On the topic of MDM (mobile device management), Microsoft is bringing support for another feature to Intune so that IT admins and system admins can deploy it without much hassle. The company has announced that the Windows Backup for Organizations via Intune will be hitting general availability status next month, as it will start rolling out right around the time when Windows 10 support comes to a halt. The feature is currently in preview.

Microsoft has informed about this update in a new message on the Microsoft 365 (M365) roadmap website. It writes:

Microsoft Intune: Windows Backup for organizations in Intune

 

Windows Backup for Organizations will be generally available in Intune with controls for backing up and restoring backups in OOBE. Backup and restore experience of user settings, especially for enterprises transitioning to Windows 11.

For those who need a refresher, Microsoft rolled out the Windows Backup for Orgnaizations via the August 2025 C-release update, and that means those who installed the September 2025 Patch will have the same.

The utility offers the data restore option for the backed-up user data during the OOBE (the initial setup) when Windows is finalizing an installation and the OS settings.

To ensure the Backup App is available, Microsoft lists the following requirements that must be met:

• Devices are Microsoft Entra joined or Microsoft Entra hybrid joined.
• Devices are running a supported version of Windows 10, version 22H2 or Windows 11, version 22H2 or later.
• Devices have the August 2025 Windows security update or newer. This update includes the Windows Backup app for backing up Windows settings and the list of Microsoft Store apps.
• The backup policy is enabled via mobile device management (MDM) or Group Policy.

And to restore settings and Microsoft Store apps, users will need to ensure:

• Devices are Microsoft Entra joined.
• Devices are running Windows 11, version 22H2 or later.
• Devices are preprovisioned with at least the August 2025 Windows security update prior to users going through out-of-box experience (OOBE). Otherwise, they should have the following base OS versions when going through OOBE: Windows 11, version 22H2 build 22621.3958 or newer; Windows 11, version 23H2 build 22631.3958 or newer; or Windows 11, version 24H2 build 26100.1301 or newer.

You can find the entry here under ID 501437 on Microsoft's official M365 roadmap website.

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Posted Tuesday 16 September 2025 at 2:53 am AEST (my time).

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However, users can still run into problems and this past week the company published a detailed support article so as to help guide users on the various ways to fix Error 1603 issues. Neowin noticed this today while browsing. According to Microsoft, Error 1603 implies "a fatal error occurred during installation."

First up, the company has listed several problems that can lead to the 1603 error when trying to install an AMD driver package on Windows including a chipset driver or a display (graphics) driver. These include graphics driver and software conflicts, false positives blocked by antivirus software, the absence of critical and/or important Windows updates, and corrupted Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable files, as well as corrupted registry keys and/or system files.

To resolve the 1603 error, AMD has recommended the following in the case of driver installation issues:

• Apply all available critical and important updates before installing the AMD Software Package.

• Download and use the full AMD Radeon Software package from the AMD Driver and Support page.

• Check your anti-malware programs are up to date then rerun the AMD Software Installer or disable your anti-malware programs until the installation of the AMD Software Package is complete.

• Make sure that the required Windows services like Plug and Play service are available and running before launching the AMD Software Installer. Also, to rule out any potential software conflicts, disable any non-Microsoft services and start-up items by performing a selective start-up using the System Configuration Tool.

   

Additionally, it has also provided ways to fix corrupt Windows Installer or Microsoft Standalone Installer (MSI) files. AMD has recommended to:

• Replace corrupted Microsoft® Visual C++ Redistributable files by downloading and placing them on top of the potentially corrupted files.
• Repair system registry and files by running the Windows Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) and System File Checker (SFC) tools as Administrator.
  • To run the DISM command use the Windows key + X keyboard shortcut to open the Power User menu, then select Command Prompt (Admin). Type "DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth" (without quotes) and press Enter.
  • To run the SFC command use the Windows key + X keyboard shortcut to open the Power User menu and select Command Prompt (Admin). Type "SFC /SCANNOW" (without quotes) and press Enter.
• To resolve software conflicts, try running the AMD Cleanup Utility, or use the Microsoft Program Install and Uninstall troubleshooter to individually remove components from the currently installed AMD Software Package.

AMD however understands that not every 1603 error may be fixed with these steps and thus as a final note it has asked affected users to raise a service request alongside the log file for further assistance. You can find the support article here on AMD's official website.

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Posted Tuesday 16 September 2025 at 2:51 am AEST (my time).

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A notable aspect of this release candidate is that almost a third of the patches are dedicated to filesystem fixes. This is not due to any major, systemic issue but rather a collection of independent fixes for various filesystems, including ceph, smb client, nfs, erofs, and btrfs. These fixes have arrived all at once as a result of “pure coincidence” rather than being a sign of widespread problems.

Another third of the patches are driver fixes, with half of those being for GPUs and the rest for other random drivers. The final third of fixes are “misc other stuff”, including core networking, a CPU speculation mitigation, documentation updates, and selftest updates. The fixes in this release are described as not being very large.

Despite the calm development cycle, Torvalds has ended his message with a plea to the community to keep testing. The objective is to ensure that developers don’t get complacent and to help prevent last-minute surprises or problems from appearing before the final release.

Once the kernel gets released it will be up to Linux distributions to release it as an update for users. Some slower release distributions like Ubuntu will likely wait for the next major Ubuntu release to include it while Fedora will likely do a test week before pushing it out as an ordinary update to all users.

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Posted Tuesday 16 September 2025 at 2:50 am AEST (my time).

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Alongside the OOBE updates, Microsoft also published a separate support article regarding an MDM-related issue on older devices. When the company says "older devices", it is trying to imply PCs that are running older versions of Windows 11. Neowin noticed this new document while browsing and it happens to be the second such piece Microsoft posted on that day.

The company has explained in the guidance article how the application version for the enrollment request is affected after the aforementioned OOBE updates. As a consequence of enrollment of older devices via a mobile device management (MDM) provider Microsoft notes that the application version in the enrollment request is increased by 1.

"If the device is running Windows version 26100.4770, the build version sent during enrollment will be 26100.4770, but after the out-of-box experience (OOBE) update is installed, the application version will become 26100.4771," Microsoft says.

Additionally Microsoft has also provided more details on why that is and how a known issue related to KB5065848 and KB5065813 OOBE updates led to the creation of this workaround.

The company says that on failure to install the OOBE updates, the necessary CSP (configuration service provider) policies - that are included in the OOBE - are also not installed, and this creates a mismatch with potentially breaking consequences including policy applications and enrollment failures, leading to users getting stuck at OOBE or the initial setup screen.

It explains:

Currently, MDM controllers, such as third-party MDM providers, do not have a way to determine if a device is capable (has the restore policy code present) of showing the restore experience during OOBE. Devices that can have restore enabled through OOBE packages are not supported to show the restore experience.

 

To enable the restore experience for older devices during device enrollment, the enrollment request now increments the application version by 1. This indicates that the older device is restore-capable, and the MDM providers should use this as a detection mechanism to send the restore CSP.

