Tag: windows 10

WingetUI 3.0 Stable is now available

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

A new version of WingetUI, a universal UI for package managers, is now available. WingetUI 3.0 features a fully redesigned interface that the developers promise is more responsive and visually pleasing.

Packages should load faster under in the new version, and the application’s package importing and exporting functionality has also been improved.

You can check out my review of WingetUI to find out more about the software. Only this much: the app gives you access to several popular package managers, including winget, but also others such as Chocolatey. You may use these to install new programs on Windows machines, upgrade installed programs, and also uninstall applications.

These operations work in batch mode or for individual apps.

Note: the application will be renamed to UnigetUI in the future. This is done to reflect that it supports multiple package managers and not just winget.

WingetUI 3.0

WingetUI 3.0

The latest version of the open source tool requires .NET 8. Missing components will get installed on Windows machines during installation.

The new interface looks different when compared to the old. The main access points were moved from the top to the sidebar. There you find the options to discover packages, view installed packages and package bundles, check software updates, and more.

Some sections displays filters when opened. When you launch discovery, which you use to find new apps, you get a list of filters to customize the output. These allow you to change the search mode and filter by package manager.

It still takes just a couple of clicks to install one or multiple applications. The assortment of optional actions does not appear to have changed and is still displayed at the top. You may use them to install apps as an administrator or skip integrity checks. These may still look confusing to new users, as only a few have text labels. You may hover over them to get a tooltip though.

One of the best features of winget, and thus also WingetUI, is the ability to upgrade all supported applications at once. WingetUI checks for updates on launch and displays all of them in the update section.

Closing Words

The new version of WingetUI worked well during tests. It had a slight display problem on a laptop that used the recommended 200% scaling. If you check the screenshot, you will notice that the sidebar’s scrollbar overlaps it slightly.

Other than that, it worked well during tests. You may still use winget for all the operations, but this requires running commands from Terminal. Also, you do not get extra access to other package managers and tools.

In closing, WingetUI 3.0 improves the application further without taking anything away from it. You can download the latest version from the project’s GitHub repository.

Slow

Does it work? Trick promises to speed up folder opening in Windows’ File Explorer

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

We have probably all been there. The gigantic folder full of — insert a data type here — is taking ages to display all files that it contains. It does not matter if we are talking about pictures, videos, audio files, documents, or a mix of files.

Sometimes, File Explorer seems to take ages to open large folders on Windows devices. While this is caused by hardware limitations at times, a slow CPU, a tiny amount of RAM, or a slow hard drive may be blamed, it is sometimes Windows that is causing the delay.

Microsoft introduced folder types in earlier versions of Windows. The main idea behind the feature is to display data in specific ways. A folder full of images shows thumbnails of these images, which many users like.

To get there, File Explorer needs to analyze the files. If it finds a dominating type, it may set the folder to that type. Problem is, this analysis is automated and it takes time.

A solution (via Deskmodder) that promises to fix the issue has been making the rounds lately. It blocks this auto discovery from happening basically.

The solution

This solution is not new and it may come as a surprise to some that it is making the rounds again. Then again, these tricks rarely get old, but new generations may not know them at all.

About 14 years ago, I published several articles on the matter. Fix slow folders in Windows 7 recommended changing the folder type to “general items” to avoid any loading issues.

I mentioned the trick that is now making the rounds in the same year. Back in August 2010 I explained how you could enable a single view mode for all folders in Windows Explorer to speed up the loading of files and folders. Windows Explorer is the previous name of File Explorer in case you are wondering.

Registry Editor: set folder type to unspecified
File Explorer Slow Folders tweak

This tweak still works in Windows 11. Here are the steps:

  1. Open the Start Menu, type regedit.exe, and press the Enter-key on the keyboard.
  2. Confirm the prompt by selecting Yes.
  3. Paste the following path into the address field in the Registry Editor window, or go there manually: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags\AllFolders\Shell
  4. Check if FolderType exists. If it does not, right-click on Shell and select New > String value. Name it FolderType.
  5. Double-click on FolderType and set its value to NotSpecified.
  6. Close the Registry Editor.
  7. Restart the Windows PC.

