Category Archives: Windows 10

2022 Gets First Windows 10 WUCU Woohoo

I can’t help it. I have to have fun with my headlines occasionally. In this case, WUCU refers to a Cumulative Update (CU) delivered via Windows Update (WU). Hence my proclamation, as 2022 gets first Windows 10 WUCU. The woohoo part is just for grins. I was busy enough with writing and phone calls yesterday that I didn’t notice the download and install part. But when I logged in this morning, I saw a notification that led me to the “Restart required” message in WU. It’s present on all the “regular PCs” in my fleet (those not running an Insider Preview).

When 2022 Gets First Windows 10 WUCU, Then What?

Why, restart all those machines, of course. I just checked the Windows 11 PCs, and they don’t seem to be queued up for Patch Tuesday action. I wonder if this is just a one-off, or if the update cadence for the newest desktop OS might be changing. I guess I’ll have to keep an eye on things, to see what happens.

Closer investigation shows that KB 5009566 hit Windows 11 machines yesterday (January 11) as well. It’s labeled as a Quality Update in Update History, not a CU. So it looks like the cadence continues as always, but that the labels attached to the Patch Tuesday update can be either QU or CU depending on their contents and recent prior preview update activity. Good to know!

Here’s what that looks like on my production-level Lenovo X1 Extreme (8th-gen Intel CPU, vintage 2018).

The update for Windows 11 also arrived on January 11, but it’s a QU not a CU. Go figure!

It seems that Windows 11 is finally starting to diverge from Windows 10. I think we may see some exciting new developments and capabilities in the run-up to this fall’s upcoming equivalent to a feature update. Should be interesting. Stay tuned: I’ll keep you posted.

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Zoom Mystery Gets Interesting Resolution

For the past month or so, I’ve been unable to run Zoom on my primary desktop PC. That’s actually OK, because it doesn’t have a video camera, so it’s been no major gotcha to switch over to the laptop I keep at the left-hand side of my desk. There, a camera is built-in and it works fine with my Jabra 75 USB plug-in headset. Today, determined to find a solution, I stumbled across a revelation in the Zoom Community forums. There, my Zoom mystery gets interesting resolution: because the PowerToys “Video Conference Mute” is enabled by default, it crashes Zoom. Turn that feature off. Presto! No more crashing.

Flailing About Leads to Zoom Mystery Gets Interesting Resolution

At the same time, I’ve also had to switch from my Jabra 75 headset to the older Logitech H750e headset on the production PC. Though the sound widget in Control Panel shows sound input/output, it’s not audible on the headset itself. That’s working properly now, too.

If it hadn’t been for some inspired Google search, I’d never have found this by myself. Turns out it’s a “known thing” in GitHub (where PowerToys development is run). There a bug report about this there. It’s entitled “Zoom continuously crashes with Video Conference Mute enabled.”

I’m very glad this finally popped up on my radar. I’m even gladder there’s an easy fix. Shoot! I’m just glad to see the Zoom dashboard popping up and working on my production desktop PC. This fix was a long time coming, but I’m glad to see it finally in place. Sigh.

 

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MS Assistant Whacks Word Weirdnesses

These days, I make a sizable chunk of my living using Microsoft Word on huge documents with complex stylesheets. As anybody who does this kind of thing regularly knows, Word can get wonky. That is especially true when large drafts with “Track Changes” turned on must pass among multiple parties. That’s why I’m happy to report that one particular MS Assistant whacks Word weirdnesses. I’m talking about the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant (SaRA) shown in the lead-in graphic here (About, Download).

Because MS Assistant Whacks Word Weirdnesses, Use It!

In this latest case in point, I’d cut out a mid-sized section of a large (~200 pg) Word document to work on independently. But when I tried to interact with that document fragment, I started seeing a spray of different errors:

  • Document is too large to save; remove some text or graphics
  • Disk is full; save document to a different drive
  • Permissions error; unable to save document

Normally, when there’s something wrong with the document itself, the errors will remain the same. Also, Word itself is pretty good at repairing corrupted or damaged documents. Thus, this ever-changing panoply of errors got me thinking: “Hmmm. Looks like Word is going wonky.”

