Narrator]

  • Made a fix so the two-finger triple tap touch gesture to dismiss context menus with Narrator is working correctly again.

[Task Manager]

  • Fixed an issue where some services were being unexpectedly grouped under Microsoft Edge when they weren’t actually child processes.

[Other]

  • Fixed an issue which would lead to losing network connectivity after turning on mobile hotspot.
  • Addressed an issue that could result in the mobile hotspot button getting unexpectedly stuck in a greyed out state in certain cases.
  • Fixed an underlying issue which was leading to Your Phone crashes in certain cases.
  • Fixed an underlying issue where Microsoft Defender Application Guard windows weren’t visible in the last few flights.
  • Fixed a crash that could happen when using suggested actions.
  • Fixed an underlying issue when recording game clips using the Xbox Game Bar, which could lead to the resulting saved video not displaying correctly when viewed later on an iOS device.
  • Made some improvements to help address an issue resulting in apps in the Microsoft Store failing to download with error 0x80080204.
  • Addressed an underlying issue leading to Microsoft Store app remediation failures with error 0x803FB004.
  • Did some work to address an issue where the print dialog wasn’t launching centered in the application (for example, in Notepad).

NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.

Known issues

[General]

  • [NEW] We’re investigating reports that SQL Server Management Studio is failing to launch for some Insiders.
  • Some games that use Easy Anti-Cheat may crash or cause your PC to bugcheck.

[File Explorer]

  • The up arrow is misaligned in File Explorer tabs. This will be fixed in a future update.
  • We’re working on a fix to address reports that launching File Explorer in certain ways when using dark mode (for example, from the command line) is showing the body of File Explorer unexpectedly in light mode.

[Widgets]

  • [NEW] Notification badge number may appear misaligned on the taskbar.
  • [NEW] In some cases, the notification banner for some badging will not appear in the widgets board.
  • We’re working on the fix for an issue causing Widgets preferences (temperature units and pinned widgets) to unexpectedly get reset to default.

[Live captions]

  • Certain apps in full screen (e.g., video players) prevent live captions from being visible.
  • Certain apps positioned near the top of the screen and closed before live captions is run will re-launch behind the live captions window positioned at top. Use the system menu (ALT + Spacebar) while the app has focus to move the app’s window further down.

source: Windows Blogs

Jul 02

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25151

Hi all, Last Wednesday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25151 to the Dev Channel.

Surface Book 3 has an issue (since 25141) resuming from standby, it gets stuck on a black screen with no way out but long press the power button. (Feedback Hub: https://aka.ms/AAhdr7f)

A new Quest has landed in the Feedback Hub, on privacy access history for apps a nice feature!

Prerequisite:

Must be on Build >=25145

Steps:

  1. Navigate to Settings > Privacy and security > App permissions and open any of the following pages: 
    1. Location
    2. Camera
    3. Microphone
    4. Phone Calls
    5. Messaging
    6. Contacts
    7. Screenshots and apps
  2. View your accesses from the last 7 days under the Recent Activity section.

Fixes

[File Explorer]

  • Fixed a scaling issue which could result in the tabs being unexpectedly large.
  • Right clicking a tab and then clicking somewhere else in File Explorer should dismiss the context menu more reliably now.

[Other]

  • We believe an underlying fix in Build 25145 addressed the recent issue where shutting down via the Start menu wasn’t working for some Insiders (unexpectedly rebooting instead), and as such are removing this from the known issues list. If you are continuing to encounter this issue with the latest updates, please report it in the Feedback Hub.
  • Fixed a high hitting Windows Security app crash.
  • Updated the Exclusions page in the Windows Security app so that file paths now make better use of the available space rather than truncating when space is still available.
  • Fixed an underlying issue which was causing a crash when trying to delete ports in printui /s.
  • Fixed an issue causing printing to not work from UWP apps for some Insiders in the last 2 flights.

NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.

Known issues

[General]

  • We are working on a fix to address reports that the Mica material and Acrylic blur effect is not rendering correct in OS surfaces like the Start menu, Notification Center and other areas.
  • Some games that use Easy Anti-Cheat may crash or cause your PC to bugcheck.
  • [NEW] We’re investigating reports that some Insiders are experiencing bugchecks with error message KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED in NetAdapterCx.sys starting with Build 25145.

