Category Archives: Windows 11

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

8GadgetPack Is Now Just GadgetPack

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We returned from our holiday travels over the weekend, and I’ve been slowly getting back into the groove here at Chez Tittel. While I didn’t apparently miss many updates or upgrades, one interesting item popped up. Helmut Buhler has renamed his epic 8GadgetPack tool to drop the leading 8 — making it GadgetPack — with a similarly truncated website to match. Hence my claim that 8GadgetPack is now just GadgetPack. But boy, does it bring a lot of welcome changes, too. Let me explain.

If 8GadgetPack Is Now Just GadgetPack, Changes Follow

You can see the complete list of changes to this essential Windows toolkit (IMHO, anway) in its December 25 changelog entry. But a quick look at the lead-in graphic shows some changes emphatically. The new version is at left, and the old at right, showing my go-to gadgets on Windows physical and virtual desktops everywhere. You can see a newer, more stripped-down approach to those tools, especially the Clock. Simply put, Buhler has updated icons, gadgets and controls (now called settings) to mesh more directly with standard Windows 10 and 11 UI stuff. It looks great, too.

Clock is simpler, sparer and feels less dated.

What Else Ya Got?

The changelog entry for 12/25 cites to updated graphics for “many gadgets, gadget icons, gadget grip buttons and the GadgetPack installer itself.” This is no exaggeration. The program is updated and refreshed throughout. The version number is now up to 38.0, too. For those who already use this tool, this is a must-have update. For those who’ve yet to take it for a spin, it’s even more worth doing than it was before.

A great Christmas present for Windows-heads everywhere. Thanks for your hard work, and a great update, Mr. Buhler!

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Device drivers, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, WED Blog, Windows 11, Windows Update

ThinkBook Hybrid Fails 24H2 Upgrade

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I can’t say I’m surprised, but I can confess to mild bepuzzlement. Over the weekend, WU decided that a new test laptop — a Lenovo ThinkBook Plus G5  — was ready for 24H2. Alas, for a variety of good reasons that ThinkBook hybrid fails 24H2 upgrade and goes down in flames. Indeed, I had to use the WinRE “Uninstall upgrade” option for the first time ever to bring that machine back to life.

Why ThinkBook Hybrid Fails 24H2 Upgrade

Of course, when I checked the machine this morning, I hadn’t interfered with WU, so it was already attempting this doomed upgrade again. You can see it’s at 25% complete in the lead-in graphic. I foiled that by restarting the PC, then pausing updates for 7 days in the WU controls, as you can see here:

While I’m troubleshooting, I suspended updates.

What the Panther Logs Have to Say

There are two primary logs worth checking into if an upgrade fails to complete successfully — namely:


C:\$Windows.~BT\Sources\panther\setupact.log
C:\$Windows.~BT\Sources\panther\miglog.xml

These are liberally bestrewn with errors of all kinds including device drivers and storage items. The ThinkBook’s “hybrid drive” bridges between native Windows storage on the deck and native Android storage on the tablet. It takes the form of something called a Hybrid Tab in File Explorer (see next screencap). I believe it’s very likely involved in my snafu.

Because it uses a special driver and customized software, I’m betting that the Hybrid Tab is the source of storage and driver issues.

Copilot tells me that if I upgrade from bootable media, the ThinkBook may survive the upgrade process intact. Right now, I think it’s losing the Hybrid Tab scaffolding amidst the post-GUI reboots during the serious parts of OS install. That sounds like it’s worth a try. But first, I’ll make a fresh image backup and be ready to restore same should things go south again.

Stay tuned! This could get interesting…

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

Eliciting Windows Store App Version Info

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Here’s an interesting thing. For conventional Windows applications, a quick trip to Help > About is all it usually takes to see their version info. Alas, by and large, Windows apps lack such facilities. In reading about a recent update to the Phone Link app at WinAero this morning, I went looking at my various installations to see what I could see. Turns out that eliciting Windows Store app version info is doable, but may take a little finesse. I found two can’t-fail methods, which I will share here.

