Tag Archives: featured

Insider stuff, Recent Activity, Thoughts & concerns, WED Blog, Windows 10

Concluding Windows 10 22H2 Non-Security Preview

May 24, 2023 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

There’s an interesting tidbit in the Support Note for KB5026435, released May 23, 2023. Indeed, it is the concluding Windows 10 22H2 non-security preview release, ever. It goes so far as to say “no more” such releases are forthcoming. In a way, this marks the beginning of the end for Windows 10, whose EOL date is 10/14/2025 (about 17.5 months from today). As you can see from the lead-in graphic, I just installed it onto my sole remaining Windows 10 production desktop.

Sussing Out the Concluding Windows 10
22H2 Non-Security Preview

MS elaborates further on the future release scheduling for Windows 10 in the afore-linked Support Note. It says:

Only cumulative monthly security updates (known as the “B” or Update Tuesday release) will continue for these versions. Windows 10, version 22H2 will continue to receive security and optional releases.

Here’s what I think this means:

22H2 is the final release for Windows 10 (unless something big changes).
No more second (4th) Tuesday preview releases for Windows 10 22H2.
There may be some second (4th) Tuesday security and optional releases from time to time.

The inescapable conclusion is that Windows 10 is now purely in “maintenance mode.” That means we’re unlikely to see more (or at least, precious few) Windows 11 features “back-ported” into 10.

Take it as a signal, business users. MS is clearly warning you that it’s time to start planning the transition to Windows 11 (or beyond). It should be interesting to see how this plays out between now and mid-October 2025. Stay tuned, and I’ll opine further on what’s up, what’s hot, and what’s not.

Cool Tools, PowerShell, Recent Activity, WED Blog

Deciphering PowerShell History Commands

May 22, 2023 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

Whoa! I just spent an enjoyable half-hour learning about the various PowerShell command line history viewing and editing tools. This comes courtesy of OhMyPosh creator Jan De Dobbeleer (@jandedobbeleer) on Twitter. Deciphering PowerShell history commands, in my case, involved a fair amount of interesting play and learning in a Terminal session. As you can see from the lead-in graphic, I had fun manipulating my command history (and then, updated OhMyPosh to catch up my test system).

When Deciphering PowerShell History Commands, Do This…

The operative way to understand PS history management is as a series of prefixes to “-history” at the command line — namely:

get: shows current PS command line history as stored for display
clear: clears current PS command line history
add: allows you to import a predefined command history from a file

There’s a lot more to managing history than you might think, as described in this MS Learn reference on the Clear-History command. Indeed you can tailor the history based on commands by number (from top or bottom of the history list, using -Count and other options) or by content (using the -CommandLine option and string-matching facilities).

Wait! There’s an Add-History, Too

You can save a representative command history by piping get-history into a CSV file. Later on, Add-History lets you import that file’s contents to imbue the current command history into your current PowerShell context. See this reference for more info.

Working with PowerShell history commands is great fun, actually. I’d suggest visiting the afore-linked references to take things for a spin. I find it useful to clear the history after such learning adventures (or after making mistakes at the command line that I’d just as soon forget…).

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

P16 Manifests LSASS Bug

May 18, 2023 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

The Windows Local Security Authority Subsystem Service, aka LSASS, handles security policy enforcement for that OS. With KB5023706 (installed on 3/14) on my mainstream Windows 11 PC, some have shown interesting side-effects. My P16 manifests LSASS bug shown in the lead-in graphic.

Basically, it falsely asserts that LSASS protection is turned off (see text in red box). How do I know it’s actually running? As I searched the System log in Event Viewer, I found a message indicating the “LSASS.exe (process) was started…” as part of that system’s last boot-up. According to this discussion of that very issue at BleepingComputer.com, this indicates that LSASS protection is enabled and working as it should be.

The Event Viewer (System Log) reports a successful start of LSASS.exe as part of the OS boot-up process. It’s working!

What To Do If Your P16 Manifests LSASS Bug

Of course, this applies to all Windows PCs of all kinds. That said, the afore-linked BleepingComputer story explains a couple of Registry hacks that will fix such spurious notifications. MS will probably get around to fixing this sooner or later. Meanwhile, I’m not concerned about false security flags. Indeed, I’m content to wait until it’s corrected in some future update.

It sounds like a serious error. And it would be a major security hole, if the notification were true. But since it’s simply a false positive, and I’ve proved to myself that things are working as they should be, I’ll live with it.

