Category Archives: Windows 10

Insider stuff, Recent Activity, WED Blog, Windows 10, Windows 11

MS Store Splits Updates & Library

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You can tell it’s been a busy week. I just now tried out the new Microsoft Store organization as of version 22407.1401.2.0. In that iteration, MS Store splits updates & library in the left-hand menu, as you can see in the lead-in graphic (lower left). The item is actually labeled Downloads when none are pending. You can see a down-arrow from the cloud symbol in that screencap (above Library) to show that updates are available. This makes it faster and easier to get to updates inside the Store, and to know when to do so. I like it!

When MS Store Splits Updates & Library…

Alas, it also did away with its settings controls inside the Store. No more three dots to the right of the user icon. I couldn’t even get Microsoft Store itself to come up inside the Microsoft Store. Instead I had to use WinGet list “Microsoft Store” inside Windows Terminal/PowerShell to show me which version was running on this Canary Channel PC:

Unable to access “About” info for the MS Store, I got it from WinGet instead.

This is a good change. And I also realized that because the Microsoft Store is pre-installed on modern Windows versions, there’s no “store page URL” available for that app itself. Instead, uninstallling and/or reinstalling requires some PowerShell magic, as explained in this MS Answers tutorial (from the always helpful Andre Da Costa).

That’s probably why I also had to turn to PowerShell and WinGet to obtain the current Microsoft Store version number, too. That’s the kind of thing that keeps life interesting, here in Windows-World.

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Device drivers, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, WED Blog, Windows 10, Windows 11

NVIDIA Driver Forces POPCNT Support

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Hey! We’ve known it was coming for some time now. In February 2024, Tom’s Hardware reported: “Microsoft’s PopCnt restriction appears to be unbreakable.” This CPU instruction is part of the SSE4.2 Instruction set for Intel processors. It’s SSE4.2a for AMD CPUs, and also present in Snapdragon X as well. Indeed it’s been part of the computing landscape since 2008 for Intel, circa 2009-2010 for AMD, and since inception for ARM (including Copilot+ PCs). But now, with the introduction of version 555, NVIDIA driver forces POPCNT support. How so? Check the lead-in graphic. Windows 10 and 11 systems that lack POPCNT support will BSOD if they install this latest GPU driver version. Ouch!

Sussing Out NVIDIA Driver Forces POPCNT Support

You can read about this in the NVIDIA release notes for 555 (source of the lead-in graphic). It’s entitled “EOL Windows driver support for older CPUs without POPCNT instruction.” That pretty much says it all. The note recommends using Sysinternals Coreinfo to check for POPCNT support. (Indeed, it worked to show such support on the Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Copilot+ loaner PC.)

But on Intel and AMD PCs, I found it easier to use Franck DeLattre’s excellent CPU-Z tool to look for the SSE4.2 (or SSE4.2a) instruction set instead. The ARM version of CPU-Z is less than helpful in providing POPCNT info because it doesn’t natively map to any ARM instruction set. Here’s what comes up on my ancient i7 SkyLake desktop (running Windows 10 for lack of CPU support).

Note the “Instructions” entry that reads SSE4.2 (bottom of “Processor” block): that’s what we’re looking for, when using this tool to check for POPCNT support on Intel CPUs. WindowsLatest reports that CoreInfo doesn’t work reliably on all systems, and recommends other CPU check tools besides CPU-Z. Be sure to check it out for those details if one or the other of these tools doesn’t cut it on your rig.