You can find more details in the support article here under KB5065083 on Microsoft's official website.

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Posted Monday 15 September 2025 at 4:35 pm AEST (my time).

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@phantomofearth discovered that the latest Windows 11 preview builds from the Dev and Beta Channels have a new hidden Keyboard section. The operating system will let you change character repeat options, namely repeat delay and repeat rate. In case you are not familiar, the first option determines how long you should hold a key for repeated input, and the second option changes the speed of repeated input. After adjusting those settings, you will be able to preview the set options in a dedicated box.

Interestingly, in its current form, the new section does not allow you to adjust the cursor blink rate. However, users with compatible PC will be able to adjust backlight settings in the new section.

Here is what the new Keyboard settings look like:

Additionally, Microsoft is tweaking the haptic touchpad section with a few adjusted toggles. For example, the sensitivity setting is now a drop-down list, and haptic click/signals are now two separate sliders and toggles.

Microsoft has not announced any of these changes yet, so making them work at this point requires some tinkering with the operating system. Most likely, the company will announce the new Keyboard section in future Windows 11 preview builds. Other interesting discoveries in the latest Windows 11 builds include a new taskbar button for taking internet speed tests.

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Posted Monday 15 September 2025 at 4:31 am AEST (my time).

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@phantomofearth discovered the feature and shared the finding on their X account. With future updates, the network flyout in Windows 11 will get a new speed test button right next to the Wi-Fi refresh button (another useful button that took a while for Microsoft to implement), giving users quick access to an online internet speed test. Additionally, a similar shortcut will be available in the context menu when you right-click the network indicator, right next to the network troubleshooter and network settings.

Unfortunately, the speed test is not a native app or something built into the Settings app. The new button is basically a shortcut to Bing and its speed-measuring tool. Still, it is a useful change placed in the right spot. Also, given the nature of the discovery, Microsoft could change how the button works before shipping it to the general public.

Here is what the new internet speed test button for Windows 11 looks like:

You do not have to wait for Microsoft to bring a dedicated button for measuring internet speed in Windows 11. If you use PowerToys and its Run launcher, you can use a dedicated module that lets you measure internet speed without opening your browser or using Bing.

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Posted Monday 15 September 2025 at 4:26 am AEST (my time).

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Typically alongside the Patch Tuesday updates, Microsoft also releases dynamic updates. However this time Microsoft has skipped updates for Windows 11 and has only released it for Windows 10, probably one of the last. They need to be installed alongside the Windows 10 (KB5065429 / KB5065428 / KB5065427 / KB5065430) September 2025 Patch Tuesday.

For those who may not know, dynamic updates bring improvements to the Windows Recovery in the form of Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) updates, also called Safe OS updates, as well as to the Setup binaries in the form of Setup updates.

These Dynamic Update packages are meant to be applied to existing Windows images prior to their deployment. These packages include fixes to Setup.exe binaries, SafeOS updates for Windows Recovery Environment, and more. Dynamic Updates also help preserve Language Pack (LP) and Features on Demand (FODs) content during the upgrade process. VBScript, for example, is currently an FOD on Windows 11 24H2.

This time no Setup update was released as there were only Recovery updates.

KB5065918: Safe OS Dynamic Update for Windows 10, version 1809 and Windows Server 2019: September 9, 2025

 

Summary

 

This update makes improvements to the Windows recovery environment (WinRE) in Windows 10, version 1809 and Windows Server 2019.

 

....

 

KB5065307: Safe OS Dynamic Update for Windows 10, version 1607 and Windows Server 2016: September 9, 2025

 

Summary

 

This update makes improvements to the Windows recovery environment (WinRE) in Windows 10, version 1607 and Windows Server 2016.

 

...

 

KB5065845: Safe OS Dynamic Update for Windows 10: September 9, 2025

 

Summary

 

This update makes improvements to the Windows recovery environment (WinRE) in Windows 10, version 1507.

Microsoft notes that the Recovery updates as well as the Setup updates will be downloaded and installed automatically via the Windows Update channel. You can also avail them manually on Microsoft's Update Catalog website: KB5065918, KB5065307, KB5065845.

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Posted Sunday 14 September 2025 at 1:40 pm AEST (my time).

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With version 1.11, Flyoobe now has the so-called "OOBE Assist tile," a new setup screen that appears after Microsoft's own out-of-box experience. However, instead of the one we have in the vanilla Windows 11, Flyoobe's lets you set an actual default browser, take a look at AI-powered features, remove preinstalled apps, and more.

Other than that, Flyoobe 11 has a few maintenance changes like improved script execution, new default extensions, and more. Here is the rest of the changelog:

• The ToolSpot.exe has been removed as an external helper. Instead, the Extensions button in the top-right corner now replaces the old "Spot" button, since extensions can pretty much cover everything Spot used to do
• The ExtensionsInputDialog (Install from Url) now includes a Browse Extensions link, making it easier to grab scripts that aren't shipped with the program
• Improved execution of scripts/extensions in embedded and console mode
• Updated several OOBE pages in the UI, along with context menu entries (including those for extensions/scripts)
• New Default Extensions:
  • Microsoft Defender maintenance: update signatures, repair, show status. Quite handy to ensure you have the latest definitions right after a fresh Windows 11 install
  • Post-install essentials: quick launcher for Windows tools
• Refactored update checker: previously it parsed JSON from the GitHub API on every app start (heavy + rate-limited). Now it simply resolves the /releases/latest redirect URL (lightweight, no abuse detection, no risk of false DDoS flagging)

Flyoobe gets frequent updates that make the app more capable at cleaning Windows 11's stock images. The previous updates arrived earlier this week with improved AI blocks and new extensions. However, you should always consider the potential risks of using altered Windows images with third-party software. You can also try alternatives to Flyoobe, like Rufus (the latest beta introduced Windows 11 25H2 support) or tiny11builder, which also now supports Windows 11 25H2 and only uses Microsoft-made tools to debloat the operating system.

You can download Flyoobe 1.11 from its GitHub repository using this link.

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Posted Sunday 14 September 2025 at 5:07 am AEST (my time).

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The new API has many use cases, for example it can be used in multilingual contact centers, online meetings and events, multilingual classrooms, and social commerce live streaming. With this new API, software can eliminate language-switching menus allowing seamless switching mid-conversation.

One of the interesting features of the API is personal voice which allows you to preserve the style and tone of a voice so that it sounds like the original speaker. It even maintains intonation and pacing with enterprise-grade consent controls.

The Live Interpreter API is built on Azure Speech Translation to deliver continuous language identification, full language coverage, and low-latency speech-to-speech translation. Microsoft has partnered with Anker Innovations as a real-world example of what’s possible with the new API, here's what Anker Innovations said:

“We’re excited to partner with Microsoft and to demonstrate what’s possible when AI meets every day tech. Built on the Azure Speech Translation Live Interpreter capability, we’re able to deliver smarter, more intuitive, and truly immersive audiovisual experiences for users around the world.”