This problem has been in play for some while now (BleepingComputer reports it goes back to January 2023). If I search for “Local security authority protection is off” at ElevenForum.com, I see hits as far back as March 1, 2023, on this topic. All are unanimous in flagging this as a false positive not worth corrective action.

But that’s the way things sometimes go here in Windows-World. Take it under advisement if you see the “Yellow bang!” in Windows Security on your Windows 11 PC. Cheers!

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

Winget Just Keeps Chugging Along

May 17, 2023 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

I’ve started a new writing and editing gig with TekkiGurus.com. I’m contributing 3-4 articles a month on Windows 10 and 11 topics, and providing input and feedback on their overall desktop OS coverage. Just recently, I started a series of stories for them on the Winget package manager for Windows. I’ve been using it daily for about a year now, and I have to observe that Winget just keeps chugging along — and getting better all the time.

What Winget Just Keeps Chugging Along Means

Take a look at this morning’s results on my Windows 10 production PC (see lead-in graphic above). It just updated VS Enterprise 2022, TeamViewer, and Chrome, in under 2 minutes with only minimal effort from yours truly. I seldom encounter winget issues — and when I do, they’re nearly always easily resolved.

What continually suprises me is that using winget for updates is often faster than the in-app (or in-application) update facility itself. Visual Studio 2022 made an interesting case in point just now, when it updated that hefty environment (nearly 400 MB to start it going, and over 150 packages as the process worked to completion). It finished in well under 2 minutes on this aging desktop PC (i7 SkyLake, 32 GB RAM, 500 GB Gen 2 PCIe SSD).

Where Winget Falls Short Is Not Its Problem

I do still use other tools to keep my apps and applications updated. But that’s not winget’s fault. As I discuss in my March 17 post here, winget relies on developers to provide package manifests for their software so that it can do its install/update/query/uninstall things.

The list of items for which I have to use other tools includes some apps or applications that seldom get packages (Kindle, Zoom, Box, Dropbox, and others) or that have none (AFAICT). I encourage all developers who don’t already update winget manifests as they push updates to get in that habit. (See this MS Learn item “Create your package manifest” to dig into that semi-automated YAML and PowerShell-based process.) It will make everybody’s lives easier in the Windows admin world — including mine! ‘Nuff said…

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

Pet Peeve: Upgrade Walls Around Free Versions

May 15, 2023 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

I was checking upgrades over the weekend (part of my daily routine, in fact). I found myself having to search for a specific version of a favorite app. Why? Because the developer erected upgrade walls around free versions of the app. It’s just a “little reminder,” I guess, that users should support developers by paying for what they use.

Why Put Upgrade Walls Around Free Versions?

Basically, the developer steered its “manual update” capability into the purchase dialog for the same program’s for-a-fee version. I have the paid-for version on my production PC, in fact. But I don’t pay for the instances I run on my test PCs (which vastly outnumber my home desktop and traveling “work laptop” — by 5 to 1). It just ticks me off when the developer leads users down a road with no obvious access to downloading the free version through the application’s own built-in update facility. Am I wrong to feel that way?

I don’t think so. But in this case, I had to remember that the name of the free version includes “lite” in its name (cute). Then, I had to Google the name of the application with that string in its name to get to the right download page. Not too challenging, but at least mildly vexatious, IMO.

The Pecuniary Imperative

Sure, developers need income to justify their time and effort spent in creating and maintaining their offerings. But do users need to be reminded that they could pay for the for-a-fee version each time they update (or upgrade) its free counterpart? Depends on who you ask: some developers obviously feel that the answer to that question is “Hell, yeah!” As for me, I just find it somewhat annoying.

Sigh. That’s just the way things go in Windows-World sometimes. Thanks for letting me vent…

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

X390 Network Return Requires Discovery Tweaks

May 12, 2023 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

Son Gregory is back from college for the summer, bearing his Lenovo ThinkPad X390 Yoga laptop. Its 8th-gen i7-8565U CPU, 16 GB RAM, and 500 GB Intel SSD are entirely adequate for his mobile computing needs. But I couldn’t see his device on the LAN when he first joined back in. Indeed, an X390 network return required discovery tweaks to make itself entirely visible. A couple of quick, minor toggles in “Advanced sharing settings” made everything OK.