Why I’m Eliciting Windows Store App Version Info

The afore-linked WinAero study avers, and my own checks confirm, that only Insider versions of Windows 11 currently get the required version of Phone Link. Indeed, Phone Link’s version number must be 1.24112.73.0 or higher on the PC for the new pop-up share file menu to pop up. This raised the question: how to check Phone App version number in particular, and Store app numbers in general.

I found two relatively easy ways, neither of them glaringly obvious:

[Method 1] Use the WinGet list command, e.g. WinGet list “Phone Link” in this case (because the name includes an interior space, it must be enclosed in single or double quote marks).

The version on this Canary PC is 1.24112.89.0.

[Method 2] Visit the Microsoft Store, and look it up on its product page there. Some scrolling (look for the “Additional information” subheading) is required. Using the Phone Link entry as an example, here’s what you see:

Version number is at lower right.

Store Lookup Gets Weird

I wasn’t able to look Phone Link up using Windows Store search. I had to go to the Downloads icon in the left-hand column and look for the most recent update to Phone Link  there. That took me to the product page where I grabbed for foregoing information, including version number.  And when I asked Copilot to give a link it gave me something different instead “Sync your PC and phone easily with Phone link.” It includes a link to open the Phone Link app (Open-URL:ms-phone) which seems to indicate that while the Phone Link app gets updates from the Store, it comes pre-installed through some other means. Go figure!

What an interesting ride this one turned out to be…

Concluding Hilarious and Unscientific Postscript

Just for grins I asked Copilot “What version of Phone Link is running?” It gave the right answer too. So there’s a third possible method. But when asked what version of Copilot was running Copilot sez: “While I don’t have specific version details, I am always here to provide accurate information and support.” I have to laugh!

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Insider stuff, Recent Activity, WED Blog, Windows 11

Canary Compresses Date/Time Layout

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Every now and then, Microsoft likes to mess with Windows desktop display stuff. Today’s case in point come courtesy of Windows 11 Canary Build 27754, installed two days ago. In this go-round, Canary compresses date/time layout at the far right of the notification area. You can see its incredibly brief form: 10:23 above, and 11/22 below in the lead-in graphic. Does that mean I have to like it — or even want like that? Heck, no. If Canary compresses date/time layout on its own recognizance that gives me cause to report here, and remonstrate elsewhere.

If Canary Compresses Date/Time Layout, Then?

Based on my attempts to reformat the date from its current minimalist form to something a bit more informative, neither Settings > Time & Language > Language and Region nor Control Panel > Region > Date and time formats exercises any obvious effect on its appearance. I filed a Feedback Hub request to ask them to allow the prevailing settings to work rather than changing them independendly. Sheesh!

If you want to upvote my Feedback Hub suggestion, see it at Notification time/date in Canary Build 27754. TIA.

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

I’m not sure why MS rearranges things at its own whim, or for reasons not fully understood, explained, or immediately obvious. But it happens from time to time. Looking at the 27754 announcement, MS has this to say:

You can revert to the long form of the date/time and bell icon visuals by toggling the values in the Settings via Settings > Date and Time under “Show time and day in the system tray” and Settings > System > Notifications under “Notifications”.

Then I found it: there’s a down-caret for a dropdown menu on the “Show time and date in the System Tray” entry in the “Date & time” section. If you open that dropdown, you can switch back to long-form displays. Here’s what that looks like:


As you can see, I clicked the entry “Show seconds…” Once I did that the time then displays as 11:15:27 AM and the date as 2024-11-22, as per my settings. It looks like one must go the long way around to get to the right destination. That’s not a totally unexpected experience in Windows-World, either!

Why didn’t the announcement simply say, switch from Show abbreviated date and time to Show seconds in system tray…? I would’ve understood that immediately, and known exactly what to do. Sigh.

