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

22572 Explorer Tabs Causing Problems

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Wow! When I read about the new tabbing mechanism in Windows Explorer in the latest Dev Channel build, I couldn’t wait to try them out. Alas, they appear broken on both of my test PCs. In fact, they don’t behave at all as described in recent articles from WinAero and WindowsLatest. On those PCs, alas, 22572 Explorer tabs causing problems is the best I can describe my own experience.

What 22572 Explorer Tabs Causing Problems Means (to Me)

My symptoms are as follows:

1. I don’t see the iconography and layout that the afore-cited stories show. Instead i get a duplicated and somewhat mixed-up title bar:

22572 Explorer Tabs Causing Problems.dup-titles

Click item for full-sized view to show garbled text at left in upper nav/title bar, with lower nav/title bar beneath.

2. As I try to use the control keys for tabs (CTRL+T, CTRL+W, etc.) File Explorer crashes pretty regularly. While creating new tabs (CTRL+T) does something, it does not create tabs across the top of the UI as you’d expect it to. Closing tabs (CTRL+W) is as likely to crash Explorer as it is to close the duplicate title bar. Other tab controls (CTRL+Shift+Tab, etc.) do nothing visible.

3. I can use only the “lowest title bar” (the bottom one) actively. The others do not respond to mouse or keyboard activity.

Both of my test PCs look and behave exactly the same way. I’m tempted to do a clean install (or spin up a pristine VM) to see if that fixes things. But I don’t have time to do that today (other tasks loom large on my schedule. Sigh).

Something’s Busted…

It seems clear that further work is needed from MS to get things straightened out. Or, it could be, I’ve hit some kind of fatal interaction with something else I have installed on my test PCs. I’m hoping I’m not the only Insider who’s experiencing these difficulties. Otherwise, my life is about to get a whole lot more interesting.

We’ll have to wait and see what kinds of reports come in from other 22572 users. Rest assured, I’ll be keeping a close watch on this to see what’s happening, and what’s reported, around the symptoms I’m seeing

 

 

 

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Backup/Restore, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, Tips, Tricks and Tweaks, USB devices, WED Blog, Windows 11

Quick Win11 Reghack Shows Removables Recycle Bin

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Here’s an interesting item that shows off a difference between Windows 10 and 11. Adding a specific Registry key and value to Windows 11 lets it show the recycle bin (and contents) in File Explorer on removable drives.  Normally (and on Windows 10) it doesn’t appear. A quick Win11 Reghack shows removables recycle bin.

That said, the same hack produces no visible sign of the Recycle Bin in Windows 10 File Explorer. Here’s what one of my 8 GB USB 3 removables looks like therein:

Quick Win11 Reghack Shows Removables Recycle Bin .win10

Notice there’s no entry shown named “Recycle Bin.” But as the lead-in graphic shows, it’s defined, even if it’s not visible.

When Quick Win11 Reghack Shows Removables Recycle Bin, Here’s What’s Shown

After adding a registry key named Explorer to

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\

One must create a DWORD therein named

RecycleBinDrives

Then that DWORD must be assigned the hexadecimal value “ffffffff” (all 1s for all 8 possible hexadecimal digits). Next comes a quick restart to make sure the setting “takes” in the Registry.

Presto! Recycle Bin Appears

As shown in the next screencap (from my X1 Extreme “road laptop”), you can now see the Recycle Bin (and System Volume Information) in the items listed in Explorer. (Note: for these items to appear, File Explorer Options/View must check “Show hidden files…” amidst its settings. As you can see, I also like to uncheck “Hide extensions…”)

Now you can see Recyle Bin and System Volume Info on the USB drive. Good-oh!

Why is access to Recycle Bin a good thing? Because it provides a ready means to recover deleted files from a USB drive directly, if one so desires. I agree with Sergey Tkachenko at WinAero.com (the source for this story and its info, though I had to create the Explorer key from scratch on my test PC) that easy recovery of deleted files can sometimes be a lifesaver!

