Jan 30

Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21301

Hello All, last Wednesday Microsoft released Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21301 (RS_PRERELEASE) to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. This build is being offered to ALL Insiders in the Dev Channel.

Graphic distortion on moving/resizing Edge seems partially fixed,

Opening a website installed as an app in Edge opens up a 2nd blank window on this build https://aka.ms/AAayuym

Search results in start menu are covered by a black square when ‘Show text suggestions as I type’ option is on for Hardware Keyboard (at random times) https://aka.ms/AAayn9f

What’s new in Build 21301

Improving the touch keyboard design

Building on the design changes already live in the Dev Channel, Windows Insiders will start to notice some more refinements rolling out for the touch keyboard based on their feedback. Those refinements include:

  • When undocking the keyboard, it now switches to the Small keyboard layout, and you can easily move the keyboard around using the gripper region at the top of the keyboard.
  • Small and split layouts will now feature an updated symbol’s view based on the default layout.
  • The settings menu now has a nested structure for improved clarity and less clutter.

Finally, we have a new password feedback icon to the left of the space bar for when you are in a password field and would like to turn on visual key press feedback on the touch keyboard.

The revamped touch keyboard settings menu allows you to quickly change between keyboard modes, access more settings and give feedback.

Some Insiders may also see updates to the default keyboard layout on 12” or larger screens with the keyboard having a more traditional keyboard layout featuring an ESC, Tab, and Windows key and other small tweaks.

The updated default layout now features the Esc, Tab, Windows, and Alt keys.

One thing we heard from our customers is that the candidate bar can feel cluttered and hard to quickly process. To reduce the cognitive overload, we will be displaying 5 candidates maximum and centering them into position above the keyboard.

[UPDATE] The above-mentioned candidate bar improvement hasn’t started rolling out yet but will start rolling out early next week. Apologies for the confusion.

The candidate suggestion bar is now centered and features 5 candidates for you to choose from.

This feature is rolling out to a subset of Insiders in the Dev Channel at first, to help us quickly identify issues that may impact performance and reliability. Rest assured they will be gradually rolled out to everyone in the Dev Channel.

Changes and Improvements

  • We made a change so that when you right click locally saved files displayed in jump lists, in addition to Open you will now have the option to Open File Location.
  • We updated our N’Ko keyboard layout to add access to currency and some other symbols by tapping the keys along the top row of your keyboard while holding the Shift key.
  • We updated the Touchpad on/off toggle under Settings > Devices > Touchpad such that it no longer requires admin privileges to change.
  • We updated our backend dictionaries to help improve spellchecking and text prediction relevance.

Fixes

  • We fixed an issue so that the taskbar context menu and news and interests should no longer overlap.
  • We fixed an issue where in certain circumstances, news and interests would use 100% of CPU when it is first launched.
  • We fixed an issue that could result in Task Manager crashing when switching to the Details tab.
  • We fixed a recent issue for some Insiders related to the Clock and Calendar flyout that could result in ShellExperienceHost using an unexpectedly high amount of CPU.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in the State Repository Service being prematurely terminated during service startup. If you were impacted, one possible symptom was it taking longer to load the desktop when signing in. If you’re continuing to experience performance issues when logging in, please file them with a trace under Install and Update > Logon hangs.
  • We fixed an issue where if you searched for “change your password” and used the result to launch Settings, Settings would crash.
  • We fixed an issue where Aero Shake was unexpected disabled in the last few flights.
  • We fixed an issue where when moving a window between mixed DPI monitors it could result in the window margins being calculated with the wrong DPI, leading to the window overflowing on the other monitor when maximized.
  • We fixed an issue that could result in certain HEIF files not rendering although the correct codecs were installed.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in pinning a website to your taskbar from Microsoft Edge not working in the last few flights.
  • We fixed an issue that could result in VPN repeatedly connecting and disconnecting in a loop.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in some 32-bit systems losing the network connection in recent flights.
  • We fixed an issue resulting sometimes in nothing happening after clicking a “Wi-Fi password needed” notification.
  • We fixed an issue where certain games like State of Decay 2, or Assassin’s Creed, may hang or crash when launching.
  • We fixed a few issues resulting in Narrator not reading elements of our troubleshooters when in Scan Mode.

Known issues

  • Miracast users may experience very low frame rates in this build.
  • We’re looking into reports of the update process hanging for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build.
  • We’re investigating an issue impacting the reliability of Start and other modern apps, which started in the previous flight. If you are impacted, you may experience the Start menu layout resetting.
  • Live previews for pinned sites aren’t enabled for all Insiders yet, so you may see a grey window when hovering over the thumbnail in the taskbar. We’re continuing to work on polishing this experience.
  • We’re working on enabling the new taskbar experience for existing pinned sites. In the meantime, you can unpin the site from the taskbar, remove it from the edge://apps page, and then re-pin the site.
  • [News and interests] Sometimes the news and interests flyout cannot be dismissed with pen.
  • [News and interests] News and interests uses more taskbar space on the left than expected.
  • [News and interests] The taskbar button can show stale information each time the user signs into their Windows session.
  • [News and interests] The news and interests flyout shows content in a single column before quickly switching to double column.
  • [News and interests] Text in taskbar button can look pixelated in high resolution screens.
  • [News and interests] Attempting to share content dismisses the flyout.
  • [News and interests] In certain situations, the flyout may not dismiss until the taskbar button is clicked or the hover effect may appear stuck.
  • [ARM64] Insiders who installed the preview version of the Qualcomm Adreno graphics driver on the Surface Pro X may experience reduced brightness of the display. This will be addressed in a future update.

source: Windows Blogs

Jan 23

Releasing Windows 10 Build 19042.782 (20H2) to Beta and Release Preview Channels

Hi all, Microsoft released 20H2 Build 19042.782 (KB4598291) to the Beta and Release Preview Channels for those Insiders who are on 20H2 (Windows 10 October 2020 Update).

This update includes the following fixes and improvements:

  • We updated the default values for the following Internet Explorer registry keys:
    • svcKBFWLink = “ ” (empty string)
    • svcKBNumber = “ ” (empty string)
    • svcUpdateVersion = 11.0.1000.

In addition, these values will no longer be updated automatically.

