Category Archives: Windows 10

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

DISM Trumps SFC To Fix Hung Execution

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Here’s an interesting observation straight from TenForums. Occasionally, the System File Checker (SFC) will hang when run. That is, it will grind forward to some percentage of completion, and then sit there indefinitely, making no further progress. If that happens to you on a Windows 10 PC, it’s OK to terminate the process (enter Ctrl-C at the command line or in PowerShell). In such cases, DISM trumps SFC to fix hung execution. Let me explain…

How DISM Trumps SFC to Fix Hung Execution

To unpack my assertion, please understand that when SFC finds an error it cannot fix, it more or less stops where it is. The Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool, aka DISM, can replace the files in Winodws 10’s cross-linked code repository WinSxS. By doing so, it will often fix the errors that SFC cannot surmount successfully.

The syntax for the specific DISM incantation is most often:

DISM /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

Other variations for offline images, or that use something other than local files already known to Windows 10 are documented at MS Docs. There you’ll find a helpful article entitled “Repair a Windows Image” that take you through various elaborations that may sometimes prove necessary. Using the Source: attribute can get particularly interesting, especially if you’re working from a WIM or ESD file that is home to two or more Windows images.

If SFC Hangs, DISM /RestoreHealth Often Sets Things Right

As it did for the person who posted about SFC difficulties at TenForums, this approach will often (but not always) make things right. You can’t know until you try. But the thing to remember is that if SFC hangs or fails, your next step should be to try this specific DISM command.

In my personal experience, this has fixed half or more of such issues when they’ve come up. If the odds come up as they should, this approach will also work for you. Try it, and see!

[Note Added Feb 16 afternoon]:
Go Ahead: Skip SFC, Run DISM First

Members of the Insider Team responding to this post informed me that “On Win10 it’s recommended to run DISM first.” This is explained in an MS Support Note entitled “Use the System File Checker tool to repair missing or corrupted system files.” And sure enough, in reading over that article it informs readers “If you are running Windows 10 … first run the inbox Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) tool prior to running the System File Checker.” I’m not sure what “inbox” means in this context, but the order is clear and unmistakable: DISM first, SFC second.

I’ve been following typical advice from TenForums and conventional wisdom for so long, I neglected to read up on SFC in putting this story together. Live and learn: now I know to reverse the order and run DISM first. Hope this helps others, too!

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Dev Channel Build 21313 Fixes Bugcheck Error

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On February 2, I posted a tale of woe here. It explained that I wasn’t able to update my Lenovo X380 Yoga past 21296. Each attempt to upgrade to 21301 failed at around 50% complete after the first reboot. And although error messsages did vary once or twice most of the time it threw an IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL bugcheck error. None of my usual troubleshooting techniques afforded any relief, either. Then I got the word from a contact on the Insider Team: this was a known bug, and a fix should be coming “soon.” That’s why I’m pleased to report that Dev Channel Build 21313 fixes bugcheck error just described. It appears number one in the list of fixes shown in lead-in graphic, in fact.

Proof That Dev Channel Build 21313 Fixes Bugcheck Error

I tackled the upgrade on Friday afternoon, February 12. I could only hope for the best. But soon enough, my hopes were rewarded with a complete and successful installation. I always fret when I have to hang back from the leading edge of releases on any of my PCs. That’s because, as a Windows Insider, I take my commitment to keep up with new releases seriously. So again, I’m happy to be back in the high life again (with apologies to Stevie Winwood).

Proof Positive That Feedback Hub Is Working

When the Insider Team contacted me, they made it clear that (a) I was not alone in reporting this problem, and (b) that ongoing repair efforts were underway with a fix in their sights. My benefactor was very clear about asserting that a fix was coming, but might or might not make its way into the next Dev Channel update.

In fact, the Insider Team skipped its usual Wednesday Dev Channel flight on February 3. Then, it didn’t get a flight out last week until Friday, February 12. This is reportedly in the interests of quality and providing needed fixes. All I can say is that, as far as I’m concerned, those reports are on the money. They fixed what ailed my X380 and I’m glad to say “Thanks, Insider Team! Good work.”

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

Windows Release Health Gets MS Makeover

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Thanks to the always-vigilant Mary Jo Foley, I learned yesterday that a key Windows dashboard has a new look. When I say Windows Release Health gets MS makeover, I mean the web page that reports on Windows 10 issues and conditions is snazzed up. It not only covers releases back to 1607. It also provides pointers galore. You’ll find links to information about releases, updates, OS deployment and the Windows lifecycle. You can see  this in the lead-in graphic for this story, in fact.

