Category Archives: Recent Activity

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

Windows Updates Gain Expiration Dates

October 20, 2021 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

Take a look at the web page for this June vintage 19042 Windows 10 preview item KB5003690. As the concluding term in its title states, this item is EXPIRED. It’s also no longer available for download. Revised MS policies mean that some Windows Updates gain expiration dates (or status, anyway) when they reach obsolescence. The lead-in graphic for the story shows the revised KB5003690 title and its EXPIRED status above.

If Windows Updates Gain Expiration Dates, Then What?

It’s not exactly like a carton of milk from the grocery store. You won’t know in advance when any particular KB item might (or will) expire. This looks like the kind of thing that will pop up when you try to access older updates that Microsoft has removed from circulation.

The details of Microsoft’s EXPIRATION NOTICE read like this:

^{NEW 7/21/21}
EXPIRATION NOTICE

IMPORTANT As of 7/21/2021, this KB is no longer available from Windows Update, the Microsoft Update Catalog, or other release channels. We recommend that you update your devices to the latest security quality update. The latest security quality update is cumulative and contains all the addressed issues in this update.

Apparently, the idea is that as certain updates age out, they will no longer clutter up the update universe. WindowsLatest opines this will be a boon to those who might pause or skip updates, by reducing download items and data volume. They also assert that “… older and redundant packages will now expire automatically, which can improve the performance of Windows Updates and reduce update cache size.” Same effect applies to scan time: with fewer updates to look through, scan results should come back more quickly as Windows PCs “Check for updates” in WU.

Less Is More?

Certainly from data management and networking perspectives, reducing the population of update items is a good thing. I’ll be curious to watch for this status to start coming up when checking KB items.

Just for grins I checked a newer Preview update for status. KB5005101 (released on 9/1/2021) remains available, and its Catalog download likewise. Looks like expiration dates don’t kick in until an item — even a Preview item — gets to be four months old, or older. Time will tell if that boundary is flexible, or fixed…

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

UWP Came — Now It’s Going

October 19, 2021 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

For some odd reason, the old French saying “Le roi est mort, vive le roi!” comes to mind. Announced with great fanfare and stunning promises along with Windows 10 in 2015, the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) is now mostly history. The lead-in graphic shows that UWP was short on neither vision nor ambition (source: MS). But as dramatically as UWP came — now it’s going, as Microsoft recommends developers migrate their UWP code to the Windows App SDK.

First UWP Came — Now It’s Going. What Next?

From being the key to developing apps that could run on Windows Phone, desktop, or Xbox platforms — and more (Surface Hub, HoloLens, IoT, etc.) — UWP is falling by the wayside. Long time development guru Rafael Rivera temporarily suspended his Twitter boycott to post about the afore-linked migration advice from MS.

His comment on where UWP is going could be summarized as nowhere, fast. This is what he said:

This signals what I already told you before: UWP will only get “bug, reliability, and security fixes”.

The Windows App SDK is the new king of the development hill. Vive le roi! The Docs item walks developers through the migration process in step-by-step fashion, following these headings:

Install the Windows App SDK VSIX (Visual Studio extension)
Create a new project
Migrate code with the least dependencies first
Copy files, or copy file contents?
Folder and file name differences (C++/WinRT)
If you change the name of your migrated project
Install the same NuGet packages that were installed in the source project

To further guide developers MS includes links to a PhotoLab case study and a Photo Editor case study. It also lists WinRT APIs no supported in desktop apps.

Out with the Old, In with the New

Curiously, MS doesn’t spend much text on explaining this change or touting the benefits of the new Windows App SDK. It simply makes matter-of-fact assertion that “The Windows App SDK provides a broad set of Windows APIs — with implementations that are decoupled from the OS, and released to developers via NuGet packages.” Later on it says “With the Windows App SDK you can incorporate the latest runtime, language and platform features into your app.” And that’s about it.

It will be fascinating to observe uptake and reactions from the Windows developer community. Given that occasional API reworking have occurred before in this world, I’m curious to see how this goes over. Stay tuned, and I’ll revisit this as news and events decree.

