Last month's feature update was a significant update for Windows 10. Not because of the features and changes it introduced, which Microsoft still has not revealed and likely won't, because there are not many, but because of its meaning for the support of the operating system.

Microsoft plans to support Windows 10 until October 14, 2025. The Home and Pro editions of last month's Windows 10 2022 Update release reach end of support on May 14, 2024 according to Microsoft. The Enterprise and Education editions of the Windows 10 2022 Update reach end of support on May 13, 2025. Only Enterprise Long-Term Servicing Channel and IoT Enterprise Long-Term Servicing Channel and Long-Term Servicing Branch editions are supported for longer. Version 21H2 will be supported until January 13, 2032 by Microsoft.

If you look at the dates, you may notice that there is not a lot of room left for future feature updates, provided that these follow the same support lifecycle. The Home editions could see an update in the second half of 2023, which would then be supported until October 2025. The Enterprise and Education editions, on the other hand, have no room left for a feature update that follows Microsoft's current support lifecycle. A 2023 update for Enterprise and Education would push support into 2026 under current terms.

Microsoft could adjust the support lifecycle again, or, decide to make Windows 10 2022 Update the last update for Windows 10, as Martin Geuß over at Dr. Windows suggested.  There is still the six months period to consider between support end for Windows 10 version 22H2 and the end of support for the operating system.

Microsoft has yet to reveal its plans, and it seems unlikely that Microsoft will reveal how it plans to proceed in the coming months. I expect an update closer to the potential 2023 feature update release, if it will ever happen.

When you look at last month's feature update for Windows 10, you may come to the conclusion that it does not really matter if Microsoft releases another one. The last was unspectacular and there is a great chance that any other feature update that Microsoft may release will be equally unspectacular. Most Windows 10 customers may not even mind if Microsoft won't release another feature update, considering that it is unclear what the last feature update included.

Now You: will there be another feature update for Windows 10?

Will there be another Windows 10 feature update?

According to OMG! Ubuntu!, the daily builds that are available right now, don’t really include anything new. During these early stages of development, efforts are focused on backend work such as “syncing imports” and “updating tooling”. Regardless, if you have a test machine lying around, you could install the daily image and apply the updates as they’re released to get all the new Ubuntu 23.04 features as they become available.

Ubuntu 23.04 is due out on April 20, 2023. As an interim release, it will only be supported for nine months until January 2024. During the development cycle, there will be two Testing Weeks from December 29 and March 2, the Feature Freeze will take place on February 23, a Beta will drop on March 30, the Kernel will be frozen on April 6, and the final release will be available on April 20.

For most people, it’s advised that they stay on LTS versions of Ubuntu. These are the most stable releases of Ubuntu and are supported for five years, meaning you don’t have to keep messing around with upgrades. Developers releasing software for Ubuntu sometimes focus on LTS releases too, so this is another benefit of staying on these releases rather than upgrading to interim releases like Ubuntu 23.04.

Source: OMG! Ubuntu!

Daily builds for Ubuntu 23.04 become available for download

Paint.Net 5.0 is a new major release that makes changes to the program's system requirements. The new version runs only on 64-bit versions of Windows 10 and 11. Older versions of Windows are no longer supported, and users who still run these devices may keep on running Paint.net 4.x instead.

Paint.Net 5.0 - the major changes

Paint.Net 5.0 is a major new release that "has many major performance improvements, new features including pressure sensitivity for pens and drawing tablets, and a brand new effect plugin system with GPU rendering support" according to the author of Paint.Net.

One of the main improvements is performance in the new version of Paint.Net.  The new version expands GPU acceleration work that started in Paint.Net 4.0. In Paint.Net 5.0, core user interface parts, including the history and layers windows, the ruler, the image list and the Curves and Levels adjustment user interfaces make use of GPU acceleration. Besides user interface accelerations, most "adjustments and effects" use the GPU now in the new release. An added benefit of the change is that the "quality of rendering and the accuracy of colors" is greatly improved.

Paint.Net 5.0 users find two graphics controls in the Settings. The first enables them to toggle hardware acceleration for the user interface and the canvas, the second to select the rendering device, if multiple graphics processing units are available.

Performance is just one area of improvements. The new release introduces support for pressure sensitivity; this requires a Windows Ink compatible input device. It enables Paint.Net users to draw "beautiful, natural-looking brush strokes". The feature supports path smoothing, which is enabled by default. It smoothes the brush stroke using a "centripetal Catmull-rom spline".

Paint.Net 5.0's image resize tool, located under Image > Resize or by pressing Ctrl-R, supports two new resampling modes, adaptive and lanczos. The existing resampling modes, bilinear and bicubic, have seen quality updates as well according to the developer. Users may select one of the available resampling methods; adaptive (best quality), is selected by default.

Super Sampling, a mode that is available in previous versions of Paint.Net, is no longer available, as it is inferior to the adaptive mode.

The new version of Paint.Net includes new effects. There is Straighten, which users find under Effects > Photo, which "makes it easy to rotate and automatically zoom an image" to make it fit within the canvas. The new Drop Shadow effect, found under Effects > Objects, and a Bokeh Blur effect, that "produces an extremely high quality result that eliminates almost all fringing artifacts".

Paint.Net 5.0 comes with a new effect plugin system, but does not throw support for the old system overboard. The new system offers advantages, including hardware accelerated GPU rendering, which plugins may take advantage of. Plugin developers may want to check the full release notes for other improvements and changes introduced by the new system.

There is more to the update than that. Users find new adjustments, exposure, highlights & shadows, and temperature & tint, in the new release, and an option to apply embedded color profiles.

First Paint.net 5 Alpha release is now available

The latest issue is related to Remote Desktop connections where the Redmond company says that the Remote Desktop app could stop responding on Windows 11 22H2.

After installing Windows 11, version 22H2 (also called Windows 11 2022 Update), the Windows Remote Desktop application might stop responding when connecting via a Remote Desktop gateway or Remote Desktop Connection Broker.

[...]

This issue can be observed when the client is at the "Loading virtual machine" or "Configuring remote connection" steps, and might occur regardless of the OS version installed on the remote computer. In some cases, the error message "Your Remote Desktop Services session has ended" can appear.

Microsoft says home users are unlikely to encounter this as the connection process is different. The company has provided a simple workaround for the issue which involves good ol' Task Manager:

Workaround:

If the Remote Desktop application becomes unresponsive, Windows Task Manager can be used to terminate it.

• Press and hold the Ctrl, Shift, and Esc keys on your keyboard.

• Select Processes from the left-hand side menu

• In the list that appears, find the process mstsc.exe

• Right-click on the process name and select End task

Aside from this, Microsoft has also provided steps to add a Group Policy to disable UDP which should prevent this issue from popping up. However, there is also a word of warning here related to WAN and how it can experience performance regression with this. Hence, it is recommended that this Group Policy change is reverted when the issue is resolved after a future Windows update.