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

Open With Gets 22567 Makeover

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According to the 22567 announcement, the Windows team has “updated the ‘Open with’ dialog to use the Windows 11 design principles…” In case you’re not 100% sure what that means I’ve included a side-by-side comparison as the lead-in graphic for this story. Windows 11 “Open with” is on the left, Windows 10 on the right. This shows me (and you, too, hopefully) what has changed as Open with gets 22567 makeover.

What Open With Gets 22567 Makeover Means

There’s a lot to like about the new look. First and foremost, it shows the file extension under the gun. I really, really like the first line that reads “Select an app to open .jpg file.” I also like the more compact, fluid layout which shows more options, more easily. The “always use” control is a little more intuitive (as is the “just once” option).

Good stuff, in fact, all the way around. Though such improvements may seem minor or negligible in and of themselves, I see lots of improvement in the Windows 11 UI. To me, working with the new OS is getting increasingly familiar, but also increasingly fun and more intuitive. My hat’s off to the development team and its ever more compelling and interesting efforts.

Nay- and Doom-sayers, Look Out!

It’s always interesting to see the vituperation and scorn that some users heap on Windows 11. Indeed, as I see on both TenForums and ElevenForum (both of which get plenty of comments about Windows 11), a great many users are “NOT HAPPY” with the new OS. Apparently, there’s a lot not to like about Windows 11 from their points of view. That said, I’m puzzled and bemused by such reactions. Personally, I am learning to prefer and appreciate Windows 11 over Windows 10. As far as I can tell, Windows 11 just keeps getting better and better.

I wonder what explains the difference(s) between my take and that of others less intrigued with the new OS? I bet lots of folks at MS would like to know what causes such divergent reactions, too!

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

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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Build 22567 WU Seeks Lower Energy Footprint

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Here’s something a little off the beaten track for Windows 11. As per its Windows Insider announcement, Build 22567 WU seeks lower energy footprint. Overall Microsoft fervently pursues carbon neutrality. Indeed, its latest Windows 11 Dev Channel build pushes that further and faster.

How Build 22567 WU Seeks Lower Energy Footprint

Here’s what the blog post says (co-authored by Amanda Langowski and Brandon LeBlanc):

Windows Update will try to schedule update installations at specific times of day when doing so results in lower carbon emissions. Most electrical grids are powered by multiple sources, including renewables and fossil fuels. Whenever possible, Windows 11 will now prioritize installing updates in the background at times when greater amounts of clean energy sources (like wind, solar, and hydro) are available. Users can always choose to install updates immediately by navigating to Settings > Windows Update and choosing “Check for Updates”.

To this end, MS partnered with electricityMap and WattTime. Their monitoring helps determine when PCs can likely run using renewable “juice.” If enabled, users see the string boxed in red in the lead-in graphic. Frustrating sidenote: following the “Learn more” leads to no information on this topic. Sigh.

Microsoft’s Carbon Footprint Initiatives

On the other hand, search that landing page for “zero carbon.” Thankfully, you’ll quickly find the MS CSR page. CSR stands for “Corporate Social Responsibility.” At MS, it covers a broad range of initiatives. Simply put, MS says it plans zero carbon status by 2030. That means pursuing these intiatives, among others:

  • Bring more zero carbon energy onto the grid. Take more high carbon intensity energy off the grid. MS labels this “decarbonizing the grid.”
  • Aggressively adopt next-gen technologies (including sea-water cooling) to double data center efficiency. MS names this “redesigning datacenters for energy efficiency.”
  • Changing contracts and reducing financial and technical risks to grow and improve access to clean energy sources. MS explains this as “making it easy for anyone to buy more clean energy.”
  • In particular cloud-based infrastructure for Azure has targeted ways to improve energy consumption and use while making clean energy sources cheaper. MS describes this as “a tech-driven approach to wind power.”

Obviously, Microsoft is serious about its own use of energy and how its services and offerings affect general energy use and usage patterns. I’m behind its efforts 110% and would like to see other cloud providers follow in its path. Great stuff!

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Insider stuff, Remote Desktop (RDP), Troubleshooting, WED Blog, Windows 10, Windows 11

MSA Login Doesn’t Connect Via RDP

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Here’s an interesting problem that I apparently share with lots of people. Try searching on “can’t login to RDP” or “MSA login to RDP doesn’t work.” You’ll see what I mean. For me, MSA login doesn’t connect via RDP from my trusty Win10 production desktop to my new Ryzen 5800X build. Sigh.