Benchmarking, Hardware Reviews, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, WED Blog, Windows 10, Windows 11

Loaner Laptop Poses Weird USB Situation

October 18, 2021 Ed Tittel 2 Comments

I took delivery of a nifty new laptop here at Chez Tittel late last week. Among the zillions of other things going on around here, I’ve been fooling with this machine since it arrived. This loaner laptop poses weird USB situation, though: I get faster throughput from its USB-A 3.2 Gen1 port than either of its USB4 Type-C/Thunderbolt 4 ports. Throughput is about 10X faster on the USB-A port than on USB-C. That’s not how it’s supposed to work. Go figure!

Driver Issues Explain How Loaner Laptop Poses Weird USB Situation

Once I realized what was going on. I jumped into Device Manager. Sure enough there’s an issue with the ThinkPad Thunderbolt Retimer Firmware. Whaddya bet this could impact USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 timing?

And then, things get more interesting. Lenovo Vantage thinks the firmware update is already installed. Device Manager shows “Firmware update was unsuccessful.” Attempts to uninstall/reinstall don’t work, and manual installation of the downloaded firmware package N32TT02W.exe from Lenovo Support don’t work either.

I need some firmware juju. So I’m contacting Lenovo Support to see what they can tell me. I’ll admit I got fooled when Vantage told me the update was installed (and didn’t check DevMgr until later). Now, it looks like I’ll have to roll the machine back to Windows 10 so I can make sure the update gets properly applied. And then, I’ll roll forward again to Windows 11. Just another day in the life, here in Windows-World!

Checking Updates, Post Install

It hasn’t eluded me that checking the firmware install before upgrading to 11 would have been a peachy idea. I’m not one to rush into such things normally. But I wanted to see how the new PC would work with the new OS. I guess I’m starting to understand there’s at least one good reason why Lenovo didn’t send me the device with Windows 11 already installed.

As I look around the Lenovo site, I see they have Thunderbolt drivers for Windows 11 aplenty. It’s just that they don’t have one for my X1 Carbon Gen 9 laptop just yet. Live and learn, dear readers: that’s why I’m going to try to do.

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

Bad Move: Opening MSA in Default Admin Account

October 16, 2021 Ed Tittel 4 Comments

I admit it. I screwed up, and then I paid the price. Yesterday I got a new review PC delivered. It came from Lenovo: a new X1 Carbon Gen 9 PC. That unit feature an i7 4core CPU, 16 GB RAM, and 512 GB NVMe SSD with Thunderbolt 4 support. Typical for review units, it opens into a local admin account. Inside that account I made a bad move: opening MSA in default admin account. Alas, this caused all kinds of problems. Let me explain… (I’ll add that MSA is a common acronym for “MS account” aka “Microsoft account.”)

What Happens After Bad Move: Opening MSA in Default Admin Account

My MSA picture got associated with the local account. That was my first cluethat something was off. On other loaner units, I’ve always been careful to set up a second account for my MSA. Then I give it admin privileges and work from there after that. This time, I logged into the Microsoft Store inside the local account. Big mistake.

As soon as I set up my MSA as a separate account, the Store quit working. The associated error code clearly explained it was an MSA login problem. Apparently, the MS Store decided that if it couldn’t distinguish a local account from an MSA, it wouldn’t open for either account on that machine. None of the usual repairs (uninstall/reinstall Store) did any good, either.

Cleaning Up the Mess

Forunately, I had to take a break to go see the “Friday Night Lights.” It was homecoming night at my son’s high school, and the Boss and I wanted to drink in the pageantry and celebration. While I was away from the munged review unit, I realized what I needed to do:

1. Set up another local account
2. Give that local account admin privileges
3. Delete the problem default account

This took a while to orchestrate and set up. I had to be reminded that the “Family account” sub-menus is where one sets up local accounts on Windows 10 and 11. After making sure my MSA and the other local account were properly privileged, I deleted the problem account. And immediately, the MS Store returned to working order. Self-inflicted wounds smart a little extra when one realizes who’s to blame for the hoopla.

Stay tuned: I’ll have a lot to say about this new loaner unit in an upcoming “First Looks” piece early next week. I’ll tease some planned topics to whet your interest, though:

1. Thunderbolt 4/USB-C proves surprisingly speedy
2. Interesting issues with Secure Boot and clean install attempts
3. Unit shows up with Windows 10 installed, not Windows 11
4. Timing and experience in upgrading to Windows 11
5. Interesting issues with Windows Hello

Be sure to check back in when that “First Looks” item appears. Cheers!

