Category Archives: Windows 10

Backup/Restore, Cool Tools, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, WED Blog, Windows 10, Windows 11

Macrium Announces Reflect Free EOL

November 28, 2022 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

Dang! I always hate it when this happens, but I do understand why it does. Macrium, maker of the excellent Reflect backup, restore and imaging software has just announced end-of-life for its free Version 8 of that package. As Macrium announces Reflect Free EOL, I realize I’ll have to start planning a different strategy for my test PCs and VMs going forward.

Details: Macrium Announces Reflect Free EOL

The announcement comes with plenty of warning. The company plans to provide security patches for the Free version until January 1, 2024 (more than a year from today). Users who want to keep using the package after the EOL data may do so, but will go unsupported thereafter. This also means that Windows version 11 22H2 is the most recent version of Windows that Reflect 8 Free will support.

What Else Is There?

Rest assured, I’ll be finding out. I came to Macrium Reflect Free (MRF, for short) thanks to the folks at TenForums.com and ElevenForum.com, my favorite online Windows communities. I’ll be watching to see what those people recommend. I also plan to dig into the elements presented in this recent (updated November 24) TechRadar story: Best free backup software of 2022. I’ll even be returning to MiniTool ShadowMaker and scanning over the MajorGeeks “Back Up” category.

But sigh: I wish this wasn’t necessary. MRF is a great, great tool. I’ll be sorry to see it go.

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

No Remote WinSAT No Batteries

November 22, 2022 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

In following up on yesterday’s memory training item, I started messing about with WinSAT. For those not already clued in, WinSAT stands for Windows System Assessment Tool. As it turns out, such assessment depends on steady, reliable power and “close to the metal” access to the PC it’s assessing. That’s why, I believe that MS says “You cannot run formal assessments remotely or on a computer that is running on batteries.” (Using WinSAT). Hence the assertion: no remote WinSAT no batteries.

If No Remote WinSAT No Batteries, Then What?

A formal assessment on WinSAT runs a whole battery of checks. You can still do feature-by-feature checks remotely (just not the whole thing). Here are the results of WinSAT mem over a remote connection to one of my 2018 vintage Lenvo X380 Yoga ThinkPads:

A single feature check — mem, or memory — does work remotely.

But if I run the whole suite (WinSAT formal) in the same PowerShell session, I get an error message instead:

Going formal with WinSAT “cannot be run remotely…”. No go!

Such things lead to head-scratching from yours truly. I can kind of get it because it’s undoubtable that the remote connection is going to affect results reported because of the time involved in remote communications. But why allow checks one-at-a-time, but not all-at-once? MS is mum on this subject, so I’m not getting any insight there. It could be that singleton checks add relatively little overhead, but that cumulative effect of an entire suite of same adds noticeable delay. Who knows?

Insider stuff, Recent Activity, WED Blog, Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows OS Musings

Windows 8.1 EOL January 2023

November 18, 2022 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

Here it comes, I guess. MS is reminding Windows 8.1 users that its end-of-life (EOL) is imminent. With Windows 8.1 EOL January 2023 just around the corner, what else is MS saying? Find out in their Support article entitled “Windows 8.1 support will end on January 10, 2023.” Intentionally or not, it includes some amusing stuff. It also speaks to their philosophy and stance regarding Windows 11.

After Windows 8.1 EOL January 2023, Then What?

The afore-linked MS support article actually calls the transition that will occur on January 10, 2023 “end of support.” But because most readers know what EOL means I used it here. MS also recommends upgrading Windows 8.1 devices “to a more current, in-service, and supported Windows release.”

If Statcounter is correct, as of October 31, 2022, Windows 8.1 held a desktop market share of 2.45%. MS also puts the size of the combined Windows 10 and 11 device or OS instance population at 1.5B. That’s in keeping with Earthweb’s total count estimate from August 2022 of 1.6B. Statcounter grants Windows 10 and 11 combined 86.71% of the global desktop tally. By my reckoning, therefore, that puts the possible number of 8.1 devices at just over 42M.

Upgrade to Windows 11 on a New PC

MS also recommends for Windows 8.1 devices that don’t meet Windows 11 hardware requirements, that users “replace the device with one that supports Windows 11.” Indeed, it makes sense when refreshing PC hardware to go as modern and forward leaning as possible.

In fact, Windows 8.1 made its public debut (GA) on October 17, 2013. This date calculator tells me that was 9 years, 1 month, and 1 day ago as of today, November 18, 2022. That makes it almost inevitable that hardware purchased on or before the 2013 date doesn’t meet Windows 11 hardware requirements. The Gen8 “boundary date” actually falls in 2017-2018 time range.

What Happens to 8.1 After EOL (or EOS)?

