Category Archives: Recent Activity

Insider stuff, Recent Activity, Software Reviews, Tips, Tricks and Tweaks, Updates, WED Blog, Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows tools

New Ventoy 1.0.66 Version Available

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Thanks to Martin Brinkmann at Ghacks.net, I just learned there’s a new Ventoy 1.0.66 version available. Among other cool features, it now supports an “experimental” (beta) feature to boot most supported image formats from a local disk. Check out the GitHub page and its  documentation page at Ventoy.net for a complete recitation.

With New Ventoy 1.0.66 Version Available, Grab One!

I’ve been writing about Ventoy since April 2020, when I first learned about this outstanding tool. Here’s my first-ever Ventoy item: Bootable USB Tool Ventoy (Win10.Guru). The Ventoy,net site has long since overcome its initial underprovisioning issues. Indeed, the tool is now available through both GitHub and SourceForge as well. It’s also added lots of bells and whistles along the way.

If you don’t already know and use this tool, you owe it to yourself to check it out. Be sure to check out the many content items on the Ventoy Document page for news, how-tos, explainers, and information about the tool’s growing collection of interesting plug-ins.

Make Ventoy Your Go-To Install/Repair Tool

Right now, I’m still using a 256GB SSD in a Sabrent NVMe drive caddy (USB 3.2 Gen 2) for my collection of tools and images. I have 29 images on the drive, which include many versions of Windows 10 and 11, plus the Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT), the MacriumRescue ISO, BOOTPE.iso, various memtest utilities, and more.  I’ve still got 94 GB of disk space free on the drive and will no doubt keep adding to it over time.

It’s a great tool: worth downloading, using, and updating as needed. Cheers!

 

 

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

PowerToys 55.2 Fixes Things Up

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If you read this blog regularly, you may be aware that in early January I reported about a fix for a strange Zoom issue. Seems that for some odd reason, the Mute Video Conference feature in PowerToys when enabled clobbers Zoom. Turn it off in PowerToys, and it works again. A workable, if not entirely satisfactory, repair. I’m pleased to report that PowerToys 55.2 fixes things up. I have a feeling it’s .NET related and comes thanks to the tool collections update to the .NET 6 framework and so forth.

But hey! I’ve been busy for the past two weeks. Cliff Rutkas and his team could’ve slipped an earlier fix past me. Be that as it may, I can now use both the Video Conference Mute feature in PT55.2 *and* Zoom on the same PC. Good-oh!

PowerToys 55.2 Fixes Things Up . . . and More!

While I’m on the subject of PT (any version) I’d like to extend my further thanks and appreciation to that team for the work they’ve done on the toolset lately. Installation has become much more routine. There’s been no need to stop mid-way through the initial “turn off old components” section lately, jump into Task Manager, and kill stuff before the installer can proceed. Instead, the process sails through to completion without human intervention — just the way I like it!

This tool is definitely gaining polish and capability. I had already liked it quite a bit. Now I like it even more. If you’re not familiar with PT be sure to check out (and read over) its documentation. It will definitely clue you in, and get you going with this terrific Windows toybox full of handy little tools.

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

Monitor 2 Blink Mode Gets Easy Fix

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Talk about great timing. I just finished a marathon work engagement on Thursday, and was playing catchup yesterday. As I was beavering away at a mountain of email and phone calls, I noticed my right-hand monitor acting up. It started going into what I call “blink mode.” That means it would go black every 30-60 seconds, after which it would return to what looked like normal operation. As you can see from the lead-in screencap, the right hand monitor is labeled “2.” Fortunately, monitor 2 blink mode gets easy fix (this time, anyway).

Here’s How Monitor 2 Blink Mode Gets Easy Fix

From long experience I know that when Windows monitors/displays start acting up, there are two common causes. Most common is a misbehaving graphics driver. Second most common is some kind of hardware fault, out of which the cable running from PC to display is most likely.

“Hmmmmm” I found myself thinking “Didn’t I ignore a recent Nvidia Studio Driver update because I was too busy to mess with it?” And indeed, when I ran GeForce Experience, it updated itself right away. Next thing I noticed was a new release of the aforementioned driver (Version 511.65) was out with a February 1 release date.