Older PCs: Avoid NVIDIA 555

The real takeaway from this news is that owners of older PCs whose CPUs don’t support POPCNT should avoid updating to NVIDIA driver versions number 555 or greater. Otherwise, they’ll have to boot into WinRE, and use DISM at the command line to uninstall that driver to end a BSOD loop on that machine. You’ve been warned! I’d be inclined to take this as a early indicator that a hardware refresh should be in your future, too…

 

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AI, Cool Tools, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, WED Blog, Windows 10

Finally Windows 10 Copilot Is Here

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I’ve been waiting for some time for the Copilot facility to make its way onto my Windows 10 desktops since last November. That’s when MS made the first Preview available to versions 21H2 and 22H2. Since then, I’ve read numerous other announcements of its increasing spread and reach into the dominant Windows desktop OS. But not on my PCs or VMs, it seems. That all changed when Copilot hit the MS Store a couple of months back. Now, finally, Windows 10 Copilot is here for anybody who wants it — including me!

Finally Windows 10 Copilot Is Here
… and RUNNING!

I’m absolutely delighted to be able to interact with Copilot in a clear and well-understood way. That it’s now “just another app in the Store” makes it ever so much more approachable and easy to install and run. The only minor glitch I’ve run into from this Copilot avatar is obtaining version info. There’s supposed to be an about field under the App Settings heading. But I get an Edge page of app info instead, sans version number.

That’s OK though: I can visit the app’s Store page or use WinGet list Copilot to elicit that info. As you can see, the latter command provides that info on demand, no scrolling nor much reading needed:

There it is in clear form: my Win10 production PC is running the latest and greatest 1.0.4.0 version of Copilot (from the MS Store).

Copilot on 10 versus 11

So far, I really can’t tell much (or any) difference between Copilot on the two prevailing Windows OS versions.  Even on the brand-new Copilot+ PC that showed up at my doorstep yesterday: a ThinkPad T14S Gen 6 there aren’t easy, available ways to take advantage of the unit’s AI-oriented CPU, GPU and NPU capabilities just yet. Can’t wait to see how that will all unfold later this year, though, when 24H2 comes out “for real” — and hopefully, with readily usable Copilot+ features and functions. We’ll see: I’m certainly standing by!

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Cool Tools, Insider stuff, PowerShell, WED Blog, Windows 10, Windows 11

WinGet Updates PowerShell, Error Aside

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I have to chuckle. There’s a new PowerShell 7.4.4 out. I just used WinGet to update my production PC and it applied the update package. But when it got the end of the update, it reported “Installation abandoned” and ended the WinGet update session. Because 7.4.4 came when I closed, then re-opened, Windows Terminal it looks like WinGet updates PowerShell, error aside. You can see the sequence in the lead-in graphic.

WinGet Updates PowerShell, Error Aside

Notice that a “Cancelled” item shows up below the “Installation abandoned” notification. I’m guessing this last item refers to jumping out of the WinGet update sequence, because you see a normal command line prompt (spiffed up, thanks to Oh-My-Posh).

And sure enough, running WinGet upgrade –all –include-unknown finishes up the remaining items that appeared below PowerShell in the update list. In the next screencap I show a two-pane Windows Terminal session. On the left, you see the sequence of update packages installed; on the right, you see the PS Version is now 7.4.4.

To the left you see WinGet at work; to the right a newly-opened PS session says it’s v7.4.4. [Click image for full-sized view.]

One more thing: the final item in the upgrade sequence on the X1 Extreme was Winget itself (which appears as Microsoft.AppInstaller inside the upgrade list). At its conclusion, WinGet closes things out a bit more reasonably. It says:

Successfully installed. Restart the application to complete the upgrade.

Cancelled

I think that confirms my suspicion that the cancelled item refers to the WinGet session itself. It even throws a couple of Ctrl-C (^C) characters to make sure things get closed out. Here’s a screencap:

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Device drivers, Networking, Recent Activity, Troubleshooting, WED Blog, Windows 10

Disappearing Printer Gets IP-based Fix

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This weekend, we went out looking at new housing developments. To prepare for our quest, I went to print street addresses for model homes in Liberty Hill and Georgetown (two small towns north of here). But when I tried to fire off a print job to the Samsung networked printer next to my desk, Devices and Printers told me it was offline. I’ve learned to recognize it as a sign of driver corruption, so my disappearing printer gets IP-based fix. Let me explain…

Why Say: Disappearing Printer Gets IP-based Fix?

