Category: Windows

How to install Windows 11 24H2 without Windows Update

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Microsoft released the 2024 feature update for Windows 11 a few days ago. This update is rolling out to all users and the main way to install it on non-managed devices is through Windows Update.

But what if the feature update is not shown to you? When you follow Microsoft’s instructions, but it is not offered?

In any event, I recommend that you create a backup of the system before you install a major update. A tool like Paragon Backup & Recovery does the trick. It is free and I have used it for years for backups.

To summarize the official step-by-step instructions:

  1. Open the Start menu.
  2. Load Settings.
  3. Navigate to Windows Update.
  4. Check “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available”.
  5. Activate the “check for updates” button.

Note: I recommend that you disable the “get the latest..” option after installation of the update again. You may end up with optional updates installed regularly otherwise.

There are multiple reasons why the feature update is not returned after you hit the button:

  • Microsoft is rolling out the update, pushing it to PCs first that it considers the most likely to install it without issues.
  • If a PC is affected by a known issue, it won’t get the update.
  • Driver or application compatibility issues may also block the update via Windows Update.

Thankfully, several other options exist to install the feature update.

Option 1: the Windows 11 Installation Assistant

What is it? The Windows 11 Installation Assistant is a free Microsoft program to upgrade the operating system to a new version.

  • Download the Windows 11 Installation Assistant from the Microsoft website.
  • Run the downloaded Windows11InstallationAssistant.exe file.
  • Select “yes” when the security prompt (UAC) is displyed.
  • Accept the terms.
  • The new version of Windows is downloaded.
  • Follow the on-screen instructions to upgrade the system.

Option 2: Using the latest Windows 11 ISO

What is it? A disk image holds the installation files for the operating system.

  1. Open the Microsoft Windows 11 download website.
  2. Scroll down to “Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices”.
  3. Select Windows 11 (multi-edition ISO for x64 devices) from the menu.
  4. Activate the “Download Now” button.
  5. Select the desired language of the installation (you can change it later, if you make an error).
  6. Click on the 64-bit Download button.
  7. Use the save file dialog to save the ISO image to the local system.
  8. Right-click on the downloaded ISO image and select Mount from the context menu.
  9. Accept the request prompt to open the image on the device.
  10. Double-click on the setup.exe file to start the upgrade.

Note: the download link is valid for 24 hours. You also need to make sure that you choose to keep files and installed apps during installation.

There are other options, but not all are recommended for all users. You could download the Windows 11 ISO from another source, for example. This is only recommended if you trust the source.

Another option is provided by the open source tool Rufus. You may use it to download the latest Windows 11 ISO, mount it and run the installer. You may also burn the ISO to disc or copy it to a USB Flash drive instead.

Do you plan to install the new feature update, or have done so already? Feel free to write a comment down below.

The latest Windows 11 update is causing reboot issues

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Microsoft has confirmed a reboot issue that is affecting Windows 11 version 23H2. The company says that it is investigating issues that are causing multiple restarts or blue / green screens after installation of the latest update for Windows 11.

The update in question is KB5043145, which Microsoft released as an optional update for the operating system some says ago.

Affected devices reboot the system multiple times. Some may trigger automatic repair in an effort to repair the issue that is preventing the start of the Windows 11 operating system.

In other cases, users may get into the BitLocker recovery screen where they may need to enter the key to proceed.

Good to know: Microsoft plans to encrypt drives automatically with BitLocker.

Not the first time

If you follow Windows 11 news, you may remember that Microsoft confirmed a very similar issue back in July.

Back then, Microsoft confirmed that devices might boot into BitLocker recovery after installation of the — then — latest update for Windows 11.

Microsoft resolved the issue in August 2024. It is unclear if the issue is identical or related to the September 2024 issue that Microsoft confirmed this week.

Closing Words

The bulk of Windows 11 users are not affected by the new issue, as it is triggered by the optional update that Microsoft released in September 2024 for the operating system.

Microsoft has about two weeks left to address and fix the issue before the next cumulative update gets released. If Microsoft fails to to so, it will impact more users.

The next Patch Tuesday updates will be released on October 9, 2024 for Windows 11 version 23H2 and other supported systems.

The issue highlights again why most users may want to ignore the optional — beta — updates that Microsoft releases at the end of each month. These may introduce issues and bugs. If you do not want beta updates, do not install them and wait for the inclusion less than three weeks later as part of the cumulative security updates.