Microsoft writes:

Warning: Remote Desktop sessions which connect over WAN (wide-area network) might experience poor performance following the application of the below workaround. Setting this policy also disables UDP (User Datagram Protocol) for all Remote Desktop connections made from the device. We strongly recommend that this Group Policy change is reverted once this issue is resolved in a future Windows update.

Here are the steps to disable UDP:

Devices that have encountered this issue can resolve it by configuring a special Group Policy.

• Open the appropriate Group Policy editor.

  • For managed devices (common for enterprises and organizations), open the Group Policy Management Console and create or edit a policy that targets your clients

  • For unmanaged devices (common for home users), open the Group Policy Editor. This can be accomplished by opening the Start Menu and typing group policy. Select Edit group policy from the results

• Using the right-side panel, browse to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Remote Desktop Services > Remote Desktop Connection Client

• From the left-side panel, double-click the policy setting Turn Off UDP On Client and set it to Enabled

• Select OK and restart your device(s) to apply the policy setting

The company says it is working on a resolution to fix the problem.

Microsoft: Remote Desktop on Windows 11 22H2 broken, but Task Manager is your friend

Manifest V3 won't replace support for Manifest V2 extensions in Firefox. Mozilla decided early on to do the splits by supporting both Manifest V2 and V3 in Firefox.

Google, a driver behind the introduction of Manifest V3 and its largest proponent, decided early on to drop support for Manifest V2 in the Chrome browser.  The company did, however, extend the deadline of the retiring of Manifest V2 support in Chrome into early 2024.

Manifest V3 is a controversial release, especially regarding content blockers and privacy tools. The initial version of Manifest V3 hamstrung certain types of extensions because of limits that Google introduced. Google revised the capabilities several times since the initial release, but limitations are still in place.

While these may not affect most Chrome users, some users, especially those who use custom filter lists and multiple tools, may still run into usage problems when Manifest V3 becomes the new standard.

Chrome won't support Manifest V2 extensions anymore at that time, unlike Firefox. Other Chromium-based browsers will follow Google eventually. Some have content blockers of their own, which will continue to work.

Mozilla highlights that its implementation of Manifest V3 differs from Chromium's implementation in two major ways:

• Firefox continues to support Manifest V2's web request blocking API next to Manifest V3's declarativeNetRequest API. Extension developers may use either in their extensions.
• Firefox will support Manifest V3's Event Pages, but will also continue to support Service Workers.

Firefox's Manifest V3 compatibility will improve over the next year, according to Mozilla.

Mozilla rolled out a new Unified Extensions button in Firefox Nightly already that relies on Manifest V3 and gives users greater control over the website access of extensions. You see how it looks in the screenshot at the top of the article.

Closing Words

Mozilla got it right at this time. Firefox continues to support Manifest V2 and will also support Manifest V3; this gives extension developers flexibility. Content blockers should continue to work in Firefox just like before, because of that.

Now You: how is your browser handling Manifest V3? (thanks for the tip / the courier pigeon)

January's Firefox release will support Manifest V3 extensions

Telegram for desktop does not autoplay GIFs and videos

I noticed the issue right after updating the app yesterday. I wasn't alone, several users have reported that they are facing the same problem. The autoplay feature does not work in Telegram's desktop app, even if the setting for it is enabled. The data and storage settings don't seem to affect the behavior either.

So every time you send or receive an animated GIF or a video, Telegram just displays a preview of it with a play button on top. You have to click on the media to start the playback, and if you click on a second GIF, the first one stops playing.

Note: Animated stickers and emojis are not affected by this bug.

This problem isn't limited to GIFs and videos, it also extends to the automatic downloading of photos. Now you will have to click on each photo to fetch the media. This can become a bit of a chore, especially if your friends or groups share a lot of media. This autoplay and auto download issue also affects the portable version of Telegram, which is the one I prefer to use. The feature stills work properly in the mobile apps.

If you have not yet updated to Telegram 4.3.2 on your computer, and don't want your app to be updated automatically, click on the hamburger menu button in the top left corner of the interface. Open the application's Settings, go to the Advanced section, and toggle the "Automatic Updates" option.

If you see the "Update Telegram" button at the bottom of your chat list, it means that Telegram has automatically downloaded the update. This will happen in new installs too, as the app is set to update to new versions automatically, i.e. it downloads the new version even before you sign in to your account and disable the setting. You can skip the update by deleting the update files that are located in the temp folder under the "Telegram\tupdate" directory.

Warning: You will have to check for app updates manually if you disable the automatic update setting. So you may miss out on bug fixes, security patches, and feature updates.

Users have already filed an issue regarding the broken autoplay handling on Telegram's GitHub page, and a bug report has been submitted on its support portal.

Workaround for Telegram not playing GIFs and videos

The only workaround for Telegram not playing GIFs and videos, is to downgrade to the previous version. You can find the Telegram 4.3.1 binaries for Windows, Linux and macOS at the GitHub page. You will have to uninstall the current version of the app, and reinstall the old one. Don't forget to disable the auto update setting that I mentioned above.

(Telegram 4.3.2 on the left, and 4.3.1 on the right)

If you don't want to disable auto updates, you may want to try third-party apps like Unigram alongside the official version. I should tell you that Unigram uses way more system resources than the Telegram app does. Or, you could download the portable archive of the previous version and use it temporarily while we wait for a proper fix.

Telegram for desktop does not autoplay GIFs and videos after latest update

According to the firm, this provides the best of both worlds, as it allows users to run Android apps in a Windows 11 like environment. It writes:

Overall, the Orange Pi (Droid) offers a Windows interface that is similar to the Win 11 style user experience and is easy to use, while at the same time it can run Android applications and optimizes some of the discomfort of using Android on a normal computer, providing users with the comfort of both Windows and Android.

Here are a few snapshots, courtesy of CNX Software, of the various the what's on offer in the new Orange Pi (Droid) OS. The images show the Control Center, the Settings menu, and the File Manager app.

The announcement blog post also has a detailed list of features that you will find in the Orange Pi (Droid) OS:

● Simple design. The Orange Pi (Droid) has a simple design, with a beautiful boot animation and an elegant, clean desktop.
● Classic Start. The classic Start menu, similar to Windows 11, serves as the entry point for installed applications and system settings.
● Multi-window and multi-tasking. It supports multi-window and multi-tasking operations, and it is easy to switch between applications, greatly improving the efficiency of use and making it more suitable for desktop management.
● File Manager. In the bottom left corner is the directory tree structure, continuing the style of Windows, users can quickly enter the folder to find the corresponding file.
● Settings. Contains Network and Internet, Bluetooth, Desktop and Wallpaper, Display, Sound, Applications, Storage and more. Overall it is simple and functional.
● Security and Privacy. Retains common functions but removes some options that involve user privacy, such as location, phone number, SMS, notifications, etc., respecting security and privacy protection.
● Control Centre. Allows you to quickly set up network, Bluetooth, hotspot, screen saver, do-not-disturb mode, wallpaper and more, making it easy for users to turn these features on and off in real time; and to quickly access the settings page via the settings icon in the top right corner.
● Taskbar. The lower taskbar can display up to 10 applications at the same time.
● Task Manager. The list view of the windows is an efficient way to manage your current tasks, which is both beautiful and useful, and allows you to intelligently allocate system resources and close background processes with one click, so you don't have to switch between applications frequently.
● Shortcut keys. Orange Pi OS supports Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+A and other classic shortcut keys.
●Google Play. The Orange Pi (Droid) comes with Google Play pre-installed, allowing users to download a wide range of Android applications, including games, video, photography, social networking, shopping and more.

