Category: Windows

Upcoming versions of Windows will include a new repair feature that Microsoft calls Fix problems using Windows Update. The feature, which was first spotted in January 2023, uses the capabilities of Windows Update to reinstall Windows.

Since it adds another repair option to Windows, you may wonder how it differs from existing options. In this article, we will take a look at the feature and highlight the differences to existing solutions.

First the basics. The option is located under System > Recovery on Windows 11 devices. You find the option to “fix problems without resetting your PC” there. This option attempts to troubleshoot and fix issues directly without any reinstallation or resetting.

There is also “Reset this PC”, which reinstalls Windows and allows you to keep personal files, and “go back”, which tries to uninstall the most recent Windows update.

Fix problems using Windows Update explained

Fix problems using Windows Update is the new addition on the page. When you select the option, Windows will download files from Windows Update to reinstall itself.

A core difference to Reset this PC is that you get to keep personal files, installed applications and settings. In other words, it stays away from any user files and customizations and focuses on restoring the operating system itself.

Microsoft confirmed this when it announced the feature back in July 2023 on its Windows Insider blog.

The description of Fix problems using Windows Update reads: “Reinstall your current version of Windows (your apps, files and settings will be preserved)”.

Microsoft explains: “This operation reinstalls the OS that you have and will not remove any files, settings, or apps. The repair content is displayed on the Windows Update Settings page with the title appended with “(repair version)”.”

The main purpose of the feature is for “keeping the device secure and up to date” according to Microsoft. The company admits however that the new feature can be useful in multiple scenarios besides that.

The option may be useful in the following scenarios (among others):

• When updates fail to install over and over again using Windows Update.
• When part of the system is damaged, e.g., after a malware attack.
• When other issues are experienced related to Windows features.
• If you delete core apps that you somehow can’t restore any other way.

Closing Words

Microsoft has not yet announced when the new feature will land in Stable versions of Windows. Potential targets are the next Moment update, which rumors say launches in February 2024, or the next feature update, which will come later in 2024.

The new feature is an option. It does not take away any existing options but adds a new one that some users may find useful. Whether it will be indeed useful in many different scenarios remains to be seen.

Now You: which reset/reinstall option do you use when things are broken?

UCheck is a software updates checker for Windows. It is a freemium product, which means that it is available as a free, limited version, and a commercial version. The price of the commercial version starts at $12 per year.

Earlier this week, I reviewed WingetUI, an open source program to install, uninstall and update software programs on Windows. UCheck promises similar functionality, but the free version is limited to updating and uninstalling software on the system.

The Premium version, available for $12 per year, adds the installation of software, scheduled scans, email support and Enterprise use to the mix. There is also a Technician’s version, which adds scripting, portable configs and license.

The free version of UCheck was used for this review.

UCheck Free overview

The program is available as a portable and setup version. The interface displays the three main sections, updates, installed, and download, on start. Free version users see several “upgrade” links and offers there as well.

You may want to visit the program settings before you run a scan. The General section reveals that Telemetry data is send by default and that the program is configured to run on startup. You may disable both options there. There is also an option to scan apps that start on Windows automatically, which is an interesting feature.

The settings are also home to exclusions, which accepts folders and files, and custom locations, which can be used to include portable software programs in the scanning.

Activate the Scan button in the main interface to find out which installed (and portable) programs have updates.

The program lists the number of programs with updates, as well as the number of installed programs after the scan.

Select “pending updates” to take a look at the list of outdated programs UCheck discovered during its scan.

Programs are listed with their name, company / developer, location on the local system, and the current and latest version. Filters and a search are supported to display only some results.

The Action menu lists options to update individual programs, to skip this update, and to add them to the list of exclusions. The free version supports batch updates, but you need to start UCheck Free with elevated rights for that. There is a button in the interface that does that.

You may now check one or multiple programs and activate the “update selected” button to download and install updates for the selected applications in one operation. Note that there is no “select all” checkbox, which would make things comfortable.

It is unclear where the downloads come from, as this is not revealed by the application. The database is community powered, which explains why it is large and well maintained.

Comparison to winget and WingetUI

When you compare UCheck to winget, you will notice that UCheck supports more programs than the default winget database. Winget detected about 20 programs with updates on a test system while UCheck over 140.

One reason for that is that UCheck includes the Downloads folder of Windows by default. Depending on use, it may store a large number of applications.

WingetUI is easier to use, there is no doubt about that. It suffers from the same lack of a larger software database though. Another difference is that both “wingets” support the installation of portable programs, which is reserved to paid versions of UCheck.

UCheck does include information about available Windows Updates though.