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Copilot+ PCs, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, WED Blog, Windows 11

Copilot+ PC High-Perf Power Plan

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Here’s something interesting. I’ve got a Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga Slim 7i Aura 15 (aka Model 15ILL9) Copilot+ PC. It’s the Intel follow on to the Snapdragon X models let go earlier this year. In reading over Paul Thurrott’s November 14 review of that unit, I saw that defining a Copilot+ PC high-perf power plan will produce more reliable and faster output, albeit at some cost to battery life. FWIW, this accords with my own observations and experience. But by default, all Copilot+ PCs use the Balanced power plan. It gets better…

Where’s the Copilot+ PC High-Perf Power Plan?

Alas, likewise by default, Balanced is the ONLY power plan defined and available for Copilot+ PCs (and indeed, for most PCs that support the S0 sleep state). What to do? You can create one, but that involves tweaking more than a handful of settings. Wait: there’s a better way.

I went trolling around at ElevenForum.com and found a thread that linked to a Web site named  Windows Answer File Generator. It includes an entry named Windows 10 Power Configuration. Indeed, that script works for Windows 11 as well. So I used it, then downloaded the resulting file named power.bat to the afore-mentioned 15ILL9 Copilot+ PC. It ran within a Command Prompt session without issue, and shows up now as the current, in-use Power Plan:

After running the script, High Performance is the chosen Power Plan.

Good stuff! If you find yourself in a situation where you need more performance or reliability from a Copilot+ PC, this technique and its tool stand ready to help. Do yourself a favor, and give them a try…

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Insider stuff, Recent Activity, WED Blog, Windows 11, Windows Update

MSA Switch Brings Standard 24H2 Aboard

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Here’s the happy, happy conclusion of my recent saga involving the ThinkPad X1 Extreme laptop. When I ran the clean install of 24H2, I also provided a different MSA than the one I’d used previously. Because that combination of MSA and machine name is not enrolled in the Insider Preview program, the Windows installer went with the standard General Availability (GA) channel. Hence, I aver that an MSA switch brings standard 24H2 to that PC.

Why Say: MSA Switch Brings Standard 24H2?

The results speak for themselves, as you can see in the Winver output in the lead-in graphic. You can also see that the machine is not enrolled in any Insider Channel. Instead it says “Join the Windows Insider Program.” That means it’s not enrolled.

Because I use this machine on the road, especially for legal cases, that’s a good thing. I’m actually pleased to have this laptop back on the primary GA track. That means it should be as stable as Windows 11 gets. So, all’s well that ends well, but it took some doing.

A Long and Winding Road to 24H2 26100.2314

After I completed the clean install and started into the OOBE, I supplied a different MSA for this machine setup. It was therefore happy to stick with the GA thread of 24H2 releases. I did have to apply two sets of updates (2 CUs and one preceding update, plus an MSRT and a Confugration Update). I show most of that history in the next screencap:

2 CUs, another update, MST and configuration stuff (plus 8 drivers and 2 Defender updates) make the install current.

The Rest of the Schlemozzel

Now, of course, I need to restore the applications I like to use on my production PCs. PatchMyPC Home Updater can handle many of them, but I’ll need to install Office 2024, Nitro Pro, WizTree, and a few other odds’n’ends to bring the machine back to its former glory. But hey! I’m caught up to 24H2, back in the GA channel, and ready to rock and roll. It’s what passes for a happy ending, here in Windows-World!

Bottom line: as soon as the installer recognized it could only handle a clean install, things got on the right track. I’m not sure how I got off that track when I manually installed a CU the other day, but I’m glad to have a clue as to what’s what on that laptop finally restored.

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X1 Extreme 24H2 Beta Pickle

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For me, a key aspect involved in learning Windows’ many ins and outs is occasionally painting myself into a corner. That’s what I seem to have done with the Beta Channel Windows 11 install image on my Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme. ( Equipped with 8th-Gen i7-8850H, 32GB RAM, 2xNVMe SSD, and NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti/Intel UHD 630.) As I explained in yesterday’s post I got it to build 22635.4460 under the 23H2 version umbrella. Upon discovering it was an Insider Preview anyway, I decided to run the 24H2 Installation Assistant, and let the chips fall as they would. Fall they did, and now I’m in an X1 Extreme 24H2 Beta pickle. Let me explain…

Easier Into than Out of X1 Extreme 24H2 Beta Pickle

Take a look at the lead-in graphic. It shows Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program with the X1 Extreme in the Beta Channel. Alas, it also shows the Build number as 26100.1742. According to Copilot it was released on September 10. 2024 as part of the original Windows 11 24H2 update. It’s not a Beta Channel release. Rather, it’s a production release build (and what obviously provided the image info for the corresponding ISO or contents that the Installation Assistant uses).