So What If Windows Release Health Gets MS Makeover?

MJF tweeted that this “new and improved” layout “looks nice” and brings “lots of Win 10 resources in one place.” I concur. This reworked page makes it easy to keep up with all mainained releases  from one dashboard. This one’s definitely worth bookmarking, and visiting regularly.

Here’s a summary of what’s in the page header shown in the graphic. I also list releases for which known issues, release notes, “What’s New” info, and so forth, are available:

Versions of Windows on this page include 20H2, 2004, 1909, 1809, 1803 and 1607.  That final item comes courtesy of LTSC, which uses this version as a still-current base.

MS did a nice job on this effort. Hats off for consolidating lots of useful info, and making it easy to find. Once again: bookmark this one!

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Voidtools Everything Finds Files Fast

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I know plenty of purists who won’t use third-party Windows tools if a Microsoft-supplied tool or facility will do the job. I am not such a person, and I’m happy to use third-party tools that either do things that Microsoft doesn’t do, or do as well as they do. Because Voidtools Everything finds files fast, it’s part of my standard Windows 10 desktop runtime. Oh, and it’s free, imposes little overhead, and — in my experience — runs faster and works better than Microsoft search. I usually get what I’m after before I’ve finished typing my input string.

Because Voidtools Everything Finds Files Fast, Use It!

The Everything FAQ provides a peachy overview of the tool, and explains its speed, behavior and workings. That said, Everything is primarily a name search tool for files and folders. It provides only limited visibility into file contents (that’s a search tool of a different stripe). The developers say that Everything takes about 1 second to index a fresh Windows install (about 120K files) and a minute to index 1M files. It really is fast, based on personal experience. It can also access files on FAT volumes, network storage, and flash devices (but minor configuration wiggles in Tools → Options → Folders are required, shown below).

FAT-derived volumes (like those on SD cards and UFDs) don’t show up by default in Everything. But they are easy to add.
[Click image for full-sized view.]

Working Search for Everything It’s Worth

OK, bad pun, I know. But you can use boolean operators and wildcards in Everything much like you do at the Windows command line. Everything also supports advanced search for more complex search strings that also include the program’s content search functions (warning: these are slow because Everything does not index content in advance). For me the Advanced Search window provides the complex functions I need. Check it out:

Advanced search offers a variety of pattern definition and matching functions. Works like a champ, too!

If, like me, you have lots of storage and millions of files at your fingertips (right now, Everything says it’s indexed 1.4+M objects for me), Everything is handy and useful. If you try it out, you’ll probably end up keeping it around and using it regularly. I use it dozens of times a day, every day myself.

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Likely Windows 10 LTSC Usage Scenarios

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In yesterday’s post, I explained the role of the Semi-Annual Channel (SAC). Indeed, it’s the most apt Windows 10 release for everyday use in most cases. In that discussion, the Long-Term Servicing Channel, aka, LTSC also came in for mention. I’ve just participated in an interesting TenForums thread on this topic. It raises the question of how to get an ISO for this channel, for which I helped find an answer. It also raised a broader question: LTSC, What is it, and when should it be used? This leads in turn to likely Windows 10 LTSC usage scenarios.

What Are Likely Windows 10 LTSC Usage Scenarios?

The preceding link is a 2018 Windows IT Pro Blog post from John Wilcox, He’s a “Windows-as-a-Service” evangelist at Microsoft. In that post he explains (and illustrates) one major LTSC use class:

devices purchased with Windows 10 IoT Enterprise pre-installed. Examples … include kiosks, medical equipment, and digital signs, i.e. use cases where devices are commonly treated as a whole system and are, therefore, “upgraded” by building and validating a new system, turning off the old device, and replacing it with a new, certified device.

He also goes on to explain for such systems that Microsoft

 designed the LTSC with these types of use cases in mind, offering the promise that we will support each LTSC release for 10 years–and that features, and functionality will not change over the course of that 10-year lifecycle.

Understanding the LTSC Release Cadence

MS deliberately slow-walks LTSC releases to the delivery stage. Wilcox explains that a new release is created on a three-year cycle. In fact, “each release contains all the new capabilities and support included in the Windows 10 features updates … released since the previous LTSC…” Thus, LTSC releases use a year to identify themselves. Recent examples include Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2016 and 2019.