If you are not a fan of Windows, you can also switch to a Mac-themed setup inside Orange Pi Droid, although the option for the latter is not available at the moment. You can download the Orange Pi Droid on the official website.

Source: Orange Pi (TwitLonger)

You may forget you're not on Windows 11 with the new Orange Pi (Droid) OS

Fortunately, like other experimental features from the Dev channel, you can turn off website recommendations on the Start menu in Windows 11 build 25247. All you need is the Vivetool app and one command generously provided by @PhantomOfEarth. The command also lets you change the number of recommended websites (two or one).

Caution: Unannounced features are often raw, unstable, or borderline unusable. Back up important data before enabling hidden options using the ViveTool app.

How to disable website recommendations in Windows 11 build 25247?

1. Download ViveTool from GitHub and unpack the files somewhere convenient.
2. Press Win + X and select Terminal (Admin).
3. Switch Windows Terminal to Command Prompt profile by pressing Ctrl + Shift + 2 or clicking the arrow-down button at the top of the window.

   

4. Navigate to the folder containing the extracted files using the CD command. For example, if you have copied ViveTool to C:\Vive, type CD C:\Vive.
5. Type vivetool /disable /id:40059556 and press Enter.
6. If the recommended website feature is unavailable, you can try force-enabling it using the vivetool /enable /id:40059556 command. The vivetool /disable /id:40059556 /variant:3 command will change the number of recommended websites from one to two.
7. Restart File Explorer or the entire system.

In case you missed it, Windows 11 build 25247 contains several other hidden features. There are more UI improvements for the Settings app and the ability to use Suggested Actions with browsers other than Edge.

Do you think website recommendations on the Start menu are yet another way to display ads in Windows 11, or do you consider it a potentially useful feature? Share your thoughts in the comments.

How to disable recommended websites on Start menu in Windows 11 build 25247

With the release of version 1.0.0 of WSL, Microsoft has ditched the "Preview" tag. Additionally, it has made this variant of WSL the default experience for people who run the wsl --install or wsl --update commands.

Microsoft has touted several advantages of installing the Store version of WSL. Among these are faster updates, better error printing, WSLg and WSL packed in a single package, and the ability to opt-in for systemd support, among many other things.

Some other improvements introduced by backporting the Microsoft Store version of WSL to Windows 10 and making it the default experience on both OSes also includes:

• wsl.exe --install will now automatically install the Store version of WSL, and will no longer enable the “Windows Subsystem for Linux” optional component, or install the WSL kernel or WSLg MSI packages as they are no longer needed (The Virtual machine platform optional component will still be enabled, and by default Ubuntu will still be installed).
• wsl.exe –install` also now includes:
  • --inbox Installs WSL using the optional Windows component instead of using the Microsoft Store
  • --enable-wsl1 Enables WSL 1 support during the install of the Microsoft Store version by also enabling the “Windows Subsystem for Linux” optional component
  • --no-distribution Do not install a distribution when installing WSL
  • --no-launch Do not automatically launch the distro after install
  • --web-download Download the most recent version of WSL from the internet instead of the Microsoft Store.
• wsl.exe --update will now check for and apply updates for the WSL MSIX package from the Microsoft Store, rather than updating the WSL kernel MSI
• When running WSL using the Windows optional component version, once a week we will show a message on start up indicating that you can upgrade to the Store version by running wsl --update.

There is a known issue in the Microsoft Store release though: WSL may fail to start if you are running in a "session 0" session.

For now, this new experience of WSL is available to seekers only, but it will be rolled out automatically to everyone by mid-December. The seeker process involves checking for Windows updates and then installing KB5020030 if you're on Windows 10, or KB5019157 if you're on Windows 11. You can then run the wsl --install (new users) or wsl --update (existing users) commands to get the Microsoft Store version of WSL. Or, you could manually install the latest release from GitHub.

It is important to understand that if you're running a WSL 1 distro, you still need to manually install the "Windows Subsystem for Linux" optional component. More importantly, the built-in Windows version of WSL will only receive critical bug fixes moving forward, new features will be exclusive to the Microsoft Store version.

You can download Windows Subsystem for Linux from the Microsoft Store here.

Windows Subsystem for Linux is now generally available in the Microsoft Store

Microsoft has cited customer and partner feedback as the reasons behind its decision. Apparently, users of the API are not ready to let go of it completely and switch to Microsoft Graph. This would require somewhat major changes to current applications and use-cases.

That said, Microsoft has cautioned customers to not get too comfortable with this delay or think that it's a long-term option. Although the deprecation has been delayed indefinitely, the Redmond tech giant has emphasized that it will still happen in 2023 and that customers will be given a six-month notice ahead of the deadline.

For those unaware, the Outlook REST API is being used by developers in applications that manage mailbox data, Calendar, Contacts, push notifications, and more. However, Microsoft has considered it a legacy surface since 2020 and has been encouraging customers to migrate to Microsoft Graph using the guide here.

Once the Outlook REST API is inevitably deprecated, developers will no longer have access to the endpoint and the creation of new applications based on the API will be disabled. It remains to be seen what the deprecation date ends up being next year and the kind of impact it would have on current use-cases and scenarios.

Microsoft has delayed Outlook REST API deprecation indefinitely due to customer feedback

Every bit of information I provide for people I do so with the lowest common denominator in mind. It's a common misconception that everyone who joins or browses a tech site is a techie. Some people are just looking for guidance. That is why for some, these tech tips may seem a bit too simplistic but they are educational for others.

The following tech tip is only available in the 22H2 update of Windows 11. It’s called “Live Captions”.

It’s an accessibility feature which allows you to have a box on your computer screen providing close captioning all audio on your computer. It will give you captions for every video you watch and every audio call you have. If it's a spoken word, it will caption it.

You’ll first want to see if you have Windows 11 and the latest version of it:

• Click start and type in “winver” and press enter.

If it says, “Windows 7, 8 or 10” ... sorry..

If it says “Windows 11” look at the version number, if it says “22H2” …GREAT! You’re all set. If it says “22H1” then you still need to update.

To check for the latest update:

• Clicking “Start”.
• Type “Windows update”
• Clicking “Check for update”
• Then click the big blue “Check for updates” button

If 22H2 is available for you you’ll see “Windows 11 22H2” listed below with an option to install it.

