Newsletter Archives

• On beyond Win10 version 1703 – Is 1803 ready yet? Really?

  Posted on November 4, 2018 at 06:03 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  I’m sitting in the horns of a dilemma, and figured I’d toss this one out for discussion.

  Lots of folks are still on Win10 version 1703. I’m one of them — on my main machines, anyway. With Microsoft claiming that it won’t issue any more security patches for 1703, I’m pretty much forced to move on. (Yes, I know I can stick with 1703, but the volume of patches we’ve seen for Win10 argues volubly in favor of moving on.)

  Thus the dilemma (trilemma?). Assuming I stick with Win10, do I jump to 1709, 1803 or wait a bit and go with 1809?

  I’ll rule out 1809 just out of hand. Microsoft’s obviously working hard at making it a worthy version of Windows. But it ain’t good enough for Microsoft yet, and if it isn’t up to Microsoft’s standards, it sure as shootin’ isn’t up to mine.

  I’ve heard recent reports that the long-lingering problems with 1803 have been fixed, by and large. But in the once-burned-twice-shy tradition, I’m highly skeptical.

  Version 1709 has been stable for a while — and Microsoft has plugged a lot of holes in it, with a huge bunch arriving just a few weeks ago. But if I  move to 1709, I’ll have to move again in six months. If I jump to 1803, it’ll be patched until a year from now.

  And if there’s one thing I hate to do, it’s upgrade Windows versions on a production machine.

  What do you think?

  If I were buying a new machine I’d go with a Chromebook, frankly, but that’s a different story entirely.

  Windows News Win10 1703, Win10 1803

• Upgrade from 1703 to 1709 hoses one admin profile

  Posted on October 19, 2018 at 06:10 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Oh dear.

  Those of us running 1703 will have to move to a new version pretty quickly. I’ll be weighing the options and making a recommendation in the next week or two.

  This report came as something of a surprise:

  Dell XPS 8920, Intel Core i7-7700 CPU @ 3.60GHz, 16 Gb RAM, Windows 10 Professional.

  2 administrator profiles ME, HER. 1709 update pushed while in ME profile. HER profile also signed in. ME profile seems to be working, but HER profile will not open. Sign in to HER profile, desktop appears for a couple of seconds then goes to the picture display before the sign in screen.

  No matter how many times you try, the same happens. Roll back to 1703 and everything works like it should. Delay 1709 for 365 days.

  10/18/2018 signed in to HER profile and 1709 is pushed again. Same issue as a year ago. ME profile works, but HER profile does not.

  Figured the problem would have been fixed by now…HA HA HA…snicker…oh…sorry. Have not find anything on the web to fix this.

  Anybody else see this?

  Windows Patches/Security Win10 1703, Win10 1709

• How to upgrade from Win10 Pro 1703 to 1709 — and not 1803

  Posted on August 28, 2018 at 07:37 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  There are some interesting discussions in the forum, kicked off by CyGuy, about the precise nature of the “feature update deferral” setting in Win10’s Updates Advanced Options.

  If you’re on 1703 (my production machines are all on 1703) and you want to move to 1803, it’s easy – just set the feature update deferral to 0 days, and run through Windows Update once. As long as you do that before 1809 is released, you’ll end up on 1803.

  But zero2dash has conducted some experiments with VMs that make me wonder if it’s possible to move from 1703 to 1709 by setting the “feature update deferral” to a number larger than 48 but less than 221 (give or take a day or two, as time marches on).

  Can any of you confirm?

  I have a copy of 1709 stuck on a USB stick and can upgrade from 1703 to 1709 that way, if worse comes to worst. But it’d be a whole lot easier to just set “feature update deferral” to 200 days and let Windows have its way.

  Windows News Win10 1703, Win10 1709, Win10 1803

• Microsoft admits that it forced Win10 1703 machines to upgrade to Win10 1709, even with updates blocked

  Posted on March 12, 2018 at 07:44 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Third time they’ve pulled this “Gawrsh” garbage in the past four months.

  Computworld Woody on Windows.