What is your take on optional updates? Do you install them or skip them? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Recall: Microsoft’s second attempt begins with security and privacy changes

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

The initial announcement of the AI feature Recall is a great example of shooting yourself in the foot. When Microsoft announced Recall, it floated on a wave of positive and encouraging AI news and developments.

Recall was never tested in Insider builds prior to the announcement, at least to my knowledge. While the reason for that decision is unknown, it is possible that Microsoft wanted to launch the new Copilot+ PCs with a banger.

Microsoft did not anticipate the criticism that it received after the announcement. These complaints were valid and could have been avoided if Microsoft would have received feedback from beta testers outside the company.

Privacy and security were at the center of the issue. Recall was enabled by default, which meant that users had to disable it, if they did not want to use it. It recorded the screen every 5 seconds and saved the data in a database that was not protected during runtime.

Microsoft pulled Recall shortly thereafter and promised to do better. Today. Microsoft revealed the improved version of Recall on its Windows Experience website.

Has it improved? Lets find out.

Recall Security

Microsoft makes four statements in regards to security:

  • Recall is opt-in — The option is shown during the setup experience and users need to enable the feature to use it.
  • Recall data is encrypted — Snapshots and information is stored in an encrypted database. Keys are protected using TPM and are linked to the user’s Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-in Security identity.
  • A core service is further isolated — Microsoft says that the service responsible for accessing snapshots and data runs in a secure VBS Enclave. Only data that the user requests is getting outside, according to Microsoft.
  • Recall uses Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-in Security – This is done to authorize Recall operations.

Particularly interesting is the fact that users may uninstall Recall. Microsoft introduced the option under Optional Features some time ago, then pulled it again saying that it was a bug. Now it turns out that Recall can be uninstalled fully, if the user so desires.

Microsoft addresses main criticisms with the change. Making Recall opt-in will reduce usage, but it ensures that unsuspecting users do not have screenshots of their activity taken every five seconds by the feature.

Recall Privacy

Next to security, Microsoft says that it has also improved privacy controls. Apart from making Recall opt-in, Microsoft highlights the following options to users who choose to enable the AI-feature.

  • In-private browsing data is never captured or saved. This is true for supported browsers. Microsoft lists Edge, Chrome, Firefox, Opera and other Chromium-based browsers.
  • Specific apps or websites viewed in browsers may be filtered. Works only in Edge, Chrome, Firefox and Opera.
  • Users control how much disk space Recall uses and how long content is retained.
  • Sensitive content filtering is enabled by default. This helps protect passwords, credit card numbers and the like to a degree.
  • Options to delete a time range, or all content from an app or website, or “anything and everything found in Recall search”.
  • An icon visualizes when snapshots are saved. Allows to pause snapshots.

Closing Words

Some of the features existed in the first version already. Microsoft has addressed the major points of criticism. While it is too early to tell how this will all work out, as Recall has not been released yet, it is giving users who are interested in the feature more control and better security.

Those who have no interest in the feature can either ignore it, by making sure not to opt-in during setup, or to remove it from the system entirely, if they prefer that.

You can check out the full blog post, which includes many security details, here.

What is your take on the changes? Do they go far enough, or is still something amiss? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Edge Extensions performance issue

Microsoft Edge: performance-dragging extension warnings in the works

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Browser extensions can be very useful. From the ultra-useful content blocker to extensions designed for specific tasks. They can make your life on the Internet easier or better.

While most extensions may not impact performance noticeable, some may. That is a problem, as it may not always be obvious which one is to blame. Some userrs may even blame the browser, which is not something that browser makers want.

Microsoft is working on integrating warnings in Edge to warn users about extensions that impact the browsing performance.

The details:

  • The feature is available in Edge 130 and newer only.
  • It needs to be enabled.
  • Edge monitors the performance of extensions when enabled.

Note that the feature monitors performance only.

Tip: Microsoft is testing several new features. There is Super Drag & Drop or a RAM limiter that you may try.

How to enable the feature

Starting with Edge 130, some users of the browser will have the new performance detector enabled by default. Most users won’t, but there is an option to turn it on.

Here is how you enable it in Edge

  1. Load edge://flags/#edge-performance-extension-detection in the browser’s address bar.
  2. Change the value of Extension performance detector to Enabled.
  3. Restart Microsoft Edge.

