Raymond Chen is a veteran Microsoft engineer who has been involved in the development of Windows for several decades. Here at Neowin, we usually cover his intriguing stories related to the world of Microsoft and Windows, such as explainers about how a bug in the OS is not always Redmond's fault, ways in which Windows 95 prevented chaos from external installers, the "online" nature of WinHelp, and more.

Now, Chen has recounted a rather intriguing story where a colleague was investigating a mysterious rise in File Explorer crashes. Naturally, with an OS installed across billions of heterogeneous endpoints, the usual suspect was some buggy code in Windows itself.

However, upon examining the crash dumps, it was discovered that it was the 32-bit File Explorer crashing on a 64-bit Windows installation. Now, some of you may not be aware, but Microsoft actually ships a 32-bit version of File Explorer in 64-bit Windows for compatibility reasons. It usually can't be triggered through normal user interaction and is typically utilized by legacy 32-bit apps. You can locate the 32-bit executable of File Explorer in the C:/Windows/SysWOW64 directory, usually.

When Chen noticed that it was the 32-bit Explorer that was crashing, he determined that it was highly likely that it was not due to user interaction. Instead, it was much more probable that a third-party 32-bit app was interacting with Windows in a non-standard way.

Upon further investigation, it was revealed that the code for a third-party uninstaller was iterating a loop where it was unsuccessfully trying to perform some file operations. This isn't unusual because uninstallers typically tend to clean up application files during their execution process. However, the code author was using the wrong function calling convention used to pop parameters from the stack.

Since it was constantly failing and retrying, it kept popping parameters from the stack until the stack pointer had actually moved into the calling code which was being executed. This meant that the stack had been eaten away until it had caused a corruption, causing File Explorer to crash.

If you want to understand the technical details a bit better, do check out stack data structures in computer science on Wikipedia here, or any academic website that you prefer.

While Chen hasn't gone into details regarding which application's uninstaller was actually causing the issue or if Microsoft worked with the developer to fix it, this incident does highlight how just because a Windows component is crashing doesn't always mean that it's Microsoft or the operating system's fault. But then again, sometimes it actually is.

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Posted Friday 24 April 2026 at 7:22 am AEST (my time).

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Earlier this month, Ventoy, a widely used tool for creating bootable media for various operating systems, received its 6th-anniversary update, which brought a range of stability improvements and fixes. Now, a couple of weeks later, developers released another update. Version 1.1.12 is now available for download with four additional fixes for Linux and Windows.

The changelog contains four bug fixes: two for Windows and two for Linux. For Windows users, Ventoy 1.1.12 patches display issues in VirtualBox UEFI (by the way, this week, VirtualBox received an important servicing update; check its changelog here) and a resolution bug in WinPE.

For Linux, the update addresses Ubuntu 24.04.4 installation failures and bugs with Oracle Linux 6.9.

Here is the full changelog:

• Bugfix for ubuntu24.04.4 install failure. (#3567)
• Fix the VirtualBox UEFI display issue when booting Windows. (#3570)
• Improve for UEFI boot Windows/WinPE resolution issue fix.
• Fix Oracle Linux 6.9 install issue.

Ventoy is available for free download on GitHub (it is also open source). Unlike apps like Rufus or Media Creation Tool from Microsoft, Ventoy lets you put multiple operating systems on your media and select whichever you want or need. It is also very straightforward in use, allowing you to create bootable media by simply copying images to the drive. The list of tested operating systems is very extensive.

If a massive list of Linux distros is not what you are looking for, and you would rather have a tool that focuses on Windows and its features, check out the latest Rufus update, which introduced some seriously useful stuff for debloating Windows 11. And those who need none of that can always opt for the good old Media Creation Tool and its vanilla experience.

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Posted Friday 24 April 2026 at 7:20 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft recently promised to fix Windows 11 and improve its stock file manager, but those features are yet to materialize. Until then, users who are not satisfied with File Explorer, or those who want a bit more than the default option, can use Files, a popular and feature-packed file manager for Windows 10 and 11. Its latest preview update, version 4.0.39, delivered a bunch of very handy improvements and new features, including the ability to customize what appears on the toolbar.

The main change in version 4.0.39 is toolbar customization. Now, you can create custom toolbars with the features and buttons that fit your workflow best. The app also lets you add or remove labels for each button on the toolbar. You can tweak your toolbar by right-clicking it and selecting "Customize toolbar." After that, you will see a new window with a list of available actions and a toolbar preview.

In addition to toolbar customization, Files 4.0.39 introduces a new keyboard shortcut for theme switching. If you want to switch between dark and light modes without opening settings, you can press Ctrl + Alt + T. Media files now have duration in tooltips, allowing you to see the length of a video or song, and the comment section received multi-line support.

Finally, there are two bug fixes:

• Fixed an issue where PowerToys Peek was not detected when installed in a custom path.
• Fixed an issue with the Preview Pane.

Files 4.0.39 Preview is available for download from the official website and the Microsoft Store. The Microsoft Store listing is paid (developers use it as a way for users to support them), while the app is available for free on the official website here. For now, there is no information on when the latest changes will be available in the stable release.

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Posted Friday 24 April 2026 at 7:18 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft has just dropped its latest weekly installment of Visual Studio Code, version 1.117. This week brings three notable changes including Bring Your Own Key for Copilot Business and Enterprise, incremental chat rendering that gives you a more fluid streaming of chat responses, and terminal improvements that let you launch Copilot CLI from any terminal profile.

BYOK for Copilot Business and Enterprise will let these customers plug in their own API keys for providers like OpenRouter, Ollama, Google, OpenAI, and more, so that these models can be used directly in VS Code chat. This is excellent from the infrastructure point of view as it allows MIcrosoft to alleviate the demand on its own servers and place it elsewhere, including local machines via Ollama.