Microsoft has provided a QuickStart Guide for developers to begin using the new API. For end users, this API is not something you’ll interact with directly, but through apps or websites that choose to integrate it.

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Posted Sunday 14 September 2025 at 5:05 am AEST (my time).

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In case you are not familiar, Microsoft follows a yearly feature update release cadence now, and that means Windows 11 24H2 is nearly one year old. However, many users had not been able to upgrade as Microsoft had placed safeguard holds to block Windows 11 24H2 on devices that were having compatibility issues.

One such case was related to a Dirac Audio bug as the tech giant had placed a block on affected systems all the way back in December last year. In the meantime, in March 2025 the company provided an update on the issue though the safeguard hold still remained.

If you are wondering what the issue was, Microsoft noted that Dirac-based Bluetooth audio devices like speakers and headphones did not work properly. Dirac Audio is an audio technology firm similar to Dolby and DTS that provides sound optimization features like calibration, room correction, among other things.

The Redmond giant notes that a new driver, which fixes the issues, has been released via the Windows Update channel and as such, the compatibility hold as been removed. This is the second major upgrade block to be resolved this month. Microsoft writes:

A new version of the driver has been made available via Windows Update, which addresses this issue. We recommend you install the latest security update for your device as it contains important improvements and issue resolutions, including this one.

 

The safeguard hold has been removed as of September 11, 2025. Eligible devices with no other safeguard hold should now be able to install Windows 11, version 24H2 via the Windows Update release channel.

As you can see, Microsoft notes the latest security update contains the fix which suggests you should download the KB5065431 Windows 11 23H2 update (release notes do not mention the fix though). You can find the issue here on Microsoft's official Windows Health dashboard website.

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Posted Saturday 13 September 2025 at 6:35 pm AEST (my time).

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Today, Microsoft announced two new Windows 11 preview builds, both of which contain some enhancements for the taskbar and Start menu. Microsoft is working on improving the taskbar's reliability when it is in auto-hide mode, giving users smoother and more enjoyable animations. Additionally, Microsoft fixed a bug with Windows 11 not recognizing actions in apps or on the desktop right above the taskbar.

Here is how Microsoft describes these changes:

• Did some work to help improve reliability of taskbar hiding and unhiding when the setting “automatically hide the taskbar” is enabled. As part of this work, the animation may be smoother for you now. As a reminder – if an app has an alert (the orange highlight on the app icon) then the taskbar will show.
• Fixed a couple issues which could lead to you not being able to interact with apps or the desktop in the area directly above the taskbar.

As for the Start menu, it is also getting a new feature, albeit this one is unlikely to cause a round of applause from Windows 11 users. Microsoft wants the Start menu's Recommended section to display various prompts that you can use in the Copilot app. The idea is to increase awareness and help users better understand what they can do with Microsoft's AI:

We are trying out a small change in the Recommended section of the Start menu where we will show examples of prompts that you can try using in the Copilot app such as creating an image with Copilot.

Luckily, it is now possible to turn off the Recommended section in the new Start menu, so if you are not a fan of what Microsoft is doing, you can keep the Start menu free from any ads or upsells from the company. One might still catch you in the form of a new full-screen Microsoft 365 nag, but that one is also easy to turn off.

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Posted Saturday 13 September 2025 at 4:10 pm AEST (my time).

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Second-chance out-of-box experience is a full-screen UI that appears when you start your computer, and it does not get you to the desktop until you either reject or accept all of Microsoft's upsells, such as OneDrive backup, for example. Even though Microsoft decided to simplify the SCOOBE with a single-screen UI, it is still a full-screen prompt that needs your attention. Now, there is a new one for those whose Microsoft 365 subscriptions "need attention."

Here is what Microsoft says in the release notes for the latest Windows 11 Dev and Beta builds:

We’re introducing a simple reminder that appears as a SCOOBE screen (Second Chance Out of Box Experience) to let you know your Microsoft subscription needs attention (for example, if a renewal payment didn’t go through). In just a few clicks, you can review and update your payment method and keep your subscription benefits uninterrupted.

And here is what the prompt looks like:

It is worth noting that Microsoft could change things from insider builds before shipping them to the general public. Therefore, there is no guarantee that the new Microsoft 365 prompt will make its way to all users. If you do not want to deal with stuff like this, you can always disable Second-chance out-of-box experience in Settings > System > Notification > Additional Notifications. Also, Microsoft wants to hear your feedback about these changes, so be sure to send it using the Feedback Hub app.

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Posted Saturday 13 September 2025 at 2:18 pm AEST (my time).

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Here is what is rolling out gradually:

