Category Archives: Windows 11

Cool Tools, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, Troubleshooting, WED Blog, Windows 11

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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Cool Tools, Copilot+ PCs, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, WED Blog, Windows 11

Still No Snapdragon X Mini-PCs

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I’m disappointed, and more than a little curious. Last year Qualcomm announced a pilot program offering developer kits with Snapdragon X CPU in a mini-PC format. I bought in, only to see the program cancelled. Then, I spent two months chasing my refund down. The lead-in graphic is a publicity still of that very device from Qualcomm itself. Other companies, including Lenovo and Geekom, announced plans to release SFF PCs built around this SoC in early 2025. Despite release dates floated for H1 2025, there are still no Snapdragon X mini-PCs for sale from anybody, anywhere. Nor do I see signs that any might appear in the market any time soon. Oops!

Why Still No Snapdragon X Mini-PCs?

My gut feeling is that the answer is, in an acronym, USB. As the Snapdragon X architecture currently stands, it supports only a single USB4 (40 Gbps) and one USB 3 gen 2 (10 Gbps) port. Charging on a mini PC could possibly leave the USB4 port open (TBD, with none such for sale right now). Even so, that’s too few high speed ports for the build to make good economic sense. Who wants to spend $500-700 (or more) on an SFF PC, only to plunk down another $200-300 for a USB4 or 5 dock to bring the port count up to where it needs to be?

I’m guessing that these projects are on hold while Qualcomm is defining its next-gen Snapdragon X architecture. I’m also guessing that the new version will include either 2 or 3 USB4 or 5 ports so that such units can support a more plausible number of high speed video and storage connections in a compact form factor. Especially on tiny PCs ports enable them to do what users need.

An Interesting Upcoming Snapdragon Summit?

Qualcomm is expected to uncover details about the next-gen Snapdragon X architecture and capabilities when the company holds its September Summit in Maui. I’m expected the current paucity of ports to be over topped. And possibly, a new crop of promised mini or SFF PCs could follow in its wake. It should be interesting to see how it all turns out.

I’m pretty sure at this point that we won’t see any SFF or mini PCs around the current Snapdragon X version. The only possible exception might be a low-ball, dirt-cheap model. OEMs may seek to produce some revenue from the efforts that have apparently been expended in trying to build this recalcitrant beast. I’m not holding my breath, however… Let’s hope the next generation is a different story, and has a happier ending!

 

 

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

Recent Rising Reclaimable Counts

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Recently, I’ve been noticing that Cumulative Updates (CUs) typically leave upwards of 10 or more reclaimable packages around, following installation. If my memory is any guide, numbers from 2-4 had been more typical until earlier this year. But recent rising reclaimable counts seem all too likely these days.

So I asked Copilot about it: “Why does dism /analyzecompo-nentstore find more reclaimable packages after CU updates recently?” Imagine my surprise when Copilot cited one of my very own blog posts in response as a potential source of “deeper insights.” Wow: that’s a shock to me!

Here’s what DISM told me after I updated Windows 11 24H2 to 26100.4202 last week: 10 packages reclaimable!

Why Rising Recent Reclaimable Counts?

When I check the component store using DISM /Get-Packages after recent CUs I see numerous staged and superseded items in the listing. These are what often gets cleaned up when a following DISM /StartComponentCleanup is run. Google AI says that  recent changes to “checkpoint cumulative updates” in 24H2 means that “Future updates then build incrementally from these checkpoints, leading to smaller downloads and potentially faster updates.” Looks like it means there are more and smaller items of this kind, rather than fewer and larger ones, as under the previous regime.

Thus, I think the phenomenon is real, and reflects a change in update approach and architecture. DISM dispatches these items pretty quickly (at least anecdotally more quickly than the older approach, in my own personal experience). So all in all, I’m inclined to find this a good thing.

It’s nice when incremental changes in Windows mean improvements in the general state of Windows-World itself. Today, that’s my story — and I’m sticking to it!

Note Added 6/7: A New Top Count!