  • We enabled administrators to disable standalone Internet Explorer using a Group Policy while continuing to use Microsoft Edge’s IE Mode.
  • We enabled you to configure certain policies that support Microsoft Edge IE Mode using mobile device management (MDM).
  • We fixed an issue in the Universal C Run-time Library (UCRT) that causes printf() to incorrectly round floating point values.
  • We fixed an issue that displays a User Account Control (UAC) dialog box unexpectedly when you turn on speech recognition.
  • We fixed an issue that fails to notify the target application when you select the Copy link command on the Share menu.
  • We fixed an issue that causes the 64-bit fmod() and remainder() functions to damage the Floating Point Unit (FPU) stack.
  • We fixed an issue that causes a stop error or causes a device to stop responding when you play a game in full-screen or tablet mode.
  • We fixed an issue with using Ctrl+Caps Lock and Alt+Caps Lock to switch to Hiragana or Katakana mode respectively after upgrading to Windows 10, version 2004.
  • We fixed an issue that prevents you from opening a document that is on the Windows desktop and generates the error, “The directory name is invalid.” This issue occurs after changing the desktop location in the Location tab of the Desktop Properties dialog box (File Explorer -> This PC -> Desktop).
  • We fixed an issue that creates duplicate cloud provider folders in the File Explorer navigation pane.
  • We fixed an issue that occurs when the Mandatory Profile check box is selected when you copy a user profile.
  • We fixed an issue that might cause the Alt+Tab order to change unexpectedly and cause you to switch to the wrong window.
  • We fixed an issue that prevents ImmGetCompositionString() from returning the white space for furigana when using the Japanese Input Method Editor (IME).
  • We fixed an issue with some special key combinations used in DaYi, Yi, and Array IMEs that might cause an application to stop working.
  • We fixed an issue that displays a blank lock screen after a device wakes up from Hibernate.
  • We corrected historical daylight savings time (DST) information for the Palestinian Authority.
  • We added support for serial number control using the registry.
  • We fixed an issue that incorrectly deactivates some Windows 10 Education devices after upgrading to Windows 10, version 2004.
  • We fixed an issue that causes the upload of diagnostic logs to a management service, such as Microsoft Intune, to fail. The failure occurs because of a network time-out on a slow network.
  • We displayed a notification to a user when an administrator signs in to an MDM service, such as Microsoft Intune, to find the location of a managed device.
  • We fixed an issue that prevents users from using their smart card credentials when the user hint is the domain credential name (domain\username).
  • We fixed an issue in which using local Service for User (S4U) affects Data Protection API (DPAPI) credential keys and causes users to sign out unexpectedly.
  • We fixed an issue that causes the silent mode deployment of BitLocker to fail with the error 0x80310001. This issue occurs when deploying BitLocker encryption to Hybrid Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) joined devices.
  • We fixed an issue that might cause a black screen to appear or delay signing in to Hybrid Azure Active Directory joined machines. Additionally, there is no access to login.microsoftonline.com.
  • We fixed an issue that might cause systems that use BitLocker to stop working with the error 0x120 (BITLOCKER_FATAL_ERROR).
  • We fixed an issue that causes a device to stop working when deploying Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager if AppLocker is enabled on the device.
  • We fixed an issue that cause the LSASS.exe process to leak memory on a server that is under a heavy authentication load when Kerberos Armoring (Flexible Authentication Secure Tunneling (FAST)) is enabled.
  • We fixed an issue that causes LSASS.exe to stop working because of a race condition that results in a double free error in Schannel. The exception code is c0000374, and the Event Log displays Schannel event 36888, fatal error code 20, and error state 960. This issue occurs after installing Windows updates from September 2020 and later.
  • We fixed a memory leak issue that occurs when you authenticate a client certificate on servers that are configured as domain controllers.
  • We fixed an issue with Virtual Interrupt Notification Assert (VINA) interrupts.
  • We fixed an issue with HTTP caching that interferes with kiosk mode that targets Azure AD groups.
  • We fixed an issue that occurs when a Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) snapshot triggers on virtual machines (VM) that contain Resilient File System (ReFS) volumes. The triggered VSS snapshot fails with a time-out and prevents access to the ReFS volume for 30 minutes.
  • We fixed an issue that incorrectly logs Extensible Storage Engine Technology (ESENT) event 642 in the Application Event Log.
  • We fixed an issue with Administrative Template settings you configure using a Group Policy Object (GPO). When you change the value of the policy settings to NOT CONFIGURED, the system fails to remove the previous settings. This issue is most noticeable with roaming user profiles.
  • We fixed an issue that might cause a deadlock in Windows Virtual Desktop when a user disconnects before a driver fully loads
  • We fixed an issue that fails to show Extract all on the shortcut menu when you right-click an online-only ZIP file.
  • We updated the process for enrolling in online speech recognition. If you are already enrolled, you will see a message that asks you to review the new settings. If you choose not to contribute your speech data for human review, you can still use online speech recognition. The new settings contain one button to turn on online speech recognition and another button that turns on the collection of your voice clips. If you turn on the collection of your voice clips, you can turn it off at any time using the same button in the new settings page.
  • We fixed an issue that prevents the Start menu, Cortana, and tiles pinned to the Taskbar from opening. This issue occurs when an administrator copies an existing profile that has the Mandatory Profile check box selected.

source: Windows Blogs

Jan 23

Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21296

Hi All, Thursday Microsoft released Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21296 (RS_PRERELEASE) to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.

Upgrades still seem a bit slow after the first reboot on some devices but they get there 😉

Resizing Edge Windows causes some distortion on the screen https://aka.ms/AAaxcno

Distortion resizing Edge

Resizing some apps like Feedback Hub renders transparent

Transparent resize of Feedback Hub

Randomly resizing Edge on an external monitor can trigger a freeze of the display (everything but the mouse pointer) https://aka.ms/AAax4xx

Clipboard History’s item pinning is back & looking good! Not familiar with this feature? type Windows Key + V

Clipboard History’s pinning options are back

Happy Upgrading!

Changes and Improvements

  • We’re starting to roll out an update to our converged clipboard history design (WIN + V) to support pinning, unpinning, deleting, and syncing individual entries. Appreciate your patience and feedback while we’ve been working on this. If you have any other feedback in this space, we welcome it in the Feedback Hub under Input and Language > Clipboard.
  • The ability to manage and create Storage Spaces from within Settings is now rolling out to all Insiders in the Dev Channel. If you have any feedback as you explore the changes, please file it under Files, Folders, and Online Storage > Storage spaces in the Feedback Hub.

Fixes

  • The issue that could prevent Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War from launching has been fixed and is in the process of rolling out. Please update your game(s) to apply the fix.
  • We fixed an issue from the previous flight where Xbox Game Bar was launching on its own for certain games, without pressing WIN + G.
  • We fixed an issue where when the Xbox Game Bar was launched (like when pressing WIN + G), the PC might appear unresponsive.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in the Program Compatibility Assistant sometimes unexpectedly taking up a large amount of CPU resources in the last few flights.
  • We fixed an issue that could result in explorer.exe hanging when mounting ISOs.
  • We fixed an issue where the Windows Security app might show both a check for updates button and link at the same time.
  • We fixed and issue causing some Insiders to experience rendering / graphic issues after resizing certain app windows.
  • Installing this build will restore x64 emulation on ARM64 if it had previously broken after installing Build 21292.1010.
  • For Insiders using x64 apps on ARM64, there is an updated preview of the ARM64 C++ redistributable (version 14.28.29812) now available to install from https://aka.ms/arm64previewredist. This updated redist adds vcruntime140_1.dll and fixes crashes occurring in a number of CAD applications.

