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

MS Store Splits Updates & Library

August 16, 2024 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

You can tell it’s been a busy week. I just now tried out the new Microsoft Store organization as of version 22407.1401.2.0. In that iteration, MS Store splits updates & library in the left-hand menu, as you can see in the lead-in graphic (lower left). The item is actually labeled Downloads when none are pending. You can see a down-arrow from the cloud symbol in that screencap (above Library) to show that updates are available. This makes it faster and easier to get to updates inside the Store, and to know when to do so. I like it!

When MS Store Splits Updates & Library…

Alas, it also did away with its settings controls inside the Store. No more three dots to the right of the user icon. I couldn’t even get Microsoft Store itself to come up inside the Microsoft Store. Instead I had to use WinGet list “Microsoft Store” inside Windows Terminal/PowerShell to show me which version was running on this Canary Channel PC:

Unable to access “About” info for the MS Store, I got it from WinGet instead.

This is a good change. And I also realized that because the Microsoft Store is pre-installed on modern Windows versions, there’s no “store page URL” available for that app itself. Instead, uninstallling and/or reinstalling requires some PowerShell magic, as explained in this MS Answers tutorial (from the always helpful Andre Da Costa).

That’s probably why I also had to turn to PowerShell and WinGet to obtain the current Microsoft Store version number, too. That’s the kind of thing that keeps life interesting, here in Windows-World.

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

Qualcomm Manages Intel End-Around

August 15, 2024 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

Here’s something interesting to ponder. On my current Copilot+ PC — a nifty Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 — I found myself poking around in Device Manager this morning. After looking around pretty extensively, I wrote some quickie PowerShell to dump all device names into a text file. It confirmed what I’d already observed informally: there’s no mention of Intel (the well-known PC device maker) anywhere therein. Hence my claim that Qualcomm manages Intel end-around in building its latest Snapdragon X PCs. The lead-in graphic confirms my claim, insofar as showing no explicit use of “intel” or “Intel” in Device Manager friendly names.

What Qualcomm Manages Intel End-Around Means

It’s pretty hard to build a complete PC package without buying at least some parts from Intel. Cases in point: AMD-based PCs and laptops. Over the years, I have seen many designs that mixed and mingled Intel and AMD devices along with those from other vendors (e.g. A-Volute, Microsoft, Realtek, Logitech, and more). That said, I will also note that my 2021 Asrock B-550 Ryzen 7 5800x build also comes up dry on Intel components.

In particular, I’ve seen plenty of AMD laptops and desktops that included Intel Bluetooth, USB and/or Ethernet adapters or controllers (sometimes both) as part of their bills of materials. But wow: Qualcomm seems to have pulled off an entirely Intel-free build capability. I say “seems” because I’m going off text data from Device Manager, not absolute conclusive knowledge.

Grabbing Friendly Device Names to Check for Intel

Here’s the PowerShell I used to create a text file for so-called “Friendly Name” values for devices known to DevMgr. These match the legends it uses to identify devices inside its own listings. Note: you must create the C:\temp directory to ensure the third command creates the output file properly if one doesn’t already exist on your PC.

$devices = Get-PnpDevice | Select-Object -ExpandProperty FriendlyName
$outputFile = “C:\temp\DeviceNames.txt”
$devices | Out-File -FilePath $outputFile -Encoding utf8

Then, you can use notepad (as I did in the lead-in graphic), open DeviceNames.txt in the C:\temp folder and search for the string “Intel(R) ” or “intel(R) ” (note the text-based registered trademark chars at the end of the search string ) to see if the company pops up anywhere. It doesn’t. Amazing!

Backup/Restore, Insider stuff, Security, WED Blog

CVE-2024-6768 Exposes Scary Windows Vulnerability

August 14, 2024 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

In reading through my usual Windows news and info sources this morning I came across a scary notification at MS Power User. The named item is from the national vulnerability database. CVE-2024-6738 — which makes it item 6,738 for 2024 — comes with scary implications. It’s been reported in some form since last February. It attacks by altering meta-data for Windows base log files (BLFs) and can cause doom loops like those recently experienced from a Crowdstrike update last month. Thus, CVE-2024-6768 exposes scary Windows vulnerability that is hard to fend off and tricky to repair.