I ran DISM /AnalyzeComponentStore on the X380 Yoga just now (running 24H2 Beta Channel Build 26120.4230). It reported a whopping 21 reclaimable packages, all of which vanish after running DISM /StartComponentCleanup. See this:

I’m inclined to take this as further validation of my thesis that CUs bring more (and smaller) packages for cleanup in their wake. What do you think?

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Cool Tools, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, WED Blog, Windows 11

WinGet Source Winget Goes MIA

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This morning, I find myself in an interesting pickle. On about half the PCs in the mini-fleet here at Chez Tittel, the default source for WinGet came up “missing” this morning. You can see the evidence in the lead-in graphic, which shows winget missing from the list of available sources, and says it cannot find a source with that name.  Thus, when I say that WinGet source winget goes missing, I mean winget itself cannot find its usual default source, period. That’s a problem, because it means WinGet can’t access its basic package database to see if anything needs an update. Sigh.

Fixing WinGet Source Winget Goes MIA

There’s an “add” parameter for the WinGet source command that can fix this little disappearance — in most cases. If you check the next screencap, you’ll see it worked to bring back the default source on my Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Mobile Workstation, and subsequently shows a raft of seven (7) pending updates.

For most PCs, adding back the default source using the URL “https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache” does the trick.

But on one of my PCs (so far as I’ve checked right now) this doesn’t work. I get an error message instead, as shown here:

According to Google Search this error code indicates a DNS resolution issue with the URL string (which works on other, likewise-affected PCs). I’ve flushed the DNS cache and reset winsock, both to no avail. I’m not sure how to fix this, so I’ve posted a question to the WinGet community on Teams. Hopefully, one of the real wizards there will have some other fixes for me to try.

And… … … the day gets off to an interesting start, with a meaty mystery, here in Windows-World. This is my idea of fun, so I’m enoying it to the max! Stay tuned: I’ll follow up when a repair becomes known.

WinGet Teams Chat Provides a Fix!

I’ve been back-n-forthing with Demitrius Nelon, WinGet Team Lead, since posting this initial item. He had me look at some logs and try a few things. Here’s the magic incantation that fixed my problem on the X380 Yoga:

Winget source reset –force

As you can see in this closing screencap this did the trick:

This same command has come in handy before — such as fixing source update fail errors (read about that in this November 2024 post) — and will no doubt come in handy again. All I need to do is remember to use/try it!

 

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Prepping New 5800X Production PC

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Son Gregory went off to college in Fall 2022. He took a desktop PC with him. Next Fall, he’s off to LA for a film industry internship as his capstone semester. That desktop is now mine: that’s why I’m prepping “new” 5800X production PC with a few items on order.

The old Antec A201 case got too beat up in return shipment to remain usable. So here’s what I’m planning to recover from that unit for re-use in a refurbished build:

  • AMD Vermeer Ryzen 7 5800X CPU (8 cores, 16 threads)
  • Asrock B500 Extreme 4 (AM4) motherboard
  • 64 GB G.Skill/Hynix DDR4 3200 RAM
  • Storage
    • Sabrent Rocket Q 2TB (1.863 in Explorer) PCIe x3 SSD
    • Toshiba X300 8TB HDD
    • Hitachi/WD HGST 4TB HDD
  • GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti

Add-ons Prepping New 5800X Production PC

I know this is neither a bleeding edge nor a trailing edge system. I plan to get at least another 3-4 years out of it. So I’m spending just over US$300 to bring it completely up to snuff. Here’s what’s coming from Newegg next week:

  • NZXT H6 Flow Case (~US$110): should give me plenty of room for my drives and peripherals with good ventilation and looks
  • ASUS ThunderboltEX 5 adapter (~US$173) will give me USB5 capability and access to Intel Thunderbolt Share

I’ve also got a 2TB PCIe x4 SSD in one of my higher-end enclosures — it’s a Crucial P3 that may find a home in the unused M.2 slot if that configuration works. I don’t know yet if using two HDDs may occlude too many SATA ports to leave room for both SSD slots.

