As it turned out, the latest non-security update for Windows 11 backports branch prediction optimization from Windows 11 24H2 to Windows 11 23H2. As a result, after installing KB5041587, you should see free performance uplifts on your computer with a Ryzen 7000 or Ryzen 9000 Series processor.

Here is an official statement from AMD (via Wccftech😞

We wanted to let you know that the branch prediction optimization found in Windows 11 24H2 has now been backported to Windows 11 23H2. Users will need to look for KB5041587 under Windows update > Advanced options > Optional updates. We expect the performance uplift to be very similar between 24H2 and 23H2 with KB5041587 installed.

AMD's message comes just days after the company confirmed it was working on a patch to improve the performance of its processors on Windows 11 24H2. Fortunately, with KB5041587, users should no longer wait for the patch to roll out with the next major OS update. They can head to Settings > Windows Update, toggle on the "Get the latest updates as soon as they're available" feature, and download KB5041587. Tests showed that branch prediction optimizations can boost performance up to 11%, which is nothing to scoff at.

Before you pull the trigger, though, bear in mind that KB5041587 is technically a public preview, so there is a higher risk of things going sideways. We recommend backing up important data before installing any optional or preview updates on Windows 10 or 11.

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In a blog post, Microsoft stated the old sync solution was used for forms that were made from OneDrive for Business and Excel for the web. The other was for group forms made with SharePoint Online, Teams, and M365 Group. It added:

After the older solution for data syncing is replaced, the existing Excel workbooks and their data will still be retained, but they will not be updated with new responses.

Here's what Microsoft says is new and improved with the new sync form solution:

• The new syncing solution is more reliable and has improved performance.
• Currently, the new solution will only sync new responses to Excel for the web. But we are actively working on adding the new syncing solution to the Windows and Mac desktop apps.
• With the new syncing solution, you must open the Excel app to receive new responses. Otherwise, they will not sync to the workbook.

Excel users will see a pop-up message to update their workbook, with a button that states "Update sync in Excel". They can click on the button to begin the update process to the new form syncing solution. Microsoft adds:

A new sheet will be created in the same workbook that is connected to the form using the new syncing solution. You should see all your previous responses being resynced to this new sheet, and any new responses will also be synced to this sheet. You will still be able to see the previous data in your workbook, but this will no longer be updated.

There should be a green bar that appears near the top of the app that will show you have successfully updated to the new form syncing solution.

The old solution will be retired on October 20, 2024. More info on this change can be checked out on the site.

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Secure Boot is causing — once again — side effects for Windows patchers.

The August updates are triggering issues for those who dual-boot into Linux. Because this is unlikely to affect very many users, and because the IPv6 bug I alerted you to ten days ago is now well understood, I feel that lowering the MS-DEFCON level to 4 is safe.

That assumes you do not ignore the IPv6 matter.

It’s hardly the first time I’ve said that advanced booting techniques can lead to side effects. This is no different. Both Windows 10 (see KB5041580) and Windows 11 (see KB5041585) are triggering an issue where your device might fail to boot Linux and instead show the following error message:

Verifying shim SBAT data failed: Security Policy Violation. Something has gone seriously wrong: SBAT self-check failed: Security Policy Violation.

This is one of the reasons I prefer to use virtual machines rather than dual-booting.

Current patches are not supposed to fix this problem, but the problem is that the Secure Boot Advanced Targeting (SBAT) setting will not be applied to devices on which dual booting is detected. In addition, and making the situation more confusing, the dual-boot detection mechanism failed in this case, meaning that the SBAT patch would be applied inappropriately.

To remedy this situation, Microsoft provided a workaround:

Alternatively, you can uninstall the updates for August and pause until next month. To uninstall updates, go into Settings | Windows updates | Update History | Uninstall updates, then click on Uninstall next to the updates you’d like to remove.

Where’s our worm? I still haven’t seen any worm targeting the IPv6 Windows 10 and 11 vulnerability (CVE-2024-38063) that was patched earlier in August. If you recall, I did a special alert to recommend that you install the update or disable IPv6. Researchers have indicated that it will take a ton of packets before this vulnerability can be launched against any Windows target. As noted by Farmpoet on X:

the vulnerability can’t be triggered with a single packet. In fact, you’ll have to flood the destination with packets just to reach the vulnerable path.

He goes on to say:

My current assessment is that at best we’re talking about a remote denial of service and full RCE is intractable in this case. Not that a pre-firewall remote DoS isn’t bad but 9.8 CVE score seems over the top.

Okay, I’ll say it: I told you so. This has turned into a nothingburger. Next time I will trust my gut instinct more.

Office 2019 resolved its updating issues; the error message 30088-27 finally got fixed. Forum poster Mark Reyes indicated that he had found a workaround; soon after, Microsoft fixed the issue on their back end. Bottom line: You should have no issues getting up to date now.

For businesses with Windows Server 2019, be aware of a performance issue that impacts servers after the August updates (KB5041578). As noted in a Microsoft 365 console note, you might observe that some Windows Server 2019 devices experience system slowdowns, unresponsiveness, and high CPU usage — particularly with Cryptographic Services. A limited number of organizations reported that the issue was observed when the device was running an antivirus software package that performs scans against the %systemroot%\system32\catroot2 folder for Windows updates, due to an error with catalog enumeration. Microsoft notes that the issue is limited to specific scenarios. The side effects include increased disk latency/disk utilization; degraded OS or application performance; the CryptSVC service failing to start; booting into a black screen; and slow booting, freezing, or hanging. Home users of Windows Home or Pro editions are unlikely to face this issue because this scenario is more commonly found in enterprise environments.