That’s the corner I’m in right now. The Insider Program thinks I’m in the Beta Channel, but my current build and image fall outside that channel. On a whim I tried repairing the image with an ISO for 26100.2314 — the most current production build. To my combined relief and chagrin, this failed with a “The install failed” error. That’s what I’d expect from a version mismatch.

Onto the Next Repair: Beta Channel ISO

I’m now going to try again, with the latest Beta Channel item from the Windows 11 Inside Preview ISO Downloads page. My best guess, and my fervent hope, is that this will make for a successful in-place upgrade repair. At this point, I’m past the half-way point in the download. I’ll be able to access and use the ISO shortly…

The ISO mounted as the G: drive. I’m running setup.exe from the root directory right now. It’s checking for updates, then the installer had to restart itself. I’m now accepting the EULA and then comes the moment of truth: the only option available is for a clean install, as you can see here (note the two “keep” options are greyed out, and unavailable):

The Windows Installer finally gets wise and requires a clean install.

That’s an acceptable offer, and I’m going to take it. But first I want to experiment with WinGet Export to save all my stuff and attempt to import it back later on. I also need to make an image backup in case something goes wrong in my next planned steps.

Tomorrow, I’ll close this out, report on how the clean install went, and reflect on the whole experience. Stay tuned…

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Insider stuff, Recent Activity, WED Blog, Windows 11, Windows Update

X1 Extreme Still Gets No 24H2 Offer

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I’m getting down to the bitter end, and it’s troubling me. The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme still gets no 24H2 offer from Windows Update. Indeed, it’s my only remaining 23H2 holdout. Looking at the 24H2 Known Issues List, I can’t figure out why. One outstanding possibility is the Synaptics WBDI fingerprint reader. But shoot, it’s dated 12/4/2022. I’m puzzled… OTOH, Copilot says that Intel Display Audio drivers include Intel SST audio support, and that’s a listed issue as well. It could be the blocker, and a good thing to know.

Waiting Impatiently, as X1 Extreme Still Gets No 24H2 Offer

Here’s what I’ve done to try to address potential update hold issues:

  1. Applied all Optional updates, including drivers
  2. Use Snappy Driver Installer Origin (SDIO) to update NVIDIA and Intel Display Audio drivers (restart required)
  3. Run comprehensive cleanup and integrity checks (PC Manager, DISM, sfc, etc.)

Still no joy, and no real clue on how to get over this hump. All in all, I’m both miffed and bemused that a 2018 vintage (8th-Gen) i7 PC is still lagging behind the update pack. I’m biting my tongue, holding back on forcing matters. I guess I have a perverse desire to see how long it’s going to take for WU to come through with 24H2.

Only time will tell, I guess! And that’s they way things go sometimes, here in Windows -World.

Additional Oddments Present on X1 Extreme

OK, so today is Patch Tuesday. I couldn’t get WU to present KB5046633, so I downloaded the self-installing update file (.msu). It took nearly an hour to get it up and going again, but the PC is now running 22635.4460. I suddenly understand that this PC is running the Beta Insider version (a surprise to me, or perhaps a “senior moment”). THAT explains why the update took so long: it had LOTS of work to do to fit it into the beta release…

Given that it’s running an Insider version anyway, I’ve decided to force matters using the 24H2 Installation Assistant. Here goes… Chunking through the GUI portion without issues, but took awhile (~ 45 minutes). First reboot to completion: same again. But I had no idea the Windows Installer could play such hopscotch with Insider Preview updates. I just flat thought it wouldn’t work. It’s actually kind of amazing. And, with many things in my Windows experience, the biggest surprises — like this one — are mostly self-inflicted.

