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.
Insider stuff, Troubleshooting, WED Blog, Windows 10

Might Wonky WU Presage Hardware Obsolescence

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OK, then. Here’s an interesting story. After updating my 2012 vintage Lenovo X220 Tablet to Build 21327.1010 the Windows Update (WU) UI starting misbehaving. I’ve reported it to the Feedback Hub, with a screen recording to show what happens. This experience has me asking myself: might wonky WU presage hardware obsolescence?

Why Might Wonky WU Presage Hardware Obsolescence?

Built in 2012 and purchased in 2013 for a book on Windows 8, this system runs a Sandy Bridge CPU. It’s so old, it doesn’t support USB 3.0 natively (though I do have a plug-in Express Card that adds such capability). Simply put, the whole situation has me wondering if this old laptop is finally aging out of usefulness. I retired the companion system — a same vintage, same CPU T420 laptop — late last year because it was flaking out too often for everyday testing. Until this happened, the X220 Tablet remained a paragon of Windows support.

Here’s a short video (24 seconds) that shows very little, but enough for me to describe what’s wonky.

Normally, when you click the “Check for updates” button, the display changes to “Checking for updates” while the activity balls flow from left to right (and repeat until the check is complete). Next, if updates are available, the display reads “Updates available” while it installs them. When it’s done the display changes to “You’re up to date” with a timestamp to match. That final status info serves as the lead-in graphic for this story, in fact.

What Did Wonky WU Do Instead?

As you can see by playing the video, none of those display changes occur. I know the update is working because it grabbed and installed a Defender update when I tried it for the first time and that update shows under “Definition Updates” in Update History. That said, the usual animations (or status changes) that show WU is working are invisible on this PC. All that stuff works fine on my 2018 vintage Lenovo ThinkPad X380 Yoga (which has a Kaby Lake/7th Gen CPU).

Having reported the issue to MS via Feedback Hub, all I can do now is wait to see if it gets fixed. If it becomes a “new normal,” I may need to start retirement planning for my hitherto unflappable and unshakeable X220 Tablet. Sigh. That’s the way things go sometimes, here in Windows-World.

Note Added March 11, 2021

With the upgrade to Dev Channel Build 21332.1000, WU returned to “normal behavior.” But I did have to return to Advanced Sharing Settings/All Networks in the Network and Sharing Center. There, I had to turn off password protected sharing and turn on Public folder sharing. After a reboot,  RDP into the X220 Tablet worked again. This has been an on-again/off-again issue on this laptop for years. (A) it’s easily fixed locally, and (B) it seems to be a low-priority item for MS.

Finalley here’s a shout-out to Eddie Leonard (@DJ+EddieL). He told me the WU item was a known problem and would be fixed with the next build. He was spot-on, and I’m grateful.

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Recent Activity, Security, Troubleshooting, WED Blog, Windows 10, Windows OS Musings

Multiple Methods Clear Defender Threat History

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First, an admission. I do occasionally use the CCleaner and the MiniTool Partition Wizard (MTPW) installers. Yes, I know they include “bundleware” elements that Defender flags as “potentially unwanted programs” (PUPs). In fact, until you clear the threat history and exclude that history from future scans, Defender keeps reporting them ad infinitum. Sigh. As I worked my way through a UGetFix.com article yesterday on my Lenovo X390 Yoga I learned multiple methods clear Defender threat history. In fact, when none of the article’s methods worked for me, a spin on one of them did the trick.

[Note] The lead-in graphic for this story shows a Defender warning for a “potentially unwanted application” (PUA) from another bundleware instance. That one comes from the Unlocker program (it’s always been a little dicey, which is why I provide a MajorGeeks download link). Use at your own risk.

Enumerating Multiple Methods Clear Defender Threat History

The UGetFix.com article is entitled “Windows Defender identifies the same threat repeatedly — how to fix?” It works readers through three separate methods:

  1. Delete the Service folder within the following Windows folder:
    C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Scans\History. This is where Defender keeps its logs and threat history info. There’s an alternate method based on Event Viewer described in the article as well to clear the history log.
  2. Prevent Defender from scanning the history file. This occurs in Manage Settings inside Virus & Threat Protection in Defender, under the Exclusions heading. By excluding the preceding folder specification, you stop Defender from repeating warnings based on its own history files.
  3. Clear Browser Caches: YMMV on this one, depending on the browsers you use. I’ll let you puzzle these efforts out for yourselves, from the help systems built into each browser.

