Category: Systems and procedures

Despite Microsoft’s big promise of change, Windows 10 users have been on a truly rotten run of bad updates recently. And now you need to be on your toes again. 

The always-excellent Windows Latest reveals that Microsoft’s new KB4541335 update is “wrecking PCs”. The site notes complaints are growing on Microsoft’s forums, Feedback Hub and even its own comments section. Here’s what you need to know. 

The headline takeaway is that this update can do serious problems. Windows Latest reports that the worst affected users are seeing not just ‘Blue Screen of Death’ crashes, but have had trouble restarting their computers after it installed. 

“My machine bricked all night and I had to unplug and roll back. Finally, after about 30 minutes it uninstalled and I could go to Settings and pause updates for a month. This is happening way too often.” – source.

Others have complained about significant performance issues, including 95% memory consumption and 100% hard disk utilization just after rebooting. While the recent nightmare of Windows 10 internet connectivity problems has returned from some upgraders, with broken Ethernet connections and apps failing to go online. 

At the time of publication, Microsoft has used the official KB4541335 update page to warn users the update can cause connectivity problems for VPNs. This is a familiar issue, but there is no acknowledgement of the other problems users are having. 

The good news, for now, is KB4541335 remains an optional update so don’t proactively look to upgrade your Windows 10 installation at this time. For those who have installed KB4541335 and are experiencing problems, you can uninstall with the following steps: 

Start Menu > Settings > Update & Security > View update history > Uninstall updates

Search for KB4541335

Right-click/double click it to open the uninstall option

Yes, as predicted, here we are again. Microsoft recently talked a good game about its plans to improve Windows 10 upgrades. But now the time for talking has stopped. 

Microsoft has released a new cumulative update to the upcoming Windows 10 version 2004 (20H1). The update is available for Windows 10 Insiders in the Slow ring.

Named as the Windows 10 April 2020 Update, it remains unclear if the company will go ahead with the public release in the coming weeks or delay the launch due to the ongoing health crisis that has pushed hundreds of millions of people to work from home without the regular admin support. Microsoft has already informed its team that the company probably won’t be releasing its much-awaited Windows 10X powered foldable devices this year.

Windows 10 v2004 KB4552455 changelog

Today’s Windows 10 version 2004 Build 19041.173 (KB4552455) brings all the fixes delivered through Build 19041.172 along with some additional bug fixes. These include:

We are mitigating app compatibility issues where older versions of certain apps won’t launch by directing users to go and install the latest version of these apps.

We have fixed an issue that fails to allocate resources during device initialization, which causes certain USB mass storage devices to stop working.

We have fixed an issue that prevents the mute button from working on certain devices with the Your Phone app.

We have fixed an issue that causes a fault in the input-output memory management unit (IOMMU) and a DRIVER_VERIFIER_DMA_VIOLATION (e6) error. This issue occurs after resuming from hibernate on systems that have Kernel Direct Memory Access (DMA) Protection and Dynamic Root of Trust Measurement (DRTM) enabled.

We have updated the Country and Operator Settings Asset (COSA) to increase the coverage for automatic cellular provisioning on devices with mobile broadband.

Build 19041.173: Known issue

We are aware Narrator and NVDA users that seek the latest release of Microsoft Edge based on Chromium may experience some difficulty when navigating and reading certain web content. Narrator, NVDA and the Edge teams are aware of these issues. Users of legacy Microsoft Edge will not be affected. NVAccess has released a NVDA 2019.3 that resolves the known issue with Edge.

As noted previously, you can now clean install Windows 10 version 2004 if you want to get an early experience of the upcoming April 2020 Update.

Windows Updates have a dreadful track record of late, with almost every single update causing users some serious problems. There are multiple reports on Microsoft’s forums, our comment section, and Feedback Hub from people complaining about a range of issues after applying Windows 10 KB4541335.

Windows 10 KB4541335 is an optional update that you might want to skip for now. Over the weekend, many users have documented problems with this patch. Some have said that the update broke their computer, others are seeing Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) and many experiencing performance issues.