Changing Times vs. No Change

Wilcox is pretty adamant that only those scenarios where no change is anticipated over a system’s useful life are truly suitable for LTSC. That means: no new peripherals, no new applications, no new devices and capabilities. Anything different is a strong argument to use the SAC instead. Embedded or dedicated systems often qualify, but little else fits that bill. End of story.

[Note Added February 10:] 2022 LTSC Preview

Good timing. Just saw a notice at TenForums that a new Preview Build 20292 for LTSC 2022 is out: get all the details at the Announcing item. Glad to see MS is still at work on what’s next for LTSC. Be sure to check it out, if this is in your wheelhouse.

 

 

 

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Pondering Microsoft Viva Introduction

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OK, I admit it. I’ve been biting my lip since last week, when MS briefed MVPs about this upcoming milestone. Now that they’ve made an official announcement, I can share my thoughts and reactions. (That’s also where the nifty graphic comes from.  I doubled it up for a better WordPress look.) All this goes to explain why today I’m pondering Microsoft Viva introduction. Potentially,  it means much for modern digital workers everywhere — including me (and you too, dear reader).

When Pondering Microsoft Viva Introduction, Don’t Get Carried Away

Q1: What is Microsoft Viva?
A1: It’s an “Employee Experience Platform,” aka EXP “built for the digital era.” It is designed to bring together “knowledge, learning, resources, and insights into an integrated employee experience…
Further, it “… builds on Microsoft Teams to empower people to be their best, from anywhere.” See the Official Announcement Blog.

Q2: Name the four faces of the Viva EXP?
A2:  They’re repeated in the next graphic. You’ve got Viva Insights, Viva Topics, Viva Learning, and Viva Connections.

Pondering Microsoft Viva Introduction and its four major components.
Pondering Microsoft Viva Introduction and its four major components, we see Insights, Topics, Learning, and Connections.

Of Insights, Topics, Learning and Connections

The emerging scoop on these Teams-based facilities goes  like this:

  • Viva Connections allows an organization’s leaders to shape in-house cultures and mindsets. It also invites employees to help build “an inclusive workplace.” Further, it “helps everyone succeed by giving people a curated, company-branded experience that brings together relevant news, conversations, and other resources.” More at Viva Connections Blog.
  • Viva Insights wants to help people form better work habits, achieve improved work/life balance, and find focus. Using AI (I’m guessing of both global and local varieties) this tool offers  insights to individuals, managers and leaders. They’re described as “personalized and actionable insights that help everyone in an organization thrive.” Mo’ info at Viva Insights Blog.
  • Viva Learning creates a centralized learning hub within Microsoft Teams. There, people can “discover, share, assign and learn from content libraries available across the organization.” “[M]ake learning a natural part of your day” is the goal. MS says it “seamlessly connects into the day to day for our 115 million daily active users in Teams.” Futher deets from Viva Learning Blog.
  • Viva Topics uses AI to provide its users “with knowledge and expertise in Microsoft Teams and the Microsoft 365 apps they use every day.” Based on Teams and Graph, it seeks to “deliver knowledge directly through the Teams users experience later this year.” At present it “has [already] reached general availability for our commercial customers.” Oh, and here’s the link to the Viva Topics Announcement (no blog just yet, I guess). This is the area that, as a Windows Insider MVP, interests me most.

Big Trouble in Little China

…is a delightfully awful 1986 throwaway movie starring Kurt Russell and Kim Cattrall. It also humorously restates my mild concern, understanding now how much MS knows about us through Teams. And then, how much more we’re all going to know about ourselves and each other through that same nexus.

This could might be the best thing that’s ever happened to productivity workers. Or, it might be the first sign that SkyNet is getting itself together to subjugate wee, slow, puny humans. Should be fun to see which way this particular mop flops, eh?

Stay tuned! We’ve all got a lot to ponder as the next step in the man/machine interface takes another small step into the future. Personally, I’m jazzed…

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Remembering Santayana’s Dictum Win10-Wise

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I learned this one as “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Turns out that upon checking Santayana’s aphorism, it’s actually “Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.”  But when it comes to remembering Santayana’s dictum Win10-wise, I was forced to re-learn an important lesson today. Let me explain…

What Remembering Santayana’s Dictum Win10-Wise Means

A funny thing happened to me today: I installed KB4598291 but it didn’t show up in Update History nor in its Control Panel counterpart under Programs and Feaures. Why was this? Because I’d wandered off the update track to force my test PC ahead to 19043.XXX builds using a series of linked DISM statements. Sigh.