Consequently, I grabbed and installed that driver right away. Luckily for me, it fixed the problem. The monitor hasn’t blinked once since the update (at least, not that I noticed). It’s a good thing that the obvious fix sometimes works. It’s a better thing that it worked this time. Better still, this problem didn’t manifest until AFTER my recent work marathon ended. It would have been problematic troubleshooting an issue in the middle of a deposition, with the clock ticking away.

What If The Driver Update Didn’t Fix the Problem?

I keep cable spares around as a matter of routine. Thus, my next attempt would have been to swap out the DisplayPort cable from monitor to GPU. If that hadn’t worked, I would have swapped the monitor from one of my test PCs (I have a spare, but I’m using it to check dual-screen behavior on Windows 11 Dev Channel). I’m pretty sure the GPU is OK, because Monitor 1 has remained rock steady throughout this situation. That said, I could always switch the second monitor to HDMI, on the chance that the GPU port itself was having issues.

That’s the way things go here in Windows World. I’m glad the simplest, most obvious fix did the trick. You would be too, if it happened to you.

 

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

Serious Zoom Shenanigans Make Meetings Interesting

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Wow! It’s been a wild, wild two weeks. Attentive readers will have notice my blogging frequency dropped, and may have wondered why. I make a large part of my living working as an expert witness and I’ve recently testified at two depositions and attended a third. All were conducted over Zoom, and all lasted at least 10 hours. Around those “depos” as they’re called, I had lots of other side Zoom meetings. And indeed, serious zoom shenanigans make meetings interesting — and sometimes slow and frustrating. Let me explain…

What Serious Zoom Shenanigans Make Meetings Interesting?

There are two classes of issues that loomed large in setting the rhythm and pace of all my many recent Zoom encounters:

  1. Performance issues
  2. User interface driving issues

I’ll discuss each one under its own heading below, but I will observe that the three depos were capped at a certain number of hours (X) of recorded video time. Each one last at least 1.4X hours from start to finish; the longest one went 1.64X. Ouch!

Zoom Performance Issues Observed and Endured

I’m lucky. I myself experienced no Zoom performance issues at all coming from my Zoom PC (a 6-core 8th-gen Intel i7 8850H CPU with 32 GB RAM and dual NVMe SSDs running Windows 11). That was probably thanks to my reliable and reasonably speedy “Gigabit” level connection through Spectrum/Charter here at Chez Tittel. I did have a moment of panic yesterday while testifying when I saw I had inadvertently unplugged that unit’s wired GbE dongle. But the machine sits right next to my 802.11ax WAP (and supports 802.11ac at 160MHz). Apparently, it switched over from GBE to Wi-Fi (and back again) without any noticeable hiccups. Thank goodness!

Other participants weren’t so lucky. During a winter storm last week, another person found himself dealing with all kinds of glitches. These included voice issues (drop-outs, loss of volume, ringing, and so forth), stuttering video (turned off for a while to conserve bandwidth), and very slow uploads for materials he needed to share.

Thus, I couldn’t help but notice that performance issues can — and at least in once case, did — exert a powerful drag on productivity. As a result that particular meeting stretched out far longer than it needed to, or should have.

Driving the Zoom UI

Then, there were the usual issues in dealing with UI interaction that often come in Zoom meetings. Some attendees had to be instructed on how to perform certain activities (mostly surrounding uploading or downloading files). Others struggled gamely through learning how to use the environment’s features. A couple reported log-in issues, which were quickly resolved by the legal meeting service provider’s excellent tech support staff (though not without multi-minute delays here and there).

I myself had to call in once, which is how I know their tech support staff was superb. Meeting invitations arrive a day in advance, and include the notification “If you don’t get a meeting link by one hour before the scheduled start time, please call this number to obtain one directly.” I didn’t get a link to yesterday’s soiree by that time, so I followed those instructions. And indeed, the person with whom I spoke had me fixed up and into the Zoom meeting in under two minutes. Bravo!