This issue is resolved using Known Issue Rollback, so IT administrators can install and configure the special Group Policy found in Computer Configuration, Administrative Templates. It can be downloaded from Microsoft.

For businesses that rely on Group policy, KB041578 appears to be impacting you. As forum poster Rich Easton noted:

[W]hen adding new mapped drives to a gpo, and item level targeting it to a security group, I’ve found that the “User in Group” is greyed out and it’s defaulting to Computer in group, even when selecting a security group that only has users in.

As I mentioned in a forum post last Friday, Group Policy guru Jeremy Moskowitz posted a note on X in which he identified a workaround:

Workarounds are (a) Copy an existing item with ILT already in it and edit contents (don’t edit ILT). Or, hand-edit the ILT from XML (takes advanced skills… but do-able.) NOTE Existing policies are not affected. Only CREATING NEW and EDITING of EXISTING policies affected.

Resources

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KB5041587 contains some changes that are gradually rolling out, so you might not have right after installing the update:

• [Windows Share] New! You can now share content to your Android device from the Windows Share window. To do this, you must pair your Android device to your Windows PC. Use the Link to Windows app on your Android device and Phone Link on your PC.
• [Narrator] This update makes scan mode respond quicker. This is especially helpful when you use Microsoft Edge and read large documents. To use scan mode, you must turn on Narrator first (Windows logo key + Ctrl + Enter). Then, turn on scan mode by pressing Caps lock + Spacebar during a Narrator session.
• [Voice access] You can now dictate the characters that you spell at a faster speed. You also have more editing options for the commands that select, delete, and move within text.

 

[File Explorer]

 

• When you press Windows logo key + E, a screen reader might say a pane has focus, or the focus might not be set at all.
• When you press Ctrl + F, sometimes the search does not start.
• Keyboard focus sometimes might get lost when you press Shift + Tab.
• Screen readers do not announce when you open or browse items that are in a breadcrumb of the Open or Save dialog.
• Screen readers do not announce when you open or browse items in the column header.

 

[Widgets Board] We are rolling out an update to the Widgets Board to improve security and the APIs for creating widgets and feeds for users in EEA regions. As part of this update, the Microsoft Start Experiences app will power the Microsoft Start widget and feed experiences. Also, as part of this update, some existing widgets will be removed and others will be modified, temporarily affecting their functionality. This update sets the foundation for new widgets and other features in development, set to roll out soon.

Other changes that are available to all users include the following:

• [Input Method Editor (IME)] When a combo box has input focus, a memory leak might occur when you close that window.
• [Country and Operator Settings Asset] This update brings COSA profiles up to date for certain mobile operators.
• [Bluetooth] External devices lose their connection when you deploy certain Bluetooth policies.
• [Bind Filter Driver] Your system might stop responding when it accesses symbolic links.
• [Unified Write Filter (UWF) and Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM)] An SCCM task to re-enable UWF fails because of a deadlock in UWF. This stops the device from restarting when you expect it.
• [Hibernate stop error] Your laptop stops responding after you resume it from hibernate. This occurs if you have closed and opened the lid many times.
• [File Explorer] The navigation pane does not update when you browse folders that are in a shell namespace extension.
• [Microsoft Entra single sign-on (SSO)] The SSO notice that the European Digital Markets Act (DMA) requires prompts too often. This occurs when you authenticate using a certificate. To learn more, see Upcoming changes to Windows single sign-on.
• [Windows Hello for Business] PIN reset does not work when you select the “I forgot my PIN’ link on the credentials screen.

As for known bugs, there is just one about broken dual-boot Windows-Linux configurations:

You can download the latest non-security update for Windows 11 versions 22H2 and 23H2 by heading to Settings > Windows Update and toggling on the "Get the latest updates as soon as they're available" option. Alternatively, download KB5041587 directly from the Microsoft Update Catalog using this link.

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Why would you need to do this? Well, File Explorer isn't exactly the fastest when it comes to opening files, here's a way to fix that. Anyway, the right-click menu in Windows 11 can cause further delays, as it does not display all available options upon the first click. You will need to click on "Show More Options" to view the good old context menu. This can get annoying if you work with a lot of files, and want to access the additional options to open files or perform actions via other apps.

You can bypass this menu, by holding down the Shift key while right-clicking, but that's kind of inconvenient (compared to restoring the old menu), and you might forget to do it.

Take this screenshot for example, I wanted to open an archive in 7-zip, but I had to go through 2 menus. Let's fix this problem.

How to enable the old context menu in File Explorer in Windows 11

1. Open the Windows Registry Editor. You can do so by pressing Win + R, and enter "regedit" without the quotes and hit Enter. Or, you can search Registry Editor in the Start Menu, and open it.

2. Navigate to the following location in the Registry Editor, by pasting it in the address bar.

Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\CLASSES\CLSID\

3. Select the above location, and then right-click inside the pane on the right, and select "New > Key."

4. Rename it as follows:

{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}

Note: You need to include the parentheses (curly braces).

5. Select the newly created key, and right-click in the right pane again, and select New > Key. Rename it to "InprocServer32". (Don't include the quotes this time). The key will have its data as "value not set". To remove this, just open it, and close it to reset its value to blank (refer to the screenshot below).

6. Now, restart your computer. Or, just open the Task Manager and right-click on Windows Explorer. Select Restart. Open File Explorer and right-click anywhere, and it should display the old context menu.

In case you want to revert the change, just delete the key that you created in Step 5, and you will get the new menu back.

