Newsletter Archives

• A single Registry line enables Windows 11 without TPM 2.0

  Posted on October 18th, 2021 at 02:45 Brian Livingston Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  ISSUE 18.40 • 2021-10-18

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  Microsoft has published a new support document revealing a one-line entry anyone can add to the Registry allowing Windows 11 to install on devices that do not have the so-called TPM 2.0 chip installed on the motherboard.

  The Trusted Platform Module, as I explained in the September 6 AskWoody Newsletter, is a small hardware component that generates and stores cryptographic keys, among other things. Until the release of the recent support document, Microsoft had repeatedly stated that the 2.0 version of TPM would be a requirement before Windows 11 would install. In addition, Win11 has CPU and other hardware requirements above those of Win10, as set forth in Microsoft’s Win11 specifications.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.40.0 (2021-10-18).
  This story also appears in the AskWoody Free Newsletter 18.40.F (2021-10-18).

  AskWoody FREE Newsletter, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Public Defender AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Microsoft, TPM, Windows 11, Windows registry

• Windows 11 is officially vulnerable

  Posted on October 18th, 2021 at 02:41 Susan Bradley Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Call me silly, but I never consider a Windows release as “official” until the first security updates come down on Patch Tuesday.

  Windows 11 has 39 vulnerabilities; two of the fixes are deemed critical and 37 are important. KB5006674 also includes several fixes that, according to reports, impact performance on specific computers.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.40.0 (2021-10-18).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Lady Posts, Windows 11, Windows Updates

• MS-DEFCON 2: October updates right around the corner

  Posted on October 8th, 2021 at 02:45 Susan Bradley Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  ISSUE 18.38.1 • 2021-10-08 By Susan Bradley Enjoy the fall season — take a break from patching! With the October updates bearing down upon us, it’s time to take a break. Wrap up patching and updating from September, and prepare your PC to delay the upcoming patches. For those of you still on Windows 10 2004, this is an excellent time to upgrade to 21H1 and let it settle in. As for Windows 10 21H2, we still don’t have a definite date. Windows 10 will be fully supported until 2025, but it’s still unclear whether Microsoft will be switching to an annual feature-release schedule, as with Windows 11, or keeping the twice-per-year cadence we’ve had for the past five years. Consumer and home users Based on the information I have now, I will probably sound the all-clear for consumers to install this round of updates on or after October 26. Go into Start, Settings, Update and Security, and Advanced options. In the Pause Updates section, pick October 26 from the drop-down menu. If you’ve installed the September updates for Windows 10 2004, 20H2, or 21H1, including KB5005565, you can turn your print spooler service back on and use your printer normally — Microsoft has finally fixed its Print Nightmare bugs. It’s safe to turn it on and leave it on (we hope). Business users For businesses, I’ll urge you to unofficially shoot for deploying updates a week earlier on October 19. Every time I’ve tried to urge businesses to patch earlier than consumers, we’ve hit side effects and needed to wait for workarounds. This is also the time to be testing — but not deploying — Windows 11. Microsoft started releasing Windows 11 as it became Tuesday, October 5, in each time zone around the world. All the tools that help us control, patch, and deploy Windows 10 will also be used to control, patch, and deploy Windows 11. Microsoft is releasing much of its Windows 11 content and will be updating it as more information comes out. Tuesday marked the start of the 36-month servicing-support lifecycle for Enterprise and Education editions of Windows 11. The Home, Pro, Pro for Workstations, and Pro for Education editions of Windows 11 will receive 24 months of servicing support. But I see no need to rush into Windows 11 — it’s a time to watch for side effects and issues. References AskWoody Master Patch List Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Alert 18.38.1 (2021-10-08).

  AskWoody Plus Alert, MS-DEFCON AskWoody Plus Alerts, MS-DEFCON, MS-DEFCON 2, Patch Lady Posts, Windows 10, Windows 11

• Freeware Spotlight — Preparing your PC for Windows 11

  Posted on October 4th, 2021 at 02:45 Deanna McElveen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  ISSUE 18.38 • 2021-10-04

  BEST UTILITIES

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  Nothing can ruin the excitement of a major Windows upgrade like an error message halfway through installation.

  You know — that pit in your stomach when you don’t know if you now have your old Windows or the new Windows. Are you stuck on a transitional plane? Have you created a half-breed, mutant operating system? Are your personal files gone!!? Let’s try to prevent all that with some good old-fashioned housecleaning before you are offered Windows 11 this month.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.38.0 (2021-10-04).
  This story also appears in the AskWoody Free Newsletter 18.38.F (2021-10-04).

  AskWoody FREE Newsletter, AskWoody Plus membership, Best Utilities AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Windows 11

• Time to block vNext

  Posted on October 4th, 2021 at 02:42 Susan Bradley Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Not ready to move to Windows 11? PC not compatible? Block it!