The feature runs in the background from that moment on.

How the extension performance detector works in Edge

Microsoft describes the feature in the following way:

Enables detection and optional disabling of user-added extensions if they impact page load time. Alerts will appear in browser essentials.

This is not too helpful, but Microsoft published a blog post as well that provides additional details.

There, Microsoft says that Edge will alert the user if it notices persistent extension slowdowns that impact the browsing experience.

A click on the browser essentials icon in Edge displays information about extensions that Edge found to slow down browsing consistently.

Each extension is listed with the percentage of slowdown and an option to disable it. Disabling is optional, and you may also select to get a reminder at a later time.

Most users who use extensions will not see the alerts according to Microsoft.

Closing Words

Whether the performance monitor for extensions is useful or not depends on the individual user. It may help users who install lots of extensions in the browser and users who noticed slowdowns after installing extensions.

The alerts may help identify performance issues, which is useful. Still, some extensions may be too valuable even though they may impact the browsing performance or experience.

Do you run extensions in your browser that you would not disable under any circumstances? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Defender Teaser

ConfigureDefender: open source tool to manage Microsoft Defender settings

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Microsoft Defender is the default security solutions on all modern versions of Windows. Users have to become active to replace it with another security solution. It is probably a safe bet that Defender is the tool on most Windows 10 and 11 systems.

It is different from tools like SuperMSConfig, which provide broader tweaking options.

The operating system offers several options to configure Microsoft Defender. The most common for home users is to use Windows Security. It divides settings on multiple pages and subpages, and may leave out some settings depending on certain factors.

ConfigureDefender is a long-standing open source tool to improve this. Just launch the small app after you have downloaded it from its GitHub repository to get started.

The app displays all settings on a single page.

You have two main options now:

  • Change individual settings directly.
  • Use a preset to change the status of multiple settings at once.

Presets offer a quick way to change settings, but it is rather difficult to understand what each setting does. Max, for example, looks like it would set everything to the highest values, but you still do not know what that actually means.

ConfigureDefender supports four presets: default, high, interactive and max. Default is handy, as it resets all settings to their default values.

A click on the info-button opens a readme with the information. There you find information about each preset. It will take some time to go through the listing though.

The second option gives you full control over the settings. Some users may have difficulties understanding what some of the settings do. While experienced users may understand that PUA Protection refers to “potentially unwanted applications”, inexperienced users may not.

It may be necessary to search for specific terms on the Internet to find out what they do.

The program supports a large number of settings. These are divided into basic, admin and exploit guard settings. Each preference is modified through a simple menu. Click on the menu and ConfigureDefender displays the available options. Pick one and hit the refresh button. The program reminds you that a restart of the Windows PC is required to apply the change.

Closing Words

ConfigureDefender speeds up the configuration of Microsoft Defender on non-managed systems. It is easy to use, especially for users who know what each of the settings do. New users may need to spend time in the beginning researching some of the preferences to understand what they do.

All in all, it is a useful helper app for Windows users.

Which security solution(s) do you use? Is Microsoft Defender one of them? Feel free to write a comment about this.

Outlook Error Startup MSLS70.dll

Microsoft conveniently suggests to use the new Outlook if you encounter the msls70.dll error in classic Outlook

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Microsoft confirmed a new issue that is affected classic Outlook and also Word and other Office applications.

When you start an affected app, you may receive the error message “The required file msls70.dll cannot be found in your path. Install Microsoft Outlook again”.

A click on the OK button, the only available button, hides the error message only. Any attempt to launch Outlook on the system is met with the same error message.

Did you know? The new Outlook may transfer third-party logins when using the sync feature.

Microsoft says that it is working on a solution for the issue. In the meantime, it recommends accessing the emails using the new Outlook or the web-based version of Outlook.

Maybe it is just my cynical-self speaking, but the timing seems awfully convenient. When Microsoft launched the new Outlook client, it made it clear that this app would become the only client of Outlook one day.

It put an end to Mail and Calendar in Windows, but also announced that the classic version of Outlook would go away one day. While that day is years away, it is something that Outlook users need to be aware of.

The error message suggests that Outlook cannot find a DLL that it needs to run. Microsoft’s support page offers no explanation for the issue. Did an update cause the error? If not, what caused it and why is the DLL missing?

A thread on Reddit suggests that you could fix the issue temporarily by using online repair.