Beginner-friendly version

"No, I'm not too good with computers, that's too complicated for me, I don't want to mess with the Registry Editor." If that's you, don't worry, here is a simpler way to disable the new context menu in File Explorer.

I have created both Registry files and uploaded them, so that you can download them without having to recreate the files manually. Just download the following ZIP archive and extract it to get the files: Windows 11 Classic Context Menu Registry

1. Open Notepad, and paste the following code in it.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}\InprocServer32]
@=""

2. Save the document as a file that ends in .reg. For example: Restore the old context menu.reg

3. Now open the file, and User account control (UAC) will ask you if you want the Registry Editor to make changes. Just click on allow.

4. And in the next pop-up, click on Yes. It will automatically create the registry key for you.

Reboot the computer, or restart Windows Explorer from Task Manager to apply the change.

To enable the new menu, save the following code to a reg file, and name it something like: Enable the new context menu.reg

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}].

Run it, reboot the system or restart Explorer. That's it, now you can access the context menu of your choice.

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The latest release introduces a new settings page, which, despite looking like a piece of 20-year-old code, boasts unmatched speed and reliability (as the developer claims). Also, there is a new plugin marketplace where you can download additional options for the app, such as the recently covered Windows Super God Mode. Finally, there are performance improvements, especially during app launch.

Here is the official changelog:

• Operating under the codename GothamX, I’ve introduced a new dynamic settings form, allowing centralized control over all xd-AntiSpy pages. The settings page, or cPanel, sports a classic old-school look because it was migrated from another legacy cpp project. It may not have the modern aesthetics of the Microsoft Settings app, but it offers a level of speed and reliability that the Microsoft app could often only dream of.
• A Plugins/Marketplace page is now live, dynamically pulling all available plugins from GitHub and offering them for direct download. Some plugins, like the Debloater, come pre-installed, while others that extend settings in the main form can now be accessed directly through the new Plugins page. This keeps the core xd-AntiSpy bundle lean and clean! Check back regularly to discover new plugins and extensions. Keep in mind that GitHub API rate limits can be hit..so if that happens, patience is key!
• As a test, I’ve also included Joe Thio's "Super God Mode" script as a plugin.
• Load times, especially at app startup, have been significantly improved

xd-Antispy is a free, open-source application that you can download from GitHub. As usual, mind potential risks when toying around with such apps and make sure you trust the developer before allowing third-party applications to mess with your Windows installation. By the way, if you want a fancier alternative, check out WinToys from the Microsoft Store.

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The new layout is called "Category," and it automatically sorts all your apps into different categories, creating a similar thing to the app library in iOS. With build 22635.4082, the Category view received proper tooltip support, which is important considering all visible icons are not labeled. You can hover the cursor over a certain icon to see its name. Neat.

Microsoft also reportedly changed the app category list. According to @phantomofearth on X, they are now matching all 29 Microsoft Store categories, such as Games, Travel, Security, Social, Music, Developer Tools, Entertainment, Sports, Shopping, News, and more.

If true, this explains how Windows 11 will decide which apps go where. However, we still do not know what will happen to programs installed outside the store. We will have to wait for an official announcement from Microsoft with all the details.

It is also worth noting that the Category view in Windows 11's Start menu is not finished. After turning it on, you will notice some quirks, such as the inability to open each category to access more apps. Expect that to be fixed in future builds.

Do you like the upcoming Category view for the Start menu? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

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Here is the changelog:

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

 

[Notifications]

 

If desired, there’s now an option to turn off the suggestions to disable notifications from certain apps. You can now press the “…” within the notification to disable the notification, as you can with other notifications, or you can go to the list of notification senders in Settings > System > Notifications and turn it off from there (called “Notification Suggestions” in the list). Note – this entry will only appear in the senders list after you have received one.

 

[Lock screen]

 

We have updated the Lock screen so that the media controls will now show at the lower bottom center of the Lock screen now when media is being played.

 

[Settings]

 

We’ve designed the settings page for Delivery Optimization under Settings > Windows Update > Advanced options > Delivery Optimization to match the Windows 11 design principles.

 

Fixes gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

 

[Taskbar & System Tray]

 

Fixed an issue causing explorer.exe to crash for some Insiders when closing apps from the taskbar in the latest flights.

 

[Start menu]

 

Fixed an issue causing the Start menu to crash on launch in the last few flights for some Insiders.

 

[Other]

 

Fixed an issue causing a memory leak after receiving certain notifications.

 

Fixes for everyone in the Beta Channel

 

[Other]

 

[NetJoinLegacyAccountReuse] This update removes this registry key. For more information refer to KB5020276—Netjoin: Domain join hardening changes.

 

Known issues

 

[File Explorer]

 

• We’re working on the fix for an issue causing explorer.exe to crash when interacting with archive files in the latest Beta flights.
• [NEW] We’re working on the fix for an issue causing File Explorer to crash when going to Home for some Insiders with the previous flight. If you are impacted by this and are having issues launching File Explorer because it’s set to Home, as a workaround one option is to use the Run dialog (WIN + R) to open specific folders

You can check out the full blog post here.

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Back in April, I wrote an editorial explaining why users should opt for Fedora Silverblue over Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. My points from that article still stand, but I found myself needing Fedora LXQt because it is lightweight. As it doesn't have an atomic version like GNOME does with Silverblue, I went back to the traditional Fedora and ran into this codec issue, so I thought I'd share the solution.

