Category Archives: Windows Update

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

Recent 25145 Dev Channel Hijinks

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The last two Dev Channel builds are 25145 and 25140. For both of them, my Start Menu has been munged when first accessing the desktop. On 25140, a restart set things back to rights. On 25145, I launched File Explorer, then restarted the process in Task Manager. That worked, too. So while recent 25145 Dev Channel hijinks have been irksome, they’ve been by no means insurmountable.

Limits to Recent 25145 Dev Channel Hijinks

Interestingly, this phenom occurs only my Lenovo X12 Hybrid Tablet. It does not pop up on the Lenovo X380 laptop. I don’t see any interesting errors in Reliability Monitor on the X12 that could point to possible causes. Once again, I find myself wondering if it might be related to 8GadgetPack, which has wonked around for a while lately  in the wake of new Dev Channel builds.

Recent 25145 Dev Channel Hijinks.relimon

This time Relimon doesn’t have much useful to say (the SearchHost item is a known gotcha, unrelated to my issue).

Frankly, it’s hard to pinpoint the cause of this trouble without more data to go on. But now that I know how to work around it without a restart, I’ll keep plugging away as new Dev Channel builds keep coming. Either the problem will get fixed in the background, or I’ll get enough data to identify — and hopefully deal with — the actual cause.

FWIW, I’ve sent feedback to the hub about this. It’s entitled “Build 25145 start menu nonresponsive on first boot.” Please upvote if you encounter the same thing on one of your Dev Channel PCs or VMs. Cheers!

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Windows 11 Build 22616 Updates Itself All Over

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It’s not often I get to say this. That’s why I’m going to celebrate an unusual occurrence. What does “Windows 11 Build 22616 Updates Itself All Over” mean? Glad you asked! It means all three of my test machines updated themselves without any effort on my part. That hasn’t happened in quite some time, so I’ll say “Hurrah!”

Is Windows 11 Build 22616 Updates Itself All Over Good?

You bet! It means that a Dev/Beta release is solid enough to get past my admittedly tiny gauntlet with nary a glitch nor hiccup. And, at the same time, I got all of my production Windows 11 PCs (of which I currently also have three) past the KB5012159 update without issue as well.

It’s not often I get to pat MS on the back for a job well done. Honestly, I’m tickled to see things working just the way they’re supposed to, even if it’s just for today. What a treat! Good work, you guys, especially the whole @WindowsInsiders team.

Other Problems Manifest and Persist, Tho…

That doesn’t mean everything with my PC fleet here at Chez Tittel is sunshine and roses. It’s just that MS isn’t currently on the hook with me right now. Just yesterday I had a fascinating but frustrating encounter with Nvidia trying to make my login to GeForce Experience work. I had to go through three rounds of password reset before I could login to the dag-blamed application.

Of all the issues I fight regularly, logins, passwords and account management are probably the most time-consuming and pointless uses of my time. Indeed, I will confess that there are certain sites or services I can’t login into using Chrome that work in Firefox (same account, password and originating IP address), and vice-versa. I’ve never been able to figure that one out. I just hope to remember which one to use to get things right ASAP.

As anybody who’s tilled the PC patch for any length of time knows, “It’s always something.” Stay tuned: I’ll keep documenting my issues and learning as things go forward. But today, MS gets my thanks and a weekend pass to the fleshpots of its choosing. I’ll buy the beer!

About Mr. Holmes and The Curious Incident

That occurred in Doyle’s 1892 story “The Silver Blaze which included this bit of dialog between himself and a Yard detective, to wit:

Gregory (Scotland Yard detective): “Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?”

Holmes: “To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.”

Gregory: “The dog did nothing in the night-time.”

Holmes: “That was the curious incident.”

Thus, my point with the reference was that nothing odd, weird or negative happened with 22616. And again, a pat on the back and thanks to the MS developers for that very thing.

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Cool Tools, Insider stuff, PowerShell, WED Blog, Windows 11, Windows Update

Checking Windows DotNET Versions Installed

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A recent Windows news story reports that “KB5012643 for Windows 11 breaks .NET Framework 3.5 apps” (WindowsReport). This raises some interesting questions for Windows 11 users. For some, it apparently renders certain apps inoperable. Indeed, the bug highlights the value of checking Windows DotNET versions installed on a given PC.

So I did a little research, and learned there are at least two methods to run this info down. In fact, MS offers a multi-page Docs item that explains how to do it using PowerShell. Belgian-based software developer (and former MVP) Nick Asseloos’ ASoft company goes another way. It offers a free download named .NET Version Detector. Its output provides the lead-in graphic for this story.