[File Explorer]

  • The up arrow is misaligned in File Explorer tabs. This will be fixed in a future update.
  • We’re investigating reports that launching File Explorer in certain ways when using dark mode (for example, from the command line) is showing the body of File Explorer unexpectedly in light mode.

[Widgets]

  • We’re working on the fix for an issue causing Widgets preferences (temperature units and pinned widgets) to unexpectedly get reset to default.

[Live captions]

  • Certain apps in full screen (e.g., video players) prevent live captions from being visible.
  • Certain apps positioned near the top of the screen and closed before live captions is run will re-launch behind the live captions window positioned at top. Use the system menu (ALT + Spacebar) while the app has focus to move the app’s window further down.

source: Windows Blogs

Jun 25

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25145

Hi all, last Wednesday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25145 to the Dev Channel.

LAPS (Local Amin Password Solution) is now part of Windows 11, with new GPO’s no longer need to install the Laps agent

All smooth upgrades here, Happy upgrading!

What’s new in Build 25145

Narrator Braille Driver Solution

Braille devices will continue working while switching between Narrator and third-party screen readers as narrator will automatically change Braille drivers.

Prerequisites:

You must remove Narrator’s current braille support if it is already installed by following the steps below:

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Go to Apps > Optional features > Installed features.
  3. Search for Accessibility – Braille support.
  4. Expand Accessibility – Braille support and uninstall the feature.

Install new narrator braille support:

  1. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Narrator > Braille.
  2. Select the more button.
  3. Download braille from this new window by selecting the Download and install braille button.
  4. After braille is installed, then return to Settings > Accessibility > Narrator > Braille.
  5. Select the braille display driver used by your third-party screen reader from the “Braille display driver” option. This only needs to be done once.

Refer to the detailed documentation to learn more about the braille driver solution.

Additional Resources:
Please refer to the Narrator User Guide for additional information on supported braille displays and braille functionality in Narrator.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Accessibility > Narrator.

Bringing OneDrive storage alert and subscription management in Settings 

In March, we enhanced the Microsoft 365 subscription management experience in Windows 11 Settings and added the ability to view your payment method on your Microsoft 365 subscription in Accounts within Settings.

The OneDrive Standalone 100GB subscription management experience is live on Accounts page in Settings.
The OneDrive Standalone 100GB subscription management experience is live on Accounts page in Settings.

Starting with today’s build, we have begun enabling OneDrive Standalone 100GB subscriptions in the Accounts page within Settings, similar to the Microsoft 365 subscriptions. This will allow you to view your recurring billing, payment method, and OneDrive storage usage within Windows 11. Additionally, if you are close to or above your OneDrive storage limit, you will be informed on the same page.

Banner shown on Account settings page alerting you about your storage usage.
Banner shown on Account settings page alerting you about your storage usage.

[We are beginning to roll those features out, so the experience isn’t available to all Insiders just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Settings > Settings Homepage.

Local Administrator Password Solution

The legacy Local Administrator Password Solution product (aka “LAPS”) is now a native part of Windows and includes many new features:

Easily manage the new LAPS group policy settings via Group Policy Editor.
Easily manage the new LAPS group policy settings via Group Policy Editor.

Feature documentation is not yet available, however if you have used the legacy LAPS product then many of the features in this new version will be familiar to you. Here is a short how-to to help you get started on the basic Active Directory domain-joined client scenario:

  1. Extend your Active Directory schema by running the Update-LapsADSchema cmdlet in the new LAPS PowerShell module.
  2. Add the necessary permissions on your computer’s OU by running the Set-LapsADComputerSelfPermission cmdlet.
  3. Add a new LAPS Group Policy object and enable the “Configure password backup directory” setting and configure it to backup the password to “Active Directory”.
  4. The domain-joined client will process the policy at the next GPO refresh interval. Run “gpupdate /target:computer /force” to avoid waiting. (The Invoke-LapsPolicyProcessing cmdlet may be used for this same purpose.)
  5. Once the domain-joined client has backed up a new password (look for the 10018 event in the event log – see below screenshot), run the Get-LapsADPassword cmdlet to retrieve the newly stored password (by default you must be running as a domain administrator).