As I said, none of the methods worked for me. What did work, was a variation on Item number 1 above. I was unable to delete the Service folder. It came back as “locked by Windows Defender.” What I was able to do, however, was to navigate within the Service folder and edit the history.log file using NotePad++ to delete its contents. I also found a series of two-digit-numbered folders with various history files inside (named 01, 02 and so forth) that I was able to delete (and did so).

After that maneuver, the annoying multiple repetitions of PUP warnings for the CCleaner (version 5.77) and MTPW (version 12.03) installers disappeared. I used Everything to check my systems and make sure the offending files were no longer present, too. It’s only the installers that include bundleware. Once deleted and flushed, they no longer pose any threat.

Concluding Unscientific Rantlet

It’s weird that Defender triggers PUA/PUP warnings from the contents of its own history file. Even when the files that legitimately trigger an alert on a Windows 10 PC are no longer present, the same alerts still trigger — repeatedly! My plea to the Defender development team is that they automatically exclude the history file from scans by default so as to further insulate users from this small but vexing gotcha.

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Insider stuff, Recent Activity, WED Blog, Windows 10, Windows OS Musings

Key Terms EKB 21h1 Reveal Next Win10 Release Coming Closer

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I have to hand it to the team at Bleeping Computer, especially Lawrence Abrams. He’s done a neat and convincing bit of filesystem forensics. It shows that recent Beta Channel updates set the stage for the upcoming 21H1 Windows 10 release. In fact, he shows that key terms EKB 21h1 reveal next Win10 release coming closer to fruition. That inspired the File Explorer screencap for this story’s lead-in graphic.

Finding Key Terms EKB 21h1 Reveal Next Win10 Release Coming Closer

The string “21H1” (or “21h1” as it mostly appears in filenames) stands for the next upcoming Windows 10 release. EKB, as I learned, is the MS abbreviation for enablement package. This is a pre-staging technique for minor Windows 10 upgrades. It actually relies on updates installed prior to the official enablement of the “next upgrade” (21H1 in this case) that simply get turned on. And indeed, it’s the enablement package (EKB) that does the turning on bit.

The names of the files shown in the lead-in graphic reside in the
C:\Windows\System32\CatRoot\{F750E6C3-38EE-11D1-85E5-00C04FC295EE}
folder on Windows PCs running the Insider Preview Beta Channel release. To find these files, the Beta Channel image must be at Build 1904*.789 or higher. As it happens, I took the lead-in screencap on a PC running Build 19042.844

Terms of interest in the list involve:

  • Windows UpdateTargeting
  • Windows Product Data
  • EKB Package
  • EKB Wrapper Package

All of these terms identify current and upcoming versions of Windows 10, including the current version and build and its status, and the contents and handling of any current or upcoming enablement package (EKB). Most discussion I read about dates for 21H1 still suggest “May or June” as the GA date for this upcoming and minor Windows 10 feature upgrade. I see no reason to disagree with those assessments. And indeed Microsoft’s own 21H1 announcement post  doesn’t say much more than only minor changes to Windows 10 will show up when the release goes public.

We’ll just have to wait and see when 21H1 gets the nod from the Insider Team, and makes a public debut through Windows Update. Whenever that happens, though, it’s pretty clear that 21H2 is when the big changes for this year will hit Windows 10. Stay tuned!

 

 

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Hardware Reviews, Recent Activity, WED Blog, Windows 10

Pondering Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano

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It’s not often I get to step back from day-to-day work items and pause to think about something. I’ve had a Lenovo X1 ThinkPad Nano since Tuesday, February 23 (I wrote a First Look piece the next day). Since then, I’ve worked with that machine daily. I’ve even used it in place of my iPad Air for evening reading in bed. All this has me pondering Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano further. I want to position and present it properly to readers so they can decide if what it offers is what they want.  .  . and if they want to pay for it, too.

