How to get the Windows 10 April 2018 Update

How to get the Windows 10 April 2018 Update

In last weeks’ newsletters (Tuesday and Thursday), we took a closer look at some of the new features of what we called the Productivity Update, i.e. the Windows 10 April 2018 Update aka Windows 10 Version 1803 (OS Build 17134.1).

Note: If you are interested in seeing more about some of the enterprise/business related features in this update you can check out the review we posted at ITPro Today last week.

This week, we are going to review the various methods for upgrading or clean installing your current Windows 10 installation to this fifth feature update for the operating system.

Windows Update (Automatic)

When Microsoft begins an automatic roll out of an update like this, they usually begin with known hardware configurations. That means targeting hardware such as first-party Surface devices, some of their OEM partners’ machines, or newer machines that are more likely to be compatible with the update to Windows 10.

Older hardware will come later in the process.

Microsoft monitors these early stages of the rollout very closely. When an issue is detected either through their telemetry or they begin to see a trend in the Feedback Hub with certain devices they will put a block in place. That block prevents that line of hardware from downloading the update from Windows Update.

A good example of this around the Windows 10 April 2018 Update is an issue around certain Alienware machines. In turn, Microsoft has put a block in place on Windows Update so those affected devices will not receive Version 1803. Once the issue is resolved that block will be lifted and they will be able to get the update.

Now, all this blocking through Windows Update only works if you use that mechanism to get the update. If you use one of the below manual processes, then the install will proceed. At this early stage of the rollout, my recommendation is that you let Windows Update lead the way.

However, I know many of you are more than just general users. If you have your data backed up and can deal with any issues that might come up – then proceed to the manual methods shown below.

Update Assistant and Media Creation Tool (Semi-Automatic and Manual)

You will find both options on the Download Windows 10 Software Page.

First let’s discuss the Update Assistant.

This is a semi-automatic process that you manually initiate. There will be some input required from you as the process begins. To get started you click on the Update now button to download a 6MB file to begin the upgrade.

It will then check your system’s compatibility (CPU, Memory, and available Disk space) and ask you to start the update. During this online section of the upgrade, you can still use your system. After the update is downloaded and verified, you will get a notice that you have 30 minutes to either schedule the offline segment of the upgrade or save your work and begin immediately. It is an in-place upgrade so your files, settings, and apps are not removed.

If you have done a Windows 10 upgrade in the past, then the offline stage is familiar and when complete you will be returned to the Lock Screen, so you can sign into your freshly upgraded system.

Note: During this semi-automatic upgrade process no ISO is saved nor is any installation media created. For those items you need to use the other option on the Windows 10 Software Download page – the Media Creation Tool (MCT).

The MCT is a manual process because there are more decisions to be made concerning the type of upgrade/install you want to perform, whether to keep your files and apps, or whether you want to do a clean installation of the OS.

The process begins just like the Update Assistant – just click on the Download tool now button on the page. This will download an 18MB file to start the MCT.

After you start the file it will show you a licensing agreement and then get a few things ready before presenting you with two options:

• Upgrade this PC now
• Create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) for another PC

By selecting the first option you will initiate an upgrade of your system with choices about keeping files, apps, etc. as I mentioned earlier. It also offers an option to keep none of your current files and apps. This option results in a clean install of the upgrade. This is the big difference between using the Update Assistant and the Upgrade this PC now options under the MCT.

Ultimately, if you just want to do an in-place upgrade to keep your apps and files which you start yourself, the Update Assistant is the better option. If you want a clean start on a device then the Upgrade this PC now option in the MCT is the way to go.

Next up is the second choice under the MCT for creating installation media. If you know other devices will need this upgrade and you want to avoid downloading the 4GB or so worth of upgrade files, then this is the selection you should make. This option also does not perform an upgrade on the device you run the MCT tool on – it just makes installation media in one of three forms.

The bootable USB flash drive or DVD can be used to start a system up and perform either an upgrade or clean install. Most of the time users will use these options so they can clean install the Windows 10 upgrade on their systems. Those wishing to upgrade will likely use the earlier options I have covered already.

The ISO option simply downloads a properly configured ISO file. This can be used to manually initiate an upgrade on a Windows 10 system by saving it to that devices hard drive and then mounting it through File Explorer. From there you can initiate an upgrade or clean install. Again, the benefit of using the ISO is the same as using install media like a USB flash drive or a DVD drive. It prevents you from having to download the 4GB upgrade/install files multiple times.