Insider stuff, Recent Activity, Updates, WED Blog, Windows 11, Windows OS Musings, Windows Update

Windows 11 Gets New Update Stack Package

October 15, 2021 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

Last June, MS announced the release of a Windows Feature Experience Pack (120.2212.3920.0) to Insiders in Beta and Release Preview Channels. In yesterday’s Dev Channel Preview Build 22478 release notes, they announced something called “Update Stack Packages.” Let’s call the former WFEPs and the latter USPs for brevity. USPs provide a “…new process for delivering new update improvements to our customers outside of major OS updates…” But if Windows 11 gets new Update Stack Package, what does that really mean?

Sussing Out Windows 11 Gets New Update Stack Package

The key to understanding comes from a sentence in the release notes discussion of USPs. It reads “The Update Stack Package will help ensure that your PC has the highest likelihood of successfully installing new updates with the best and least disruptive experience available.” Sounds like a mechanism to make sure the OS image is free of potential impediments to upcoming updates. Why does this remind me of “servicing stack updates?”

Overall, the discussion of USPs is much like that for WFEPs earlier this year. To wit:

1. USPs are currently limited to “a very small set of update-related system files … developed independently of the OS.” WFEPs have been small and limited since their June 2021 introduction. That said, they focus on “feature improvements to customers outside of major Windows 10 feature updates.”

2. USPs and WFEPs both come to Windows installations via WU.

3. Both seek to sanity-check and test their approach and capabilities with Insiders, but ultimately aim to “expand the scope and frequency of releases in the future” (quote from WFEP June announcement).

Looking for Enlightenment…

What’s really going on here? MS seems to be experimenting with different kinds of update mechanisms independent of “major OS updates.” Given that feature updates are dropping back to yearly frequency, this provides a way to introduce changes more often than that. I’m curious to see either (or both) of these mechanisms deliver something meaty. So far, they’ve been used only for tentative, small-scale updates and changes. I guess we’ll have to wait and see how they behave when they get a more serious workout.

Right now, for both USPs and WFEPs there’s far more fanfare than clarity or understanding. Hopefully time and experience will cure that imbalance and bring some useful demonstrations of what these things are for, and what they can do when exercised more heavily.

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

MS Streamlines Windows 11 Update Handling

October 14, 2021 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

MS tracks and delivers changes (and reverse operations) to OS images using “forward and reverse differentials.” This started in Windows 10, Version 1809. Now, MS adds slick optimization that reduces repeat references to objects and instructions. Thus, MS streamlines Windows 11 update handling further. It’s all explained in an October 12 Microsoft Windows IT Pro blog post. That post is entitled “How Microsoft reduced Windows 11 update size by 40%.” It explains how MS further reduced update volume without boosting installation time.

How MS Streamlines Windows 11 Update Handling

In the afore-linked blog post, MS explains its objectives as “reducing the size of Windows 11 updates.” At the same time, the company sought to:

decrease size of network downloads for updates
keep install times unchanged (not slowed)
keep updates compatible with all distribution channels (e.g. WU, WSUS, SCCM, InTune/AutoPilot and so forth). Thus, IT pros need make no config changes.

According to the blog post, “since Windows 10, version 1809, …servicing has used paired forward and reverse differential compression.” What MS did, at a high level, with Windows 11 was to add a catalog to remap virtual addresses when function addresses or other relative references change. This replaces forward and reverse differentials for such addresses with (much shorter) lookup table references.

Such operations are easy to reverse, too. These might be required if an update fails prior to completion. This returns the OS image to a known, working stable state. OTOH, it might be required if the user decides to uninstall or roll back an update.

MS’s analyses show that this new approach provides a “40% reduction in update size.” This means not just smaller updates, but less overall consumption of network bandwidth to transport updates. For software with millions (Windows 11) to billions (Windows 10) of users, this is a big deal. No wonder MS is working to patent this technology…

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

Nvidia Drivers Gain Considerable Heft

October 13, 2021 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

I noticed early this afternoon that my GeForce GTX 1070 GPU needed a driver update. The lead-in graphic shows the download size for the 496.13 version at 830.3 MB. When expanded and installed, that translates into 1.5 GB in the DriverStore (see RAPR screenshot below). That’s why I claim that Nvidia drivers gain considerable heft. The preceding version, as that same screencap shows, weighs in at a slighty-less-ginormous 1.3 GB. Heft!

