[German]Well-informed users are certainly aware of this – but for the rest of us, some brief information. A number of Windows 10 builds are no longer supported and no longer receive updates.

However, the whole thing is not really clear at first glance, because there are many special regulations.

• Windows 10 Version 1507: This RTM version of Windows 10, released in summer 2015, has been out of support for a long time and will not get any more updates. Exceptions are the Windows 10 Enterprise V1507 LTSC installations which are supported until 2025.
• Windows 10 Version 1511: This version of Windows 10, released in November 2015, was discontinued on October 10, 2017. However, Enterprise and Education editions for version 1511 still received security updates 6 months after this date (March 2018 was over).
• Windows 10 Version 1607: This version of Windows 10 (Anniversary Update), released in summer 2016, is no longer supported on April 10, 2018. However, Enterprise and Education editions for version 1607 will still receive security updates 6 months after this date.

  However, there is one more peculiarity. Systems with Clovertrail CPU will receive updates until 2023 (see Windows 10 V1607: Updates for Clover Trail systems until 2023). And LTSC versions are supported until 2026.

Windows 10 Version 1703, 1709 and 1803 are still supported. The Home and Pro versions will also receive updates there. An overview of support intervals can be found on this Microsoft page.

[German]Microsoft released a new cumulative update KB4100403 for Windows 10 version 1803 (April update) as of May 23, 2018. The update is also intended to fix problems when using SSDs in conjunction with the NVMe interface.

Update KB4100403 for Windows 10 V1803

Cumulative update KB4100403 for Windows 10 Version 1803 (April Update) changes the OS Build to 17134.81. This update includes quality improvements, but no new operating system features. This release also contains updates for Microsoft HoloLens (OS Build 17134.80) released May 22, 2018. This update addresses the following key changes:

• Addresses an issue in Internet Explorer that might cause communication between web workers to fail in certain asynchronous scenarios with multiple visits to a web page. 
• Addresses additional issues with updated time zone information. 
• Addresses an issue where closed-caption settings are preserved after upgrade. 
• Addresses a reliability issue that may cause Microsoft Edge or other applications to stop responding when you create a new audio endpoint while audio or video playback is starting. 
• Addresses an issue that may cause Windows Hello enrollment to fail on certain hardware that has dGPUs. 
• Addresses an issue with power regression on systems with NVMe devices from certain vendors.

The colleagues of German site deskmodder.de report here that the red text “Some settings are managed by your organization” shown in settings app, caused by update KB4103721, has been fixed. However, a comment still complains about the display “This option is managed by the Windows Insider program”.

If earlier updates are you installed, only the new fixes in this package will be downloaded and installed on your device. o download and install this update, go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and select Check for updates. The update package may be downloaded also from Microsoft Update Catalog.

Known issues with SSDs, now fixed

Microsoft mentions the known problems with SSDs in the KB article. The most serious problem concerns Intel SSDs during the upgrade.

• When attempting to upgrade to the Windows 10 April 2018 Update, select devices with Intel SSD 600p Series or Intel SSD Pro 6000p Series may repeatedly enter a UEFI screen after restart or stop working. This issue is resolved in KB4100403. Microsoft recommends to wait until the update to Windows 10, version 1803, is offered on the device.

  Starting May 25th, if you’re an advanced user on an actively serviced version of Windows 10 and would like to install Windows 10 version 1803, you can manually check for updates. On the Settings page, navigate to Update & security > Windows Update > click Check for updates, which will include this resolution.

• After upgrading to the Windows 10 April 2018 Update, select devices with Toshiba XG4 Series, Toshiba XG5 Series, or Toshiba BG3 Series SSDs may exhibit lower battery life. This issue should be resolved with KB4100403. Microsoft recommends to wait until the update to Windows 10, version 1803, is offered on the device.

  To get Windows 10, version 1803, we encourage you to wait until the update is offered to your device following the June Update Tuesday. If you’re an advanced user on an actively serviced version of Windows 10 and would like to install Windows 10 version 1803, you can manually check for updates. On the Settings page, navigate to Update & security > Windows Update > click Check for updates, which will include this resolution.

The problems with Windows 10 version 1803 on systems with SSDs of other manufacturers reported here in the blog are not addressed by Microsoft in the KB article on update KB4100403.

However, since Microsoft’s list of fixes addresses performance regression on systems with NVMe devices from certain manufacturers, the problem could also be fixed for SSDs from other OEMs. NVM Express (NVMe) is nothing more than a software interface to integrate SSDs (NVM) via PCI Express without manufacturer-specific drivers. If you are affected by the problems, you can leave a comment as to whether something has moved for the better.

Still issues with CredSSP?

The problem with remote desktop connections to servers with the “CredSSP” authentication error is not fixed (according to this comment). The error should have been fixed since the cumulative update KB4103721.