The effect

The change sets the default folder type for all folders to general. In other words, File Explorer does not need to parse the files in the folder anymore to determine its type. This should speed up the opening of folders.

You may still customize certain folders by changing their folder type.

To answer the question: yes it does work in many cases. While it cannot do anything about hardware-related slowdowns, it will speed up the loading of large folders on Windows.

Several programs are available that help you do that. You may use Nirsoft’s ShellBagsView or the free software WinSetView for that. The latter comes with options to reset the views to their defaults as well.

Closing Words

If you experience issues opening folders on Windows regularly, then you may want to give this tweak a try. It may resolve the issue on your end and there is little drawback to the method.

Now You: did you know about this tweak?

PC Gaming

NVIDIA App: new unified app for NVIDIA graphics cards

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

NVIDIA unveiled the NVIDIA App yesterday. The new application is available as a beta release at the time of writing. It promises to unify functionality that NVIDIA’s current generation of programs offer.

The company plans to replace these programs, notably GeForce Experience, NVIDIA Control Panel, and RTX Experience, with this one in the future.

The public beta of the NVIDA app is available already. It does not include all features yet. NVIDIA notes in the announcement that it does include “many of the top features” from the existing apps already.

NVIDIA App system requirements

The beta application is compatible with Windows 10 and 11 operating systems only at the time. It requires 600 MB of disk space, 2 GB of RAM, and the GeForce 551.52 or later driver.

The app has the following CPU and GPU requirements:

GPU:

  • GeForce RTX 20, 30, and 40 Series GPUs
  • GeForce GTX 800, 900, 1000, 1600 Series GPUs
  • GeForce MX100, MX200, MX300, 800M, and 900M GPUs

CPU:

  • Intel Pentium G Series, Core i3, i5, i7, or higher
  • AMD FX, Ryzen 3, 5, 7, 9, Threadripper or higher

The NVIDIA App: functionality

NVIDIA App graphics settings

One of the core features of the app is the discovery and installation of drivers and related NVIDIA software. It allows users to install the latest graphics card driver on their devices and also other NVIDIA software, including GeForce NOW or NVIDIA Broadcast.

Driver releases provide summaries of new features and fixed issues. These help users find out more about a release without having to read the full documentation.

All driver related articles are accessible from a single entry point in the NVIDIA app.

NVIDIA App Drivers

The NVIDIA App introduces a new game overlay, which provides access to “gameplay recording tools, performance monitoring overlays, and game enhancing filters”. Filters include new filters powered by AI, but these are limited to GeForce RTX users and about 1200 games at the time.

Filters like RTX Dynamic Vibrance or RTX HDR promise to improve the visual quality of games using AI.

Microsoft is also working on integrating AI into Windows to improve graphics. Called Super Resolution, it promises to improve performance and visuals of games on Windows devices.

Gamers get a new performance overlay, which they may customize. They may add or hide certain performance metrics in the new software.

There is also the new GPU Control Center. This allows users to tune games and driver settings from a single location. Customizations support making global changes and also specific changes to specific applications or games.

Other options include signing-in to redeem bundles and rewards. NVIDIA says that this is optional.

The future

NVIDIA is working on integrating features of the NVIDIA Control Panel that are not yet available in the NVIDIA App. The new app will also get features from GeForce Experience and RTX Experience. These include GPU overclocking and driver rollback options.

The classic NVIDIA programs remain available throughout the beta period. NVDIA appears to have plans to drop support for these apps eventually, but has not yet announced an end of support date.

Some features won’t make the cut. NVIDIA lists Broadcast to Twitch and YouTube, Share Images and Video to Facebook and YouTube, and Photo Mode 360 & Stereo captures specifically.