My dad has hearing aids and uses close captioning for most things he watches. It has always been hard to watch videos on the internet when close captioning isn’t available. With “Live Captions”, it’s available everywhere.

• To enable this feature click “Start”
• Type “Live Captions”. and press enter. You can also access it with a keyboard shortcut by holding down CTRL+WIN and pressing L just once (CTRL+WIN+L).

Now just follow the setup process.

Once it’s setup, you’ll see it located at the top of your computer screen. You can click the gear on the top-right, select “Position”, and find the spot which works best for you.

Now, click that same gear, select “Captioning style,” and on the next screen that appears, click “Edit”. Here you can configure the color of the box and even the font (not a lot of choices) which is used.

Happy Computing!

Wait, there's just one more thing!

Here is a video on how to setup Live Captions and a demonstration of how it works.

If you learned something today, great! If not, maybe share your own tech tip in the comments below!

How to use Live Captions in Windows 11 22H2

The free version of Clipchamp was not really usable back then, as it had too many restrictions. It watermarked all videos and limited exports to 480p. Microsoft lifted some of the restrictions and changed the available plans. Exports support 1080p now and watermarks are no longer added in free version exports.

Microsoft made Clipchamp a default app in the Windows 11 2022 Update.

Windows 11 users may come into contact with Clipchamp in various places. One of them is File Explorer, more precisely, in the right-click context menu of media file types.

The Edit with Clipchamp option is placed prominently in the context menu. Windows 11 users who don't use the media editor have two main options to remove the context menu listing in File Explorer:

1. Uninstall Clipchamp entirely on the system.
2. Edit the Windows Registry to remove only the Clipchamp context menu entry.

The first option is straightforward and better suited for most users, as it is simpler to execute.

Uninstall Clipchamp on Windows 11

1. Select Start > Settings.
2. Switch to Apps > Installed Apps.
3. Type clipchamp in the search field at the top to locate the app quickly.
4. Activate the three-dots menu next to Clipchamp's entry and select the uninstall command.
5. Confirm the uninstall command.

Clipchamp is removed from the system, including the application's context menu entry.

Remove Clipchamp's context menu entry

Windows 11 users who use Clipchamp, but do not need the context menu entry, may remove just the entry from the operating system. This method may also be useful if Clipchamp was removed through other means, which did not remove the context menu entry.

Note: The Registry is a core system of Windows and it is recommended to create a backup before proceeding. If you don't use a backup program yet, try the free Paragon Backup & Recovery.

1. Open the Start interface.
2. Type Registry Editor and select the result.
3. Confirm the security prompt that is displayed.
4. Paste the path Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions into the address field at the top.
5. If the subkey Blocked does not exist, right-click on Shell Extensions and select New > Key. Name it Blocked.
6. Right-click on Blocked and select New > String value.
7. Name it {8AB635F8-9A67-4698-AB99-784AD929F3B4}. The string is the Clipchamp GUID.
8. Exit the Registry Editor.
9. Restart the system.

Tip: you can reinstall Clipchamp at any time from the Microsoft Store.

Closing Words

Windows 11 users who don't use the Clipchamp media editor may remove it from the system without ill-effects. It is the easier option and there is an option to install Clipchamp again from the Microsoft Store if it is needed in the future.

Windows 11: How to remove Edit With Clipchamp from File Explorer's context menu

Broad deployment is the final rollout phase in the lifecycle of a Windows release. It means more users with compatible computers receive offers to update, not only those daring to press the "Check for updates" button. For reference, Windows 11 2022 Update (also 22H2) is currently available to all who check for updates manually. The initial Windows 11 release (21H2) became ready for broad deployment in May 2022.

You can update to Windows 10 22H2 from version 20H2, 21H1, and 21H2. The process will not take much time or bandwidth since all those releases are enablement packages only and work as regular cumulative updates.

Another thing worth mentioning is that Microsoft is about to stop supporting Windows 10 version 21H1, so users must prepare for a forced upgrade to a newer release. According to the official documentation, Windows 10 21H1 will reach its end of life on December 13, 2022. Version 20H2 went out of support on May 10, 2022.

Windows 10 22H2 is now ready for broad deployment

The official changelog for AMD Ryzen Chipset Driver version 4.11.15.342 contains one modest "bug fixes on few drivers," but the more detailed list of drivers reveals extra information on what is now fixed:

Note that the latest driver also has several known issues:

• Sometimes custom install fails to upgrade to latest drivers.
• Text alignment issues may be seen on Russian language.
• Manual system restart required on Non-English OS after the installation is complete.
• Uninstall summary log may incorrectly show uninstall status as fail on non-English OS.

You can download AMD Ryzen Chipset Driver 4.11.15.342 for 64-bit Windows 10 and Windows 11 from the official website. Full release notes are available in AMD's documentation.

AMD releases new chipset driver to fix blue screens of death on Windows 11 22H2 and more

For starters, Find and Replace in Files is now a whopping 3-4 times faster compared to version 17.3. Microsoft says that it has accomplished this through incremental improvements such as Async save and maximization of caching and indexing. The 95th percentile of Microsoft's test data has replace operations pegged at 25 seconds on Visual Studio 2022 17.3 compared to 8 seconds in version 17.4.

Moreover, indexing is now faster for C++ projects too. You will notice a 25-30% performance gain when populating the source code index in large C++ projects.

Similarly, the need for solution reloads on branch switching has been reduced by 80%. And compared to Visual Studio 2019 which took 16 seconds for branch switching on the 95th percentile, Visual Studio 2022 17.4 takes around 10 seconds.

Meanwhile, the performance gains for .NET configuration switch responsiveness are tabulated below:

Coming over to unit tests, Test Explorer should surface tests across projects much faster. In Microsoft's testing, performance was double compared to the previous release when testing on a solution with 150 projects and 300,000 tests. Similarly, test assemblies ran three times faster and test runner process connections were established faster too.

Finally, most Save operations have been moved to a background thread so that the IDE stays responsive and is not impacted by the saving process. Microsoft says that this improvement will be most noticeable on slow hard drives, large projects, and network shares. If you have any feedback for Microsoft, you can let the company know via a survey or through this portal.

These are all the performance improvements in Visual Studio 2022 17.4

DirectStorage 1.1 does not change the hardware requirements introduced with DirectStorage 1.0: a fast NVMe drive and a GPU that supports DirectX 12 and Shader Model 6.0 is required to make use of the feature.

Graphics processing units that support DirectStorage  do support the updated version as well. Manufacturers like AMD, Intel and Nvidia may release optimizations, called metacommands, to optimize the feature on devices that run their graphics cards.

Intel released a new driver for its ARC GPU series this week that introduced support for " optimized Microsoft DirectStorage* 1.1 with GPU accelerated decompression for developer integration".