• [Click to Do]
  • New! Click to Do can now detect tables. You can now highlight any simple table and send it to Excel, copy or share it. With a table in any application, you can press Win + Click to invoke Click to Do, or Win + Q or right swipe and tap to select the table. Once selected, you’ll see the actions you can take like Convert to table with Excel. Just click, capture and continue. This is available on Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs, with support for AMD and Intel-powered Copilot+ PCs coming soon. You’ll need the latest Microsoft Excel application installed on your PC to see Convert to table with Excel and a Microsoft 365 Subscription. This change is not yet rolling out to Windows Insiders in the EEA (European Economic Area).
  • New! New and popular action tags in the Click to Do context menu help you discover the latest and most widely used AI-powered actions.
  • New! Click to Do now provides more concise summaries with the Summarize action. The output for text entities is shorter and more focused. Ongoing improvements continue to enhance clarity and precision.
• [Agents in Settings] New! A direct navigation link to the corresponding settings page is now available from agent search results. This improvement is currently rolling out to agents in Settings on Copilot+ PCs.
• [Desktop] New! You can now move the hardware indicators for brightness, volume, airplane mode, and virtual desktops to different positions on your screen. To change their position, go to Settings > System > Notifications, and then pick from the options in the Position of the onscreen pop-up in the dropdown list.
• [Taskbar] New! IT administrators no longer need to restart explorer.exe to apply the pinning policy. After applying the policy, users might see a pin on their taskbar within approximately 8 hours, depending on the refresh interval.
• [File Explorer]New! Use AI actions in File Explorer to edit images or summarize documents. Just right click (or press Shift +F10) on the file and select AI actions. This experience is not yet available for customers in the EEA (European Economic Area).
  • Image actions: You can now use four AI-powered image actions with .jpg, .jpeg, and .png files. Visual Search searches the web using an image instead of text. Blur Background opens the Photos app to highlight the subject and blur the background. Erase Objects removes unwanted elements from your photo. Remove Background uses Paint to change any image leaving a smooth cut out the subject.
  • AI actions in Microsoft 365 make it easier to work with your documents. With the Summarize action in Copilot, you can quickly generate summaries of files stored in OneDrive and SharePoint—no need to open each one. This AI action requires an active Microsoft 365 subscription and a Copilot license (Microsoft account and Microsoft Entra ID supported).
  • Improved: The File Explorer context menu has been updated to remove the accent colored backplate behind packaged app icons in the Open With list when right clicking a file (for example, for Snipping Tool). In doing this, the icons should be easier to see now.
  • Improved: Made underlying changes to help improve the performance of launching cloud files from File Explorer and loading context menus.
  • Fixed: Icons and text may become overlapping on the desktop when using increased text scaling.
  • Fixed: Icons in the details, preview, and navigation panes of File Explorer aren’t properly mirrored when using an Arabic or Hebrew display language.
• [Windows Share] New! You can pin your favorite apps in the Windows share window to quickly access them when you need them.
• [Emoji] New! The Emoji 16.0 release includes a small but meaningful set of new emoji— Face with Bags Under Eyes, Fingerprint, Root Vegetable, Leafless Tree, Harp, Shovel, and Splatter. These new emoji are designed to resonate across cultures and contexts. You’ll find them in the emoji panel starting with this build.
• [Advanced Settings] New! The redesigned Advanced settings page (Settings > System > Advanced) is an update of the For Developers page and makes it easier to find key options. Settings include File Explorer + version control, which shows Git details such as branch, diff count, and last commit message directly in File Explorer when you select a repository folder.
• [Automatic Super Resolution (Auto SR)] New! Auto SR on Snapdragon®-powered Copilot+ PCs helps gamers improve visual quality with minimal effort through simplified settings. When a supported game is launched, Windows displays a notification that allows users to turn on Auto SR with a single click. The feature is now easier to find and manage in Graphics settings, and future updates might enable users to turn on Auto SR directly from the Game Bar during gameplay.
• [Input]
  • New! Insert dashes with new keyboard shortcuts. You can quickly insert an en dash (–) or em dash (—) while typing. Press Windows logo key + Minus (-) to insert an en dash, and Windows logo key + Shift + Minus (-) to insert an em dash. If Magnifier is running, Windows logo key + hyphen (-) will zoom out Magnifier instead of inserting an en dash.
  • Fixed: After waking a PC from sleep, touch input may not work to enter your pin on the login screen.
• [Narrator]
  • New! Narrator now includes Braille Viewer, which shows both on-screen text and its Braille equivalent on a refreshable Braille display. To open Braille viewer and start Narrator, press the Windows logo key + Ctrl + Enter, press Narrator key + Alt + B. A new floating window opens and updates dynamically as you navigate with Narrator. Before using Braille viewer, you must set up Narrator for Braille. To download and install the Braille support package, go to Settings > Accessibility > Narrator > Use a Braille display with Narrator.
  • New! Narrator now offers a smoother, more natural experience in Word, with improved voice feedback, reliable continuous reading, and better navigation for footnotes, comments, lists, and tables. Enhancements include consistent list announcements, clearer table boundaries, and intuitive selection feedback.
• [Administrator Protection Preview] Administrator protection aims to protect free floating admin rights for administrator users allowing them to still perform all admin functions with just-in-time admin privileges. This feature is off by default and needs to be enabled via Windows Security under Account protection or via group policy.
• [Passkeys] New! A seamless plugin passkey provider integration in Windows 11. You can now use plugin credential manager for passkeys. To set up a plugin credential manager, go to Settings > Accounts > Passkeys > Advanced options. Turn on support and complete user verification using Windows Hello (through face recognition, fingerprint, or PIN). Once verified, you can use your existing passkeys saved to the plugin credential manager or save new passkeys.
• [Settings]
  • New! The Manage or clear your Bing search history entry under Settings > Privacy & security > Search > Search history has been removed. You can now manage your Bing search history directly from the Privacy dashboard, accessible via the Privacy resources link under Related settings on that Settings page.
  • New! More time, language, and keyboard settings have moved from Control Panel to Settings. You can now add additional clocks, change your time server, and customize date and time formatting—including AM/PM symbols—directly from Settings > Time & language > Date & time. Number and currency formats, Unicode UTF-8 support, and options to copy language and region settings to other accounts are now under Settings > Time & language > Language & region. Keyboard character repeat and cursor blink rate settings are now easier to find under Settings > Accessibility.
  • Improved: Made underlying changes to help improve the performance of loading the apps list in Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
  • Fixed: Settings > System > Storage > Disks and Volumes might show a link for BitLocker drive encryption in unsupported cases. Clicking it results in BitLocker opening and displaying error 0x80004005.
• [Gaming]
  • New! Xbox controller support for gaming on Windows 11 has been improved. Short pressing the Xbox button opens Game Bar. A new change we’re introducing is when you long press the Xbox button, it will open Task View. Pressing and holding the Xbox button continues to turn off the game controller.
  • Improved: Made some underlying changes to help improve performance when gaming with Game Bar or other overlays on top of your game. This may particularly help those with multiple monitors which have different refresh rates.
• [Other] New! Several dialogs, including the one that appears when an app fails to open, have been modernized with WinUI 3 and match the visuals for Windows 11.
• [Dynamic Lighting] Fixed: The Dynamic Lighting Background Controller may occasionally consume excessive CPU after unlocking your PC.
• [Voice Access] Fixed: Voice Access may get stuck in a state where it says it’s listening but is stuck and doesn’t respond.
• [Windows Hello] Fixed: You may unexpectedly see a message saying “Something happened and your PIN isn’t available” when attempting to enter safe mode.
• [Windows Sandbox] Fixed: When Windows Sandbox is enabled, the VmmemCmFirstBoot process may consume large amounts of CPU after login, causing your PC to become unresponsive.
• [HDR] Fixed: HDR may unexpectedly immediately turn off after being enabled in Settings.
• [Quick Settings]: Fixed: If you had to enter a PIN for your device to cast from Quick Settings, pressing Enter wouldn’t confirm the PIN.

Here is what is rolling out to all users without delays:

• [Input]
  • Fixed: An issue where some characters didn’t display correctly when using the Chinese Input Method Editor (IME).
  • Fixed: This update addresses an issue where certain Chinese characters appeared as empty boxes in some text fields, such as those used in Connection Manager Administration Kit, when a character limit was set.
• [Servicing] Fixed: This update addresses an issue that disrupted Windows Update for customers using Windows Server Update Services (WSUS).
• [Windows Hello] Fixed: This update addresses an issue that affects Windows Hello PIN setup with error 0x80090010 on devices joined to Microsoft Entra ID domains after installing Windows updates released on or after KB5060842.

You can find the announcement post here.

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Posted Saturday 13 September 2025 at 2:15 pm AEST (my time).

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Here is the changelog:

[Click to Do (Preview)]

The following changes and improvements are rolling out for Click to Do on Copilot+ PCs:

• Copilot prompt box: The new Copilot prompt box in Click to Do is designed to streamline user interaction with Microsoft Copilot. This enhancement helps save time and allows users to type a custom prompt directly into a text box, which is then sent to Copilot along with your selected content on screen. Suggested prompts appear below the text box as well, powered locally by Phi-Silica (supported for text selections only and English, Spanish, and French). This change is not yet rolling out to Windows Insiders in the EEA (European Economic Area) or China.