BLF Alteration in CVE-2024-6768 Exposes Scary Windows Vulnerability

A base log file (BLF) sits at the heart of the Windows Common Log File System (aka CLFS). As MS Learn’s “Creating a Log File” article begins, it says:

Before you can use CLFS, you must create a log file using the CreateLogFile function. A log file is made up of a base log file that contains metadata, and a number of containers that hold the actual data. On any local file system, containers can be in one or more separate files; on NTFS, containers can be in one or more streams within a file.

The BLF contains key information that describes the associated containers for log data. If the BLF is wrong, the log won’t make sense and cannot be read. This doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it is. Let me explain further…

Several Interesting Copilot Responses…

When asked to describe BLF files, Copilot notes how they’re used:

Usage: These files are crucial for maintaining system stability and integrity. They help manage user-level registry information and other system-level data. For example, the Windows component that writes user-level registry information to the NTUSER.DAT file uses CLFS logging, which involves BLF files ¹.

Indeed it seems that CVE-2024-6768 wreaks havoc by breaking the base log handler with a bogus “size of data field” value. This kind of error triggers a BugCheck error, and in turn provokes a BSOD.

Further investigation shows that any time a registry change occurs BLF files get updated. They are also essential to system boot-up, application installation and update, as well as system update. To get more details ask Copilot: “When do Windows base log files get written, and when do they get read?” You’ll see what I mean right away.

What Does the Future Hold?

The Fortra release note for this vulnerability shows its history, while a companion research note shows more details. So far, MS has yet to respond. Other than research work, I see no evidence of successful exploits in the wild. That said, this kind of attack is nearly impossible to fix without knowing the exact details of the registry values changed to mung some (or more) specific .BLF file(s).

IMO, this means the only real protection is a recent image backup that will replace the altered Windows image with a known, good working copy. Stuff like this is why I keep such things handy, and make one at least daily. This could get interesting…stay tuned!

Cool Tools, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, Thoughts & concerns, WED Blog

Halfway Chrome Update Foxes Downloads

August 13, 2024 Ed Tittel 2 Comments

Here’s a new one on me. I was trying to grab an email attachment last night from my webmail client and got stuck in a twist. These items normally take an ICS (Internet Calendaring and Scheduling) extension. Repeated downloads included same, but ended with the CRDOWNLOAD. I slowly figured out Chrome couldn’t correctly conclude its normal download process. Further, it seems a halfway Chrome update foxes downloads until it’s complete. Let me explain…

Why say: Halfway Chrome Update Foxes Downloads

If Chrome is running while it auto-updates, it requires user intervention (permission, really) to relaunch. That’s when it finishes its update process. This is depicted in the lead-in graphic, where the user must click “ReLaunch” (weird intercap, BTW) to finish things up. I guess this prevents losing user data on unsubmitted input pages or forms.

As fate would have it, the Chrome instance I was running was waiting for me to ReLaunch to complete its update process. Until that happened, every download failed to complete and ended in the CRDOWNLOAD file extension. As soon as I finished the update, those files disappeared from my download folder and left only a single, correct, valid and working ICS file for my use in Outlook.

Before this happened, I had no inkling this kind of thing was possible. Now I know, and understand that it’s yet another interesting side-effect of self-update behavior. In Windows, things can get a little strange when programs have to change themselves, and then need to transition from “previous version” to “current version” status. This is just another odd and indicative case in point.

Note: Report on recent missed posts

Those of you who follow this blog will note I’ve missed some days lately. Last Thursday, I took the day off to celebrate my birthday. Yesterday, I had a medical appointment occasioned (at least, in part) by all those accumulated birthdays. Indeed, in the months ahead I’ll be missing more days, as I go in for lens replacement surgery to “fix” my cataracts. I’ll keep writing around those little bumps in the road, but wanted to explain recent and upcoming interruptions in my usual daily output. Your good thoughts and wishes will also be gratefully accepted!

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

T14s Mystery Ethernet Controller

August 9, 2024 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

As part of my usual shakedown for new PCs here at Chez Tittel, I went poking around inside Device Manager on the newly-arrived ThinkPad T14s. As it is a Snapdragon X Elite (Copilot+ PC) its networking interfaces come from Qualcomm. The laptop has no RJ-45 port (nor really, any room for one). And yet, a device named “Ethernet Controller” shows up in DevMgr in the always-puzzling “Other devices” category (see lead-in graphic). This has me chasing down this T14s mystery Ethernet controller.