The quickest and easiest way to install the codecs is via the terminal. I know a lot of people say the terminal is complicated, but it really isn't; just highlight the code below, right-click and copy it, then in the terminal, right-click and press paste, then hit enter and type in your password and press enter again. Here's the first command you need to run. This will enable the free and nonfree RPM Fusion repositories on your system:

sudo dnf install https://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm https://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/rpmfusion-nonfree-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm

Once the terminal has finished executing that command, you need to enable the openh264 library. You do that with the following terminal command:

sudo dnf config-manager --enable fedora-cisco-openh264

If you need to install VLC, either get it from your software manager (Software or Dragora, depending on your spin) or use the following command:

sudo dnf install vlc

You can also optionally run the following command, as recommended by the VLC website:

sudo dnf install python-vlc

Once you've done all this, you should be able to play any video files in VLC and other video players without issue. It should be noted that on any Fedora spin that supports Flatpaks out of the box, you can install the Flatpak version of VLC, which comes with support for all video files. This guide pertains to the VLC version in the Fedora repositories.

Fedora LXQt is one spin that doesn't come with Flatpak support out of the box, so enabling RPM Fusion is a good solution for those users. For anyone wondering, Fedora LXQt uses the LXQt desktop similar to Lubuntu. It is extremely lightweight and runs fast even on very sluggish computers, so it's a good choice for reviving older or underpowered machines.

Let us know in the comments if you found this guide helpful. Do you even need to install these codecs nowadays, or are you content with the VLC Flatpak? It's worth noting that installing these codecs may also let you watch more video content online in Firefox, such as BBC News.

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AMD acknowledged that there was a performance issue and that it was dealing with it. The company said that using Windows' hidden Administrator account was a way to work around the problem and certainly testing confirmed that this was indeed the case as there was some performance to be had, not just on Zen 5-based Ryzen 9000 series CPUs, but also on Zen 4-based Ryzen 7000.

AMD also later published a detailed blog post on its Community website explaining what exactly was the problem. The tech giant noted that the Windows OS was unable to take proper advantage of the newer and improved branch prediction on Zen 5.

For those not familiar, branch prediction in CPUs helps minimize branch misprediction penalties and is especially useful in highly pipelined processor designs.

AMD said that the upcoming Windows 11 version 24H2 (note that it is already available for Copilot+ PCs) will address this problem head on and users should find themselves in the middle of improved performance once they upgraded to Windows 11 24H2 from an earlier version.

The company also made some performance claims mainly in the case of gaming, but added UL Procyon Office too.

Today, YouTube channel Hardware Unboxed (HwU) ran multiple tests on games to see how much of an uplift Windows 11 24H2 could bring to AMD's chips. It measured the Ryzen 7 9700X (Zen 5) and the 7700X (Zen 4) and the two CPUs exhibited an impressive average performance boost of 11% and 10% respectively, vs Windows 11 23H2.

It is noteworthy here that the games were run at 1080p and hence the actual uplift in performance may be even bigger as I have previously explained in my editorial how low-resolution tests can help accurately measure CPU performance in games.

Meanwhile, Intel did not see any improvement suggesting that an upgrade to 24H2 may not be worth it, at least from the performance standpoint.

Source and images: HwU (YouTube)

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When browsing that document Neowin also spotted what appeared to be the first official on-record confirmation from Microsoft itself about the apparent impending death of Control Panel sometime in the future.

It stated:

The Control Panel is a feature that's been part of Windows for a long time. It provides a centralized location to view and manipulate system settings and controls. Through a series of applets, you can adjust various options ranging from system time and date to hardware settings, network configurations, and more. The Control Panel is in the process of being deprecated in favor of the Settings app, which offers a more modern and streamlined experience.

 

Tip: while the Control Panel still exists for compatibility reasons and to provide access to some settings that have not yet migrated, you're encouraged to use the Settings app, whenever possible.

Following our coverage, the tech community picked up on it which subsequently led to widespread reporting.

Microsoft has since tweaked the support article and the text "in the process of being deprecated in favor of the Settings app" has now been wiped and has been replaced with "many of the settings in Control Panel are in the process of being migrated to the Settings app" perhaps indicating that the company itself is not certain on whether it will ever truly be able to deprecate Control Panel completely. Or at the very least, it is not going to happen any time soon.

The newly revised text says:

The Control Panel is a feature that's been part of Windows for a long time. It provides a centralized location to view and manipulate system settings and controls. Through a series of applets, you can adjust various options ranging from system time and date to hardware settings, network configurations, and more. Many of the settings in Control Panel are in the process of being migrated to the Settings app, which offers a more modern and streamlined experience.

 

Tip: while the Control Panel still exists for compatibility reasons and to provide access to some settings that have not yet migrated, you're encouraged to use the Settings app, whenever possible.

While this was the first such instance of Microsoft indicating the possible deprecation of the Control Panel on its own official site, the company has been hinting at this for a long while.

Such reports started surfacing back in 2011 when a leaked Windows 8 screenshot suggested that Microsoft was looking to replace the Control Panel with "PC settings". This Settings option was made with touch-friendliness in mind though the Control Panel continued to co-exist.

Later in 2015, it was expected that the company would finally do away with it as a senior Microsoft exec confirmed that "Settings will eventually supersede Control Panel."

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Earlier this week, we reported about a newly made third-party Windows script with a witty name: Super God Mode. The script aims to provide a much better experience than Windows' default God Mode (hence the name). Now, just a couple of days later, Windows Super God Mode is even more god-like, all thanks to its first update under version 1.1.

With version 1.1, the Windows Super Gode Mode script is now better at finding hidden links for protocols of non-Appx apps. Link protocols allow you to launch certain apps in specific locations. For example, with a protocol link, you can launch the Microsoft Store directly on the Updates page or Windows Security on the Protection history page—very convenient.