  

• New visual animations for the right edge gesture in Click to Do: These new visual animations are designed to give you a clear visual cue as you swipe and follow your finger for a more delightful, intuitive experience. These animations help you better understand the gesture’s intent, making interactions feel more purposeful.

   

• New and popular action tags: New and popular action tags to the context menu in Click to Do are designed to help new you discover our newest and most popular AI-powered actions available to use.

   

  

• The output from the Summarize action for text entities in Click to Do should start to feel even more brief and concise as we continue to tune for improvements.

   

[Start menu]

• We are trying out a small change in the Recommended section of the Start menu where we will show examples of prompts that you can try using in the Copilot app such as creating an image with Copilot.

[Emoji]

The Emoji 16.0 release introduces a small but thoughtfully curated set of new emojis—one from each major category—designed to resonate across cultures and contexts. Each emoji carries timeless symbolism and practical versatility. With this build, you will see these new emoji available in the emoji panel.

• Face with Bags Under Eyes: Captures exhaustion or the need to rest.
• Fingerprint: Identity or security.
• Root Vegetable: Represents healthy eating and gardening.
• Leafless Tree: Symbolizes winter, emptiness, or dormancy.
• Harp: A timeless musical icon with ancient roots.
• Shovel: Useful for gardening or metaphorically digging out of trouble.
• Splatter: Expressive and fun.

[Gaming]

• We have made some improvements for using Xbox game controllers for gaming on Windows 11. Short pressing the Xbox button opens Game Bar. A new change we’re introducing is when you long press the Xbox button, it will open Task View. Pressing and holding the Xbox button continues to turn off the game controller.

[Narrator]

We’ve made several improvements to ensure Narrator delivers smoother, more reliable experience when working with documents in Word. These updates focus on making reading, writing, and editing more natural and efficient.

• More natural voice feedback: Narrator no longer raises pitch dramatically when announcing headings or grammar/spelling errors, making the experience smoother and less distracting when using Natural Voices.
• Better footnote navigation: You can now navigate a document via footnotes and clearly hear the footnote number, helping you stay oriented while reading or editing documents with references.
• Reliable continuous reading: Narrator will no longer stop unexpectedly during long passages of text. Continuous reading now flows smoothly from start to finish.
• Improved comment reading: Narrator now correctly tracks focus when moving from the document canvas into the comments pane, so you can review and read comments without losing context

Creating & Consuming List

• Coherent and consistent announcements: Narrator now reads lists in a consistent manner across surfaces and navigation methods. List entities such as style and level will be announced as per the chosen verbosity to ensure users have context about the formatting and their position in the list.
• Complete list reading: Narrator will no longer cut off when a list item continues onto the next line — the entire content is announced properly.
• Navigation List Items: You can now navigate Up and down from one list item to another using Ctrl + Up/Down keys.

Creating & Consuming Tables

• Easier navigation commands: Narrator now supports quick navigation in Scan Mode to the first or last cell in a row or column, helping users move through tables more efficiently. You can navigate using the following commands:
  • Beginning of Row – Ctrl + Alt + comma
  • End of Row – Ctrl + Alt + period
  • Beginning of Column – Ctrl + Alt + Shift + comma
  • End of Column – Ctrl + Alt + Shift + period
• Clearer guidance at table boundaries: When navigating with the Tab key inside an editable table, Narrator now provides an announcement when reaching the last cell. This prevents confusion and accidental row additions.
• Less confusing entry announcements: Narrator no longer announces “entering table” twice when moving across cells. You’ll now hear this feedback only once, making it easier to track whether you’re still inside the same table.
• Better feedback during selection: Narrator now make clear announcements as you select one or more cells across row and columns or both. It also clearly announces when a text selection extends across multiple cells, so you know exactly how much content they’ve selected.
• Awareness of non-uniform tables: Narrator now alerts users if a table is non-uniform (for example, missing cells in certain rows or columns), giving important context about table structure.

[Settings]

• After being temporarily disabled, Advanced Settings is rolling out again to Windows Insiders in the Dev and Beta Channels. However, we have temporarily removed the long path and virtual workspaces options to address some issues.

[Other]

• We’re introducing a simple reminder that appears as a SCOOBE screen (Second Chance Out of Box Experience) to let you know your Microsoft subscription needs attention (for example, if a renewal payment didn’t go through). In just a few clicks, you can review and update your payment method and keep your subscription benefits uninterrupted.

Here is what was fixed (gradual rollout):

[General]

• Fixed an issue causing some PCs to bugcheck (green screen) while hibernating after the latest flights. This may have made it look like hibernation had shut down your PC. This issue is believed to also be the cause of some Insiders finding that shutdown had hung and would sit on a black screen with a fan noise.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Did some work to help improve reliability of taskbar hiding and unhiding when the setting “automatically hide the taskbar” is enabled. As part of this work, the animation may be smoother for you now. As a reminder – if an app has an alert (the orange highlight on the app icon) then the taskbar will show.
• Fixed a couple issues which could lead to you not being able to interact with apps or the desktop in the area directly above the taskbar.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue for some users, where the Shared section in File Explorer Home might be visible even if there was no content to display.
• Fixed an issue which was Fixed an issue where File Explorer was unexpectedly not showing thumbnails for video files containing certain EXIF metadata.
• Fixed an issue where interacting with the context menu in File Explorer could lead to the body of File Explorer becoming unresponsive to clicks.
• Fixed an issue which could lead to certain apps hanging when launching the Open or Save Dialog.

[Lock and Login screens]

• Fixed an issue which could cause the lock screen to crash when interacting with the power button in the latest builds.

[Start menu]

• Fixed an underlying issue which was causing Start menu to dismiss if you tried to use WIN + Shift + S to take a screenshot of it.
• Fixed an issue impacting Start menu reliability in the latest builds.
• Fixed an issue which was causing Start menu to randomly scroll back up to the top sometimes.

[Windows Sandbox]

• Fixed an issue for Windows Sandbox users which could lead to the vmmemCmFirstBoot process consuming large amounts of CPU after login, causing your PC to potentially become unresponsive.

[Search]

• We did some work to help reduce instances where search may get stuck in a loading state.

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue which could lead to Settings crashing when interacting with Settings > System > Optional Features.

[Voice Access]

• Fixed an issue which could result in Voice Access not working, showing error 9001.

[Windows Hello]

• Fixed an issue where booting into safe mode wasn’t working, with a message saying “Something happened and your PIN isn’t available” for some people.
• Fixed an issue where Windows Hello Pin setup might fail with error 0x80090010 on Entra-domain joined devices that had installed the latest updates.

[Other]

• If the ability to move the hardware indicators disappeared for you after the last flight, it should be back now.