So, of course I went through all kinds of contortions and research to try to get it working. I tried a variety of GPO settings, registry hacks and more, all without getting any love.  I spent 45 minutes trying to make this work to no avail. Even though I double-checked my passwords (and in one case, reset it just to make darn sure) I kept getting errors. Either “The password used to connect to the remote PC didn’t work” or “The credentials didn’t work” (RDP app and mstsc.exe, respectively).

MSA Login Doesn't Connect Via RDP.rdp-app-error

Words alone can’t convey the frustration in using a known, good, working password and getting such an error. Ouch!

When MSA Login Doesn’t Connect Via RDP, Use Local Account

Then, in several of the posts I read online, I noticed that similarly afflicted individuals succeeded in opening an RDP session using a local (client) account. So I set up a local account on the client PC using the “Add account” facility in Settings → Accounts → Other Users. Hint: you have to say you don’t know the user’s sign-in info to get to the right screen, where you choose the “Add a user without a Microsoft account” (MSA) to create a local account. Sigh again.

So, I created an account named LocalU, and then promoted it to Administrator status. Then, on my next RDP attempt into that PC the login succeeded using that account name and its associated password.

Even though you can’t always make Windows do exactly what you want, you can often find a way to get what you need through some workaround. This is actually a pretty good example. I can’t say I’m happy about this (and plan to report it to Feedback Hub next). But at least I can RDP into my new desktop. This will be very important when I start migrating files and stuff from the current production desktop to what will be my new production desktop next month.

Stay tuned! I’ll keep you posted as things progress in their usual “two steps forward, one step back” fashion. Should be fun…

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

Overcoming Obsolete AMD UEFI Limitations

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In yesterday’s blog post I provided an overview of the build process for a new AMD 5800X based PC. That started with putting the physical pieces together (covered therein). It continued with getting Windows 11 installed on the box. That’s today’s subject and it involved overcoming obsolete AMD UEFI limitations. Let me explain . . . and then share some other interesting observations about the state of current PC art.

What Overcoming Obsolete AMD UEFI Limitations Means

When I started up the AMD build for the first time, I had my Ventoy drive plugged in. The then-present UEFI was smart enough to recognize that my SSD was unformatted and hence, unbootable. Pretty cool. Even better, it was smart enough to recognize that the Ventoy drive was bootable — so it passed boot control to that device.

I had a fresh new Windows 11 image on that drive, and started the install process right away. But after getting past the “enter product key” hurdle (I grabbed one, courtesy of my WIMVP Visual Studio subscription) came the WTF moment. The installer informed me that the PC did not meet Windows 11 hardware requirements. I knew it should (and would, eventually) but I had to figure out what was up.

To Get to 11, I First Had to Get to 10

The same Ventoy drive also included a fresh Windows 10 ISO as well. So I selected that as my install source and went through a hurry-up install of the older OS. It went FAST: took less than 10 minutes, in fact. Then I grabbed the PC Health Check to determine where my problem lay. The then-current UEFI did not support TPM in firmware (aka fTPM). No TPM, no Windows 11.

Thus, I checked the support page for the Asrock B550 Extreme4 motherboard, BIOS (UEFI) page. The latest version is numbered 2.10, dated August 6, 2021, and its first description element reads “Support Microsoft Windows 11” (See lead-in graphic). So I quickly re-learned how to use the Asrock Flash utility, downloaded and installed the new version, and rebooted my PC. This time, the fTPM capability showed up under the Security settings for the UEFI. I was set!

All’s Well on the Second Try

Sure enough, the Windows 11 installer raised no objections to the upgrade process. Here again, the install was fast, and completed in less than 20 minutes. As an aside, I had no issues with drivers on either the Windows 10 or 11 installs, though I do have an unresolved “PCI Encryption/Decryption Controller” entry in Device Manager I still need to clean up. Based on many, many prior PC builds a single dangling reference ain’t at all bad. Looks like a new February 2022 version of the AMD Chipset drivers should take care of it, too.

{Note added 5 mins later: And yes, installing those drivers did indeed clear this entry in Device Manager. All fixed!]