Driver Store Explorer (RAPR.exe) shows some big driversizes for Nvidia stuff!
[Click image for full-sized view.]

As Nvidia Drivers Gain Considerable Heft, What to Do?

Clean up old ones, obviously! With that kind of space consumption you wouldn’t want to keep too many of them in the DriverStore. I will usually keep the previous version around for a week or so. I’ve been bitten in the past by new driver issues, and have learned to support rollback long enough to make sure everything’s OK.

I can remember only a couple of years ago, when Nvidia drivers routinely weighed in at 600-800 MB each. They’ve doubled in size since then as more bells, whistles and game tweaks get rolled up underneath their capacious umbrellas. Even then, I advised cleaning up if more than 2 copies reside in the DriverStore, and have personally seen that single cleanup maneuver — namely, removing older drivers from the store — free up 3-5 GB of disk space.

Note: by default, Windows 10 or 11 will allow an arbitrary number of versions of the same driver in the store. For big drivers this can produce unnecessary bloat. As you roll new Nvidia (or AMD Radeon) drivers in, make sure you also take the time to roll old ones out. Cheers!

Note: RAPR Pointer

If you’re not already familiar with the excellent Driver Store Explorer tool (aka RAPR.exe), download a free copy from its Github home page. An invaluable tool that I use myself at least once a month. All you have to do is click the “Select Old Driver(s)” button to clean up obsolete driverstore elements.

Insider stuff, Recent Activity, Tips, Tricks and Tweaks, WED Blog, Windows 11

Windows 11 ADK Is Now Available

October 12, 2021 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

If you know where to look, the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) is now out for Windows 11. Indeed, you can find it in MS Docs at Download and install the Windows ADK. That’s why I assert that the Windows 11 ADK is now available in this item’s title. What does this buy you and your organization? I’ll explain…

If Windows 11 ADK Is Now Available, Then What?

The ADK includes collection of potentially useful and valuable tools designed for at-scale Windows deployments. These include access to:

WinPE, the Windows Preinstallation Environment that provides runtime support before an OS has loaded. It’s used to support Windows installation and also provides the foundation for WinRE (Windows Recovery Environment). Basically, it’s a stripped-down and self-supporting portable version of Windows (11 in this case). Note: WinPE is a separate add-on to download and install after installing the ADK.
Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT): works with Windows Office and other Microsoft products for volume and retail activation using Multiple Activation Keys (MAKs) or the Windows Key Management Service (KMS). Works as an MMC snap-in with the Microsoft Management Console (MMC).
User State Migration Tool (USMT) delivers a customizable user-profile migration capability that can capture user settings for Microsoft office versions 2003, 2007, 2010, and 2013 (separate tool for 2016 also available). The tool covers a broad range of migration scenarios (described here).
App-V (Application Virtualization) is still supported, but MS calls out EOL for April 2026, and now recommends using Azure Virtual Desktop with MSIX app attach instead.

From a different perspective, the ADK includes support to assess, plan for and execute large-scale Windows deployments. Assessment comes from the Windows Assessment and Windows Performance toolkits. Deployment tools include WinPE, Sysprep, and other items that can customize and distribute Windows images.

It’s Early in the Lifecycle…

Organizations are mostly still considering Windows 11 deployments, though some pilots are underway. Grab yourself a copy of the new ADK and you can get to know it, as your organization starts pondering and investigating its Windows 11 options and timetables. Cheers!

Recent Activity, Tips, Tricks and Tweaks, Troubleshooting, WED Blog, Windows 10

Clean Install Still Cuts Gordian Knot

October 11, 2021 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

The old, old story of the Gordian knot traces back over 2 millennia. It’s meant to illustrate that difficult problems may be overcome by a variety of means. Usually, as with the original story itself, some of them are drastic. When unable to untie the knot, Alexander the Great drew his sword and cut it through instead. He lost the rope, but solved the problem. And so it is with some Windows problems, where a clean install still cuts gordian knot issues that other repairs cannot address.

If Clean Install Still Cuts Gordian Knot, What Made it Necessary This Time?

I’ve been helping a friend over the past two weekends try to solve an iCloud to Outlook synchronization problem. To his credit, he put in two lengthy calls with MS Support, and performed an in-place upgrade repair install. His primary symptoms were:

1. Unable to download iCloud from the MS Store
2. If installed manually, unable to get iCloud and Outlook to synchronize. Interesting but weird error messages about “no default Outlook profile” suggested possible fixes, but none of those worked.