Understanding X390 Network Return Requires Discovery Tweaks

I’m still getting used to digging into Advanced sharing settings inside the Windows settings app. That’s where I made sure the following toggles were in the “On” position:

Once I made sure discovery was working, Presto! the X390 (computer name = “DinaX390” as shown in the lead-in graphic) appeared. Sometimes, it’s the little things that mean alot.

The X390 Gets a Thorough Once-Over

I’m glad to see the machine is running Windows 11 22H2 (Build 22621.1702). SUMo also gives its paltry 17 identifiable programs a clean bill of health, update-wise. I have to say that it looks like Gregory took excellent care of his laptop while away at school. Good for him!

Now that it’s showing up inside Advanced IP Scanner, I can see what it’s doing on the network, too. All’s well that ends well.

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

Intel DSA Version Confusion

May 11, 2023 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

OK then, I’m back in the office after a 10-day hiatus. Natch, after meeting today’s writing deadlines, I started updating all 11 of my Windows PCs. Along the way, I found myself caught up in Intel DSA version confusion for that company’s Driver & Support Assistant software.

Look at the lead-in screencap. The Intel download page shows version 23.2.17.8 is the latest and greatest version. Yet the details for the download file show it as version 23.1.9.7. And indeed, when you install or repair DSA using the file the lower-numbered version is what’s installed. Go figure!

Overcoming Intel DSA Version Confusion

After handling over 100 updates, the Patch Tuesday and incidental WU stuff, I didn’t want to find myself troubleshooting a bogus update problem. But that’s what I’ve got going on. Until Intel puts the update for version 23.2.17.8 in the “Latest” position on its download center, there’s not much I can do to fix this.

C’mon Intel: please fix this issue so OCD updaters — like yours truly — can get caught up. I’ve already got 23.1.9.7 (the version that actually appears in the Properties window for the 23.2.17.8 download) installed. I can’t catch up until the right file gets posted to the download center.

It’s Always Something, Right?

Just goes to show you that here in Windows-World there’s always some kind of gotcha lurking to make life more interesting. In some cases, my issues are of my own making. In this particular case, it looks like something odd is up with the Intel download page itself.

Just for grins, I went to an alternate download source. Much to my surprise, that installer shows the correct version number for this file, to wit:

An “alternate download source” DOES have the right file.
Go figure again!

I wish I knew how the other source got the right file, when I couldn’t grab it myself directly. As Mr. Churchill said of Russia, that makes this “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” I don’t know whether to laugh, or cry.

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

30 Problem-Free Upgrades Since July 2022

May 10, 2023 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

Every now and then, I step back from the day-to-day Windows routine. I like to reflect on what I’ve seen and done. Looking at my Update History, I see 30 problem-free upgrades since July 2022. It’s end-of-April, so that means 30 updates in 9 months (3.33 updates per month). And nary a lick of trouble with any of them either in the Dev or Canary channels. Remarkable!

What 30 Problem-Free Upgrades Since July 2022 Means

This is on the 2018 vintage Lenovo ThinkPad X380 Yoga. It’s an 8th-gen Intel i7-8650 CPU, 16 GB DDR4, 1 TB (nominal) Toshiba SSD. On my newer X12 Hybrid ThinkPad (11th-Gen i7-1180G7, 16 GB DDR4, 1TB (nominal) WD SSD), I had to clean install Canary after my initial attempts to upgrade from Dev Channel to Canary failed. That was a pain!

But the X380 Yoga keeps chugging along. It’s a little slower than the X12 hybrid — as you’d expect, given the age difference (2018 vs 2020) — but it’s proved rock-solid and completely reliable. My son has an X390 Yoga (2017 model, i7-8665U CPU, 16 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD) that’s been equally reliable as his carry-around, note-taking machine for use in class.

ThinkPad, ThinkPad, All the Way…

Looking around the house right now, I have 6 laptops here (plus the one in Boston with son, Gregory). 5 of 7 are ThinkPads, one’s a Lenovo Legion, and the last (and soon-to-be-retired) is a 2014 vintage Surface Pro 3. I have come to be a big believer in ThinkPads because:

1. I like the keyboards
2. The maker provides easy access to technical manuals for DIY upgrades
3. These laptops have handled everything I’ve thrown at them and just keep working
4. Shopping around delivers amazing buys (I paid under $1K each for the two X380 and one X390 Yoga I currently own; ditto for my former X220 Tablet and T25 Notebook machines, now retired).

