Tag: Windows

Windows Admin Center Preview 1910.2 is now available – here’s what’s new

Following last year’s release of Windows Admin Center version 1910, Microsoft today released a new preview build of Windows Admin Center for Windows Insiders. The new preview comes with version number 1910.2, so it’s not a major update, but it still includes a handful of improvements.

The release includes some new menu shortcuts in the Services and Files tools, in addition to a few other additions:

Cut, copy, and paste in the Files tool

When you select a folder or file in the Files tool, users have the option to cut or copy the file or folder. After the file or folder is cut or copied, the paste option will become available, and a user can paste the file or folder into a different path.

Service restart

When managing machines using the Services tool, there is now an option to restart a service. There is no longer a need to start and stop a service in order to restart it.

Other major additions

Cluster quick update – On the cluster dashboard, updates for connected nodes will appear under the “Alerts” section

File upload – when a large file upload fails, you are now able to retry the file upload

Virtual machine filters – When viewing a list of VMs with multiple filters applied, the VMs no longer disappear after some time

Azure Update Management login – Users no longer receive a logon error when they try to setup Azure update management after setting up Azure monitoring

Active Directory account creation – We’ve fixed an error in Active Directory Domain Services where accounts could be created with passwords that didn’t meet the complexity requirements

In addition to the new features and fixes above, we are continuing to improve usability issues, focusing on making improvements to keyboard navigation and narrator support. We’ve also addressed reported bugs around CredSSP authentication.

There are also a few updates on partner extensions for Windows Admin Center, such as the general availability of Azure Security Center. Here are the exntension updates for this release:

Azure Security Center is now generally available

The Azure Security Center extension is no longer in preview and is now generally available! This extension brings hybrid cloud security capabilities to the WAC-managed servers and allows them to be protected by ASC through a one-click setup. Users of this extension will also see security recommendations and alerts in an embedded view in Windows Admin Center.

This integration is part of a larger WAC movement of bringing hybrid Azure services capabilities to on-premises environments. This extends on premise environments into Azure, allowing them to benefit from cutting edge cloud technologies on their on-premises workload, and is an important step as part of a lift and shift motion.

HPE WAC extension is now generally available

The HPE WAC extension combines the functionality of the HPE Server extension and the HPE Azure Stack HCI extension into a single extension for easier management. This extension utilizes HPE’ iLO technology to give users direct visibility into server inventory and diagnostics to manage and monitor HPE server infrastructure. Using this extension, users can:

See the health of their servers and remediation options (if necessary)

View the properties of server components (processor, memory, etc.) and BIOS settings

Surface and highlight cluster health and node inconsistencies

QCT Management Suite update

The QCT Management Suite is designed to help users manage and monitor their Windows Server hyper-converged infrastructure and QCT system configuration information on a single dashboard. With the upgrade to version 2.0.0, fixes and additions include:

Bug and typo fixes throughout the tool

Support for HCI mode on the Overview, Disk, Firmware, and Settings tab

Additional tooltips

Addition of dialog panels and drop-down lists in HCI mode

BMC account settings for Redfish support

An updated project site URL

Of course, as with any preview release, there are also a few known issues to be aware of. Some of these have persisted for a while, such as Chrome users getting a 403 error after upgrading.

Virtual Machines tool performance line charts are styled incorrectly. This will be fixed in the next Release Candidate build.

Azure Monitor onboarding – If you’re managing a server or a cluster using “manage as” credentials, the onboarding may fail.

Network – If you have configured an Azure Network Adapter, the value under Microsoft Azure Virtual Network Gateway Address will be formatted as a hyperlink but leads to an invalid address.

Chrome users may see 403 Forbidden response from WAC after upgrading. The workaround is to close *all* open chrome tabs (make sure there are no chrome.exe processes running). After restarting chrome, everything will function normally. We have an error message that makes this clear, but chrome users with multiple windows admin center tabs open during upgrade will not see the message.

Performance Monitor has trouble loading certain v2 perf counter instances.

