Category Archives: Cool Tools

Cool Tools, Hyper-V and VMs, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, WED Blog, Windows 10

Recent Windows Terminal Follies

October 12, 2023 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

It’s always a humbling experience to work and work with Windows. This week, I’ve been relearning how Windows 10 works with Windows Terminal (and sometimes doesn’t). I had to stand up a squeaky clean Windows 10 instance in a VM for some WT testing and research. Tongue planted firmly in cheek as I went through some recent Windows Terminal follies, I realized I’d forgotten more about WT than I’d ever known. Let me explain…

History Underlies Recent Windows Terminal Follies

Today, my production Windows 10 installation has been running since 2016, when I stood up my present primary desktop PC. There have been a LOT of changes to Windows since then. And indeed, Windows Terminal (WT) is one of the things that has changed the most. But because I’d gone along with those changes — growing more experienced and wise to the ways of WT — I really didn’t remember all of the little twists and turns along the way.

Thus, installing a clean Windows 10 OS image came as a series of shocks where WT was concerned. Let me list a few of them:

1. Windows 10 made its Insider Preview debut in 2014, WT didn’t come along until May 2019. Thus, it’s not set as the default command line environment in Windows 10.

2. WinKey+X, to my consternation, kept launching an older PowerShell version (v5.1.19014.3570). And the only version of WT present was an older Preview that I didn’t want.

3. Thus, I found myself visiting the MS Store to grab the latest copy of WT, installing it, then setting it as my default terminal application (see lead-in graphic: notice further than this version needs an upgrade).

Eventually, I got things sorted and where I want them to be. But it did come as something of a shock to understand how much change I’d been introducing to my desktop runtime, step by little step. Only when I had to jump the whole stretch in a single bound did I see how far things has really come.

Some Unexpected MSA Bonuses Also Present

OneDrive picks up files from my User folder as part of what it keeps in the cloud. Apparently this includes my PowerShell Profile, because an invocation to OhMyPosh showed up as I fired off the new WT install for the first time. That made setting up OMP even faster and easier than usual.

The moral of today’s story is that one doesn’t really recognize how far one has come (or how much things have changed) until one is forced to recover the same ground and see what’s different. That’s one good reason why — for me, at least — Windows-World is always an adventure.

Cool Tools, Recent Activity, WED Blog

WT Update Requires Application Restart

October 11, 2023 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

In the wake of the latest Patch Tuesday, MS has released an update for Windows Terminal. As it works its way through the upgrade process it makes two identical warnings: “Restart the application to complete the upgrade.” If you look at the lead-in screencap, you can see that because I hadn’t yet closed, then re-opened WT it’s still showing the old version in the list sub-command at the bottom of the PS session. As I’ll explain, WT update requires application restart before the upgrade truly takes effect.

Why WT Update Requires Application Restart

Indeed, the WT update requires users to close all open WT windows and then open a new one. That’s so it can terminate the (old) running WT process(es). These are, of course, still running the 1.18.2681.0 version. When they’re all closed, the pointer switches to aim at version 1.18.2822.0 instead. Then, when you fire off a new WT instance, it’s running that new version, as you can see in the About info here:

After the open/close, the new WT version number pops up in About.

As I’ve explained in a number of recent blog posts here (see this September 28 item as an example), self-update activities can be tricky. The cleanest way to handle this kind of thing is to request users to kill the current running instance after installing a new one. That way, it makes a cleaner hand-off from old to new, and provides a “quiet moment” between when the old and new instances start running to handle the housekeeping involved (changing file pointers, registry entries, environment variables, and so forth).

Still Waiting On Winget to Follow Suit

I’d like to see the Windows Package Manager/App Installer tool known as winget follow Windows Terminal’s lead when it comes to updating itself. Indeed, winget upgrade Microsoft.Winget.
Source_8wekyb3d8bbwe does work. That said, it’s a Store app so mostly this gets handled automatically in the background during its daily update cycles.

But when winget updates itself, even though it succeeds it often ends in a status labeled “Cancelled.” That’s not really true, but it is a valid indicator of the kinds of tricky things that self-updates can do (and cause). I’d like to see it take the same approach as WT, hold itself in abeyance, and let users re-jigger the works to make the transition from old to new versions neat and clean. Is this a pipedream? I hope not!

Cool Tools, Insider stuff, PowerShell, Recent Activity, WED Blog

Reboot Fixes Winget Hiccup

October 10, 2023 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

I have to laugh. If you take a look at the lead-in graphic you might be tempted to believe something amiss with winget. I was yesterday when this happened on one of my test PCs. So naturally, I tweeted (X’ed?) an MS colleague who runs the winget team. About 5 minutes later he responded with “Try a reboot!” Seems that others had been reporting similar woes amenable to this approach. To my chagrin, indeed a reboot fixes winget hiccup — this time, at least. Sigh.