Similar articles:
Windows 10 Wiki
Windows 10 security updates May 8, 2018
Windows 10 V1803: Rollout stopped for Intel SSDs
Windows 10: Issues with WSUS and Store (V1803)
Windows 10: ‘An App default was reset’
Windows 10 V1803: Fix for Explorer Timeline crashes
Windows 10 V1803: (Boot-) issues with update KB4103721
Windows 10 Updates March 22, 2018

[German]A brief information for users of Windows 10 April update machines who have no Internet connection. It seems that there is a delay of 45 seconds when trying to establish an MSRA (MS Remote Assistance) connection.

The issue

I stumbled upon this issue at German site administrator.de, but there is a Technet forum entry about that. It is about Remote Assistance connections via MSRA.exe. If the relevant machines with Windows 10 version 1803 do not have Internet access in the network, a 45-second delay (timeout) occurs during the connection attempt. The thread creator describes this as follows:

After upgrading the IT department to Win10 v1803, we notice that MSRA.exe has a problem.

Please note: this problem only surfaces on systems that have no internet access!

Until now, we used win10 v1709 and msra.exe worked normally, that is, if you click on an invitation file and enter the code, the person who requested help was asked whether he wanted to allow the helper access immediately.

With version 1803 however, after clicking on the invitation and entering the code, there is a delay of 45 seconds with the status “attempting to connect”. Afterwards, everything works.

This is seen on clean systems as well and Microsoft will be able to reproduce this in seconds.

It happens no matter what target operating system the person you want to help is using, as long as the person who would like to offer help is using Win10 v1803. Build is 17134.81, x64, enterprise.

After starting MSRA.exe and clicking on the Invitation.mrsincident file with the invitation and entering the code to establish the connection, the message ‘Attempting to connect’ is shown for 45 seconds. According to the thread creator, the problem only occurs on Windows 10 version 1803, while Windows 10 version 1709 behaves as expected. After entering the code, the connection to the target system is established directly. Therefor the question: Can any of you confirm this?

Microsoft has just released Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17677 for Windows Insider on the PC (contrary to yesterday’s announcement).

Nothing is as old as yesterday’s internet news – and nothing as useless – in yesterday’s newspaper you can at least still wrap fish. A few hours ago there was a tweet of Dona Sarkar.

#WindowsInsiders: we are NOT flighting a build this week. We found some rollback issues and it’s a long weekend in the US, so many folks on our team will be taking time off to spend with their families. Have a wonderful week! <3

— Dona Sarkar (@donasarkar) 23. Mai 2018

I mentioned it within my German blog and received a user comment reporting, that he received build 17677.1000. I doesn’t test any Windows 10 Insider Preview, the time doesn’t worth.

Windows 10 Build 17677

Last night Dona Sarkar announced Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17677 within Windows Blog. There are some improvements in Edge, but also a long, long list of know issues. So: Happy testing – will boot my Linux system and try some other stuff ;-).

[German]Users of Windows 10 are reporting massive issues during feature ugrades to April Update (Version 1803), if AVAST has been installed on the system. Microsoft had stopped delivery of the Windows 10 April Update (version 1803) for all machines running AVAST as virus protection. Finally AVAST identified the root cause and released an update of it’s anti virus software. Here’s an overview.

I need to confess, I read about that issue with a devilish joy. Within my blog post Windows 10 Fall April Update – Upgrade Tips I recommended uninstalling existing third-party virus scanners to be prepared for a feature upgrade. This recommendation results from several years of community moderation at the Microsoft Answers forums. My German blog post Windows 10 Fall April  Update – Upgrade-Tipps received comments from ‘professional Windows connoisseurs’ that uninstalling antivirus software before upgrading is a ‘complete bullshit’.

However, the AVAST forum already had this thread from late April 2018 with the note that not all AVAST products may be compatible with Windows 10 version 1803.

Upgrade trouble on systems with AVAST and AVG

In the last few days I read reports that users with AVAST and AVG antivirus solutions had a lot of trouble upgrading to Windows 10 version 1803. Woody Leonhard summarized it here.

The installation of the Windows 10 April Update ended with the first restart with a blue screen of the system. Then the user is asked for the keyboard language to be selected. After their selection there is another Blue Screen with a selection menu:

• Windows Rollback
• Windows 10 on Volume [x]
• Windows 10 on Volume [x]

If the user selects the first option, the system will restart for the rollback. If the other two identical options are selected, a subsequent error occurs.

Update install ends with a black screen

Windows boots, but ends with an empty, black desktop, which does not contain any icons other than the recycle bin. The message, that the desktop file was not found, is displayed. 

And this ? pic.twitter.com/taSVyybJad

— ineresting (@davidmcgrath197) 20. Mai 2018

The photo from the tweet above shows such an error message with the text:

C:\Windows\system32\config\systemprofile\Desktop refers to a location that is unavailable.If the location is on this PC, make sure that the device or drive is connected or the disc is inserted, then try again. If the location is on a network, make sure that you’re connected to the network or Internet, then try again. If the location still can’t be found, it might have been moved or deleted.