MS won’t be offering an ESU (Extended Security Update) program for Windows 8.1. Thus it will no longer receive technical support, software updates, and security patches or fixes. According to WinAero, “Microsoft’s own products including Office 365 and the Store app will stop working.” That should be enough to convince most business users that it really is time to get off that bus.

For me, some of the humor in this otherwise doleful situation comes from Windows 8 and 8.1 general marketplace fate. It was never that popular to begin with, nor did it ever enjoy the kind of uptake in business that XP, 7 and Windows 10 achieved. To think that as many as 42M devices may be affected by this impending retirement is mostly a testament to how enormous the total Windows market really is. And to think it’s dwarfed by a factor of 3X or greater by smartphones is truly mind-boggling.

Even so, prodding a device population of 42 million onto Windows 11 and new PCs could be a boon to the sagging PC market. At a modest average price of $1K per unit (low for a business class PC nowadays, but higher for home/casual users) that’s a cool $42B in sales. It comes pretty close to “real money,” in my book.

Shout-Out to Sergey Tkachenko: the WinAero story cited in the concluding section of this story originally led me to the MS Support item that provides its focus and impetus. Thanks, Sergey!

Insider stuff, Troubleshooting, WED Blog, Windows 10, Windows Update

MS KIR Equals Known Issue Rollback

November 17, 2022 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

In reading about fallout from recent Windows 10 updates this morning, I learned something new. MS KIR equals Known Issue Rollback. It’s a group policy technique to reverse effects introduced by buggy updates. You can read about how to implement such policy in Microsoft Documentation.

This morning (November 17) news is out that some Windows 10 users may face a missing or non-responsive Taskbar — or even a black screen (depicted in the lead-in graphic). These come as “known issues” from recent updates. A responsive rollback is, in fact, already on its way to users.

Are GPOs Required for MS KIR Equals Known Issue Rollback?

That is an interesting question! Of course, GPOs only work in environments where centralized Group Policy management is in place, or where some means to deploy per-machine policies exists. So then: sometimes yes, sometimes no.

All this said, my source for this info (Neowin.net) makes some interesting observations about these potential Windows 10 gotchas:

Although the problem sounds scary, Microsoft has already implemented the necessary fixes and rolled back the troublemaking code to undo the damage. Affected devices should restore to normal operating mode within 24 hours. However, users can speed up the process by restarting their systems or applying a special Group Policy (only on enterprise-managed devices).

The bold emphasis in the preceding quote, of course, refers to a KIR GPO for those who wish to head trouble off pre-emptively and quickly. Those who don’t mind waiting should see the problem take care of itself within 24 hours of the offending update’s arrival. Sounds like a restart might also repair the issue, depending on timing.

According to that same Neowin story, MS has recently used KIR to fix problems related to Direct Access for remote network access without requiring a VPN connection. Seems like a handy technique for MS to correct its own missteps.

When KIR Could Help

The kind of undo capability inherent in KIR is likely to be most beneficial to small to mid-size operations. These may sometimes push Windows updates reasonably soon after they are released. Most larger organizations will batch updates for release during planned deployment windows (often, over holiday weekends). They tend to hold off on non-urgent updates and test them thoroughly before deploying anyway. Thus, they are less likely to need KIR than other, smaller and less sophisticated outfits.

Cool Tools, PowerShell, Troubleshooting, Updates, WED Blog, Windows 10

Windows 10 Phone Link Eliminated

November 15, 2022 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

Dang! After messing about with PowerShell unsuccessfully, I turned to long-time fave 3rd-party tool Revo Uninstaller Free. Seems that Windows 10 doesn’t allow the Phone Link app to be uninstalled anymore. Sadly, the Uninstall option is greyed out in Settings. Likewise, I couldn’t get PowerShell Get-AppxPackage | Remove-AppxPackage to work, either. But if you turn to Revo Uninstaller, it delivers the goods: Windows 10 Phone Link eliminated.

Why I Want Windows 10 Phone Link Eliminated

Two reasons:

1. Phone Link only works with Android phones and I have iOS. Don’t use it, ever.
2. Update failed, then app “stopped working, around recent Store revisions.

If I can’t use an app AND it causes errors, I don’t need it. Thus, I want it gone!

Look at the lead-in graphic. I’ve put a red box around the listing item for the Phone Link app on my Windows 10 production desktop. Right-click on that item, and the first menu option is “Uninstall.” Pick that. Revo asks you to confirm that choice, as follows:

Alas, PS does NOT show the command details it uses to pull this off. Sigh.

