AskWoody

Patch Lady – cleaning up on the weekend

So as I’m here cleaning my house…. okay so I’m checking email and getting my email fix in BEFORE I clean my house on a weekend…. I noticed that my laptop’s C drive is getting tight.  This Lenovo has a 100Gig hard drive and with Windows 10 that is sooooooooooooo not enough.  Try 250 gig as a minimum these days.  So anyway back to cleaning up… I run treesize free and realize that there’s 10 gigs in a folder called “Packages” and specifically in what appears to be a history folder for Edge.  Note that disk clean up doesn’t touch this folder.

I went into Edge and nuked the history off the browser (and will consider making clearing history a default), but then I googled and found this post with a couple of things of interest:

https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/a9f30534-8d91-4bdf-8864-3a64f4b71e04/deleting-data-from-appdatalocalpackages?forum=w8itproperf

The files in the C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Packages folder store the user configuration settings for all of the installed Modern UI Apps.

These apps use a completely different programming model than the traditional Desktop (Win32) apps.
It is not recommended to delete the folder.

If you are just trying to clear the Windows Store Cache, there is a built-in component to accomplish this.
1. Press the WinKey+Q to display the Search and type WSRESET.
2. In the Results, click wsreset to reset the Store Cache.
3. The Windows Store will open and confirm that the cache has been cleared.

So like the SXS folder this is another “don’t touch” location.

Also spotted this:

It should be noted at this point that if you do not use any modern apps, and / or have used PowerShell to uninstall them all – see http://www.thewindowsclub.com/erase-default-preinstalled-modern-apps-windows-8 for details, then this folder can safely be deleted, with no ill effects.  I have done this on both Windows 8.1 computers I own, and they continue to function just fine.

While I’m on the subject of nuking items remember don’t touch the Windows store is not supported and in fact if you attempt it, you can count on reinstalling your computer:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4339074/removing-uninstalling-reinstalling-microsoft-store-app-not-supported

So now that I’ve cleaned up some space on this hard drive, I need to stop procrastinating and start cleaning my bathroom.  And when I get some time later I need to give feedback that Windows 10 needs to do a better job of self cleaning up the Modern apps.

Patch Lady – 1803 issues with peer to peer

A new “known issue” note was posted in the answers forum:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-networking/file-explorer-may-not-detect-other-devices-or/a7509468-27ce-4e92-a19b-a6b78d311b14

File Explorer may not detect other devices or perform file sharing on the local network when running Windows 10 version 1803

Justin posts:

Microsoft is aware of reports that devices running Windows 10 version 1803 cannot connect to other devices on their home network and is investigating the issue.

You can resolve this problem by setting some services to Automatic (Delayed Start) and restarting Windows:

1. Press the Windows Key and R at the same time to bring up the Run dialog.
2. Type services.msc in the Run dialog and press Enter.
3. For each of the following services, locate the service in list, right-click the service and select Properties.  Then set the Startup type to Automatic (Delayed Start) and select Apply.
   • Computer Browser (Browser)
   • Function Discovery Provider Host (FDPHost)
   • Function Discovery Resource Publication (FDResPub)
   • Network Connections (NetMan)
   • UPnP Device Host (UPnPHost)
   • Peer Name Resolution Protocol (PNRPSvc)
   • Peer Networking Grouping (P2PSvc)
   • Peer Networking Identity Manager (P2PIMSvc)
4. Restart Windows.

Patch lady – IT pro survey on patches

Patch lady here – for those of you that are IT professionals, consultants or business patchers, I have put together a survey regarding Windows patching and specifically on Windows 10 patching.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/728F8VQ

If you are a home user or stand alone patcher I’m preparing a second survey next week to capture your feedback.

My goal is to ensure this feedback gets to Microsoft.

Windows Monthly Rollup Previews are out

Full update in Computerworld Woody on Windows.

KB 4284842 – the Win7 Monthly Rollup preview — doesn’t seem to have much. Just like the other Win7 patches this month, it inherits the bug

There is an issue with Windows and a third-party software that is related to a missing file (oem<number>.inf). Because of this issue, after you apply this update, the network interface controller will stop working.

and of course there’s no mention of which third-party software.

KB 4284863 – the Win8.1 July Monthly Rollup preview — is a tad longer but, again, doesn’t seem to cover much.

Of course you should avoid both.

Patch Lady – Server patches for Exchange

Patching focus:  Server Admins – does not apply to stand alone computer users

Impacting Exchange 2010, 2013 and 2016.

Geek level:  High

For those that still run your own mail server (they really are out there) this post is for you.  Out this week are patches for the various supported Exchange platforms – the interesting thing of note is that VC++ 2013 runtime library is required – as noted “The component provides WebReady Document Viewing in Exchange Server 2010 and 2013 and Data Loss Prevention in Exchange Server 2013 and 2016. Setup will enforce the installation of the pre-requisite on Exchange Server 2013 and 2016 when a cumulative update is applied”.

The best way to install patches on Exchange is to:

1. Manually download the patches and install from a command line
2. Shut down the Exchange services before patching.  As part of the install process the installer will stop the Exchange services, and in fact disable them, install the updates and then turn them back on upon completion.

There are times that the process doesn’t turn the services back on so thus don’t panic when you find that the services are still disabled upon reboot.  I’ve often seen this side effect and all you have to do is to reenable the services and all it well.

I have not seen any side effects to Exchange 2010 on SBS 2011, Exchange 2013 or Exchange 2016.

As Michael B. Smith points out in his blog about the prior quarterly updates, you want to be methodical about updating Exchange.  Reboot servers first, check your systems and test ahead of time.

Pentium III users knocked out of Win7 patches

If you have a Pentium III, Win7 may have just entered end-of-life, 18 months early.

Computerworld Woody on Windows.

Watch out: Win10 Update Facilitation as a Service and a new push for the Update Assistant

Nag me all you want, Microsoft, but this is getting ridiculous. All I want is an “Off” button — until you figure out how to deliver reliable patches and upgrades.

Computerworld Woody on Windows.

Patch Lady – Windows 10 update facilitation service

Spotted this on the listing of patches tonight….  https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4056254/windows-10-update-facilitation-service

This update includes a background service to facilitate Windows Update service on devices running Home or Pro editions of Windows 10 Versions 1507, 1511, 1607, and 1703.

This update includes files and resources to address issues affecting background update processes in the Windows Update servicing stack. Maintaining Window Update service health and performance helps ensure that quality updates are installed seamlessly on your device and help to improve the reliability and security of devices running Windows 10.

How to get this update

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Only certain builds of Windows 10 Versions 1507, 1511, 1607, and 1703 require this update. Devices that are running those builds on Home or Pro editions that are not domain joined will automatically get the update downloaded and installed through Windows Update. Devices not connected to Windows Update may see a User Account Control (UAC) prompt during installation. Click Yes to install.

So if I’m reading this right, if your system is not domain joined (a home user) and windows update is deemed to not be working properly, you will get this update automatically and it will pop a UAC.  The issue I see is that that screen has never been used before and I’d probably think I had a virus or root kit on my machine.  I hope Microsoft will provide a bit more information and guidance about when we might see this and what the underlying issues are that might trigger this.  A not happy machine is probably not happy in other ways besides Windows update.