An experimental change that Microsoft has added this week is the incremental rendering of chat responses. This makes chat responses feel more fluid and natural by stream content block-by-block with optional animations as tokens arrive. Compared the default timer-based rendering, this approach renders each block as it becomes ready, making responses seem quicker. You can enable with with the following options:

• chat.experimental.incrementalRendering.enabled : Enable or disable incremental response rendering with optional block-level animation when streaming chat responses. Default: true.
• chat.experimental.incrementalRendering.animationStyle : Configure the animation style for incremental response rendering. Options: none, fade, rise, blur, scale, slide, reveal. Default: fade.
• chat.experimental.incrementalRendering.buffering : Configure how content is buffered before rendering during incremental response rendering. Lower buffering levels render faster but may show incomplete sentences or partially-formed Markdown. Options: off, word, paragraph. Default: off.

Finally, with this update, Microsoft lets the Copilot CLI terminal profile launch from the terminal panel, even when your default terminal profile is set to a non-default shell, such as fish on macOS or Linux or Git Bash on Windows. Before this update, selecting GitHub Copilot CLI from the terminal profile picker in this configuration led to the terminal failing to start.

If you run Visual Studio Code on Windows or macOS, it should update automatically. On Linux you’ll need to check your update manager.

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Posted Thursday 23 April 2026 at 5:48 pm AEST (my time).

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Microsoft's latest Windows 11 release preview build includes a change that finally fixes File Explorer's annoying white flash issue that appears whenever you open the app in dark mode. It's a long standing issue that is hopefully finally being put to rest, because this isn't the first time Microsoft has claimed this to be fixed.

From what I could find, Microsoft first claimed that the white flash issue in File Explorer was fixed over two years ago, in a Beta build released in August 2023: "Fixed a white flash in dark mode when switching between Home and Gallery." A month later, another fix was spotted in a Dev Channel build that read "Fixed an issue where if you launched File Explorer in dark theme you could see a bright white flash as content loaded."

So the issue was fixed all the way back in 2023, so why is it being fixed again? Well, Microsoft seemingly broke the fix when it rolled out dark mode improvements back in December. Update KB5070311 introduced more dark mode interfaces, but also brought back the white flashing issue that was already fixed.

With that said, this issue was quickly resolved by Microsoft, meaning there's another white flashing issue that Microsoft is addressing with the latest Windows 11 Release Preview build. This changelog reads: "Removes white flash when launching File Explorer in dark mode if File Explorer was set to launch to This PC or when resizing the details pane."

Back in September of 2025, right before the release of Windows 11 version 25H2, Microsoft first started testing an inbuilt internet speed test feature on the OS. At the time details were scarce and we had to wait until the February 2026 C-release KB5077241, when Microsoft began to roll the update out to non-insiders.

Thus technically the internet speed test should have been out earlier with the March 2026 Patch Tuesday, but that did not happen, or at least it did not roll out to everyone. So if you did not get it last time, the newer April 2026 Patch (KB5083769) should have you covered as Ookla announced this week that the speed test feature is "now rolling out broadly to all eligible Windows devices". (Check out the latest applicable MCT release if you wish to opt for the ISO download route)

The company alongside Microsoft announced their partnership this week to offer Speedtest directly into Windows 11. The integration allows users to run internet diagnostics from the taskbar or quick settings without needing to open a browser or third-party app. This new development is based on earlier efforts when Speedtest was integrated into Bing.

By right-clicking the network icon or opening Wi-Fi and cellular quick settings, users can measure download and upload speeds, latency, and jitter. Ironically, the option still opens a web instance on Bing, except your effort is reduced as you no longer have to go to a browser and type in "speed test" or something like that on the search engine.

If you are wondering about how this Speedtest works, the tests rely on Ookla’s global infrastructure and are based on Speedtest Web SDK, introduced in 2020, which has enabled service providers and enterprises to embed Speedtest directly into websites and such. The SDK is built in JavaScript and offers a customizable interface allowing companies like Microsoft to tailor the experience to their users' needs.

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Posted Thursday 23 April 2026 at 7:53 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft has almost always been at odds with Google in the browser space. While both Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome are based on the Chromium project, the two still compete in the same space. In fact, many have been a bit peeved by Microsoft's tactics to get customers to ditch Chrome and Google Search and switch to Microsoft Edge and Bing. In the past, the Redmond tech firm has injected full-page ads for Edge in Chrome and also offered sweepstakes prizes worth millions of dollars for people who do make the switch.

Now, in a rare moment, Microsoft is seemingly extending a friendly handshake to Google through an upcoming feature in its Edge browser. Previously, if enterprise customers using Edge with a work profile searched the internet through Bing, and there were relevant organizational results too, Edge would show a banner with a link redirecting you to check out those grounded results.

Now, Microsoft is working on an implementation that extends this same functionality to users with a work profile leveraging Google for search queries too. The end-goal, of course, is that this will result in a more seamless experience for organizational users and increase productivity, but it's interesting to see that it also removes a differentiating factor between Bing and Google in Edge work profiles.

This "work search banner" is currently in development, with rollout scheduled to begin in June 2026, according to the public Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 560823, accessible here. That said, do keep in mind that just because something is being tracked on the Microsoft 365 Roadmap does not guarantee that it will arrive in the scheduled month, or even become public. However, if it does roll out generally at some point, IT admins will have control over the availability of this feature through the EdgeWorkSearchBannerEnabled policy.

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Posted Thursday 23 April 2026 at 7:51 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft this week released its latest Patch Tuesday update, the release is for the month of April 2026. On Windows 11 under KB5083769 and KB5082052, the new update brings a major Remote Desktop-related change, among other things (read the changelog in full in the linked article above).

While initially Microsoft did not report any known issues with the latest Patch Tuesday, the company has now added that all systems which have received the updates are affected by a BitLocker-related issue. This means Windows 11, Windows 10 (KB5082200), as well as Windows Server 2025 and Server 2022, are all hit by this.

The company has explained that the issue is due to an unrecommended BitLocker-based Group Policy configuration. This leads to a BitLocker Recovery key prompt on affected systems. The good news, Microsoft says, is that the key will only be necessary to be entered once, plus it also seemingly affects only a limited number of systems. Such devices have to meet the following criteria:

• BitLocker is enabled on the OS drive.

