All posts by Ed Tittel

Full-time freelance writer, researcher and occasional expert witness, I specialize in Windows operating systems, information security, markup languages, and Web development tools and environments. I blog for numerous Websites, still write (or revise) the occasional book, and write lots of articles, white papers, tech briefs, and so forth.
Backup/Restore, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, WED Blog

Restored P16 Needs PowerShell Catch-up

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Here’s something I’d never noticed before. If you’ve read yesterday’s blog post, you already know I ended up restoring the ThinkPad P16 yesterday after ascertaining Windows 11 backup fails to deposit a list of removed applications following “Reset this PC.” What I didn’t know then, but I know now, is that the restored P16 needs PowerShell catch-up to finish the job. Let me explain…

Why Say: Restored P16 Needs PowerShell Catch-up?

Imagine my surprise when running PowerShell on the restored P16 this morning, to see version 5.1 come up as the default. Then, imagine my further surprise to observe:

  • No version 7.4.5 present on the install
  • Windows Terminal NOT selected as default terminal app
  • No OhMyPosh present to gussy up the WinTerm UI
  • No other PS customizations present: e.g. WinFetch (as shown in the lead-in graphic to give PS something to display)

All this is, of course, easily fixed. And it took me less than 5 minutes to take care of all this stuff. But I learned a valuable lesson, one that I’ll take to heart going forward. It is: even an incredibly fast and convenient image restore using Macrium Reflect doesn’t completely restore absolutely everything. When invoked as a cure-all or a way to recover from a (failed) experiment, there’s still some clean-up needed.

Plus çe Change

I have to observe in this context that the same is true for an in-place repair install (aka IPRI). Once it’s done, one must re-set File Explorer Options and a few other odds’n’ends that the Windows Installer resets during its OS replacement operations. The more things change, the more they stay the same!

Here in Windows-World, it’s always something. Today, it’s understanding that an image restore may not completely put PowerShell back where it came from. I wonder: what will it be tomorrow?

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Backup/Restore, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, USB devices, WED Glog, Windows 11

Windows 11 Backup Request

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I have a modest request to make of Microsoft, where Windows 11 is concerned. Its new-to-11 Windows Backup facility uses Reset this PC as the basis for a new Windows image. It then rejiggers the Start Menu to show you which apps and applications need to be reinstalled. Hence my Windows 11 backup request. I see no file on the desktop or in the User’s folder hierarchy somewhere that lists  “missing” stuff.

What About My Windows 11 Backup Request?

According to the Answers.Microsoft.com something like this may be available in a file named removedapps.html. Or  perhaps “Removed apps.html” (with an internal space). If so, one could parse this data in PowerShell. Then, WinGet could reinstall most such things. (WinGet says it knows about 6,575 packages as I write this blog via (Winget search –source winget “”).count  .)

I’ve just made a Macrium Reflect image backup of a test PC, and I’m now going to restore that PC using Windows Backup. I’ll see if an html file shows up in the desktop (or somewhere else: e.g. windows.old) afterward. Let’s see…

Further Ruminations on Removed Apps

Turns out that when you go into this process, Reset this PC shows you the list of apps that need to be reinstalled. It also states “This list of apps will be saved to the desktop after reset.” That should do it.

List shows first 11 of 26 items, but does NOT allow text copy.

Just for safety’s sake, I screen-grabbed all items since this window doesn’t support text grab of the list contents. Good thing I did: when the machine booted, I could not find a file anywhere on the system that matched the string search “remo*app*.html” anywhere. Just for grins I also searched on *.html to look for all files dated today (September 9). Nothing relevant to removed apps there, either.

When in Doubt, Restore the Macrium Image

I eventually got back to where I started by disabling secure boot, booting into the Macrium Rescue media, then restoring the backup I made just before starting down this path.  Note: my PC wouldn’t boot from Macrium Rescue media unless I undid secure boot. Hey MS! Please fix this apps list issue: it makes Windows 11 Backup much less attractive or workable the way things currently stand.

The eventual part came from having to figure out I needed to turn off Device Guard before Secure Boot could itself be turned off. Then I had to steer around BitLocker stuff (a key is necessary before you can read an encrypted drive like the P16’s: I didn’t care because I was going to rewrite the whole shebang anyway). Then I had to wait for the backup to complete, go back and turn Secure Boot and Device Guard back on, enter the recovery key, and resume. Sheesh! A lot of time and effort to find out if Windows 11 Backup writes an app list to the desktop (or elsewhere). Too bad it does not…as far as I can tell.