Closing Words

The new application promises to unify NVIDIA’s offerings for Windows. It is too early to say how good it really is at this point. It should be clear that it will include Telemetry as well. NVIDIA will likely continue to release standalone drivers for its graphics cards.

How to zoom in on any video in Windows

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Windows users have several options when it comes to zooming in on any video. This guide lists two of the best options to zoom videos on Windows. The first works for any local video file, the second for any video that you play on Windows.

Zoom is a useful feature to enlarge an entire video or part of it. It is ideal for looking closer at details in a video among other things.

It may come as a surprise, but many video players do not support zoom at all, or only in a way that is not very useful.

The new Media Player in Windows does not support zoom. The classic Media Player does, but it is only a matter of time before it gets removed. Popular apps like VLC Media Player support zoom functionality, but it too is lacking.

There is one video player on the other hand, that supports zoom in a user friendly way. All you have to do is hold down a key to draw a rectangle around the area that you want to zoom in. Or, and that is another option, you may tap on a key on the keyboard to zoom in or out at any time. Very convenient.

Zoom in on any video using PotPlayer

PotPlayer is a free media player for Windows. You can download it from the developer website or the Microsoft Store.

The media player is powerful; it offers lots of features and options. While that is great, it may also discourage some users.

PotPlayer supports major video formats out of the box. Just install the app on your device and make it the default media player to get started.

Videos play in windowed mode by default, but you may change that if you want. You can use zoom in and out functionality right away by pressing 9 or 1 on the numerical keypad.

A tap on 9 zooms in on the entire video. You may press 5 at any time to reset the zoom level.

To get the rectangle zoom option, do the following:

  1. Select PotPlayer in the top left corner and then Preferences from the menu. You may also press F5 directly to open the options.
  2. Switch to the Mouse tab in the Preferences.
  3. Check “Activate Alt, Ctrl, Shift + Mouse Drag to Pan, Zoom and Stretch the image”.
  4. Select OK to complete the process.

Once done, hold down one of the modifier keys, e.g., Ctrl, before drawing a rectangle on the video to zoom in that specific area.

You may then hold down the Ctrl-key while using the Numpad keys 2,4,6, and 8 to move around on the screen. Note that the zoom level is extreme, and that you may get better results using the Numpad to zoom in on a video.

Using the built-in Magnifier tool to zoom in on videos

Magnifier is a built-in accessibility tool that you may run with the keyboard shortcut Windows-+ (Windows-key and Plus-key). It opens the Magnifier interface, which you may use to change the zoom level and make some other changes.

You may want to open Start > Settings > Accessibility > Magnifier first to customize the zoom level. It defaults to 100% steps, which may be a bit much. You may change the steps on the page and make some other adjustments as you see fit.

Note: To exit Magnifier in Windows, press the Windows-key and the Esc-key at the same time,

Magnifier zooms in anywhere on the screen. This makes it a good tool for zooming in on videos. Just play a video in a browser or locally, and use Magnifier to zoom in or out while the video plays or is paused.

Now You: do you use zoom functionality on your systems?

Uninstalr review: powerful Windows software uninstaller

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Uninstalr is a free Windows software uninstaller. You may download a portable version or installer from the developer website. It runs on Windows 7 and newer versions of Windows.

The application supports several features that are often only found in commercial uninstallers: monitor software installations, deep cleaning, batch removals of apps and support for a variety of software stores and distribution platforms.

Uninstalr: the basics

Windows software uninstaller Uninstalr

The Windows software uninstaller scans the system on start. This may take a moment, depending on the number of installed programs and the system’s performance.

The list includes installed programs but also leftovers from apps that were previously installed on the device.

Tip: open the program preferences first and uncheck the automatic system restart option after software uninstallations.

Each program is listed with its name, developer, size on disk and type. Filters at the top give you options to create custom lists. You may display only leftovers or only programs from Steam, among other options. Microsoft apps are hidden by default, but you may enable these as well.

