Category Archives: Troubleshooting

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Clearing Windows 11 ARM Spurious Reclaimables

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I’ve got a new laptop in from Lenovo. It’s a peachy-keen ThinkPad T14s (which I’ll describe in tomorrow’s post, so hold on for those deets). Today, what I care about is its Qualcomm Snapdragon X1-E78-100 CPU, which uses ARM64 not AMD64 architecture. This makes a difference, as I learned in clearing Windows 11 AM spurious reclaimables.

“What is a spurious reclaimable?” I hear you ask. It’s a Windows package in the component store (aka WinSxS) that sticks around, even after you run

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup

to have it clean up reclaimable packages in said store. I blogged about this in March, when I explained how a single DISM /Remove-Package command could clear up two (2) spurious reclaimables seeingly built into Windows 11 24H2. This came courtesy of VIP expert @Bree at ElevenForum.com.

How-to: Clearing Windows 11 ARM Spurious Reclaimables

It turns out that those spurious packages for ARM64 are more or less the same as those for AMD64. But the names are slightly different for one of them. Unlike AMD64 a single /Remove-Package does NOT suffice to clear up both spurious reclaimables. Instead each package must be removed individually, as follows:

1. The initial syntax for each command line is the same: DISM /Remove-Package /Packagename:

2. The first package name replaces the “AMD64” with “ARM64” in its name with no further changes — namely Package_for_RollupFix~31bf3856ad364e35~arm64~~26100.1742.1.10

3. The second package name does the same substitution, but drops the minor version numbers from the end, too — namely Microsoft-Windows-FodMetadataServicing-Desktop-Metadata-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~arm64~~10.0.26100.1742

If you build up the entire command strings with the common stuff from item 1 above plus the bold text in item 2 (1st command) and item 3 (2nd command) you’ll clear out both spurious packages for Windows 11 24H2 ARM. Just a little bit different, but it does the trick.

Cheers!

 

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Learning New Backup Post-Blowup

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I must confess. I blew up a Lenovo review unit Wednesday trying to fix an update problem. Now after what I learned during that experience, I’m learning new backup post-blowup. First, I’ll explain the need for new backup; then the blowup,; and finally, the backup and recovery manuevers I must now make part of my review process. It all ends with an ironic footnote, as my precautions prove unneeded.

To begin with, I’d like to thank Amanda Heater and Michael Redd of the Lenovo Reviews team, based in North Carolina. They didn’t even laugh at me when I told them what I’d done. They simply offered to cross-ship me a replacement system while I returned the one I so thoroughly munged. Thanks, thanks, thanks.

Why I’m Learning New Backup, Post-Blowup

It all goes back to Paramount Software, maker of the excellent backup and recovery toolset known as Macrium Reflect. I’ve been a happy and satisfied use of same for seven years or more. But as of January 1, 2024 (now 18 months ago), the company dropped its free version of that software. In good conscience that meant when I updated my ComputerWorld  story How to make a Windows 10 or 11 Backup, I had to recommend one or two free backup packages, as well as continuing my ongoing endorsement for Reflect (I own 8 licenses for version X and 4 for version 8, in fact).

So while I’m intaking the second iteration of a Lenovo ThinkPad T14s (the Snapdragon X variant of their thin-and-light 2-in-1 business laptop), I’m also learning how to install and use Easus ToDo Backup (one of the three free packages I mention in the February 2024 revision to the afore-cited CW story, the other two being AEOMEI Backupper Standard and MiniTool ShadowMaker Free).

It’s been both interesting and frustrating. I know Reflect so well now I don’t have to think about what I’m doing anymore: I just do it. In using Easus ToDo, I’m reminded of how idiosyncratic UI design can be, and how careful one must be in reading UI clues to understand how to define, schedule and run backups. Ditto for building and using recovery media. Long story short, I did figure things out, and I do have two backups of the T14s, working recovery media, and am ready to use them if needed. I’ve also saved a copy of the T14s BitLocker Recovery Key to a USB flash drive and my MSA.

What About That Blowup?

In working on the first of the two T14s laptops Lenovo sent me, I learned something about Windows 11 that I didn’t know, and would have preferred never to learn. In working through my normal intake process I ran Windows Update. It showed a pending CU that would not install, with the error code 0x8007000D, which indicates a corrupt Windows download or some issue with WU itself.

So naturally, I next ran the batch file from the Eleven Forum Tutorial: Reset Windows Update in Windows 11. This nearly always works to set WU back to rights, and let me get on with my updates. Not this time. The OS recommended, and my own experience concurred, that an in-place repair install was the next step in fixing this issue.