Known issues

  • We’re working on a fix for an issue Insiders have reported where certain games like State of Decay 2, or titles from the Assassin’s Creed franchise, may hang or crash when launching.
  • We’re investigating an issue where some 32-bit systems may lose network connection after taking this build. If you are running a 32-bit version of Windows, you may wish to pause updates until the issue is resolved.
  • Miracast users may experience very low frame rates in this build.
  • We’re looking into reports of the update process hanging for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build.
  • We’re investigating an issue impacting the reliability of Start and other modern apps, which started in the previous flight. If you are impacted, you may experience the Start menu layout resetting.
  • Aero Shake is disabled in this build. To enable it, you will need to go here in Registry Editor and create a new DWORD entry named DisallowShaking with a value of 0: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced.
  • Live previews for pinned sites aren’t enabled for all Insiders yet, so you may see a grey window when hovering over the thumbnail in the taskbar. We’re continuing to work on polishing this experience.
  • We’re working on enabling the new taskbar experience for existing pinned sites. In the meantime, you can unpin the site from the taskbar, remove it from the edge://apps page, and then re-pin the site.
  • [News and interests] Upgrading to this build will cause your news and interests taskbar setting to be reset to “Show icon and text”. This is fixed going forward.
  • [News and interests] Sometimes the news and interests flyout cannot be dismissed with pen.
  • [News and interests] News and interests uses more taskbar space on the left than expected.
  • [News and interests] The taskbar button can show stale information each time the user signs into their Windows session.
  • [News and interests] The news and interests flyout shows content in a single column before quickly switching to double column.
  • [News and interests] Text in taskbar button can look pixelated in high resolution screens.
  • [News and interests] The taskbar context menu and news and interests overlap.
  • [News and interests] In certain circumstances, news and interests uses 100% of CPU when first launched.
  • [News and interests] Attempting to share content dismisses the flyout.
  • [ARM64] Insiders who installed the preview version of the Qualcomm Adreno graphics driver on the Surface Pro X may experience reduced brightness of the display. This will be addressed in a future update.

source: Windows Blogs

Jan 16

Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21292

Hi all, Last Wednesday Microsoft released Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21292 (RS_PRERELEASE) to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. This build is being offered to ALL Insiders in the Dev Channel. All Insiders in the Dev Channel will now receive the same build going forward.

Smooth upgrades here, the installing phase after reboot did seem to take a bit longer than with previous builds though.

1st day after upgrade some devices resumed from stand-by with the Game bar active and did not seem to allow mouse or touch input, closing the game bar fixed the issue. On Friday an update was flighted 21292.1010 that should have fixed this but reports are coming in it is not fixed just yet

If you do run into the problem, you can try to close/open the game bar with Windows Key + G or using Task manager by pressing CTRL + SHIFT + Esc

I’m still hoping to see the news & interest to show up on at least one of my devices… no luck so far 😉

happy testing!

Edge Chromium & Chrome leave a black trail when moving it’s window on an external monitor Feedback Hub Item: https://aka.ms/AAat7jg (happens more with video playing in the browser)

moving Edge to the left, the black square fixes itself a few seconds later

Released Update 10.0.21292.1010 can take a while to get from 100% installing to restart now, took 20 minutes on one of my devices, give it time it’ll get there. Feedback Hub Item: https://aka.ms/AAausdk

What’s new in Build 21292

Improvements to news and interests on the taskbar

Thanks for all the feedback on news and interests, which we announced in last week’s blog post. The team has been reading it all! We’re continuing to improve the experience and this week are happy to announce a handful of fixes:

  • We fixed multiple issues impacting performance and reliability.
  • We fixed an issue where an empty flyout would be shown after opening news and interests.
  • We fixed an issue where the text on the taskbar button wasn’t being read by screen readers and some tooltips were missing.
  • We fixed an issue where news and interests in the taskbar was not displaying correctly when using small taskbar icons.
  • We fixed an issue where the news and interests button would temporarily show no content.
  • We fixed an issue where the news and interests flyout would not dismiss by tapping outside the window or again on the taskbar button.
  • We fixed an issue where the content of the taskbar button would look blurry.
  • We fixed an issue where news and interests would not show fresh content after toggling the background apps setting.
  • We fixed an issue where the flyout would not dismiss when you hover off the right edge.
  • We fixed an issue where it was not possible to navigate into the flyout using keyboard.
  • We fixed an issue where the news and interests taskbar setting would be reset to show icon and text after updating to a new windows version.

With news and interests on the Windows taskbar, not only do you get quick access to the latest headlines and weather, but you also get real-time traffic conditions and alerts that update throughout the day. If you click on the Traffic card, you’ll see details on the traffic alerts, traffic cameras, and traffic times between nearby cities with a bigger map experience.

News and interests on the Windows taskbar showing new, weather, sports scores, stocks, and traffic.

We also wanted to take a moment and talk a little more in detail about the weather experience that news and interests on the Windows taskbar provides. Current weather conditions are shown to you directly on the taskbar, so that you can stay up to date on weather conditions at a glance. The weather information displayed on the taskbar updates throughout the day, so that you see an accurate visual representation of current weather conditions in your location, along with the temperature. You can change the location of the weather you see by clicking on the three dots on the Weather card and then clicking Edit location. It’s easy to click through for the forecast, too—just click on the Weather card to see an immersive weather experience via the browser with accurate, state-of-the-art forecasts, on interactive, animated maps that make the weather easy to understand, along with timely news for severe weather events.

By clicking on the Weather card, you get an immersive weather experience with accurate, state-of-the-art forecasts, on interactive, animated maps.
  • When you click the Weather card, you’ll see a full-page view of the weather, with details such as the current ‘feels like’ temperature, wind, and humidity level, along with hourly predictions for the day’s temperature and chances of precipitation, so you can plan your day. For those who really like to plan ahead, we also show a quick view of the 10-day forecast to help if, for example, you have some outdoors errands to run in the coming week.
  • Our forecasts are powered by radar images that are augmented by social, spatial, and temporal data processed by deep learning in our neural weather model. These forecasts reflect small topographical variances in your specific area so you can get forecasts for your street, not your county, with predictions on a minute-to-minute basis.
Weather forecasts are powered by radar images that are augmented by social, spatial, and temporal data processed by deep learning in our neural weather model.
  • If you want to dive deeper beyond the weather summary, scroll down to see a rich, interactive map of predicted weather conditions over time in your area, powered by Bing Maps and MSN Weather predictions. You can change views and zoom in to your specific location to see animations over time of the predicted temperature, precipitation, wind, and more. For users in the U.S., the map also provides detailed views of severe weather events such as winter storms, wildfires, and hurricanes.