Enumerating Office Repairs

I remembered a story I wrote for ComputerWorld last August (4 Steps to Repair Microsoft Office). One of them involved the SaRA. Naturally, I ran the tool (thankfully, it always updates itself first if the version being run is not the most current one available). I had it perform its  Office repairs, then tried the previously problematic file fragment I’d been fighting with. Problem solved!

As mechanics sometimes say: “Get the right tool for the job.” In this case, I was glad that SaRA turned out to be that very tool. I was even gladder to get back to work on writing, and exit Word troubleshooting mode. Sigh.

 

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Ventoy 1.0.62 Gets Plug-in Manager

I’ve been a huge fan of the Ventoy bootable image tool for several years now. The developers have recently released a new 1.0.62 version at GitHub. It includes a GUI plugin configurator that immediately explained to me why I have issues with my current version on some of my laptops. The partition style on the ventoy drive is MBR and some of my newer laptops are GPT/UEFI only. Thus, when Ventoy 1.0.62 gets plug-in manager, I get ready information to helpful details right away. Cool!

If you’re not already familiar with Ventoy, it includes two partitions on USB attached storage media. The bulk of the device is exFAT formatted, and provides storage for ISO, WIM, VHDX, and other mountable cabinet or image formats. The VTOYEFI partition (32 MB FAT) has just enough smarts to get the PC running, mount an image, and then pass boot control over to that image. The result is a way to store all of your Windows (and other OS) images in one place, along withe repair tools, and boot into them as and when you need to.

If Ventoy 1.0.62 Gets Plug-in Manager, Then What?

Why, download and install if you’re not already using the tool. Or download and update if you already are. The Plugson GUI manager is a major step forward in functionality, visibility and insight, and improved control over the program. I’m not sure I understand all the wrinkles just yet. Thus, I plan on writing about it again after some more time spend fooling round … err … experimenting with its features and functions.

The more I look at plugson the more things I find to like about it. This program has evolved considerably over the three years or so it’s been available. And it just keeps improving and extending what it can do. Good stuff, and a great tool for Windows admins and enthusiasts.

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Windows 11 Build 22509 Control Panel Changes

It’s been a long time coming, and it could still be some time coming yet. But Windows 11 Build 22509 Control Panel changes show the shape — if not the ultimate destination — of things to come. The lead-in graphic for this story shows Control Panel (CP) from Windows 11 left, and Windows 10 right. (Right-click the image and select “Open image in new tab” or equivalent to see it in its full glory.) Careful examination of the image shows items missing from 11 include Administrative Tools and Windows Tools. The new look includes more modern icons and rounded corners, too.

What Windows 11 Build 22509 Control Panel Changes Presage

The loss of Administrative Tools and Windows Tools is no big thing. Administrative Tools is a portmanteau in File Explorer that leads to a bunch of stuff easily accessible through other means. It includes:

Windows 11 Build 22509 Control Panel Changes.admin-tools

A lot of this stuff is seldom used, and all of it is easily accessible by name, through God Mode, and other means…

Same thing goes for Windows tools, which provides access to 36 items ranging from Character Map to WordPad (in alphabetical order), with considerable overlap with the previous Administrative Tools item. IMHO, neither of these leaving CP is a loss, let alone a great one.

Look for Increasing Vanishment Ahead

Long term the impetus seems clear. MS will move more stuff out of CP and under Settings. Ultimately, CP might disappear completely. But that’s probably a long-term phenomenon at least a few years into the future, if not further out that that. According to WindowsLatest, the next Windows 11 Insider Preview Dev Channel update will do away with still more CP elements. It should be interesting to see which ones go away, and in what order.

As this stuff starts falling out of CP, count on me to keep you informed. I thrive on this kind of administrivia, and revel in sharing it with my readers — that means you! Stay tuned, and we’ll all keep up with the incredible shrinking collection of Control Panel elements.