Other users are having even bigger problems. One person said their computer doesn’t work after the update.

“My machine bricked all night and I had to unplug and roll back. Finally, after about 30 minutes it uninstalled and I could go to Settings and pause updates for a month. This is happening way too often,” one user wrote.

“This KB Update also slowed my PC,” another user said. As per one user, the update also causes Ethernet problems and some apps are failing to access the internet.

“Just after rebooting the desktop and check the Task Manager and found that the CPU above 50%, Memory 95% & HDD 100% utilizing,” another Windows 10 customer documented the problem.

Another user also told us that the KB4541335 update crashes the system and later causes 100% disk/CPU usage. “[My PC] has become highly unstable after the update,” one of the affected customers told us.

Microsoft states it is not aware of any issues with this update.

It’s not clear how widespread these problems are, but the number of reports has increased significantly over the past few days as more people have deployed the update. It’s also important to note that this is an optional update, so you can safely skip it, at least for now.

If you’ve installed the update and your PC is experiencing performance issues, then your best bet is to uninstall it:

Go to the Start Menu and click the Settings gear.

Look for ‘Update & Security’ and press the Windows Update tab on the left side.

Click the View update history option and click the Uninstall updates link.

In Control Panel page, choose the KB4541335 update to uninstall it.

During the process, your PC will restart for one time and the update will be removed. If your PC is still bugging out after uninstalling the patch, then your best bet is to reset the device from Settings > Update & Security > Recovery.

Microsoft’s next Windows 10 feature update is almost here. Known only as version 2004 right now (but will likely be called the April 2020 or May 2020 update when released), this new version of Windows 10 is all about fit and finish. There’s not a whole lot new here in regards to features, but there are plenty of changes and enhancements to features that have already been part of the OS for some time. In this review, we’ll be taking a look at all the notable new changes and improvements, good and bad.

This release will be delivered as a full OS update, and not as a cumulative update like Windows 10 version 1909. This is because the changes at release are a little more substantial, even if that may not seem like the case on the surface. So without further ado, let’s dive into Windows 10 version 2004.

Windows 10’s new Cortana

Cortana, believe it or not, is the one area that has seen the most significant changes in Windows 10 version 2004. It’s now a system app that can be updated independently from the operating system via the Microsoft Store, just like other in-box apps like Mail and Calculator. This means Microsoft can keep Cortana updated with new features and changes without having to wait for a new version of Windows 10 to roll around first.

The new Cortana has a new UI that puts typing at the forefront of its experience. Since Windows 10 is used mostly on devices with a keyboard attached, the move makes sense. Not everyone is comfortable with talking to their PCs, especially at school or work, where one might be working in close proximity with other people. So being able to type out your queries is a much appreciated new addition to Cortana. You can still use your voice if you’d prefer, too.

As typing is the focus of the new Cortana, the UI emphasizes threaded conversation. Just like a text chat between you and a friend, the conversation you have with Cortana will be displayed via text bubbles in a scrolling list that you can refer back to later if needed. The UI is clean and straightforward, offering text suggestions along the bottom for getting tasks started with Cortana. It also supports both light and dark modes, which is always a welcome sight.

Because Cortana is now an app, it can be treated as one by the user. When you first open Cortana, you’ll be asked to sign-in and agree to the usual terms and conditions, and it’ll popup where the old Cortana used to be. But from there, you can resize it, move it around, and even full-screen it if you’d like, as it’s just an app and, as such, can be manipulated like one. This is mostly an improvement, but I’d also prefer the option to have it docked to the Taskbar like the old Cortana was.

The only noticeable problem I’ve seen comes when you close Cortana, where it doesn’t actually kill the app, as it needs to be listening for the “Hey Cortana” command. Windows minimizes it, but it’s still visible in Task View. Clicking the close button inside Task View doesn’t do anything either. It’s a small issue, but an annoying user experience problem that I feel Microsoft needs to address.

And that’s just the start of the dark side of the new Cortana experience. The new UI is excellent, and the ability to move it around like an app is also a nice touch, but this new Cortana doesn’t come without compromise. If you’re a heavy Cortana user, you’re going to notice a regression in feature-set with this new version. The ability to use skills and connected home commands are gone, as is the Cortana Notebook.