Removing programs is easy. Select one or multiple of the listed apps with a left-click and activate the uninstall button afterwards. You may also select “show data” first. Show data lists all found locations, files, folders, and Registry, of the selected apps.

The program lists the information when you active the uninstall option. The removal deletes the programs entirely from the system. It is recommended to restart the Windows PC afterwards.

Core features of the Windows software uninstaller

Uninstalr’s core feature is the removal of one or multiple programs from Windows PCs. Additionally, it supports monitoring software installations for easier cleaning in the future.

Using the program is simple. Run it, wait for the scan to complete, and select apps to remove. This process worked well during tests.

I still recommended that you create a system backup of the main partition for safety reasons.

Besides cleaning leftovers from the Windows PC, you can also use it to find and uninstall large programs. Note that the sort options appear bugged at the time. The sort by size option did not work correctly during tests. It allows you to sort apps by size.

Select “New Software Monitoring” in the interface to monitor a software installation. The Windows software uninstaller monitors installs automatically at this point.

It lists the program when you run its installer. Note that this does not work for portable apps. Some installations were not detected by the application either while running. Still, you do benefit from the leftover scan option in any event.

Should you use Uninstalr immediately?

Should you use Uninstalr immediately to remove Windows programs, or the default Windows uninstaller first?

This depends. If you used uninstaller to monitor software installs, then you may use the program immediately for the removal. if you did not, use the Windows tool first and then Uninstalr to take care of leftovers.

You should not run into any issues removing apps with Uninstalr directly either.

Comparison to WinGetUI

WinGetUI is a user interface for winget. It allows you to install and uninstall Windows software. A core difference between the two apps is that WinGetUI does not scan for leftovers.

It is still useful, for instance for installing programs on Windows or removing bulk programs. After using it to remove apps, you may want to run Uninstalr to benefit from its leftover removal functionality.

Closing Words

Uninstalr is a powerful software uninstaller for Windows. The program is ideal for removing leftover files and Registry entries from already removed software installations or portable app installations.

Windows 10 issue: File system error (-2147219196)

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Some Windows 10 users reported issues with certain apps on their devices that refused to launch. Users noticed that default apps would not launch anymore on their systems or crash shortly after launch. Some received the error message File system error (-2147219196), others no error at all.

One user reported the issue on Microsoft’s official Answers forum. The thread blew up quickly. 380 users confirmed that they had the “same question”, and 524 replied to the original message.

The thread starter noted that Microsoft’s official Photos app would crash a few seconds after launch on a Windows 10 system. Double-clicks on photos returned the error message File system error (-2147219196) instead of a view of the selected image.

File system error (-2147219196)
source Richard / Microsoft Answers forum

The apps, including the Photos app, were all native apps of the operating system. Even Microsoft’s Feedback Hub app, used to report feedback and issues, did not work anymore on affected devices.

To sum it up: affected users are no longer able to launch (select) native Windows 10 apps on their devices.

Bug hunting

Users reported the issues elsewhere, including on Microsoft’s Answers forum. There, it quickly became clear that the issue could not be resolved easily. Rollbacks of updates and even reinstallations of Windows did not resolve the issue for affected users.

More and more reports poured in and some users managed to find commonalities. It became clear quickly that the issue affected older systems only. Devices with Intel Core 2 Duo and and Quad processors, as well as older AMD Athlon chips were affected, while devices with newer processors were not. All of these processors shared another commonality, the lack of support for SSE 4.2.

Tip: you can use the free program Glow to list hardware information.

Windows 10’s list of officially supported processors does not include Core 2 chipsets. Microsoft did not introduce barriers in Windows 10 to prevent the installation of the operating systems on devices with unsupported hardware.

The company introduced compatibility blocks in Windows 11. The operating system cannot be installed on devices with unsupported processors, at least not without hacks.

Any attempt to install Windows 11 on a device with an unsupported processor is blocked.

Windows 10 gets installed on devices with unsupported hardware. It may run a bit slower, but that seems to be the only sideeffect.

