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

Clearing X-Rite Error Proves Interesting

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I’ve got a terrific new loaner unit from Lenovo, a P16 Gen 3 Mobile Workstation. I’m still learning my way around this powerful beast of a laptop, as I discovered this morning. After login, I couldn’t help but notice that the built-in X-Rite Color Assistant failed — namely it opened a dialog box that told me the app couldn’t run because of an “unexpected error.” Mildly disturbing, and not terribly informative. Indeed clearing X-rite error proves interesting, as I first try–and fail–to fix the app through a basic uninstall/reinstall maneuver. Then I notice something…

Why Clearing X-Rite Error Proves Interesting

While I was checking over the P16 Gen 3 for clues, I noticed that Lenovo Vantage had a new firmware update pending. “Hmmm,” I wondered: “Maybe a firmware update (and reset) will also make X-Rite happy?” I quickly installed same (and then waited for the usual update process to grind to completion, and the post-install reboot to finish).

Guess what? The firmware update did the trick! After the reboot, I was able to launch the X-Rite Color Assistant. And it turns out it’s a “background app” on that Lenovo model (which uses a software or virtual color control, because the unit lacks a built-in color sensor). So I had to go through the Notification area, and right-click on the app to get it to open.

Below, you can see the About info from the app itself. According to Copilot, the UEFI/firmware refresh helped to bring X-Rite back to life because it resets the basic runtime environment, including the GPU to system connection. Good to know!

After a quick UEFI reset, X-Rite Color Assistant ran without error.

Here in Windows-World, the right ingredients for a happy and working laptop include the underlying firmware and drivers, as well as the OS and its software. Luckily for me, by fixing the lowest level stuff, the higher-level app came back to life. I’ll count this one as a win.

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How UEFI Flash Overturned Flo6

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A routine UEFI firmware update brought unexpected trouble to the Flo6 system yesterday. What should have been a simple BIOS flash turned into a boot failure. The cause? A major change in Secure Boot keys. This event highlights how firmware updates can affect system trust and stability. As I was figuring out how UEFI flash overturned Flo6, I had to work my way through another CMOS reset, GPU disconnect, and more. Buckle up: here come the deets!

How UEFI Flash Overturned Flo6, and Killed Normal Boot-up

The BIOS update for Flo6 included more than microcode or AGESA changes. It replaced the Secure Boot Platform Key (PK), Key Exchange Key (KEK), and the Allowed Signatures Database (DB). These new keys came from Microsoft’s 2023 certificate chain. They replaced the older 2011 certificates that had been in use since Windows 8. This was a full trust-chain rollover, not a routine patch.

Why Did Boot Balk Afterward?

After the update, Flo6 failed to boot. The reason was a mismatch between the new firmware keys and the bootloader signatures. Windows had already staged boot components signed with the 2023 certificates. But the firmware update reset the trust chain. The system no longer recognized the bootloader as valid. Secure Boot rejected it, and the system dropped into firmware setup.

Recovery and Realignment

Once the firmware finished installing those new keys, Windows rebuilt its boot entries. It aligned its bootloader with the new DB. The system re-entered User Mode and Secure Boot resumed normal operation. Flo6 booted successfully again. The trust chain was restored, and the system stabilized.

Along that seemingly simple path, however, I had to reboot Flo6 at least a dozen times. Maybe more than that: I kinda lost count. At one point I had to pop the CR2032 CMOS battery. At another, I unpowered the GPU so the system would be forced to reset GOP stuff during a next restart, destined and designed to fail. Along the way I worked through nearly ever aspect of the ASRock board’s Secure Boot capabilities, setting things back to rights.

Lesson Learned

Firmware updates that modify Secure Boot keys are not routine. They change the foundation of system trust. If the OS and firmware are not aligned, boot issues can result. Understanding how PK, KEK, and DB work helps prevent surprises. Always check BIOS release notes for Secure Boot changes before flashing.

The Flo6 incident shows how a UEFI flash can affect more than performance or features. It can change the system’s trust model. With Secure Boot evolving, it’s more important than ever to understand what firmware updates really do.