Here are the required steps (you need an active Internet connection):

  1. Open the Start menu.
  2. Select Settings.
  3. Go to Apps > Installed Apps in the Settings window.
  4. Locate Microsoft 365 in the list.
  5. Select the three-dots menu.
  6. Activate the Modify option.
  7. Confirm the UAC prompt that appears.
  8. Switch to “Online Repair” and select the repair button.
  9. Confirm the action by selecting the repair button on the next screen as well.
  10. Wait for the process to complete.

This should fix the startup issue temporarily. Try starting Outlook on the affected device. It should work now.

The process is highlighted in a video on YouTube as well.

There you have it. Use online repair to fix the issue or wait for Microsoft to fix it. No ETA given though at this point.

Do you use Outlook? Or do you prefer a different email client on desktop PCs? Feel free to leave a comment down below!

Tools

Windows 11: PowerToys may soon change Settings on schedule

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Turning Bluetooth off for two hours, enabling Dark Mode at eight in the evening, or setting the volume to 0 percent in the morning. These are all examples what a new PowerToys tool might offer in the future.

The main idea is simple: let users create schedules for certain system settings. Besides what is been mentioned already, the new feature may support Wi-Fi or keeping the screen turned on for a specific amount of time.

Windows itself offers limited functionality when it comes to automating features. One of the very few options lets users activate Night mode on schedule so that Dark Mode is enabled at a specific time.

Administrators may use the Task Scheduler for certain jobs, but this is an advanced tool and not user friendly.

What is PowerToys? PowerToys is a collection of tools that expand Windows. It adds dozens of tools to Windows. The program is optional and while it does add a ton of tools to Windows, some dislike it because of its size.

Settings Scheduler Tool

Settings Scheduler PowerToys tool

Settings Scheduler is not yet available, but it has been announced as an idea on the PowerToys GitHub repository.

There, it has been described in the following way:

A simple utility for scheduling a setting for a set time or duration. The utility would have a few options for different settings then the option to change them based on a timer or based on a specific schedule.

While it seems likely that Settings Scheduler is going to be integrated into PowerToys, there is no guarantee for that at this stage.

Who is the tool for? The answer depends largely on the functionality that it will ship with initially. It could be an interesting tool for users who would like to automate certain processes.

The real question is, would you use it if it meant that you would likely have to run PowerToys on system start (assuming that the scheduled tasks are not added to the Task Scheduler)? Feel free to leave a comment down below. Also, whether you use PowerToys. (via Neowin)

Windows 11

DISM GUI: free admin app for checking and repairing Windows

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

DISM-GUI is a free app for Windows 10 and 11 that gives you access to various commands to check and repair Windows.

Good to know: DISM stands for Deployment Image Servicing and Management. It is a command line tool that, among other features, may be used to find and repair Windows issues related to missing or changed operating system files.

The free app makes the functionality more accessible. You still need to know the basics, as the program lacks documentation. The program interface consists of buttons that run the selected commands in a command prompt window.

DISM-GUI interface

It includes all popular options, including cleanup, which frees up storage space by removing overhead from the component store, and restore, which attempts to repair the Windows system.

Tip: check out Super God Mode as well. It creates shortcuts to more than a thousand admin tools and settings on Windows.

Here is a quick overview:

  • Check (CheckHealth) – The command checks for corruptions inside the Windows image.
  • Scan (ScanHealth) – The command runs a more thorough scan.
  • Restore (RestoreHealth) – Searches for errors and attempts to repair them.
    • Online – check using the local image.
    • Wim – use an ISO image or an unpacked ISO image for the repair.
    • ESD – use an ESD image.
  • Analyze ( AnalyzeComponentStore) – Checks the component store for overhead.
  • Cleanup (StartComponentCleanup) – Cleans up the component store to free up disk space.

DISM-GUI supports several non-DISM commands next to that:

  • SFC Scan — Runs the command sfc /scannow.
  • CAB Install — Install a CAB update on the system.
  • ESD > WIM — Convert an ESD file to a WIM file.
  • Get State — Returns the state of Reserved Storage.
  • Enable / Disable — Enable or disable Reserved Storage.

Note: Windows reserves storage on the primary partition for “proper performance” and updates.

Commands are executed in a command prompt window in the background.

DISM commands

You can download DISM-Gui over at Deskmodder.

