Blog Archives

• Microsoft to start pushing Win10 1809 customers onto 1909

  Posted on December 6th, 2019 at 04:57 woody Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  Nevermind that Win10 1809 Home and Pro don’t officially hit end of service until May of next year…

  Microsoft just announced that it’s starting to push machines from Win10 1809 to version 1909.

  Current status as of December 5, 2019:

  Beginning today, we will slowly start the phased process to automatically initiate a feature update for devices running the October 2018 Update (Windows 10, version 1809) Home and Pro editions, keeping those devices supported and receiving the monthly updates that are critical to device security and ecosystem health. We are starting this rollout process several months in advance of the end of service date to provide adequate time for a smooth update process.

  I can understand a month, or maybe two. But five?

  No indication how the push will proceed. I guess you wake up one morning to find that your 1809 machine wants to reboot into 1909.

  As a service.

  Thx Bogdan Popa, Softpedia.

  Windows 10 Releases pushed upgrade, Win10 1809, Win10 1909

• Microsoft 365 Life – your opportunity to rent an Office 365 superset

  Posted on December 5th, 2019 at 11:15 woody Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  I’m reading a lot of … speculation … about the newly announced (but not yet seen) Microsoft 365 Life.

  Whadda name.

  Mary Jo Foley has a balanced and fact-based article on ZDNet. The speculation you’ve seen about Windows-for-rent are (at this point) all wet.

  Wes Miller, who knows more about Microsoft licensing than any person alive, puts it this way:

  

  We’ll see Microsoft 365 Life (or a similarly named for-rent combo) roll out around the middle of next year. Don’t expect to see any major changes from Office 365.

  Windows 10 Releases M365, Microsoft 365

• Yes, the next version of Windows will be Win10 version 2004

  Posted on November 27th, 2019 at 10:19 woody Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  

  You couldn’t make this stuff up.

  The beta test version of Win10, known as 20H1, will ultimately emerge as Win10 version 2004, build 19033. It’s apparently all queued up and ready to go – although MS insists you won’t be able to get it until May (thus the “2004” moniker).

  The build watermark at the lower right-hand corner of the desktop is no longer present in this build.This doesn’t mean we’re done…

  Eagle-eyed Windows Insiders will notice that that as of this build, 20H1 officially shows it is version 2004. We have chosen to use 2004 as the version to eliminate confusion with any past product names (such as Windows Server 2003).

  I wonder what they could do to make it more confusing…..

  Thx @PKCano

  Windows 10 Releases Win10 2004

• Should you upgrade or stick to the MS-DEFCON rating?

  Posted on November 26th, 2019 at 09:32 woody Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  I created a lot of confusion with my Computerworld post yesterday. In a nutshell, it goes through the pro’s and con’s of upgrading to versions 1809, 1903 and 1909 and, once you’ve chosen the version you want, gives detailed instructions on how to get there.

  To put this in perspective with the MS-DEFCON rating you see above…

  I published that article knowing that many of you in the US will be visiting with family and friends over the next few days. If you’re going to upgrade your Deranged Uncle Darth this year, many of you will want to get the dirty deed done while everybody else is watching football. (American football, of course – and I say that with apologies to my Sainted Aunt Martha.)

  I should’ve made clear that, if you’re concerned about bugs this month – of which there are a few, but not many – you should wait until the MS-DEFCON level goes down before you move from one version to another. (Note, in particular the fix for the Access bug hasn’t been completely rolled out.) But if you’re under some pressure to get things sorted out in the next week or so, it’s OK to upgrade now.

  Windows 10 Releases, Windows Patches/Security Win10 1803, Win10 1809, Win10 1903, Win10 1909

• Here’s how to control the upgrade from Win10 version 1803 or 1809

  Posted on November 25th, 2019 at 12:54 woody Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  Yes, you can choose which version you want to run — 1809, 1903, or 1909.

  There are direct methods from moving from 1803 to 1809, 1903 or 1909.

  And there are direct methods from moving from 1809 to 1903 or 1909. You do have control, with either Win10 Pro or Home.

  A discussion of options and upgrade details in Computerworld Woody on Windows.

  Windows 10 Releases Win10 1803, Win10 1809, Win10 1903, Win10 1909

• Known problems with Win10 version 1909

  Posted on November 24th, 2019 at 05:45 woody Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  With Win10 version 1909 now (… checks watch …) 12 days old, I figured it’d be a good time to come up with an Airing of Grievances for the latest version of the last version of Windows.

  Let me kick this off.

  Stutter in File Explorer search

  Mayank Parmar in Windows Latest says:

  Windows 10 November 2019 Update makes File Explorer’s search pane unresponsive. According to posts on Microsoft’s community forum, users have to wait for an abnormally large amount of time before the search box unfreeze and the cursor appears. We were able to reproduce this bug after several attempts.

  Thx, Divyanka

  Text in File Explorer search box very small

  jjblau reports:

  When I click in the search box in File Explorer the text is so small I cannot read it.  I had no problems in 1809.  The search works but you do not know if you spelled your search correctly until you see the results.

  Search box in File Explorer not responsive

  An anonymous commenter adds:

  Right-click on the explorer search box get nothing. Ctrl-V to paste into explorer search box is currently impossible, I can’t even access it to type.

  Problems installing 1909

  Let’s see. This is a day with a name that ends in “y,” so I guess we’re going to see Win10 upgrade installation problems. Mauro Huculak at Windows Central has an enormous compilation of upgrade problems and solutions:

  If you’re still running the October 2018 Update [that’s version 1809 to us normal folks – WL], April 2018 Update [version 1803], or an even older version, then the upgrade process will require full reinstallation. Therefore, increasing the chances of running into problems or stumble upon hardware and software compatibility issues.

  Moving from 1903 to 1909 should be easy — the 1909 update simply plugs in the Christmas tree lights that were already installed by 1903 — but there are reports of problems. For example, hotcore on TenForums says:

  Shortly after the reboot I see the Windows logo and the dots are circling, but after a short time the system hangs completely… I managed to solve the issue by creating the 1909 ISO with Media Creator and installing from that.

  What to do

  Nothing. There’s absolutely nothing in Win10 1909 that you need to have just yet. Let’s give it a few months and see what problems arise.

  For those of you still running Win10 1803 or 1809, I’ll have a detailed step-by-step analysis of your upgrade options — what to consider when upgrading, and how to thread the needle — coming this week in Computerworld.

  In the interim… have you heard of any Win10 1909 specific bugs?

  Windows 10 Releases Win10 1909

• Upgraded to 1909 – or was he?

  Posted on November 21st, 2019 at 09:26 woody Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  Tero Alhonen has a tweet that baffles me:

  ??? pic.twitter.com/BReFDX63XH

  — Tero Alhonen (@teroalhonen) November 21, 2019

  In the end, it appears as if he’s on the first October cumulative update for 1903 (build 18362.418), but the original prompt and the install history says he’s on 1909, presumably the latest build 18363.476.

  Anybody have a guess what’s going on?

  Windows 10 Releases Win10 1909

• A mysterious app called “G” keeps you from shutting down — or does it?

  Posted on November 21st, 2019 at 09:07 woody Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  

  Credit: Overflowbr on Bleeping Computer

  If “G” is keeping you from shutting down, but you can’t figure out what in the heck “G” might be, there’s a reason. Actually, it’s a bug. No, you aren’t infected.

  Details in Computerworld Woody on Windows.

  Thx @b

  Windows 10 Releases G, Shutdown
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