Revo Unsintaller works some PowerShell magic around the following text I copied:

Deployment operation progress: Microsoft.YourPhone_1.22092.211.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe

After removing the app, I used the Revo Uninstaller Scan functions to remove all leftovers from the Registry. It no longer shows up on my Windows 10 PCs — all both of them. I will be on the lookout for reappearances after CUs and feature upgrades, based on what I read online about how Phone Link keeps showing back up.

When it comes to “Windows pest removal” sometimes, repeated treatments may be required. LOL!

Insider stuff, PowerShell, Updates, WED Blog, Windows 10, Windows 11

Repair Upgrades PowerShell

November 14, 2022 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

Here’s something I didn’t know before. Or at least, I never tried it. Just recently (November 8) MS released a new 7.3.0 version of PowerShell to GitHub. I’ve been upgrading my various systems since, slowly but surely. This morning I learned that opting for Repair upgrades PowerShell. Let me show you what that means.

Showing How Repair Upgrades PowerShell

On some PCs, winget upgrade may not show the new PowerShell as an option. (I’ll use my Lenovo Yoga 7i as an illustration because it manifests such behavior.) You can see it’s running version 7.2.7 and that PowerShell does not show up in the output from winget upgrade below:

If that’s the case, here are the steps to using repair to upgrade PowerShell on such PCs:

1. CTRL-Click on the link that reads https://aka.ms/powershell. This opens the MS PowerShell Documentation page.
2. Click on the “Download PowerShell” button at the upper right. This takes you to the GitHub Latest release page for PowerShell (7.3.0, as I write this, but updated as new versions emerge). Then close all open PowerShell sessions.
3. Scroll down to assets and download the installer file for your PC (for most readers the 64-bit MSI is the right choice: PowerShell-7.3.0-win-x64.msi)
4. Run the microsoft self-installing (MSI) file to start PowerShell installation. Step through all the installer prompts. If the Repair option comes up, select it (shown in the lead-in graphic for this story). It will run and “fix” the current installation.

At the end of this process, you’ll have a working upgrade to version 7.3.0. Cheers!

What About Winget Upgrade Microsoft.Powershell?

Gosh! That works too but finishes strange. Let me show you, in the following screencap (click on image to view full-sized):

The output doesn’t actually confirm a successful install of PowerShell 3.7.0. It shows a progress bar, and a status of “Starting package install…” Then it transitions to a command prompt. In the background, the new version is installed and running. But because you’ve got a 7.2.7 window open, you don’t see the 7.3.0 label until you close the old window and open a new one.

It’s always something, right?

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

PowerToys File Locksmith Works Well

November 9, 2022 Ed Tittel 2 Comments

Starting with version v0.64.0, released on November 2, the PowerToys collection added File Locksmith to its mix.The tool’s own built-in description is sparse. It reads: File Locksmith is “…[a] Windows shell extension to find out which processes are using the selected files and directories.” Doesn’t sound like much but can be handy. Indeed, I learned that PowerToys File Locksmith works well this weekend. Let me explain…

Why Say: PowerToys File Locksmith Works Well?

As I tried to work through an update process for a desktop tool, I got an error message showing three instances of svchost.exe were impeding installation. Remember: File Locksmith is a “shell extension.” In this case, that means you can right click “stuck” files in File Explorer and then choose the “Who’s using this file?” menu option that appears.

This brings File Locksmith into the picture, wherefrom you can choose an “End Task” button for associated files that show up in the listing. Furthermore, you can see detail about each running process, so you can even match up process IDs inside Task Manager to make sure you “end task” only when and where you should, and leave other stuff alone.

The offending items were various DLLs. They run within svchost processes so multiple programs can share access to them.
[Click image for full-sized view.]

This made my job pretty easy. All I had to do was end the offending tasks so the installation could complete. It did so pretty much immeditately after I told it to try again. And it ran to successful conclusion.

Warning: Because ending tasks for shared DLLS can leave certain important facilities inaccessible after such a move, I also restarted Windows after the update was done. You know: just to be on the safe side…

But gosh, File Locksmith made this sometimes vexing and onerous task easy and straightforward. I have to laugh about this too, though. Here’s why: earlier versions of PowerToys itself were prone to experiencing install delays owing to running items. These included dll host processes that required manual closing in Task Manager. Thus, it’s glaringly obvious how the developers figured out such a tool could be helpful — at least, IMHO.

But it’s here, it works, and has already proved useful in helping me update a utility included in my Startup items, and generally running in the Windows background. If it worked for me, it should do likewise for you. Enjoy!

Device drivers, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, Updates, WED Blog, Windows 10, Windows 11

Samsung Printer Is Now HP

November 8, 2022 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

Boy! The interesting things one can learn when updating drivers are legion. Case in point: I learned I needed an update for the Samsung Easy Printer Manager program. Upon searching for same, I found myself directed to HP (!) Customer Support. Indeed, that’s where the latest version of said utility now resides. You can see a screencap of that download page at the head of this story. Looks like my Samsung printer is now HP, in name and in fact.