What’s To Do, Meanwhile?

Gregory hadn’t cleaned the case for its three-year Boston residency. So I need to open it up, cleaning as I go, so I can get the parts ready for their new home in the NZXT case. Who knows what else I’ll find in the unit, once I get it unbuttoned? Good thing I’ve got a nice little shop vac I keep around just for cleaning up PCs and such.

Stay tuned! I’ll report back when all the parts show up and I put this puppy together. Should be fun…

 

 

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

Windows 11 24H2 Makes USB4 Mandatory

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I have to chuckle, just a little. Last Friday (May 30) MS released a Tech Community blog post that changes the latest Windows 11 Windows Hardware Compatibility Program (WHCP) requirements. I’m chuckling, because this change attaches to a 2024 version and it’s already half-way past 2025 (or nearly; and it’s almost 8 months after this OS went public on October 1, 2024). Whereas providing USB-C ports with leading edge capabilities had previously been optional for OEMs, Windows 11 24H2 makes USB4 mandatory, starting now.

It’s about time. Modern USB4 capable USB-C ports support fast charging, high bandwidth, and better display connections. Indeed, these connections help justify PC upgrades simply because such new devices can do more, faster than old ones.

Why Windows 11 24H2 Makes USB4 Mandatory

The lead-in graphic for this blog post is cribbed from the afore-linked Tech Community blog post. It shows why USB4 is preferable (and now, required) for the most modern Windows 11 iteration, namely:

  • Faster data speeds (bidirectional 40 Gbps for USB4v1, 80 Gpbs for USB4v2 aka USB5; USB5 can go 120 Gbps down, 40 Gbps up in some implementations)
  • Higher levels of accessory power (over 15W for laptops, docks and PCs; over 7.5W for tablets; most modern devices readily handle from 60-100W)
  • Dual 4K monitors at 60Hz, with higher numbers of monitors and refresh rates for USB5 vs USB4v1
  • PCI Express support through USB4 ports (both versions)
  • Thunderbolt 3 compatibility (both versions, USB5 is always Thunderbolt 4 compatible, some USB4v1 versions likewise)

All I can say about this recent change is that it’s something MS should have pushed through long ago. IMO, making it an OEM requirement for 24H2 from the get-go would have been good.

Better late than later is also good. And it means we can expect U4B4 baked into WHCP for 25H2 when it comes along. Is it too much to hope that MS might bump that up to USB4v2/Thunderbolt 4? I guess we’ll be finding out. Stay tuned, with fingers crosssed!

FWIW, this could address my long-standing buffuddlement that Copilot+ PCs did not require USB4 (or higher) in their PC requirements. Looks like this has now become a solid requirement. Good stuff!

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Playing Windows Catch-up Post OOO

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OOO is, of course, a common abbreviation for “out of office.” I just returned from a family visit to Alexandria, VA, late Tuesday night, after attending a family wedding. Thus, for the past couple days I’m playing Windows catch-up post OOO on my mini-fleet of 10 PCs. Of those, 5 are desktops, and 5 are laptops in what I think is a common SOHO distro. It’s been a bit of an adventure, but by no means a real trial. Let me explain…

Deets on Playing Windows Catch-up Post OOO

If you look at the output from Advanced IP Scanner for my LAN, you can see all the currently active nodes there. Some items are routers or WAPs, others include TV sets, printers,  iDevices, smart thermostats and so forth. Note: I use Private IP addresses in the C range, which makes this stuff opaque from the outside. FWIW, Spectrum does a pretty good job of blocking scanning and intrusion attempts on their coax network, too.

Here’s the regime I’ve been running to make all my PCs current:

  • Run WU, apply updates, reboot as needed.
  • Run WinGet upgrade –all –include-unknown to update local apps for which it has package info in its database
  • Run PatchMyPC Home Updater to update local apps it handles that WinGet does not
  • Run vendor update elements for their contributions — e.g. Lenovo Vantage, Dell Command Update, Intel Driver and Support Assistant (DSA), and so forth

Total time required for the whole shebang for 10 PCs is about 2.5-3.0 hours altogether, including walking up to those PCs to light them up for those few not WOL (Wake on LAN) enabled.