In addition, the latest update resolved the issue with the script not creating links to certain links despite their successful detection. It also introduced a new feature that can perform a deeper scan, albeit slow, to detect links for non-Appx applications.

Here is the full changelog for the Windows Super God Mode 1.1 script:

• Added more comprehensive search for hidden links for protocols of Non-Appx apps
• Fixed bug where some hidden links were being matched in files but weren't being added to the results
• Added new option "Deeper Scan for Hidden Links" which will scan all files of non-appx program folders, but is slow
• Replaced hard coded constant paths so the script should work on systems where C:\ is not the main drive

You can download the latest version of the Windows Super God Mode script from GitHub. It is available for free, and it features a simple and user-friendly graphical user interface for those who are not accustomed to using CLI. The script lets you customize the output or just bulk-generate every possible link, creating an ultimate Control Panel with every setting in one place.

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Sadly, the Control Panel > Settings app migration saga has been going on for over a decade (it started in 2012 with the release of Windows 8), and it is still far from over. Therefore, less experienced users might get confused when looking for a certain option or feature, not knowing if they should look in the Settings app or the legacy Control Panel. The so-called "Super God Mode" aims to fix that by offering the ultimate way to access all Windows settings, special folders, links, and more.

Windows Super God Mode is a third-party PowerShell script that generates hundreds of links to various parts of the operating system so that you can keep them in one place or move around. You can use it to create links to special shell folders, named folders, task links, system settings, deep links, protocols, and more.

ThioJoe, the maker of the project, says the Super Gode Mode was inspired by the hidden God Mode folder in modern Windows versions, but unlike the latter, it provides a much bigger number of shortcuts. By default, it can output over 1,200 links sorted in several folders depending on what Windows version you use (the list of links is not hard-coded).

Of course, browsing through 1,200 links may not sound very user-friendly. Still, at least you have everything in one place where you can quickly search for the necessary option without diving deep into submenus, additional sections, and more.

Besides links, Super God Mode creates a bunch of CSV files with more information about each link so that you can have a cheat sheet about accessing various Windows parts using Explorer commands, protocols, and more. If you do not need that much and you are only interested in a certain part of Super God Mode capabilities, you can specify what features the script should ignore using its GUI or CLI parameters.

Those interested in giving Super Gode Mode a try can download version 1.0 from its GitHub repository. The script is open, so everyone can see what it is doing by opening it in any compatible editor.

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Earlier this year, Microsoft released its updated Planner app for Teams users. This week, the roadmap site showed that Planner for web users will be coming in October. Here's what Microsoft says about it:

The new Microsoft Planner app for the web is a single, unified work management experience. Assisted by AI, it brings together the simplicity of Microsoft To Do, the collaboration of Planner, and the power of Microsoft Project into a simple, scalable, intelligent solution that spans from individual task management to enterprise and professional project management.

People who use the new Outlook for Windows app will get a new Narrator feature in November:

This feature will allow users utilizing the Windows Narrator screen reader tool to have messages read aloud automatically after opening the email.

There were some other Outlook updates on the roadmap site this week. They included adding a way to sort meeting attendees on Windows and the web in the tracking list alphabetically and a way to filter meeting attendees by name. Both features are due in November. In September, Outlook users on the web and Windows will be able to copy the list of attendees to the clipboard from an Outlook calendar event.

The new Outlook Windows app will also get a new multi-account feature in the near future:

Currently, new Outlook for for Windows supports apps and add-ins for the user's primary account only. We will be enabling apps and add-ins to be supported across all of the accounts added to new Outlook, dynamically switching to the active identity.

This feature will roll out in November. In the same month, iOS and Android Outlook users will get some new formatting options.

In response to feedback from you, our customers, we are adding support for even more formatting options when composing in Outlook for iOS or Android! You will be able to choose font size and color, set a default font, as well as clearing and painting formatting.

Finally, Mac users of Outlook will soon be able to access their OneDrive cloud account in the Outlook app. This will launch in preview form in September, followed by a full launch in October.

That's our look at the Microsoft 365 Roadmap site this week. Come back on September 1 to see what's new on the site for the next week.

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What you need to know

• The latest Windows 10 preview build includes some hidden changes to the Start menu and Settings app.
• Microsoft looks to be toying with the position of the user tile in Start, and adding Microsoft 365 upsells to it, backported from Windows 11.
• The company is also toying with an updated Settings app design with more colorful icons and sign-in buttons.

Last year, Microsoft announced a recommitment to delivering new features and experiences to Windows 10 users after originally leaving the platform behind when Windows 11 launched. Since November, Microsoft has backported a handful of Windows 11 features to Windows 10 customers, including Windows Copilot and MSN widgets on the lock screen.

This week, Microsoft rolled out a new Windows 10 preview build to Insiders in the Beta and Release Preview Channels which appears to include some hidden changes, first spotted by @phantomofearth on X. These changes include updates to the Start menu and Settings app, which seem to be designed to better promote Microsoft Accounts and Services.

First, Microsoft looks to be toying with the position of the user icon in the Start menu, and changing the menu that appears when you click on it. Currently, the user icon in Start is positioned above the power and settings icons in the hamburger menu, and clicking it opens a menu that lets you sign out and change account settings.

On August 24, 1995, Microsoft officially released Windows 95, its revolutionary operating system previously codenamed 'Chicago', to the public. I still remember when my parents upgraded the family PC from Windows 3.1 with a slew of floppy disks and the help of a tech-savvy friend, who helped sell them on the luxuries of a new, friendly user interface that would replace the archaic likes of the now-extinct 'Program Manager' app.