My Samsung ML 2850 is old enough that it does not support the Microsoft Universal Print drivers. I have to load a bespoke device driver to make it work. In turn, that means automated discovery of this network attached printer doesn’t work right, either. That’s why you see the IP address info for the device below in the lead-in graphic (courtesy of Advanced IP Scanner). I use the Add a Printer option that depends on its IP address instead.

The drill is familiar and runs something like this:

1. Notice the Printer is offline
2. Basic troubleshooting doesn’t help
3. Right click the icon in Devices and printers, select delete
4. Use the Add a printer dialog to start the process going
5. Click the “Printer I want isn’t found” option
6. Click the use IP address or hostname on the next pane
7. Use the printer’s IP address to install the current driver

This actually takes longer to explain than it does to execute. But it does work, and it seems I have to do this once every three months or so. I guess that’s the outcome of using a 10-year-old printer (that still works like a champ, BTW). Windows has left it behind, but it still keeps chugging along. Kind of like your humble author, I guess…

Windows 11 Proves More Friendly

Just for grins, I tried discovering the Samsung ML 2850 from a Windows 11 host on the same network. At first, it couldn’t see that device, either. But when I clicked the radio button labeled “My printer is a little older. Help me find it.” the Samsung device did turn up. I had to know enough to select the Microsoft PCL6 Class driver (which handles the interface between the Samsung and the Universal Printing stuff). But once I did that, everything worked as it should. Seems like MS has made Windows 11 rather more printer friendly than I expected (and friendlier even, in this case, than Windows 10). A pleasant surprise indeed!

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Cool Tools, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, WED Blog, Windows 10

Teams Classic Lingers On

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OK, we’re up to version 1.7.00.15969 for Teams Classic now. Amidst a whopping 8 (!) updates that showed up for my production PC this morning, I couldn’t help but notice two versions of teams. If you look at the lead-in graphic, it provides clear evidence that Teams Classic lingers on … and on … and on. Sigh.

Teams Classic Lingers On.2nd teams item

As WinGet starts updating the second Teams item is clearly labeled “Classic.” [Click image for full-size view.]

Why Is It That Teams Classic Lingers On?

The end of support for Teams Classic has been pushed out at least once that I know of. It now stands at July 1, 2024, according to the MS Learn article “End of availability for classic Teams client.” As far as I can tell the side-by-side appearance of Teams (New) and Teams (Classic) is only an issue on Windows 10, not Windows 11. Too bad that’s still where most of the users are, eh?

To answer the preceding question/heading, “I’m not sure.” The afore-linked MS Learn item still says “Microsoft [will be] attempting to uninstall the class Teams client 14 days after the installation of new Teams.” Gosh, I’ve tried to force this three or four times now in the past 14 weeks or so, and it has never stayed off my system for more than a week afterward. And that includes manual uninstalls using  WinGet to target Teams Classic directly, to wit:

WinGet uninstall Microsoft.Teams.classic
Someday, perhaps soon (early next month?) it may disappear for good. Can’t wait to see what happens next!

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Cool Tools, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, Software Reviews, Troubleshooting, WED Blog, Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows tools

Stellar OST Tool Worth Grabbing

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Microsoft Outlook, in both its local and cloud forms, is an interesting beast. For those with Microsoft 365 or similar subscriptions, that goes double. For such instances, Outlook uses OST (Online Storage Table) files, which maintain fluid, shared snapshots of Outlook “stuff” (e.g. messages, events, contacts, and so forth). Such files live mostly in the cloud on an Exchange server. Outlook also uses Personal Storage Tables (stored in PST files locally on a PC) as well. But while Outlook allows users to export and import from other files,  OST files won’t support this activity: PST is your best bet.