What Checking Windows DotNET Versions Installed Tells You

As you can see by examining the lead-in graphic. the detector provides information of several kinds, conveniently listed in order from top to bottom by row:

Row1: Versions of the MIcrosoft .NET Framework Installed. In my example, it shows older versions to the left (2.0, 3.0, and 3.5, with SP levels),and current versions to the right (4.8, with latest update level).

Row2: Extra Details show the folder locations for the various frameworks installed. It also shows names and levels for frameworks installed as well (mostly relevant to 4.x versions), plus languages and updates (mostly a bunch of KB article identifiers).

Row3: .NET Core versions installed for 64-bit (left) and 32-bit (right) enviornments. Given my machines all run Windows 10 or 11, 32-bit is mostly MIA.

How ‘Bout Going the Other Way ‘Round?

OK, we know now how to determine what .NET versions are installed on a Windows PC. What about figuring out which applications use some specific .NET framework? That’s a bit trickier. The only sure-fire method I could find was to fire up SysInternals Process Explorer. There’s a tab named “.NET Assemblies” that shows up whenever a process that includes same gets highlighted.

This means you can find out which .NET versions are in use primarily by observation and inspection. Stack Overflow has an article that explains how to automate this process for managed processes using C# or PowerShell. I’ll leave that as an “exercise for the reader” for those inclined to work out to that extent!

[Note: this story gives a shout out to the redoubtable Martin Brinkmann at Ghacks, whose 2014 story (updated 2018) introduced me to ASoft .NET Version Detector. Nochmals vielen Dank! (Thanks very much again!)]

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KB5012643 Safe Mode Bug Gets KIR

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What on earth does this article title mean? Glad you asked! KIR stands for Known Issue Rollback. Once a Windows 11 PC gets the cited KB installed, it may not run properly if booted into Safe Mode (no networking). MS suggests in its Known Issues discussion  that users boot into Safe Mode with Networking. This avoids looping Explorer crashes that otherwise cause screen flickering. Hopefully, the title now makes sense. KB5012643 Safe Mode bug gets KIR means MS will automatically apply a rollback of the offending feature to PCs that tag WU servers. A reboot is required for the fix to do its thing.

When KB5012643 Safe Mode Bug Gets KIR, What Happens?

You can learn more about Known Issue Rollback in a Windows IT Pro Blog post from March 2021. It’s entitled “Known Issue Rollback: Helping you keep Windows devices protected and productive.” Here’s what this item states.  KIR “… is an important Windows servicing improvement to support non-security bug fixes, enabling us to quickly revert a single, targeted fix to a previously released behavior if a critical regression is discovered.” In simpler terms, MS can tell WU to back out individual update package components.

Behind the scenes, policy settings either enable or disable code paths for “before” or “after” versions of code. If the “after” version is enabled, the update applies; if the “before” version is enabled, it reverts to the previous version.

Here’s how it works, quoted from the afore-linked post:

When Microsoft decides to rollback a bug fix in an update because of a known issue, we make a configuration change in the cloud. Devices connected to Windows Update or Windows Update for Business are notified of this change and it takes effect with the next reboot.

This is depicted in the lead-in graphic for this story.

Read the Post for More Deets…

There’s lots of great discussion in the Known Issue Rollback blog post. If you remain curious about its workings and capabilities, check it out. There’s also a much more technical exploration of KIRs from annoopcnair.com available for those who really want to get into the weeds. It covers details about managing and filtering group policies, and working with the KIR Policy Definitions Setup Wizard.  I didn’t know you could do that, so that makes this good stuff!

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Overlapping Taskbars Get Easy Fix

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Here’s an interesting one. In running RDP sessions on my Windows 10 (Build 19044.1682) desktop, the local taskbar suddenly started covering the remote session taskbar. This happened immediately after I installed the latest Preview CU (KB5011831), and proved mildly bothersome. Once I figured out how to properly describe the problem, such overlapping taskbars get easy fix. This is another case where restarting Explorer in the host session’s Task Manager does the trick.

As often happens, finding a solution requires a proper problem statement. I used the search string “taskbar from windows 10 host session covers RDP session taskbar.” It was close enough for me to find numerous discussions, and to find a fix posted in January 2017.

How-to: Overlapping Taskbars Get Easy Fix

For those not already in the know, here’s  a step-by-step recitation of the “Restart Explorer” drill:

1. Open the Taskbar on the host PC (on Windows 10, right-clicking the taskbar produces a pop-up menu that includes Task manager; on Windows 10 or 11, CTRL-Shift-ESC opens it right up).