Today, I learned why that’s a BAD IDEA. When I realized that something was amiss, I learned that things were further out of whack than I’d dreamed possible. The hack meant that I could no longer use the tried-and-true “in-place upgrade repair install” technique to return my test PC to some semblance of normality.

That Key Doesn’t Work. Try Another…

I used UUPdump.ml to build a customized install ISO for 19042.789. But when I tried to run same on my “unofficial” 19043.782 machine, the installer asked for a Windows 10 key before it would proceed. None of the following worked:

  1. The generic Windows 10 Pro key
  2. The actual key for the current install, as elicited by Showkey Plus
  3. A still active MAK key for Windows 10 Pro I purchased from Crayon, Inc. in 2018

Ouch! I was in trouble. Fortunately, i was able to restore a backup from a time when this test PC was still on the regular Beta/Release Preview build track. Once I’d done that, I was able to catch up and bring the PC up to build 19042.789, as shown in the lead-in graphic for this story.

The Moral of the Story

I’d been warned by friends and colleagues that wandering off the usual Insider Preview track is OK for experiments, but not for ongoing use. Now I know why: once you hit the next Cumulative Update (as I did today) the off-track releases will get weird in a hurry. My advice: learn from my mistake, and don’t go there, unless it’s on a throwaway VM. I now understand that’s how I should have played that, too. Live and learn!

 

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X380 Yoga 21301 Installation Issues

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I’ve been struggling since last Thursday to get the latest Fast Ring version — namely, 21301.1000 — installed.  That’s right, I’ve got “interesting” X380 Yoga 21301 installation issues running hot and cold right now. So far I’ve seen at least 4 different error codes, all of which hit at about the 48% mark after the first reboot. I call this the “post-GUI” phase of Windows 10 installation, because it occurs after the WinPE environment takes over the install process following that first reboot.

Diagnosing X380 Yoga 21301 Installation Issues

I’ve just confirmed that these issues persist in the latest CU 21301.1010,  as well as in 21301.1000. I’ve been using the MS tool setupdiag.exe to get to the bottom of things. But because it finds the NT driver as the culprit for the IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_
EQUAL and the bugcheck 0X0A error, that puts the onus on MS to fix something beyond my control. You can see this in the setupdiag output in the lead-in graphic for this story.

I can tackle and fix lots of Windows 10 drivers. But as I understand it when the NT driver (shows up as lowercase nt in the screencap) is mentioned, it’s general indicator. According to dbgtech.net, “the error might be caused by a device driver, a system service, a virus scanner, or a backup tool that is incompatible with the new version.”

Coming Up Dry Is No Fun at All

I’m running Defender on this PC so I’m pretty sure it’s not involved. I’ve stripped my services down to the bare minimum. Macrium Reflect is my backup too (and still working on the X220 Tablet that has managed both of these recent updates/upgrades). The same device drivers work on 19042.746 on my other nearly-identical X380 Yoga PC (only difference: Toshiba SSD vs. Samsung).

I’m still looking for enlightenment, but not finding any. Last time something like this happened, I just had to wait for a new Fast Ring/Dev Channel release, and it installed just fine. Here’s hoping!

[Note Added Feb 12] 21313 Brings Success!

I’d been contacted by a member of the Windows Insiders team as a result of sharing a link to this post on the Windows Insider MVP Yammer community. I was informed that a future Dev Channel release would fix my problem. As I learned earlier this afternoon, 21313 installed without difficulties. Seems that this PC got bit by a known bugcheck error.  It’s the first item on the Fixes list in the 21313 release notes. This has been a known issue for some time, and is apparently now fixed. Woo hoo!

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

UFD Failure Presents Strange Symptoms

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I had one of my 16 GB Mushkin Atom USB Flash Drives (UFDs) fail on me this weekend. Alas, it happened in the middle of a boot-into-restore operation on my Lenovo X220 Tablet.  Because I didn’t think I’d built Rescue Media, I stuck the UFD into the machine while that process was underway. After the restore ended,  because that very same UFD failure presents strange symptoms I blamed Reflect. Wrong!

When UFD Failure Presents Strange Symptoms, Then What?

As is my usual practice when a device presents odd behaviors or symptoms, I go into diagnostics mode. When I dug into the drive using MiniTool Partition Magic (MTPW), I could see 5 NTFS partitions on that device. Each was a miniscule 3.8 MB in size. But no set of contortions would return that device to operation. Diskpart didn’t do it at the command line, nor was MTPW able to return it to working order. When I inserted it into Disk Management, I got the ultimate judgement on its condition shown in this story’s lead-in graphic: “Bad Disk.” That seemed to sum things up pretty nicely.

