Windows 10 October 2020 Update is now available with an updated Start menu and more

[Karlston]

Windows 10 October 2020 Update is now available with an updated Start menu and more

This latest Windows 10 update also includes a refreshed Alt Tab interface

Microsoft is releasing its Windows 10 October 2020 Update to over a billion users today. Much like last year, this second Windows 10 update of 2020 is more of a Service Pack than a major release. Microsoft has, however, made some interesting tweaks, including a refreshed Start menu, some Alt Tab changes, and the bundling of the new Chromium-powered Microsoft Edge.

 

The biggest visual change is, of course, the updated Start menu. Microsoft’s new design kills off the solid color behind app logos and adds a transparent background to tiles instead. The end result is a Start menu that’s functionally the same, but that’s a lot easier to scan to find your apps.

New Alt Tab interface.

Microsoft’s second significant change is how Alt Tab works. Traditionally, you use Alt Tab to cycle through desktop apps that are open in Windows, but the list now includes all open tabs in Microsoft Edge. Microsoft is allowing Windows 10 users to switch back to the classic Alt-Tab experience, though.

 

The final important addition is related to PC gaming. Microsoft has never made it easy to set up and control monitor refresh rates in Windows, leading to many forgetting to enable 144Hz or higher modes on their monitors. You can now switch to higher refresh rates directly within the Windows 10 settings panel (Settings > System > Display, Advanced display settings). It’s better than jumping into a legacy interface buried in settings or having to control this from AMD or Nvidia’s apps.

 

Microsoft’s other improvements to Windows 10 with this October 2020 Update are even more minor. Notifications now include app logos at the top to make them easier to manage and identify, the taskbar has been decluttered for new Windows 10 users, and tablet mode no longer shows a notification if you’re using a 2-in-1 laptop.

New monitor refresh rate setting.

While the Windows 10 October 2020 Update is available today, there’s a chance you might not be able to install it just yet. Microsoft typically takes a gradual approach to its Windows rollouts, and this one is arriving in the middle of a pandemic where everyone is relying on laptops and PCs more than before.

 

“We are taking a measured seeker-based rollout approach to the October 2020 Update,” explains John Cable, Microsoft’s head of Windows Servicing and Delivery. “We are throttling availability over the coming weeks to ensure a reliable download experience so the update may not be offered to you right away. Additionally, some devices might have a compatibility issue for which a safeguard hold is in place, so we will not offer the update until we are confident that you will have a good update experience.”

 

If your device is immediately supported, then you can check for the Windows 10 October 2020 Update in the Windows Update section of settings (Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update). Otherwise, this latest update should appear in the coming weeks.

 

 

Windows 10 October 2020 Update is now available with an updated Start menu and more

 

[Karlston]

The Windows 10 version 20H2 known issues list is out with zero surprises

 

Today, Microsoft released the Windows 10 October 2020 Update, also known as version 20H2. As usual, that means that a whole bunch of documentation is getting updated with support for the new version. As usual, that includes a new known issues list.

 

The good news is that there are no surprises. The known issues are exactly the same as the ones for Windows 10 version 2004. Here are the two issues that are listed as being investigated:

• Errors or issues during or after updating devices with certain Conexant audio drivers
  Devices with affected Conexant or Synaptics audio drivers might receive a stop error with a blue screen.
• Errors or issues during or after updating devices with Conexant ISST audio drivers
  Devices with affected Conexant ISST audio drivers might receive an error or have issues with Windows 10, version 2004.

It's no surprise that there's nothing new. Windows 10 version 20H2 has the same bits as version 2004. It just has an enablement package that bumps up the build number by one and lights up some features. All of the new features rolling out have been hidden on your system for months.

 

Another thing that Microsoft has updated is its list of features that have been deprecated or removed. Nothing has been deprecated in version 20H2, but MBAE service metadata has been removed. Obviously, it's a pretty minor update, so not much has changed there.

 

In short, there aren't any surprises in Windows 10 version 20H2, but there's no reason that there should be any.

 

 

The Windows 10 version 20H2 known issues list is out with zero surprises

 

[steven36]

30 minutes ago, Karlston said:

The good news is that there are no surprises. The known issues are exactly the same as the ones for Windows 10 version 2004. Here are the two issues that are listed as being investigated:

So  besides the  fact  it comes with Edge Chrome  it's business as usual  people on old hardware that took the free upgrade will have  performance issues from drivers  and  other software  on there system every time they do updates ? People  been trying  to install  the last patch Tuesday  update  for weeks  and are stuck . a clean install with this will get them unstuck  but they also  will need  to install updated drivers .   Lol all  the new bugs is coming  this spring  with the new refresh  they talked about in March

 

Windows 10 20H2 is a small update

Theme-aware Start Menu

Microsoft Edge (Chromium) is now built-in

Alt + Tab improvements

System settings About page is getting better

Tablet experience for 2-in-1 devices: When you detach the keyboard on Surface Book-like devices, Microsoft's notification toast asking you to switch to tablet mode will no longer appear.

Refresh rate: You can now change your display refresh rate from Settings > System > Display > Advanced display settings.

Modern Device Management (MDM) improvements

[zanderthunder]

Wondering if the Update Assistant also updated with the inclusion of new October 2020 update or have to wait sometime to get it.

Update: It seems Update Assistant is telling me that my 20H1 copy is still up to date. However, when I used Media Creation Tool, it updates my computer to 20H2.

So if anyone can't wait to install the 20H2 update, you can do so by using Media Creation Tool (select "Upgrade this PC now"). My upgrade under SSD takes about 1 hour (to download the update until installing the update).

p/s: You can also download the ISO from the same tool, and use ISO to upgrade your copy.