As a reminder, news and interests is currently available to a subset of Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel right now. Managing the rollout of features like this allows us to quickly identify issues that may impact performance and reliability. We plan to evolve this experience over time, so please let us know what you think and how we can make it better through Feedback Hub (go to Desktop Environment > News and interests). The team is excited to hear what you think!

IMPORTANT NOTE: This feature is currently only available to Windows Insiders in United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and India. This feature also requires the new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser (Stable) to be installed on your PC. We are also testing different variations of this experience so some Insiders may see a different experience than others.

Changes and Improvements

  • Based on feedback, we’re updating Settings > System > Sounds to now display a message when microphone permissions have been turned off for the whole system or for all apps, with a link to the microphone privacy settings page.

Fixes

  • We’re continuing to work on improving x64 emulation on ARM64 thanks to your feedback. This build fixes issues in several apps, including crashes in Zwift, Serif Affinity Photo, and Your Phone as well as blank pages in Steam.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in an increase in Insiders seeing a message saying “Critical Error: Your Start menu isn’t work” in recent builds.
  • We fixed an issue from the last two builds where explorer.exe / the Windows shell was hanging and or crashing, particularly after interacting with audio/video.
  • We fixed an issue where NTFS was logging false positive torn write events.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in Microsoft Teams and certain other apps unexpectedly displaying as just “Program” (instead of the app name) in Task Manager’s Startup tab.
  • We fixed an issue where it wasn’t possible to sort processes in Task Manager by Status.
  • We fixed an issue that could result in not seeing notifications following WIN + Shift + S shortly after clean installing or resetting your PC.
  • We fixed an issue from the previous build where when Xbox Game Bar was launched from Start or via the Windows key + G when using a text editor, the computer might appear unresponsive. (Not fixed – see known issues.)
  • We fixed an issue where when using Windows with scaling greater than 100% in recent builds, if you opened and closed Task View, open windows would appear unexpectedly large in the transition back to the desktop.
  • We fixed an issue where typing “-“ on a number pad when using the Japanese IME wasn’t taking into consideration whether the IME was in full width or half width mode.
  • We fixed an issue where Hanja word conversion with the Korean IME wasn’t working in Excel when the Korean Language pack for Office was installed.

Known issues

  • We’re working on a fix for an issue Insiders have reported where certain games like State of Decay 2, or Assassin’s Creed, may hang or crash when launching.
  • We’re investigating an issue where Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War may not launch starting with this build. If you play these games, you may wish to pause updates until the issue is resolved.
  • You may experience some rendering / graphic issues after resizing certain app windows. If you minimize all your app windows and open them again it should resolve the issue (Press the Windows key plus D twice).
  • We’re investigating an issue where some 32-bit systems may lose network connection after taking this build. If you are running a 32-bit version of Windows, you may wish to pause updates until the issue is resolved.
  • Miracast users may experience very low frame rates in this build.
  • We’re looking into reports of the update process hanging for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build.
  • Aero Shake is disabled in this build. To enable it, you will need to go here in Registry Editor and create a new DWORD entry named DisallowShaking with a value of 0: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
  • Live previews for pinned sites aren’t enabled for all Insiders yet, so you may see a grey window when hovering over the thumbnail in the taskbar. We’re continuing to work on polishing this experience.
  • We’re working on enabling the new taskbar experience for existing pinned sites. In the meantime, you can unpin the site from the taskbar, remove it from the edge://apps page, and then re-pin the site.
  • [News and interests] Upgrading to this build will cause your news and interests taskbar setting to be reset to “Show icon and text”. This is fixed going forward.
  • [News and interests] Sometimes the news and interests flyout cannot be dismissed with pen.
  • [News and interests] News and interests uses more taskbar space on the left than expected.
  • [News and interests] The taskbar button can show stale information each time the user signs into their Windows session.
  • [News and interests] The news and interests flyout shows content in a single column before quickly switching to double column.
  • [News and interests] Text in taskbar button can look pixelated in high resolution screens.
  • [News and interests] The taskbar context menu and news and interests overlap.
  • [News and interests] In certain circumstances, news and interests uses 100% of CPU when first launched.
  • [News and interests] Attempting to share content dismisses the flyout.
  • [ARM64] Insiders who installed the preview version of the Qualcomm Adreno graphics driver on the Surface Pro X may experience reduced brightness of the display. This will be addressed in a future update.
  • ADDED 1/15: We are investigating reports that Xbox Game Bar launches on their PC without pressing WIN + G.
  • ADDED 1/15: We are continuing to investigate reports that when Xbox Game Bar is launched (like when pressing WIN + G), the PC might appear unresponsive.

source: Windows Blogs

Jan 10

Belgian ICT Communities Week | TechNine

Thanks to the success of last year’s Belgian ICT Communities week we’re joining the event again with sessions on January 19th

Agenda:

  • 20:00: Session1: Thijs Lecomte – Securing your Microsoft365 environment in 10 easy steps!
  • 20h55: Break
  • 21h00: Session2: BWVDUG: Stefan Georgiev – MSIX App attach

When: 19/01/2021

Where: Microsoft Teams Event

>> Register Here <<

Technine is part of the Belgian ICT Communities

Check out the other sessions of Belgian ICT Communities Week:
Belgian ICT Communities | Belgian Communities Calendar

Jan 09

Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21286

Hi All, last Wednesday Microsoft Released Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21286 (RS_PRERELEASE) to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. This Build is the new build for both devices on 20277 and 21277 devices in the Dev Channel

Upgrades went fast & smooth here, the News & interests feature looks awesome but is only released to a lucky few users in limited zones, no luck here yet 😉

For devices with support for enhanced color profile, something strange seems to be going on when you have this setting active

(Settings / System / Display)

out of the blue greyscales turn a sort of light brown and return to normal is you reset the Graphical drive due to undock/redock or Windows Key + CTRL + Shift + B

Feedback Hub item: https://aka.ms/AAarrg8

What’s new in Build 21286

Introducing news and interests on the taskbar

With news and interests on the Windows taskbar, you get quick access to an integrated feed of dynamic content such as news and weather that updates throughout the day.

News and interests on the Windows taskbar gives you quick access to an integrated feed of dynamic content such as news and weather that updates throughout the day.