Performance Monitor can slow down less powerful machines (especially client computers).

Schedule restart tool in “Updates” restarts immediately

The latest preview version can be downloaded from the Windows Server Insider page. You can also download the latest Windows Server preview build from there, though there hasn’t been a new release since January’s build 19551.

Help! Windows Won’t Boot Correctly After a Recent OS Update

In today’s edition of Tech 911—Lifehacker’s tech-support column that’s been focusing on your working-from-home questions all week—we’re tackling an old favorite: Microsoft Windows. Specifically, what happens when Windows starts tossing up annoying error messages each and every time you try to launch the operating system? If you’re trying to log in for the day and actually do work for the critical deadlines you have, and you don’t really have an IT department to help out, this is probably the worst spot to be in.
Before we toss you a digital life preserver, let’s get the details from Lifehacker reader Patchkek.

The question:

I have a Windows 10 desktop. Several weeks ago windows did an update and several days later when I powered on, I got the message “windows didn’t load properly” blue screen with several options. The ones I tried didn’t work well, until I found the “Revert to a previous date” option. That worked well. Computer went back on and functioned normally. Unfortunately I still receive the windows did not load properly screen every several days. Im running Windows 10 on a Mac. I was thinking of completely wiping out windows and then reloading it. Maybe I have a virus or bug ? Thanks !!

The humble answer:

For what it’s worth, you’re not alone on this one. Microsoft has been having issues with Windows 10 updates lately, which can sometimes introduce more problems for users than they can fix. It’s possible that you’re in this camp, but the good news is that it’s very, very unlikely that you’ve been hit with a virus or some piece of sketchy malware. It’s just a Windows issue—not very soothing to hear when you’re experiencing it, I’m sure, but at least slight more comforting than, “Your system is infected” (I hope).

Generally speaking, I like to abandon ship at the first sign of trouble that would likely take me longer to troubleshoot—with mixed results—than it would take me to reinstall Windows and all of my applications. I suspect that might be the case here. And since you’re Boot Camping into Windows on your Mac, I’m less bothered by putting you out of commission for a bit, since you’ll always have macOS to use if you absolutely need to do something on your computer.

Before we go nuclear, though, let’s try a few things. First off, if you can boot into Windows—and it sounds like you can—I’m not sure there’s anything you can uninstall that will help you. The last major Windows 10 update that would have probably affected you was the big 1909 update from November. There have been a number of piecemeal updates since then, but I can’t think of one that’s been especially problematic. Oh, except for KB4535996, which even Microsoft suggested users uninstall.

So, let’s start there. Pull up Windows Update, click on View Update History, click on Uninstall Updates, and look to see if you can uninstall KB4535996. If you can, great! If not, there goes that troubleshooting technique.

While you’re here, maybe check to see if there are any additional Windows updates you can install. It’s a long shot, but perhaps something has arrived that could fix whatever issues your Windows installation is struggling to deal with. And since you’re using Boot Camp to run Windows on your Mac, pull up Apple Software Update and make sure there aren’t any new drivers or updates to install.

Finally, try reinstalling Boot Camp’s Windows Support Drivers, which might magically cure whatever is causing your system to blue screen upon launch. There’s no guarantee this will fix things, but it’s worth exploring before you take more drastic measures.

While you’re in Windows, you can also open up an elevated command prompt (search for “Command Prompt” in the Start Menu, right click on it, and select “Run as administrator”). From there, try running a simple “chkdsk /f” to conform there aren’t any issues with your file system. You can also try “chkdsk /r /f” for a much more thorough analysis and fixing process, but it’ll take a lot longer. If your hard drive is failing and that’s the reason behind your Windows issues, it’s also possible you might not get any additional information from chkdsk. You’ll want to use some other techniques to confirm you’re ok (or headed toward disaster).

You can also run “sfc /verifyonly” followed by “sfc /scannow” in the same elevated command prompt. If the first command found any corruption in your Windows system files, the second command should fix them.