To get to this new Group Policy, open the Group Policy editor and navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > LAPS.

You can retrieve detailed status via the new built in event logging:

Easily track the outcome of all LAPS operations in the event log.
Easily track the outcome of all LAPS operations in the event log.

Note: the feature is fully functional for Active Directory domain-joined clients, but Azure Active Directory support is limited for now to a small set of Insiders. We will make an announcement once Azure Active Directory support is more broadly available.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Security and Privacy > Attack Surface Reduction.

Changes and Improvements

[General]

  • Every Microsoft customer should be able to use our products knowing we will protect their privacy and give them the information and tools needed to easily make privacy decisions with confidence. The new App usage history features, which began rolling out to Insiders with Build 25140, gives users a 7-day history of resource access for Location, Camera, Microphone, Phone Calls, Messaging, Contacts, Pictures, Videos, Music library, Screenshots and apps through the Settings experience. You can find this new information under Settings > Privacy & security > App permissions (simply click on one of the app permissions categories such as microphone and look at “Recent activity”).

[Suggested Actions]

  • Suggested Actions, which began rolling out with Build 25115, is now available to all Windows Insiders in the in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

[File Explorer]

  • Middle clicking a folder in the body of File Explorer will now open it in a new tab.

Fixes

[General]

  • Fixed an issue causing Windows Insiders on Surface Pro X devices to hit a black screen when attempting to resume from hibernate.
  • Fixed a bugcheck that some Insiders were experiencing with SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED related to USBs.
  • Fixed a bugcheck with error 0x1CA SYNTHETIC_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT that could happen sporadically on some PCs after left idling for some time. This could happen when a laptop lid was closed, making it appear that the laptop had rebooted while sleeping.
  • Fixed an issue from the last two builds that was leading to InventorySvc consuming an unexpectedly high volume of memory the longer it was running.

[File Explorer]

  • The row of tabs should now be included in the keyboard focus cycle when pressing Tab or F6. Once focus is in the tab row, you can use left or right arrow keys to navigate through them.
  • Fixed an issue where the tab order when using CTRL + Tab would be wrong if you’d rearranged the tabs in File Explorer.

[Start]

  • Narrator will now read the dialog that opens when uninstalling an app from its context menu in Start and those options correctly.
  • The animation when selecting the More button in Start’s Recommended section in right-to-left (RTL) languages should now appear correctly.

[Taskbar]

  • When dismissing notification center using your keyboard, its closing animation will now show correctly.

[Settings]

  • Typing a number in the Settings search box when using an Arabic display language should no longer show boxes.
  • Fixed an issue causing Settings to crash when going to Bluetooth & Devices > Printers & Scanners in the last few builds.
  • Fixed a couple crashes that some Insiders were experiencing in the last few builds when opening the Wi-Fi section of Quick Settings, or after connecting or disconnecting from networks in the Wi-Fi section in Quick Settings.
  • Fixed an issue that was causing the Wi-Fi option in Quick Settings and the Wi-Fi section in Settings to sometimes take a few seconds to appear.
  • Using touch to rearrange the items in Quick Settings when in edit mode should no longer lead to Quick Settings unexpectedly dismissing sometimes.

[Input]

  • Added the SOM currency sign (U+20C0) to the Courier New font family.

[Task Manager]

  • Pressing CTRL + Page Up and CTRL + Page Down should work again now to navigate through pages in Task Manager.

[Other]

  • Fixed a rare issue that could lead to certain apps to sporadically crash on launch.

NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.

Known issues

[General]

  • We are investigating reports that the Mica material and Acrylic blur effect is not rendering correct in OS surfaces like the Start menu, Notification Center and other areas.
  • We’re investigating reports that shutting down via the Start menu isn’t working for some Insiders and is unexpectedly rebooting instead.
  • Some games that use Easy Anti-Cheat may crash or cause your PC to bugcheck.

[File Explorer]

  • The up arrow is misaligned in File Explorer tabs. This will be fixed in a future update.
  • We’re investigating reports that launching File Explorer in certain ways when using dark mode (for example, from the command line) is showing the body of File Explorer unexpectedly in light mode.