When Pondering Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano, Use Cases Rule

To justify the cost, one really needs strong use cases for a thin-and-light laptop. It weighs 381g more than my iPad (906 vs 525g). But it’s still comfortable on my lap. As a pretty serious touch typist, I actually prefer constant access to a keyboard. I do now wish, though, that Lenovo offered a touchscreen option for the X1 Nano for simple tablet-friendly activities like web surfing and reading e-books.

Over time, I’ve grown even more impressed with the X1 Nano’s performance and capability. It really does run on par with my older (2016) desktop PC. That’s true despite 32GB RAM and an i7-6700 on that PC vs. 16GB RAM and an i5-1130G7 on the X1 Nano. To me, it’s a telling illustration of how fast technology marches ahead. I didn’t expect an i5 to be able to go head-to-head with an i7 (even a 5-year-old model).

Blast from the Past…

The lead-in graphic for this story comes from Sergey Tkachenko’s WEI clone. He calls it the Winaero WEI Tool. For those who don’t remember — or who never knew — WEI stands for Windows Experience Index. It’s been around Windows since Vista came out in 2007. You can still run the equivalent functionality in Windows 10, in fact, with this command winsat formal. I like the Winaero tool because it presents the same look’n’feel as in Vista and 7.

What you see in that graphic is a rough-and-ready assessment of hardware components on the PC it’s run on. Those numbers show values from 8.9 (CPU, RAM) to  9.2 for the SSD and 9.9 for 3D business and gaming graphics. The only outlier is the desktop graphics — Iris Xe in this case — which come in at a relatively low 8.0 value (the primary reported value as well, because WEI uses the lowest number to desigate overall capability).

FWIW, the only area in which my older desktop beats the X1 Nano is on the desktop graphics category (it’s got an NVIDIA GTX 1070 card). All the other metrics are within 0.1 of one another, so neither machine obviously beats the other by any kind of margin.

Desktop graphics performance notwithstanding, I’ve come to appreciate the X1 Nano quite a bit in the 10 days I’ve had it in hand. It runs acceptably when surfing the Web, using Outlook or Word (my two most frequently used and important desktop apps). To be honest, I am seriously considering buying one of these with my own money. I can’t give a laptop a better endorsement than that.

What’s the Ideal Package?

If you, like me, decide to buy the ThinkPad X1 Nano, I recommend buying the i7 model with the 16 GB RAM configuration. Because the SSD is the only user serviceable part (RAM is soldered), get the 256 GB SSD, which you’ll want to replace when something like the Sabrent 1TB Rocket 4 becomes available in a 2242 form factor.

If you absolutely have to buy something now, the Sabrent 1 TB Rocket is available in a 2242 package. While it’s a bit slower than the Rocket 4, it’s faster than the Samsung OEM parts Lenovo uses in the Nano. You’ll also want to buy a Thunderbolt/USB-C dock, because the Nano is pretty short on ports (2xThunderbolt + 1xheadphone is all you get). As a backup fiend, I’ve already got a 5TB 2.5″ drive enclosure hooked up for extra storage and Macrium Reflect’s use.

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Recent Activity, Services, Teams, WED Blog, Windows 10, Windows OS Musings

Hybrid Workplace According to Jared Spataro

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MS Corporate VP Jared Spataro delivered one of the more entertaining sessions at Ignite 2021 I’ve seen. That 15-minute session is short, sweet and entertaining while conveying big and important messages. Indeed, I’m recommending everybody watch this. For labeling purposes, I call it the “hybrid workplace according to Jared Spataro.” But of course, it’s really “how Microsoft technologies enable hybrid work.”

Details from the Hybrid Workplace According to Jared Spataro

Over 80% of managers expect more flexible WFH policies post-pandemic. At the same time,  more than 70% of employees should benefit from such policies themselves. The traditional model for work and workplaces is changing significantly and permanently.

My favorite moment was when he switched from PC to phone call in a teams conference with no noticeable sign of switchover (1:16). In fact, I was stunned.

Spataro recited interesting factoids, too.  He said Teams grew to 115 M daily active users. He also observed Office 365 users generated “over 30 B collaboration minutes in a single day.” He demo’d Teams channel-sharing outside organization boundaries, which is also pretty cool.