• The Group Policy "Configure TPM platform validation profile for native UEFI firmware configurations" is configured, and PCR7 is included in the validation profile (or the equivalent registry key is set manually).

• System Information (msinfo32.exe) reports Secure Boot State PCR7 Binding as "Not Possible".

• The Windows UEFI CA 2023 certificate is present in the device’s Secure Boot Signature Database (DB), making the device eligible for the 2023‑signed Windows Boot Manager to be made the default.

• The device is not already running the 2023-signed Windows Boot Manager.

   

Microsoft has also provided the following workarounds for the bug that will let an admin or user to remove the problematic Group Policy configuration before downloading the Windows update. This is also the recommended solution. It writes:

1. Open Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) or your Group Policy Management Console.
2. Navigate to: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > BitLocker Drive Encryption > Operating System Drives.
3. Set "Configure TPM platform validation profile for native UEFI firmware configurations" to "Not Configured".
4. Run the following command on affected devices to propagate the policy change: gpupdate /force
5. Run the following command to suspend BitLocker (where BitLocker is enabled on the C drive): manage-bde -protectors -disable C :   [<-- remove space in "C :"]
6. Run the following command to resume BitLocker (where BitLocker is enabled on the C drive): manage-bde -protectors -enable C :   [<-- remove space in "C :"]
7. This updates the BitLocker bindings to use the Windows-selected default PCR profile.

Aside from that, admins can also apply a known issue rollback (KIR) to prevent the issue before downloading the Patch Tuesday.

Update, April 22 2026, 12.00 GMT: Microsoft has issued an update for this bug as it has removed the KIR policy workaround; the company has not specified why. Perhaps the rollback was not working as expected. The tech giant maintains that the bug will be addressed in a future Windows update release. Maybe it will be patched in the upcoming KB5083631 update that is expected to make Windows 11 significantly faster.

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Posted Thursday 23 April 2026 at 7:46 am AEST (my time).

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Capcom recently launched Pragmata, a unique sci-fi action-adventure, which some users call a "dad simulator." GPU manufacturers have already released their drivers with day-one support for the game, and today, Intel published a new non-WHQL driver under version 32.0.101.8735 with a few additional fixes.

Driver 32.0.101.8735 non-WHQL does not contain new features or support for new games. It only patches various issues in Pragmata on systems with compatible Intel processors and graphics cards.

Changelog includes the following:

Intel Core Ultra Series 3 with built-in Intel Arc GPUs:

• Pragmata (DX12) may experience application crash while loading into game menu.

Intel Arc B-Series Graphics Products:

• Pragmata (DX12) may experience application crash while loading into game menu.
• Intel Arc A-Series Graphics Products: Pragmata (DX12) may experience application crash while loading into game menu.

Intel Core Ultra Series 2 with built-in Intel Arc GPUs:

• Pragmata (DX12) may experience application crash while loading into game menu.

Intel Core Ultra Series 1 with built-in Intel Arc GPUs:

• Pragmata (DX12) may experience application crash while loading into game menu.

The list of known bugs remains unchanged compared to the latest WHQL release, which Intel shipped last week:

Intel Core Series 3 with built-in Intel GPUs:

• Fortnite (DX12) may experience a system crash on launch.

Intel Core Ultra Series 3 with built-in Intel Arc GPUs:

• The Finals (DX12) may experience an intermittent application crash.
• Mafia: The Old Country (DX12) may experience an application crash during gameplay.

Intel Arc B-Series Graphics Products:

• Call of Duty Black Ops 6 (DX12) may exhibit intermittent corruptions on certain water surfaces during gameplay.
• Dune: Awakening (DX12) may exhibit flickering corruptions during gameplay.
• PugetBench for Davinci Resolve Studio may experience an intermittent application crash while running the benchmark. Recommendation is to change the timeout slider to 1500 seconds or higher, to wait for each test to complete, in PugetBench benchmark settings.

Intel Arc A-Series Graphics Products:

• Crimson Desert (DX12) may exhibit corruption when using upscaling during gameplay.
• PugetBench for Davinci Resolve Studio may experience an intermittent application crash while running the benchmark. Recommendation is to change the timeout slider to 1500 seconds or higher, to wait for each test to complete, in PugetBench benchmark settings.

Intel Core Ultra Series 1 with built-in Intel Arc GPUs:

• Battlefield 6 (DX12) may exhibit intermittent corruptions on certain maps during gameplay.

Intel Core Ultra Series 2 with built-in Intel Arc GPUs:

• Call of Duty Black Ops 6 (DX12) may exhibit intermittent corruptions on certain water surfaces during gameplay.
• Battlefield 6 (DX12) may exhibit intermittent corruptions on certain maps during gameplay on some notebooks with Intel Core Ultra Series 2 with built-in Intel Arc GPUs.

Intel 32.0.101.8735 non-WHQL is available on 64-bit Windows 10 and 11 systems with Intel ARC discrete graphics cards and Intel Core Ultra processors with built-in graphics cards. Older products are not compatible with this driver. You can find release notes here (PDF).

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Posted Thursday 23 April 2026 at 7:42 am AEST (my time).

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Opera announced a new browser update that aims at fixing those annoyingly quiet audio and videos on various websites. Now, instead of relying on third-party audio extensions for boosting volumes, Opera users can switch to the newly introduced native volume booster, and Opera promises some serious gains.

Today, Opera announced upgrades for its browser's media capabilities. Opera's sidebar now supports YouTube and Twitch, giving you one-click access to the most popular video services. And if your favorite streamer has something wrong with their mic, you can use the new volume booster to crank the volume by up to 500%.

The new feature offers per-tab controls, allowing you to keep one tab with your music at, say, 5%, with another tab boosted between 100% and 500%. Opera promises that there will be no full-screen playback issues, which sometimes plague users who rely on third-party volume boosters.