Here’s what STELLAR OST CONVERTER looks like, once you complete the initial conversion step.

Why Is Stellar OST Tool Worth Grabbing?

Simply put: the STELLAR CONVERTER FOR OST provides a quick and easy way to convert OST to PST files (local to the PC) with just a few mouse clicks. Indeed it can even recover “orphaned” OST files — those no longer readily available inside Outlook itself — by scanning folders where OST items live. It then happily converts everything it finds to PST.

Stellar OST Tool Worth Grabbing.outlook-import-export

Outlook’s export/import capabilities embrace PST files, but NOT OST files.

As the preceding graphic shows, Outlook exports its contents to PST. A similar dialog for import shows those same options. OST, I’ll observe, is conspicuously absent. Thus, this tool provides a great way to create backup PST collections to match Outlook accounts and related file holdings. These can get quite large: mine is currently around 3GB in size (I’ve seen them as big as 14GB). Conversion takes awhile: about 15 minutes in all (7.5 to scan and enumerate, 7.5 to save) . That said, PST files are browsable repositories, and can restore entire Outlook data collections if necessary.

Exploring This Stellar Tool…

In graphic captioned “initial conversion step” above, you see the STELLAR CONVERTER FOR OST, showing the contents of the Consulting/AskWoody folder. As you can see, it captures all of my recent message traffic, and can show individual message contents in the reading pane at far right. The left-hand pane shows the folder hierarchy; the center pane shows message info. Note: deleted messages appear in red in their parent folders (as well as in Trash).

In fact, the STELLAR CONVERTER FOR OST offers several noteworthy additional capabilities:

  • Handles large OST files: It took about 15 minutes, but STELLAR CONVERTER FOR OST handled my huge collection of Outlook data. That included messages, contacts and calendar data . The time to scan is roughly equal to the time to save what’s been scanned.

By some quirk of fate, the subject of the current message pops up as STELLAR CONVERTER FOR OST save handles Outlook message store.

Once saved, the converted PST file weighs in at just under 3.0 GB (3,072MB).

  • Handles encrypted OST files: STELLAR CONVERTER FOR OST can read and decrypt encrypted OST files, and save them in PST format. When mailbox or server synchronization issues impede server-based decryption, STELLAR CONVERTER FOR OST delivers them in readable PST form.
  • Global purview for Outlook data files: STELLAR CONVERTER FOR OST finds and lists all OST files. That includes those from IMAP plus Exchange or Microsoft 365 message profiles. Users can easily select and scan OST files to extract specific items. STELLAR CONVERTER FOR OST also offers a powerful “Find” (search) function. It even shows orphaned messages in a Lost & Found folder, like this:

The Lost&Found folder in STELLAR CONVERTER FOR OST contains orphaned Outlook items — mostly Calendar stuff.

  • Complete OST coverage: SSTELLAR CONVERTER FOR OST extracts everything from OST files. Beyond email messages, it handles attachments, contacts, calendars, tasks, notes, journals, and more. It even handles OST to PST conversion with no need for Exchange profiles.

But Wait: Still More Recovery…

Beyond these specifics, STELLAR CONVERTER FOR OST is useful for recovering from OST synchronization failures. These can occur when

  • the client view of what’s current and correct diverges from the server’s view
  • when mailbox issues (loss, damage, corruption) present themselves
  • clients wish to recover deleted items no longer present in the Trash folder. You can see such deleted items in red in the preceding screencap (assume they’re more useful than canceled appointments, please).

OST conversion provides a PST upon which to base a new, shared view of Outlook contents and to re-establish proper agreement.

Vitally, STELLAR CONVERTER FOR OST offers recovery should the server behind Hosted Microsoft Exchange service be damaged or hacked. That is, this program can provide PST files from which to rebuild and restore mailbox data to Office 365 or Microsoft 365 servers. This same capability also enables quick migration from Hosted Exchange to O365 or M365 with minimal effort, and no risk of data loss. Good stuff!