Verdict

DISM-Gui is a useful helper app for Windows 10 and 11. It is especially useful for admins who use the commands regularly and for inexperienced users who need to run the commands.

All in all, it is a useful free app for Windows administrators.

Windows Surface PC

Microsoft is changing Windows Security to avoid another Crowdstrike disaster

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Will it disallow access to the Windows kernel by security products? Not right now, but the path could lead there.

Microsoft held a security conference earlier this week at its Redmond headquarters. It invited business partners, especially those in the security field, to participate.

The hot topic during the conference was the Crowdstrike disaster that took down more than 8.5 million PCs worldwide. More precisely, how to avoid a repeat of it in the years to come.

David Weston, Vice President Enterprise and OS Security at Microsoft, published a summary of the event on the Microsoft Windows blog.

The main short-term takeaways:

  • Microsoft and security vendors agree that choice is good when it comes to security products for Windows.
  • A list of best practices for developing and distributing security updates will be created based on discussing Safe Deployment Practices.
  • Other areas of improvement include testing, information sharing, and improved incident response effectiveness.

For the long-term, Microsoft plans to introduce new security capabilities to the Windows platform to add “security capabilities outside of kernel mode”.

Microsoft will design and develop the new platform in collaboration with “ecosystem partners”. The goal is “enhanced reliability without sacrificing security” according to Microsoft.

The blog post ends with several partner quotes and how everyone appreciated the opportunity to discuss security. Reading between the lines, several expressed concern that security could suffer, especially if kernel access would be revoked.

Closing Words

It will take some time before changes, even the discussed short-term changes, are applied. While Microsoft said nothing about pushing security products out of the kernel on Windows, some are worried already that Microsoft could create a solution that benefits its own products over everyone else’s.

It would not be the first time in the history of Windows.

What is your take on this development? It should be clear that something needed to be done to avoid another scenario that would cause millions of PCs to go down in flames. Are the proposed changes the right way?

Super MS Config tool

Super MSConfig: open source tweaker checks for “bad” Windows settings

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Super Microsoft Configuration is a new tool by “built by Bel”. It is an “advanced and fully automated alternative to the traditional MSConfig tool” according to the developer.

Key Details:

  • It is designed specifically for Microsoft’s Windows 11 operating system.
  • It checks the state of certain Windows features and settings to rate them as good or bad.
  • Bad settings can be “fixed”.

The current version of the app has the title Super System Configuration. Whether that is going to be the new name or not is unclear. The developer has a habit of changing program names.

Using Super Microsoft Configuration

The program is portable and you may run it right after you have downloaded it from the GitHub repository.

Note: Windows SmartScreen may display a security warning. The reason for this is that it is a new program, not because it is malicious. A check on Virustotal returned a single false positive hit.

Hit the check button in the interface to run the scan. This should not take longer than a few seconds and you end up with a long log at the end.

The bad entries are shown in red. You can check “show only bad config” to hide the good settings to better focus on what the program considers bad.

While that helps, it is possible that you will still end up with dozens of entries. The main issue here is that each entry is listed in a single row. Since the information includes a description, Registry path, and other information, it is possible that you may need to scroll to read everything.

As far as what is considered beta is concerned, here are a few examples:

  • Sending feedback and error reports.
  • Radio access.
  • Disabled Windows Defender Real-time Protection.
  • Disabled User Account Control.
  • Disabled Secure Boot.

At least two of the detected bad configurations were erroneous. User Account Control was enabled on the test system, for instance. The program returned no “current value” for the entry, which is why it detected it as bad.

You may double-click on an entry to display the details in a new window. This improves accessibility.

Overview of a specific tweak

The window includes buttons to apply the fix or revert it. Here you may also copy the Registry value to search for it online.

It is necessary to go through them one by one, as you may not want to disable or enable features that might cause issues.

This makes Super System Configuration an advanced tool. The GitHub repository says as much as well.

Verdict

The application is not that different from other tweaking tools, including some of the developer’s past and present offerings. The main difference is the scanning and that it reveals advanced information, such as Registry keys.

On the other hand, it is difficult to navigate and there is no distinction between disabling quick links on Microsoft Edge’s new tab page and enabling Secure Boot or disabling microphone access.

It is not something that inexperienced users may want to use. It lacks guidance and at least some kind of warning or classification for some of the tweaks.

Considering that the program is available as a preview, it is a good idea to monitor its development and wait for the final release. For now, it is an interesting rough application.