That’s where the blowup happened, as I encountered a Windows misbehavior I’ve never, ever seen before. I used the “Reinstall now” button in Settings > System > Recovery. It appears under the heading of “Fix problems using Windows Update.” It’s usually pretty foolproof and often turns a balky or misbehaving Windows OS into its tidy and proper counterpart. But first a short detour to describe the in-place repair upgrade or install.

More About the In-Place Repair Install

A repair install goes through two major phases. First, there’s a GUI-based portion, where it copies over the Windows OS installer and the files it needs to install the OS. Second, there’s a reboot after which a WinPE-based installer takes over and finishes building a new OS from a whole new set of files and data structures. Usually, Windows 11 reboots 2 or 3 times after the initial reboot as it finishes various aspects of that install process. When it’s done, a newly installed and presumably pristine version of Windows is running, usually devoid of the issues that prompted this repair fix.

This time, on either the first or second post-GUI reboot, the boot handler brought up a BitLocker recovery key screen. It also informed me that something about the boot environment had changed enough during the install that this key was needed to proceed. Ooops!

What Makes BitLocker Key Request a Blowup?

I didn’t have the BitLocker recovery key for that machine locally, and it hadn’t yet propagated into my Microsoft Account (MSA) online. I literally couldn’t access the hard drive. When I attempted to use the Lenovo image recovery service, I couldn’t get it to fork over a digital download. I could buy a pre-loaded USB for US$29 but it could take as long a week to make it to my door. Lenovo suggested that I return the unusable T14s to them, while they would cross-ship a new, working one to me for next-day delivery.

That’s the machine I’m working on right now. And my first steps on that second iteration were to:

  1. Install Easus ToDo Backup, and make a full-drive C: image backup
  2. Build the ToDo Recovery Media (this bootable flash drive will let me restore any ToDo image even if the C: drive is inaccessible)
  3. Make a file copy of the BitLocker recovery key to that same bootable flash drive, should I need for any reason. I also forced a copy into my MSA online as well (I don’t always travel with a full set of UFDs).

This is a new and permanent set of intake activities when I get a new PC or review unit from an OEM like Lenovo (I’ve also reviewed PCs and laptops from ASUS, Acer, MSI, Dell, Panasonic, and HP in past years). If a repair install can provoke the Bitlocker key request, I have to be ready for that. Now, thanks to the foregoing steps, I will be.

Ironic WU Conclusion

The CU that caused me problems on the first machine also needed installing on the second one. It was KB5063060 (26100.4351 Out-of-band). It failed on the first attempt right after the machine came up for the first time upon unboxing. But this time, the Retry button resulted in a successful installation. The machine’s all caught up and I didn’t need to run the in-place upgrade repair install, nor to recover from its failure (and supply the Bitlocker key on demand).

I was ready for things to go south. I’m grateful they did not. But, as I can attest from painful recent experience, it’s better to have the recovery tools and data and not need them, than it is to need them and not have them.

And wow, it seems ever so appropriate to recite this saga on a day emblematic of mala fortuna: please note that it’s Friday the 13th. It can be a risky day in Windows-World, as in other worlds as well.

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X12 Gains QMR Support

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Wow! What a difference a day makes. Yesterday, Quick Machine Recovery didn’t work on my 2021 vintage Lenovo ThinkPad X12 Hybrid Tablet (with 11th-Gen i7-1180G7 CPU). This morning, the X12 gains QMR support and the test mode actually works. Methinks the edge of the gradual rollout just made it four generations back from the leading edge. (Copilot sez that if intel still used such numbers, Arrow Lake would like be 15th-Gen.)

If X12 Gains QMR Support, How Can You Tell?

Interestingly, even though the QMR test completes successfully on the X12, the QRM entry under Settings > System > Recovery — depicted from the 13th-Gen P3 Ultra ThinkStation above — is absent. Ditto for the QRM update (KB5056862) in Update History.

And yet, it works. Something isn’t precisely right around here, because QRM works (or says it completes the self-test successfully) without including those other presumptive signs of capability. It’s a bit confusing, if not at least mildly troubling.

Will the Circle Be Unbroken?

All this leaves me wondering how much further down the device chain this stuff will propagate. There’s a hard stop at 8th-Gen in that progression. Because my X380 is of that specific generation, all I can say right now is: “The update hasn’t gotten there yet.”