STELLAR CONVERTER FOR OST Costs & Cons

STELLAR CONVERTER FOR OST comes in 3 versions: Corporate, Technician and Tookit, with respective licensing fees of US$79, US$149 and US$199. See their “Buy Now” page for a complete comparative features matrix. The TLDR version is that higher-priced versions offer more and better repairs: Technician adds batch file conversion, more advanced PST handling, exports to live Exchange and O365, plus Contacts in CSV format to the mix; Toolkit does all that, plus corrupt PST repairs, total mailbox restores, more format options, PST merge, password recovery, and a whole lot more. Of course, you’d expect to spend more for higher-end program versions, but they do come at higher costs.

For years, I’ve relied on Outlook to maintain a journal of all the emails I send and receive. It’s an astonishingly detailed and accurate record of my professional and financial life. STELLAR CONVERTER FOR OST provides me with the confidence that I can access and rely on my “email trail” to document and manage a busy working schedule, an upcoming calendar, and a sizable list of professional colleagues and contacts.

The more you rely on email to help run, document and prove up your activities, assignments responsibilities, and professional network, the more you need STELLAR CONVERTER FOR OST. It’s definitely worth having, if only as a way to insure yourself against loss of or damage to vital working assets.

[Note: I produced this item after Stellar contacted me to ask me to write and post the piece. I am invoicing them for a modest fee as well. That said, the opinions herein are my own, and I stand by my recommendation of this product.]

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Hyper-V and VMs, Recent Activity, Troubleshooting, Updates, WED Blog, Windows 10, Windows Update

Forced Win10VM Upgrade Gets Stuck

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This is pretty strange. I checked in on one of my Windows 10 VMs this morning, and found WU stuck part-way through a Windows 11 upgrade. This popped up, courtesy of toggling the familiar “Get the latest updates…” option in Settings > Windows Update. Alas, this forced Win10VM upgrade gets stuck. I’m trying some things to undo that state. Bear with me, as I report on what things I try…

Before I start introducing repair maneuvers and upgrade counters, let me explain I’m running this VM deliberately to check and test Windows 10 stuff.  Thus, I have ZERO desire to upgrade it to Windows 11, even though I know full well that I could if I wanted to.

Fixing Forced Win10VM Upgrade Gets Stuck

The excellent and usually reliable batch file from TenForums.com “Reset_Reregister_Windows_Update_Components….bat” returned WU in the VM to a normal appearance. Then I ran “Check for updates…” While watching the sliding balls, I wondered if I’d find this VM in the same situation as before. Not yet: it offered a routine Defender update, plus KB5037849. I let things roll.

Interesting results ensued. Defender download threw a 0x80070643 error.  A quick jump into Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Check for updates showed that everything was already up-to-date. Subsequent “Retry” attempt dropped the same error anyway. Odd…

Back in WU, KB5037849 went through download and install. Eventually it got to the “Restart now” button, which I pressed. I’m pretty sure the Security Update error was bogus because of internal status in Windows Security, so off it went…

Beta Channel Sign-Up Effected!

When I got back into Windows Update, I found a successful transition to the CU, but an error report on the Security Update, to wit:

But because another visit to Windows Security showed the same update was still current, I’m seeing this as a Windows Update problem, not as an issue with security updates on this VM. So I jumped over to Windows Insider Program and signed up for the newly re-opened Beta Channel for Windows 10. Indeed, that was the whole reason I started down this rockier-than-expected road.

Then I restarted again, to see what would happen on the next go-round. WU came back clean, and I’m opted into the Beta Channel. Success, but without some oddities along the way. Another magic day in Windows-World…

 

 

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Hyper-V and VMs, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, WED Blog, Windows 10, Windows 11

Dev Home Now Creates VMs

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A new release of the Dev Home (Preview) toolbox hit the streets on Tuesday, April 23 (v0.13). I updated but didn’t really pay much attention. Then, this morning I learned something noteworthy from WindowsLatest — namely, that you can now use Dev Home (DH) to set up and manage Windows VMs including Hyper-V instances. Because I’m working on a “How-to” story right now on such VMs, this definitely caught my eye. And indeed, on a test PC, I see strong evidence that Dev Home now creates VMs. Not too much effort involved, either…

If Dev Home Now Creates VMs, Then What?