In addition to more streaming platforms in the sidebar and the new volume boost feature, Opera has reworked the browser's automatic picture-in-picture mode. Now, it supports video conferencing websites with PiP support (including Zoom), per-site controls for picture-in-picture, and improved aesthetics, with the popout window matching the current browser theme. To adjust per-site PiP permissions, click the lock icon and toggle the "Automatic picture-in-picture" switch.

Mohammed Salah, Opera's Senior Product Director, said the following about the update:

"If you like to work while watching a livestream or tutorial, this update is built for you. And if you want to hear that low-quality audio better without relying on glitchy extensions? We've solved that natively. Just try not to push your laptop’s speakers to the limit.”

You can download Opera from the official website. The browser is available on Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, iOS, and Android. However, today's new features are only available on desktop.

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Posted Wednesday 22 April 2026 at 6:28 pm AEST (my time).

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Microsoft has released the beta version of TypeScript 7.0, introducing a set of changes aimed at massively improving its performance, stability, and compatibility.

The main highlight of this release is a new compiler and language service implementation written in the Go programming language. This marks a major shift from earlier versions and is designed to better utilize modern hardware capabilities such as parallel processing. The company says this new approach can speed up tasks like compiling and type-checking by magnitudes of 10 times or even higher, particularly in larger codebases.

Despite the change in underlying technology, Microsoft has stated that the overall behavior of TypeScript remains consistent with previous versions. For example, the type-checking system is intended to work the same way as in TypeScript 6.0, which should help developers transition without needing to make major adjustments to their existing projects.

To try out TypeScript 7.0 beta, developers can install a preview package through npm and run the new tsgo executable that replaces the tsc compiler. Microsoft explains:

"To get TypeScript 7.0 Beta, you can install it via npm:

npm install -D @typescript/native-preview@beta

From there, you can run tsgo in place of the tsc executable.

> npx tsgo --version
Version 7.0.0-beta

Microsoft has also provided ways to test the updated language service within development environments. For example, a preview extension is available for Visual Studio Code, allowing developers to experience the performance improvements directly while writing and editing code.

While the beta is considered stable enough for experimentation and even some everyday use, Microsoft notes that it is still a work in progress. Hence, the company has encouraged developers and users alike to try it out and share feedback. So a specific release date for the final version has not yet been announced as Microsoft plans to continue improving it before making TypeScript 7.0 generally available.

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Posted Wednesday 22 April 2026 at 1:38 pm AEST (my time).

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From time to time, Microsoft offers helpful advice, recommendations, as well as solutions on different Windows issues or inconveniences on its official website. For example, recently we covered one such issue wherein the company explained ways to unblock Windows updates in case your low storage wouldn't let you download new patches.

Regarding storage, Microsoft also put up another such support article last year that helps solve what was a major issue related to data and storage. The company shared a simple fix for a bug on Windows 11 and 10 that seemingly affected File History, a very crucial Windows feature that helps protect your personal data against loss or damage. Neowin noticed this article while browsing.

For anyone not familiar, the File History feature automatically backs up all your selected libraries to a chosen network or external drive. Hence it is super handy, which means its malfunction can be very scary.

That's what happened to many users back in 2024 when they began reporting an issue on Windows 11 wherein they experienced a "Reconnect Your File History Drive" warning following which the backup would stop. What baffled such users is that the error would continue popping up even after reconnecting or never disconnecting their external drive or network drive.

Over one hundred users had upvoted one such thread on Microsoft support forums regarding this issue, but there was no solution in sight. Another similar thread received over twenty upvotes. Typically, the number of affected users is multi-fold the number of upvoters since many users don't actually go online to interact. It looks like the issue affected at least close to hundreds.

In the support article Microsoft explained why it happened and how to resolve it. It wrote: "This message indicates that your File History drive has been disconnected for too long.

• If you’re backing up to an external drive (like a USB drive), make sure it’s connected to your PC
• If you’re backing up to a network location, open the Control Panel, under System and Security, select File History and reselect the network
• After you’re reconnected, wait for the next scheduled backup. If you prefer to start a backup manually, open the Control Panel, under System and Security, select File History > Run now."

Hence, the solution seems fairly simple, sort of like rebooting a device if something doesn't work. If you are experiencing this problem, see if this fixes your issue. You can check the official support article here on Microsoft's website.

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Posted Wednesday 22 April 2026 at 1:37 pm AEST (my time).

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.NET forms a core part of Windows and other operating systems, as many applications use this platform to run across billions of devices. Microsoft concurrently supports multiple versions of .NET and regularly urges IT admins not to run unsupported versions of the technology. This is important because security vulnerabilities in this platform can create significant supply chain risks. Now, Microsoft has released an out-of-band security update for the latest version of .NET.

Microsoft notes that after Patch Tuesday's release of .NET 10.0.6, several customers had reported that decryption was failing in their applications. As the Redmond tech firm investigated this issue, it also discovered a bigger problem, namely a security vulnerability.

This vulnerability is tagged as CVE-2026-40372 and has a severity of 9.1. It allows an attacker to utilize an elevation of privilege (EoP) exploit by forging authentication cookies and decrypting some secure payloads. This flaw is present in Microsoft.AspNetCore.DataProtection NuGet package, in which "the managed authenticated encryptor could compute its HMAC validation tag over the wrong bytes of the payload and then discard the computed hash, which could result in elevation of privilege."

Microsoft has emphasized that all non-Windows operating systems with .NET 10.0.6 are impacted. You are also affected if all of the following conditions are true:

• Your application or library referenced Microsoft.AspNetCore.DataProtection versions 10.0.0 through 10.0.6 from NuGet
• The build consumed the net462 or netstandard2.0 target framework asset of that package. This occurs when your application does not target net10.0 and consumes the package (e.g. net8.0, net9.0, net481 for mono, etc.). This combination is unusual because 10.0 NuGet packages are generally intended for use with .NET 10.

• The application ran on Linux, macOS, or any non-Windows operating system.

   

Some other configurations may be impacted too, and you can find out more details here.