Once you’ve finished this, consider pulling up the Windows Troubleshooter. Pull up the old-school Control Panel (via the Start Menu) and select Troubleshooting. Then, click on “Fix problems with Windows Update,” and see what the utility finds (if anything!)

Finally, click on your Start Menu, click on the Power icon, hold down the Shift key on your keyboard, and click on Restart. This should boot you into Windows 10’s Advanced Startup options menu. Click on Troubleshoot, click on Advanced options, and try using the Startup Repair option to see if that can solve your Windows problem.

If all else fails, then a wipe and restore might be your best option. Save all your critical Windows 10 files to a flash drive or cloud storage, then launch macOS and use Boot Camp Assistant to remove your Windows OS. Use Microsoft’s Media Creation Tool to download a new, fresh .ISO of Windows 10, and then use Boot Camp to reinstall that on your Mac. Once Windows is up and running, make sure you’ve installed any updates from Apple (the aforementioned Windows Support Drivers and Apple Software Update) first, then install all the WIndows Updates Microsoft offers, then start putting your files and apps back on your system once you’ve verified that everything feels right.

Don’t worry; it takes a lot less time than it sounds like.

Microsoft is overhauling the Windows Insider Program – here’s the deal

The Windows Insider Program isn’t the same as it was a year ago. A lot has changed, from leadership to the way that builds are delivered.

It started back in February, when we were all still testing out Windows 10 version 1903. Microsoft had opened up the Skip Ahead subset of the Fast ring, which we all assumed was for version 1909, but it wasn’t. Microsoft went ahead and put Skip Ahead on 20H1; for the first time, Insiders were testing a version of Windows 10 that was slated for release a full year from then. In April, everyone was equally surprised with the regular Fast ring also skipped 19H2 in favor of 20H1. 19H2 ended up being reserved for the Slow ring.

In early October, Windows Insider Program chief Dona Sarkar announced her departure from the program, moving to the Power Platform. A replacement still hasn’t been named, but I’m told that Microsoft is still looking.

More changes were to come. During Ignite in early November, Microsoft announced that it’s killing off the Skip Ahead subset of the Fast ring. The move made sense, with the Fast ring testing out updates so far in advance now.

What is perhaps the biggest change was announced yesterday. The Fast ring is no longer tied to a specific Windows 10 release. Typically, the Fast ring gets builds from the rs_prerelease branch and then transitions to _release when the update is close to being done. That’s not going to happen anymore. Instead, the Fast ring will always get builds from rs_prerelease, and then it will be spun off into the Slow ring to prep for release.

There are several reasons for these changes. One is that the rings don’t make sense anymore. Fast and Slow imply how often builds are going to be released, but they’re not accurate. With the old way of doing things, the Slow ring would be barren for months on end, and then get builds as often as the Fast ring as an update was close to being finalized. If the Fast ring is perpetually testing rs_prerelease builds and the Slow ring is testing a feature update every six months, the rings are more useful.

Microsoft also doesn’t want to tie features to specific releases. The company has run into trouble with this in the past, promising things and then not delivering on time. Now, we’ll be testing features in the Fast ring, and Microsoft will decide at some point if it wants to include them in the builds that are spun off into the Slow ring.

Another factor here is Windows 10X, and 20H2. From what I’ve heard from sources, 20H2 will be the same type of update as 19H2, being delivered as a cumulative update and an enablement package. But it’s not for the same reason. 19H2 was delivered that way so Microsoft could focus on 20H1 and align Windows 10 development with Azure.

20H2, on the other hand, is being delivered in a similar way, but because Microsoft is focusing on Windows 10X. An issue with testing the new OS is that there are no devices that run it yet, so Microsoft can’t exactly run a Windows 10X Insider Program. One of the first devices will be the Surface Neo, and that’s not coming until later on next year.

What you’re going to see is a bunch of features coming to the Fast ring that are meant for Windows 10X, and will probably show up in Windows 10 proper in 21H1. And yes, the timeframe here is a bit strange. The Surface Neo is due out in the 20H2 timeframe, and yet 20H2 is going to be a cumulative update/enablement package. Microsoft will have a broader story to tell here, but the way I understand it is that Windows 10X will have a different build number than Windows 10 proper.