I just tried all the methods that the QRM article from MS Learn recommends to get it working when it opens to the WinRE boot screen, instead of going through its paces. Nothing doing, just yet. I’ll keep trying, and I’ll keep reporting: stay tuned and you can know, too.

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QMR Wants Newer PCs

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I have to laugh at myself. I’ve been waiting since Quick Machine Repair (QMR) emerged in April 2024 for it to show up on my Beta Channel test PC. (KB5056862 first appeared on June 2 for Build 26200.5622.) Alas, I probably could have kept waiting much longer. That’s because my Beta Channel test PC is built around an 8th-Gen i7-8650U CPU. But it seems that QMR wants newer PCs to include them in this gradual rollout. Let me explain.

Why say: QMR Wants Newer PCs?

I switched the Lenovo ThinkStation P3 Ultra, with its 13th-Gen i9-13900 CPU, over to Beta Channel. As soon as I brought up Build 26120.4230, WU extended the KB5056862 update. You can see that item in the Update History for that machine as the lead-in image above, in fact. What’s going on here?

It’s often the case that boot-related stuff on gradual rollout starts with newer PCs. It only makes its way back to older machines once MS is convinced that it really works as it should. And indeed, I followed the step-by-step instructions for testing QMR on the P3 Ultra (with the afore-depicted KB installed) from MS Learn’s Quick Machine Recovery article. It worked just like they said it would, too.

Meanwhile, the X380 Remains on Hold…

The older X380 is still on the outside, looking in, waiting for MS to extend the Quick Machine recovery update its way. I think it will keep waiting for some time yet. But at least, I have now been able to run the utility and see how it works. I’ll be reporting that in detail for an upcoming ComputerWorld story that’s due for submission on June 25. Stay tuned, and I’ll provide a link when that story goes live.

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Outlook .DOCX Files Won’t Open

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Here’s a pretty pickle. My most-used professional writing tool is MS Word, and I’m an Outlook user, too. A couple of days ago, I noticed that sent as attachments to Outlook .DOCX files won’t open. The first time it happened: I thought: “Corruption.” The second time, I thought: “Hmmmm. Something is up.” The third time, I KNEW “Time for Office repairs.”

Over the years I’ve written about fixing MS Office when it breaks or gets weird. You can find both 2021 and 2024 versions of such a story at ComputerWorld: 5 Steps to Repair Microsoft Office. [Note: the link is to the current version, natch.]

When Outlook .DOCX Files Won’t Open, Then What?

MS Office is a big, complex program. Occasionally it can have problems, sometimes small ones, sometimes big. To deal with such stuff MS has thoughtfully — and thankfully — built repair tools into the application installer environment.

Visit Settings > Apps > Installed Apps and look for your version of Office (in my case it’s named “Microsoft apps for enterprise – en-us”). Click on that entry, then click the Modify button. That produces the repair options presented in the lead-in graphic, with “Quick Repair” selected by default. QR uses local files to re-install and reset MS Office. Most of the time it fixes things.

This time, it did not, so I went back to that repair window and selected “Online Repair” instead. This downloads a fresh copy of all necessary files from MS servers, and does a clean re-install and reset instead. Perforce, it takes longer to do its thing (about 5-6 minutes for quick, and double that for online, on  my 2014 vintage i7 Skylake desktop).

But hey! The Online Repair worked. As soon as it completed, I opened Outlook, and grabbed the most recent message with a .DOCX attachment. This time, instead of throwing an error message saying it couldn’t read the file, it opened it up and let me get to work. Just what I was hoping would happen.

Sometimes, things in Windows-World come to a happy ending. This was such a time, and I’m glad. Huzzah!

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Unsticking Lenovo System Update

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From May 6 through 12, I had a Lenovo System update stick in WU. That is, it would attempt to install, fail, and then push a retry button at me. Alas, that meant WU wouldn’t show me any newer updates, either. At the end of this cycle KB5058496 came along. It didn’t show up in WU, either. That’s when I found myself unsticking Lenovo system update on the Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga X380 where it happened. How did I do that? I ran the:

Reset_Reregister_Windows_Update_Components_for_Windows11.bat

batch file from the Eleven Forums tutorial Reset Windows Update in Windows 11. As it so often does, the Lenovo System update worked the next time I tried after said reset operation had completed and I’d rebooted that PC (as per the batch file’s own instructions). The new CU installed, and went to Build 26120.3964.

More on Unsticking Lenovo System Update

I’m not sure why the WU version got stuck, nor why it stayed that way for some time. When I looked in the Windows-Update.log file I produced via the PowerShell Get-WindowsUpdateLog cmdlet, no supporting detail told me why it happened, either.