2. On the Processes pane find an instance of Windows Explorer. Right-click the item and Restart appears in the resulting pop-up menu. Click Restart to shut down and restart the Explorer process.

3. Wait a while: the taskbar will disappear. Then, its contents will reappear, sometimes rapidly, sometimes more slowly (never takes more than 20 seconds on any of my PCs, though).

When that process is complete, the host taskbar should obligingly disappear when you work in the RDP session window. At least, that’s how it works on my Windows 10 production desktop now. If the problem recurs, repeat the foregoing steps.

Not much to it, really. But good to know, should you ever find yourself in that situation. Cheers!

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Insider stuff, Recent Activity, Troubleshooting, Updates, WED Blog, Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Update

Three Windows Update Repair Tips

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Recent reporting on the latest Patch Tuesday (April 13) includes mention of issues with completing Cumulative Updates (CUs). Thus, for example, check out this WindowsLatest item dated April 22. Entitled Watch out for these issues in Windows 11 KB5012592 & Windows 10 KB5012599 it mentions various errors would-be updaters could encounter. It also mentions two tried-and-true recovery/repair techniques, to which I’ll add a suggestion of my own. Thus, I provide three Windows Update repair tips for your consideration and use.

Here Are Three Windows Update Repair Tips

Note: all these tips work equally well for both Windows 10 and Windows 11. Use ’em with my blessing in the order provided. In my personal experience they’ll cover most update issues people are likely to encounter.

Tip1: Simple Reboot

That’s right. If a CU update fails to complete, the first strategy is to reboot the PC, and try again. Believe it or not, that is sometimes all that’s needed to get things working.

Tip2: Shift-Shutdown

If you hold down the Shift key while you select the Shutdown option in Windows 10 or 11, it forces what’s sometimes called a “full shutdown.” This forces Windows to close all opened apps and applications. It also logs out any logged-in accounts. At the same time, a full shutdown performs neither a hybrid shutdown nor will it hibernate your PC.

Hibernation saves open documents and running applications to the %systemdrive% and copies them back into RAM upon restart, to speed that process along and let you pick up where you left off. That’s NOT desirable when fixing WU issues.

A hybrid shutdown hibernates the kernel session (what the OS is doing) and shuts down everything else. This supports Fast Boot capabilities on the subsequent reboot process to speed it up. It’s enough like hibernation that it too, is NOT desirable when fixing WU issues.

Tip3: Reset WU

Although the tutorial “Reset Windows Update…” appears on TenForums, it works equally well for Windows 11. Basically, it involves running a batch file that stops all update related services, resets all the update related registry keys, then restarts all the update related services it stopped. Surprisingly, it works like a charm. I routinely keep this batch file on many of my Windows 10 and 11 desktops. As it has worked for me both long and well, so it can also do for you.

If None of the Above Works, Then What?

Alas, in some cases, none of the aforementioned fixes will work. Next thing I’d consider would be an in-place repair install (covered in this equally handy tutorial). After that, more dire measures including a clean install and/or a trip to the shop might be warranted. In my 30-plus years of “messing with Windows” that has happened to me exactly twice. One of these occurrences happened less than two weeks ago (see this post for details). Odds are, therefore, it shouldn’t happen to you. Fingers crossed!  One of them was pretty recent, after all…

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Beta Promotion Difficulties Continue

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I must report that my various efforts to get from Beta build 22000.588 to Dev channel build 22581 have gone nowhere. Hence my title “Beta Promotion Difficulties Continue,” to punctuate my lack of progress. I did, however get a more informative error message from one of those attempts (see item 3 below), as shown in the lead-in graphic above.

Attempts Undertaken, as Beta Promotion Difficulties Continue

Here’s a list of all of the fixes I’ve tried in attempting to overcome this increasingly vexing hurdle (of which exactly  none have worked):

1. Simple repetition of the WU update/upgrade process (2 or 3 times, most automatic). I’ve now paused updates for a week to save time and energy.

2. Unplug all non-essential peripherals (an mSATA SSD inside a Sabrent USB 3 enclosure in this case).

3. Use setup.exe from the UUPdump.net website-based ISO for Build 22581.1. It didn’t work, but did provide the more informative error message shown in the lead-in graphic for this story.

4. Remove .NET 3.5 and all related Windows 11 features, and try again. Greatly speeded up the update and install processes, but produced the same outcome as the preceding item.

5. Run dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth and then sfc /scannow. No joy there, either.

So far, in fact, I’m getting exactly nowhere. Sigh.