To patch this security lapse, Microsoft has released an OOB security update, namely .NET 10.0.7, that fixes the regression bug for decryption too. You can download and install it from here and then run dotnet --info in Command Prompt to ensure that you have the latest version. After that, rebuild and redeploy your dependent software using this updated package.

It's a pretty severe issue overall, which is also underscored by Microsoft's decision to release an OOB update so soon after Patch Tuesday. The tech giant says that an attacker who successfully exploits this flaw can gain SYSTEM privileges, allowing them to read files and modify data, so it's essential that you install .NET 10.0.7 as soon as possible if you are impacted.

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Posted Wednesday 22 April 2026 at 1:36 pm AEST (my time).

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In the previous month, Nvidia had introduced Dynamic Multi Frame Generation and 6X Multi Frame Generation mode through a beta update to the Nvidia app for its users. Today, Nvidia released its much-awaited DLSS 4.5 Streamline SDK for developers, which provides direct access to its latest enhanced resolution and frame generation technologies.

This new suite of neural rendering technology will help developers to integrate various second-generation transformer AI models, such as ray reconstruction, super resolution, and dynamic multi-frame generation. Nvidia said the package includes updated APIs, documentation, and sample code alongwith, along with bug fixes.

Liam Middlebrook, a senior software engineer at Nvidia, says,

NVIDIA DLSS SDK 310.6.0 is now available for all developers:

 

• Added DLSS Frame Generation 5x and 6x Modes
• Added DLSS Frame Generation User Interface Recomposition support (Preset
• Bug Fixes & Stability Improvements

The DLSS 4.5 features Dynamic Multi-frame generation functions like a real-time dynamic system, which increases the amount of AI-generated frames for a smooth performance during visually intensive graphical workload, while reverting back to the original during normal workload in order to maintain efficiency. This helps in a consistent gameplay for high refresh rate displays.

Along with this, the 6x multi-frame generation takes frame tweening to a new level by generating up to five additional frames for every rendered one. This significantly boosts frame rates in heavy graphical usage while maintaining optimal responsiveness.

This new SDK is built on Streamline, which allows developers for single integration and enables multiple resolution techniques in the development phase itself. It also helps studios to optimize performance at the core development phase, rather than relying on post-launch fixes.

Nvidia has also added DLSS support for games such as Pragmata, Neverness to Everness (NTE), Atomic Heart, Sudden Strike 5, and Marvel Rivals. In addition to this, Nvidia is also releasing an Advanced particle VFX system to its RTX remix suite, mentioned in its GDC 2026 announcement.

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Posted Wednesday 22 April 2026 at 1:35 pm AEST (my time).

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Earlier today, we covered what's coming next for Teams and Outlook based on the upcoming capabilities that Microsoft is tracking in its public roadmap. Now, the company has publicly shared what it's planning for OneDrive.

In a detailed blog post, Microsoft has explained that its goal this year is to help you move faster from an initial to a "finished" state using AI and collaboration. A key ingredient in this process is the Copilot button which is easily accessible directly in OneDrive and can be leveraged to summarize content, review PDFs, and compare files. In addition, OneDrive now supports markdown (.md) files, which can be viewed and edited directly in the browser.

Other recent and upcoming capabilities include OCR integration for PDF files in OneDrive for mobile, offline search on iPad, and "hero link" - which is essentially a single link that you can use to control access to a particular piece of content. The ownership transfer process for departing employees has also been enhanced.

There are tons of improvements readily available for OneDrive on desktop too. Some may recall the OneDrive makeover on macOS, while IT admins on Windows can configure a group policy (GPO) to set a customized root name for the OneDrive directory to work around max path issues. Windows consumers on Copilot+ PCs can utilize semantic search in File Explorer, and everyone can also simply right-click a folder in File Explorer and immediately move it to OneDrive.

There are a couple of capabilities currently in preview too, scheduled to hit general availability eventually. The first offers support for up to one million items in OneDrive Sync on Windows, but you do need specific hardware and be enrolled in an Insider ring. The other, also available in public preview for Windows Insiders, is an Ask Copilot button on the File Explorer home page.

Microsoft has emphasized that all of the aforementioned features highlight its continued investment in making OneDrive your preferred solution for Microsoft 365 files. You can find out more details for OneDrive customer office hours here.

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Posted Wednesday 22 April 2026 at 7:21 am AEST (my time).

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There is no shortage of apps that let you create a bootable USB drive to install Windows 11 on a supported or unsupported computer. Rufus is one of the most popular tools out there, and its latest update, 4.14 Beta, is making the app even more attractive to regular users and enthusiasts, especially those who want a little bit more freedom.

Rufus 4.14 Beta is now available for download from GitHub. Today's update delivers several new features and improvements, particularly for Windows users. Now, when you create a bootable Windows 11 media, you can let Rufus disable Teams, Outlook, Copilot, and other "nuisances." These add to existing features, such as removing hardware requirements, turning off BitLocker, creating a local profile, and more.

Next, Rufus 4.14 Beta now supports silent installation. This allows you to install Windows in "unattended" mode. The created media will detect the first disk and install Windows 11 for you without a single prompt. There are also fixes for Windows to Go, better error reporting, new tooltips for all dialogs, improved Bazzite support, and more. Here is the rest of the changelog:

• Add an option to copy SkuSiPolicy.p7b to the ESP on installation (please refer to KB5042562 for more info)
• Add tooltips for all the dialog options
• Add limited support for El-Torito UEFI image extraction (Mostly for Dell BIOS update ISOs)
• Improve error report when the user tries to use an image that resides on the target drive
• Improve the UEFI:NTFS partition label to make the install media more explicit during Windows Setup disk partitioning
• Improve support for Bazzite and other Fedora derivatives that don't follow EFI conventions
• Improve detection and exclusion of the new Bitdefender hidden VHDs
• Fix potential errors during creation of Windows To Go media, due to the use of new versions of bcdboot
• Fix errors with local accounts that start or end with whitespaces

You can download Rufus 4.14 Beta from its official GitHub repository here. If you do not want to deal with third-party apps and do not mind Windows 11 in its vanilla form, you can download the Media Creation Tool app, which Microsoft recently updated to include the latest Windows 11 builds.