The most recent 20H1 Insider Preview build is 19041, so let’s assume for a moment that that’s the RTM build (it very well may be). Windows 10 for PCs 20H2 would be something like 19042, with Microsoft bumping the build number by one like it did for 19H2. Windows 10X would end up being something in the 19600 range, while Windows 10 21H1 and Windows 10X 21H1 would be aligned at some higher number like 20000 or so, but now we’re just making up numbers.

Yes, it’s all a bit confusing. All you really need to know for now is that the Fast ring is in perpetual prerelease status. That also means that there’s no more “magic window”, which is that timeframe where the Insider builds line up with the RTM and you can jump off of the Insider train. Naturally, you’ll be able to move to the Slow ring and then stop receiving builds at some point, or at least do a factory reset.

Microsoft reveals new Windows logo design and 100 modern app icons

Microsoft is tweaking its Windows logo and the icons for many of the operating system’s apps. We’ve known for a year that the software maker has been planning an icon overhaul, and the company’s new Office icons were only the start. Microsoft is now redesigning more than 100 icons across the company with new colors, materials, and finishes.

It’s part of a bigger push to modernize Microsoft’s software and services under the Fluent Design set of principles. “With the newest wave of icon redesigns, we faced two major creative challenges,” explains Jon Friedman, corporate vice president of design and research at Microsoft. “We needed to signal innovation and change while maintaining familiarity for customers. We also had to develop a flexible and open design system to span a range of contexts while still being true to Microsoft.”

Most of the icon changes aren’t major overhauls, but subtle tweaks that make them look far more consistent when you look at tens of them together at once. Microsoft appears to be focusing part of its design efforts on cleaning up its Windows icon problem. Windows 10 has lots of inconsistent icons appearing in settings and apps, with some old icons dating back decades.

Windows 10X appears to be part of the answer to this problem. The software maker revealed a slightly tweaked Windows logo as part of its Windows 10X announcement earlier this year. Windows 10X is designed for dual-screen devices, and it even has a new Start menu and no more Live Tiles.

The existing Windows logo, used in both Windows 8 and Windows 10, is a flat color, while the new logo looks more like a gradient of blue with each quarter representing a different color. Microsoft is also tweaking other areas of Windows 10X, including how you can quickly access the settings panels, the notification center, and more.

Microsoft’s icon work and Fluent Design has been a gradual process, and this will continue throughout 2020. The company’s Edge browser now has a new icon, and even Office itself has a more modern logo. There’s still much to be done, and Microsoft is even trying to tackle mobile design.

Microsoft designers are now working collaboratively internally in what’s described as an “open source” way. Read our full Microsoft design feature from earlier this year to find out how the company has learned from its mistakes to redesign its future.

Windows Insider Program is Leaderless

And I mean that literally: Dona Sarkar is moving on to a new role at Microsoft, and hopefully there will be major changes.

“Dona Sarkar [has] been a steward for the program and tireless advocate for the community and the important role you play,” Microsoft corporate vice president Eran Megiddo writes. “Though bittersweet, today I’m proud to announce that Dona will be moving to a new role at the company. She will be joining the Microsoft Developer Relations team to lead advocacy for Citizen Developers, especially how they use the Power Platform (Microsoft Flow, PowerApps and Power BI).”

The Windows Insider Program plays an outsized role in how Microsoft enthusiasts interact with the company, but it has, unfortunately, had little positive impact on the quality of Windows 10. So I’m hoping that this change will lead to some improvements in the program. Certainly, Dona has seemed distracted by her other ventures, especially this past year, and the program seems to have moved from being engineering-focused to being purely about marketing.

Microsoft says that it is currently looking for a new leader for the Windows Insider Program. In the meantime, the old crew will continue interacting with the community, though it’s not clear if they too will have to find work elsewhere at the company. Hopefully, the Insider Program can return to its former glory either way.