Closing Words

The end of SUMO, probably the best software updates monitor for Windows, has left a hole. UCheck comes close to what SUMO offered, but you may need the commercial version to really take advantage of some of its features.

The program could use a few usability features, such as an option to check all / uncheck all programs in the updates listing. Nothing major, but these would improve usability for some users.

All in all, UCheck is a well designed program that delivers exactly what it promises. The Premium version is worth a subscription, as it adds scheduled scans and some other features to the app.

Now You: do you use software updaters?

This is a review of WingetUI, an open source program for Windows that many users will find useful.

I wrote an article on the package manager winget for Windows yesterday on Ghacks. It is an integrated command line tool in newer versions of Windows to uninstall, install or update programs.

WingetUI takes the capabilities of winget and puts a shiny user interface around them. If you prefer to use a graphical user interface, WingetUI is a great option.

First the basics. WingetUI is an open source application for Windows. You can download the latest version from its GitHub respository and install it or run a portable version.

WingetUI supports winget but also other package manager and tools. These include Scoop, Chocolatey, Pip, Npm and PowerShell Gallery. Advanced users may configure the client to do their bidding exactly, but it works well without any advanced configuring.

WingetUI: core functionality

The main WingetUI interface is divided into three tabs: discover packages, software updates, and installed packages.

• Discover packages — This tab features a search to find programs and options to install one or multiple apps at once.
• Software updates — This tab checks for updates of installed programs. You may update all or some programs using it.
• Installed packages — The tab lists the installed programs of the system.

Discover Packages

Use this to find applications to install. Just type an application name or part of it in the search field and wait for the results to show up.

The program lists package names and IDs, the available version and the source. Note that you may change sources in the preferences. If you just want to use winget, you need to disable all other sources. Some sources, for instance Scoop, are disabled by default.

A double-click on a file display additional information about it. This may include a list of features, a short description and tags.

WingetUI lists package parameters as well, which may be used to change installation parameters.

Check one or multiple programs and select “install selected packages” to download and install them on the system. Several options are available at the top:

• Install selected packages with administrative rights.
• Skip the hash check when installing the selected packages.
• Do an interactive install for the selected packages.

Unless you activate the interactive install option, you may notice that most installations happen silently in the background for the most part.

Software Updates in WingetUI

The Software Updater lists all installed applications that are not up to date. It lists names and IDs, as well as the installed version and the latest version.

You may use it to update all out of date apps in one swift operation. Just activate the “update selected packages” button to download and install updates for the selected Windows programs.

It is a quick and easy process. Note that you may still get UAC prompts to allow updates, but it is definitely quicker than updating programs manually.

A right-click displays some options. You may ignore certain updates using the right-click menu. This is important if you don’t want a program to install a certain update. One reason for that is that the update may introduce bugs or changes that you want to avoid.

The package details offer information, including links to the official websites.

Installed Packages

Installed packages offers an overview of all programs installed on the system. WingetUI displays names, versions and the installation source, which is useful information.

You may use the information to check the source, e.g., if it was installed locally, from the Microsoft Store or using a package manager.

While you may barely use native Windows apps or Microsoft Store apps, others may appreciate the functionality.

Closing Words

WingetUI is a powerful frontend for winget and some other package managers. It is a useful tool to find outdated programs on a Windows system and get these updated in batch mode.

While it may not pick up all oudated programs, as it does not support portable apps installed from other sources, it does a great job at taking care of the rest.

Running it from time to time is a good way of keeping a system’s software up to date.

Windows 10, the operating system that barely anyone loved when it first came out, is supported until October 2025 by Microsoft. The operating system is still widely used with a commanding lead over Windows 11.

Statcounter, for example, lists Windows 10’s usage share at about 68% and Windows 11’s at just 26% as of November 2023. Windows 10’s usage share will drop until October 2025, but it seems unlikely that Windows 11 will overtake it by then.

A percentage of Windows 10 devices is compatible with Windows 11. These can be upgraded to Windows 11 and a good portion will likely be upgraded in the coming 2 year period.

Millions of Windows 10 devices are not compatible with Windows 11 on the other hand. Microsoft changed the operating system’s hardware requirements. Main restrictions affect the processor and also the TPM security component.

A Windows 10 support extension is coming

Microsoft confirmed yesterday that it will offer Extended Security Updates for Windows 10. These extend the life of the operating system beyond the official date.

Notable is the inclusion of individual consumers. When Microsoft launched ESU for Windows 7, it restricted the offer to Enterprise and business customers.

This changes under Windows 10. Everyone, basically, may extend support of Windows 10 beyond October 2025. This option comes at a price though. Microsoft did not reveal it at this point.