Woody Leonhard has also published this within this article. At that time the root cause was still unknown – now we know, that the issue is caused by an installed AVAST product. A user left this comment, claiming that the registry entry for the path to the desktop was incorrect. In the Microsoft Answers forum there is this thread where the error message:

C:\WINDOWS\system32\config\systemprofile\Desktop is not accessible
Access is denied. -OK

is mentioned. 770 users already have checked ‘I have the same question’ and the thread is quite long. In this article, Softpedia already suggests that it may be related to AVAST as a virus scanner. 

At reddit.com there is the article The latest update debacle: Windows 10 1803 upgrade and Avast Antivirus break everything…, which also addresses the issue. In this article the authors write at Softpedia that AVAST is to blame as a virus scanner. Users are advised to uninstall AVAST before upgrading.

AVAST denies the cause (firstly)

Shortly after Softpedia published the above article, the authors published a statement by AVAST. The manufacturer rejects any blame and writes:

“We have tested this and couldn’t identify any problems affecting Avast Antivirus consumer users specifically. Online user comments show that many are unfortunately experiencing problems updating to Windows 10 ‘1803’. We cannot rule out that a small number of Avast users may be having difficulties updating, too, but we don’t see any indications that this is caused by Avast,”

Microsoft confirmed the black desktop issue

A few hours ago, Microsoft has confirmed the black desktop issue in the US Microsoft Answers forum within the thread Windows 10 April 2018 Update may boot to a “Choose your keyboard layout” screen or to a blank screen with a Recycle Bin. MVP colleague Susan Bradley had noticed this. Microsoft’s advices ranges from ‘going back to the previous version of Windows 10′ to’waiting to be fixed’.

Microsoft blocked upgrade on systems width AVAST

Within this MS-PowerUser article (and at askwoody.com) you will now find information that Microsoft has stopped the rollout of the function update to Windows 10 April Update (version 1803) on all machines on which an AVAST product is installed. The information can be found in this post of Moderator MartinZ.

Microsoft temporarily disabled the updates on version 1803 on PCs with Avast. We are working together with MS to find out the cause of this issue, but unfortunately right now neither MS nor us are able to reproduce the issue.

The recommended to uninstall AVAST virus scanner before upgrading to Windows 10 version 1803. 

Avast confirmed the root cause

In the AVAST forum you can now find a post, that AVAST found the cause in cooperation with Microsoft. 

In cooperation with Microsoft we have identified an element of the latest Windows 10 1803 update that is incompatible with the Avast Behavior Shield, causing the aforementioned update to fail in some instances (related to a timing issue, Internet connectivity issue, etc). Luckily, we have found a way to prevent the problem and are now automatically pushing a VPS update to all customers which makes sure that the problem doesn’t happen.  The VPS number is 180524-08; all users running this version (or later) should be 100% safe.

Similar articles:
Windows 10 Wiki
Windows 10 V1803: Remote Assistance connect
Windows 10 V1803: Update KB4100403 (with SSD fix)
Windows 10: Micro code updates (May 21, 2018)
Windows 10: ‘An App default was reset’
Windows 10: Issues with WSUS and Store (V1803)
Windows 10 V1803: Fix for Explorer Timeline crashes
Windows 10 V1803: (Boot-) issues with update KB4103721
Windows 10 V1803: Rollout stopped for Intel SSDs
Windows 10 April Update (Version 1803): Upgrade FAQ
Windows 10 Fall April Update – Upgrade Tips
Media Feature Pack for Windows 10 N Version 1803

[German]A short information for administrators of Windows 7 and the server counterparts. Some users are reported network issues after installing update KB4103718. Now Microsoft has made some informal changes to the description of KB4103718 update regarding network issues, because the cause has been found.

A short review

On Patchday, May 8, 2018, Microsoft has also released the updates KB4103718/KB4103712 for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1. I presented the updates in the blog article Patchday: Updates for Windows 7/8.1/Server May 2018. I was able to install the security online update on my machine without issues.

However, some users experienced serious network issues after the update installation. The network adapter no longer worked. Microsoft had therefore added an important passage to the KB articles (e.g. KB4103718) shortly after the update was released. Under “Known issues in this update” it was said:

Microsoft is aware that some customers have reported that network drivers are intentionally uninstalled, then fail to reinstall after applying the May 8, 2018 update. This can result in the loss of network connectivity.

Microsoft announced it would investigate the issue and release a status update when new findings were available. I had more detailed in the blog entry Windows 7 SP1 network bug (KB4103718/KB4103712).

The status updates with a fix are now available

MVP colleague Susan Bradley has noticed that KB article KB4103718 has been revised. In a post to askwoody.com she wrote that the KB text had been changed to the effect that the text quoted above had disappeared under “Known issues in this update”. The network problem seemed to be solved. But this was probably only a partial change, because currently KB article KB4103718 under “Known issues in this update” shows the following hint:

There is an issue with Windows and a third-party software that is related to a missing file (oem<number>.inf). Because of this issue, after you apply this update, the network interface controller will stop working.