[Widgets]

  • We’re working on the fix for an issue causing Widgets preferences (temperature units and pinned widgets) to unexpectedly get reset to default.

[Live captions]

  • Certain apps in full screen (e.g., video players) prevent live captions from being visible.
  • Certain apps positioned near the top of the screen and closed before live captions is run will re-launch behind the live captions window positioned at top. Use the system menu (ALT + Spacebar) while the app has focus to move the app’s window further down.

source: Windows Blogs

Jun 21

Retrieve Oem bios Windows License key (uefi)

Did a clean install on a device & Windows did not pick up the bios activation key? no 3rd party tools required, these commands will retrieve the key for you

Run this in PowerShell (Elevated) to retrieve the key

(Get-WmiObject -query 'select * from SoftwareLicensingService').OA3xOriginalProductKey

Retrieve & install: (run in elevated prompt)

@echo off
FOR /F "skip=1" %%A IN ('wmic path SoftwareLicensingService get OA3xOriginalProductKey') DO  (
SET "ProductKey=%%A"
goto InstallKey
)

:InstallKey
IF [%ProductKey%]==[] (
echo No key present
) ELSE (
echo Installing %ProductKey%
changepk.exe /ProductKey %ProductKey%
)

Jun 19

Windows 11 Release Health Videos

The Windows 11 release health page found here: Windows 11 Updates

Has this great new feature, every month the Patch-Tuesday update changes are neatly bundled with a video explaining what’s fixed & what’s new in this month’s updates and even some tips!

Making them easier to understand even for less tech savvy end-users.

Here’s the June 2022 one: > Play Video <

These videos are very useful to get yourself up2speed and as material to refer you r end-users to

If you have any feedback for the release notes team, let them know in this survey here

Jun 18

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25140

Hi all, last Wednesday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25140 to the Dev Channel.

A quick & smooth update on all devices here,

WinRAR context menu’s that were re-enabled for Windows 11 with the build 6.10 are not working on this build, as a workaround enabling the legacy context menu option under settings / integration does restore them under the ‘show more options’ (thanks to Amir Dream for pointing out the issue https://twitter.com/keepingtdream) (FeedBackHub: https://aka.ms/AAh9tpz)

WinRAR settings screenshot

Changes and Improvements

[General]

  • Euphemia typeface covers most languages that use the Canadian Syllabic script including various Cree orthographies, Inuktitut, and the Carrier/Dakelh script (dulkw’ahke). In the latest Insider builds, we’ve updated this font to improve the legibility and screen rendering of over 200 characters at various sizes. We’ve also added new glyphs to support Unicode 14 characters for the Nattilik language of the Canadian arctic.
Example of some of the new glyphs in the Euphemia typeface.
Example of some of the new glyphs in the Euphemia typeface.

Fixes

[File Explorer]

  • Fixed an issue which was leading some people to unexpectedly see error 0x80070026 when copying files from network drives.
  • Fixed an issue where the active tab color didn’t match the command bar below it.
  • Fixed an issue where dragging to rearrange tabs wasn’t working sometimes.
  • Fixed an issue which could cause artifacts in the windows thumbnail preview in the taskbar if File Explorer was maximized and you used WIN + M to minimize it.

[Settings]

  • If you go to rename a drive label in System > Storage > Disks & Volumes, the current drive name will now be prepopulated in the dialog.

[Input]

  • Fixed an issue where selecting English (New Zealand) in OOBE was unexpectedly leading to the Arabic (101) keyboard getting selected.
  • Setting language bar hotkeys for switching input directly to specific non-IME input method should work now.
  • Some languages don’t support the speech recognition FOD. When an admin user tried to install one of those languages using the new Install-Language CopyToSettings command, some settings such as new user account locale, Input (Keyboard), and UPLL (User Preferred Language List) were not getting updated. This issue has now been fixed.
  • Fixed an issue causing Batang, BatangChe, Gungsuh, and GungsuhChe fonts to not render Korean correctly when using Office online apps when these fonts were not locally present on your PC.