And here is a single fix that is available to all users:

[General]

• This update addresses an issue that affects audio in apps using the Network Device Interface (NDI). Audio stutters when Display Capture is on in OBS Studio Application. This could occur after installing the latest updates.

Known issues include the following:

[Click to Do]

• [NEW] Launching Click to Do on your primary display via right-edge gesture will result in the swipe visuals appearing on the incorrect display. The issue is being investigated.

[Lock and login screens]

• [NEW] We’re investigating an issue in this build where the media controls may not display on the lock screen.

[Windows Studio Effects]

• [NEW] For some classes of external webcams, turning on “Use Windows Studio Effects” in the advanced camera setting may result in a camera preview failure. This is due to a compatibility issue with the camera firmware and is being addressed with a future update. In the meantime, if you are impacted by this issue, turn off Windows Studio Effects inside the camera settings.

[For developers]

• PIX on Windows is unable to play back GPU captures on this OS version. This will be addressed by a new PIX release, estimated to arrive by the end of September. In the meantime, if you are impacted, you can use the “Send Feedback” button in PIX or contact us on the DirectX Discord server and we can help provide private builds.

[Settings]

• [NEW] The placeholder text in the Settings search box may appear vertically misaligned.

[Audio]

• Some Windows Insiders in the Dev and Beta Channels are experiencing an issue where audio stops working and Device Manager shows one or more devices with a yellow exclamation mark, including “ACPI Audio Compositor” and others. Selecting Properties on these devices will show “Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing.” If you are impacted by this issue, you can follow these instructions to get back into a working state:
  • Right-click on the device with a yellow exclamation mark in Device Manager and select “Update driver”.
  • Choose “Browse my computer for drivers” and then “Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer”.
  • Select the driver from the list with the most recent date and click “Next”. If you are presented with a list of common hardware types instead of one or more specific drivers, this device is not related to this issue.
  • This device should be repaired and no longer show a yellow exclamation mark in Device Manager. If it continues to show a yellow exclamation mark, the yellow exclamation mark is not related to this issue.
  • Repeat these steps for each device with a yellow exclamation mark.

[Xbox Controllers]

• Some Insiders are experiencing an issue where using their Xbox Controller via Bluetooth is causing their PC to bugcheck. Here is how to resolve the issue. Open Device Manager by searching for it via the search box on your taskbar. Once Device Manager is open, click on “View” and then “Devices by Driver”. Find the driver named “oemXXX.inf (XboxGameControllerDriver.inf)” where the “XXX” will be a specific number on your PC. Right-click on that driver and click “Uninstall”.

You can find the announcement post here (Dev build) and here (Beta build).

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Posted Saturday 13 September 2025 at 2:09 pm AEST (my time).

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Starting with the AI Hub, this section of the store now lets you browse Microsoft 365 Copilot Agents. Clicking each card launches Microsoft 365 Copilot, allowing you to familiarize yourself with each agent. Available agents include the Prompt, Writing, Idea, Career and Learning coaches, and Analyst and Researcher. It is worth noting that the Microsoft Store will only show these cards to users with the Microsoft 365 Copilot app and corresponding subscriptions.

If you do not care much about the AI Hub and Microsoft 365 Copilot, you will like the updated app launch experience in the Microsoft Store. Previously, the app did not allow you to launch programs provided and updated by their respective publishers. Instead, you had to open the Start menu or look for the app using Windows Search. Now, with the latest Microsoft Store update, there is a prominent "Open" button. Once the download is complete, just click the button and start using your app. Very handy.

The ability to launch downloaded apps directly from their listings joins the other improvement that Microsoft recently introduced, namely the ability to update apps distributed by their developers via the Microsoft Store.

In other Microsoft Store news, the company recently removed the $19 entry fee for individual developers (the $99 fee for commercial users is still there) and updated the store policies to clarify rules about child safety and apps that use generative AI.

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Posted Saturday 13 September 2025 at 2:08 pm AEST (my time).

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In the next two days, it'll be exactly one month till Microsoft officially pulls the plug on Windows 10, which is slated for October 14, 2025. While the tech giant clearly wants users to upgrade to Windows 11 and has been using bold statements like "Windows 11 PCs are up to 2.3x faster than Windows 10 PCs" to get them to jump ship, getting approximately 400 million people to make this move seems like a big ask.

This is especially true when considering Microsoft's strict minimum system requirements coupled with Windows 11's flawed design elements. Granted, this doesn't necessarily mean that the highlighted 400 million PCs don't support Windows 11; it actually boils down to a matter of preference.

It's been 4 years since Windows 11 shipped, but Microsoft has struggled to gain user interest. The operating system only recently surpassed Windows 10 to become the most dominant desktop OS.

But all hope isn't lost for Windows 10 users, especially if they don't want to enroll in Microsoft's ESU (extended security updates) program by syncing their PC settings to the cloud via a Microsoft account, redeeming 1,000 Microsoft Reward points, or paying $30 for that ESU program, which now supports up to 10 devices.

Earlier this week, I covered Tiny11 getting a new update with Windows 11 version 25H2 support, though it doesn't add new features to the experience. Rather, it removes pre-installed apps like Clipchamp, Copilot, and the new Outlook client, which some users might deem as unnecessary 'bloatware' anyway.

For context, Tiny11 is a lightweight version of Windows 11, designed to run on older PCs that don't meet Windows 11's strict system requirements. And it seems now, there seems to be a new kid on the block (at least that I knew about) that offers a similar experience.

Meet Nano11, a lightweight version of Windows 11 that trims down the operating system's size to less than 3 GB (via The Register). According to Nano11 developer NTDEV:

For those that don't know, the Linux Mint team maintains two versions of Linux Mint. The main Linux Mint version is based on Ubuntu, while LMDE is based on Debian. LMDE acts as a kind of backup for the project in case anything happens to Ubuntu.

The main priority for Linux Mint 22.3 will be the new version of Cinnamon. It’ll include a new menu, a status applet, and Wayland-compatible handling for keyboard layout and input methods.

The work on LMDE 7, codenamed “Gigi”, has already begun. The goal is to combine a Debian 13 package base with improvements from Linux Mint 22.2 and support OEM installations. The OEM support was already implemented during the Mint 22.2 cycle, which has accelerated progress. The new OEM support has been tested and is working very well, and the team is currently adapting libAdwaita changes and reapplying patches.

The upcoming LMDE 7 will only ship for amd64, as i386 is no longer fully supported upstream by Debian 13 - in 2025, most people won’t be affected by this change, but it is a shame for anyone trying to keep legacy hardware alive. A beta of LMDE 7 is expected to be released this month so that the community can test it before the final release.

Linux Mint 22.2 was released earlier this month with native fingerprint login support, improved theming, and enhancements to Mint's XApps. You can read more in our coverage.

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Posted Saturday 13 September 2025 at 3:19 am AEST (my time).