Twenty-nine years later, the impact of Windows 95 is still apparent in modern computing (and even popular culture as Finland embraced Windows95man,) with remnants of its old-school tools and apps still running quietly in the background of Windows 11.

In particular, I still rely on the 'more sound settings' panel to wrestle my microphone levels back to their proper numbers after Google Meet automatically adjusts them against my will. Prettier menus offer the same controls, but these retro 'Win32' apps still just work, thanks to Windows 95's foundations.

I could ramble about the iconic startup sound or how our costly printer never worked with Microsoft's 'Plug-and-Play' promises. However, one feature stands out more prominently than any other, and its legacy is a mainstay feature in Windows 11 with much less subtlety, even if Windows 8 previously tried to wrangle it into something entirely unrecognizable — the legendary and utterly iconic Start menu.

Everything changed with the Start menu

Unfortunately, there are no bug fixes, so we can only offer you a list of bugs that Intel is still working on resolving in future updates, so beware:

Intel Arc A-Series Graphics Products:

 

• Doom Eternal (VK) may exhibit intermittent flickering corruption in the game menu and during gameplay.
• Blender may experience application crash while rendering certain benchmark scenes.
• Topaz Video AI may experience errors when exporting videos after using some models for video enhancements.

 

Intel Core Ultra with built-in Intel Arc GPUs:

 

• Enshrouded (VK) may experience an application crash during gameplay.
• Diablo IV (DX12) may experience an application crash with ray tracing settings enabled.
• Horizon Forbidden West (DX12) may experience color corruption during gameplay.
• Fortnite (DX12) game may crash while performing Alt + Tab operations
• SPECworkstation3.1 may exhibit system instability while running certain workloads.
• CATIA texts may not appear in quality toolbar with HQAO settings
• Procyon AI may experience an application crash while running benchmark with precision float32

 

Intel Arc Control Known Issues:

 

• Schedule Updates for Drivers may not work intermittently.
• Arc Control Studio capture or stream may not stop intermittently when using the stop option. A workaround is to use Exit app option in Settings to stop the recording

Intel 32.0.101.5972 WHQL is available for systems with the following processors and graphics cards running 64-bit Windows 10 and 11:

Download the 32.0.101.5972 WHQL driver here. Full release notes are available here (PDF).

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In a blog post, Microsoft says when a person opens up Forms and asks it to create a quiz, it can also select a new function called "Including answer explanations." When the quiz is created it also creates detailed answers to each question so that the people who take the quiz can learn the reason behind each answer.

Microsoft offers an example of how this would help students who take a math quiz created by Copilot in Forms. They can also see details of how to solve each math equation in the quiz. Of course, the person who has generated the quiz can edit each answer for clarity or accuracy before the final quiz is made.

Microsoft also added a way for users to access Copilot to make any necessary changes to Forms quiz questions and answers as well. It stated:

Simply click the Copilot icon next to the question and specify how you'd like to modify it. For example, you can make the question easier or add more details to the answer explanation for better clarity. You can also manually customize the answer explanations as needed.

Finally, when a person completes a Copilot-assisted quiz in Microsoft Forms, they can see the final results immediately upon completion and also review the answer explanation to learn more about what they did right or wrong.

Microsoft has already added Copilot-based features jn Forms over the last several weeks, including a way to use the AI service to help write online invites, and also asking Copilot to suggest different themes for quizzes or forms.

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In Microsoft Edge 128, which was released in the Stable Channel this week, Microsoft changed the description of the flag responsible for toggling on the rounded tabs feature. It now explicitly states that the ability to enable "floating" tabs with rounded corners is on its way out:

Changes browser tabs into rounded buttons. This feature will be discontinued soon. – Mac, Windows, Linux

Despite the quiet announcement, rounded tabs still work in Microsoft Edge. If you want to enable that feature, head to edge://flags/#edge-visual-rejuv-rounded-tabs and set the flag to Enabled. Next, enable edge://flags/#edge-rounded-containers. After that, restart Microsoft Edge to apply the changes.

What is happening to rounded tabs in Microsoft Edge is a reminder that flags in modern browsers are experimental features that may or may not make it to the public release. Microsoft probably has reasons to discontinue rounded tabs, but at this moment, there is no information on why the company decided to pull it from its browser. Also, there is no info on when Microsoft plans to remove rounded tabs from the Edge browser for good.

With rounded tabs off, tabs in Microsoft Edge will look very similar to those in Chrome (turned on by default). However, you can change them to a more squarish variant by setting the edge://flags/#edge-visual-rejuv-rounded-tabs flag to "Disabled." Other parts of the redesign, such as the Mica material, are still available with no signs of potential removal.

Do you like rounded tabs in Microsoft Edge, or do you prefer the more traditional look with squared tabs? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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August 24, 2024

Video length: 18m 38s

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Now, Microsoft provided more information about fixing the issue on affected systems. If your Windows-Linux machine cannot boot into Linux, try the following to bring it back to life:

Disable Secure Boot:

 

• Boot into your device’s firmware settings.
• Disable Secure Boot (steps vary by manufacturer).

 

Delete SBAT Update:

 

• Boot into Linux.
• Open the terminal and run the below command: sudo mokutil --set-sbat-policy delete
• Enter your root password if prompted.
• Boot into Linux once more.

 

Verify SBAT Revocations:

 

• In the terminal, run the below command: mokutil --list-sbat-revocations
• Ensure the list shows no revocations.