Secure Boot has definitely  made life more interesting here in Windows-World. I’ve just ordered an MSI MAG Tomahawk B550 board to replace the ASRock model. Hopefully, it will show itself more robust in the face of Secure Boot changes. We’ll see…

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Insider stuff, Networking, Recent Activity, Troubleshooting, WED Blog, Windows 11

Spectrum Router Roadblock Diagnosed

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Sometimes, the biggest obstacles in tech aren’t the bugs in your code. Rather, they’re the invisible hands meddling with your network traffic. I recently ran into one such gremlin while trying to install the .NET Core 3.1 Desktop Runtime on a Windows machine. What should have been a simple download turned into a multi-device diagnostic rabbit hole, all thanks to a Spectrum-supplied SAC2V1A router and its overzealous filtering behavior. After I looked intently at its behavior, this spectrum router roadblock diagnosed itself through its (lack of) formatting. It was weird, though…

Once Spotted, This Spectrum Router Roadblock Diagnosed

Things started innocently enough. I needed the .NET Core 3.1 Desktop Runtime for a legacy app. I grabbed the download URL from Microsoft’s official archive and pasted it into Chrome. Instead of a download prompt, I got a blank page with a single, cryptic line of text:

GatewayExceptionResponse

This was odd: it included no HTTP error code, no branding or sourcing, and no explanation. Just that one-liner. I tried again in Edge. Same result. Then I fired up PowerShell and used Invoke-WebRequest. Still the same string. At this point, I suspected something was intercepting the request — but what?

The Plot (or Confusion) Thickens…

I tried the same URL on a second Windows machine. Same result. Then on an iPad. Still blocked. That’s when the lightbulb went off: this wasn’t a device issue. It was a network issue. To test the theory, I pulled out my iPhone, disabled Wi-Fi, and switched to 5G cellular. Then came the real test: typing a 60-character URL — a delightful mix of letters, numbers, and dashes — into Safari by hand. No copy-paste. No QR code. Just raw thumb labor. After a few typos and some muttered curses, I finally got it right. And lo and behold, the file loaded just fine.

Now I knew for sure whence this anomaly issues. The file wasn’t broken or MIA. Microsoft’s Content Delivery Network wasn’t off the air. Clearly, this was a problem coming from the LAN, right at the boundary.

A Ray of Light Shines on the Culprit

With a bit of digging, I discovered the culprit: Spectrum’s Security Shield. This cloud-managed feature is baked into the SAC2V1A router. It’s designed to protect users by blocking malicious or suspicious content. Unfortunately, it seems to think that downloading an out-of-support Microsoft runtime from a legacy CDN is suspicious enough to warrant a silent block.

Let me explain what “silent block” means here. Instead of an HTTP error code or an explanatory “I can’t do that, Dave” message, Security Shield simply emits the string:

GatewayExceptionResponse

No HTML document, no context, no wrapper of any kind. It looks like some kind of escaped error message, in fact. Here’s the real gotcha: one can’t manage this router’s behavior from the web interface anymore. One has to do it through an Android or iPhone mobile app. For the nonce, I’ll forgo that dubious privilege (though I could tackle it on the iPad, where I can at least run an external Bluetooth keyboard). Now that I know what I’m seeing, and why, I can live with this once-in-a-while weirdness.

If This Happens to You…

Should you ever see GatewayExceptionResponse pop up in tiny print at the upper left-hand corner of an otherwise blank browser, you’ll know what it means. The router is gatekeeping what it thinks is a dangerous resource from entering your LAN. I found a different download source (dotnet.microsoft.com) and grabbed what I  needed. You should be able to sniff out an alternative if you really need it. If you don’t this could be your clue to leave it alone.

And boy, howdy, is that ever the way things occasionally go in Windows-World. You ask for something, and get a cryptic response in return. Then, you figure out what it means and go forward from there. Case closed!

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Hardware Reviews, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, Thoughts & concerns, WED Blog, Windows 11

Why Switch One 2020 Mobo for Another?

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I’m surprised. I’m actually considering replacing a 6-year-old Asrock motherboard with an MSI of the same age. Basically, I’ve gotten tired of fighting UEFI and firmware issues on the Asrock that serves as the foundation for my production desktop. I see reviews and other online evidence that the MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk Max will solve those problems. It costs US$150, which is a relatively small sum when compared to the days and days I’ve spend fighting with the Asrock board in the last month.

Why Not Switch One 2020 Mobo for Another?

I’m pretty sure I can take Flo6 apart, swap mobos, and get back up and running in an afternoon. I’ve almost had to take the whole thing apart half-a-dozen times recently to pull the GPU, various drives (including the primary SSD), and the CMOS battery. Why not go all the way?

Simply put: I don’t feel like funding a complete rebuild into a new system right now, given prevailing costs for RAM and SSDs. I can make this switch for another US$150, versus US$2,650 for a similarly equipped i714700K based build.