It took me a while to get where I needed to go with setting the right environment toggles. Eventually, I settled on the first three (Environments Creation, Environments Management, and Environments Configuration) and turned all three on. Then, I had to close and re-open Dev Home to gain the ability to actually use the “Create environment” button.  It’s hiding in the upper right corner of the lead-in image; you can see it up there if you check.

At that point you can give your environment a name (I called it DHWin11 to indicate I was using Dev Home to build a new test Windows 11 VM in Hyper-V). Then you pick the reference image from which it gets built. I chose the Windows 11 Development Environment option that Dev Home supplied. I’m sure I could have navigated to another ISO of my choosing.

Take a While, But Gets Things Right…

It took over 15 minutes for the setup, download, and install processes to get far enough along to do something. But gosh, I was able to get into the Hyper-V window to fire things off, then get to the desktop with no hiccups or gotchas along the way inside RDP. Things don’t work that well using Hyper-V Manager.

I found myself running a 22H2 Windows 11 instance labeled “Windows 11 Enterprise Evaluation” for Build 22621.3447. I know from prior experience this is a 30-day eval or thereabouts. Indeed, Copilot tells me it expires on June 19, 2024. But gosh, this makes standing up and using a plain-vanilla Hyper-V VM as easy as it’s ever been in my personal experience.

Now, I need to do it again, and use an image of my own choosing. That should be interesting! Stay tuned, I’ll write about this soon. Meanwhile, you can see that VM running on my P16 test PC as shown in an RDP window for the whole shebang.

Wow! That was almost TOO EASY. I must say, I’m impressed. Need more time and exploration to really formulate a more useful opinion, though. First look is a doozy, though.

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Teams Versions Running Side-by-Side

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Gosh, it gets confusing sometimes. But it could be mostly a Windows 10 vs Windows 11 thing. On Windows 10 I find myself with multiple Teams versions running side-by-side. That is: Teams (work or school) vs. Teams Classic. The lead-in graphic shows their taskbar icons serious magnified in that order (Modern: left; Classic: right). It’s interesting and a little vexing from time to time. Fortunately, MS will be retiring Teams Classic sometime later this year (no earlier than July 1, 2024 says Copilot).

Issues with Teams Versions Running Side-by-Side

I know I’m in the minority but I don’t have a current, actively administered MSA that’s tied to an AD, Azure AD, or Entra ID based environment. These are the MSAs that work best and most reliably with the new version of Teams (see about info from my ThinkPad P16 Mobile Workstation, running production Windows 11).

Teams Versions Running Side-by-Side.about-new

The latest version from my Windows 11 production PC (Build 22635.3430)

Here’s what Teams Classic tells me about itself (through an unusually tortuous path to get to its “About” info).

The latest Classic Teams from Windows 10 (Build 19045.4291)

I sometimes have trouble using the new Teams version as an app, though it does work consistently and reliably on the Web. But too often — especially in view of impending retirement — Teams Classic wants to run when I really want to use the new version. MS says the Classic version is supposed to uninstall automatically after switching over to the new version. So far, it’s not going anywhere…

I have to pay close attention to the icons to see which one I’m using at any given moment. Thus I’ve learned to distinguish the white background and blue symbol for new versus the blue background and white “T” for classic as a quick differentiator. Man, will I be glad when classic Teams finally retires into obscurity. But hey, that’s the way things go here in Windows-World from time to time where more versions of Teams may not be better but are seemingly inescapable in Windows 10. Sigh.

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