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Update Fixes Nitro Pro OCR Issue

The old saying goes “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” I was reminded yesterday that the converse is also sometimes true. I’d been struggling with an OCR issue in Nitro Pro v13. Each time I ran the process on a particular patent PDF (downloaded from the USPTO), the program would crash. Then I remembered that SUMo (Software Update Monitor) had reported a new NP13 update was available on my latest scan. “Hmmm,” I thought to myself, “maybe an update will help…” You could say I clutched at the hope that the update fixes Nitro Pro OCR issue. “Here goes nothing…,” i continued, as I started looking for the latest version download.

Indeed, Update Fixes Nitro Pro OCR Issue

I had to go and download a new version of the Nitro Pro exe. That version number was 13.50.4.1013. Because NP13 lacks a built-in update facility, one must download the exe and manually install it to perform an upgrade. I usually avoid that except in cases of difficulty. But this time, it did the trick. After the update, my next OCR attempt succeeded, as shown in the lead-in graphic.

There’s a “trick” to grabbing Nitro Pro updates. I’ll share it because it will help me remember what I  need to do for my next upgrade, too. You must scroll to the footer (bottom) of the gonitro.com web page, and access the “Downloads” link under the “Support” heading. Here’s what that looks like right now:

Update Fixes Nitro Pro OCR Issue.dl-page

The latest version always shows up at the top of the downloads page.

A link to the latest version always shows up on that page, but is nearly impossible to find otherwise.  I can’t  understand why it doesn’t come up first in a Google search for “Download Nitro Pro.”
It does not: Go figure!

 

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Modern Windows Service Tweaking Is Counterproductive

I’m a regular at ElevenForum.com and TenForums.com. I try to read all new threads there daily, but probably average two out of three over the long haul. This morning, I saw a post at ElevenForum entitled “Services to Disable Windows 11.” My immediate response was “Why bother?” These days, Windows is self-tuning and runs pretty lean — especially Windows 11. That’s why I assert “Modern Windows Service Tweaking Is Counterproductive.”

More on Why Modern Windows Service Tweaking Is Counterproductive

One especially interesting analysis in response to the original poster’s list of prospective services to disable is especially illuminating. It comes from long-time Guru-level user @Bree, who says:

If you open Resource Monitor, look at Services on the CPU tab and sort by Average CPU, then you’ll find that of your list SysMain has the highest CPU use – of less than 0.2%. In fact my total CPU use by all running services is just 2%.

The general point is that while it’s theoretically possible to trim down the default set of services and processes to lighten the Windows load, the gains are small. In addition, turning things off that Windows thinks should be turned on can occasionally cause stability problems (read the whole thread for more details).

The Black Viper Perspective on Tweaked Services

BlackViper.com has been active on the Internet recommending such tweaks since the days of Windows 95/98. The last set of such tweaks for Windows 10 on his site is for version 1803 (as in March, 2018, almost four years ago). There are no such tweaks for Windows 11, period. To me, this says even a long-time, professional-grade tweaker no longer finds it worthwhile or rewarding to do this kind of thing with modern Windows versions. I couldn’t agree more, and stick by my title for this piece! ‘Nuff said.

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When Security Stymies Update Remove and Reinstall

Here’s an interesting issue — and another reason why I’m abandoning Norton security after I get my new PC built. I just tried to update CrystalDiskInfo and I couldn’t make it work. Norton data protection prevented the installer from — of all things — deleting old .bmp files for icons and graphics, to replace them with new ones. Even after I turned everything in Norton off for which it provides controls, the &*%$$ program still got in the way. Then it occurred to me: when security stymies update remove and reinstall still works. So that’s what I did, and that’s how I got it to work. Sheesh!

When Security Stymies Update Remove and Reinstall for New Version

Because update operations wouldn’t proceed even after disabling the auto-protect, firewall, and AV functions (see lead-in graphic), I was faced with two alternatives. First, I could completely uninstall Norton and then update. Or second, I could uninstall the old CrystalDiskInfo version, and then cleanly install  the new one. Because it was so much less time and labor intensive to undertake the latter, that’s what I did.