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Posted Wednesday 22 April 2026 at 7:19 am AEST (my time).

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Oracle's VirtualBox is a popular virtualization software that lets you run virtual machines on different platforms, be it Windows, Linux, or macOS. Today, developers released version 7.2.8, a maintenance release that focuses on fixing various bugs.

In version 7.2.8, the VirtualBox developers fixed the blue (now black, actually) screens of death on Windows 11 virtual machines with error code DRIVER_OVERRAN_STACK_BUFFER. In addition, there are fixes for Secure Boot certificate updates on Windows 11 guest machines. Microsoft is updating the original Secure Boot certificates, and before today's update, VirtualBox could not properly update the DBX. That issue is now fixed.

In addition to Windows 11-specific fixes, VirtualBox 7.2.8 adds initial support for Linux 6.19 and 7.0, fixes bugs with clipboard sharing in Linux Guest Additions, unreachable DNS servers, cursor bugs in Ubuntu 25.10, and more.

Here is the full changelog:

• VMM: Fixed issue which caused a Guru Meditation with VERR_IEM_IPE_4 if the guest was trying to execute the wrong hypercall instruction but injected a UD exception instead (github:gh-616)
• NAT Network: Fixed issue when internal DNS server could not be reached
• Graphics: Fixed issue when mouse cursor did not change shape by context in Ubuntu 25.10 / Wayland
• Main: Fixed crash on FreeBSD 16.0 shutdown with multiple devices attached to LSI Logic SAS controller
• IPRT: Merged Github pull request 503 (fix: infinite loop in vsscanf whitespace processing). github-merge-author: lachlanharrisdev
• Unattended: General improvements
• Linux Host: Added initial support for kernels 6.19 and 7.0
• Linux Host: Added support for guest time accounting
• Linux Host and Guest: Introduced additional fixes for RHEL 10.1 and 10.2 kernels
• Linux Host and Guest: Added support for UEK9 kernel on Oracle Linux 9
• Linux Host and Guest: Added improvements to make 'rcvboxdrv/rcvboxadd setup' and installation process faster
• Linux Guest Additions: Deprecated vboxvideo kernel module for kernels 7.0 and newer; please consider using VMSVGA graphics or vboxvideo module which comes with Linux kernel or provided by your Linux distribution if guest running kernel 7.0+; vboxvideo will still be available for older kernels
• Linux Guest Additions: Fixed issue when clipboard sharing was not possible in combination of Wayland guest and Windows host
• Linux Guest Additions: Fixed issue when last character was not pasted into Windows host clipboard when copying from Wayland guest
• Windows Guest: Fixed issue when Windows 11 guest experienced BSOD - DRIVER_OVERRAN_STACK_BUFFER
• UEFI: Fixed errors with secure boot certificate updates and Windows 11 guests
• DMI: Fixed issue when 0.0 value was provided for the BIOS release and BIOS firmware version numbers so Windows did not populate the registry keys under HKLM\HARDWARE\System\BIOS which some components rely on

You can download VirtualBox 7.2.8 from the official website.

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Posted Wednesday 22 April 2026 at 7:17 am AEST (my time).

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We recently reported that Microsoft Teams has received video recaps, which essentially allows users to view AI-powered highlights of recorded meetings, potentially saving them lots of time. The good news is that Microsoft is not done just yet and is working on several other features for Teams and Outlook.

Starting off with Teams, Microsoft is redesigning the toolbar to give you more control over its customization. You'll be able to pin, unpin, and reorder controls according to your preference. In addition, Microsoft is regrouping the hand raise control under reactions and moving the "Leave" button to the far-right to prevent accidental clicks. Microsoft says that these changes may make Teams "feel different at first, but it's designed to be faster and easier to use". This redesign is landing in June 2026.

Next, Teams is getting an Efficiency Mode which basically reduces resource usage consumption by default on devices constrained by their hardware, improving overall performance and responsiveness. Microsoft has not clarified if this will be a manual toggle or something that will automatically be enabled for certain devices, but well find out more when it rolls out next month.

Other smaller improvements in tow for Teams include breakout rooms for up to 1,000 attendees in meetings, profanity filter being disabled by default for live captions to comply with EU requirements, and the ability to report external users for security concerns. All of these are arriving in June 2026.

Switching gears to Outlook, the service will begin surfacing Copilot-powered summaries in search results starting from July 2026. Customers will also have the option to enter Copilot chat for further conversations based on the search results after clicking this summary card.

Additionally, when you skip a meeting, you can still choose to follow it on mobile. This will remind the organizer to record the meeting and offer you notifications regarding follow-up items too, beginning June 2026. Another smaller change landing next month will allow users to switch between Copilot-enabled accounts through the Copilot sidepane in Outlook Calendar rather than requiring them to rely on Outlook's UX.

Other planned enhancements in May 2026 for Outlook include:

• Access Copilot directly from file previewer in iOS
• Save calendar events as .ics files in New Outlook for Windows
• Preview .ics files while importing them in New Outlook for Windows

That said, it's worth noting that just because these updates have been slotted in the public Microsoft 365 Roadmap does not mean that you'll necessarily get these features in the designated timelines. In fact, depending upon feedback and internal testing, Microsoft may decide to cancel any tracked item altogether as well.

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Posted Tuesday 21 April 2026 at 1:19 pm AEST (my time).

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We recently reported that Microsoft Teams has received video recaps, which essentially allows users to view AI-powered highlights of recorded meetings, potentially saving them lots of time. The good news is that Microsoft is not done just yet and is working on several other features for Teams and Outlook.

Starting off with Teams, Microsoft is redesigning the toolbar to give you more control over its customization. You'll be able to pin, unpin, and reorder controls according to your preference. In addition, Microsoft is regrouping the hand raise control under reactions and moving the "Leave" button to the far-right to prevent accidental clicks. Microsoft says that these changes may make Teams "feel different at first, but it's designed to be faster and easier to use". This redesign is landing in June 2026.