AMD has yet to release a public driver with metacommands; the company revealed that it has "a build of a metacommand-enabled graphics driver" for partners available.  Nvidia released driver 526.98 and with it official support for DirectStorage 1.1.

What about games?

The operating system and video cards support DirectStorage, but this means little if there are not any games available that have implemented the API. In fact, gamers will be hard pressed finding games that support the feature right now.

One of the first developers to announce support for DirectStorage was the developer behind the Forspoken game, which will be released on January 24, 2023. Another game is The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, or better, the next-gen version of the game, which CD Project Red plans to release on December 14, 2022. It is unclear if the PC version will include support for the feature on release though.

DirectStorage will make an impact in the coming years, but there is no hurry for gamers to hop on the train right now.

Source

It is worth pointing out that the feature's current state looks half-baked. You can spot the new VPN indicator (on the screenshot to the right) only when you use a wired connection—no eye candy for those using Wi-Fi. Another major limitation is that the operating system cannot recognize third-party VPN applications, so the network indicator will remain unchanged if you access a VPN using its dedicated app.

You need to manually set up a VPN connection in the Settings app to see the new indicator in action. Some VPN services provide guides about connecting using Windows' built-in networking tools, so you should check your provider's website for more instructions.

The updated network icon in Windows 11 build 25247 is a work in progress, so expect Microsoft to polish it a bit more before unveiling it to Windows Insiders (add support for Wi-Fi, for example). If waiting is not an option, use the ViveTool app to force-enable it. Here is how to do that (credits for the finding go to @PhantomOfEarth).

Caution: Unannounced features are often raw, unstable, or borderline unusable. They can also break other things. Back up important data before enabling hidden options using the ViveTool app. Avoiding pre-release software is the best way to ensure your system remains as bug-free as possible.

How to enable the VPN indicator in the notification area in Windows 11 build 25247?

1. Download ViveTool from GitHub and unpack the files somewhere convenient.
2. Press Win + X and select Terminal (Admin).
3. Switch Windows Terminal to Command Prompt profile by pressing Ctrl + Shift + 2 or clicking the arrow-down button at the top of the window.

   

4. Navigate to the folder containing the unpacked files using the CD command. For example, if you have extracted ViveTool to C:\Vive, type CD C:\Vive.
5. Type vivetool /enable /id:38113452 and press Enter. Replace /enable with /disable if you want to revert the feature to its original state.
6. Restart your computer.
7. Connect to a virtual private network from the Settings app or using a dedicated button in the Action Center.

What do you think about the new VPN indicator? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Windows 11 now has a dedicated VPN indicator in the notification area

And outside of PrintNightmare too, there have been several printing-related issues that have bugged Windows 11, as well as Windows 10, and version 22H2 has been no exception. We reported on one such problem towards the end of September where adding printers after an update to the 2022 update (version 22H2) had become a hassle for IT admins and engineers.

A day later, Microsoft also documented another printer bug where the printer settings stuck on default. Consequently, the company forced a compatibility safeguard and blocked the 22H2 feature update. The company has since resolved the problem and has provided an updated timeline for the issue:

• October 7, 2022: This safeguard hold has been updated to only safeguard Windows devices with printers using Microsoft IPP Class Driver or Universal Print Class Driver which currently only allow default settings. Please note, if there are no other safeguards that affect your device, it can take up to 48 hours before the upgrade to Windows 11 is offered. Restarting your device and checking for updates might help it to offer sooner.
• October 21, 2022: A troubleshooter has been released which will automatically download and resolve this issue on affected devices running Windows 11, version 22H2. Once the issue with the installed printer is resolved, the safeguard should be removed and you should be able to upgrade to Windows 11, version 22H2. Please note, if there are no other safeguards that affect your device, it can take up to 48 hours before the upgrade to Windows 11 is offered. Restarting your device and checking for updates might help the troubleshooter apply sooner.
• November 10, 2022: Any printer still affected by this issue should now get resolved automatically during upgrade to Windows 11, version 22H2.

Aside from these, other printer-related problems have also come up since, which include printing fails with domain user authentications, though to the credit of Microsoft, it also did manage to fix a printer bug on Windows 10 recently.

Microsoft finally lets you upgrade to Windows 11 22H2 after fixing a major printer bug

Battery life on your Windows 11 PC will depend a lot on your use cases. But regardless of your usage pattern, lithium-ion cells cannot remain as new forever — it is continuously degrading from the moment you first used your laptop.

As your laptop gets older, you will notice degradation in your laptop’s battery performance, and that’s normal. However, how much it has degraded over the years is something that you need to know. In fact, you would want to keep checking your battery health report, particularly if you work on something mission-critical on your laptop — you would hate to see your laptop turning off at such a time.

And if you are not a tech-savvy person, there are high chances you would not know how to generate a battery health report on Windows 11. This article will help you with not just finding your battery health report but it will also teach you how to interpret the data in that report.

But before getting too excited about the steps, you should make sure that your laptop gives you an accurate reading of the battery’s state of charge. And for that, you need to calibrate your old battery. This one is easy — you need to charge the battery to 100 percent and keep it that way for two to three hours. Now, unplug the charger, and then use your laptop until its battery drains all the way to 0 percent. Then, keep it charging until the battery percentage reaches 100. Congratulations! Your laptop's battery is now calibrated. You are now ready to generate your battery health report by following the below steps.

Get a battery health report in Windows 11

1. Press the Windows key on your keyboard, and type Command Prompt.
2. Press and hold (or right-click) Command Prompt, and then select Run as administrator.

   

    

3. Type the following command in Command Prompt:
   powercfg /batteryreport
4. Press Enter

   

    

   
   Note: the aforementioned steps also work on Windows 10 laptops. So, if you are still running Windows 10, you do not have to worry about if it will work.

Your battery health report is now generated as an HTML file and stored in a folder on your PC. The Command Prompt window will show you the exact file location so that you can quickly find the report. The HTML file will open in your default web browser, giving you a detailed report on your battery usage and its estimated capacity.

It is crucial to know how to read the battery health report. Two of the most important data points are the following:

1. Design Capacity: this is how much power (e.g., 45,200 mWh) your laptop is designed to store.
2. Full Charge Capacity: this is how much battery capacity (e.g., 32,620 mWh) is left currently.

Full Charge Capacity will be less than the Design Capacity, but the most important part is when it should become a cause for concern. Well, Full Charge Capacity should be at least 50 percent of the Design Capacity. If it is anything less than that, consider replacing the battery with a new one or buying a new laptop in case your system is already pretty old.

If you are getting a battery replacement, it should be calibrated as soon as possible (and you already know how to do that). It is recommended that you keep calibrating your battery once every two or three months to make sure that it remains healthy throughout its lifespan.

The battery report also consists of other important data points, including Recent usage, how the battery drained over the last seven days, Usage history, and more. These data points are self-explanatory, and you can interpret those data on your own.

If you are already familiar with these steps, when was the last time you checked your battery health report? Let us know in the comments.