That’ll have to wait for the general exchequer to charge up a bit. Maybe next year? For now, I’ll be happy to get a system that boots properly, and handles Secure Boot without major issues. Let’s see what happens, shall we? I’m giving it a try…

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

Resetting CMOS Has Its Hurdles

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You’d think it would be dead easy. And to be fair, on some motherboards it is. But popping (or replacing) a CR2032 3V coin battery — especially when resetting CMOS — has its hurdles to overcome. At my age, clear visibility can get interesting. Then, there’s often limited space inside the PC case to reach the darn thing. In dealing with recent Secure Boot (and related CA 2023 boot certificates) recently, I’ve been reaching for the CMOS battery rather more often than not.

OK, Resetting CMOS Has Its Hurdles: Name Some…

Beyond the two already noted (visibility and space), I also bumped into various other impedimenta, including:

  • Removal techniques: new sockets may not yield to a fingernail, so I found a small flat-head jeweler’s screwdriver helpful
  • Timing: most guides say to leave the PC alone after popping the battery for anywhere from 10 seconds to 5 minutes. I made sure I had something else to do before removing the battery and erred on the “too long” side of things. Seemed to work.
  • Reinsert the old or replace with a new: If it’s been more than 3 years since I replaced the battery (or I can’t remember) I’ll replace rather than reinsert a CR2032. They typically cost US$5 or less, so if I have to remove it anyway, why not replace it, too?
  • Making room: On at least a couple of desktops, I have to remove the GPU just so I can SEE the CMOS battery holder. On any given laptop at least one deck has to be removed; sometimes other assemblies (e.g. keyboards or storage modules) must also go.

But when a PC goes truly off the rails — especially when BIOS or UEFI becomes inaccessible or non-responsive — a CMOS reset can often set things back to rights. That’s why I find myself digging for my replacement stash from time to time, so I can put a fresh one in to replace the older one at the same time.

Nothing says resetting CMOS has to be easy, here in Windows-World. But lots of times, it’s a necessary step in the troubleshooting process. So it goes…

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Device drivers, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, USB devices, WED Blog, Windows 11

Thunderbolt 5: Video Good, Storage Bad

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I finally laid hands on a Thunderbolt 5 NVMe enclosure this week. I shouldn’t have bothered, though I learned something important. Aping Alex Karras’s unforgettable character Mongo in Blazing Saddles, I have to say that for Thunderbolt 5: “Video Good, Storage Bad!” Let me explain.

Why Say for Thunderbolt 5: Video Good, Storage Bad

TLDR version: the channel is fast, but PCIe tunneling bandwidth peaks out at PCI 3.0 x4 levels. I tested a blazing fast Crucial T705 NVMe inside a brand-new Acasis TB501Pro NVMe enclosure (it cost me US$200+tax). It underperformed both the Samsung 970 EVO and the Crucial P3 NVMes I also tried out in that same box.

How can this be? Easy: The current TB5 controller generation from Intel — code name Barlow Ridge — includes a PCIe endpoint block that handles storage transfers to/from the TB5 USB-C port on the PC side of the connection. It’s hard-wired as PCIe 3.0 x4, which limits effective bandwidth for the link to somewhere around 3-4 GBps. Thus, there’s no real advantage in this generation of hardware in buying a TB5 NVMe enclosure.

Indeed, performance from a TB5 NVMe enclosure with a Barlow Ridge controller is the same as the USB-C port on my otherwise mind-blowing ThinkPad P16 Gen 3 laptop (which uses the same controller for TB5/USB4.0 v2). This isn’t going to get better until a next generation of controllers comes out, hopefully with a faster PCIe tunnel to boost NVMe access. This hardware doesn’t do what I wanted and hoped it would: offer 6-7 GBps speeds for external NVMe storage devices. That won’t change until Intel builds something faster for PCIe access.

In the meantime, save your money: you’ll get the same performance out of a TB4/USB4 NVMe enclosure as from this newer model, for around half the price. I’m sending mine back to Amazon, thankful for its “failed to live up to expectations” return policy. Sigh.

 

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Insider stuff, Recent Activity, Remote Desktop (RDP), WED Blog, Windows 11

Fixing Failed MSA Remote Login

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Every so often, I run into Windows 11 behavior odd enough to make me scratch my head. Occasionally, I’ll observe that my Microsoft Account (MSA) logins work perfectly at the local console. But they fail constantly if used within Remote Desktop Connection. The error? A familiar one: ‘Your credentials did not work. The logon attempt failed.’ Today, I’ll explain what worked for me when fixing failed MSA remote login.