Where’s the T14s Mystery Ethernet Controller?

Nowhere, as far as I can tell. I tried to find a driver for it, and couldn’t. I checked the chip and laptop documentation. I finally “got clue” when I looked in the User Manual under the heading “Connect to the wired Ethernet,” which reads as follows (helpful diagram included):

To connect your computer to a local network, you need a Lenovo USB-C to Ethernet Adapter. Lenovo USBC to Ethernet Adapter is available as an option and shipped with some computer models. You can purchase one from Lenovo at https://www.lenovo.com/accessories.

Shoot, Lenovo’s available model handles up to 2.5 GbE but requires separate purchase for an eminently reasonable US$32 or so. What I still don’t know is if the T14s chassis does include built-in wired Ethernet capability, albeit bereft of an actual link-up (which the illustrated item above nicely remedies). I’ve seen this on other Lenovo laptops (including the X380 Yoga which uses a proprietary laptop port rather than USB-C) so I’m still wondering…

Just Because I Can, Doesn’t Mean I Will

My local wired Ethernet still runs Gbe (1.0 speed, in other words). I’m not yet ready to upgrade my infrastructure to the higher speed. I can use my Starlink GbE dongle (USB 3.0 to RJ-45) instead if I must. That said, the Wi-Fi 7 interface on the T14s runs like a champ on my 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 6) network, so it’s all good right now.

It’s interesting that an Ethernet device shows up at all in DevMgr. I’ve never seen this before on Wi-Fi only laptops. But then, I’m still learning the ins and outs of Snapdragon X ARM-based Windows PCs. Good fun!

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

Dxdiag Shows WDDM Version Info

August 7, 2024 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

Just recently, I’ve seen coverage that proclaims a new Windows Display Driver Model (aka WDDM) is available as version 3.2. That said, it’s currently supported only in Copilot+ PCs running Windows 11 24H2. Since I happen to have one, I wanted to check to see if I needed to update that manually, or if WU/install had done so already. That’s how I learned that the Direct X Diagnostic Tool, aka Dxdiag shows WDDM version info on Windows PCs. You can see the output that confirms 3.2 is running as the lead-in graphic above.

Confirmed: Dxdiag Shows WDDM Version Info

Just for grins, I also ran the diagnostic tool on my Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Gen 1 Mobile Workstation. (Hint: to do that, enter Winkey+R to open the run box, type “dxdiag,” then click Enter.) It’s running Windows 11 23H2 (Build 22631.3958). According to the great ElevenForum.com tutorial from uber-tut-master Shawn Brink “Find WDDM Version in Windows 11” it should be running version 3.2. Yet dxdiag shows 3.1 as you can see here:This is more in keeping with the WindowsLatest story that clued me into this version upgrade’s availability. And indeed, Copilot confirms that it only runs on version 24H2, not on 23H2 (as the afore-linked ElevenForum tutorial asserts). I think I’ll shoot Brink a message to ask for his opinion on this apparent discrepancy. Stay tuned!

But Wait…There’s More!

For further grins, I checked one of my Insider Preview Canary Channel PCs right now, and observed that:

This version is part of the 24H2 family (Build 26257.5000)
It is not a Copilot+ PC (Intel 8th Gen/Tiger Lake i7-1180G7)
It also runs WDDM 3.2, as you can see here:

To me, this indicates pretty unequivocally that 24H2 is the way to get WDDM 3.2. Thus, it shows up on older PCs running 24H2 in the Insider Preview family tree, as well as newer ones with 24H2 pre-installed (right now, that’s only Copilot+ PCs). Go figure!

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

NVIDIA Driver Forces POPCNT Support

August 6, 2024 Ed Tittel 2 Comments

Hey! We’ve known it was coming for some time now. In February 2024, Tom’s Hardware reported: “Microsoft’s PopCnt restriction appears to be unbreakable.” This CPU instruction is part of the SSE4.2 Instruction set for Intel processors. It’s SSE4.2a for AMD CPUs, and also present in Snapdragon X as well. Indeed it’s been part of the computing landscape since 2008 for Intel, circa 2009-2010 for AMD, and since inception for ARM (including Copilot+ PCs). But now, with the introduction of version 555, NVIDIA driver forces POPCNT support. How so? Check the lead-in graphic. Windows 10 and 11 systems that lack POPCNT support will BSOD if they install this latest GPU driver version. Ouch!