I used the Windows 11 product key to activate the OS after the install was complete. I’d never activated the Windows 10 having chosen the re-installing option to bypass that check when bringing up the PC for the first time. I’m still in the process of cleaning and finishing up the new Windows 11 install on this PC. That will probably stretch out over the rest of this week, given other work commitments. But so far, now that I’m past the UEFI hurdles, the new PC has shown itself to be fast, smart and capable.

Next month, I’ll start the process of shifting over from my current production PC to make this build my new production PC. But I have a bunch of other “real work” to do first. Stay tuned: I’ll keep reporting on this process. In fact, I’ll explain what I had to do to RDP into this new PC in  tomorrow’s post.

For now, here’s the info on this new PC that shows up under my MSA. As you can see I named it RyzenOfc. (It’s got a Ryzen CPU and it’s in my home office, so why not?)

Overcoming Obsolete AMD UEFI Limitations.account-info

Interesting how Windows 11 shows up with a 10-based version number. The build suffix gives it away though…

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

Bringing AMD PC Into Windows 11

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Man! What a day yesterday turned out to be. I finally had all the pieces together — or so I thought — to finish the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X PC. On the path to making that happen, and getting Windows 11 installed, I learned more than I expected. A LOT more… Bringing AMD PC into Windows 11 proved more difficult and challenging than I’d ever dreamed. Let me explain…

Parts Needed When Bringing AMD PC Into Windows 11

I finally broke down and ordered an Nvidia 3070 Ti GPU for the new build. I didn’t realize, until it showed up and I measured it against the Antec 902 case, that that darned thing was TOO BIG to fit inside. As my first such card, I didn’t know it needed about 2cm (around an inch) of additional clearance between the PCIe slot (and rear of the case where the outputs go) and the HDD cages at the front. Ouch!

So here’s what I had to do. My old Z170 (vintage 2017) build is in a monster Rosewill case with massive clearance. It housed an Nvidia 1070 Ti which I swapped out with the new 3070 Ti. Fortunately, the Corsair 750 PSU in the Rosewill case had enough power connectors for me to plug in 2x 8-pin power plugs to make that beast happy.

On the Antec side, I shoehorned the old 1070 Ti in. Even so, I endured some “cable snarl” to put everything in place. I had to use a tiny cable tie to hold the Reset, Power, and HD Light cablets together. Then, I used a “mosquito” (a tiny hemostat, very helpful for working inside tight spaces inside PCs) to plug them in together.

Other contortions were involved:

  • Went through a card slot at the back of the case to plug the HD97 audio connector in.
  • Used two HD power cables to reach each of 2 hard disks, to work around the 1070 GPU.
  • Used all but one of the power cables from the build’s Seasonic 650W PSU (first time ever for such a situation).

Power, Lights and Action…?

Eventually, I had all the parts together and mouse, keyboard and monitor plugged in. This time, when I hit the power switch the PC booted right into the Ventoy drive I had plugged into one of the USB 3.2 ports. I jumped immediately into installing Windows 11, only to be informed that the PC didn’t meet the necessary hardware requirements after getting past the “request for product key” screen.

Turns out that although the B550 Extreme4 motherboard and its Ryzen 5800X do support fTPM, they won’t do so unless it’s enabled in the UEFI. Figuring that out and fixing it turned into another series of adventures. They will serve as the basis for tomorrow’s story. Stay tuned, and I’ll tell you all about it then.

For now, I’m happy to report that the machine is running nicely at my second desk here in the office. I still have some setup work to do. Mostly that consists of installing a bunch of utilities, Macrium Reflect, Office 365, and then tweaking things just the way I like them. That should provide the basis for yet another story later this week. Cheers!

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Windows Reset Data Wipe Sometimes Falls Short

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For some time now, Windows has included a “Reset this PC” option. Among other uses, it lets sellers provide buyers with a pristine OS installation on used PCs. Or so runs the theory, when the “Remove everything” option is elected. However, researchers have observed that Windows reset data wipe sometimes falls short of this goal. Let me explain…

[NOTE: the lead-in graphic above shows what “Reset this PC” looks like in Windows 10 (above) and Windows 11 (below).]