If Reboot Fixes Winget Hiccup, Then What?

That adds another thing I need to try before bothering the developers another time. And, if that works for me (and some few others), it might also work for you, too. Thus, it should become a part of the normal troubleshooting routine.

Indeed, I had closed and re-opened Windows Terminal prior to contacting the team. And it hadn’t done the trick this time. In fact, I even uninstalled and reinstalled winget and that hadn’t worked, either — as you can see in the lead-in graphic.

Had I known then what I now know, I would’ve tried the reboot before those other more severe fixes. And it would have worked. Thus, the next time winget goes wonky on me (especially after an update) I’ll be sure to reboot my PC and trying again before sounding the alarm.

Interesting, eh? Things may not always look simple or obvious in Windows-World. Thank goodness they may sometimes be both, and amenable to a simple solution. All hail the “three-fingered salute” (remember when CTRL-ALT-DEL would force reboot a PC?) There’s no school like the old school!

Note Added October 10 (early PM hours)

As fate would have it, MS pushed an update to PowerShell today for version 7.3.8 through WU. After it updated my problem test PC, the same issue recurred: winget source was essentially not working. None of my previous fixes (reboot, uninstall & reset sources) worked. I had to force install the current production version (1.6.2771) over the current preview version (1.7.2782) to get things working properly again. Funny that this problem should happen on the very day I attempt to document a different issue. Amazing!

AI, Cool Tools, PowerShell, Recent Activity, WED Blog

Using Copilot Based PowerShell

October 4, 2023 Ed Tittel 1 Comment

As an experiment, I’m using Copilot to generate PowerShell commands to complete specific tasks. It’s all centered around scripting to customize Windows Terminal to add fonts, applications, and settings for a specific configuration. Using Copilot based PowerShell isn’t just a “load and go” operation. I’m having to understand and alter code to make sure it runs on both Windows 10 and 11 PCs. So far, I can’t say it’s faster than hacking it out from scratch. But I can say “very educational.”

Using CoPilot Based PowerShell, Step by Step

I’m stepping through the PowerShell code that Copilot presents for handling my specified tasks line by line. In some cases, I’m simplifying by making more direct assignments to variables and manipulating them in the scripts. In other cases, I’m cleaning up minor syntax violations (quotes around string values where they’re not needed, and so forth). In still other instances, I’m figuring out how to complete commands “silently” (supressing user interaction).

But most of what I’m getting is pretty usable. As somebody who’s written plenty of “real code” (Java, JavaScript, Perl, Python and more) this is an interesting way to expand my PowerShell chops. If you’ve got some minor automation to handle — that’s how I’d characterize my current quest — you might find this helpful, too.

Fruits of This Labor…

I’m working on a story for TekkiGurus. I will probably finish up this week, but it takes two-three weeks to get through the editorial pipeline. Thus, you should see a story there from yours truly near month’s end (October 2023, that is). My working title is Creating and Sharing Windows Terminal Profiles Across PCs. Stay tuned, and I’ll plug a link in (and correct the wording, if need be) when it’s up.

Cool Tools, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, WED Blog

When Winget Upgrade Hits or Misses

October 3, 2023 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

Here’s an interesting observation about winget upgrade. I’ve slowly but surely gleaned it from repeat experience over the past 19 or 20 months. As I’ve been using the tool daily, I’ve noticed that for some apps or applications, winget upgrade sometimes works, and sometimes fails. It has finally dawned on me this on-again, off-again behavior depends on if the app or application is running at the time. Thus, if winget upgrade hits or misses ties to whether or not it can run the upgrade without stepping on something that’s running.

When Winget Upgrade Hits or MIsses, It’s for a Reason

This hit me forcibly on Monday when I noticed that an upgrade attempt for Microsoft.Office failed on on PC, but not another. The only difference between the two situations was that Word and Outlook were running on one machine (failed). On the other machine no Office components whatsoever were running (succeeded).

As I think back on other situations where this has happened, it’s often been web browsers involved. At one time or another, Chrome, Edge and Firefox (the three browsers I typically use) have all either failed or simply refused a winget upgrade command. And indeed, all were either actively running or had running processes showing in Task Manager when this occurred.

Another Kind of Update Trap?

I wrote recently (September 28) about Windows Self-Update Traps. These can pop up when winget, PowerShell or Windows Terminal get updates. Winget is conservative and won’t change things that could cause problems or lead to uncertain outcomes. Thus, I’m coming around a specific idea: if you use winget and you notice an update for a running application, save work and close it for best results. Gosh, where have I seen that advice before? It’s received wisdom when applying updates anyway. Perhaps that’s why?