This is the second UFD I’ve had fail on me in the past 5 years or so. I just counted 28 of them here in my office, in sizes ranging from 8 GB to 128 GB. I use them all the time. The smaller ones are usually bootable with OS images, rescue media, or repair tools. The larger ones act primarily as portable storage for project work when I go on the road. And apparently, they do fail from time to time.

Macrium Reflect Forum Sets Things Straight

I hope I can be forgiven for initially wanting to blame Reflect for trashing the UFD. It did go south on me in the middle of a Macrium operation, after all. Then, I learned more about how Rescue Media works, courtesy of MR forum regulars “Froggie” and “jphughan.” Now, I am inclined to agree with their analysis that the UFD’s failure was coincidental.

Let me explain: it seems that when invoked using the “boot to restore” operation, jphughan told me “the WIM file inside the Rescue Media cached build folder — but that is a folder on (by default) your C partition.”  Given that member jphughan has 8.5K posts on the forums and has reached “Macrium Evangelist” level, I’m inclined to believe he knows what he’s talking about.

And in fact, I saw my system go into Recovery from the usual boot drive (a Plextor SSD) on that PC. Turns out that there’s a sub-older inside C:\Boot that’s named Macrium. It in turn has folders for the drivers it needs, various Windows 10 Assessment and Deployment Kit elements (aka WA10Files) folder, where the all-important boot.wim file for the WinRE version that Macrium uses to boot its Rescue Media resides.

Given that the UFD doesn’t function properly, but the system not only booted and ran its restore, this is the only way to explain how that process occurred. Thus, I concur with my informants from the Macrium Forums that (a) restore ran from the C: drive and (b) the UFD was either dead or died somewhere during the reboot process that proceeded just fine without its help or involvement.

Just goes to show that coincidence is a powerful force, but one that can be reasoned past when needs must.

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Relearning X220 Tablet Macrium Restore Takes Time

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I spent most of yesterday afternoon, and  a fair chunk of the evening, working on an article about repairing damaged, unresponsive or misbehaving MS Office installs. Naturally, I used a test machine for this project. Thus, I could do potentially horrible things to one machine, while writing about them on another. I backed up the old (2012) Lenovo X220 Tablet using Macrium Reflect before starting. That meant I could later restore my pristine OS and Office environment once playtime ended. This morning, I realized relearning X220 Tablet Macrium Restore takes time. Over an hour, in fact, when all was said and done.

Why Relearning X220 Tablet Macrium Restore Takes Time

Two reasons. First, the X220 Tablet is old enough that 300 Mbps is as fast as it can transfer data disk-to-disk. This is true, even when both disks are SSDs. One’s a Plextor mSATA 256GB PX6 SSD, the other is an ancient OCZ Vertex-3 128 GB SSD. The backup only took 8 minutes to lay down. But because a reboot required booting into WindowsPE, then into Macrium’s runtime, then restoring said backup, that part took over 30 minutes to complete.

The second reason falls rather more under the heading of “operator error,” subclass “I didn’t know Reflect could do that!” Let me explain. When I went to run the restore this time, Reflect asked me if I wanted to boot right into its bootable recovery media, ready to run the restore I’d just requested.

Silly me: I said “Yes!” That meant I needed to add the Macrium Recovery entry to my boot menu, build a Macrium Recovery partition, and wait for all that processing to finish before the machine could reboot and run the restore. That took another 15-20 minutes.

Good News, Bad News

I didn’t understand that Reflect would do this on my boot/system disk. The lead-in graphic for this story shows that my C drive layout now sports an 837MB Recovery Partition at the end of the sequence. Thus, the reboot worked after I removed the 8 GB UFD I’d inserted into the X220 Tablet, thinking I needed to build external WinRE media. The restore proceeded to a successful finish after that. That’s the good news.

The bad news is, the software ate my 8GB Mushkin UFD. It now shows up in diskmgmt.msc as “No media” with 0 Bytes capacity. When I tried to reformat it on another PC, I got an error message saying the UFD malfunctioned and could not be mounted. I’ll be sharing this experience on the Macrium forums, but I’m surprised that the program was allowed to (apparently) eat my flash drive. It won’t respond to low-level format commands at the command line, either. (Diskpart reports “an I/O device error.” I think this one is beyond repair.) Weird.

It’s no great loss (the device cost under US$10). But it still shouldn’t happen. I hope to follow up when I learn more. Stay tuned!

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