What’s Next?

I supposed I could try a clean install of Windows 11 from the aforementioned UUPdump.net ISO. But recent reports of install problems (in completion, and in the state of Windows 11 after the fact) give me pause. I don’t think I want to go there just yet.

According to other advice tied to the 0XC1900101 – 0X30018 error code, I could also try some or all of the following:

1. Reset Windows Update components. The TenForums tutorial on that topic includes a handy-dandy batch file that also works on Windows 11.

2. Disable antivirus — in this case Windows Defender. This is working on my other X380 Yoga, so I wouldn’t expect it to help here.

3. My BIOS is up-to-date already and I’m not aware of running any “problematic applications.”

You can get advice galore at stories such as How to Fix Update Error 0xc1900101-0x30018 in Windows 10 (HowtoEdge.com) and others of that ilk. For the moment I’m not inclined to spend more time chasing rabbits and rainbows.

What, Then?

My current plan is to wait for the next Dev Channel build to appear (which it should do, if not this week, then next week for sure). At that point, I’ll try again — and hope for a successful outcome. At the moment I’ve spent more than enough time. I’m content to take a time-out and wait for another try. . .

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Backup/Restore, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, Troubleshooting, WED Blog, Windows 11, Windows Update

Troubleshooting Failed Beta 22581 Promotion

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I’d like to report on a snag in upgrading my Windows 11 Beta Channel test PC to Build 22581. As I wrote yesterday, MS has paired up the Dev and Beta channels with this build. Both of my Dev Channel PCs updated successfully; the Beta Channel test PC did not. So now, I’m troubleshooting failed Beta 22581 promotion. This is an interim progress report. Although I’ve already learned a lot, I’ve not yet resolved the problem. Here’s what I know so far. . .

Progress on Troubleshooting Failed Beta 22581 Promotion

The list of data about this update failure reads as follows:

1. The update fails during the final, final phase of post-GUI install after update progress gets to 100% complete.

2. WU Update History reports an error code of 0XC1900101 in its “Failed to install” error  message

3. MS Docs offers a Resolution Procedure for this error code,  from which the following $Windows.~bt items appear important:

3.1 This error code most typically indicates a driver install problem during the Windows install/upgrade process

3.2 If present, the \Sources\Rollback folder may include a minidump file named setupmem.dmp. (Mine does not)

3.3 Event logs may appear in \Sources\Rollback*.evtx (I have no such files)

3.4 The device install log can capture driver install issues, and appears in \Sources\Rollback\setupapi\setupapi.dev.log. I *DO* have one of these and have read it over, and shared it with install experts at ElevenForum.com. Looks potentially fruitful because I do see various errors therein.

4. A typical fix attempt when WU updates fail, is to try an ISO from UUPdump.net. I’ve built one, but I’m also reading online that nickel release ISOs — including Build 22581 — from UUPdump.net are not working properly right now. See this Elevenforum thread (especially pages 6 & 7). Just in  case it blows up, I’ve already made a Macrium Reflect image backup of the current working-but-not-upgraded install. Thus, I can restore it easily booting from the MR Rescue Media.

What Should Happen Next. . .

I’m up against a major deadline today, so I don’t have time to follow all the leads I’ve found. But I do have a task list to follow when the weekend rolls around and I have more free time:

1. The afore-linked Resolution Procedure recommends another WU attempt with all nonessential peripherals unplugged. I’ll do that next.

2. If that doesn’t work, I’ll attempt to use the UUPdump ISO to perform an in-place “repair upgrade” by running its setup.exe file.

3. If that doesn’t work, I’ll check back into the ElevenForum thread to see if any of my appeals for guru help have produced suggestions.

4. If I can’t resolve the issue through typical troubleshooting, I’ll wait and try again when the next Dev/Beta build is released. In my experience of nearly 8 years as a Windows 10 and 11 Insider,  that works more often than not. I’m inclined to believe this is possible because one of my other working Dev Channel PCs is a near-identical Lenovo X380 laptop (only config difference is the built-in NVMe drive: one’s a Samsung, the other’s a Toshiba, now Kioxia).

Stay tuned, and I’ll keep reporting on progress. Cheers!

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Build 22581 Hits Dev and Beta Channels

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Just yesterday, MS released a new Insider Preview build for Windows 11. That said, they changed that target audience up a bit. Whereas Beta and Release Preview channels had been paired, Build 22581 hits Dev and Beta channels. Out with the old pairing, and in with the new! I’m updating my beta test PC accordingly as I write this. But what does this mean?