What a Typical Week Away Brings the Fleet

Here’s what I observed for the various items mentioned across my collection of devices, all purchased in 2018 or later (except my primary desktop, which I’ll finally be replacing in June, now that our second X5800/B250 PC is home from Boston for good):

  • Given that the second (optional/preview) WU cycle hit while I was gone, about 60-70% of the PCs got a CU. Some handled them automatically on their own, others I had to run and/or restart manually (depends on configuration, not Microsoft).
  • For the majority of PCs, WinGet updates numbered from 3 to 7; one outlier needed 9 (but I hadn’t touched for a while before going OOO).
  • PatchMyPC found an average of 3-plus updates, and varied from 3 to 5.
  • Intel DSA offered new BlueTooth, Wi-Fi and Wired Ethernet drivers as it seems to do, two or more times a month, like clockwork.

All in all, it wasn’t too bad. Things are all caught up now. Glad to be back in the saddle, with all my gear clean and shiny, and ready to ride. Yesterday and today were both good days in Windows-World, with no snags worthy of note to report. Boring is good, sometimes!

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X380 Yoga Is Not Quite QMR-able

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It’s been a long time coming, and it’s on its way out. QMR is, of course, Quick Machine Recovery. It’s a facility to let an unbootable Windows image grab a repair and fix itself, from WU or other sources. MS announced it at Ignite 2024, and it started rolling out to the Beta Channel for Windows 11 24H2 in March 2025. It showed up on my Beta test PC — a Lenovo ThinkPad X380 Yoga –earlier this week. But alas, that X380 Yoga is not quite QMR-able just yet. Let me show and tell what that means…

Why Say: X380 Yoga Is Not Quite QMR-able

Take a look at the into screen cap. Up top you see the pane from the X380 for Settings > System > Recovery > Quick machine recovery. Note above that I’ve got QRM turned on and likewise the “continue searching” option. Below, I opened WinTerm to check the status of the Windows recovery agent console (aka reagentc) to show status.

According to Copilot if QMR is available and ready to work on a Windows 11 24H2 Beta PC, one should see four entries in the reagentc /info output (all bulleted items are quoted or paraphrased):

  • Recovery Test Mode: Enabled (if test mode is active)
  • Windows RE Status: Enabled (QMR relies on WinRE)
  • Remote Remediation: Active (if QMR is configured for automatic fixes)
  • Remediation Package: Installed (if a recovery update has been applied)

If you look at the output in the screecap, it shows only item 2. That simply means WinRE itself is turned on, and able to work on the X380. None of the other QMR specific items appear, though, do they?

Turns Out There’s a Gradual Rollout, Too…

There’s a Quality Update that WU should automatically download on some Windows 11 24H2 Beta Channel PCs for testing QMR. If it’s present the PC can be induced to reboot and use the QMR facility. That package is named “Quick machine recovery update for Windows 11.” BUT it’s on a gradual rollout, as I just learned yesterday.

Alas, this update is NOT in the Update History on my X380 PC. So I still can’t take QMR for a spin. I’ll get there — soon, I hope — but not today. If you’ve got a Windows 11 24H2 Beta image at your disposal, and it’s up to date, you can check things out, too. If you find the afore-mentioned item in your update history, you can take if for a spin with these two commands in Windows Terminal:

reagentc /SetRecoveryTestmode
reagentc /BoottoRE

Then, reboot your PC and you will see QMR do its thing. That’s what I plan to try as soon as I make into the “included group” during this gradual rollout.

And ain’t that just the way things go for Windows Insiders sometimes here in Windows-World? This isn’t the first time, nor will it be the last, that I’m behind the leading edge on a gradual rollout.

 

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Cool Tools, Insider stuff, PowerShell, Recent Activity, Troubleshooting, WED Blog, Windows 11, Windows Update

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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