[Task Manager]

  • Fixed a crash that could happen when switching modes in pages other than the Processes page.
  • We made a small adjustment to the intensity of the colors used in the heatmap on the Processes page.

[Other]

  • Fixed an issue where calls to CopyAcceleratorTable and CreateAcceleratorTable would fail if the LPACCEL parameter was the address of an odd numbered index into an array of ACCEL structs.
  • Fixed an issue with x64 emulation on ARM64 which could result in certain apps crashing on launch with error code 0xc0000409.
  • Fixed an issue causing audio to stop playing in certain apps after a minute.

NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.

Known issues

[General]

  • Windows Insiders on Surface Pro X devices will hit a black screen attempting to resume from hibernate on this build. You will need to power cycle (long power button shutdown) to get back into the device. It is recommended Insiders on these devices pause flighting until we release a build with this fix.
  • We are investigating reports that the Mica material and Acrylic blur effect is not rendering correct in OS surfaces like the Start menu, Notification Center and other areas.
  • We’re investigating reports that shutting down via the Start menu isn’t working for some Insiders and is unexpectedly rebooting instead.
  • Some games that use Easy Anti-Cheat may crash or cause your PC to bugcheck.

[File Explorer]

  • The up arrow is misaligned in File Explorer tabs. This will be fixed in a future update.
  • [NEW] We’re investigating reports that launching File Explorer in certain ways when using dark mode (for example, from the command line) is showing the body of File Explorer unexpectedly in light mode.

[Widgets]

  • [NEW] We’re working on the fix for an issue causing Widgets preferences (temperature units and pinned widgets) to unexpectedly reset to default.

[Live captions]

  • Certain apps in full screen (e.g., video players) prevent live captions from being visible.
  • Certain apps positioned near the top of the screen and closed before live captions is run will re-launch behind the live captions window positioned at top. Use the system menu (ALT + Spacebar) while the app has focus to move the app’s window further down.

source: Windows Blogs

Jun 13

Windows Update: Get me up to date

This new option in Windows 11 called ‘Get me up to date’ is located in the settings app, under Windows Update / Advanced options

Advanced options

Once turned on, Windows Updates will get your device updated as fast as possible restart as needed even if you’re in active hours, a great option to use when going out for lunch or a meeting. It will still prompt you for rebooting to give you time to close app & plug in your device if needed.

The perfect catch up with updates now option!

Jun 13

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.160

Hi all, Today Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.160 (KB5014770) to the Beta Channel.

Also possibly enabling the explorer tabs for you… if you’re one of the lucky early deploy testers

What’s new

File Explorer Tabs & Navigation Updates

To help you work across multiple locations at the same time, the title bar of File Explorer now has tabs. We’d love your feedback on which tabs features you’d like to see next.

File Explorer with tabs and navigation updates.
File Explorer with tabs and navigation updates.

File Explorer is also introducing a refreshed layout of the left navigation pane which makes it easy for you to navigate to folders that matter to you. The updated organization provides easy access to your pinned and frequently used folders (Quick access) and your OneDrive cloud profiles added to Windows. OneDrive cloud profiles reflect the user’s name associated with the account. Known Windows folders which are available by default in the navigation pane are no longer displayed under This PC to keep that view focused for your PC’s drives. When you navigate to folders syncing to OneDrive such as Documents, Pictures, etc., the address bar displays the correct path to help bring clarity when your folders are on the cloud vs when they are local to you.

[We are beginning to roll this feature out, so it isn’t available to all Insiders in the Beta Channel just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Files, Folders, and Online Storage > File Explorer.

Known issues

[File Explorer]

  • The up arrow is misaligned in File Explorer tabs. This will be fixed in a future update.

source: Windows Blogs

Jun 13

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25136

Hi all, Last Thursday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25136 to the Dev Channel.

Sorry for the delay on the blog, was visiting the Microsoft campus, invited by the WCCP team, now that the jetlag is over…

The tabbed explorer looks great, however it’s rolling out gradually to insider so you might not have it right away.

What’s new in Build 25136

File Explorer Tabs & Navigation Updates

To help you work across multiple locations at the same time, the title bar of File Explorer now has tabs. We’d love your feedback on which tabs features you’d like to see next.