Another nice quote: “Office buildings need to be digitially connected and built for ad-hoc natural collaboration with people in the office, working from home, or connecting even from the factory floor.” Indeed, that’s something I’d like to see happen sooner, not later.

Digital whiteboards appear as creativity enablers. They bring in-room meeting participants and remote workers together (through their PCs). Sometime soon, mobile devices will enter the mix, and let users on any device share their displays with others. Meetings will occur in the context of virtual, flexible meeting spaces. MS calls those spaces immersive, fluid, dynamic, content-forward and designed for sharing and brainstorming. Looks pretty cool, actually.

The Future’s So Bright…

A certain amount of breathless hype is always good for the compost heap. But the story that Mr. Spataro and MS are telling (and selling) is actually darned compelling. I, for one, hope to see it come to life in the near future. For once, I’m seeing a future that I could get into, and even enjoy. Check it out!

 

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New Windows Admin Center Makes Ignite Debut

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The always-popular Windows Server management tool gets an update to version 2103 just in time for Ignite 2021. In fact, you can download yourself a new copy right away from Akamai: https://aka.ms/downloadWAC. But why should you care that a new Windows Admin Center makes Ignite debut? Keep reading, and I’ll give some reasons…

Who Cares if New Windows Admin Center Makes Ignite Debut

If you work in or around Windows environments as an admin, you should! Happily, the list of updates and enhancements to WAC (Windows Admin Center) underscores this:

  • The tool now supports IoT Edge for Linux on Windows.
  • WAC is available in preview as an Azure-based portal application.
  • Indeed, the tool itself now handles in-app updates, so it can update itself automatically, and do likewise add-ins and third-party extensions
  • Gateway proxy support is now enabled in the tool’s Proxy tab
  • Privacy settings are now easily accessible in the Diagnostic & Feedback tab (users can limit what is sent to MS)
  • Different tools within WAC can appear in individual pop-out windows.
  • Events have been substantially reworked and shows that MS is spending some development cycles on the Event Viewer. (Currently, an incomplete, preview version is available: curious users must enable/disable this facility using a UI toggle in WAC).
  • The VM tool is expanded and enhanced to boost integration services, provide editable columns and groups, and gets a new ability to edit virtual switches when making VM moves.
  • The Azure Stack HCI gets some updates, too.  Most notably,  for cluster deployment and for OEM snap-ins to let IT pros deploy and use 3rd-party extensions more quickly and easily.
  • Partners are jumping on the WAC bandwagon. These include Dell EMC OpenManager (v2.0), Lenovo XClarity Integrator, and Data ON Must Pro, among others. Indeed, this promises to be an active aftermarket.

In other words, there’s a lot of new stuff showing up in WAC. Those who already use the tool will find a lot to like. Those just getting to know the tool will find a lot to learn and understand.

WAC Resources

Video: What’s New in WAC 2103 (from Ignite)
Announcement: WAC 2103 Now Generally Available (the announcement is laden with links to more video, documentation, and training materials).
MS Docs: Windows Admin Center Overview

Actually, there’s plenty of helpful stuff on WAC online for admins. To be sure, it’s an embarrassment of riches. Still need convincing? Run this Google Search: site:docs.microsoft.com Windows Admin Center.

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Insider stuff, Recent Activity, virtual events, WED Blog, Windows 10, Windows OS Musings

MS Ignite 2021 Sparks Changes Galore

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There’s all kinds of incredible news and information flowing like a river from the ongoing Microsoft Ignite 2021 virtual conference. In fact, it’s underway right now. Even better,  online registration is free. Use the URL myignite.microsoft.com, where you can register or view a complete list of sessions. If you can’t attend real-time, many/most sessions will be recorded. Thus, you can  view them later on.  That said, registration is required to attend.

How Is It That MS Ignite 2021 Sparks Changes Galore?

A quick view of the Ignite Session catalog shows 384 sessions spread over its planned three-day schedule. To begin: today, March 2, is day 1. Next, tomorrow, March 3, and Thursday, March 4, are days 2 and 3.

As I write this, Satya Nadella and Alex Kipman are delivering the keynote. Also, today’s session topics include “the hybrid workplace,” in which WFH combines with access to cloud-based services and resources. Further on today’s docket: security, edge AI solutions, Azure-based enterprise solutions, and more.