In the meantime, I’d been working around this issue by setting up a Local account named “LocalOnly.” You can see it mentioned in the lead-in graphic for this blog post. If my upcoming technique doesn’t restore your MSA’s remote access as it did mine, you can use a local account to remote into a balky remote host if your MSA won’t work.

Refusal of Known, Good, Working Login

You may see this message while trying to RDP into a Windows 11 machine using an MSA. If so, you know how frustrating it is. Especially when you know those credentials are correct, and you can use them locally, no problem. What gives?

As it turns out, the answer lies in a complex and sometimes fragile identity stack that underpins Windows 11’s user authentication . Let’s unpack what’s going on under that hood.

Windows 11’s identity model for MSAs is built on three interdependent layers:

  1. SAM (Security Account Manager) – The local account database. It stores user SIDs (Security Identifiers) & basic account metadata.
  2. WAM (Web Account Manager) – The token broker that handles cloud authentication for MSAs. It’s responsible for storing and refreshing tokens so services like RDP can validate your identity.
  3. Ngc (Next Generation Credentials) – This layer handles Windows Hello and TPM-tied credentials, like PINs & biometric logins.

When all these layers are working and cooperating, things go swimmingly. Sometime though, particularly on Insider builds where MS is messing with this identity stack, things can get weird. Over time changes can mean an MSA works locally but not remotely.

A Swicheroo Is Key to Fixing Failed MSA Remote Login

Here’s what was happening on my ThinkPad X380 Yoga. I could log in locally using my MSA. But RDP logins would consistently get refused with the error message that serves as the lead-in graphic. After ruling out more obvious causes (e.g. network issues, RDP settings, firewall rules) I thought about the situation. Because local login worked, SAM and Ngc layers were probably OK. That presented WAM as a likely cause.

The fix, then, was simple. I rebuilt the WAM token cache, to make sure all pieces harmonized. Here’s what I did:

1. Log in locally using MSA
2. Visit Settings > Accounts > Your info
3. Change to “Sign in with a local account instead”
4. Sign out, or Reboot PC
5. Login locally using local account name/pwd
6. Visit Settings > Accounts > Your info
7. Change to “Log in with a Microsoft account”
8. Reboot PC

The switcheroo undid the link between the MSA and the account, made it local, then re-established a new connection. That completely rebuilds the whole infrastructure, including the WAM.

After that switcheroo (MSA > Local > MSA) RDP worked fine from my Flo6 primary desktop into the X380. The odds are good this technique will work for you, if you get caught in this situation. Here in Windows-World, a switcheroo sometimes works wonders. It did here, anyway!

 

 

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

AMD Gets New Chipset Driver

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Here I go again. I read this morning on Neowin that AMD had dropped a new version of its chipset drivers, including the B550 in my Flo6 and RyzenOfc desktops. Time for an upgrade! I found what I needed at the Chipset Driver Release Notes 8.01.20.513 page (a 62.5MB download named amd_chipset_software_8.01.20.513.exe). After applying that file, AMD gets new chipset driver upon reboot. What happened on my ASRock system was a little more vexing…and complicated. Let me explain…

After AMD Gets New Chipset Driver, Comes a Reboot

The UEFI on my ASRock B550 Extreme4 motherboard is a little tetchy. Whenever the firmware or drivers get touched (updated or replaced), it tends to hang on a black screen after a reboot intended to flush out old stuff and bring in new. Sure enough, that’s what happened after the AMD chipset installer fired off a restart with my express permission.

I had to do a deep cold start to bring the motherboard back to life. That meant:
1. Hold the power button down until the system turns off
2. Turn off the PSU
3. Hold the power button down another 10-15 seconds to discharge any capacative devices
4. Turn off, then unplug the power cord from the PSU
5. Wait 2-5 minutes for everything to turn itself completely off
6. Plug the PSU back in, turn on its power switch
7. Use the front power switch to start the PC back up
Fortunately, that worked and the unit came back to life.

Checking the Install

I’m learning to make doubly-darned sure that an update actually gets applied, thanks to some recent misadventures with Secure Boot. I visited Device Manager and made sure no yellow triangle warnings popped up, nor did anything appear under the always-annoying “Other Devices” heading.

At Copilot’s urging, I also checked the install dates for all of my AMD drivers. Copilot also confirmed that those dates matched the latest ones in the afore-linked release note (and hence, should be current).