The Bottom Line

The method you use to upgrade or clean-install Windows 10 will depend greatly on circumstances such as connectivity, upgrading to keep all your files and apps in place, or starting with a completely clean install.

No matter which method you select, make sure you prepare for contingencies by having backups just in case you need them. As I have said before – you do not want to find out a backup is needed when you really need that backup.

Secrets to a Successful Search in Microsoft Outlook

You can narrow, expand, and otherwise fine-tune your searches in Outlook.

If you use Microsoft Outlook, you’ve probably tapped into the regular search feature in which you type a keyword or phrase in the search field and then wait for matching emails to appear. But there’s much more to searching in Outlook than meets the eye. In this article, you’ll master the following skills:

• Search just your current mailbox or all mailboxes as well as your current folder or all folders.
• Limit the search to just recent items or include older items as well.
• Look for messages based on sender, recipient, date, attachment, status, body text, and more. You can easily access recent searches. You can search your calendar and contacts separately or along with email messages.
• Modify the default settings for searching.

I’m using Outlook 2016 via my Office 365 subscription. But most of the features and options I discuss here should work in the prior couple of versions of Outlook.

To start, open Outlook. If you’re like me, you may have thousands of messages scattered throughout a host of folders. You may even maintain more than one account or mailbox in Outlook.

To run a basic search, type your keyword or phrase in the search field. By default, Outlook will look in only your current folder. To expand the search, click on the drop-down menu next to the search field and change the setting to Subfolders, Current Mailbox, All Mailboxes, or All Outlook Items. Here’s what each setting does:

• Subfolders looks in any subfolders branching off the parent folder.
• Current Mailbox looks throughout your entire mailbox.
• All Mailboxes searches all the mailboxes you’ve set up.
• And All Outlook Items looks for contacts and calendar events as well as messages.

After you type in the search field, Outlook switches to the Search Ribbon where you can further customize your searches.

From the Search Ribbon, you can click on the buttons to alter the search among All Mailboxes, Current Mailbox, Current Folder, Subfolders, and All Outlook Items.

By default, Outlook limits the number of search results you receive to only relatively recent ones. If you wish to see all the results stretching back to the start, click on the button to Include Older Results. Wait a bit and you should see more results pop up. For the search I ran, the results blossomed from 250 to 763 after I selected the option to include older results.

When you run a search based on a keyword or phrase, Outlook hunts for your search term in the From or To fields as well as the subject field and the body text.

To limit the search to the From field, click on the From button on the Search Ribbon and then replace the phrase Sender Name with the name or email address from the actual sender. You can do the same with the To field in your Sent Items folder.

Next, you can search for items just in the subject line. Click on the button for Subject on the Ribbon. Replace the word keywords with the word or phrase you wish to find in the subject line. You can combine any or all of these search parameters to look for messages from a specific sender with a specific subject.

You can continue to combine different search parameters. You can look for only messages with attachments, either all messages with attachments or messages with attachments from a specific person and/or with a specific subject line.

Do you categorize your messages? If so, click on the Categorized button. Choose a specific category by color or name to search for messages in that category.

You can limit your search to a specific timeframe:

• Click on the This Week arrow and select the option to look for messages received today, yesterday, this week, last week, this month, last month, this year, or last year.
• Next, click on the Sent To button. You can now find messages sent to or CCd to you, not sent directly to you, or sent to another person.
• Click on the Unread button to find any messages you haven’t yet read.

Again, you can combine any or all of these parameters as you wish.

If you’ve flagged any messages, click on the Flagged button to search for them. If you’ve tagged any messages as Important, click on the Important button to find them. And you can get even more granular. Click on the More button. Here, you can hunt for messages by BCC, CC, Due Date, Folder, Body Text, Sensitivity, Size, and more.

Want to return to a previous search? Click on the Recent Searches button and select the search you want to run again.

Need to amp up your search still further? Click on the Search Tools button and select Advanced Find. Here, you can combine several search options and parameters in one spot. Type your search term, select the location, choose the sender and/or recipient, and pick the day or week the message was sent or received. Clicking on the tabs for More Choices and Advanced provides additional options. And if you click on the Look field, you can filter the results by messages, contacts, calendar appointments, notes, or tasks.

Finally, you can change some of the default search options. Click on the Search Tools button and select Search Options. You can modify the default location for searches and opt to include messages in the Deleted Items folder.

You can alter the settings to display results as you type your search query, improve search results by limiting their number, highlight search terms in your results and with which color, and notify you if the search results might be limited because the indexing isn’t complete. Click OK when done.