How to get a detailed battery report in Windows 11, and how to read it

Now, more and more Windows 11 users are seeing a bigger search field on the Windows 11 taskbar. Microsoft placed it next to the Start icon and before any pinned icons. Windows 11 users who configured the taskbar alignment to be left, have the widgets icon placed on the right side of the search field.

Activation of search opens the main search interface. It is divided in two main columns: the left displays suggestions, e.g., apps to start, tips or suggestions, and the right content from the Web.

While that may be useful to some Windows 11 users, most may dislike it.

In contrast, opening Start displays pinned programs and, if still enabled, recommendations. Start includes search functionality as well, and the results window is actually using the Search interface.

In other words: it does not matter if a user searches from Start or the Search field, the resulting page is identical.

Why then keep the Search field enabled? Suggestions are basic and not useful to the majority of users. Some users may appreciate web results, but opening any browser displays similar content. Windows 11 users who like it can open the MSN website to get similar content.

It is easy enough to remove search. One additional advantage of doing so is that there is more space for icons on the taskbar.

Here is how you remove the Search field from Windows 11's taskbar:

1. Right-click on a blank spot on the Windows 11 taskbar and select Taskbar Settings. Alternatively, if there is no blank space left, open Start > Settings > Personalization > Taskbar to get there.
2. The Taskbar Items group at the top of the page that opens lists Search as one of the elements that users may display or hide. Just toggle it to off, and search is no longer displayed.

A click on Start, or a tap on the Windows-key opens the search options of the Start Menu. Just tap Windows and start to write to run a search on the system.

Closing Words

Microsoft pushes search on Windows for a specific reason, and it is not for the benefit of the user. Third party tools like the excellent Everything search or a Start replacement app, like Start11, are good options to skip the default Windows 11 search options entirely.

Now You: do you use the built-in search on Windows, or an alternative?

The big search field on Windows 11's taskbar is unnecessary

• Fixed the issue responsible for failing to create presentations in PowerPoint
• Fixed the issue where text in Word was unexpectedly hidden by a shape

You can read the complete official changelog to learn more about the fixes Microsoft is rolling out.

Office Version 2212 (Build 15911.20000) Changelog

PowerPoint

Notable fix

• We fixed an issue where a new presentation was not created when using the PowerPoint.createPresentation API.

Word

Notable fix

• We fixed an issue where text was unexpectedly hidden by a shape even though the text wrapping option was selected.

Office Suite

Notable fix

• We fixed an issue where applying the blockcontentexecutionfrominternet policy would prevent files containing an embedded macro to no longer to run.

Microsoft is currently testing these changes with Office Insiders, so the general public cannot see them right now. The good news is that they will eventually be available for all Office users. Meanwhile, Beta Channel Insiders on Windows will get another new Office Build next Friday, and we are hoping that the upcoming Office update for Windows will be much more exciting with lots of new features and changes.

To update the Microsoft Office Insider Preview Build to the latest version, open any Office program and go to File> Account> Update Options> Update Now.

Microsoft releases Office Version 2212 (Build 15911.20000) with new features

Outside of just aesthetic changes related to how the Settings page appears, Microsoft is also working on some other stuff inside Settings, one that could interest Windows enthusiasts and users who like going digging inside Settings.

The Startup apps page in Settings, which lists the various apps that run when Windows boots up, is getting a change. While the feature is hidden for now, it looks like Microsoft is working on this option to allow users to view the installation directory or file location of such apps in case they were based on Win32. This could certainly come in handy if they don't want to do the same thing via the Task Manager. However, this new option is seemingly more useful due to the more detailed information in certain cases.

The change was spotted by Windows detective PhantomOcean3 - who loves digging such hidden features out - in the latest Dev build 25247.

We list the steps below to enable this feature but keep in mind they are hidden since these are work-in-progress and not fully tested.

Caution: Unannounced features are often raw, unstable, or borderline unusable. Back up important data before using the ViveTool app and enabling hidden options. Remember that using stable Windows 11 is the best way to ensure your system remains as bug-free as possible.

Here's how to do so:

1. Download ViveTool from GitHub and unpack the files somewhere convenient.
2. Press Win + X and select Terminal (Admin).
3. Switch Windows Terminal to Command Prompt profile by pressing Ctrl + Shift + 2 or clicking the arrow-down button at the top of the window.
4. Navigate to the folder containing the extracted files using the CD command. For example, if you have extracted ViveTool to C:\Vive, type CD C:\Vive.
5. Type vivetool /enable /id:41075629 and press Enter.
6. Restart your computer.

In case you want to disable the feature again, repeat the steps above and replace /enable with /disable in the commands on steps 5 and 6.

Besides this, Microsoft has also brought back a hidden feature that was first seen in a previous build 22581. It's related to the option for recycling your PC.

Aside from these changes in the Settings menu, Microsoft is also working on adding a Never combine taskbar buttons option in Windows 11 too.

Microsoft working on changes inside Windows 11 Settings for Startup apps, and more

The "Go back to earlier build" UI is not something you will use daily, if ever. It lets you uninstall the latest feature update or return to a previous Windows Insider build. Still, even though some users do not even know that that dialog box exists, the redesigned variant is another step in making Windows 11 more modern, consistent, and beautiful.

Here is how the new UI compares to the old:

Old

New

And here is the dark variant:

You can enable the new "Go back to earlier build" dialog box using the ViveTool app.

Caution: Unannounced features are often raw, unstable, or borderline unusable. Back up important data before enabling hidden options using the ViveTool app. Remember that stable Windows 11 builds are the best way to ensure your system remains as bug-free as possible.

How to enable the redesigned "Go back" dialog box in Windows 11 build 25247

1. Download ViveTool from GitHub and unpack the files.
2. Press Win + X and select Terminal (Admin).
3. Switch Windows Terminal to Command Prompt profile by pressing Ctrl + Shift + 2 or clicking the arrow-down button at the top of the window.

   

4. Navigate to the folder containing the extracted files using the CD command. For example, if you have copied ViveTool to C:\Vive, type CD C:\Vive.
5. Type vivetool /enable /id:36390579 and press Enter.
6. Type vivetool /enable /id:41670003 and press Enter.
7. Open the Settings app and go to Windows Update > Advanced Options > Recovery > Go back.

If you change your mind and want to restore the original Metro variant, repeat the steps above and replace /enable with /disable in the commands on steps 5 and 6.

Thank you, @PhantomofEarth, for sharing the findings!

Settings app gets a more modern design in Windows 11 build 25247

The Suggested Actions feature is available to some US insiders only as Microsoft begins to roll it out and monitor feedback. However, you can try to force-enable it alongside additional variants that modify how the feature works and behaves. As usual, you need the ViveTool app to tinker with Windows 11's guts.

Caution: Unannounced features are often raw, unstable, or borderline unusable. Back up important data before enabling hidden options using the ViveTool app. Remember that stable Windows 11 builds are the best way to ensure your system remains as bug-free as possible.