Next, Teams is getting an Efficiency Mode which basically reduces resource usage consumption by default on devices constrained by their hardware, improving overall performance and responsiveness. Microsoft has not clarified if this will be a manual toggle or something that will automatically be enabled for certain devices, but well find out more when it rolls out next month.

Other smaller improvements in tow for Teams include breakout rooms for up to 1,000 attendees in meetings, profanity filter being disabled by default for live captions to comply with EU requirements, and the ability to report external users for security concerns. All of these are arriving in June 2026.

Switching gears to Outlook, the service will begin surfacing Copilot-powered summaries in search results starting from July 2026. Customers will also have the option to enter Copilot chat for further conversations based on the search results after clicking this summary card.

Additionally, when you skip a meeting, you can still choose to follow it on mobile. This will remind the organizer to record the meeting and offer you notifications regarding follow-up items too, beginning June 2026. Another smaller change landing next month will allow users to switch between Copilot-enabled accounts through the Copilot sidepane in Outlook Calendar rather than requiring them to rely on Outlook's UX.

Other planned enhancements in May 2026 for Outlook include:

• Access Copilot directly from file previewer in iOS
• Save calendar events as .ics files in New Outlook for Windows
• Preview .ics files while importing them in New Outlook for Windows

That said, it's worth noting that just because these updates have been slotted in the public Microsoft 365 Roadmap does not mean that you'll necessarily get these features in the designated timelines. In fact, depending upon feedback and internal testing, Microsoft may decide to cancel any tracked item altogether as well.

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Posted Tuesday 21 April 2026 at 1:19 pm AEST (my time).

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Earlier this year, Microsoft confirmed that it is working to make some big improvements on Windows 11 this year, including on the performance side of things. The company has promised File Explorer upgrades so that it will feel snappy while switching between different tasks and workflows, among other improvements (find the full details in our dedicated piece here).

It seems like the company was not lying at all, as the latest Windows 11 release preview channel insider build has revealed multiple improvements are on the way that should indeed make Windows 11 faster.

A major highlight, as promised before, is the optimization of File Explorer, where the launch speed of the app should be noticeably improved, enabling faster access to files and folders. The update also enhances the reliability of the underlying explorer.exe processes, reducing instances where system resources remain tied up after closing the app, thus refining the memory management efficiency. Speaking of memory management, the Delivery Optimization process for Windows update downloads has been improved so that RAM usage should be reduced.

Microsoft explains the improvements coming to File Explorer in the build changelog given below:

"Improves folder view consistency so customized settings (such as sorting files by name or adjusting icon size) now apply across all ways you open a folder. When you open the same folder from another app, such as a web browser, your preferences persist automatically. This improvement is especially helpful in the Downloads folder when Group by date is turned off.

• Improves the speed and performance of File Explorer launch.
• Removes white flash when launching File Explorer in dark mode if File Explorer was set to launch to This PC or when resizing the details pane.
• New! Adds “preview anyway” button to preview pane in File Explorer for files downloaded from the internet after viewing warning.
• New! Expands the list of archive formats that can be used in File Explorer to include uu, cpio, xar, and NuGet Packages (nupkg).
• Improves reliability of relevant explorer.exe processes stopping after closing File Explorer windows."

Aside from that, Microsoft also promises better system startup performance as well as a more snappy experience when navigating through the storage settings, similar to the File Explorer improvements above. It writes:

• Improves the performance when navigating to see storage on large volumes via Settings > System > Storage > Advanced Storage Settings > Disks & Volumes.
• Improves performance of launching startup apps after boot (apps which display under Settings > Apps > Startup).

Collectively, these enhancements should be reflected in the upcoming Windows 11 April 2026 C release update and May 2026 Patch Tuesday update. You can find the official blog post for builds 26100.8313 (24H2) and 26200.8313 (25H2) under KB5083631 here on Microsoft's website.

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Posted Tuesday 21 April 2026 at 8:20 am AEST (my time).

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Mozilla has released Firefox 150, the latest major update for the popular browser. Today's release brings various quality-of-life improvements and new features, including better Split View, new capabilities for the built-in PDF editor, tab sharing improvements, profile management for Windows 10 users, and more.

Here is the changelog:

• Split View just got better: You can now right-click any link and choose *Open Link in Split View* to open it alongside your current tab. You can also search open tabs when creating a split view and quickly reverse tab positions using the new *Reverse Tabs* option in the tab context menu.
• Share multiple tabs in a single step: select several tabs, right-click, and choose Share X links. When pasted into other apps, links include both the page title and URL for easy reading.
• You can now use Firefox's built-in PDF editor to reorder, copy, paste, delete, and export pages in a PDF.
• Local network access restrictions are now being extended to all users. Firefox will require websites to request your permission before connecting to devices on your local network or to apps and services on your device. Previously limited to users with Enhanced Tracking Protection set to Strict, this protection is now rolling out gradually to all users.
• Try out real-time, private translations in Firefox Desktop with the `about:translations` page. Start typing the word "translate" into the URL bar for a quick-action shortcut to the page.

  

• Added support for the GTK emoji picker on Linux, allowing users to insert emoji using the system shortcut (typically Ctrl+.).
• Firefox web apps are now available to Windows users who installed Firefox through the Microsoft Store.
• The new Firefox Profile management system is now available to all users, including users on Windows 10.
• Backing up a profile to a file is now available to all Windows 10 and 11 users, including those who use the new profile management system.
• Firefox now ships with a new .rpm package for Linux users on Red Hat, Fedora, openSUSE, and other RPM-based distributions.
• If you prefer creating tab groups from the context menu, you can now turn off drag-and-drop group creation in Settings > Tabs > Drag tabs to create tab groups.

Firefox 150.0 is now available for download on Mozilla's FTP. Existing installations will be able to update to the latest release in the coming hours. Full release notes will be available in the official documentation (currently not available).

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Posted Tuesday 21 April 2026 at 8:15 am AEST (my time).