All that Copilot could tell me was that it must be a Lenovo servicing driver update of some kind. Google was willing to speculate it might be the driver for the Lenovo Intelligent Thermal Solution. Lenovo Vantage kind of confirms this in a back-handed way, in that its history shows the latest version dated March 2024 with version number 2.1.14.0, which certainly seems to follow in the general numbering track for the item that got stuck.

So I checked Device Manager > System devices > Lenovo Intelligent Thermal Solution properties. Sure enough, the currently installed version is 2.1.52.0. Interestingly the install date shows as 4/11/2025 (same as in WU update history). That leaves me glad this already-installed driver somehow got itself unstuck. I’m still wondering why WU offered it repeatedly from 5/6-12.

These meaningless mysteries never stop in Windows-World. I’m just glad this apparently unnecessary driver offer stopped when I reset WU. Now the machine is running Build 26120.3964 and the right Intelligent Thermal Solutions driver without further issues. I’m good for now, but sure something similar will pop up soon, on one or more of my mini-fleet of 12 PCs. Stay tuned!

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Windows 10 Keeps PowerToys ComPal Error

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On April 10, I blogged about how a new release of PowerToys (v0.90.1) apparently fixed a “Class not registered” error for the Command Palette from the previous version (v0.90.0). Alas, while ComPal (as I like to abbreviate this tool) is now rock-solid on my Windows 11 PCs, it’s still throwing errors after restart on my sole remaining Windows 10 desktop. That’s why my title here reads “Windows 10 Keeps PowerToys ComPal Error” — you can see the aftermath in Reiability Monitor as the lead-in screencap above.

Why Windows 10 Keeps PowerToys ComPal Error

Look at the screencap. Notice the Problem Event Name is “MoAppCrash.” This means a Modern App (aka UWP app, usually an MS Store App of some kind) has crashed. In this case it’s the PowerToys Command Palette user interface (MicrosoftCmdPal.UI.exe). Copilot says common causes include faulty, outdated app versions, corrupt system files or missing dependencies, conflicts with Windows updates, and issues with DLL files. My bets are on conflicts with Windows updates and/or issues with some DLL needed for ComPal to run.

I just tried to access ComPal on the affected Windows 10 machine. At first, it refused to respond to its shortcut (WinKey+Alt+Space) for related settings, But when I disabled, then re-enabled ComPal itself, that capability woke up and started working. So did the utility itself, without any easily discovered limitations.

What about Windows 11?

I have — and see — no such issues in Windows 11. So I’m forced to speculate that this is just a Windows 10 hiccup of some kind. Fortunately, once I disable, then re-enable ComPal, everything seems to work fine. There’s obviously some kind of minor gotcha at work, but it’s easy to get around.

Isn’t that just the way things work sometimes, here in Windows-World? Fortunately, even when the path to success isn’t automatic, or even a straight line, a small dogleg often does the trick. And so it was this morning…

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KB5058379 Forces 8GadgetPack Manuevers

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On Patch Tuesday (May 13) I installed the latest updates on my PC mini-fleet (12 units right now). I didn’t reboot the Windows 10 production PC until yesterday. As soon as it came up, so did 8GadgetPack. Alas, the latter promptly crashed — and kept crashing — as I tried to bring it up. Next I realized that KB5058379 forces 8GadgetPack maneuvers, as  I tried uninstalling, then reinstalling that application.

That approach worked nicely to bring 8GadgetPack back up. Next, I performed a couple of follow-up gadget shenanigans along the same lines. That is, I had to remove individual gadgets that didn’t render on screen properly, then replace them from the Add Gadget repository. (Screen 1 from that tool serves as the lead-in graphic.) The whole exercise took about 10 minutes. And now, it’s all good.

Apparently, that update caused more havoc on other PCs. Keep reading for some of those ugly details…

KB5058379 Forces 8GadgetPack Manuevers … and More

This morning, I’m reading online that KB5058379 apparently causes other, more serious problems, too. The title of this WindowsLatest item (dated May 15) captures much of what’s amiss: Windows 10 KB5058379 locks PCs, BitLocker Recovery triggered on boot, BSODs. I guess you can say that while I got irked by having to mess about with 8GadgetPack, I’m now relieved that I didn’t have to go into full-blown troubleshooting and recovery mode yesterday instead.