But Microsoft has published also workarounds.

• To locate the network device, launch the device manager (devmgmt.msc).
• Then select Scan for Hardware Changes (button or from the Action menu), to automatically rediscover the NIC and install drivers.
• Or right click the the network device in device manager and select properties. Then obtain administrative credentials using the button on the General tab. Go to the Driver tab and choose the driver update button.

In the latter point you can try to install the driver using Windows Update or install local driver located on your computer. Once the driver is installed, the network connection should work again.

(Source: Askwoody.com)

Tip: At askwoody.com a user mentioned a PowerShell script that allows you to obtain more details about update (pulling it from Microsoft’s update servers). There is also a link in the post to retrieve the PowerShell script.

Similar articles:
Windows 7 SP1 network bug (KB4103718/KB4103712)
Patchday: Updates for Windows 7/8.1/Server May 2018

[German]Today a little tip for Windows 10 users to download an ISO file of Windows 10 version 1803 directly from Microsoft. We will use the Google Chrome browser. 

What Microsoft intends…

If you want to download the current version of Windows 10 as an installation image from Microsoft, navigate to the Microsoft Windows 10 page:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

There you will be welcomed with a download button (see following picture). But if you click the Download Tool now button, the Media Creation Tool is delivered. 

In the next step you have to try to download the actual Windows 10 ISO using the Media Creation Tool.

The Media Creation Tool creates an ISO file, but instead of an install.wim it contains an install.esd as installation image.

Download an ISO file directly

Microsoft also provides the ISO installation images directly on its servers, but does not attach the download addresses on the site mentioned above. Third-party programs such as the ISO Download Tool (see heidoc.net and ‘Windows und Office ISO Download Tool’ – an update) or the Adguard page (see Tip: Download Windows- and Office ISO images using Adguard) make use of this.

You can also use Adguard to select ISO images from older versions of Windows and Office and then download them from the Microsoft server. But I saw several comments that warn against such sites, because they are not Microsoft offers.

The browser download trick

An Italian website has revealed the steps for the Microsoft Edge browser (English version at MSPU). I adapted it for the Google Chrome browser once. The background: Microsoft uses a browser switch in the Windows 10 download page. If you are a user of a Windows desktop, you will see the above website with the Media Creation Tool download. However, owners of an Android or iOS device can’t use the Media Creation Tool. Therefore Microsoft offers the direct download of the ISO file on this device.

So the goal is to use any browser on the desktop and pretend to the Microsoft server that you are something else (e.g. an iPad). To do this, follow these steps in Google Chrome.

1. First of all, open this website within your desktop browser. As expected, the download of the Media Creation Tool is offered.

2. Now invoke the developer tools in the browser (in Google Chrome this is possible via the menu or via function key F12).

3. Set the device emulation via the list box according to the screenshots shown above to iPad and refresh the page.

The you should see a direct Windows 10  download link (currently for version 1803) – see screenshot below.

After selecting the Windows 10 version (only V1803 is offered), select the language must offered in the list box and confirmed it via clicking on Confirm. Then the download page appears, where you can download the 32- or 64-bit ISO (for 24 hours)

I’ve tested it for to the 32-bit download, here it works. However, I aborted the download, so I don’t know if Microsoft delivers an .esd or a .wim file within the install image. If you need older ISO builds, you have to go to pages like the Adguard mentioned above. There you will find the relevant selection options. Maybe it’ll help.

Similar articles:
heidoc.net and ‘Windows und Office ISO Download Tool’ – an update)
Tip: Download Windows- and Office ISO images using Adguard)
Windows 10 April Update is here – Downloads and more
Windows 10 April Update (Version 1803): Upgrade FAQ

Another note for administrators running Windows 10 environments with hosts and virtual Windows 10 machines. You can pass on the activation from the host to the clients.

Subscription Activation

It has been a tweet from MSWindowsITPro, pointing out the new feature available from Windows 10 v1803 and upward.

New in Windows 10 v1803 – Virtual machines can inherit the activation state from their #Windows10 host https://t.co/HqtqlzN23d

— MS Windows IT Pro (@MSWindowsITPro) 24. Mai 2018

Microsoft has published a document entitled Windows 10 Subscription Activation that describes the deployment options for Windows 10 Enterprise E3 and Windows 10 Enterprise E5 subscriptions from Windows 10 version 1703. These licenses include several models for upgrading from Windows 10 Pro to Enterprise.

However, companies with a Windows 10 Enterprise license can benefit from a new feature. Windows 10 version 1803 an upward supports Inherited Activation. Inherited activation in Windows 10, version 1803 allows Windows 10 virtual machines to inherit the activation status from their Windows 10 host. Details may be found within this Microsoft document.

[German]The upgrade to Windows 10 April Update (version 1803) is probably not running really smooth. Especially some users of Microsoft’s Surface Studio are pissed, because the mouse causes trouble after the upgrade.