How to open Suggested Actions in Chrome in Windows 11 build 25247

1. Download ViveTool from GitHub and place the files in a convenient and easy-to-reach folder.
2. Press Win + X and select Terminal (Admin).
3. Switch Windows Terminal to Command Prompt profile by pressing Ctrl + Shift + 2 or clicking the arrow-down button at the top of the window.

   

4. Navigate to the folder containing the extracted ViveTool files using the CD command. For example, if you have copied ViveTool to C:\Vive, type CD C:\Vive.
5. Type vivetool /enable /id:41539325 /variant:1 and press Enter. If you want to use the new Suggested Actions feature as Microsoft wants, type vivetool /enable /id:41539325.
6. Restart your computer.

You can also try other Suggested Actions modifications. Variant:2 replaces "search the web" with "search copied text," while retaining the ability to search in Chrome. Variant:3 works as the released configuration, and variant:4 shows the "search copied text" button with no option to select which browser to open.

Microsoft says that new features in the Dev channel are not final, which means you can expect changes and improvements in future releases as the company figures out what to ship to the general public. Finally, you can just toggle off the Suggested Actions feature using the vivetool /disable /id:41539325 command.

Windows 11 25247 lets you use Suggested Actions with Chrome, here is how to enable it

What is new in build 25247

New Features:

Access Windows Studio Effects from Quick Settings

Windows Studio effects can now be accessed directly from Quick Settings on the taskbar, for devices that have a supported Neural Processing Unit (NPU). This makes it quick and easy to enable and configure camera effects (Background Blur, Eye Contact, and automatic framing) and audio effects (Voice Focus). You can still access these effects in the Settings pages if desired.

Energy Recommendations

We are beginning to roll out Energy Recommendations under Settings > System > Power & Battery > Energy Recommendations. Review and apply these recommendations to improve the energy efficiency of your PC and reduce your carbon footprint.

Task Manager Improvements

We have a set of Task Manager improvements rolling out with this build.

Filter processes: We are bringing process filtering to Task Manager. This is the top feature request from our users to filter/search for processes. You can filter either using the binary name, PID or publisher name. The filter algorithm matches the context keyword with all possible matches and displays them on the current page. The filter is also applied as you switch between pages. You can also use the keyboard shortcut ALT + F to focus on the filter box. This is a helpful feature if you want to single out a process or a group of processes and want to take action or just monitor the performance of the filtered processes.

Better theme support: We have added the ability to use your preferred theme in Task Manager regardless of the active theme in Windows. You can set it in the setting page in Task Manager.

Task Manager now also supports themes for in-app dialogs. All dialog except for “Run new task” and Properties dialog now support themes and will adhere to either app specific theme or Windows theme.

Improved Efficiency mode dialog: We are making it easy for you to apply Efficiency mode and offering the ability to opt-out of the confirmation dialog. You can make changes on the Efficiency mode dialog box by unchecking “Don’t ask me again” or you can enable/disable it the settings for Task Manager.

New Suggested Action

On copying text with search potential, Windows will pop up an inline light dismissible UI that suggests searching this text in Microsoft Edge. Upon user selection of the search action, a new Edge tab is launched to search the copied text. This will initially be available for Insiders in the U.S. only.

Updates to your cloud storage in settings for Windows 11

With today’s build, the Settings app supports new visuals on your Accounts page to provide a visual overview of your cloud storage usage across Microsoft products. The new visuals include a consolidated cloud storage bar that shows your storage usage for each product and notifies you if you’re running low on storage. We removed the quota bar from our subscriptions card to eliminate duplication on these visuals.

In the months to come, you will also see updates to what Microsoft 365 apps and services data is included in your cloud storage. These updates may impact your storage amount starting February 1st, 2023. Learn more about cloud storage here.

Changes and Improvements:

General

• Earlier this week, we released an optional .NET update (2022-11 Cumulative Update Preview for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8.1 for Windows Version Next for x64 (KB5020992)) to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel designed to test delivery of .NET improvements in the future. This .NET update does not include anything new and will be available under Settings > Windows Update > Advanced Options > Optional Updates If you run into any issues finding or installing this update, please submit feedback via Feedback Hub.

Start menu

• We’ve been working on adding more valuable content to the Recommended section in Start and are excited to introduce a new content type: websites. For the first phase, we will recommend common websites based on your region or browsing history to help you easily get back to the websites you care about. This can be controlled by right-clicking on a website and choosing to remove that website individually or to stop showing all recommended websites entirely. Only some Insiders will see this experience and, if you do, please share your feedback.

Taskbar and System Tray

• In response to user feedback, we are introducing the capability to show seconds in the clock on the system tray. This feature can be enabled by toggling the option listed under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar in the Taskbar behavior section. You can also right-click on taskbar to quickly get to taskbar settings. We are beginning to roll this change out so not all Windows Insiders will see this change right away, but we hope to make it available to everyone soon.

Search on the Taskbar

• We made performance improvements that will allow more files and content on your PC to show up as results in the Windows search box. We look forward to hearing your feedback on whether you notice an improvement with your file results within Windows.

Input

• Switched the touch keyboard icon option under Settings > Personalization > Taskbarfrom being a toggle to now being a dropdown where you can select Never, Always, or When no keyboard attached.
• We are including two new keyboard layouts in this flight. These keyboards implement the two new French keyboard layout standards (AZERTY and BÉPO). The new layouts are designed to allow the user to type all the required characters of the French language. They also include support for all the Latin-based languages of the European Union as well as Greek letters and a large variety of scientific, mathematical, and financial symbols. To enable one of these layouts, go to Settings > Time & language > Language & region and select Language options under the ellipsis for the language you would like to use this keyboard with. On the Options page, select “Add a keyboard” and look for the new keyboard layouts “French (Standard, AZERTY)” or “French (Standard, BÉPO)”. The previous AZERTY layout now displays as (Legacy, AZERTY).
• We have made improvements to Emoji search for Japanese and Simplified Chinese by handling Kana/Kanji and Pinyin properly in the emoji panel.

And now to the fixes:

General

• Fixed a bug causing some users to receive a SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION bugcheck citing an error with win32kfull.sys when installing via the Build 25227 Dev Channel ISO. Today’s release of the Build 25247 ISO should not exhibit this bug.
• We fixed the issue causing pseudolocalized text to unexpectedly appear across the system for Insiders, leading to (amongst other things) what appeared to be garbled text in the navigation headings of Start’s all apps list for Chinese users.