But man! I *HATE* it when security software gets in the way of authorized, valid update behavior and I can’t make it stop. By itself, that’s enough to have pushed me to get rid of Norton. But I’d already planned to do that anyway. I still use the password manager (which is a pretty good one), but I have no use any longer for the rest of the suite.

It just goes to show you: when it comes to maintaining Windows PCs, there’s always something lurking in the background ready to strike. This time, I got stung just a little. But sometimes, workarounds are less obvious, or less easy to find and apply. This time, I got lucky…

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Laughing Off Black Friday Deals

Yes, I could have waited, as it turns out. I bought an AMD Ryzen 7 5800X from Amazon in September. I paid around US$394. Today, Black Friday prices are out and it’s on sole for US$341. Difference: US$53. All in all I could’ve saved around US$200 on my whole basket of parts. Not bad for a $1,200 buy. But laughing off Black Friday deals is part of making a buy decision. That said, there are some pretty good deals happening right now. If you  are in the market for PCs or parts, it’s the best time of the year to buy.

Spending Earlier Means Laughing Off Black Friday Deals Now

But it also means I should look around and see what kinds of deals I can find right now. I’ve been lusting for a Caldigit Element Thunderbolt 4 hub (4x Thunderbolt 4/4x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 60W charging). But as you might expect with leading/bleeding edge technology items, it’s still at its MSRP of US$250.

OTOH, SSDs and HDDs are indeed showing up at bargain prices. Thus, for example I see a Hynix 1 TB NVMe for US$130 and a Seagate 5TB 2.5″ HDD for US$124 (5400 RPM). IGN.com has a nifty story on Black Friday Deals that’s worth a look. You can expect other websites to offer Black Friday rundowns through the weekend. If you’re in the market — or just thinking about some tech buys — you won’t be sorry if you take some time to look around and see what kinds of deals you can find. Shop till you drop, dear Readers — this the season!

Note Added Nov 29 (Cyber Monday)

No deals on the Caldigit Element hub today, either. But I still might go ahead and spring for one. I’ve got three laptops with Thunderbolt 4 ports that I can’t yet fully exercise until I get some compatible peripherals. A perfect excuse for paying list price, yes?

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Macrium 8 Free Makes Normal Upgrade Appearance

OK, then: it’s finally making its way into the general Windows user population. I’m a zealous advocate of Paramount Software UK Ltd’s excellent Macrium Reflect Free backup/restore tool. Over the past 10 days or so, the company has now up-versioned that Free version from 7 to 8. This week, Macrium 8 Free makes normal upgrade appearance, via the tool’s built-in update facility. In fact, the lead-in graphic for this story shows a Notification that an 8-version update is available.

Good News for 7 Users: Macrium 8 Free Makes Normal Upgrade Appearance

A Macrium Reflect 8 Free download has been available for some time now through Softonic. It also showed up on the Macrium site a couple of weeks ago. But this development is nicer, because it means Reflect 7 users get an upgrade to Version 8 without requiring them to find, download and install the new version manually. Now, it’s simply part of the program’s own routine upgrade behavior.

For most users, the Free version is all they’ll ever need for home or small office use. Note: the commercial Free license limits the number of instances to 10 per location. Version 8 builds native Windows 11 rescue media, even though Win10 equivalents still work. I particularly like the program’s boot repair facility, its VSS repair and recovery, and its ability to boot backups as Hyper-V VMs.

Why Buy Reflect 8 Workstation?

Personally, when something as good and reliable as Macrium Reflect comes along, I believe in supporting its maker with an outright purchase. I have a 4-pack Reflect 8 Workstation license, and I run Reflect Free on the other 7 machines currently resident here at Chez Tittel. All are test/experimental machines I use for research and writing about Windows stuff.

I strongly recommend Macrium Reflect, in either free for for-a-fee versions. It’s the only backup tool I’ve ever used — and I’ve used many of them over the years — that’s never failed to restore and repair my Windows PC when they encounter difficulties. I blush to confess that many of those issues are self-inflicted, but this tool gives me the courage to try crazy stuff with Windows, knowing that I can fix it if it breaks on me.

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