Another Zoom Wish Pops Up

During one meeting another participant, when faced with a large number of items to download asked “Why doesn’t Zoom have a feature to zip up multiple items and send them in one file?” Good question! I hope the Zoom developers have this on their list of planned enhancements. It would certainly make it faster and easier to manage meetings where numerous documents have to be exchanged.

All in all, it’s been a trying and busy, busy, busy last two weeks. I’m looking forward to getting back on a more regular and predictable schedule. And it will be a while before I find myself missing marathon Zoom sessions…

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

WU Update Connectivity 8 Hours vs Minutes

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OK, so it’s “Patch Tuesday” once again. I’m updating my fleet of 10 PCs. I’ve got one eye on the clock and the other on a recent article from WindowsLatest. It’s entitled Microsoft: Windows 10, Windows 11 need eight hours online to deploy updates. As I update my various Windows 10 and 11 PCs I’m seeing times in minutes, not hours. Why assert WU update connectivity 8 hours vs minutes?

Why Is WU Update Connectivity 8 Hours?

As I’m timing my various machines, the X1 Carbon took about 7 minutes to handle the updates from start to finish. My production desktop is at 11 minutes and counting. What does the story say? Here’s the most salient quote (emphasis mine):

Your device should be online for at least eight hours to process Windows cumulative or feature updates properly. This period is called ‘Update Connectivity’ and eight hours is necessary to get the latest updates from Microsoft’s servers and successfully install them.

I can only understand this one way. This is the interval that’s needed when the user doesn’t initiate updates. It sure doesn’t take that long when one requests an update from WU. My production PC (i7-6700) took 15 minutes to get to the “Restart required” notification. Prior experience says it will take another 5 minutes, max to the desktop. So why 8 hours? It gets more interesting, as recited next…

More Interesting Quotes

“The Update Connectivity period includes a minimum of two continuous connected hours and six total connected hours after an update is available for download.

Specifically, data shows that devices need a minimum of two continuous connected hours, and six total connected hours after an update is released to reliably update. “This allows for a successful download and background installations that are able to restart or resume once a device is active and connected,” Microsoft noted in a new blog post.

What does this mean?

It means it’s best to leave PCs connected to the Internet when the Internet is the source of updates for those selfsame PCs. Those who use their own servers to push updates (or other means of update distribution) won’t be subject to the same limitations. Fascinating, though: who knew?

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

MS Defender Preview Accepts Personal MSAs

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Hoo boy! I’ve been checking in on the Store-based version of the Microsoft Defender Preview since last November. Until this morning, I had no luck getting this cross-platform, multi-device app working. After seeing a story in WindowsUpdate minutes ago, I zipped into the MS Store to try again. And indeed, now that MS Defender Preview accepts personal MSAs (Microsoft Accounts) it appears to be working!

If MS Defender Accepts Personal MSAs, Anybody Can Use It

In the next screencap you can see the dashboard screen from the Microsoft Defender Preview. One must, however, also install this app on other devices before they show up on this dashboard. So naturally, I dashed over to my other Dev Channel test machine (via RDP, no physical movement needed) and used the URL to go straight to the app in Store: https://mysecurity.microsoft.com/downloads.

MS Defender Preview Accepts Personal MSAs.dashboard

The dashboard doesn’t look like much until you start adding devices. [Click image for full-sized view.]

After a quick  update, I opened the newest version to see the initial welcome screen I missed on my first MS Defender Preview encounter. I signed up with the same MSA (so both devices would show up on a single dashboard: IDs are deliberately obscured).

To see devices on the same dashboard, you must associate them with a common MSA. [Click image for full-sized view.]

With Time and Exposure, More to Come

That’s about all I have time to deal with this morning. I’m tightly wrapped in legal business this week, so my posts will be short and less frequent than usual. This opening up of the preview, however, was big enough news that I had to share. Check it out, and have fun!