You may not be able to judge a book by its cover, but you certainly can judge a notebook/laptop brand on a decade-plus of mostly stellar experiences. I’m completely sold on the ThinkPad brand.

Personal Note…

I’ve been quiet since April 28 for good reason. We flew to Boston on May 1 to pick son Gregory up after his first year at college (move-out day was May 4). Then we spent the next 4 days in NYC on a family adventure that included more walking than I thought I could handle. It was great! We’re all glad to be back at home, and I’m glad to be resuming a normal work schedule tomorrow. I wrote this blog post just before I left to have something to post immediately upon my return home. Let the games resume!!!

Cool Tools, Device drivers, Recent Activity, WED Blog, Windows 10, Windows 11

Achieving Intel Driver Update Silence

April 27, 2023 Ed Tittel 2 Comments

I’ve been writing a fair amount lately about updating the Windows OS, apps, applications and drivers. On that last subject — drivers — Intel has an outsized impact on most of my PCs (11 of 13 use Intel CPUs; all of them include at least some Intel chipsets). I’ve been updating Bluetooth, LAN (Wireless and GbE), and Graphics over the last couple of days. I counted anywhere from 5 to 9 mouse clicks needed to work through the various installers. This has me thinking: “What’s Involved in Achieving Intel Driver Update Silence?”

All this said, I’d also like to observe that I use the Intel Driver & Support Assistant (aka DSA) to drive most of my Intel driver upkeep activities. Overall, it does a pretty good job.

Is Achieving Intel Driver Update Silence Even Possible?

To some degree, yes. If you search the Intel site for “silent Intel X install” (where X = one of Bluetooth, Wireless, LAN, Graphic, …) you’ll find articles on how to run installers at the command line in silent mode. I’ll provide a list below, but here’s a discouraging disclaimer from the Graphic driver how-to (bold emphasis mine).

s, –silent

A silent installation that uses default selections in the place of user input. Not all visual indications are disabled in silent mode.

There’s the rub, in the bolded text. Running silent does away with most, but not all, visual indications.

Here’s a list of some very popular how-to’s that cover silent installation:

1. Graphic driver how-to
2. Bluetooth driver how-to
3. Base Driver & ProSET how-to (GbE, etc.)
4. Wi-Fi driver how-to
5. Chipset Installation utility how-to
6. USB 3.0 eXtensible Controller how-to

That’s all I could think of, off the top of my head. Looks like my earlier search formula works pretty well on the Intel site, though. If you need something else, chances are good it will work for that, too. If not, please drop me a line to let me know what else you found or figured out.

Insider stuff, Recent Activity, WED Blog, Windows 11

Fast Tracking Windows 11 Updates

April 26, 2023 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

On April 25, MS released KB5025305 for Windows 11 as a CU preview. It offers an interesting new addition to Windows Update. As shown in the lead-in graphic, that option reads “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available.” By default, this option is not available on managed PCs. Thus, admins need not worry. But it does provide a way to enable fast tracking Windows 11 updates for those who want them as soon as they come out.

What Fast Tracking Windows 11 Updates Means

Here’s how MS explains this interesting move (from an MS Support note entited “Get Windows updates as soon as they’re available“):

Windows devices get new functionality at different times as Microsoft delivers non-security updates, fixes, improvements, and enhancements via several servicing technologies—including controlled feature rollout (CFR). With this approach, updates may be gradually rolled out to devices.

The good news is if you have Windows 11, version 22H2 or later, you can choose to get the latest non-security and feature updates as soon as they become available for your device (now and in the future).

The lead-in graphic shows the slider control for “Get the latest updates…” in its default position. Users must opt into this offer to exercise it. That means moving the slider from the “Off” position to “On.”

Should You, or Shouldn’t You?

This kind of thing is a fine idea for people like me — a devout Windows Insider who diligently tracks every new wrinkle across multiple OSes and release versions. But for others, especially on production PCs? No so much…

My take on this new feature is that it’s a fine thing for test machines, or other PCs not intended to support everyday, workaday job roles. My best guess about how this will play out is that experimenters, testers and slightly over-the-edge enthusiasts will turn it on. Most everybody else will leave it alone … as they no doubt should.

As for me, I think I’ll try it out on a couple of test machines (I have half-a-dozen or more at my disposal right now) and see how it goes. Stay tuned: I’ll report back occasionally on what I see and learn.

Sussing Out the Concluding Windows 10 22H2 Non-Security Preview