For sure, those who who dig through the session catalog will find something for every interest. IMO, Ignite has spread its net widely this year. It should appeal to professionals of all kinds. Certainly, Ignite is well-known as a developer conference. But in 2021, Ignite appeals to IT across the board, including architects, operations types, and service and support pros. Shoot! Business stakeholders with interests in ROI technology boosts will also find plenty of interest here, too.

What’s at Ignite 2021 for YOU?

You can’t know until you take a look. That means opening up the session catalog, and browsing its contents. To spur your interest, here’s a peek at the top of page 2:

MS Ignite 2021 Sparks Changes Galore

A quick peek at Page 2 of the Session catalog shows sessions on Azure at work, developer innovation, speculations on mixed reality, and a wide-ranging Q&A with security experts.
[Click image for full-sized view.]

As the old saying about the lottery goes: “You can’t win if you don’t play.” For Ignite 2021, that means you can’t appreciate its wealth of offerings and learning opportunities unless you register, and dig in. Enjoy!

 

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

Fixing Non-responsive Taskbar Icons

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Last December, I wrote an article here that described an easy fix for an unresponsive Start Menu. The trick on my affected PCs was to go into Task Manager, right-click Windows Explorer, and select “Restart.” Over the past week the same thing is affecting Task Bar icons for open and pinned applications. It came in the wake of the occasionally wonky preview version of the upcoming March CU. That is, I’m inclined to name KB4601382 as an “update of interest” in this case. Fortunately, the same fix works.

Fixing Non-responsive Taskbar Icons

How can you tell when this problem manifests? Easy! You click on an icon in the taskbar and nothing happens. I show a portion of my taskbar icons in the lead-in graphic, by way of illustration.

I actually show the taskbar at the foot of both of my monitors. Sometimes, when one quits working, the other keeps going. Then I click that one instead. If neither works, the fix goes in. I’ve never had it fail.

As with my earlier report of Start Menu issues, I’m inclined to see some interaction between Stardock Software’s Start10 and the Explorer-based start menu and associated UI elements. Those include the taskbar icons and the notification area as well. Something wonky is happening, but is also easily fixed. I’ve reported this to Stardock and MS and am hopeful that, as before, a fix trickles into one or the other of those environments.

Seems Like a Limited Issue

I don’t see other reports of this phenomenon in the Start10 forums at Stardock. There’s plenty of discussion on the general phenomenon (Google search: “taskbar icons nonresponsive”). But all are unanimous in what to do: Restart Windows Explorer. Not much other cussin’ and discussin’ involved. Nice to know I’ve got the right fix, even if I don’t know the cause unequivocally and unambiguously. Sigh.

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KB4577586 Flash Killer Download Available

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For those Windows 10 users with Adobe Flash still installed, the Microsoft Update Catalog has the KB457786 Flash Killer download available. If this means you, click the preceding link. Next, pick the version that matches your current Windows install. Then, click its Download button for the corresponding Microsoft Standalone Updater (MSU) file. The individual download window for the x64 version appears in this story’s lead graphic.

Note: For whatever odd reason, I had to right-click the download link in the window shown above. Upon selecting the file link near the bottom of that window, I had to right-click and select “Open link in new window” to actually get the file to download. YMMV.

If KB4577586 Flash Killer Download Available, Then What?

Once downloaded to your PC, run the MSU file that you just grabbed. The Windows Update Standalone Installer will ask you if you want to install the KB4577586 update. Click the “Yes” button to proceed.

Next you’ll see an “… updates are being installed” window appear, with progress bar. It took about 15 seconds to install on my i7 Skylake (i7-6700, 32GB RAM, 512 GB Samsung 950 SSD) PC.

If Install Fails, No Worries

I already knew that the Flash Player was gone, gone, gone from this PC. And sure enough, a peek into Update History under the Other Updates heading shows the following info:

A quick search on the 0x8024001e error string shows the most likely cause — in this case, for sure — is a missing DLL file associated with the Adobe Flash Player. Why is it missing? Because it’s already been uninstalled on this PC. Thus, there’s no cause for concern about this error. In fact, even if you don’t need this update it’s safe to run it anyway.