Microsoft has been working to reposition Cortana as a digital assistant that enhances your work life. Inexplicably, Microsoft has therefore removed most functionality that could be of assistance at home, such as turning on and off your lights or appliances and playing music. It’s now solely about schedules, calendar events, reminders, emailing, and other work-related stuff. All the connected home and skill-based commands are no longer supported.

It’s almost like Microsoft forgot that people aren’t always about work. People have personal lives, with homes and families, and things they want to do outside of Microsoft 365 using their computer. The app even recommends the user sign-in with their work or school account if they are using Cortana with a personal Microsoft account.

Being able to control your smart home appliances or music on your computer using Cortana would be very handy, but Microsoft has deemed this unnecessary for Cortana on Windows 10. Going forward, it’ll be great at handling meetings and opening recent Office documents, and you can still ask it about the weather or how tall Mount Everest is, but you won’t be able to control your lights or other skill-based commands. Perhaps we’ll see those consumer-facing features make a return in the future. But for now, it’s a productivity-exclusive assistant, and to be honest, it does that pretty well.

Windows 10’s updated Virtual Desktops

Virtual Desktops are one of those features that you either use, or don’t. I often forget the feature exists, if only because it’s not something I’ve been able to fit into my workflow successfully. That doesn’t mean the feature isn’t useful however, as being able to create multiple desktops for different work environments is a massive deal for many power users. And with this update, the Virtual Desktops have gotten a little bit of love.

These aren’t huge changes, mind you, but the changes that are here I think will be appreciated by those who do use them. You can now rename them, and have them save state across reboots. You surprisingly couldn’t do this before, so if you needed to restart for an update to complete, you’d lose all workspaces.

Windows 10’s improved Settings

Microsoft is continuing its crusade to port old Control Panel settings over to the modern Settings app, and this release welcomes new additions such as cursor speed control as well as updates to existing settings already under the modern Settings app. We won’t go through everything added or updated here, but there are a few highlights to mention.

To begin, there’s a new option in the Accounts area that disables your Microsoft account password as a login method on the lock screen if you have Windows Hello set up. Microsoft says doing this is more secure, as your Microsoft account password is universal across all of your Windows PCs and is, therefore, a weak point if your password is compromised. Windows Hello is specific to each device you set it up on, and isn’t something that can be “learned” by an attacker. On previous versions of Windows 10, if someone did get access to your Microsoft account password and PC, they could log in and get access to your data.

Also new with this release is the ability to download Windows 10 from the cloud if you need to factory reset your PC. This is handy if your install becomes corrupt for whatever reason, and the reset system can’t use the preinstalled image to factory reset your device. Now, you can just download a new image via the recovery environment.

Other areas that have been updated include the Network & Internet status area, which has an updated design with at-a-glance data usage and quick access to network properties. There’s also an improved Optional Features area that is now searchable and easier to use, and the Languages & Region area has been improved with a cleaner UI for adding and configuring languages on your PC.

Windows 10’s streamlined Swift Pair

Microsoft has made some nice streamlining changes to the Swift Pair feature that was first introduced with Windows 10 version 1903 last year. Swift Pair lets you easily pair a supported Bluetooth peripheral with a single click, but the process itself was a little more involved than it needed to be. The user would hit connect on the popup, then the Settings app would open, and then the user would have to hit OK on another popup to confirm that pairing was successful.

With Windows 10 version 2004, this process has been streamlined to just the initial popup asking the user to connect to the device. Once the user hits that, the notification will remain until pairing is complete, and that’s it. The user won’t be forced into the Settings app or asked to confirm once pairing is successful. This is a much better experience, but the problem with Swift Pair now is that it only supported a minimal set of Bluetooth devices.

If you’re using a Microsoft-made Bluetooth device, chances are it’ll work with Swift Pair. You’ll know because the system will automatically ask you to connect to it via a notification when you begin the pairing process on your Bluetooth peripheral. If that notification doesn’t pop, then it doesn’t support Swift Pair, and you’ll have to jump into Settings and manually pair it through the old method. Not a big deal, but I’d like to see more devices support Swift Pair in the future.