Sussing Out NVIDIA Driver Forces POPCNT Support

You can read about this in the NVIDIA release notes for 555 (source of the lead-in graphic). It’s entitled “EOL Windows driver support for older CPUs without POPCNT instruction.” That pretty much says it all. The note recommends using Sysinternals Coreinfo to check for POPCNT support. (Indeed, it worked to show such support on the Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Copilot+ loaner PC.)

But on Intel and AMD PCs, I found it easier to use Franck DeLattre’s excellent CPU-Z tool to look for the SSE4.2 (or SSE4.2a) instruction set instead. The ARM version of CPU-Z is less than helpful in providing POPCNT info because it doesn’t natively map to any ARM instruction set. Here’s what comes up on my ancient i7 SkyLake desktop (running Windows 10 for lack of CPU support).

Note the “Instructions” entry that reads SSE4.2 (bottom of “Processor” block): that’s what we’re looking for, when using this tool to check for POPCNT support on Intel CPUs. WindowsLatest reports that CoreInfo doesn’t work reliably on all systems, and recommends other CPU check tools besides CPU-Z. Be sure to check it out for those details if one or the other of these tools doesn’t cut it on your rig.

Older PCs: Avoid NVIDIA 555

The real takeaway from this news is that owners of older PCs whose CPUs don’t support POPCNT should avoid updating to NVIDIA driver versions number 555 or greater. Otherwise, they’ll have to boot into WinRE, and use DISM at the command line to uninstall that driver to end a BSOD loop on that machine. You’ve been warned! I’d be inclined to take this as a early indicator that a hardware refresh should be in your future, too…

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

24H2 Adopts Energy Saver

August 5, 2024 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

Battery Saver is out, and Energy Saver is in for Windows 11 version 24H2. You can see the new power management capability in Settings > System > Power & Battery in Build 26100 on Copilot+ PCs. For example, see the top elements in the lead-in graphic. When 24H2 adopts Energy Saver, this does come with some behavioral changes, too. Read on for more info and an MS Learn link.

When 24H2 Adopts Energy Saver, Then What?

Good question, and one that MS addresses directly in an MS Learn article entitled Energy Saver (dated 6/24/2024). Basically Energy Saver kicks in at a certain level of remaining battery capacity, and restricts Windows 11’s ordinary behaviors to — wait for it — save energy. Note: here’s a shout-out to Mayank Parmar at Windows Latest for bringing this to my attention.

Energy Saver Particulars

Check out the MS Learn article for all the details, but here’s a thumbnail summary of how Energy Saver works:

1. It kicks in when remaining charge levels dip to a certain level. It’s user-settable, and defaults to 30% (see lead-in graphic).

2. Users can turn Energy Saver on or off via Quick Settings in the system tray as needed. MS recommends enabling Energy Saver all the time. It can even be set to work when a laptop is plugged into AC.

3. When Energy Saver is on, users cannot change power mode in Settings. Display brightness is reduced by 30% (users can toggle this setting, and OEMs can alter this value). Transparency effects for window backgrounds are disabled.

4. For unplugged devices with charge levels below the energy saver threshold, these other behaviors will manifest:

a. MS apps — e.g. OneNote, OneDrive, Phone Link, and so forth — may not sync to save energy.

b. Background apps will not run in the background unless specifically enabled. Certain app categories are exempted (e.g. VoIP) to preserve communications.

c. Non-critical Windows update downloads are blocked, but update scans still occur.

d. Telemetry is (mostly) blocked except for critical items (e.g. census data).

e. Task scheduler ignores IdleSettings and MaintenanceSettings, and runs tasks only if a user is logged on.

For all the details, please consult the MS Learn article. This will change how Windows behaves when PCs update to 24H2 and beyond, so these alterations are worth pondering. For further details on energy saver status tracking see the MS Learn item for SYSTEM_POWER_STATUS. Cheers!

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

First Look: Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6

August 2, 2024 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

Well, then. A scant few days after I requested access to the business side of Lenovo’s current Copilot+ PCs, the ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 showed up via FedEx. In fact, the driver was blocking my driveway when I returned home from a visit to the eye doctor on Wednesday. Work life and deadlines being what they are, I’m just now getting around to intake, setup and fooling around with this new machine. That means it’s a first look Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 report.