You can personalize your feed with relevant content tailored for you. Instead of switching between apps or your PC and phone to stay up to date with the news and interests you care about – seamlessly peek into your feed directly from the taskbar anytime you want throughout your day.

Showing news and interests on the taskbar with the flyout of content just for you.
  • Staying up to date: Quickly glance at your news and interests directly from the taskbar. Get caught up on the latest headlines, weather, sports, and more, then go back to whatever you were doing without disrupting your workflow. You have convenient access to news and interesting content from over 4,500 global brands such as The New York Times, BBC or The Verge, and gorgeous live weather maps. Select an article to open a streamlined reading view with fewer distractions, so you can save time and stay focused.
  • Personalize your feed: You can tell us which content you like seeing or don’t like seeing (select More options … and choose “More stories like this” or “Fewer stories like this”) and over time, more stories about the things you care about will show up in your feed, including ones you might otherwise miss. You can also use emoji to react to stories, too.
  • You’re in control: At Microsoft, we believe privacy starts with putting you in control and giving you the tools and information, you need to make informed choices. Through news and interests, there is quick access to the Microsoft Privacy Dashboard. Through the Microsoft Edge browser, there are built-in controls to limit tracking from advertisers and third parties. And if news and interests doesn’t appeal to you, you can easily turn it off by right-clicking on the taskbar.

As more of us are spending time on our PCs to work, learn, connect, and play, news and interests on the taskbar is a nice companion for those who want to stay connected with information on the latest current events. Over time, we hope to bring your feed of news and interests to other places, such as in Microsoft Edge, so no matter where you are, you’ll be able to stay up to date.

We are beginning to roll out news and interests to Windows Insiders today starting with Build 21286 in the Dev Channel and Insiders will need to reboot after installing Build 21286 to enable this feature. Managing the rollout of features like this allows us to quickly identify issues that may impact performance and reliability. We plan to evolve this experience over time, so please let us know what you think and how we can make it better through Feedback Hub (go to Desktop Environment > News and interests). The team is excited to hear what you think!

IMPORTANT NOTE: This feature is currently only available to Windows Insiders in United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and India. This feature also requires the new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser (Stable) to be installed on your PC. We are also testing different variations of this experience so some Insiders may see a different experience than others.

Modernized Storage Spaces Settings

You can now create and manage Storage Spaces from within the Settings app. This includes creating storage pools and storage spaces, adding, and removing disks, and optimizing pools. This new experience provides an accessible, modern experience integrated with other storage features.

Managing Storage Spaces in the Settings up via Settings > System > Storage.

Go to Settings > System > Storage and click the Manage Storage Spaces under “More storage settings” to get started.

This feature is rolling out to a subset of Insiders in the Dev Channel at first, to help us quickly identify issues that may impact performance and reliability. Rest assured they will be gradually rolled out to everyone in the Dev Channel.

Introducing New File System Command Line Tool DiskUsage

As some Insiders have noticed, we’re working on an enhancement to the file system utilities family – called DiskUsage, enabling users to view and query disk space usage via the command line. With DiskUsage, you can now track files and directories which are consuming excessive amount of space on the drive. It scans the specified directory recursively or the entire drive with detailed information on how much each subfolder is using. It also supports extensive filtering and output customization options.

For example: >> diskusage /d:1

This will display the used space under each folder of the current directory.

Get started today by typing diskusage /? in a command line window for more options and usage information.

Running the DiskUsage command in Windows Terminal.

Run commands on start up in the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)

We have added an option that allows you to run any specified Linux command on startup of a WSL distribution. You can accomplish this by editing the /etc/wsl.conf file in your distribution and adding an option titled “command” under a section titled “boot”. This command will run whenever your specific WSL distribution starts up. The example below shows using this functionality to create a method to log the time and date for each startup of this WSL distro.

A screenshot of Windows Terminal displaying a user interacting with WSL.

This command will run when a WSL distribution is first started. WSL distributions will remain running for a few minutes even after the last Linux process inside of them is closed. You can view if your WSL distro is running using wsl --list --verbose and you can manually shut down all WSL distributions using wsl --shutdown.

Improving your experience when transitioning between time zones

Based on feedback, we’re making a couple small adjustments for users of “Set time zone automatically” in Date & Time Settings:

  • When your time zone is updated because of a high confidence detected location change, we’ll now send a notification letting you know about it. The notification will include information about the new time zone and clicking it will open the Date & Time Settings.
  • If we detect a low confidence location change and there is a single administrator on the device, we will now send a notification asking if you would like to update your time zone – clicking the OK button in the prompt will make the change.
Displaying examples of the two possible time zone notifications.

Other updates for Insiders

Windows File Recovery – Winter 2020 Update

Since the initial release of Windows File Recovery, the team has received tons of feedback and inquiries about the app. This update includes performance improvements, bug fixes, and the introduction of 2 simplified recovery modes! Regular mode is a fast recovery option for NTFS file systems and extensive mode is a thorough search that applies to most file systems. The update is available to Windows Insiders and will be released to the general public (Windows 10 May 2020 Update and higher) in early 2021. If you don’t have Windows File Recovery installed, you can download it here from the Microsoft Store.

Changes and Improvements

  • Based on feedback, (GitHub issue #1495) we’re adding an option to disable automatic controller-to-virtual-key mapping for UWP apps. If you have a need to do this, add the following registry key, with a DWORD value of Enabled set to 0: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Input\Settings\ControllerProcessor\ControllerToVKMapping.

Fixes

  • We fixed an issue causing some Insiders to see a popup that says “Your PC ran into a problem and will automatically restart” after logging in to Windows with either an Azure Active Directory or Active Directory account on Build 21277.
  • We fixed an issue where no drives appeared under Settings > System > Storage > Manage Disks and Volumes.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in some printers getting stuck on connecting when added from Settings.
  • We fixed an issue that could result in sometimes unexpectedly being signed out of apps and websites after rebooting your PC.
  • We fixed an issue where the Windows Security icon would sometimes be unexpectedly large in the context menu when shift-right-clicking taskbar icons.
  • We fixed an issue that could result in MediaTranscoder hanging when transcoding certain files.
  • We fixed an issue where audio playing from UWP apps wasn’t ducking after pressing the microphone icon to start Cortana listening.
  • We fixed an issue that could result in VPN entries in the network flyout getting stuck at Action Needed until you pressed Cancel and Connect again.
  • We fixed an issue impacting touch targeting when resizing windows using touch.
  • We’ve made some fixes to our emoji keyword search results based on feedback, including adding a new keyword so that typing “lgbtq” will now return the rainbow flag emoji. Please continue sharing feedback with us in the Feedback Hub under Input and Language > Emoji Panel.
  • We fixed an issue that could result in the Read Aloud options in Magnifier being unexpectedly greyed out.
  • We fixed an issue where the “Help make Narrator better” toggle in Narrator Settings was disabled for Insiders.
  • We fixed an issue so that Narrator will now read Excel cell contents when verbosity is set to 2.
  • We fixed an issue where Narrator might not announce whether a combo box was in expanded or collapsed state.
  • We fixed an issue impacting Narrator’s ability to read the names of certain hyperlinks on websites in Microsoft Edge.
  • We fixed an issue impacting Narrator’s ability to read code windows in Visual Studio.
  • We fixed an issue for high contrast users that could result in Settings crashing when going to Ease of Access.