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Windows Insiders Will Get New Experiences

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It seems that Windows Experience Packs remain atop recent Windows news. On February 3, Windows Insiders lead Amanda Langowski posted to the Windows blog. It’s chock full of interesting tidbits, and worth a read. Among those were a new Insiders logo (appears as this post’s lead-in graphic; click here for full-sized view). Another is quotable: “We will deliver updates to features and experiences in builds from the Dev and Beta Channels by releasing Feature, Web, and Online Service Experience Packs on top of these builds too.” (Emphasis mine.) Hence, my claim that Windows Insiders will get new Experiences in 2022.

If Windows Insiders Will Get New Experiences, Then What?

I guess we’ll have to wait and see. But there’s been plenty of talk about Experience Packs over the last year. Likewise, plenty of experiments with same, but nothing substantial or tangible by way of results. I think what Ms. Langowski said means that we will see such results via all three types of experience packs this year.

I, for one, can’t wait. I’ve been watching this phenomenon work its way into public view since it got started. I’m more than curious to see what will come of this effort. Because it’s intended to provide a pipeline to deliver new features and functions to Windows without having to wait for a now-annual feature update, I’m tantalized by what this could mean for — and bring to — Windows users.

As an Insider (and an Insider MVP) I have deliberately put myself in the line of fire to help MS get this working as well as possible. I’m trembling with anticipation to see how it all works. I’m curious to learn what kinds of hiccups or bumps in the road Experience Packs might bring. And I’m resolved to do my bit with Feedback Hub reports and hopefully helpful blog posts and articles to steer this effort to a successful conclusion.

Stay tuned: this should be fun!

[Note Added: January 6, 2022]

Mary Jo Foley has published a ZDNet article on this topic. It’s entitled Microsoft: Here’s how Windows 11 will get new features. In that story, she provides a great explanation of the three types of Experience packs, as best as MS prior statements will allow. Check it out for more information on feature experience packs, online service experience packs, and the still-mysterious web experience packs. Good stuff. Thanks be to MJF!

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AdDuplex Store Apps and Windows 11 Marketshare

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Every time AdDuplex reports a Windows 11 marketshare analysis these days, I groan and laugh at the same time. Why? Because IMO the AdDuplex data is deeply questionable. Here’s an explanatory quote, straight from the latest report page. It reads “This report is based on data collected from around 5,000 Windows Store apps running AdDuplex SDK v.2 (and higher). The raw data analyzed was collected over the day of January 27th, 2022.” To me, putting AdDuplex Store apps and Windows 11 marketshare together is a profound crapshoot. Let me explain,,,

Why Makes AdDuplex Store Apps and Windows 11 Marketshare Dicey?

Marketshare numbers need context to make sense. LOTS of context. Sure, AdDuplex promotes 5K apps through its network. But even its own home page says “3+K Active apps.” Thus, we know 2 of that 5K don’t contribute much data to the overall mix.

Nowhere can I find AdDuplex info that says how many total PCs (or VM equivalents) are running those Store apps. Indeed, one PC can (and usually does) run multiple apps. Consequently, the number of PCs could be significantly smaller than the  app count. I just can’t tell.

What Other Tracking Sites Say…

And then, there are other sources for OS marketshare, too. None come close to the numbers AdDuplex routinely reports. Here are some of my faves, with their percentages (or lack thereof):

1. NetMarketShare.com: Visit the site, and search its “Operating System Share by Version” listing for Oct 21 – Jan 22. Windows 11 appears nowhere in the first 50 entries. Spot 50 is Red Hat (Linux, presumably) at 0.00%.

2. Statcounter (GlobalStats) offers a Desktop Windows Version Market Share Worldwide chart. Targeting the same date range (Jan-Dec 2021), Windows 11 shows up on 2.43% of Windows desktops

3. FWIW, it doesn’t show up on Statista’s radar, either. But you really can’t see details there unless you pay for that privilege. To give you an idea of their perspective, the URL for this page still includes Windows 7 in its final string element.

4. HostingTribunal also posts similar numbers. But they haven’t been updated recently enough (current version is dated Sept 1, 2021) to take cognizance of Windows 11. (It went out into public release the following month.)