  Microsoft has expanded the setting we love at AskWoody: “TRV,” or TargetReleaseVersion. Previously, we were able to set the specific feature release we wanted for Windows 10. Now we get the option to ensure that we stay on Windows 10 — and only on Windows 10.

  (Why do I always insist that we are better off holding back and not installing the latest thing? Because unless you want to be a beta tester, you shouldn’t have to become a beta tester.)

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.38.0 (2021-10-04).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Exchange, Patch Lady Posts, Windows 11, Windows Update

• Windows 11 Surfaces

  Posted on September 27th, 2021 at 02:41 Will Fastie Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  MICROSOFT NEWS

  

  By Will Fastie

  Microsoft’s September event showcased its updated Surface lineup and doubled down on the Duo 2.

  While Microsoft’s livestream presentation of September 2 was not tremendously exciting, it was a well-done description of the new Surface devices and was hosted by Panos Panay, in fine form.

  I won’t bore you with every detail, but here are some good sources of information.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.37.0 (2021-09-27).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Microsoft News, Surface AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Microsoft Surface, Surface, Surface Duo, Surface Laptop Studio, Surface Pro, Windows 11

• How you might install Win 11 on older PCs lacking TPM 2.0

  Posted on September 6th, 2021 at 02:44 Brian Livingston Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  Microsoft officially announced last week that it will offer Windows 11 in a phased release between October 5, 2021, and “mid-2022” — but techies are already finding ways to install the new OS on older PCs that don’t implement TPM 2.0, a chip the Redmond company says is required.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.34.0 (2021-09-06).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Public Defender AskWoody Plus Newsletter, hardware, security, Windows 11

• The new PC Health Check app is here (almost)

  Posted on August 30th, 2021 at 02:44 Will Fastie Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  WINDOWS 11

  

  By Will Fastie

  Hallelujah!

  Sorry. That might be a little over the top. Rejoicing may be too early. And maybe unjustified.

  On August 27, Microsoft posted an article titled Update on Windows 11 minimum system requirements and the PC Health Check app to its Windows Insider blog. The article covered two topics, as its title suggests.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.33.0 (2021-08-30).
  This story also appears in the AskWoody Free Newsletter 18.33.F (2021-08-30).

  AskWoody FREE Newsletter, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Windows 11 AskWoody FREE Newsletter, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Windows, Windows 11, Windows 11 compatibility checker

• Say hello to these new Windows 11 features

  Posted on August 16th, 2021 at 02:42 Lance Whitney Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  WINDOWS 11

  

  By Lance Whitney

  The next flavor of Windows kicks in several new features, some interesting and hopefully helpful, and others not so much.

  Just when you’ve gotten comfortable enough with Windows 10, Microsoft unveils a new edition of its core OS with fresh and supposedly improved features to figure out. Adapting to a new operating system is always a chore, and that promises to be true with Windows 11. But what new features does the next generation of Windows offer, and which ones might actually be worth the upgrade?

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.31.0 (2021-08-16).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Windows 11 AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Windows, Windows 11

• It’s way too soon to panic about Windows 11

  Posted on August 9th, 2021 at 02:44 Fred Langa Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  LANGALIST

  

  By Fred Langa

  Windows 11, aka Windows 21H2, is due out later this year but is already causing deep concern among many users.

  For some, it’s that their PCs failed the prerelease (and now withdrawn) Win11 hardware-compatibility checker. For others, it’s the knowledge that the stated prerelease hardware requirements would prevent their machines from being able to use the new OS.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.30.0 (2021-08-09).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, LangaList AskWoody Plus Newsletter, LangaList, Windows 10, Windows 11

• Update: Where does TPM live?

  Posted on July 26th, 2021 at 02:44 Will Fastie Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  WINDOWS 11

  

  By Will Fastie

  Trying to find out where Trusted Platform Module is implemented in Intel-based systems was harder than I thought. Intel finally, and helpfully, gave me some pointers.

  The problem is one of terminology.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.28.0 (2021-07-26).

  AskWoody FREE Newsletter, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Windows 11 AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Intel, Microarchitecture, TPM, Trusted Platform Module, Windows 11

• Windows 11 says good-bye to these familiar features

  Posted on July 19th, 2021 at 02:43 Lance Whitney Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  WINDOWS 11

  

  By Lance Whitney

  Windows 11 jettisons a bunch of items from Windows 10. But which losses will cause the most pain among loyal Windows users?

  To paraphrase a famous biblical quote, “Microsoft giveth, and Microsoft taketh away.” And that’s certainly true with Windows 11. With this new version of Windows, the folks in Redmond have added a range of features including a new visual design, a new Start menu, a widgets pane, and a revamped Microsoft Store, as well as upcoming integration with Microsoft Teams and support for Android apps.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.27.0 (2021-07-19).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Windows 11 AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Windows 10, Windows 11
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