What is Surface Studio?

The Surface Studio was introduced by Microsoft in October 2016 and is a high-end tablet for designers. It has a very thin 28 inch 4.5K LCD monitor (13.5 million pixels) with touch function and comes with an Nvidia GeForce 980M GPU, an Intel Core i7 processor and 32 GByte RAM.

(Surface Studio, Source: YouTube Screenshot)

A nice device, where the monitor can be moved from desktop mode via a special “Zero Gravity” hinge into the so-called studio mode. Then the screen is arranged at a 20 degree angle like a drawing board, making it ideal for digital drawing and design. The devices had a price between 3,000 and 4,500 US $.

Windows 10 V1803 trouble on Surface Studio

Owners of this device has been updated automatically to Windows 10 April Update in the past weeks. Unfortunately Windows 10 version 1803 is causing issues on Surface Studio and other Surface models. Within my blog post Windows 10 V1803: Rollout stopped for Intel SSDs I reported issues with SSDs from Intel and Toshiba on Windows 10 Version 1803. The Surface Pro (2017) was also affected, whose owners complained freezes. The reason was the Intel SSD6 built into the tablets, as Woody Leonhard writes at Computerworld.

But also at Surface Studio users has been affected, as the Computerworld article mentioned. A Surface Studio owner reported at the Microsoft Answers forum with the problem that the mouse is constantly losing connection:

Surface Studio April update 2018, mouse keeps disconnecting.

Hi,

Has anyone else experienced the mouse keep disconnecting on their Surface Studio since the April 2018 update?

It’s so annoying. If I touch the screen when it happens a few seconds later it comes back.

Does Microsoft not test their premium devices with new updates or something?!

Other Surface Studio owners confirmed this issue within this thread. The question arises whether Microsoft is testing its own hardware with new versions of Windows 10. Within the forum thread, an answer of a Microsoft agent (paid forum moderators) is marked as the solution:

Yes I’m experiencing the same problem. I have also noticed that when the mouse stops working, the keyboard also stops working, but like you stated, if you touch the screen, the mouse and keyboard start working again. I never seen this before updating to the April 2018 update.

Mod Edit: We are currently working on a solution that will be provided in a future Windows Update. Please continue to check for Surface and Windows Updates to ensure your device has the most current firmware and software available.

Marking as “Answered” to raise visibility for now. We will update this response once the fix has been published.

Bluetooth is to blame

Somewhere (I have forget the source) I read that Microsoft has redesigned the complete Bluetooth stack for Windows 10 V1803. Within the MS answers forum thread, a user pointed out the root cause.

What I discovered is that it appears the Bluetooth connection is going to sleep until you either unplug and replug a USB device or touch the screen.  Once that is done, my keyboard and mouse would work again for about a half an hour.

As a workaround, the user suggests opening the Device Manager, double-clicking the Marvell AVASTAR Bluetooth Radio Adapter to open the properties tab. On the Power Saving tab, disable the option that allows the computer to turn off the device. The workaround seems to work for several people.

Similar articles:
Windows 10 V1803: Rollout stopped for Intel SSDs
Surface Pro 2017: The 1 TB SSD and it’s two 512 MB modules
Windows 10 V1803 Feature Upgrade and AVAST damages
Windows 10: ‘An App default was reset’
Windows 10: Issues with WSUS and Store (V1803)
Windows 10 V1803: Fix for Explorer Timeline crashes
Windows 10 V1803: (Boot-) issues with update KB4103721

Microsoft has released Windows Server 2019 Insider Preview build 17677. There are not too many new features new to this build. The announcement has been made within the Windows Blog, where you may read further details. Microsoft also released Windows 10 Preview Build 17677 of the SDK – see the announcement here.

Rufus is a utility that runs under Windows. The tool helps format and create bootable USB flash drives, such as USB keys/pendrives, memory sticks, etc. I’ve using Rufus for a long time, to transfer bootable copies of Windows, Linux and Android on USB keys.

Now the developer has released Rufus 3.0.1304. The tool runs under Windows 7 or later, 32 or 64 bit doesn’t matter. Once downloaded, the application is ready to use. Rufus is especially useful for cases where:

• you need to create USB installation media from bootable ISOs (Windows, Linux, UEFI, etc.)
• you need to work on a system that doesn’t have an OS installed
• you need to flash a BIOS or other firmware from DOS
• you want to run a low-level utility

The tool may be freely download from this site. The Rufus 3.0.1304 changelog from May 29, 2018, contains the following items.

• I redesign to follow the flow of user operations (with thanks to Fahad Al-Riyami for the concept)
• Drop Windows XP and Windows Vista platform support
• Switch all downloads to SSL and use https://rufus.ie as the new base URL
• Add ARM64 support for UEFI:NTFS
• Fix delays when querying floppy drives during device enumeration
• Improve support of efi.img files on Linux ISOs
• Improve support for non-ISO9660 compliant openSUSE Leap ISOs
• Improve translation support and remove manual positioning
• Internal fixes and improvements

[German]Short note for developers who want to use the debugger WinDbg as an app in the current preview under Windows 10. With WinDbg USB debugging is currently not possible, because of a Microsoft fail.