How Windows Reset Data Wipe Sometimes Falls Short

Two data sources sometimes persist after running “Reset this PC” using the “Remove everything” option:

1. Windows.old remains behind. It includes all kinds of sensitive or interesting data about prior users.
2. When local OneDrive file copies exist, they could persist after the reset.

This info appears in the February 24 edition of Microsoft’s Windows 11 Known Issues. Indeed, there’s a section entitled “Files might persist after resetting a Windows device.” It reports which Windows versions manifest this failing: Windows 11, version 21H2;  and Windows 10, versions 21H2, 21H1 and 20H2.

What Known Issues Says

Here’s a verbatim quote from that page:

When attempting to reset a Windows device with apps which have folders with reparse data, such as OneDrive or OneDrive for Business, files which have been downloaded or synced locally from OneDrive might not be deleted when selecting the “Remove everything” option. This issue might be encountered when attempting a manual reset initiated within Windows or a remote reset. Remote resets might be initiated from Mobile Device Management (MDM) or other management applications, such as Microsoft Intune or third-party tools. OneDrive files which are “cloud only” or have not been downloaded or opened on the device are not affected and will not persist, as the files are not downloaded or synced locally.
Helpfully, two known fixes address these issues. First, disconnect from or disable OneDrive before initiating the reset. Second,  remove Window.old after reset completes. Taking these two simple steps ensures no personal info survives reset . Worth remembering!

For more information…

Use Disk Cleanup (or some useful analog like TheBookIsClosed’s Managed Disk Cleanup) or Storage Sense to remove Windows.old from a Windows PC. Indeed, MS provides a helpful how-to link for that latter operation.

Signing out of, or unlinking from, OneDrive before the reset operation prevents local OneDrive files from hanging ’round. Likewise, MS provides an equally helpful how-to link for this maneuver, too.

MS plans fixes for these shortcomings. In the meantime, if you simply disconnect from OneDrive before the Reset, then remove windows.old afterward, you’re covered. Good to know!

Note Added March 9, 2022: Issues Fixed (with Caveat)

With the release of Patch Tuesday fixes for Windows 10 and 11 yesterday (KB5011487 for 10; KB5011493 for 11) MS has fixed these “file hangover” problems. That said, both announcement include this language:

Some devices might take up to seven (7) days after you install this update to fully address the issue and prevent files from persisting after a reset. For immediate effect, you can manually trigger Windows Update Troubleshooter using the instructions in Windows Update Troubleshooter.

Thanks to Mary Jo Foley at ZDNet for bringing this to my attention.

 

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Build 22563 Makes Advanced Startup MIA

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Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve observed something odd and interesting. Many of my Windows 11 PCs were missing the Advanced Startup option. Ordinarily, it’s in Settings → System → Recovery → Recovery Options. Just yesterday, undeniable curiosity let me observe that Build 22563 makes Advanced Startup MIA again. This time, I’m NOT going to create an ISO and run an in-place upgrade repair install. Though I think it would fix it, I won’t do that this time. Instead, I’m convinced this needs reporting to Feedback Hub as a recurring problem.

Build 22563 Makes Advanced Startup MIA Again: FB Hub Report In

I upvoted and added to a thread on the Feedback Hub entitled “The Advanced Startup option is missing from the recovery menu.” I’m now convinced this is a recurring problem that can occur when upgrading an Insider Preview to a new Insider Build, or when applying a Cumulative Update to an RTM Build. I’ve had it happen on 3 of my 5 Windows 11 machines in the last week, in fact. That’s disheartening, after spending a half-day repairing the issue. See my Feb 21 post about the fix for all those gory details.

But now, I know there’s a problem across the board in Windows 11. The only thing I don’t know is if the problem is just across the board on MY Windows 11 PCs, or more of them than that. That’s why I’m reporting to Feedback Hub and hoping for results. Peferably, sooner rather than later. We’ll see.

I will observe that my lone “native Windows 11” PC seems immune to this issue. All of my other Windows 11 PCs were (a) upgraded from 10 to 11, and (b) regularly manifest this issue. I’d be curious to understand the connection, if any, that might be involved…

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