Windows 10’s Task Manager

Task Manager is another area in Windows 10 version 2004 that has seen a couple of notable new additions, one of which power users will find very useful. You can now see your GPU temperature in the performance tab when clicking on your GPU. This only works with dedicated GPUs that support WWDM 2.4 or higher, so if you don’t see your temperature inside Task Manager, that’s why.

The other notable change inside Task Manager is the ability to see what disk types you are using inside your PC. Underneath each listed disk will now be an “SSD” or “HDD” indicator telling you whether the drive you’re using is mechanical, solid-state, or removable storage. This is handy for those who might not know what’s inside their PC, and for whatever reason, needs to find that information out without looking up model numbers or opening the PC itself.

Windows 10’s new Search

These changes aren’t technically exclusive to Windows 10 version 2004. As far as I know, Microsoft has since backported these changes to older versions of Windows 10 as well. But they were introduced first during the development of version 2004, so I’ll highlight them here just in case you missed it. Microsoft has added a few quick searches along the bottom of the Windows Search interface for instant access to frequent web-based searches such as the weather and latest news.

There’s also a new Bing image search button that lets you quickly take a screenshot and search Bing for more information. This is good if you’ve seen an image that you’d like to know more about, but don’t know what exactly to search for. Just take a screenshot and have Bing analyze it and provide more information.

Along the top of the search UI is quick access to your Microsoft Rewards points. You can see at a glance how many points you currently have, and clicking it will take you to the Rewards website to redeem any points you may have. This is super cool if you’re an avid user of Microsoft Rewards like I am, as it’s an easy avenue for free Xbox Live Gold or Microsoft Store credit.

Conclusion

That’s all of the most significant and noteworthy changes coming with Windows 10 version 2004. Overall, it’s a nice update for the most part, but there’s not a lot to it outside of improvements and polish, which is something that Windows 10 definitely needs these days. The new Cortana feels like it’s taken one step forward and one step back. It has a great new UI, but a regression in consumer features renders it unhelpful for a lot of people.

I do like a lot of the fit and finish improvements Microsoft is making with this release. For example, the Action Center’s blur effects no longer pop in and out when you open and close it. It’s a small improvement, but it’s the small UI improvements which I appreciate above all else.

For developers, there’s plenty of improvements here for you too, including the new Windows Subsystem for Linux 2. We didn’t dive into that here because that’s a little out of range for this consumer-focused review, but you can read more about it here if you’re interested.

Last week Microsoft confirmed that some Windows 10 devices were experiencing internet connectivity issues when using manual or auto-configured proxy, especially with a virtual private network (VPN). The problem, stemming from an earlier cumulative update, couldn’t have come at a worse time as millions of people have been forced to work from home without the regular enterprise support system.

The Windows maker had promised it will release an out-of-band Windows 10 update to address the issue. The company has today delivered on that promise, releasing an optional Windows 10 update for those who are experiencing this internet connectivity issue.

Out-of-band optional Windows 10 update is only available through Microsoft Update Catalog

“An out-of-band optional update is now available on the Microsoft Update Catalog to address a known issue whereby devices using a proxy, especially those using a virtual private network (VPN), might show limited or no internet connection status,” Microsoft said.

Addresses an issue that might display a limited or no internet connection status in the notification area on devices that use a manual or auto-configured proxy, especially with a virtual private network (VPN). Additionally, this issue might prevent some devices from connecting to the internet using applications that use WinHTTP or WinINet.

Note that this update is NOT available through Windows Update. You will have to head over to Microsoft Update Catalog to download and install the fix.

The update is available for Windows 10 November 2019 Update, version 1909 (KB4554364), May 2019 Update, version 1903 (KB4554364), October 2018 Update, version 1809 (KB4554354), April 2018 Update, version 1803 (KB4554349), and the Fall Creators Update, version 1709 (KB4554342). The latest optional update will only install the new fixes if you had already installed all the earlier updates.