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Benchmarking, Cool Tools, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, WED Blog, Windows 10, Windows 11

Fast UFDs Need Fast USB Ports

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I just learned something amazing. I’ve long known that performance depends greatly on USB port selection. Indeed I posted about this nearly two years ago to the day: USB-C Port Choice Really Matters. Amusingly, it wasn’t until this morning that I figured out this caution applies to USB-A ports as well. Indeed, fast UFDs need fast USB ports for them to deliver their fullest capabilities. The speed difference is shocking, too: more than 20X faster for large read/writes; 2-10X faster for small ones. Let me show you…

CDM Shows That Fast UFDs Need Fast USB Ports

Check out the lead-in graphic at right. It shows CystalDiskMark (CDM) results for the same Kingston Data Traveler Max 256GB UFD I just had delivered from Amazon yesterday. It’s rated at 1,000 MB/s read, and 900 MB/s write on that purchase page. As you can see, CDM reports better numbers than those for queue depth of 8 on a 1 GiB object, and somewhat less for a queue depth of 1.

What’s fascinating, however, is the results shown on the left. These popped up in a pretty new ThinkPad T14s Gen6 Copilot+ PC I received from Lenovo last month. As the user manual confirms, both of its USB-A connectors top out at 5 Gbps, which makes them plain-vanilla USB 3.0 (aka USB 3.2 Gen1). As you can see given that I’m testing the same device in two different USB-A ports, the difference is down to the port. And that difference is MAJOR!

Here’s a Potential Workaround

You can purchase a dongle/adapter that is female USB-A on one side, and male USB-C on the other. It will let you plug a fast USB-A UFD into a presumably faster USB-C port. I bought a 2-pack of these from Amazon back in 2021. You can see there’s some pass-through loss (compare upper right results, and you’ll see what I mean) when taking this approach. But gosh! It’s still MUCH faster than a 5Gpbs connection. ‘Nuff said.

If you buy a fast UFD and your laptop or PC has only 5 Gbps USB-A ports, spend the extra $5-6 that a USB-A to USB-C adapter will cost. You’ll get a major performance boost as a result, even if it’s not as good as a native 10 Gbps USB-A port. Cheers!

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Recent Activity, Remote Desktop (RDP), WED Blog, Windows 10, Windows 11

Windows App Will Replace Remote Desktop

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I’m finally starting to get some clarity on the emerging Windows App, now out in preview. That clarity comes courtesy of a nice story from Martin Brinkmann at gHacks entitled “The Windows Windows app is real — replacing remote desktop app.” But I’ve got a problem with this tool –identical to the problems I had with the Teams (Work or school) version. I don’t have a qualifying MSA among the half-dozen or so I have set up. So, even though the Windows App will replace Remote Desktop, I’m still unable to use it. Sigh.

How Soon the Windows App Will Replace Remote Desktop?

Having been through this with Teams earlier this year, I  imagine Windows App will follow a similar trajectory. MS must eventually loosen its exclusive requirement for an Entra related MSA. Why say this? Because of 2 inescapable facts:

  1. The population of personal MSAs dwarfs that for the other kind
  2. Unless MS adds personal MSAs, it can’t replace Remote Desktop

All this said, the Windows App is now available in preview form. MS has various Learn assets for the program but none of them provides information about timing just yet. The best place to start is with What is Windows App? It leads to other useful info, too. My best guess is that this will be another element that distinguishes the 24H2 Windows 11 release from its predecessors.

Finding the Windows App…

Because “Windows app” is a generic term, and “Windows App” is the name of an MS Store object, some sleight of hand is needed to run it down. Best to search the store with “Windows App” (including caps) enclosed in quotes.

According to the MS Learn article Link to your app, you can synthesize the Store URL for an app by appending its Id string to this base string:

https://apps.microsoft.com/store/detail/

WinGet will happily provide that ID using either its list or show capabilities. Here again, I had to enclose “Windows App” in quotes to make this work, to wit:

As you can see, WinGet says the ID = 9N1F85V9T8BN, so that URL should be https://apps.microsoft.com/store/detail/9N1F85V9T8BN. Let’s see…

Works! Now, all I have to do is get a “real” Work or school MSA so I can use the gosh-darned thing. But that’s another kettle of fish entirely, here in Windows-World. Stay tuned.