Backup/Restore, Cool Tools, Recent Activity, Thoughts & concerns, WED Blog

Seeking Free Windows Backup Satisfaction

October 2, 2023 Ed Tittel 4 Comments

As of December 31, 2023, Paramount Software — the maker of Macrium Reflect — will no longer update its freeware version. I’ve been a long-time fan of this software. It has bailed me out of countless jams, many self-inflicted or the results of experiments gone bad. But I feel compelled to recommend a free backup tool to users, thinking that not everybody can (or wants to) pay for Windows backup. That’s why I’ve been seeking free Windows backup satisfaction for most of 2023. So far, I’m not too thrilled with what I’m finding outside the Macrium umbrella.

Still Seeking Free Windows Backup Satisfaction

As I often do when I’m looking for good software in some category, I turned to Tim Fisher at LifeWire. His 32 Best Free Backup Tools story, last updated in September 2023, certainly covers a lot of options. But now that MS has thrown ReFS volumes into the mix with its inclusion in the Dev Home utility for Windows 11, the number of suitable options drops precipitously. (Macrium Reflect, for example, supports ReFS only in its Server versions, which are not free. Many other tools on Tim’s list likewise omit ReFS in free versions.)

Tim’s #1 ranked choice is EasUS ToDo Backup which indeed comes in a free version that includes ReFS support. I’ve been messing about with it and it does the job. But gosh! The free version is chock-full of constant, annoying and even intrusive ads, ads, ads. Honestly, I *hate* it. And FWIW, Susan Bradley at AskWoody recommends buying a license if you use this product anyway. I have to concur, if only to make the darn thing SHUT UP already.

The Slot Remains Open…

As I dig through Tim’s sizable collection of possible Macrium Reflect replacements, I’ve yet to find something obvious to fill its slot. Val Potter at ComputerWorld gave me the option of recommending a paid-for tool instead when I revise my story on Windows Backup sometime soon. I may stick with Reflect anyway just because I know from long and sometimes hairy experience that it works, works, works.

If you have any suggestions for a killer free Windows backup app that’s neither Macrium Reflect nor EasUS ToDo Backup, please use the contact form here to drop me a line. I’m open to suggestion!

Cool Tools, PowerShell, Recent Activity, WED Blog, Windows 10, Windows 11

Avoiding Windows Self-Update Traps

September 28, 2023 Ed Tittel 1 Comment

Think about it. When a program needs an update, sometimes what’s doing the update and what’s getting the update may be related. This gets interesting. Windows itself is a pretty good example. This explains why reboots are required to install an OS, and often when updating same. Simply put, the pieces being working on cannot also do the work on themselves in many cases. Applications, apps, and so forth can also fall prey to the same things (think about installing an installer). Thus, avoiding Windows self-update traps is something of a balancing act.

Example: Avoiding Windows Self-Update Traps

I saw a great example of an artful dodge around this problem yesterday, as I was using Winget to update Windows Terminal (WT). Take a look at the lead-in graphic. It shows the WT update progress. Note that the last instruction at the end of that process reads:

Restart the application to complete the upgrade.

That’s exactly the kind of maneuver that’s necessary. It allows the currently running code for a program (or OS) stop running. Then, the newly-updated or installed code for the same program (or OS) can take over and start doing its thing.

Counter-Example: PowerShell

Back in June, I wrote a blog post here entitled WinGet Upgrade PowerShell Shows Cancelled. It shows what can — and sometimes still does — happen when the tail end of the installation process fails to complete and exit cleanly. I know the PS team is working on this, but this shows that self-updates do pose occasionally tricky problems.

I’m glad to see the WT take the high road and suspend the final steps of install or upgrade until it’s safe to do so. I’ll be gladder still when the PS team eventually follows suit (as I’m sure they will). In the meantime, I did find a workaround: if you open a Command Prompt session and run the winget PS upgrade there, no “cancelled” (or other error messages) result. Good enough for me, for now!

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

22H2 Moment4 Brings Back ReFS

September 27, 2023 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

For a long time, Windows desktop access to the Resilient File System (aka ReFS) was limited and iffy. Introduced in Windows Server 2012, facilities to create ReFS volumes were dropped from Windows 10 1709. (Exceptions: Enterprise and Pro for Workstation editions). In Windows 11, AFAICT, it’s been a thing only in Enterprise Insider Preview builds — until now. With this week’s Update Preview, 22H2 Moment4 brings back ReFS. The lead-in screencap comes from one of my Windows 11 Pro test PCs, in fact. Check it out!