Microsoft is working on a solution

Microsoft employee Mahmoud G Saleh confirmed the issue and revealed that Microsoft is working on a resolution.

He wrote:

Hi, the Visual C++ team has identified the problem as a regression in the vclibs framework package that the Photos app and other apps depend on. The problem affects computers with older hardware (that do not support SSE 4.2 instructions). Microsoft is currently working on validating a solution and it’s expected to rollout to affected customers soon.

He confirmed that the issue is caused by a regression in a framework package, and that devices with processors that do not support SSE 4.2 instructions are affected.

Saleh posted the information on February 2, 2024. It is unclear when Microsoft is going to roll out a fix to affected users.

Good news is that Microsoft is working on a fix. Bad news is that it is unclear when the fix will be released.

Patch

0Patch patches Windows vulnerability that Microsoft did not consider “patchworthy”

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Not every Windows vulnerability requires patching according to Microsoft. When Microsoft analyses reported vulnerabilities, it may conclude that a vulnerability does not meet the bar for servicing.

Exactly this happened to a security researcher recently who reported a Windows Event Log vulnerability to Microsoft. Successful exploitation of the vulnerability results in a crash of the Windows Event Log service. The vulnerability requires authentication but no special user privileges. Attacks may crash the service on local or remote devices.

The vulnerability affects Windows 10 and Windows Server 2022 devices according to the researcher. 0Patch discovered later that it affects more Windows systems. On the client side, all Windows operating systems starting with Windows 7. On the server side, all Windows server operating systems starting with Windows Server 2008 R2.

The researcher published a proof of concept of the vulnerability on GitHub. A short demo GIF is also available there.

0Patch steps in, creates free micro-patch

Micro-patching service 0Patch analyzed the issue. It discovered that the proof of concept was “remarkably simple” and that attacks did not take more than a second to execute.

The Windows Event Log service restarts if it stops, but this happens only twice according to 0Patch. Attackers may run the attack multiple times to stop it for the session.

No events are logged when the service is not running. This means that events cannot be read either while the service is down. 0Patch notes on its website that Windows keeps a separate record of security and system events when the logging service is down.

These are added to the log when it is up again. Company engineers discovered that the information persists across sessions, but that it gets lost when the system crashes.

To sum it up: a successful attack, which includes a crash of the system in the end, may prevent the logging of any events on the system. This makes forensic work difficult on attacked systems and may be exploited by malicious actors to cover their tracks even better.

0Patch writes:

During the service downtime, any detection mechanisms ingesting Windows logs will be blind, allowing the attacker to take time for further attacks – password brute-forcing, exploiting remote services with unreliable exploits that often crash them, or running every attacker’s favorite whoami – without being noticed.

0Patch created a free micro-patch that addresses the vulnerability in all affected versions of Windows.

The patch requires the installation of 0Patch Agent on affected systems. 0Patch continues to support some Windows systems that Microsoft does not support anymore. Windows 10 will also receive extended support by 0Patch, but also by Microsoft through its Extended Security Updates program.

Additional information, including vulnerability and patch details, are available on the 0Patch website.

Closing Words

Whether it is necessary to patch the vulnerability depends on risk assessment. Most home users are not targeted by sophisticated attacks, but this may be different for organizations.

The patch is free at the moment and it will stay that way. Only the release of an official patch by Microsoft may change that in the future.

video

Vividl: download videos from hundreds of sites on Windows

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Vividl – Video Downloader is an open source tool for Microsoft Windows devices to download videos from hundreds of websites. The app uses the popular downloader youtube-dl / yt-dlp in the background. It supports downloads of video or audio files from hundreds of sites.

Most video streaming sites do not want you to download videos. Prime reason for this is monetization as offline videos cannot be monetized. Some services support video downloads, but often only as premium features. Google’s YouTube, for example, supports downloads, but restricts them to YouTube Premium subscribers.