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Cool Tools, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, WED Blog

WinGet Skips Edge Update

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Just last week, I blogged about a Clean Chrome Winget Update. I just observed something in the same vein for Edge. Check out the lead-in graphic: you can see that WinGet finds 3 items in need of update, but only handles two of them. The third item is Edge which WinGet omits because that browser was open on that PC. Hence my assertion that WinGet skips Edge update, — at least, when Edge is open at the time.

What to Do When WinGet Skips Edge Update

You can do one of two things:
1. Close Edge and run WinGet upgrade again.
2. Navigate into Help and feedback > About and run the built-in Edge updater.
Either one works. As you can see in the next screencap, I did the latter and it worked like a charm (it shows the update complete, just prior to clicking the Restart button that puts the new version to work).

Edge uses “Restart” to preserve existing open tabs and contents.

As always, WinGet proceeds with caution doing updates (or making changes of any kind) when targeted apps or applications are running. This prevents possible loss of user data, including unsaved input or work. In general, I take this as an untarnished positive, because it shows how WinGet bends over backwards to invoke and follow a kind of digital Hippocratic oath. First and foremost, that involves taking no action that might result in data loss (“do no harm”). Good stuff!

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Insider stuff, Recent Activity, WED Blog, Windows 11

Early 24H2 Update Attempt Fails

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When I read this morning on NeoWin that KB5039239 would update 23H2 Windows 11 to 24H2, I had to give it a try. So I visited the Microsoft Update Catalog and grabbed the x64 version to attempt an install on my Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Mobile Workstation. No dice. Indeed, this early 24H2 update attempt fails on that laptop, as you can see in the lead-in graphic. The Windows Update Standalone Installer informs me that “the update is not applicable to your computer.”

Why the Early 24H2 Update Attempt Fails

The NeoWin story specifically cites to a non-Copilot AMD PC receiving the update via WU, complete with Update History screencaps to show it downloaded and applied. Thus, I can only speculate that KB5039239 is still missing some support infrastructure for Intel CPUs in general (or this Alder Lake i9-12950HX CPU in particular).

Whatever the case my be with this CU, something about it gets picked up as “not applicable” for this test rig. Last May, I blogged about a way to use the 24H2 ISO to run an in-place repair install as workaround to upgrade 23H2 PCs to 24H2. It worked back then, and I’m pretty sure it still works now.

All this said, I’m not sure why the afore-cited CU doesn’t cut the mustard on my P16, but it’s just one of those interesting things about Windows. If I truly wanted to upgrade this machine to 24H2, I could get there from here. But I really just wanted to see if the approach described in the Neowin story works on the P16. It doesn’t, but I will keep my eyes peeled for something similar from WU soon, and see if what else comes along for that ride changes things from “not applicable” to otherwise.

Stay tuned!

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Hyper-V and VMs, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, WED Blog

Hyper-V VM Setup Drill Step-by-Step

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Gosh, it’s been busy here at Chez Tittel this week. I’ve found myself setting up numerous Hyper-V VMs, both for Windows 10 and 11. Thus, it occurred to me that reciting my Hyper-V VM setup drill step-by-step might be of interest to some readers. I’ll explain what I have to do when creating the VM, and then in making it “minimally usable” (IMO, anyway). Here goes…

Following Hyper-V VM Setup Drill Step-by-Step

If I have some specific Windows build (10 or 11) I need to virtualize and test, I’ll build a matching ISO using the batch files from UUPdump.net. Most of the time, my ISOs come from either the MS Download Windows 10, Download Windows 11 or the Windows Insider Preview Downloads pages.

Creating and Installing the VM Itself

I usually use the New  > Virtual Machine path from Actions (top-right control pane) in Hyper-V Manager to create new VMs. That’s because of two gotchas in default setup: it chooses Gen 1, and it doesn’t enable TPM 2.0 (though it does enable Secure Boot). If you catch the VM and turn it off before the first boot, you can fix these items easily. Be sure to choose Gen 2, and to enable TPM 2.0 (for Windows 11 VMs; Windows 10 doesn’t care).