How 22H2 Moment4 Brings Back ReFS

It does so in the context of the Dev Home utility in Windows 11. This app provides scaffolding to support a range of developer functions in the OS. These include widgets, access to GitHub projects, and — you guessed it — the ability to create a “Dev Drive” which can be formatted using ReFS. That’s what you see in the lead-in screencap.

One of the major options in Dev Home lets users create this so-called Dev Drive. It looks like this:

When you click the button, it puts you in into Settings → System → Storage → Disks & volumes. If you click Create Dev Drive again there, you’ll find various options. You can create a new VHD, resize an existing volume (to reclaim space for a new one) or possibly allocate unused disk space (only if available). In my testing, I elected to resize my existing volume boot/system volume.

MS Claims a Speed Advantage…

In its description of dev drives, MS claims to “improve performance for key developer workloads” (see this blog post for a chart of comparisons with NTFS). In my own experience, it was pretty remarkable. It took less than 2 seconds to copy a Windows 11 ISO (~4GB in size) from an external TB4 NVMe SSD to the new ReFS volume. Mighty quick!

I’m going to have to play around with this to really understand how it works and peforms, but so far it’s an interesting toy. And it’s also nice to see ReFS make a comeback into the broader reaches of Windows 11. Try it out for yourself!

Cool Tools, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, WED Blog

UUP Dump Shenanigans Ongoing

September 26, 2023 Ed Tittel 1 Comment

Just over a month ago, I reported that UUPDump.net was going down on a more-or-less regular basis. I’m sorry to follow up and say that UUPDump.net is now completely off the air. It had been supplanted by UUPDump.ee. But that’s apparently off the air, too. Right now, there’s an apparent mirror or clone site up and running at www.uup.ee that keeps Windows images available. With these UUP Dump shenanigans ongoing, “How long?” is an open and valid question.

As an experiment, I ran the script for a Windows 11 Pro ISO for Build 22621.2338 (Insider Preview, Beta Channel). It completed, but I need to test it by performing an in-place repair install on the target PC. In the meantime, I’m left wondering about all this up-and-down and site-hopping activity. The lead-in graphic shows output from near the tail end of the ISO creation process.

What UUP Dump Shenanigans Ongoing Means

I have long admired the work and insight that goes into letting UUP Dump do its thing. It’s been an invaluable resource for me and the Windows community ever since I started working with Kari the Finn on Win10.Guru in 2018 or thereabouts.

But now, I’m growing increasingly reluctant to recommend this as a resource to others. It’s simply gotten a little too flaky to trust completely. It’s definitely become more of a “Use at your own risk” kind of thing, even as it continues to do what it has always done.

Wouldn’t it be great if MS took this over, or provided sponsorship funds for the UUP Dump crew’s obviously strained resources? Shoot! I’d be willing to pay US$25 to 50 a year to support their efforts. But I don’t see any way to do that, either. Sigh.

Note Added 4+ Hours Later

After posting a query to ElevenForum.com, uber-user @Bree responded with some great information. Seems that the UUP team is now focusing their efforts on the UUP Dump channel on Discord, and on an app named uupdump.7z. So I’m digging into that info, and will write about it in a future blog post. Looks like it takes the process local, instead of relying on a server to support it. Could be good!

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

DevHome Update Hiccup Deciphered

September 25, 2023 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

On those test PCs where I’ve got Microsoft DevHome installed, i noticed an update issue last week. The lead-in graphic shows a failure when a dependency install for WindowsAppRuntime bombs out. So when I saw this MSPowerUser story about a new version, I found my DevHome update hiccup deciphered at last.

Getting to: DevHome Update Hiccup Deciphered

In light of a new version with different capabilities, my workaround for this problem also makes perfect sense. I tried uninstalling DevHome using winget. However, a leftover remained in “Installed Apps” — where, curiously enough, the uninstall button is greyed-out and inaccessible. Indeed, neither the Repair nor Reset buttons changed things at all. Interesting.

The button I want (uninstall) is inaccessible. Sigh.

A Curious Fix Emerges

I went ahead and restarted the affected test PC (one of my 2018 vintage Lenovo ThinkPad X380 Yogas). After restarting, it updated the Windows Store apps — of which Dev Home is one. It shows up as the most recently updated item (“Modified minutes ago”) under the Library tab.

And guess what? Running winget upgrade again, post-reboot, shows nothing in need of update. This tells me that when winget finds Store apps in need of updates that it can’t handle itself, running updates through the Store can fix what ails them. I’m not sure the reboot was necessary. But gosh: it sure looks like the “Get updates” function in Store did the trick. Extremely good to know!