If Samsung Printer Is Now HP Then What?

HP is the former division of Hewlett Packard that now sells PCs and printers, as well as peripherals. To give you an idea of how long this has been going on, this press release bears a November 1, 2017 date. Whoa: talk about missing that bus by a mile…

When HP closed the deal they did so for US$1.05B. They also acquired a portfolio of 6.5K patents, and “a workforce of nearly 1,300 researchers and engineers with expertise in laser technology, imaging electronics, and supplies and accessories.” I guess that means buying an official laser toner cartridge (I still have a spare in my utility closet) will cost even more than it did the last time I looked. I found the product page, but I can’t find a price (looks like I might have to set up an account). Amazon references an “HP Store” and offers same for US$76, so that’s not too pricey. OK then: it’s all good.

Plus çe Change…

That’s French for a saying that roughly translates: “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” The technology landscape is chock full or mergers, acquisitions, spin-offs and divestitures. I have to laugh about this one, because I’m definitely coming late to that particular party. But at least, I had no trouble finding an updated version of the software I needed. And it works, too!

And that’s the way things go, here in Windows-World, from time to time.

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

Winerror versus Err: Enough, or Too Much?

November 7, 2022 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

Here’s an interesting dilemma. In the past, I’ve advocated use of the Windows Error Lookup Tool, currently Err_6.4.5.exe The other day, I had cause to rue my recommendation. I actually found a different, more focused tool named Winerror.exe. It’s part of the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit, aka Windows ADK. But then, you might also need to grab the older Windows 10 version to get the tool I’m about to discuss. It seems to be missing in the Windows 11 version.

Winerror versus Err: Focused and General

You can see the issue in the lead-in graphic for this article. Notice that winerror provides two different expansions, one of which mentions normalization. Err_6.4.5, OTOH, provides 6. These come from a variety of error code source files: bugcodes.h, netmon.h, winerror.h, and ntstatus.h.

In simpler terms, winerror looks only at winerror.h; err… looks at a bunch of error code source files, including winerror.h. My point is that winerror may be worth consulting when you’re troubleshooting Windows 10 or 11. That goes double when the error reporting tool (err_6.4.5.exe) produces more output than you know how — or really want — to use.

Wm Blake Still Has a Point

The end half of the title for this story comes from William Blake’s Proverbs of Heaven and Hell. It makes the excellent point that you really don’t know you have enough until you have more than you need. That’s why I recommend using the older, but less general, Winerror.exe when you find that the latest error reporting tool (err_6.4.5.exe) has more to say than you really need to know.

‘Nuff said!

Insider stuff, PowerShell, WED Blog, Windows 10, Windows 11

Further Kindle Update Follies

November 3, 2022 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

Yesterday I worked through my blog post from earlier in the week on yet another PC. As it happens, the initial step — using winget to uninstall the outdated Kindle version — was highly fortuitous. Even though the subsequent winget install Amazon.Kindle brought in the wrong version (because of the package definition), removing the old version is a good way to start the upgrade process. In my further Kindle Update follies follow-up, not uninstalling left the old version behind alongside the new. Wait! It gets even more interesting…

What Happened with Further Kindle Update Follies?

When I found I had two side-by-side versions, I ran Revo Uninstall to try to take out the old one. That left me with no Kindle at all (even though I didn’t do the post uninstall cleanup that Revo does itself). So, I got to install the correct version again. That worked!

Here’s my new recipe for manual Kindle updates.

Grab the latest version from the Kindle download page.
Run winget uninstall Amazon.Kindle in an admin PowerShell (or Windows Terminal) session
Run the downloaded Kindle installer (as I write this, that filename is KindleForPC-installer-1.39.65323.exe, but that will change)

One more thing: before you follow this recipe, try opening the Kindle app. Sometimes — and I stress this word, “sometimes” — it will actually update itself as part of its launch process. Because I haven’t been able to figure out why it works sometimes and not others, the recipe serves as a follow-up should it not auto-update itself.

This is kind of whacko. I repeat an earlier plea to the Amazon developers: please add an update function to the Kindle for PC software. Or, have the installer clean up the old version after it brings in the new one. It’s just too tricky to find and manage updates for ordinary users right now. IMO, that definitely needs fixing …

Note Added November 7

I’ve been working through updates on a bunch of PCs today. Many (most) have needed a Kindle update. I can now conclusively confirm that my foregoing recipe works to update Kindle without apparent issues. Consider it a validation, of sorts…