File Explorer with tabs and navigation updates.
File Explorer with tabs and navigation updates.

File Explorer is also introducing a refreshed layout of the left navigation pane which makes it easy for you to navigate to folders that matter to you. The updated organization provides easy access to your pinned and frequently used folders (Quick access) and your OneDrive cloud profiles added to Windows. OneDrive cloud profiles reflect the user’s name associated with the account. Known Windows folders which are available by default in the navigation pane are no longer displayed under This PC to keep that view focused for your PC’s drives. When you navigate to folders syncing to OneDrive such as Documents, Pictures, etc., the address bar displays the correct path to help bring clarity when your folders are on the cloud vs when they are local to you.

[We are beginning to roll this feature out, so it isn’t available to all Insiders in the Dev Channel just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Files, Folders, and Online Storage > File Explorer.

Dynamic Widgets content on the taskbar

We’re trying out some changes to bring more dynamic Widgets content to your taskbar. In addition to seeing live content from the weather widget, you’ll also start to see live updates from the sports and finance widgets, along with breaking news alerts.

Finance content from Widgets shown on the taskbar.
Finance content from Widgets shown on the taskbar.

This should make it easier for you to know when something important happens related to these widgets and keep you informed of breaking news.

The content is meant to be quick and glanceable with the ability to see more inside the widgets board if you click on it. However, if you don’t interact with the content update the taskbar will return to showing you the weather.

[We are beginning to roll this feature out, so it isn’t available to all Insiders in the Dev Channel just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Widgets.

Changes and Improvements

[Input]

  • We are beginning to roll out the ability for Insiders to report animated gifs they feel are inappropriate from the emoji panel (WIN + .)

Fixes

[General]

  • Addressed an issue which was leading to some PCs being erroneously detected as tablets. When this happened, compact mode and the option to hide checkboxes in File Explorer wouldn’t take effect.
  • Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to experience a SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION bugcheck in recent Dev Channel builds.

[Taskbar]

  • Fixed an issue that was sometimes causing taskbar apps to overflow with the system tray icons.
  • When you hover on an app in the system tray, its notification will no longer flash.

[Start]

  • Fixed an issue that could cause Start to only show one column of recommended items.
  • If you’re pinning a large number of apps to Start, it should now refresh to show them more reliably.

[Settings]

  • Fixed an issue from the previous flight where Disks & Volumes section of System > Storage wasn’t displaying any disks or volumes.

[Windowing]

  • We made a fix to help with a rare issue which was causing title bars to sometimes go transparent or missing sometimes in certain apps.

[Windows Update]    

  • Fixed an issue where Windows Update might unexpectedly show error 0x00000000 when there wasn’t anything wrong.
  • Fixed an issue which was leading to some devices bugchecking with HYPERVISOR_ERROR when trying to upgrade to a new build.

[Task Manager]

  • Fixed an issue which was causing Task Manager to crash on launch sometimes after switching between light and dark mode or changing accent color.

[Other]

  • Fixed an issue which could lead to increased latency or stutter in games when v-sync was used.
  • Fixed an issue which could cause some PCs to freeze after running the wsl –shutdown command.

NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.

Known issues

[General]

  • Windows Insiders on Surface Pro X devices will hit a black screen attempting to resume from hibernate on this build. You will need to power cycle (long power button shutdown) to get back into the device. It is recommended Insiders on these devices pause flighting until we release a build with this fix.
  • [NEW] We are investigating reports that the Mica material and Acrylic blur effect is not rendering correct in OS surfaces like the Start menu, Notification Center and other areas.
  • We’re investigating reports that shutting down via the Start menu isn’t working for some Insiders and is unexpectedly rebooting instead.
  • Some games that use Easy Anti-Cheat may crash or cause your PC to bugcheck.

[File Explorer]

  • [NEW] The up arrow is misaligned in File Explorer tabs. This will be fixed in a future update.

[Live captions]

  • Certain apps in full screen (e.g., video players) prevent live captions from being visible.
  • Certain apps positioned near the top of the screen and closed before live captions is run will re-launch behind the live captions window positioned at top. Use the system menu (ALT + Spacebar) while the app has focus to move the app’s window further down.

source: Windows Blogs