There is a problem though: the Build Number currently self-reports at 26100.1742. This corresponds to the early October build for plain-vanilla 24H2, NOT the beta version. I just ran WU and updated again, and it still reports the same build number. Very strange! I’m going to build an ISO for 22100.2314 and see if it will repair install. This is getting decidedly interesting…

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Fixing Winget Source Update Fail

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In the past two-plus years that I’ve used WinGet nearly every day, I’ve seen one error show up occasionally. It reads “Failed in attempting to update the source: winget.” This means that the winget command is looking to its own repository of known packages to obtain the latest list but unable to complete that access request. You can see what this looks like at the top of the lead-in graphic. The error follows right after the initial WinGet upgrade… command. The bottom part of that same screencap (it’s two pieces stitched together, actually) shows what’s involved in fixing WinGet Source update fail.

Fixing Winget Source Update Fail Has Its Own Command

It should come as no surprise that there’s a WinGet Source command that takes various subcommands to add, list, update, remove, reset and export WinGet sources. You can read all about these items in this MS Learn item The winget source command.

As you can see at the bottom of the lead-in graphic I used WinGet Source Update -n WinGet for my fix. Basically, that tells Winget to “try again” with updating the default WinGet source named WinGet. It does so automatically when you run WinGet Upgrade… But it does occasionally fail. And when it does, most of the time the Source Update at the head of this paragraph fixes things.

When Might WinGet Source Update Itself Fail?

A variety of problems could provoke error messages from the WinGet Source Update -n WinGet command I used for my fix. It might be that the WinGet source is offline. It might be some kind of networking communication problem is preventing access. I’ve never had this happen, but it would no doubt produce a different error message to help point you in the right direction. WinGet is well engineered that way.

Indeed, WinGet is now an essential part of my admin toolbox. I simply can’t live without it anymore. Cheers!

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Replacement Production PC Planning

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All righty, now. I’m making the move to switch over from my now-ancient i7 Skylake B550 desktop to a Lenovo ThinkStation P3 Ultra. That has me jumping 6 Intel generations: the Skylake is a 7th-Gen beast; and the P3 is home to a Core i9-13900. I’ll also be switching over to a newish 46″ 2022 vintage monitor from a pair of 2017 Dell 27″ UltraSharps. As I get into the minutae of replacement production PC planning, big changes are afoot. It’s past time — and I’ll keep the Windows 10 box running to observe EOS and beyond — but I need to get production on a newer footing.

Comparing Cases: Replacement Production PC Planning

The lead-in graphic shows two PC cases side by side. On the left: the new SFF case on its side for the P3 Ultra. On the right, the Rosewill BlackHawk Ultra case (ordered from Newegg in 2015).  The picture is emphatically not to scale. By volume the P3 case would fit 4.77 times into the Rosewill case. The old beast is MUCH bigger.

But much of that size is meant  to accommodate as many as 8 3.5″ HDDs. By contrast, the P3 can accommodate 1 2.5″ SATA device and 2 M.2 NVMe SSDs. This is driving a lot of my pre-migration acquisition plans. Here’s the current iteration:

  • A modestly-priced Gen4 NVMe for the 2nd unoccupied slot in the P3 (estimated cost ~US$200).
  • 2 more 32GB DDR5-5600 SO-DIMMs to bring the unit up from 64GB to 128GB RAM. ($US150 or so).
  • If it will fit, I’ll use one of my Seagate 5 TB 2.5″ SATA drives in the unit’s SATA enclosure (it’s a tall drive heightwise: 15mm). If not, I’ll probably buy another 4TB SATA SSD (US$180 or so)

I’ve got everything else I need to bring the build together and start moving everything over. Max total budget looks like US$530 or so. Not too shabby. I’ll probably buy another copy of PC Mover to get everything moved over, unless I somehow get persuaded otherwise. It’s been my modus operandi for my last two production moves and seems to work reasonably well.

Stay tuned: more is surely coming … and soon, I hope.

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