 

Re-enable Secure Boot:

 

• Reboot into the firmware settings.
• Re-enable Secure Boot.

 

Check Secure Boot Status:

 

• Boot into Linux. Run the below command: mokutil --sb-state
• The output should be “SecureBoot enabled”. If not, retry the step 4.

 

Prevent Future SBAT Updates in Windows:

 

• Boot into Windows.
• Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run: reg add HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecureBoot\SBAT /v OptOut /d 1 /t REG_DWORD

 

At this point, you should now be able to boot into Linux or Windows as before. It’s a good time to install any pending Linux updates to ensure your system is secure.

In addition to providing the workaround, Microsoft said it is working with Linux partners to fix the problem as soon as possible.

In case you missed it, here are the updates Windows 10 and 11 received during this month's Patch Tuesday:

• Windows 11 version 24H2: KB5041571
• Windows 11 version 22H2 and 23H2: KB5041585
• Windows 10 version 22H2: KB5041580

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Microsoft Edge 128 contains all the fixes and changes from the many previous updates it got in the Dev Channel. You can find them here:

• Microsoft Edge 128.0.2661.0
• Microsoft Edge 128.0.2677.1
• Microsoft Edge 128.0.2690.1
• Microsoft Edge 128.0.2708.0
• Microsoft Edge 128.0.2730.0
• Microsoft Edge 128.0.2739.1

The Stable Channel version of Edge 128 has some security patches specific to the browser:

• CVE-2024-41879
• CVE-2024-38208
• CVE-2024-38207
• CVE-2024-38210
• CVE-2024-38209

The security release notes adds:

Microsoft has a fix for CVE-2024-7971 to Microsoft Edge Stable Channel (Version 128.0.2739.42) which has been reported by the Chromium team as having an exploit in the wild. For more information, see the Security Update Guide.

Here are the rest of the release notes for Edge 128:

Fixes

 

Fixed an issue that caused high CPU usage of renderer processes when running Selenium tests and calling driver.quit() to end the testing session.

 

Feature updates

 

• SSE3 Requirement. Microsoft Edge stopped supporting CPUs that lack SSE3. Devices with such CPUs won't receive any more updates. For more information, see Microsoft Edge Supported Operating Systems.
• Copilot browser Context Policies. The DiscoverPageContextEnabled policy is obsoleted in Microsoft Edge version 128 and doesn't work after Microsoft Edge 127.
• To summarize and answer questions based on browser context in Microsoft Edge, Copilot needs to be able to access the browser context. We're providing two new policies to offer more flexibility for admins to customize Edge browser context access across Copilot chats in Edge sidebar.
• CopilotPageContext - Control Copilot access to browser context for Microsoft Entra ID profiles.
• CopilotCDPPageContext - Control Copilot with Commercial Data Protection access to browser context for Microsoft Entra ID profiles.
• Deprecation of the followable web feature. To improve end user experience, the followable web feature is deprecated. The EdgeFollowEnabled policy is also obsolete.
• EnforceLocalAnchorConstraintsEnabled policy obsoletion. The EnforceLocalAnchorConstraintsEnabled policy was previously deprecated and is now obsolete in Edge version 128. Since Microsoft Edge 112, constraints in certificates loaded from the platform certificate store are enforced. The EnforceLocalAnchorConstraintsEnabled policy existed as a temporary opt-out in case an enterprise encountered issues with the constraints encoded in their private roots.
• New Policy for Insecure Downloads over HTTP. Users that download potentially dangerous content on HTTP sites will receive a UI warning in a future Microsoft Edge version. To prepare for this change, the ShowDownloadsInsecureWarningsEnabled policy is now available for admins to enable or disable the warnings related to insecure downloads
• Edge Bar improvements. Edge Bar, the detachable version of the Edge sidebar in Windows 10, has a changed entry point from the gear icon at the bottom of the Edge sidebar's fly out menu to the edge://settings/sidebar page.
• For Windows 11 and Windows 10 users, clicking the gear icon will now automatically open the edge://settings/sidebar page.
• Also, the ability for Edge Bar to start automatically when starting a Windows 10 device has been enabled again and the Close "X" icon has been moved below the ellipsis menu at the bottom right corner of Edge Bar.
• Disabling Edge Bar through the StandaloneHubsSidebarEnabled policy continues to work, there is a fix to make the UI and briefcase icon appear on the edge://settings/sidebar page coming very soon.

 

Policy updates

 

New policies

 

• ApplicationBoundEncryptionEnabled - Enable Application Bound Encryption
• DynamicCodeSettings - Dynamic Code Settings
• ExtensionDeveloperModeSettings - Control the availability of developer mode on extensions page
• ExtensionExtendedBackgroundLifetimeForPortConnectionsToUrls - Configure a list of origins that grant an extended background lifetime to connecting extensions.
• KeyboardFocusableScrollersEnabled - Enable keyboard focusable scrollers
• ShowDownloadsInsecureWarningsEnabled - Enable insecure download warnings

 

Obsoleted policies

 

• DiscoverPageContextEnabled - Enable Discover access to page contents for AAD profiles (obsolete)
• EnforceLocalAnchorConstraintsEnabled - Determines whether the built-in certificate verifier will enforce constraints encoded into trust anchors loaded from the platform trust store (deprecated)
• SiteSafetyServicesEnabled - Allow users to configure Site safety services (obsolete)

To update Microsoft Edge to version 128, head to Menu > Help and Feedback > About Microsoft Edge or edge://settings/help.