The First Look: Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6

I really like how Lenovo has totally minimized packaging. There were two papier-mache molds to cradle the laptop, a single cardboard box for the brick and power cord, and a paper-covered twist-tie for the latter, all inside a small cardboard box. A folded set of start-up instructions occupied less than a typical 8.5×11″ sheet of paper. Plus an environmentally friendly fiber (paper) bag to protect the laptop inside its cradle: 5 items in all. Great!

Lenovo has also completely digitized its user manuals now, and they’re readily available through the Lenovo Vantage app. Here’s a nicely labeled “front view” of the screen and deck of the T14s.

It’s easy to see what is where in this text-free diagram.

Here’s how this unit came equipped:

CPU: Snapdragon X Elite X1378100 3.4 MHz Oryon processor
RAM: 32 GB of LPDDR5X-8448MHz memory (soldered)
SSD: 1 TB PCIe Gen 4 M.2 2242 (!) NVMe SSD
Display: 1920×1280 (Full HD) touchscreeen
Windows 11 Pro version 24H2 Build 26100.1150 (after update)
Other cool/interesting elements: Windows Hello IR camera, fingerprint sensor, presence sensing, intelligent cooling
2xUSB-C (USB4 40Gbps) ports, 2 USB-A (5Gbps) ports, lock slot, nano-SIM tray, HDMI, mini-RCA audio jack port
Qualcomm FastConnect 7800 Wi-Fi 7 network adapter (GbE requires USB dongle for wired connection)

Bluetooth on this device works like a champ. Got my Logitech Ultrathin Touch mouse hooked up right away, ditto for the iPhone 12. I used a Thunderbolt 3 dock to link up a recovery disk UFD and an external USB4 NVMe in a fast enclosure. Surprisingly, it shows support for 40Gbps capability all the way down the device chain:

That’s pretty good, for 4-5 year old Thunderbolt 3 dock. I’ll follow up with throughput and backup times in an upcoming post.

So far, so good…

I’m still getting things set up and configured the way I like them. But this is a sweet little unit, if somewhat chunkier and less vivid that the stunning high-res OLED display on the Yoga Slim 7x it’s replacing. I do like the added RAM, the inclusion of Windows 11 Pro (I had to upgrade from Home on the other unit to use RDP), Wi-Fi 7, and a bigger SSD (1.0 TiB instead of 0.5 TiB). More will follow as I have time, but I very much like what I see, and what this laptop can do, so far. Stay tuned: more is coming…

AI, Cool Tools, Insider stuff, Recent Activity, WED Blog, Windows 10

Finally Windows 10 Copilot Is Here

August 1, 2024 Ed Tittel Leave a comment

I’ve been waiting for some time for the Copilot facility to make its way onto my Windows 10 desktops since last November. That’s when MS made the first Preview available to versions 21H2 and 22H2. Since then, I’ve read numerous other announcements of its increasing spread and reach into the dominant Windows desktop OS. But not on my PCs or VMs, it seems. That all changed when Copilot hit the MS Store a couple of months back. Now, finally, Windows 10 Copilot is here for anybody who wants it — including me!

Finally Windows 10 Copilot Is Here
… and RUNNING!

I’m absolutely delighted to be able to interact with Copilot in a clear and well-understood way. That it’s now “just another app in the Store” makes it ever so much more approachable and easy to install and run. The only minor glitch I’ve run into from this Copilot avatar is obtaining version info. There’s supposed to be an about field under the App Settings heading. But I get an Edge page of app info instead, sans version number.

That’s OK though: I can visit the app’s Store page or use WinGet list Copilot to elicit that info. As you can see, the latter command provides that info on demand, no scrolling nor much reading needed:

There it is in clear form: my Win10 production PC is running the latest and greatest 1.0.4.0 version of Copilot (from the MS Store).

Copilot on 10 versus 11

So far, I really can’t tell much (or any) difference between Copilot on the two prevailing Windows OS versions. Even on the brand-new Copilot+ PC that showed up at my doorstep yesterday: a ThinkPad T14S Gen 6 there aren’t easy, available ways to take advantage of the unit’s AI-oriented CPU, GPU and NPU capabilities just yet. Can’t wait to see how that will all unfold later this year, though, when 24H2 comes out “for real” — and hopefully, with readily usable Copilot+ features and functions. We’ll see: I’m certainly standing by!