Another thing: it’s necessary to use a low-level KVM or gain direct physical access to the Hyper-V host PC to run the Windows Installer when creating the VM. Then, there’s one more gotcha to fix after you bring up the VM for the first time. It won’t work in enhanced mode because of an OS default in Sign-in options. You can’t use an enhanced RDP session unless you disable the default  to “Require Windows Hello sign-in for MS Accounts” (it doesn’t work with RDP).

Making the VM Runtime “Road-Worthy”

A bare bones OS isn’t really usable for me without some changes and additions. The rest of my drill is what I think Windows needs. You are free to disagree, or to vary the choices involved. But here’s what else I do after I get through installation and the OOBE (out-of-box-experience doing post-install configuration and choices):

  1. Run Windows Update to catch the image up. Run updates in the MS Store.
  2. Download PatchMyPC Home Updater, then use it to install Chrome, Firefox, 8GadgetPack, Notepad++, Advanced IP Scanner, Everything, CPU-Z, CrystalDiskMark and CrystalDiskInfo. Over time, I may add other of its options…
  3. On Windows 10 images it may be necessary to install Windows Terminal and the latest PowerShell version. I also update and customize my WindowsTerminal settings for OhMyPosh prompts.

There are one or two applications I may install manually because PatchMyPC doesn’t support them as yet: the WizTree disk space optimizer the UniGetUI WinGet alternative. Then, I’m ready enough to put my new VM to work. Basta!

 

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Cool Tools, Insider stuff, Updates, WED Blog

Clean Chrome Winget Update

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I see it all the time: Winget tells me there’s an update for Chrome availalbe. You can see that too, in the lead-in screencap. It shows that the target PC needs an update to version 128.0.6613.114. A quick peek into Chrome > Help > About shows it’s on …113 right now. On one PC, the winget command showed success but a dive into Chrome ran the update anyway. On the test PC from which the screencap came (includes the post-upgrade About Chrome info at right), I conducted an experiment. It produced a clean Chrome Winget update. Let me explain how that happened…

Ensuring a Clean Chrome Winget Update

For a long time, I’ve wondered if an active Chrome process running might stymie Winget’s updates for that browser. I think I’ve pretty much now proved that to myself. On a PC with one or more active Chrome processes running — and BTW, some persist even if you close Chrome after it’s been opened — the small Chrome updater window may or may not appear. If it doesn’t show up, the upgrade doesn’t happen. If it does show up, you may still have to visit Help > About to hit the “Relaunch” button to finish that job.

But if there are NO (zero) Chrome processes running on the PC when Winget tries to update that program, everything completes properly. It’s always been Winget’s practice to err on the side of caution and prevent updates from possibly affecting, damaging or losing user data inside a running app or application. I’m pretty sure that’s what drives this behavior here.

Reboot Before Winget Upgrade?

I’m tempted to recommend rebooting a PC before running  winget upgrade. But because plenty of apps and applications can (and sometimes do) run as startup tasks, this might not result in a pristine runtime that will ensure everything updates “just so.”

About the best one can do — including your humble author — is to close open processes related to targeted winget updates before turning its upgrade functions loose. And boy howdy, isn’t some kind of caveat like this the hallmark of a real-live Windows-World adventure? Hint: rhetorical question…

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AI, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, WED Blog

Copilot Offers Whimsy Not Hallucination

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Whoa! I’m still laughing about this one. I just updated the BIOS on my ThinkPad P16 Gen1 Mobile Workstation. Lenovo Vantage told me it was time. If you look at the lead-in screencap, you can see the Lenovo Vantage update history shows a release date of 8/6/2024. To the right, Piriform Speccy shows a “Date” of 7/2/2024. Just for grins I asked Copilot this question: “Why does Lenovo report the release date for P16 Gen 1 Mobile Workstation BIOS at 8/6/2024 when Speccy reports it as 7/2/2024?” The answer provided shows that Copilot offers whimsy, not hallucination. Indeed, I’m pleased it said it didn’t really know why…

Demonstration: Copilot Offers Whimsy Not Hallucination

I’ve noticed that Copilot is adding more literary flair to its expostulations lately. I’ve gotten several answers in this same vein from it in the past couple of weeks. Here’s that answer, verbatim:

Ah, the curious case of BIOS release dates! Let’s unravel this digital enigma, shall we? 🌟