Most blog readers will probably have using Windows debugger WinDbg. But developers are dependent on this tool – and to evaluate a BlueScreen the tool is also indispensable.

Some background

Microsoft started to revise the Windows debugger WinDbg in 2017. On August 28, 2017 Microsoft published the blog article New WinDbg available in preview!, , which deals with the availability of the updated debugger. 

The tool supports now a ribbon and has also received a few other optimizations. And the debugger is now available for download as an app in the Microsoft Store for Windows 10. The aim is to deliver the debugger preview in updated form more quickly.

I blogged about tat within my German blog post Bullshit-Bingo: Windows Debugger WinDbg im Windows Store. There blog post contains some critical remarks about the pitfalls of that new debugger app. My conclusion: “So I’m dealing with bugs in the app that I don’t have in Win32 WinDbg’.

Microsoft failed again

Users who wanted to use WinDbg for USB debugging runs in serious issue. I stumbled last night upon the following tweet.

Install WinDbg Preview and set up USB debug
>Fail because USB debug driver has a weird signature
Opt for classic WinDbg
>Fail because the SDK installed by Visual Studio interferes with it

At the moment USB debugging under RS4 with VS installed appears to be impossible.

— Lucan (@tfwboredom) 28. Mai 2018

The developer installed WinDbg Preview and wanted to start debugging via USB. But I couldn’t get started because it didn’t work. In this case, it wasn’t even a preview of Windows 10 that should be debugged. Rather, the developer tried to debug in the Redstone 4 branch, i.e. Windows 10 version 1803 (April update). So he wanted to use the fallback solution: grab the classic debugger from the Windows SDK. But the installed SDK interferes with the preview of the WinDbg debugger, which the user explained in another tweet.

Why does WinDbg ship with a driver that doesn’t seem to work on retail Windows installs? pic.twitter.com/oM0hFlBMeB

— Lucan (@tfwboredom) 28. Mai 2018

Microsoft has provided a driver for WinDbg whose digital signature is not accepted/recognized. Ergo, USB debugging is not possible – somehow strange and another Microsoft fail.

Similar articles:
Windows Debugger Preview with Time Travel Debug-Feature
Blue screen stop code 0x00000116 (nvlddmkm.sys)

Another short information for Windows 10 users, but I have no idea how relevant it is for you. The question is how to install and use Windows 10 S. Microsoft provided a document with additional explanations.

Windows 10 S is the variant that only allows apps from the store. This variant is derived from the Windows 10 Home or Pro installation images. Michael Niehaus gave a hint on Twitter how to turn the installation images into a Windows 10 S installation.

Want to try out S mode with Windows 10 1803? You can do this with a simple unattend.xml entry. https://t.co/BDHTkAVMMS

— Michael Niehaus (@mniehaus) 25. Mai 2018

The whole thing runs via an unattend.xml, which is integrated into the installation image via DISM. The whole thing is described here in a Microsoft document. The only question is whether anyone can voluntarily use Windows 10 S if they can have Windows 10 Home or Pro?

It was a big surprise for me. AdDuplex has released its latest Windows 10 distribution figures. Windows 10 April Update scores with good values, the rollout runs much faster than expected.

The data from the new AdDuplex report of May 2018 paint a clear picture. The following graphic shows the distribution of Windows 10 by builds.

(Windows 10: Distribution May 2018, Source: AdDuplex)

So the Windows 10 April update is already running on 50% of the Windows 10 machines – a value I would not have expected after the error reports of the last weeks. On the other hand I had mentioned within my blog post Windows 10 April Update (Version 1803): Upgrade FAQ: The only new feature of Windows 10 version 1803 is that Microsoft uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to identify the compatible or incompatible computers.  Apparently this was very successful, because the share of Windows 10 V1709 has decreased to 43%. The remaining Windows 10 builds are in the low single-digit percentage range and no longer play a role. Paul Thurrott asked, Why in hell does Microsoft rolls out the April Update, although many users are reporting serious issues? There is no answers.

Microsoft has released the Insider Preview Build 17682 of Windows 10 for the PC at the end of this month, on May 31, 2018. This is distributed to all insiders in the Fast Ring.

The announcement has been made in the Windows Blog. This insider preview focuses on the Redstone 5 development branch, which should lead to Windows 10 V1809 in fall 2018.

When you click the plus button in a Sets window, you will now see apps included in your frequent destinations list. You’ll also find that we’ve integrated the all apps list into this page so you can browse your apps, rather than just using the search box – apps that support Sets will launch into a tab when clicked. If you have News Feed selected, simply click the “Apps” link next to “News Feed” to switch to the all apps list.