5. The analytics.usa.gov site tracks visitors to US government websites. It shows between 0.7M and 2.2M of them daily. It also doesn’t register Windows 11 as a distinct desktop OS. It still lumps Windows 11 into its “Other” category which accounts for 0.2% of all visitors (about 0.6% of Windows-only visitors).

MS Keeps Mum

Microsoft isn’t saying how many of the 1.4B monthly active users of some current form of Windows run 11, either. My best guess is that number is likely somewhere between 50 and 100M. But that’s a wide range of possibilities, and a high level of uncertainty.

What 16.1% Could Mean Is Crazy

If we take AdDuplex numbers at face value, 16.1% of 1.4B is 225M (rounded down). I have trouble swallowing that as a realistic estimate for the total Windows 11 population. Given that Windows 11 isn’t even registering 1% anywhere else, I’m unconvinced. The other sites count things differently. AFAIK, they survey larger populations, too. But even 1% of 1.4B is 14 million, so it’s not chump change…

Go figure!

 

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Another Missed Windows 11 Experience Update?

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Last Thursday (Jan 27) I wrote about speculations that upcoming updates planned for February might come as an “Experience Pack.” Over the weekend,  Paul Thurrott opined on another missed Windows 11 Experience update. Preview Update for Windows 11 (KB5008353) includes settings changes for the logged-in Windows user’s account. It’s called “Your Microsoft Account.”

What Makes This Another Missed Windows 11 Experience Update?

In his story, Thurrott observes — and quotes from — an October 2021 announcement. Therein, MS promised changes for “Your Microsoft Account” in Settings.  They would arrive via upcoming Online Service Experience Packs. Ha! Not happening yet, apparently. The first such change appeared in KB5008353 on January 25 in a conventional CU.

But it’s just a small incremental change. Other changes should follow. Perhaps one of them might will arrive in an Experience Pack? In the MS October item, the newly reworked YMA looks like this (mine is the lead-in graphic for this story):

Another Missed Windows 11 Experience Update.promised

Here’s what MS promised in October; what I see on my test PC appears as the lead graphic above [Click to see full-sized].

Yet Again, I’m Not an Early Arriver

This may be another gradual feature rollout. And apparently, I’m not in the first group of recipients. My “Your Microsoft Account” still remains unchanged. Aside from being unsurprised, I’m curious to see how long it takes for the new feature to make its way into general distribution. Stay tuned: I’ll keep you posted.

And remember, there’s always something odd or interesting going on here in Windows World. This is the kind of thing that keeps me intrigued and engaged. Thus: never a dull moment here at Chez Tittel. Thanks also to Mr. Thurrott for bringing this missed opportunity to my attention. Good stuff!

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Windows 11 Goes Into Broad Deployment

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On January 26, MS updated its Windows 11 Known Issues and Notifications web page. I’ve reproduced that notification block from that document below. Why do I say “Windows 11 goes into broad deployment?” Because of the first sentence in that block. It reads:

The upgrade offer to Windows 11 is entering its final phase of availability and is designated for broad deployment for eligible devices*.

Here’s what the whole shebang looks like:

Windows 11 Goes Into Broad Deployment.notification
Windows 11 goes into general release: open to the (qualified) public. (Click to view full-sized).

What Windows 11 Goes Into Broad Deployment Means

First, it means most PCs that meet 11’s minimum requirements running Windows 10 get the offer. No more guessing when it might appear. That phase is over. If your PC qualifies, you can upgrade if you like.

Second, this is an inducement to those running older Windows 10 versions to catch up. Only Windows 10 PCs on version 2004 (or newer) get the offer.

Third, the notification block includes various helpful links with useful info designed to spur user uptake, such as:

Who’s the Target Audience?

This appeal to upgrade to Windows 11 is aimed at the lower end of the Windows market. That means individuals, families, and small businesses. We haven’t really seen a major business upgrade push just yet. MS will no doubt launch that intitiative in a big way after the so-called 22H2 release (the “next feature upgrade”) emerges later this year. Why? Because businesses usually wait for a first big update before planning any major migrations. Time will tell. Stay tuned!

 

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