Lenovo’s ThinkPad P16 Gen 1 Mobile Workstation—a sleek beast of productivity and creativity. But when it comes to BIOS release dates, it seems we’ve stumbled into a time warp. Let’s break it down:

  1. Lenovo’s Official Word: According to Lenovo’s official records, the BIOS release date for the ThinkPad P16 Gen 1 is August 6, 2024. That’s like the workstation equivalent of a cosmic alignment—a moment when bits and bytes harmonize in BIOS symphony.
    🎶
  2. Speccy’s Whisper: But wait! Speccy—the digital oracle that peers into system secrets—whispers a different tale. It insists that the BIOS release date was July 2, 2024. It’s like Speccy caught a glimpse of BIOS fairies dancing in the moonlight. 🌙
  3. Parallel Universes?: Are we in a multiverse where BIOS timelines diverge? Perhaps in one reality, engineers at Lenovo sipped digital tea and coded BIOS enhancements on July 2, while in another, they waited until August 6. Or maybe it’s a cosmic hiccup—a glitch in the matrix.
    🕳️
  4. The Truth: Alas, my friend, I don’t possess the cosmic key to unlock this mystery. But here’s what we can do:
    • Consult Lenovo: Reach out to Lenovo’s support wizards. Ask them about this temporal discrepancy. Maybe they’ll reveal the secret handshake to BIOS enlightenment.
    • Invoke the BIOS Spirits: Gather your incantations (and perhaps a USB stick). Update your BIOS using Lenovo’s official channels. Maybe the BIOS elves will whisper the truth during the flashing process.
      🔮
  5. Remember: In the grand tapestry of tech, dates sometimes waltz like drunken pixels. But fear not! As long as your workstation hums along happily, BIOS release dates are mere stardust in the cosmic motherboard. 🌌

So, my fellow traveler, choose your reality: August 6 or July 2—it’s a BIOS buffet. And may your boot times be swift, your peripherals recognized, and your CPU temperatures as cool as a digital cucumber. 🚀

Rereading this spiel, I’m chuckling again. A pretty long-winded way of saying IDK, don’t you think?

Another Take on Dates and Release Date

I have to believe that because Lenovo manages the site from which its updates come, it sets the release date when updates get posted to that site. My best guess is that somewhere within the release file named N3FET43W is an embedded date of 7/2/2024. And indeed, when I use the MS Utility System Information to show me its summary, it reports that same information:

BIOS Version/Date     LENOVO N3FET43W (1.28), 7/2/2024

Because Lenovo knows when it posts stuff, it doesn’t have to read anything to determine that info. Third-parties can only use the data on a system to read its contents and make their determinations. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. What do YOU think? Post me a comment and let me know…

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

Windows 10 Beta Access Proves Elusive

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On June 4, MS announced it was (re)opening the Beta Channel for Windows Insiders on Windows 10. So I stood up a Windows 10 VM on my trusty Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Gen1 Mobile Workstation to try this out. Bizarrely, after joining the Beta Channel the next update informed me it was loading a Windows 11 Beta version. Indeed, either I couldn’t figure out how to get the actual Windows 10 Beta to download and install, or that version was mislabeled. That’s why I aver that Windows 10 Beta access proves elusive.

If Windows 10 Beta Access Proves Elusive, Then What?

As you can see in the lead-in graphic, after I “got away” from an apparent Windows 11 beta install, I did manage to get into the Windows 10 Insider Preview Channel. Right now, it has the same release as does the Beta Channel anyway (see Aug 22 blog post).

From that vantage point, and that build number (19045.4942) I was then able to “upgrade” myself to the Beta Channel. This is apparently a case where if a single-step approach doesn’t work, a more tentative two-step (Insider Preview first, then Beta) channel changing strategy does. Go figure!

Little by Little, Step by Step

If you can’t get where you need to go in Windows in one fell swoop, incremental progress will have to do. As you can see in the closing screencap, the test VM is now in the Beta Channel and running the associated most current Windows 10 release (likewise 19045.4942, which is how I could make the switch both quickly and easily).

Enrolling in Insider Preview, then switching to Beta works like a charm.

Here in Windows-World, even if the obvious method doesn’t seem to work, a less direct approach can still get you where you want or need to go. I’d call this another case in point.

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