Newsletter Archives

• 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

• 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

• Win10 machines with 1607 upgrade hidden are getting upgraded

  Posted on January 20, 2017 at 07:59 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  I’ve seen several reports now. Will keep you posted.

  Microsoft officially released the v 1607 “CBB” bits yesterday. According to @teroalhonnen, the build being distributed is 14393.447, which is the Nov. 8 2016 version of v 1607, including KB 3200970.

  I can understand why having the 14393.447 build available could trigger hidden 1607 upgrades to become unhidden. After all, that’s what happens with earlier versions of Windows – when a new version of a patch rolls out, it’s usually automatically taken off the hidden list.

  But this is the first time I’ve seen it for Win10, and it seems disconcerting that folks who have intentionally hidden the 1607 upgrade are now getting it installed silently – on both Win10 Home and Win10 Pro machines.

  If you see or hear anything, please post here!

  UPDATE: Many of you are reporting that you have to run wushowhide again to re-hide the 1607 upgrade.

  The upgrade cycle is a very complex topic and, as you can see, it caught me flat-footed. I’ll try to make some sense out of it and publish my findings.

  Windows Patches/Security 1607, Current Branch for Business

• Notification – but no explanation – for the “Wi-Fi doesn’t have a valid IP configuration” bug

  Posted on December 10, 2016 at 03:13 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  

   

  As far as I know, this is unprecedented.

  Microsoft has not only acknowledge the bug I talked about yesterday – the one that knocks out Wi-Fi on Windows 10 Anniversary Update machines – they’ve gone so far as to put a banner at the top of the Windows 10 Update History page.

  

  As mentioned in that article, the easiest way to fix the problem (as best I can tell) is to use the technique posited by SIBIT-UK on the Microsoft Answers Forum:

  Hold down the shift key and then perform a shutdown from the start menu in the normal way – do not let go of the shift key until off.

  That seems to reset the IP address, bypassing Fast Startup, correcting the bug that sets the IP address to 169.x.x.x.

  We still have no official explanation from Microsoft and no solution to the problem, other than manually restarting. Our own ch100 has posed an interesting theory for the sudden appearance of the bug:

  A rogue scheduled task triggered on Wednesday?
  This may explain the rush to release the CU containing the fix early.
  Just speculation

  I continue to get reports that some Win10 1607 users are NOT seeing KB 3201845, the cumulative update for 1607 released yesterday. KB 3201845 and version 14393.479 aren’t listed on the Win10 Update History page although the patch rolled out early Friday morning.

  I’m completely baffled. KB 3201845 didn’t cause the problem. Best I can tell, it doesn’t solve the problem either. (If you’ve seen differently, I’d love to hear about it!) I have no idea why KB 3201845/14393.479 aren’t on the official update list. And a banner at the top of an update history page warning folks to bypass Fast Startup… I’m scratching my head and other parts of my anatomy.

  This may be the biggest Win10 updating screw-up to date. Let’s see how it unfolds.

  UPDATE: It may not be a Win10-specific problem. MikefromMarkham notes in the comments that the banner now appears on both the Win7 update page and the Win8.1 update page.

  I wonder how many tens (hundreds?) of millions of dollars have been wasted on this bug.

  ANOTHER UPDATE: I hear from a very reliable source that KB 3201845 just kicks a reboot, and doesn’t fix the underlying problem.

  YET ANOTHER UPDATE: Abbodi notes in the comments that EVERY support.microsoft.com page sports that banner (although, oddly, the answers.microsoft.com pages don’t). Man. I’ve never seen anything even remotely close to this. Lonnie_L’s post now has 43,000 views (and no comments because comments are closed).

  YAAU: Most of the reports I’ve seen are with Win10 version 1607, but others claim to have internet connections that drop mysteriously, with a 169.x.x.x assigned IP address. For most people the connection doesn’t die immediately after a return from hibernation – it takes a few minutes. Still no description from Microsoft, no explanation, and their only fix is the one linked to above. But there’s absolutely no question that KB 3201845 (which still isn’t documented on the Win10 update history page) is NOT the source of the problem, in spite of what you may have read. Installing KB 3201845 may provide temporary relief, as it forces a restart. But it doesn’t fix the core problem – which remains elusive, undocumented, and quite pervasive.

  Windows Patches/Security 14393.479, 1607, KB 3201845, Wi-Fi doesn't have a valid IP configuration, Windows 10 Anniversary Update

• Which way with Windows? Versions, builds, rings, updates, branches, and editions, Win7 to 10.

  Posted on September 12, 2016 at 05:31 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Cutting through a bewildering array of options.

  InfoWorld Woody on Windows

  Kits, cats, sacks, and wives,

  How many were there going to St. Ives?

  Windows News 1507, 1511, 1607, CBB, LTSB, Windows 10 Mobile, Windows 10 RTM, Windows 7, Windows 8.1

• How to temporarily block the upgrade from Win10 Fall Update (v 1511) to the Anniversary Update (v 1607)

  Posted on August 9, 2016 at 12:37 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Using wushowhide it’s easy. Here are the detailed steps.

  InfoWorld Woody on Windows

  Windows Patches/Security 1511, 1607, Anniversary Update, fall update, Windows 10 upgrade