  Windows Patches/Security forced upgrade, Win10 1703, Win10 1709

• Second round of cumulative updates for Win10 1607 and 1703, plus previews, just hit

  Posted on February 22, 2018 at 18:19 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  From @abbodi86:

  Updates are out
  —

  2018-02 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1607 (KB4077525) – that’s the second cumulative update in the past nine days for 1607

  2018-02 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 1703 (KB4077528) – the second cumulative update in the past nine days for 1703

  2018-02 Preview of Monthly Quality Rollup for Windows 8.1 (KB4075212)

  2018-02 Preview of Monthly Quality Rollup for Windows 7 (KB4075211)

  2018-02 Preview of Monthly Quality Rollup for Windows Server 2012 (KB4075213)

  For security-only Win7 users, IE11 got new cumulative to fix some issue: Cumulative Update for Internet Explorer 11 for Windows 7 (KB4088835)
  —

  heads up for Windows 10 Version 1703
  KB4077528 is only for English (US) systems,
  other languages do not attempt to install it, because it lacks any language specific components except en-us

  this is new kind of fiasco ?

  Oh boy. Wonder why 1709 didn’t get a second cumulative update?

  Windows Patches/Security KB 4075211, KB 4075212, KB 4075213, KB 4077525, KB 4077528, KB 4088835, Win10 1703, Windows 10 1607

• Another report of Win10 Creators Update (1703) users getting pushed to Fall Creators Update (1709), even with defer updates set

  Posted on January 12, 2018 at 11:38 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  If you’re using Win10 1703, and you want to wait a bit to move to 1709, there may be a problem.

  Yesterday, Microsoft announced that 1709 is “fully available for all compatible devices running Windows 10 worldwide!” (their exclamation point, not mine). Gregg Keizer has the details.

  What I’m hearing – and can’t yet confirm – is that 1703 PCs with “feature update deferral” set to 365 days are getting pushed onto 1709.

  Computerworld Woody on Windows.

  UPDATE: Here’s another report of a “hard” bug in 1709:

  Windows 10 Fall Creators Update is hit by a new bug that prevents installation, especially for devices with Intel’s X299 chipset and an NVMe SSD drive.

  Thx SB.

  Windows Patches/Security feature update, forced upgrading, Win10 1703, Win10 1709

• Download-only cumulative update for Win10 Creators Update, KB 4049370

  Posted on November 2, 2017 at 15:07 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Looks like we have a tiny cumulative update for you Win10 1703 users who are still running 1703 on Surface Laptops. It’s download only — so it won’t show up in Windows Update.

  KB 4049370 will bring you up to version 15063.675. Its sole purpose, according to the KB article, is to fix a bug introduced in the Sept. 12 cumulative update:

  This release is intended for Microsoft Surface Laptop audiences only. This update includes quality improvements. No new operating system features are being introduced in this update. Key changes include:

  • Addressed issue where after installing KB4038788, some Microsoft Surface Laptops boot to a black screen. Additionally, you must press the power button for a long time to recover.

  If you bought a Surface Laptop, you have my condolences.

  Thx to Tero Alhonen.

  Windows Patches/Security 15063.675, KB 4049370, Surface Laptop, Win10 1703

• Win10 users — it’s time to move to Creators Update, version 1703

  Posted on September 1, 2017 at 12:46 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  … but not because 1703 is loaded with features you absolutely need.

  Those of you who are happy with Win7 (or even 8.1) have no reason to sweat just yet.

  Computerworld Woody on Windows

  Update: I’m running 1703 on my production machine now. The upgrade went with nary a hiccup. Thanks for asking.

  Windows News 1607, Win10 1703

• Tired of the bugs in Microsoft’s pushed patches? Here’s how to take control updating Windows 10.

  Posted on August 16, 2017 at 14:17 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Full, step-by-step instructions in Computerworld.

  WARNING: We’re still at MS-DEFCON 2. It isn’t yet time to update Win10. But we’re close.

  ANOTHER: To scroll through the slideshow, hover your mouse over the picture, then click the right-arrow that appears. I know, I know.