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Unlike Windows 11 updates, though, do not expect much from today's update. There are no new features, and there are no particular fixes. All Microsoft quotes are "small set of general improvements":

This update includes a small set of general improvements and fixes that improve the overall experience for customers and their devices on Windows 10.

Windows 10 will receive its final update on October 14, 2025. After that, the operating system will only get security updates via the Extended Security Updates program. Unlike before, when those updates were only available to commercial customers, Microsoft is letting regular customers sign up as well. However, the company is doing that not out of goodwill. Windows 10 still has a massive market share, with hundreds of millions of PCs still running the outgoing operating system. One extra year of security updates, which can be obtained for free, by the way, will give those users some extra time to plan an upgrade to Windows 11 or whatever comes after it.

You can find the build announcement post here.

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Posted Friday 12 September 2025 at 6:46 pm AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of August): 4,048

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The full changelog is given below:

• [Authentication] Fixed: An issue that caused Windows sign-in screen to stop responding after a user enters the SIM PIN during sign-in using a mobile broadband connection.
• [Country and Operator Settings Asset (COSA)] Fixed: This update brings profiles up to date for certain mobile operators.
• [Display Kernel] Fixed: This update addresses an issue that affects display configuration changes during Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) sessions with multiple monitors. The system might shut down unexpectedly when disconnected from a docking station during a streaming session.
• [Input]
  • Fixed: An issue where some characters didn’t display correctly when using the Chinese Input Method Editor (IME).
  • Fixed: This update addresses an issue where certain Chinese characters appeared as empty boxes in some text fields, such as those used in Connection Manager Administration Kit, when a character limit was set.
• [Printer] Fixed: An issue where viewing the printer queue in Settings for a shared printer caused the Print Queue user interface to stop working.
• [System services and reliability] Fixed: Addresses an issue that caused McpManagement service to appear without a description on Windows.

You can find the official blog post here on Microsoft's website.

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Posted Friday 12 September 2025 at 6:45 pm AEST (my time).

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Here is the changelog:

• [General]
  • This update includes a small set of general improvements and fixes that improve the overall experience for Insiders running this build on their PCs.
  • Fixed the issue causing Settings > System > Storage > Temporary files to get stuck when scanning files. This issue also caused the entry to clean up previous Windows Installations to not show in Storage Settings.
• [Taskbar]
  • Fixed an issue where if you minimized an app and switched back and forth between desktops, you might end up seeing a duplicate preview thumbnail when hovering over the app in the taskbar.
• [Display and Graphics]
  • Fixed an issue which could result in HDR unexpectedly turning off immediately after you enabled it in Settings.
• [Other]
  • Fixed an issue causing an event saying “The “Microsoft Pluton Cryptographic Provider” provider was not loaded because initialization failed” with error 57 to appear in Event Viewer for some Insiders after boot.
  • Fixed an issue where if you had to enter a PIN for your device to cast from Quick Settings, pressing Enter wouldn’t confirm the PIN.
  • Made another fix to help with Group Policy Editor having unexpected large blank areas and not rendering correctly with the Chinese display language.

The list of known bugs includes the following:

• [General]
  • [IMPORTANT]Some Windows Insiders may experience a rollback attempting to install this build with either an 0xC1900101-0x20017 error or 0xC1900101-0x30017 error. Unfortunately retrying to install the build will result in another rollback. We are working on a fix.
  • [NEW] We’re working on the fix for an issue causing some Insiders with Arm64 PCs to experience an increase in bugchecks (green screens) with error IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL in the latest Canary builds.
• [For developers]
  • PIX on Windows is unable to play back GPU captures on this OS version. This will be addressed by a new PIX release, estimated to arrive by the end of September. In the meantime, if you are impacted, you can use the “Send Feedback” button in PIX or contact us on the DirectX Discord server and we can help provide private builds.
• [Graphics]
  • We’re investigating an issue which is causing some Insiders to experience screen flickers when using the browser (and potentially other scenarios) in the latest Canary builds.
• [Audio]
  • Some Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel are experiencing an issue where audio stops working and Device Manager shows one or more devices with a yellow exclamation mark, including “ACPI Audio Compositor” and others. Selecting Properties on these devices will show “Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing.” If you are impacted by this issue, you can follow these instructions to get back into a working state:
    • Right-click on the device with a yellow exclamation mark in Device Manager and select “Update driver”.
    • Choose “Browse my computer for drivers” and then “Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer”.
    • Select the driver from the list with the most recent date and click “Next”. If you are presented with a list of common hardware types instead of one or more specific drivers, this device is not related to this issue.
    • This device should be repaired and no longer show a yellow exclamation mark in Device Manager. If it continues to show a yellow exclamation mark, the yellow exclamation mark is not related to this issue.
    • Repeat these steps for each device with a yellow exclamation mark.

You can find the announcement post here.

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Posted Friday 12 September 2025 at 6:42 pm AEST (my time).

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The most notable changes in VirtualBox 7.2.2 include fixes for virtual machines not starting on Windows on Arm devices, various GUI crashes, the Trusted Platform Module not working on certain virtual machines (guests), and more. Additionally, VirtualBox 7.2.2 now lets you use legacy dark/light Windows 10 themes on Windows 11 hosts.

Here is the complete changelog with everything new and fixed:

• VMM: Fixed issue when VM was not able to start on Windows Arm host
• GUI: Fixed VBox Manager crash when some VM has a lot of snapshots
• GUI: Fixed issue when error notifications could not be displayed on snapshot deletion
• GUI: Fixed VBox Manager crash while attempting to show error notifications too early
• GUI: Fixed VBox Manager crash while removing all VMs from VM list
• GUI: Fixed VBox Manager freeze on Linux hosts at startup or while attempting to add a VM
• GUI: Fixed VBox Manager layout bug with too strict size constraints
• GUI: Updated VBox VM network status-bar indicator tooltip (IP address) on guest additions change
• GUI: Added possibility for Windows 11 host to use legacy light/dark themes from Windows 10
• GUI: Forcing xdgdesktopportal platform theme on Linux when org.freedesktop.portal.Desktop DBus service is available
• Network (NAT, DNS): Fixed potential issue where a nameserver in the 127/8 network could have been passed to the guest
• Network: Added a new experimental type of e1000 adapter. It requires the ICH9 chipset, since MSIs are not supported by PIIX3
• USB: Fixed passing through USB devices exposed over USB/IP
• USB Webcam: The virtual USB webcam is now part of the open source base package
• Arm host: Improved high CPU usage for idling VMs
• Linux host: Use KVM APIs on kernel 6.16.0 and newer for acquiring/releasing VT-x
• macOS host: Fixed internal networking, including NAT networks on macOS (7.2.0 regression)
• macOS host: Fixed VM crash on Arm host on VM start
• Linux Guest Additions: Fixed issue when VBoxClient was reporting it's unable to load shared libraries on start
• Windows Guest Additions: Fixed issue when installation was failing on Windows XP SP2 64-bit
• EFI: Fixed TPM device not working with certain guests

You can download Oracle VirtualBox 7.2.2 from the official website.