Known issues

  • We’re working on a fix for an issue Insiders have reported where certain games like State of Decay 2, or Assassin’s Creed, may hang or crash when launching.
  • We’re investigating an issue where Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War may not launch starting with this build. If you play these games, you may wish to pause updates until the issue is resolved.
  • You may experience some rendering / graphic issues after resizing certain app windows. If you minimize all your app windows and open them again it should resolve the issue (Press the Windows key plus D twice).
  • We’re investigating an issue where some 32-bit systems may lose network connection after taking this build. If you are running a 32-bit version of Windows, you may wish to pause updates until the issue is resolved.
  • When Xbox Game Bar is launched from Start or via the Windows key + G when using a text editor, the computer may appear unresponsive. If you encounter this, dismiss the Xbox Game Bar with WIN + G and end the GameBar.exe process from Task Manager.
  • Miracast users may experience very low frame rates in this build.
  • We’re investigating reports that started with Build 21277 that explorer.exe / the Windows shell would hang and or crash.
  • We’re looking into reports of the update process hanging for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build.
  • Aero Shake is disabled in this build. To enable it, you will need to go here in Registry Editor and create a new DWORD entry named DisallowShaking with a value of 0: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
  • Live previews for pinned sites aren’t enabled for all Insiders yet, so you may see a grey window when hovering over the thumbnail in the taskbar. We’re continuing to work on polishing this experience.
  • We’re working on enabling the new taskbar experience for existing pinned sites. In the meantime, you can unpin the site from the taskbar, remove it from the edge://apps page, and then re-pin the site.
  • [News and interests] Sometimes the news and interests flyout may show as offline even when the user is online.
  • [News and interests] Users cannot navigate into the news and interests flyout using keyboard.
  • [News and interests] In some scenarios, the news and interests flyout may appear empty with no content.
  • [News and interests] Sometimes the news and interests flyout cannot be dismissed with touch and pen.
  • [News and interests] News and interests uses more taskbar space on the left than expected.

source: Windows Blogs

Dec 15

Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20279

Hi all, yesterday Microsoft released Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20279 (FE_RELEASE) to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. This build is largely the same as Build 20277, but we wanted to test our ability to quickly follow-up a flight with another flight.

Windows Insiders who updated to Build 21277 (RS_PRERELEASE) last week will not be offered this build as they are on a newer build. We are working on getting a new build out to those Insiders soon. We expect to move all Insiders in the Dev Channel back to receiving builds from RS_PRERELEASE sometime after the holidays.

Known issues

  • We’re looking into reports of the update process hanging for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build.
  • Live previews for pinned sites aren’t enabled for all Insiders yet, so you may see a grey window when hovering over the thumbnail in the taskbar. We’re continuing to work on polishing this experience.
  • We’re working on enabling the new taskbar experience for existing pinned sites. In the meantime, you can unpin the site from the taskbar, remove it from the edge://apps page, and then re-pin the site.
  • We’re working on a fix for an issue resulting in some users seeing error 0x80070426 when using their Microsoft account to sign into various apps. If you encounter it, rebooting your PC may resolve this.
  • We’re working on a fix for an issue where, in recent Dev Channel builds, no drives appear under Settings > System > Storage > Manage Disks and Volumes. As a workaround, you can manage your disks in the classic Disk Management tool.

source: Windows Blogs

Dec 15

Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21277

Hi all, last week the 2nd build released, Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 21277 (RS_PRERELEASE) to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.

Got my most used production devices running this build, the New Emoji picker is back!

Upgrades went smoothly, few explorer.exe freezes, https://aka.ms/AAammi0

Some strange graphic issues on my Surface Laptop 3, letter seem slightly distorted, then a second later the issue auto resolves… a hard one to capture

As mentioned here, we are giving Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel the option to receive builds from the RS_PRERELEASE branch. These builds will be offered as an optional update through the “seeker” experience in Windows Update. This means Insiders will have to go and choose to install the currently offered RS_PRERELEASE build. Once they do, they will continue to receive RS_PRERELEASE builds going forward. This optional experience for receiving RS_PRERELEASE builds is just temporary – we plan to move all Insiders in the Dev Channel back to receiving builds from RS_PRERELEASE sometime after the holidays. As a reminder, Dev Channel builds are not matched to a specific Windows 10 release.

Also: features like the updated emoji picker, redesigned touch keyboard, voice typing, theme-aware splash screens, and others that were removed temporarily at the end of October will be returning for Insiders who install this RS_PRERELEASE build. However, please note some of these features will continue to be available only to a subset of Insiders and will get enabled for more Insiders over time.

Be sure to check the list of known issues below. The list of fixes and known issues between FE_RELEASE builds and RS_PRERELEASE builds will NOT be the same.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Once an Insider chooses to install a RS_PRERELEASE build, they cannot move back to receiving FE_RELEASE builds as their device will be on a higher build number. Insiders will still have the option to roll back to a previous version for up to 10 days or until you take another build.

What’s new in Build 21277

Introducing x64 emulation in preview for Windows 10 on ARM PCs

Windows Insiders with ARM PCs who install this build can try out x64 emulation by installing x64 apps from the Microsoft Store or from any other location of their choosing. For more details on this experience, please head on over and read this blog post from Hari Pulapaka!

Adding Support for Unicode Emoji 12.1 and 13.0

Starting with this build, Insiders will get their first look at the emoji we’ve designed to support Emoji 12.1 and 13.0! This update brings over 200 new glyphs to Windows – including bubble tea, a smiling face with tear, a ninja, a magic wand, and more:

Showing an array of the new emoji that will be added, including ninja, bubble tea, face wearing a disguise, and smiling face with a tear.

As part of this change, we’re introducing a gender-neutral emoji design, which you can now select alongside the corresponding male or female design in our emoji panel and touch keyboard:

Displaying 3 versions (male, female, and gender-neutral) of various emoji (genie, superhero, person shrugging, etc.).