A look back at ESU for Windows 7 may provide estimates. Microsoft increased the cost of support each year.

Businesses could get support extensions for Windows 7 Pro for $50, $100 and $200 per device. Enterprise customers paid half of that. To extend support by three years, businesses paid Microsoft $350.

Microsoft might use the same system for Windows 10 and consumer devices. The company has no vetted interest in keeping users on Windows 10 and likely won’t make the offer too cheap.

Some might say that Microsoft’s main motivation behind the move is to avoid the risk of losing millions of users to alternatives.

As a reminder, here are the available options that Windows 10 users have if they want to keep the device:

• Keep on using Windows 10 without updates.
• Keep on using Windows 10 with Extended Security Updates.
• Keep on using Windows 10 with third-party security updates by 0Patch.
• Keep on using Windows 10 and use ESU updates or other updates restricted to certain editions or subscriptions unofficially.
• Upgrade to Windows 11 (enforce upgrade if hardware is incompatible).
• Migrate to Linux.

The right option?

Most options make sense. You may not want to run Windows 10 without security updates support, but all other options work for a period or even indefinitely.

The selection between an ESU and a 0Patch subscription is not as straightforward as it looks on first glance. 0Patch subscriptions cost about $25 per year, whereas Microsoft is likely going to charge a multiple of that.

Microsoft patches are official on the other hand and they include patches for security issues that are not critical. 0Patch focuses on high-risk security updates for the most part.

The upgrade to Windows 11 is a free option. It works for most devices, even those that are incompatible. Running Windows 11 on incompatible devices is not all that different from compatible ones. A few features may not work, but the main inconvenience is that feature updates require another compatibility check.

You could install a feature update every second year, as Microsoft supports all major Windows 11 versions for 24 months. Still, you need to bypass the compatibility checks again when updating.

Microsoft fuelled uncertainties by stating that it can’t guarantee any update or support if a device is incompatible. At least the update part of the statement is unsubstantiated up to this point.

Linux is another option, but it has the highest hurdle of them all. There is no direct migration path from Windows to Linux. This means that users need to back up data, install Linux and import that data to Linux after installation. Other issues include that some programs are not available for Linux, but there are usually alternatives.

Gaming has improved on Linux in the past couple of years, but there are still games that you can’t run on the platform.

Closing Words

ESU for Windows 10 adds another option for home users, which is good. No one is forced to subscribe, but users may do so to extend support.

Now You: do you run Windows 10? What will you do in 2025?

Windows users who want to look at the desktop may use the “show desktop” button to do so. Many users may not be aware that such a button exists on the taskbar.

The main reason for that is that it is transparent. Hover the mouse cursor over the rightmost spot on the taskbar. You should get a tooltip that hints at the feature.

A click hides all open program windows and shows the Windows desktop in all of its glory. Another click restores all program windows to their previous state.

It is a handy option to quickly access icons on the desktop. While Show Desktop has lost some of its appeal, as many users are now pinning icons to the taskbar directly, it is still widely used.

Windows users who display widgets on the desktop, e.g., using Rainmeter, may also find it useful to glance quickly at whatever widgets are displayed at the time.

Begone Show Desktop says Microsoft

Microsoft announced a change in the most recent Windows 11 preview build for the Dev channel that affects the feature. The change turns off the icon on the taskbar by default. In its place comes Windows Copilot, which Microsoft moves from the center position to Show Desktop’s place on the taskbar.

In other words: when you click the area now, you activate Windows Copilot and not Show Desktop. The Windows Copilot icon is displayed there, however, which may reduce the number of accidental clicks.

Microsoft explains the change in the following way:

We are making a change where the Copilot icon is shown on the right side of the system tray on the taskbar to make the entry point to Copilot more clear and easily accessible by being closer to where the Copilot pane opens.

Good news for Windows 11 users who use Show Desktop is that they may restore the classic functionality. This is done by opening Settings > Personalization > Taskbar and re-enable Show Desktop.

There you also find an option to hide Windows Copilot, in case you don’t use it.

Another option is at your fingertips

There is another option, however. Instead of using the icon to show or hide the desktop, Windows users may also use a keyboard shortcut to do so.

Just press Windows-D on the keyboard once to show the desktop, and another time to restore the program windows to their original position. It is easy to invoke the shortcut with one hand, so that the other can stay on the mouse or elsewhere.

Closing words

Windows Copilot is still listed as a preview feature. It shows, especially in regards to the Windows-specific functionality that Microsoft promised the AI would support. You may turn off Windows Copilot, in case you don’t find it useful.

Now You: do you use Show Desktop?