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Posted Friday 12 September 2025 at 3:27 am AEST (my time).

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The update highlights include Game On Driver support for the following titles on systems:

• Borderlands 4
• Dying Light: The Beast
• EA SPORTS FC 26
• Hollow Knight: Silksong

Here is what the driver fixes:

• Intel Arc B-Series Graphics Products:
  • PEAK (DX12) may exhibit flickering texture corruptions during gameplay.
  • Mafia: The Old Country (DX12) may exhibit corruption on character hair during certain scenes.
• Intel Arc A-Series Graphics Products:
  • Mafia: The Old Country (DX12) may exhibit corruption on character hair during certain scenes.
• Intel Core Ultra Series 2 with built-in Intel Arc GPUs:
  • PEAK (DX12) may exhibit flickering texture corruptions during gameplay.
  • Mafia: The Old Country (DX12) may exhibit corruption on character hair during certain scenes.

Known bugs include the following:

• Intel Arc B-Series Graphics Products:
  • Visual corruptions may appear in certain scenarios with multiple application interactions.
  • Broken Arrow (DX11) may experience lower than expected performance after changing graphics settings.
  • World of Warcraft: Dragonflight may experience an application crash while switching Graphics API to DX11.
  • PugetBench for Davinci Resolve Studio may experience an intermittent application crash while running the benchmark. Recommendation is to change the timeout slider to 1500 seconds or higher, to wait for each test to complete, in PugetBench benchmark settings.
• Intel Arc A-Series Graphics Products:
  • Broken Arrow (DX11) may experience lower than expected performance after changing graphics settings.
  • Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (DX12) may experience an application crash with Ray-Tracing and XeSS enabled.
  • World of Warcraft: Dragonflight may experience an application crash while switching Graphics API to DX11.
  • PugetBench for Davinci Resolve Studio may experience an intermittent application crash while running the benchmark. Recommendation is to change the timeout slider to 1500 seconds or higher, to wait for each test to complete, in PugetBench benchmark settings.
• Intel Core Ultra Series 1 with built-in Intel Arc GPUs:
  • World of Warcraft: Dragonflight may experience an application crash while switching Graphics API to DX11.
• Intel Core Ultra Series 2 with built-in Intel Arc GPUs:
  • World of Warcraft: Dragonflight may experience an application crash while switching Graphics API to DX11.
  • Adobe Premiere Pro may experience an application crash while using audio enhancement features.
  • Topaz Video AI may experience visual artifacts when using certain AI models.
  • PugetBench for Photoshop may experience an application crash while running the benchmark.
  • PugetBench for Lightroom may experience an application crash while running the benchmark.

Intel 32.0.101.7029 WHQL supports 64-bit Windows 10 and 11 PCs with the following Intel processors and graphics cards:

You can download the driver from the official website here. Full release notes are available here (PDF).

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Posted Friday 12 September 2025 at 3:25 am AEST (my time).

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An update to Gmail begins rolling out soon, readying Google's premier email app for all your upcoming holiday purchases. Gmail has been surfacing shipment tracking for some time now, but Google will now add a separate view just for remembering the things you have ordered. And if you want to buy more things, there's a new interface for that, too. Yay, capitalism.

Gmail is quite good at recognizing purchase information in the form of receipts and shipping notifications. Currently, the app (and web interface) lists upcoming shipments at the top of the inbox. It will continue to do that when you have a delivery within the next 24 hours, but the new Purchases tab brings it all together in one glanceable view.

Purchases will be available in the navigation list alongside all the other stock Gmail labels. When selected, Gmail will filter your messages to only show receipts, order status, and shipping details. This makes it easier to peruse your recent orders and search within this subset of emails. This could be especially handy in this day and age of murky international shipping timelines.

The Promotions tab that has existed for years is also getting a makeover as we head into the holiday season. This tab collects all emails that Google recognizes as deals, marketing offers, and other bulk promos. This keeps them out of your primary inbox, which is appreciated, but venturing into the Promotions tab when the need arises can be overwhelming.

The new Purchases tab filters out non-retail email.

Credit: Google

A revamped Promotions tab will roll out to Gmail alongside the new Purchases interface. Google says Promotions will now be sorted not by date but by "most relevant." The senders and brands you engage with most often will appear at the top. Should you decide you don't like Google's sorting, the traditional "most recent" sorting will remain an option.

The Promotions tab will also get a new set of retail-oriented nudges as part of this update. Google says Gmail will use nudges similar to the email follow-up suggestions to make sure you're aware of timely offers and sales that match your interests. It's unclear whether the nudges will be isolated in the Promotions tab or if they'll appear in the main inbox—the latter could be a bit annoying. We've reached out to Google for details and will report back if we hear anything.

The Gmail updates will be available in the mobile app and the web interface. There's no firm timeline, but users will begin seeing the updated tabs in the coming weeks. Currently, this change is only coming to personal Gmail accounts.

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Posted Friday 12 September 2025 at 3:24 am AEST (my time).

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This is an important addition for anyone preparing deployment media for the upcoming compliance requirements that the company announced earlier this year in June.

The update also adds the ability to save an existing drive directly to an ISO file, though this is currently limited to the Universal Disk Format (UDF). The feature is aimed at users who need to preserve the exact structure of a bootable or data drive for archival or replication purposes, such that they need not rely on third-party imaging tools.

Aside from ISO-related changes, the release introduces Dark Mode support. With modern UI preferences like how most people tend to love dark themes and dark mode nowadays on their devices, this change is here to bring UI and UX consistency in such cases.

Error reporting has been improved when saving to Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) or Virtual Hard Disk Extended (VHDX) formats. A timezone-related bug that incorrectly reported Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) DBX updates, even when none were present, has also been corrected.

Another fix addresses a crash triggered when processing Windows ISOs with very long file paths, a bug that affected certain custom or enterprise builds. The full changelog is given below:

• Add Dark Mode support
• Add support for creating Windows CA 2023 compatible media (requires a Windows 11 25H2 ISO)
• Add support for saving an existing drive to ISO (UDF only)
• Improve error reporting when saving to VHD/VHDX
• Fix UEFI DBX updates being reported in some timezones, even when there are none
• Fix a situation where no file system can be selected in ISO mode
• Fix a crash when trying to process Windows ISOs with very long paths

You can get the latest Rufus version, 4.10 beta, from Neowin's software stories page or from its official GitHub repo.

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Posted Thursday 11 September 2025 at 4:16 pm AEST (my time).

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Well the good news is that they had not have to wait for very long as the company today has released the images for flighters. They are now available for download and install in the Windows 11 Release Preview Insider channel. On its updated blog post Microsoft writes:

[UPDATE 9/10] The ISOs for Windows 11, version 25H2 are now available for download.

You can find the link to download ISOs on the Windows Insider Preview Downloads page here on Microsoft's official website.

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Posted Thursday 11 September 2025 at 4:14 pm AEST (my time).

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