You’ll also find we’ve made some tweaks to our existing emoji to improve cross-platform consistency:

(OLD)

Some existing emoji and how they’ve been tweaked (face with mask, giraffe, and confused face).

(NEW)

Some existing emoji and how they’ve been tweaked (face with mask, giraffe, and confused face).

To bring up the emoji panel and check out all the changes, press Windows key + Period (.) or Windows key + Semicolon (;).

One final note: we’ve made several improvements to our emoji search terms based on your feedback – if you update to today’s build and still find the expected emoji isn’t being returned when you search for it, please let us know! You can file feedback for this in the Feedback Hub under Input and Language > Emoji panel. Please specify what words you used, and which emoji you expected to appear.

Changes and Improvements

  • We’ve updated the animation when opening or closing a window to make the transition smoother. Do you notice a difference? Let us know!
  • Based on Insider feedback, you can now use the built-in screen snipping experience in Windows (WIN + SHIFT + S) to create a snip of your screen and paste it directly into a folder of your choice in File Explorer to save the screenshot there. Try it out! (This was released to Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel as part of the recent Windows Feature Experience Pack update.)
  • Using the touch keyboard in a portrait posture on a 2-in-1 touch device now supports split keyboard mode. (This was released to Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel as part of the recent Windows Feature Experience Pack update.)
  • It’s now possible to uninstall the Snipping Tool. If you choose to uninstall it, it can be reinstalled via the Optional Features page in Settings.
  • We’ve made some adjustments to improve the scaling logic of the graphs in Task Manager’s Performance tab.
  • We’ve updated Registry Editor so that the Find window, renaming a key, and other places all now support CTRL + Backspace to delete words at a time.
  • When using the Delete key or Dismiss button in Action Center to clear groups of notifications, Narrator will now announce that the notification group has been cleared instead of just moving focus to the next notification group.
  • Based on feedback we’re adjusting a few strings in Offline Maps Settings to improve clarity.
  • To help you find what you’re looking for faster, we’ve updated our folder logic in Start menu’s all apps list so that if a folder only contains a single item we will now display that item in place of the folder.
Showing Visual Studio code in a folder by itself and then (after) not in a folder.

Fixes

  • We fixed an issue resulting in some users seeing error 0x80070426 when using their Microsoft account to sign into various apps.
  • We fixed an issue where limiting a search in File Explorer to a specific folder was unexpectedly returning results from the subfolders.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in a “The directory name is invalid” error appearing when trying to open a file from a saved File Explorer search.
  • We fixed an issue where after doing a search from within File Explorer and clicking the arrow next to a column header to see a list of available filters for the results, it would get stuck on “Computing Filters…” and never actually displays any filters.
  • We fixed an issue where the apostrophe in the tooltips for Power options in Start menu wasn’t displaying correctly.
  • We fixed an issue that could result in Microsoft Edge windows unexpectedly being grouped with File Explorer in the taskbar.
  • We fixed an issue that could result in explorer.exe crashing when switching virtual desktops using a touchpad gesture.
  • We fixed an issue that could result in acrylic unexpectedly not be applied to the login screen if you used the option in Start to switch users.
  • We fixed a deadlock that could result in the Windows Security icon in the notification area continually displaying an alert although the Windows Security app had no alerts.
  • We fixed a typo in Settings > Privacy > Notifications.
  • We fixed an issue impacting the loading performance of Sign-in Settings for some users.
  • We fixed an issue where the ms-settings:signinoptions-launchsecuritykeyenrollment URI wasn’t opening the security key management options in Sign-in Settings.
  • We fixed an issue that could result in your name and profile image being unexpectedly missing from the banner at the top of Settings.
  • We fixed an issue that could result in Windows Update Settings saying battery saver was enabled when it wasn’t.
  • We fixed an issue that could result in you unexpectedly seeing a message when shutting down saying “Closing 1 app and signing out. Task Host is stopping background tasks” related to syncing language settings, even though no apps were open.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in printers with Japanese characters in their names not displaying correctly in Printers & Scanners Settings.
  • We fixed an issue where Background Settings was still displaying a link to “Sync your settings” although this option is no longer supported.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in some apps in Apps & Features Settings to display unexpectedly dimmed.
  • We fixed an issue that could result in no screenshot being copied to your clipboard after pressing WIN + Shift + S.
  • We fixed an issue that could result in a bug check with error IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL when playing games with hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling enabled.
  • We fixed an issue where a slight drag on a modifier key on the touch keyboard (such as CTRL or Shift) while it was being held down could result in the key becoming stuck down.
  • We fixed an issue where the clipboard icon in the touch keyboard (when there was content available to be pasted) was unexpectedly small.
  • We’ve fixed a few issues impacting touch keyboard performance.
  • We fixed an issue impacting touch keyboard reliability in the last few flights.
  • We fixed an issue where when using high contrast, the border of some keys in the touch keyboard were the same as the key color.
  • We fixed an issue where when using high contrast items in the touch keyboard’s language list were unexpectedly using the disabled text color.
  • We fixed an issue impacting touch keyboard usage with Narrator.
  • We fixed an issue where after selecting a clipboard history item from the touch keyboard, it might not be possible to subsequently select text candidates.
  • We fixed an issue where the touch keyboard would crash if you tried to input a character using a child key into a password field.
  • We fixed an issue for touch keyboard users, where, after restarting explorer.exe, it could result in explorer.exe getting stuck in a restart loop.
  • We fixed an issue where the Japanese IME may not display the current furigana in a string after reconversion.
  • We fixed an issue where the kana input mode state in the Japanese IME’s context menu could get out of sync with the actual state.
  • We fixed an issue when using the Japanese IME resulting in an unexpected, continued increase in ctfmon.exe handle usage after every focus switch.
  • We fixed an issue where when typing using the Japanese IME in a browser’s URL bar, after using space to convert your string the up / down arrows to select the browser suggestions wouldn’t work.
  • We’ve made a few fixes to address craftsmanship issues with the new voice typing experience.
  • We fixed an issue where trying to use voice typing with when airplane mode was enabled would result in an expectedly large authentication pop up appearing.
  • We fixed an issue where voice typing could get stuck initializing and never start listening.
  • We fixed an issue where if voice typing was open and you switched languages, it might unexpectedly start listening again.
  • We fixed an issue where the close button on notifications wasn’t working with touch.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in the Action Center sometimes unexpectedly showing blank when there were available notifications.
  • We fixed an issue where the margin from a notification to the taskbar wasn’t the same as the margin from a notification to the side of the screen.
  • We fixed an issue that could result in the Focus Assist quick action not responding, and going to Focus Assist Settings, crashing Settings pages.
  • We fixed an issue where if you launched Notepad by running %windir%\notepad.exe, then Notepad’s icon wouldn’t display correctly in the title bar.
  • We fixed an issue that could result in you seeing your display turn on after existing Modern Standby but shortly afterwards bug check saying that it took too long for the display to turn on.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in some Insiders seeing a bug check recently citing an issue with Memory Management.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in some Insiders seeing a bug check recently saying System Service Exception.
  • We fixed an issue that could result in sections of Task Manager’s Performance tab not responding to mouse scroll wheel or touchpad pan events.
  • We fixed an issue where the Power Usage and Power Usage Trend columns in Task Manager weren’t showing arrows indicating directionality when sorting by that column.