I used this handy PowerShell one-liner to elicit the data shown in the next screencap:

Get-WmiObject Win32_PnPSignedDriver |   Where-Object { $_.DeviceName -like “*AMD*” } |  Select-Object DeviceName, DriverVersion, DriverDate

Here’s the resulting output:

After checking these against the release notes, reported dates = current dates.

It looks like the chipset update got properly applied. Copilot tells me other UEFIs will reboot after a chipset update without the 7-step polka the ASRock board needed. I wish I had another AMD system around here to verify that claim. But here in Windows-World we don’t always get what we want. Good enough for now, I guess!

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Secure Boot Recovery Means New Media

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Here at Chez Tittel, I’ve been on something of a Secure Boot tear lately. Late last week, it dawned on me that this might require a change in recovery media, too. I checked: it does. Indeed, MS spells out the notion that secure boot recovery means new media in a couple of MS Learn Documents:

Basically, this boils down to the following data points, all of which determine whether or not recovery media will work properly after enabling Secure Boot:

  • Recovery media must use MS-signed UEFI bootloaders
  • Bootloaders signed with a certificate trusted in db
  • Bootloaders signed with the old 2011 CA blocked in dbx
  • Updated WinRE images (incl. new recovery media) signed with the 2023 CA

What Secure Boot Recovery Means New Media Comes Down to…

Simply put: once a PC has secure boot enabled and reports the presence of CA 2023, it needs matching secure boot media for recovery and repair. Older media won’t work because it lacks the new CA 2023 certificate. Bootloaders will fail, and/or WinRE won’t run. This will provoke a “Secure Boot violation” error or “invalid certificate” message in the bootloader. Sounds bad, eh?

The fix is easy, as long as you’ve turned Secure Boot on, and have installed the CA 2023 certificate (Garlin’s scripts at ElevenForum do this job nicely). With all these pieces in place, your current runtime meets the afore-stated requirements. Then, you can use Windows built in “Create a recovery drive” feature to build new recovery media to match this new state. Done!

Here in Windows-World when things change the supporting infrastructure must change to follow suit. Today that means generating fresh, new recovery media to match Flo6’s “secure boot on, CA 2023 installed” state. Takes only a few minutes, but means that future recovery efforts are far more likely to succeed. Good-oh!

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

Copilot Amazon Differ on TB5 NVMe Availability

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I’m prepping for an AskWoody  story about RAID 1 setups on Windows 11. It had me popping open my half-dozen or so NVMe enclosures yesterday to see what I had at my disposal. Among my inventory, I found two identical NVMes (ideal for a RAID 1 test). I also found a Crucial T705 1TB PCIe x5 drive, which isn’t suited for any of my enclosures. It really needs Thunderbolt 5 or USB4 v2.0 to exceed the 40 Gbps speed limit that TB4/USB4 imposes. Imagine my surprise when Copilot said no such enclosures were available, while Amazon showed me at least half-a-dozen products for sale right now. Hence my claim that Copilot, Amazon differ on TB5 NVMe availability.

If Copilot Amazon Differ on TB5 NVMe Availability, Try Evidence

I work with Copilot near daily, especially on understanding and fixing Windows problems, issues and misconfigurations. Warnings about AI hallucinations are always worth remembering with Copilot. Why? Because it has repeatedly shown itself to be wrong or — as in this case — misinformed.  I reproduce Copilot’s response to my correction in which I provide the simple Amazon search that showed me 6-plus TB5 capable NVMe enclosures for sale at US$190 and up.

One big problem I see with AI information is that it includes no shades of grey. If Copilot and other AI interfaces could include confidence levels or probability of correctness, that might help. But no: Copilot, Google AI, Grok and so forth put forward their information as gospel truth. There’s a huge gap between Copilot’s initial flat statement that no TB5 NVMe enclosures are available, and its later correction to “TB5 NVMe enclosures exist, but most are early‑generation products whose real‑world performance is currently limited by host support and certification status.” Big difference!

As Always, Proceed with AI Cautiously

I don’t use or act on AI provided info unless and until I can confirm it through at least one (preferably, two or more) reliable public sources. This little “No it’s not; Well, yes it is…kinda/sorta” encounter demonstrates pretty well why that’s so. Indeed, for testing purposes I plan to buy one of the very enclosures Copilot told me yesterday didn’t exist. Today, it’s a different story!

Isn’t that just the way things go here in Windows-World sometimes? But at least, I’m going to be able to see if TB5/PCIe x5 Gen5 technology lives up to its billing when the Acasis enclosure shows up. If things work as reported, I’ll have an external USB drive that’s as fast as the internal drive on my production desktop.

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