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Improved Reliability:

 

• Resolved an issue where the app would crash after multiple clicks on the layout button on the NTP (New Tab Page) on iOS.

 

Changed Behavior:

 

• Resolved an issue where keyboard navigation to the controls in the ‘Current window’ section under the tabs action menu was not possible.
• Resolved an issue where the ‘Sort’ option (three dots) in the Collections pane was not functioning.
• Resolved an issue where a broken group was displayed in the Tab Groups pane.
• Resolved an issue where completing Gamer Mode opens the Gaming Feed in a new tab.
• Resolved an issue where icons would overlap on the vertical tab after screen splitting.
• Fixed an issue where the tab close buttons were not displayed for focused inactive tabs.

 

Android:

 

• Resolved an issue where the sign-in time for MSA accounts was excessively long and not synchronized on android.
• Resolved an issue where the Android Rewards ‘Earn More’ page was opening in the web UI instead of a new browser tab.

 

iOS:

 

• Resolved an issue where the Read Aloud toolbar had a different color from the address bar and tab center, making it aesthetically unpleasing on iOS.
• Resolved an issue where the address bar would disappear when the translator appeared on iOS.
• Fixed an issue where Voiceover did not announce clear name information for the ‘Camera, Switch, button’ on iOS.
• Fixed an issue where, after translation, using the read aloud feature and clicking on ‘x’ caused the translation toolbar to not appear on iOS.
• Resolved an issue by updating the text from ‘Ask me anything’ to ‘Search or type URL’ as part of the Copilot transition on iOS.

As usual, to update to the latest version of Edge Dev (or any channel, including Stable), head to edge://settings/help. If you want to try Edge Dev updates, go to the official Edge Insider website and download the installer.

In other news, Microsoft has just released Edge 128 on the Stable Channel. Check out what is new in our dedicated article.

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Today, Microsoft announced several new updates and improvements to the cloud-based message recall feature based on customer feedback.

Optional Recall Notifications for Recipients

Previously, when a message was recalled, Exchange Online would silently delete it from a recipient's mailbox. Recipients who had already read the message before it was recalled could get confused about the message's disappearance. To reduce this confusion, tenant admins now have a new feature to send recall notification emails to recipients when a message is recalled. Admins can enable this feature for either all recalled messages or only for read recalled messages.

Maximum Recallable Message Age

Previously, message recall could be done at any time without restrictions. For example, you could recall a 10-day-old email message. Some customers wanted the ability to restrict recalling older messages. The new Maximum Recallable Message Age setting will allow admins to do exactly that. The default value of the Maximum Recallable Message Age setting will be 365 days. However, admins can configure it between 5 minutes and 10 years.

Support for External Round-trip Routing

The Message Recall feature doesn't support recalling messages sent outside the Exchange Online service. However, some admins route their intra-tenant mail out of Exchange Online to a third-party service or on-premises systems for additional processing. In these scenarios, the Message Recall feature will not work. Microsoft is now fixing this by supporting the recall of intra-tenant messages that route externally and then back into Exchange Online for delivery.

All three improvements are now available for all Exchange Online tenants globally. You can learn more about them here on the official Microsoft Tech Community blog post.

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[ADDED 8/20] Gradual rollout

 

These might not be available to all users because they will roll out gradually. Text bolded in brackets indicate the area of the change being documented.

 

[Taskbar]

 

The End task option no longer shows a not responding dialog before it stops a task. This option is only available when you turn on End task in Settings > System > For Developers.

 

[File Explorer]

 

• New! When you right-click a tab, you have the choice to duplicate it.
• A memory leak occurs when you interact with archive folders.
• File Explorer stops responding when you browse within it.
• When you search from Home for the first time, you might not get any results.
• The address bar dropdown menu might appear when you do not expect it.
• When you use the Save dialog to save a file to Gallery, an error occurs. Because of this update, your file saves to the Pictures library instead.
• The search box does not show the correct folder name when you are in Gallery.
• A blank area shows at the top of File Explorer.
• The back and forward mouse buttons do not work when you hover over the Recommended Files section of Home.
• Images flash when you view them in the Gallery.

Original post: August 19, 2024 - Microsoft has released a new Windows 11 24H2 build for members of the Windows Insider Program in the Release Preview channel. The build number is 26100.1586, under KB504186. This looks to be a pretty minor release as it has only a few small bug fixes.

Here is the changelog:

Normal rollout

 

This update includes the following features and improvements that are rolling out as part of this update. Text bolded in brackets indicates the area of the change being documented.

 

• [FrameShutdownDelay] The browser ignores its value in the “HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main” registry key.
• [Domain Name System (DNS)] A deadlock occurs in the domain controller (DC) when it starts up in the DNS client.
• [OpenSSH] This update adds a prompt that asks you to confirm when you turn on OpenSSH using the Server Manager UI.

You can check out the full blog post here.

Microsoft has been very busy over the past month with Windows 11 24H2 updates. Earlier in August, we noticed the company released a new 24H2 Safe OS Dynamic Update. Microsoft said the update was for "improvements to the Windows recovery environment"

Yet another Windows 1124H2 update, under KB5041178, is available as well. This update "makes improvements to Windows setup binaries or any files that setup uses for feature updates in Windows 11, version 24H2" according to the company.

Microsoft also released a Windows 11 24H2 update, under KB5040529, a few weeks ago. This one had a number of new features, including Emoji 15.1 support, a new account manager for the Start menu, a way to "drag apps from the pinned section of the menu and pin them to the taskbar", a new way for Windows to back up a number of sound settings, new Lock screen content to view such as sports, traffic, and finance news, and quite a lot more.

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