In one way or another, all of these issues appear tied in some way to BitLocker issues. In the afore-linked Windows Latest story, Mayank Pamar explains a demonstrated repair strategy on some PCs. See that story for the details. The TLDR; version is “Turn off Intel TXT  in the PC’s BIOS/UEFI (may show up as “Trusted Execution” or “OS Kernel DMA Support”). This turns off BitLocker, but lets the update finish. Then you can turn it back on again.

Uninstall/reinstall or turn off/turn on seems to be the underlying theme for today’s blog post. That’s why undoing and redoing stuff remains a tried-and-true troubleshooting technique here in Windows-World, I guess!

Note added 5/16: After the next Release Preview CU, the same thing happened again with 8GadgetPack. And once again, uninstall-reinstall returned it to working order. Sigh, and sigh again. It’s looking like this may become part of my post CU recovery process. I can’t say I find that a delightful prospect, but it is a tolerable one.

 

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Seeing HEIC File Explorer Thumbnails

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Here’s an interesting little puzzle I stumbled across yesterday. I used a USB to Lightning cable to access my iPhone on the Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Mobile Workstation. But in looking at my photos on that device, I saw icons rather than thumbnails. And when both File Explorer Options > View > Always show icons, never thumbnails and …> Display file icon on thumbnails were unchecked, I knew I needed something else. It turns out that seeing HEIC File Explorer thumbnails requires multiple Windows extensions. Let me explain…

MS Store Visit Enables Seeing HEIC File Explorer Thumbnails

Copilot gave me an initial clue as to what was up. Turns out that HEIC is “an image container format” that adheres to the “High Efficiency Image File (HEIF)” standard. Apple adopted it for images in iOS11 and macOS High Sierra, where it’s been the default since. My first clue as to what was up came in Copilot’s statement about HEIC and Windows: ” Windows 10 (and later) supports HEIC files—though you might need to install a codec from the Microsoft Store for full compatibility…”

I checked the Store, and it turns out I already had the HEIF Image Extension installed. But in its fine print I found the following statements:

A video extension package must also be installed in order to view images that are stored in the HEIF file.

The HEVC Video Extensions package must be installed in order to view images stored in HEIF files that use the .heic, .hif or .heif file extensions.

This $0.99 item from Microsoft (!) ultimately provided the missing ingredient to let File Explorer show thumbnails (not icons) for HEIC files. This “small dig” at Apple is both irritating and amusing in that users must pay a tiny toll to more fully integrate iOS and Windows. Go figure!

One More Thing…

Before I got to the point where Explorer showed thumbnails for those HEIC files from my iPhone, I also ended up rebooting the P16. I tried opening and closing File Explorer (but didn’t restart it in Task Manager, which would have probably worked, now that I think about it) but that didn’t do the trick. That’s an indication that a more thorough restart is needed to get the HEVC extensions to kick in.

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Chasing Intel esrv_svc.exe

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Looking over my various Windows PCs and Reliability Monitor reports after a week away, I stumbled across an interesting — but not unexpected — APPCRASH. It’s got me chasing Intel esrv_svc.exe, to learn what it does, and see whether or not it’s serious. TLDR version: runs various Intel update facilities; no, it’s not.

Where Chasing Intel esrv_svc.exe Takes Me

According to MS Answers,  esrv_svc.exe is related to a bunch of different Intel update checks, including:

  • Intel Driver Update Utility
  • Intel System Usage Report
  • Intel Energy Checker
  • Some of the Intel PROSet Wireless Software
  • Sony VaioCare

The error itself is tied to item number 2 (but that shows up only on the initial ReliMon report page as “Intel(R) System Usage Report”). That said, I also use the drive update utility (as part of Intel Driver and Support Assistant, aka Intel DSA) and the PROSet Wireless software (on most of my Lenovo laptops, in fact). I couldn’t have run  DSA on or around the error date of 5/2/2025, because we were out of town. So it was some kind of scheduled task, running on its own.

FWIW, Reddit also ties this kind of error to the Intel telemetry program (aka Intel Computing Improvement Program, which scrapes and sends Intel-related event info back to the company for capture and analysis).

Is There Cause for Concern?

AFAIK, despite this APPCRASH error, there’s no cause for concern around this executable. It’s involved in managing communications with Intel. Such to-and-fro appears to be either update- or event-related and not critical to proper PC operation. I’m going to follow Elsa’s lead from Frozen  and just “let it go” into the great bit bucket beyond the confines of the cozy little world here at Chez Tittel.

Here in Windows-World, it’s good to let go when you can. I’ll concentrate on stuff that poses real problems or indicates actual trouble of some kind. This one looks like just another hiccup to me. Plenty of those around here, for sure!

 

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