After attempting numerous manual repairs and tricks last weekend without success, I showed up this weekend planning to perform a clean install on his wife’s laptop, a Dell Latitude 7155 (i5, 4th gen Intel CPU). It took me somewhat longer to get the disk cleaned up and a pristine image laid down on her NVMe SSD than I had thought it would.

But once a clean Windows 10 image was installed and updates applied, I was able to download iCloud from the Store. Next, I revisited office.microsoft.com and re-installed Office 365. The acid test followed immediately thereafter: I attempted to synch with iCloud for messages, contacts, and other Outlook items.

To nobody’s particular surprise, it worked. But gosh, it sure took a while to get everything ready (Macrium Reflect came in hand indeed). And it took longer to install and update the OS image than I was expecting. But in the end, the outcome was as desired. So far, we’ve put about 7 hours into this repair effort. Alas, it’s still not quite done just yet.

One More Thing…

I mounted the Macrium backup to make it available for copying older files to the rebuilt desktop. But because of permissions problems I wasn’t able to access some key stuff. So, I’m going back in one more time to fix those and grab the additional stuff my friend needs. Hopefully, that will be as routine as I anticipate. In the meantime, I’m boning up on the ICACLS command so I can reset permissions wholesale, and make everything one might need from the backup available in one go.

At the end of the day, it’s nice to know the tried-and-true methods work like they’re supposed to. I can only guess that some vital plumbing between the Outlook and iCloud APIs got munged in the old runtime environment. By creating a new, pristine one, we have apparently fixed what was broken. Old school still rules. Good-oh!

Letters from the Ed, Recent Activity, WED Blog, Windows OS Musings

Why Is Windows 7 Still Running on 1 of 5 PCs Worldwide?

October 8, 2021 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

The mind reels. I just checked the Operating system market share by version stats at NetMarketShare.com. To my outright astonishment, 20.93% of PCs worldwide still run Windows 7. By contrast, Windows 10 has a 62.16% share and MacOS 6.21% (the numbers in the figure only run through September; these are for October). Thus, I have to ask: “Why Is Windows 7 Still Running on 1 of 5 PCs Worldwide?”

Answering Why Is Windows 7 Still Running on 1 of 5 PCs Worldwide?

In a piece from Microsoft Story Labs with a 2018 copyright date, the company claims “there are more than 1.3B devices running Windows 10.” If that represents 62.16% of the number of PCs running globally, that means that 437 million PCs could be running Windows 7. (I know: I’m making assumptions willy-nilly, but this is a strawperson argument anyway.) That said, both The Verge and ZDNet reported in January 2021 that there could be somewhere over 100 million (Verge) and under 200 million (ZDNet) Windows 7 PCs still in use. Whatever that real number may be, my question is: “Why?”

Windows 7 hit EOL in January 2020. Microsoft does offer annual Extended Security Updates (ESU) for such machines, but that costs US$62 per license as of January 2021. Nobody knows for sure how many PCs are under ESU coverage (MS doesn’t disclose those numbers). But I’d be surprised if more than 20 million PCs were under contract.

What does that mean for the other 80 to 180 million Windows 7 PCs still in use? Big security exposure, and the onus for support on their owners. To me, this falls under the heading of “unacceptable risk.”

Again: Why Keep on with Windows 7?

Surely, the biggest answers have to be:

1. Inertia/laziness: Owners (individuals and businesses) don’t want to change.
2. Budget constraints/parsimony: Owners don’t want to spend the money (or time and effort) required for migration and possibly also, hardware refresh
3. Legacy app tie-downs: Businesses running custom apps based on Windows 7 don’t want to port or rewrite the code for newer Windows versions.

I understand these reasons, but I don’t understand that users and companies/organizations are willing to take big security risks as a consequence. I am flabbergasted that the curve showing in the lead-in graphic is declining so slowly. 5% in 10 months translates into 6% annually. That means that assuming the rate of decline remains constant, Windows 7 will remain in use for another 3 years and then some. All I can say is: Mind completely blown!

What could — and probably will — change this leisurely decline is some major security exploit that’s sure to come along. When owners must face clear, immediate and present danger of financial loss or legal liability they’ll get on the stick and start migrating faster. In the meantime, inertia continues to rule. Amazing!