Taskbar & System Tray

• When using the bottom right edge gesture to see Quick Settings, the tablet-optimized taskbar will no longer be stuck in the expanded state, instead of dismissing to collapsed state.
• Fixed multiple explorer.exe crashes impacting taskbar performance.
• Fixed the issue where certain chat apps (that supported it) weren’t flashing with new messages or opening a preview on hover in the system tray.
• The new show hidden icons flyout’s animation should now be consistent with other taskbar flyouts and the arrow will now rotate when open versus closed.
• Fixed an issue causing the do not disturb icon to disappear while in do not disturb mode.
• Fixed an issue where invoking the context menu for items in the system tray might not put the context menu in the foreground and it would get stuck behind the taskbar.
• The pin/unpin visual will now display when dragging system tray icons to any position along the system tray, and not only when hovering over the show hidden icons button.
• The show hidden icons flyout background color should now align with your accent color if “Show accent color on Start and taskbar” is enabled in Settings > Personalization > Colors.
• Fixed an issue where the taskbar was sometimes flashing when transitioning between desktop posture and tablet posture.
• Fixed an issue which was causing certain third-party app icons in the system tray to be unresponsive after the latest system tray changes.
• The Windows Update icon in the system tray should no longer look pixelated after changing between light and dark mode.
• Fixed an issue that was causing the NVIDIA icon in the system tray to show empty notifications.
• Fixed an issue where the weak charger warning (a warning icon on the battery icon) in some cases was not displaying when it should have been.

Input

• Fixed a bug that caused the text cursor to become white on white when hovering over text fields, making it difficult to see.
• Fixed an issue which could result in the touch keyboard / PIN entry keyboard being unable to input text on the login screen.
• Fixed a recent issue where the Japanese IME candidate window might fail to display proper candidates when using reconversion in certain edit controls.
• We’re rolling out changes to improve the reliability of the touch keyboard, IME candidate window, and IME toolbar. It includes fixes for an issue where the IME candidate window and IME toolbar weren’t shown or cropped sometimes and an issue where a blank window titled “Windows Input Experience” appeared sometimes after resuming from the sleep.
• We addressed a rare issue which could lead to certain apps crashing after interacting with incorrectly spelled words that were flagged by the spellchecker.

File Explorer

• Fixed a GDI handle leak when opening Show More Options in the context menu, which could lead to graphical issues and an explorer.exe crash over time if you used this a lot.
• Fixed an issue for Insiders using the Arabic or Hebrew display language which was leading to text not displaying in the context menu when selecting Show More Options.
• Fixes a bug that was preventing certain phones from showing up in File Explorer when connected via USB in the last 2 Dev Channel flights.
• When connecting an iPhone via USB, iPhone photos will now be transferred in HEIF format instead of JPEG if the HEVC extension is installed.
• Fixed an issue which was causing .dotx Word templates to open as new documents instead of a template when you right clicked them and selected Open in File Explorer.

Settings

• Fixed an issue which was causing Settings to crash sometimes when connecting and disconnecting Bluetooth devices.

Windowing

• Fixed an issue where if you maximized a window and then dragged it along the top of the screen into the corner could result in the app getting stuck not being able to resize.
• Apps like Microsoft Edge should no longer unexpectedly show thick lines on the side of the windows.
• Fixed a DWM crash which was introduced in the latest Dev Channel flights.
• If you have two monitors on top of each other, the Desktops list in Task View should no longer appear to be floating in the middle of Task View.

Other

• Switching projection modes using WIN + P / the Project section of Quick Settings should work again now.
• Fixed a high hitting displayswitch.exe crash in recent Dev Channel builds.
• If memory integrity in the Windows Security app cannot be enabled due to incompatible drivers, the information about which drivers are incompatible is now selectable so you can copy it if needed.
• Fixed an issue where the dismiss button for alerts in the Windows Security app might not work.
• Fixed a rare issue which could lead to a DWM.exe crash when taking screenshots using the Xbox Game Bar.
• Fixed an issue where if you booted from an ISO to install Windows, the Windows Setup dialog would just show the text “Status” rather than actually displaying helpful text about the current status.
• Addressed a few issues when booting from an ISO to install Windows, where various items in the Windows Setup dialog weren’t being read out correctly by Narrator.
• Fixed issue where users sometimes could not use FIDO keys to log onto your PC when a full-screen logon message was displayed.
• Fixed a background crash for Windows Hello which was impacting setup and usage.
• Improved the experience on logon after booting up by reducing the performance impact of startup apps.
• Made a change to address a date formatting interoperability issue which was leading to domain login issues on some network shares.
• Did some work to fix an issue causing VmmemWSL to sometimes use an unexpectedly large amount of CPU and lead to freezing on ARM64 PCs over time.
• We fixed a bug which could cause your wallpaper to render only a partial section at the top sometimes.
• Fixed an issue what could lead MSTSC to stop responding when connecting to a RemoteApp or remote desktop.
• Fixed an issue which was causing the runas command to unexpectedly fail in certain cases with error 87 saying the parameter was incorrect (when it wasn’t).
• Fixed the Windows version name written in Microsoft Management Console’s help section.

Each Dev build has its list of known issues, and 25247 is no exception. Here is what is broken in the latest Windows 11 preview from the Dev Channel:

[General]

• We’re looking into reports that audio stopped working for some Insiders after upgrading to the latest flights.
• We’re investigating reports of crashes with a few different apps and games in recent builds.
• We’re working on the fix for an issue causing various UI elements in apps appear to disappear and reappear sometimes in recent builds.

Taskbar & System Tray

• [NEW] The taskbar is sometimes cropped in half when using the tablet-optimized taskbar.

Start Menu

• We’re working on the fix for an issue causing folders in Start menu to not open on the first try.

Search on the Taskbar

• [NEW] For certain files ending with .cmd, .exe or .bat you will need to press backspace after typing before you will see results.
• [Settings]
• [NEW] We are aware that the messaging for OneDrive storage is not the same between the System settings page and the Accounts settings page and will be resolved in a future update.

Task Manager

• [NEW] Filtering by publisher name does not match correctly on the Processes page.
• [NEW] Some services may not show in the Services page after filtering is applied.
• [NEW] If a new process is starting while a filter is set, then that process may appear for a split second in the filtered list.
• [NEW] Some dialogs may not render in the correct theme when applied from Task Manager Settings page.
• [NEW] The data content area of the Processes page may flash once when theme changes are applied in the Task Manager Settings page.
• [NEW] There’s an issue we’re investigating where Task Manager isn’t displaying light and dark content correctly, leading to unreadable text. This happens when you have your mode in Settings > Personalization > Colors set to Custom – as a workaround for the time being, please switch it to Light or Dark.
• [NEW] The Startup apps page in Task manager does not list any apps for some Insiders. If you are impacted, please use Settings > Apps > Startup for the time being.

Widgets

• In right-to-left display languages like Arabic, content animates out of view before the widgets board resizes when clicking to expanded view of the widgets board.

You can install Windows 11 build 25247 by heading to Settings > Windows Update. Alternatively, get the official ISO files for clean installations. As usual, Microsoft urges every Windows Insider to share their thoughts using Feedback Hub. To do so, press Win + F and select the matching category.

Windows 11 build 25247 adds websites recommendations to Start menu, tray clock seconds, more