If Build 22581 Hits Dev and Beta Channels, Now What?

For some info and possible insight, I turn to the 22581 Build Announcement. It makes the following observations about the change, ranging from channeling “Captain Obvious,” to a limited switcheroo, to ruminations on the roles that Dev and Beta channels play. Here are some illustrative quotes, under related headings.

Captain Obvious says:

Insiders in the Beta Channel can now try out new features such as Live Captions, Start folders, the redesigned Task Manager, tablet optimized taskbar and much more.

Switcheroo Info:

Now that the Dev and Beta Channels are receiving the same builds, the limited window has opened for Insiders to switch channels if you wish to do so by following these simple steps:

  1. Open Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program.
  2. Select Choose your Insider settings.
  3. Select Beta Channel.
  4. The next time you receive an update, it will be for your new channel.

IMPORTANT: This window will close once we release builds with higher build numbers to the Dev Channel. If your device stays on the Dev Channel and receives a build that is a higher build number than what is in the Beta Channel, you will have to do a clean installation of the released version of Windows 11 on your device to switch to the Beta Channel.

See the announcement for more details, but I understand this as a promotion from Beta to Dev, with the opportunity to drop to Release Preview for those so inclined.

Channel Role Ruminations:

As a reminder, we are evolving the way we develop and release to Insiders with the Dev and Beta Channels now representing parallel development paths from our engineers. The Dev Channel will be a place where we will try out different concepts, incubate new ideas, and work on long lead items that may not get released to general customers. The Beta Channel will be the place we preview experiences that are closer to what we will ship to our general customers. However, this does not mean every feature we try out in the Beta Channel will ship. We encourage Insiders to read this blog post from last month that outlines the ways we’ll try things out with Insiders in the Dev and Beta Channels.

The Change Is Here, But…

I fired off my Beta test PC as I started writing this piece. When I just went to check status, the update had failed. A new error message appeared in WU “Save your work, and please try again.” Right now, I’m doing as directed and watching the update process. It sat at some while at 17% complete, but the count-up continues (and just jumped to 100%). Now it’s sitting at 100%. . . Another restart . . . spinning circle . . . Working on updates (with count-up) . . . and taking its sweet time (about 35 minutes total for post-GUI updates), it ultimately got back to the Windows 11 desktop.

AND NOW: my beta test PC is still running Build 22000.588. Here’s what WU has to say about the situation:

Obviously, further investigation is needed. Wonder what’s up? To that end, I’m using the Powershell cmdlet Get-WindowsUpdateLog to show me what happened. I’ve got some research work to do. But it may end up making sense simply to install the update using a mounted ISO to run setup.exe. I’ll report further tomorrow. Good fun!

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22H2 Makes Nomenclature Debut

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Here’s an interesting tidbit for the sharp-eyed among us. A close look at a recent Windows 11 Cumulative Update (CU) is more revealing than most. As you can see in the lead in graphic, KB5102427 includes “version 22H2 Insider Preview” amidst its verbiage. Believe it or not, this is where 22H2 makes nomenclature debut from Microsoft. Sure, lots of people have been calling the “next release” of Windows 11 22H2 informally. AFAIK, this is the first “official” use of that term from MS.

If 22H2 Makes Nomenclature Debut, Then What?

Now we can refer to the upcoming release with improved confidence that the name is set. That said, MS has been known to change things up before public release. Thus, my use of “improved confidence” rather than something more absolute.

According to WindowsLatest (my source for this careful observation), MS also used this terminology  earlier, but in various  “leaked documents.” Like me, they read this appearance the 22H2 name as a first official sighting of this term in public use.

22H2 Covers Half the Year…

And indeed, it’s important to remember that 22H2 runs from July 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022. That gives MS a huge timeslot into which it can slide this upcoming release. Will the actual “go-public” date be closer to July or to December? Good question!

If history is any guide, October seems to be the most likely month. It’s been a fairly predictable time harking back to the twice-a-year regimen that used to prevail for the majority of Windows 10 releases. But with Windows 10 still in production through — you guessed it — October 2025, MS may decide to stagger Windows 11 releases to one side of that month or the other so as to avoid stacking both OSes up together.

On the other hand, MS has been pretty consistent about keeping more minor and monthly 10 and 11 releases more or less in lock step until now. Frankly this could go either way. I’m thinking it’s possible that 22H2 Windows 11 may show up earlier than its Windows 10 counterpart. But I’m also thinking it’s possible they could continue to travel together. Stay tuned: I’ll do my best to keep you  informed.

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