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Windows 11's Taskbar and Search Box is set to gain a big update next month that will introduce support for AI agents, a feature that was first announced last year for AI developers. This will enable developers to build AI experiences that tie into the Windows UX natively, streamlining experiences between OS and AI.

This is a great feature for those who are utilizing AI tools on Windows, but wish those experiences were more natively integrated with the platform. AI developers will now have the option to tap into API's that streamline this experience for them, helping out the user in the long run.

If you're someone who despises AI on Windows, we have some good news. This capability isn't on by default, and it isn't something you'll ever have to deal with if you don't use AI tools on Windows. There's been a lot of misreporting on this capability, so here's the facts: This isn't another useless AI feature taking up system resources, it's simply an API for AI developers.

Meta has confirmed that it is working on a new "WhatsApp Plus" premium subscription tier for its messaging app, which will include perks such as the ability to send premium stickers, change the app’s theme and icon, pin up to 20 chats, and access custom ringtones. Subscribers will also get access to an "Update/Upgrade List" for their contacts.

Speaking to TechCrunch, Meta said that WhatsApp Plus is currently running as a "small test to gather feedback and ensure we’re building something people find genuinely valuable". The company did not specify pricing for the subscription, but WABetaInfo says it could cost around €2.49 per month in Europe, with a one-month free trial offered to some users.

WhatsApp Plus is part of Meta's latest mission to introduce subscription tiers across its services. Apart from WhatsApp Plus, the company is currently testing "Instagram Plus" in select countries like Mexico, Japan, and the Philippines. In Mexico, the service costs users roughly $2.20 USD per month.

Instagram Plus has several perks, including the ability to segment followers into multiple lists beyond just "Close Friends". Subscribers can also see exactly who has viewed their stories more than once. The plan gives users more control over their Stories, letting them preview a story before it goes live, extend its expiration from 24 to 48 hours, and even "spotlight" a story to push it to the top of their followers' feeds.

In other Meta news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly the subject of an internal project to build a photorealistic AI clone of himself. The company is training this digital "Zuckerbot" on his voice, tone, mannerisms, photos, public statements, and recent strategic thinking. The AI is being designed to hold real-time conversations, give advice, and help staff "feel more connected" to the founder.

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Posted Tuesday 21 April 2026 at 8:10 am AEST (my time).

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It has been just five days since Microsoft released its April Patch Tuesday update (KB5083769) and already people are starting to report more issues on Microsoft’s Learn Q&A pages. One that stood out was the update being suspected of creating a “death loop” for several users. It’s unclear how many people are experiencing these death loops but aside from the poster, one commenter said they were having the same issue and so were three other people in their company.

The poster, who goes by the name Vagabond Superstar, said they attempted to install the Patch Tuesday update for April, but their PC got stuck in a “death loop” (similar to the bug on Windows Server perhaps) where the screen shows a “mosaic of weird pixels” followed by a blue screen saying that Windows needs to be recovered. The user was then given an option to retry, but after attempting this, the computer went into a boot loop where it kept giving the message that it was attempting to repair the issue, then it would loop back through the pixelated screens.

Vagabond Superstar notes that their PC is a HP Pavillion 590-p0044. It has an AMD Ryzen 5 2600, 32GB RAM, GTX 1080ti GPU, and is running Windows 11 Home. Another commenter, who goes by the name “L M”, said they’re having exactly the same problem on a Dell Desktop and describes the pixelated screen and repairs similar to what the original poster said they experienced.

The final commenter to report the same issue was Thomas B who said they’ve been experiencing the same thing and so are another three people in their company who are no longer able to boot into Windows, potentially preventing them from accessing important work documents. Thomas B noted that they were able to uninstall the latest “Quality” update and get back into their system, but one of the users had a recovery environment that was so broken, they couldn’t get back into their system.

It isn’t clear if this issue is being caused directly by Microsoft or if there is some common driver or software issue affecting all of these users. Microsoft’s Q&A Assist, which is AI-generated, says that similar issues have been documented when a cumulative/security update corrupts boot-critical components or drivers, especially on some AMD-based systems.

It recommends going into the Window Recovery Environment, attempting a System Restore, then a Startup Repair, then a Local reinstall if the first two recommendations fail. You can find its detailed answer in the post’s comments section.

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Posted Monday 20 April 2026 at 5:41 pm AEST (my time).

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A few days ago we covered a Windows Server bug wherein systems were repeatedly restarting as a result of a compatibility conflict following the latest Patch Tuesday updates like KB5082063 and KB5082142.

This weekend, Microsoft has released multiple emergency out-of-band (OOB) updates for all supported versions of Windows Server. The company has fixed the problem as well as an installation bug. Microsoft writes:

"Microsoft has released out-of-band (OOB) updates today, April 19, 2026, to address issues introduced by the April 2026 Windows security update. ... A limited number of Windows Server 2025 devices might experience failures installing the April 2026 security update (KB5082063). In addition, some versions of Windows Server may experience domain controllers restarting repeatedly after installing the April 2026 security update. ... To address these issues, Microsoft has released OOB updates for the Windows Server versions"

As part of the improvements in the changelog, Microsoft writes:

"This out-of-band update contains quality improvements from KB5082063 (released April 14, 2026).

• [Domain controllers (known issue)] Fixed: After installing the April 14, 2026, Windows security update (KB5082063) and restarting, domain controllers with multi-domain forests that use Privileged Access Management (PAM), might experience startup issues. In some cases, Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS) might stop responding, leading to repeated restarts, and preventing authentication and directory services, which can make the domain unavailable.
• [Windows update installation] Fixed: A small number of Windows Server 2025 devices might fail to install the April 14, 2026, Windows security update (KB5082063). When this issue occurs, affected devices might display one of the following error messages: “Install error: 0x800F0983” or “Some update files are missing or have problems. We’ll try to download the update again later. Error code: 0x80073712.”"

The BitLocker recovery bug, though, still remains as a known issue. You can find the official support articles here on Microsoft's official website.

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Posted Monday 20 April 2026 at 5:39 pm AEST (my time).

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