Known issues

  • We’re working on a fix for an issue resulting in some users seeing a popup that says “Your PC ran into a problem and will restart in 1 min” after logging in to Windows with either an Azure Active Directory or Active Directory account. If you encounter it, please save any data immediately and your system will restart automatically.
  • We’re looking into reports of the update process hanging for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build.
  • Live previews for pinned sites aren’t enabled for all Insiders yet, so you may see a grey window when hovering over the thumbnail in the taskbar. We’re continuing to work on polishing this experience.
  • We’re working on enabling the new taskbar experience for existing pinned sites. In the meantime, you can unpin the site from the taskbar, remove it from the edge://apps page, and then re-pin the site.
  • We’re working on a fix for an issue where no drives appear under Settings > System > Storage > Manage Disks and Volumes. As a workaround, you can manage your disks in the classic Disk Management tool.

source: Windows Blogs

Dec 15

Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20277

Hi all, Last week Microsoft released not 1 but 2 builds to the Windows Insiders Dev Channel, Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20277 (FE_RELEASE) and Build 21277

I’ve split up my DEv Channel devices so I have multiple of both running for testing

Smooth upgrades so far!

Starting today, we are giving Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel the option to receive builds from the RS_PRERELEASE branch. These builds will be offered as an optional update through the “seeker” experience in Windows Update. This means Insiders will have to go and choose to install the currently offered RS_PRERELEASE build. Today, Insiders can choose to install Build 21277. Once they do, they will continue to receive RS_PRERELEASE builds going forward.

Insiders who choose to stay put will continue to automatically get builds from the FE_RELEASE until we move all Insiders in the Dev Channel to receiving RS_PRERELEASE builds sometime after the holidays. We still need Insiders running FE_RELEASE builds and giving us feedback on these builds so its ok if you choose to stay on these builds.

Be sure to check the list of known issues below. The list of fixes and known issues between FE_RELEASE builds and RS_PRERELEASE builds will NOT be the same.

As a reminder, Dev Channel builds are not matched to a specific Windows 10 release.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Once an Insider chooses to install a RS_PRERELEASE build, they cannot move back to receiving FE_RELEASE builds as their device will be on a higher build number. Insiders will still have the option to roll back to a previous version for up to 10 days or until you take another build.

Fixes

  • We fixed an issue that could result in the WinRE volume label being lost after multiple upgrades.
  • We fixed an issue that could result in apps failing to update with error code 0x80073D02.

Known issues

  • We’re looking into reports of the update process hanging for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build.
  • Live previews for pinned sites aren’t enabled for all Insiders yet, so you may see a grey window when hovering over the thumbnail in the taskbar. We’re continuing to work on polishing this experience.
  • We’re working on enabling the new taskbar experience for existing pinned sites. In the meantime, you can unpin the site from the taskbar, remove it from the edge://apps page, and then re-pin the site.
  • We’re working on a fix for an issue resulting in some users seeing error 0x80070426 when using their Microsoft account to sign into various apps. If you encounter it, rebooting your PC may resolve this.
  • We’re working on a fix for an issue where, in recent Dev Channel builds, no drives appear under Settings > System > Storage > Manage Disks and Volumes. As a workaround, you can manage your disks in the classic Disk Management tool.

source: Windows Blogs

Dec 05

Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20270

Hi all, Thursday, after a week with no release, a day later than usual, Microsoft released Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20270 (FE_RELEASE) to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.

Smooth upgrades so far, do check out the file skill for Cortana they rock!

Notifications on the lock screen are partially off monitor: https://aka.ms/AAajsw3

Other updates for Insiders

File Skill in Cortana

You can now use Cortana on your PCs to translate their thoughts into direct actions to open and find files and save time spent navigating to apps/folders to locate and open files.

Enterprise users who sign into Cortana with their corporate credentials (e.g., AAD) can search for files saved on OneDrive For Business and SharePoint along with files saved locally on their PCs (this setting is at Settings > Search > Searching Windows). Users using a Microsoft account (e.g., ending with Outlook.com or Hotmail.com) can use Cortana to find files saved on their PCs. This feature is currently available to our English-speaking users in U.S.

Showing Cortana displaying files in response to a “find recent files” query.

Try and use Cortana to open or search files by:

  • Parts of file names (Example: “Hey Cortana, opening marketing deck.”)
  • Author names (Example: “Hey Cortana, open budget Excel from Anthony”)
  • Find a document you have been editing (Example: “Hey Cortana, find my recent files”)
  • Find a document of a particular type (Example: “Hey Cortana, find my recent pdfs”)

Changes and Improvements

  • The new “Advanced View” checkbox in Optimize Drives is now up and running and checking it will display volumes previously not visible in this window (for example system and recovery partitions).
  • Using the touch keyboard in a portrait posture on a 2-in-1 touch device now supports split keyboard mode. (This was released to Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel as part of the recent Windows Feature Experience Pack update.)

Fixes

  • We fixed an issue resulting in some dialogs, such as Properties, displaying black text on dark backgrounds in recent flights.
  • We fixed an issue that could result in certain apps unexpectedly closing when clicking the Maximize button in recent builds.
  • We fixed an issue resulting in printers with Japanese characters in their names not displaying correctly in Printers & Scanners Settings.
  • We fixed an issue that could result in some delay logging into your PC on devices with a large number of users.

Known issues

  • We’re looking into reports of the update process hanging for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build.
  • Live previews for pinned sites aren’t enabled for all Insiders yet, so you may see a grey window when hovering over the thumbnail in the taskbar. We’re continuing to work on polishing this experience.
  • We’re working on enabling the new taskbar experience for existing pinned sites. In the meantime, you can unpin the site from the taskbar, remove it from the edge://apps page, and then re-pin the site.
  • We’re working on a fix for an issue resulting in some users seeing error 0x80070426 when using their Microsoft account to sign into various apps. If you encounter it, rebooting your PC may resolve this.
  • We’re working on a fix for an issue where, in recent Dev Channel builds, no drives appear under Settings > System > Storage > Manage Disks and Volumes. As a workaround, you can manage your disks in the classic Disk Management tool.

source: Windows Blogs