(Source: Microsoft)

Managing your wireless projection, within this build, just like remote desktop you’ll see a control banner at the top of your screen when you’re in a session. The banner keeps you informed of the state of your connection, allows you to quick disconnect or reconnect to the same sink and allows you to tune the connection based on what you are doing..

(Source: Microsoft)

RSAT is now available on demand. You no longer have to manually download RSAT every time you upgrade! Just go to “Manage optional features” in Settings and click “Add a feature” – you’ll now see all of the RSAT components listed. Further details, what’s fixed and whats still broken may be read within the Windows Blog.

[German]Administrators of Windows Server 2016 systems may be used to trouble. If you are wondering about the extremely slow update installation on your machines: You are not alone. 

I came across this topic by chance and did some research. For several months now, Microsoft’s Answers forums have seen frustrated administrators complaining about extremely slow updates to Windows Server 2016.

This thread at Microsoft Technet forum from July 2017 describes the dilemma, admins are facing:

A client has a collection of servers that are running 2008r2, 2012 and 2016

Is it just me or are the server 2016 updates just slow?! I had updated all the 2008r2 and 2012 ones in about an hour, yet the 2016 servers took the best part of a day to update and install!

what’s with that?

A customer runs a range of Windows servers, from Windows Server 2008 R2, through Windows Server 2012 / R2, to Windows Server 2016, where it is noticeable that Windows Server 2016 is extremely slow to install updates. While the older Windows Server versions are done with the update installation after one hour, the machines with Windows Server 2016 sometimes fiddle around with updates for a day until the system is ready to work again. Within the thread there are negations, and also explanations why this takes so long (size of the cumulative updates).

If you search the Internet, you will find numerous other forum entries from people who complain about a slow update installation under Windows Server 2016. Also on reddit.com you will find this thread from November 2017, where a software developer writes the following:

Why is applying Windows Updates so slow on Window Server 2016 compared to Windows 10 that shares the same core?

I use server editions (2008 R2 and 2016) as “workstation” OS in virtual machines for software development. While Windows 2008 R2 and 10 updates are fast, it takes almost 15 minutes to restart in case of Windows Server 2016.

Also there it is stated that older server editions install the updates quickly, while Windows Server 2016 falters miserably long. Mind you, we are not talking about clients that can be taken off the net and updated. These are servers that are supposed to run continuously. Another user points out, that this is a known issue in the RTM version:

Windows Server 2016 RTM has a known issue with Windows Updates. The first cumulative update takes like forever. Install the latest Windows CU manually (download and run it). Afterwards it’s not so bad anymore. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still bad, but a lot better than the RTM version.

November 2017 update KB4048953 should fix the problem of slow update installation. But at spiceworks there is this thread from March 15, 2018, where a user complains again about the same issue.

I’m installing (or trying to) on some of our servers this morning and they are taking crazy long.  THe 2012 R2 machines had all their patches installed in about 10 minutes.  The 2016 machines are taking 45+ minutes to install their 1 patch and then after rebooting are getting hung up at “Getting Windows ready”.

German site Golem proposes to use a manual update installation as a workaround to fasten update installation. What’s your situation? Are you affected by slow update processes on Windows Server 2016, or is that no longer an issue?

[German]Figures for operating system distribution on the desktop for the end of May 2018 are available at the beginning of June 2018. And there are absolute numbers for Windows 10 from Microsoft. Here is an overview.

Windows 10 has more than 700 Million users

First, a water mark about the absolute number of Windows 10 systems. Some time ago, when Terry Myerson announced his departure from Microsoft, the number of 700 million Windows 10 systems was already mentioned.

#Windows10 by the numbers.#InsiderDevTour pic.twitter.com/EsSCG6Zc12

— Michael Gillett | #WIMVP @ #InsiderDevTour (@MichaelGillett) 1. Juni 2018

On the Microsoft InsiderDevTour in London, Windows Insider named MVP Michael Gillet again the above number of’more than’ 700 million active users. (via)

Desktop operating system shares

Looking at the latest figures from netmarketshare.com (until the end of May 2018), Windows still runs on 88.33% (previous month 88.42%) of desktop systems. Mac OS comes only to 8.98% (previous month 9.19%), while Linux runs on 2.02% (previous month 1.93%) of the system. Chrome OS is represented with 0.31% (previous month 0.29%).

(Source: Netmarketshare.com)

The data in the table show the averaged values for the presentation period May 2017 to May 2018, i.e. they were not used here. A more detailed picture of the operating system version distribution on the desktop can be found below.

(Source: Netmarketshare.com)

Windows 7 holds a ‘market share’ of 41.79% (previous month 43.57%) on the desktop, while Windows 10 is 34.74% (previous month 33.81%). Windows 8.1 rises again to 5.36% (previous month 5.25%) and Windows XP still has 5.04% (previous month 4.36%). Despite statistical fluctuations, people seem to switch from Windows 7 to Windows 10, while part of Windows 10 goes back to Windows 8.1 or Windows XP – so my interpretation. Windows 10 doesn’t overtake (about 1.5 years before Windows 7 support ends) the lead in market share.