There are quite a few reasons why you may want to download videos. Here is a short list:

  • To watch the video (later) when there is no Internet connection or no reliable Internet connection.
  • To watch a higher quality version of the video, which the Internet connection is incapable of streaming.
  • To watch videos without ads. Tip: you may bypass YouTube video ads without adblockers.
  • To listen to the audio of a video only.
  • For backup purposes.

Vividl: the basics

Vividl Video Downloader interface

You may download the latest version of the video downloader from its GitHub project website. The app runs on Windows 7 and newer versions of the operating system.

The developer lists two dependencies: .NET Framework 4.8 or higher, and Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package. Downloads for both are linked on the project website, if needed.

Windows may throw a SmartScreen error when you try to install it. The app checked out fine on Virustotal, which suggests that this is thrown only because it is a new version.

The main program interface looks basic, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Add a video by pasting its URL into the interface or through drag & drop. An auto import from Clipboard option is provided.

Vividl picks it up and displays information about it after a brief moment.

The main interface acts as the download queue but also download list. There is no option to separate these, which would help manage larger lists of videos.

Downloading videos

Vividl video and audio quality

All videos added to the video downloader are listed in the queue by default. Several download-related options are displayed there.

The default output format is mp4 video and a default quality is selected. Both options are customizable. Vividl supports webm, avi and mkv formats on the video site next to mp4.

A click on the tool icon, which is adjacent to the format button, displays all available video and audio qualities. Here you may select the desired output format and quality manually. You may need to scroll to find specific options, as the lists are not necessarily sorted by size or resolution.

There are options to download video and audio files separately, or just one of the two formats.

The downloading happens in the background. Vividl downloads three files simultaneously by default. You can change this in the program settings.

The settings list several interesting options, some of which automate the experience. Here is a short list of important options:

  • Change the default video resolution and video format. The defaults are mp4 and 1080p.
  • Always download the best quality.
  • Enable GPU acceleration for video encoding, if supported.
  • Instead of overwriting existing media, skip it or rename it.

Verdict

Vividl is a straightforward video downloader for Windows. It supports hundreds of video sites and works really well. Both manual and automatic options work reliable.

To conclude, if you need a well-designed video downloader, this is a program that you may want to test. I still prefer Internet Download Manager, but this is a commercial program that supports video downloads and also other file downloads.

Glow

Glow: open source Windows system analysis software

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Glow is an open source program for Microsoft Windows devices that displays a wealth of information about the system it is run on.

What are the features that it offers and how does it compare to popular alternatives such as Speccy? Read on to find out.

Glow: a system analyzer

Glow Windows System information

Windows displays some information about a system’s hardware and software. The information is scattered all over the place. Even the System Information tool lacks some information that third-party tools offer.

Glow is a free portable app hosted on GitHub. You may run it right after extracting the ZIP archive on the local system. The developer says that it is compatible with Windows 10 and 11 only. The app does require the .NET Framework 4.8.1, which should be installed on most devices.

The left pane of the program lists the various sections, the right pane the information. Operating system information displays important information about the Windows system. This ranges from the operating system build and architecture to the user account, Windows edition and lots more. Scroll down to find information about the system’s uptime, last shutdown time and date, or the system and boot partitions.

Select another section on the left, e.g., motherboard, processor or graphics card, and Glow displays information about immediately.

To name just a few important bits of information: motherboard model and BIOS version, whether a TPM chip is available, the model of the graphics card and the driver date, the RAM type and amount, number of RAM slots, and information about all connected hard drives.

There is a lot to explore, especially for users new to these kind of tools. The sections function as entry points. There is no search, which might help find information quickly.

Glow supports exporting information to txt or html files. The tools section lists a few options:

Other Tools

  • SFC and DISM Automation Tool — this uses built-in Windows tools to find and repair corrupt system files. Microsoft plans to introduce a Windows Update repair feature in future versions of Windows.
  • Cache Cleanup Tool — clean several memory caches to free up RAM.
  • TRIM Audit Tool — this tool checks the TRIM status, on or off, and allows users to enable TRIM if off. TRIM is used to free blocks on Solid State Drives, which opens them up for writing.
  • System Software Tool — links to 10 system tools, including Autoruns, Display Driver Uninstaller, and graphics cards driver download repositories.