Those who already know Adobe Flash Player is absent on their PCs need not download or run this update. But if you’re not sure, it’s OK to do so just to make sure it’s gone. Your call!

Le roi est mort, vive le roi!

The foregoing phrase translates as “The king is dead, long live the king!” Seems like an appropriate epithet for Adobe Flash Player which has been around since FutureWave SmartSketch made its debut in 1993. Acquired by Macromedia in 1996, in turn by Adobe in 2005, Flash has been around since the earliest days of the WWW.

Now, of course, more modern technologies built into HTML 5 have made Flash obsolete. It’s now passed its End-of-Life date as of 12/31/2020. As of February 2021, all major browsers now block Flash and have no player capability. It really is over. Amazing! Many thought it would never die, and few are sorry to see it go…

 

 

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Mild Microsoft Update Health Tools Mystery

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An interesting item is bubbling up in user forums  lately. Lots of Windows 10 PCs — including some of mine — have seen a new-ish, intriguingly named application show up. This story’s lead-in graphic shows it in second place. In fact, I’d say we’re facing a mild Microsoft Update Health Tools mystery. Typical questions include “What is it for?” and “When is it used?”

Cracking a Mild Microsoft Update Health Tools Mystery

A Microsoft Docs “Questions” item links the utility with update KB4023057 .  A corresponding support page mentions all Windows 10 versions, including 20H2. (It’s dated October 2020.) I’ve seen posts at answers.microsoft.com as far back as August 2020. It, too, references that same KB article.

That article says the update delivers “reliability improvements to Windows Update Service components.” It also says it:

includes files and resources that address issues that affect update processes in Windows 10 that may prevent important Windows updates from being installed. These improvements help make sure that updates are installed seamlessly on your device, and they help improve the reliability and security of devices that are running Windows 10.

Some Interesting Notes about KB4023057

There are 5 bulleted items (and a sub-note) the Support Note. All make fascinating reading. I reproduce them verbatim. (For brevity, I prune “This update may” or “This update will” ):

  • …  request your device to stay awake longer to enable installation of updates.

    Note The installation will respect any user-configured sleep configurations and also your “active hours” when you use your device the most.

  • … try to reset network settings if problems are detected, and it will clean up registry keys that may be preventing updates from being installed successfully.
  • … repair disabled or corrupted Windows operating system components that determine the applicability of updates to your version of Windows 10.
  • … compress files in your user profile directory to help free up enough disk space to install important updates.
  • … reset the Windows Update database to repair the problems that could prevent updates from installing successfully. Therefore, you may see that your Windows Update history was cleared.

Invitation to Conspiracy Thinking?

Go back, and read the forum traffic. Or, search Google for “Microsoft Update Health Utility.” Sadly, it reveals suspicion among community members. Indeed, some fear it helps MS forcibly update older Windows installs. In fact, MS does this already. Others don’t trust MS update orchestration. They’d rather control updates themselves. Still others worry about unwanted side effects or unusable PCs after forced updates.

Gosh! While these things are possible, I see nothing untoward at work here . Instead, I see MS staging repair tools in advance for update issues on Windows 10 PCs should they manifest. Aside from lacking user controls, I see them no differently than built-in update troubleshooters. In fact, I’m a devoted user of Shawn Brink’s Reset Windows Update tutorial and its accompanying batch file. It’s gotten me past 95% of all WU problems I’ve seen. That’s why I’ll gladly keep using it.

No Cause for Alarm

As far as I can tell, there’s not much to see here. Admittedly, Update Health Tools is a small surprise. But its Support Note offers good explanations. Thus, I’m OK with this tool. Nor should you worry, either. Rather, it looks like good software engineering.

Better yet, the Update Health Tools can handle update issues on their own, sans user input or guidance. That sounds like a blessing, even if in disguise. And FWIW, it’s missing  from Insider Preview releases. That tells me it aims squarely at production PCs outside IT umbrellas. That means mostly home and small business users. Thus, it should benefit those who need it most.

I’m coming out in favor of the Update Health Tools. I hope we’ll learn more about them from Microsoft soon. In the meantime, if you don’t like the tool, you can choose to uninstall it. I’m leaving it alone myself. If I’m right about it, it may come in handy someday.

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