Note: During a discussion at German site Dr. Windows I came up against the question, how the situation was with Windows XP about 1.5 years before the end of support (i.e. in summer 2012). I don’t know if I had statistics back then. Martin Geuß has published the figures here. On July 10, 2012, Windows XP was still running on 37% of all systems. In comparison, the current figure for Windows 7 is 41.79%. We all know how the story of Windows XP after the end of support in 2014.

(Source: Statcounter.com)

The above graphic shows the numbers from statcounter for the desktop. There Windows 10 is at 47.21% (previous month 46.07%), while Windows 7 still comes at 39.44% (previous month 40.08%). If you want to look at the browser distribution (Google Chrome dominates the desktop with 60.98%), Martin Geuß from German site Dr. Windows has the figures here.

[German]Windows users depending on old CHM help file format are running into a serious issue after installing May 2018 update. Windows (from Windows 7 up to Windows 10) blocks viewing these files, if they are located on network shares. Here are a few details.

A user query

I need to confess, I wasn’t aware of this issue, because I am not using CHM help files frequently. A German blog reader, however, send me a mail that drew my attention to the topic. 

I work for the company xyz …., and we provide the help to our customers once as manual (PDF) and once as online help (*.chm files à F1 key à appropriate help topic).

Unfortunately, customers have had problems with this since the Microsoft update KB4103727, help cannot be called.

Do you know something about it – in the best case, of course, a solution? (where the solution to uninstall the update is out of the question).

These are, of course, two problems. First the display of .CHM help files and the second, calling help via F1 function key. It looks like both features have been disabled by updates. 

Update KB4103727 has been released on May 8, 2018 for Windows 10 V1709 (see Windows 10 security updates May 8, 2018). This update fixes some security issues in Windows.

Users of Windows 10 V1803 experience the same problem with update KB4103721, under Windows 7 the update KB4103712 is seen as the cause. The description of both update packages provides a direct reference to the change: Security updates for Internet Explorer, Windows apps, Windows kernel, Microsoft graphics component, Windows storage and file systems, HTML help, and Windows Hyper-V.

Searching the web

Within this Microsoft Technet forum thread a user already outlined the problem. After installing update KB4103727 it is no longer possible to open CHM files under Windows 10 V1709. It becomes apparent that viewing the content of CHM files from a network share is no longer possible.

The background is that CHM files are HTML documents and pose a latent security risk. Microsoft therefore internally sets Internet zone bits for CHM files at network level. The files are then considered as unsafe and are no longer viewable.

A simple test helps to check, whether this is the cause: Just move the CHM file  to a local folder. Right-click on it, go to Properties and make sure that the Allow button is not displayed on the General tab or, if available, click on the button. This deletes the Internet zone bit of the file. Then the CHM file should be viewable again.

In Microsoft’s Technet forum a user proposes a workaround within this thread using symbolic links.

mklink /D c:\MyHelp \\myserver\helpfiles

This allows a network link to be mirrored to a local folder, allegedly eliminating the problem. 

At reddit.com is also a thread about this topic with the result, that the MaxAllowedZone and UrlAllowedList group policy entries no longer work. Within this thread I found a mention, that Microsoft support is aware of this and should fix it with the June update. A workaround looks like this:

Copy the following 3 DLLs from an unpatched computer to the System32 directory on a test system. Take possession of the DLLs and grant full access beforehand. Testing and feedback.

hhctrl.ocx
itircl.dll
itss.dll

For 64-bit Windows, the files must also be copied to the SysWOW64 folder. Let’s see if Microsoft fixes this in June 2018.

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Update fixes Windows 8.1 WinHlp32 problem (KB917607)
Windows 8.1: WinHelp32.exe issue after December Patchday?

Microsoft released Windows 10 SDK Preview build 17682. The Preview SDK Build 17682 contains bug fixes and under development changes to the API surface area and MSIX Support. The Preview SDK can be downloaded from developer section on Windows Insider.

[German]Microsoft has released the update KB4338548 for Windows 10 V1803 on June 5, 2018. This is a special update designed to fix a problem. Here is some information.

Windows 10 April Update (version 1803) has been publicly available for over a month, but causes a lot of bugs. Microsoft has now released a special update for an error. Update KB4338548 lifts Windows 10 V1803 to build 17134.83 and fixes the following issue:

This update addresses an issue where the 2017 and 2018 versions of Intuit QuickBooks Desktop can’t run in multi-user mode on Windows 10, version 1803 devices. The QuickBooks multi-user mode service fails to start with error “Windows could not start the QuickBooksDBXX service on Local Computer.” and “Error 193: 0xc1”.

Affected users must download and install the update manually from the Microsoft Update Catalog. There are currently no known problems with the update. (via)