How Glow compares to Speccy

The free version of Speccy displays information about the system. There is a professional version, which includes automatic updates and priority support.

Speccy needs to be installed before it is ready for use. There used to be an official portable version, but it has been removed by the developer.

Speccy displays information about the computer’s hardware on launch. This includes key information, but some is missing. As an example; while Speccy lists the operating system and edition, it does not list the build number. The tool focuses on hardware and devices only. Glow, on the other hand, displays installed drivers. Temperature readings are supported by Speccy, but not by Glow.

In closing, both programs offer features that the other does not support. Speaking of support, the developer of Glow announced that Glow is feature complete. There won’t be any future updates of the app anymore. It is possible that the project gets forked, as it is open source, but it is unclear at this point.

Verdict

Glow is a powerful system information tool for Windows. It is excellent for looking up information, e.g., to find out if you can put more RAM into the system or can replace the existing graphics card with a new one.

Summing up, there is little not to like about the tool. The missing temperature information is probably the main feature missing from it. Consequently, it is an excellent program for Windows users to look up system information. Nevertheless, the end of development announcement may cause issues in the future.

Now You: do you use system information tools?

Windows 10

KB5034203 prepares Windows 10 for the EU’s Digital Markets Act

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Microsoft published KB5034203 on January 23, 2024. The preview update for Windows 10 is an optional update. All of its changes will be included in the February 2024 cumulative update for the operating system.

Most Windows 10 users may not want to install the update, as it should be considered beta. The update addresses several issues that users may experience. This includes a bug that causes Windows to recognize some “single-function printers” as scanners. Another issue may bring back the Internet Explorer shortcut from the dead.

Digital Markets Act changes in Windows 10

Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system is a core platform service of a gatekeeper according to the European Union. The Digital Markets Act (DMA) defines gatekeepers as companies that “provide an important gateway between businesses and consumers in relation to core platform services”.

In other words, services that give companies control and an unfair advantage.

Microsoft revealed in November 2023 that it would implement certain changes in its Windows operating system to “comply with the Digital Markets Act in the European Economic Area”.

These changes included the ability to remove “all apps in Windows”, remove Web Search from Microsoft Bing, and feeds in the Windows Widgets Board.

It is important to understand that the changes are in response to the DMA, but not coordinated with the EU. It is possible that Microsoft may need to introduce other changes to Windows in the coming months.

KB5034203 for Windows 10

The changelog includes the following paragraph that confirms these changes for Windows 10 version 22H2.

Microsoft has been working to ensure compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in the European Economic Area (EEA). To learn more, see Previewing changes in Windows to comply with the Digital Markets Act in the European Economic Area. These changes will gradually roll out to Windows 10, version 22H2 PCs in the EEA to be compliant by March 6, 2024.

The update introduces the changes in Windows 10 version 22H2, but it does not enable them at this point. Microsoft plans enable the functionality in the coming weeks using staged rollouts.

Windows 10 users who are not on Windows 10 version 22H2 won’t benefit from these changes. Updates to Windows 10 version 22H2 are available.

Closing Words

The changes that Microsoft rolls out are welcome ones. The ability to uninstall Edge or Bing Search will give users more choice. Most may not remove the browser or Bing Search, but users who want to do so, may do so after the change lands.

Whether the changes are enough to get EU approval remains to be seen. It is certainly possible that the EU is asking Microsoft to make additional changes to its operating system.-

Other companies identified as gatekeepers have also announced changes. Google is blocking data sharing between some of its services by default, and Meta announced changes to Facebook, Instagram and Messenger. All these changes are only available to users from the EEA, the European Economic Area.