  Windows Patches/Security Win10 1703, Windows 10 patches

• 10 tricks to get Win10 Creators Update buttoned up and locked down

  Posted on August 9, 2017 at 06:49 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  General advice for taking control of Win10 version 1703.

  Computerworld feature.

  Windows Patches/Security Creators Update, Win10 1703

• Win10 machines with “Defer feature updates” now getting pushed Creators Update

  Posted on July 31, 2017 at 08:03 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  There’s a reason why your Win10 1607 PC with “Defer feature updates” is getting pushed onto 1703 — and you aren’t going to like it. Fortunately, there’s a partial solution.

  Tip: If you’re running Win10 Anniversary Update, version 1607, and don’t want to get pushed onto 1703, go into Windows Update and see if “Feature update to Windows 10, version 1703” is waiting download. If so, use wushowhide or a metered connection to block it. If it’s already downloaded and awaiting a reboot, DON’T reboot just yet.

  Computerworld Woody on Windows

  UPDATE: I can confirm that this method worked on my production PC. Per @netdef:

  If the updater shows 1703 still pending a reboot, and you have successfully used wushowhide.diagcab to block it, go to C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download and delete ALL subfolders and files in there (but don’t delete the Download folder itself.)

  Now at the Start menu, you should have roughly double the count of shutdown options listed.  Half are normal, the other half say something like Update and Restart or Update and Shut down.

  Restart the workstation without the Update option.

  Now when you recheck updates, the Feature update to 1703 should abort, and no longer be listed as pending.

  Brilliant!

  UPDATE: There’s a reason why you were caught flat-footed. You were probably waiting for the usual “4 months to CBB” delay. That interval is shrinking precipitously…

  

  Windows News Defer feature updates, forced upgrade, Win10 1703

• Windows 10 Anniversary Update 1607 = end of the road for Clover Trail chips, but security patches continue

  Posted on July 19, 2017 at 20:09 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  No doubt you watched as the drama unfolded: Ed Bott at ZDNet reported on Monday that folks with older Atom Clover Trail based PCs — Atom Z2760, Z2520, Z2560 and Z2580 processors — were blocked from installing the Win10 Creators Update, version 1703. If you had the temerity to try to upgrade from 1607 to 1703 on one of these three-year-old machines, you were greeted with the nonsensical message:

  Windows 10 is no longer supported on this PC

  Uninstall this app now because it isn’t compatible with Windows 10.

  That sparked quite a furor online, where pundits were all over the map, trying to explain (and even excuse!) Microsoft’s callous behavior. Support for 1607 — the last version of Win10 available for these Clover Trail PCs — ends about a year from now. Folks who bought the Clover Trail PCs in the first wave of Win 8.1 mania, and upgraded to Win 10 (thank you, GWX), had unwittingly boxed themselves into a dark corner where security patches stopped in early 2018. Nevermind that Win 8.1 support goes to January 2023.

  Surprise.

  A couple of hours ago, Ed posted an emailed statement from Microsoft that explains the sorry state of affairs, apparently laying the blame on Intel’s doorstep:

  If a hardware partner stops supporting a given device or one of its key components and stops providing driver updates, firmware updates, or fixes, it may mean that device will not be able to properly run a future Windows 10 feature update…

  these systems are no longer supported by Intel, and without the necessary driver support, they may be incapable of moving to the Windows 10 Creators Update without a potential performance impact…

  The statement came with an amazing offer:

  To keep our customers secure, we will provide security updates to these specific devices running the Windows 10 Anniversary Update until January of 2023.

  That means Microsoft’s on the hook to support 1607 for five years more than originally anticipated. Not cool for the Softies, because Microsoft’s been planning on dumping older versions of Win10 every 18 months. Windows as a Service, ya know.

  While I welcome the announcement, I can’t help but wonder what’s going to happen with the next bunch of aging processors.

  I also wonder what kind of conversations transpired between Satya Nadella and Brian Krzanich. Looks like the old Microsoft-Intel wars are back in full swing.

  Microsoft News 1607, Clover Trail, Creators Update, Win10 1703
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