Windows 10 (26)
Windows 10 1803: Useful Resources for IT Professionals
Written by Anton Romanyuk
Windows 10 "April 2018 Update", also known as version 1803, "Redstone 4", or RS4 will be available via Windows Update for Business, Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) and the Volume Licensing Servicing Center (VLSC) starting on the 8th May with the download via Media Creation Tool and Visual Studio Subscriptions (MSDN Subscriptions) already being available. Windows 10, version 1803 is the fifth feature update released for Windows 10. As with the previous updates, Microsoft continues the trend of moving to more agile development and delivery models as part of the ongoing "Windows as a Service" efforts with Windows 10 1803 update making the base operating system better with new features to help IT pros more easily manage and better protect data and devices in their organizations.
The development of the Spring Creators Update (codenamed "Redstone 4") is now heading towards the finishing line. We can assume that Windows 10 1803 is now feature-complete and as such, I can't stress it highly enough that you should start testing the newest features and functionality in this Semi-Annual Channel release as soon as possible in preparation for broad deployment to the devices in your organization. As part of this process, you should take a look at provisioned apps - most likely you want to ensure that only a choice selection of apps is being installed, whenever a user logs on either for the first time or after installing a feature update on a Windows 10 computer, because app installation directly impacts login times.
Fixing 'Windows cannot install package Microsoft.Windows.Photos'
Written by Anton Romanyuk
While I sometimes long for the day when I no longer have to deal with unexpected Windows 10 behavior, there’s something rewarding about quickly finding a solution. In the process, I often end up with an idea for a blog post I can share with thousands three regular readers. Yesterday I successfully solved an interesting case that opened when a customer contacted me a month ago and reported that the Photo app was no longer working on their 1709 reference image.
Group Policy Changes in Windows 10 1803 Preview
Written by Anton Romanyuk
As Windows 10 Redstone 4 Update (1803) development winds down, it’s the grandiose time to examine updated and new Group Policy settings. There is (obviously) no official documentation from the Group Policy team at this point and there might be quite a few changes to Group Policy settings before Windows 10 Spring Update hits RTM. Still, it can't hurt to poke around current ADMX files because there are truly several things duller in our line of work than comparing thousands of lines of text. Right?
Disabling Cortana Voice Support during OOBE
Written by Anton Romanyuk
Yesterday I came across a Twitter thread in which multiple users detailed their beef with the revamped setup experience of Windows 10 (aka the OOBE). The OOBE was introduced with Windows 10 "Creators Update" (1703): Cortana voice walks the user through the OOBE experience, enabling the user to complete parts of OOBE by responding to spoken prompts. Windows 10 installations using following languages are affected: en-US, es-MX, ja-JP, en-GB, fr-FR, it-IT, de-DE, es-ES, fr-CA, en-CA, en-AU, pt-BR, zh-CN. Exacerbating the issue, Cortana's voice prompts are loud and proud by default and can become quickly irritating when attempting to install multiple machines at the same time. There’s little clear help for fixing it, so in this post, I’ll give you easy steps you can follow to tape up Cortana's cake-hole.
Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (1709) includes a number of enhancements over the previous Windows 10 release in various areas. You can see a detailed list of the changes here. Each major new version of Windows 10 also includes dramatic changes to Microsoft Edge, including a number of performance, security, and compatibility improvements. In addition, Microsoft continues to improve management capabilities for Microsoft Edge in an Enterprise deployment scenario.
As a reader of this blog, I suspect that most of you are already starting to work with Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (1709). As part of that process, you are probably taking a look at provisioned apps - most likely you want to ensure that only a choice selection of apps is being installed, whenever a user logs on either for the first time or after installing a feature update on a Windows 10 computer, because app installation directly impacts logon time.
In a desperate effort to make this blog post worth reading and not go through the indignity of having to write about Windows 10 1709, I have turned to the headline-generating festival currently ongoing on the net: the vulnerability in Trusted Platform Module (TPM) produced by Infineon Technologies AG which could allow security feature bypass.
Group Policy Changes in Windows 10 1709 Preview
Written by Anton Romanyuk
As Windows 10 Fall Creators Update development winds down, it’s the grandiose time to examine updated and new Group Policy settings. There is no official documentation from the Group Policy team at this point, frankly there still might (or will) be a few changes to Group Policy settings. Still, it can't hurt to poke around current ADMX files because there are truly several things duller in our line of work than comparing thousands lines of text. Right?
Microsoft Cuts Features from Windows 10 Pro... Again
Written by Anton Romanyuk
I would never usually be as presumptuous as to suppose that I knew exactly what my thousands tens of readers wanted to hear me talk about this week, but this is clearly a special occasion. Only one thing has been on everyone's mind since Microsoft quietly updated the list of features that are being removed and/or deprecated in the Windows 10 1709 update, and only that thing would be expected to be the subject of an almost-weekly almost-amusing blog post.
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Microsoft is Changing the Windows 10 Servicing Model ... Again
Written by Anton Romanyuk
I have an embarrassment of riches regarding what to talk about this week, but instead, and apologies in advance for sounding like a record stuck in a groove, I am going to talk about Windows as a Service.
More specifically, about the changes to the branches. Microsoft is moving Windows 10 to the same servicing as Windows Server which means that they are transitioning from the Current Branch (CB) and Current Branch for Business (CBB) model of Windows releases to a twice-yearly release cadence called the Semi-Annual Channel. The release cadence will align to Windows Server and Office which means you can expect the updates to arrive in in March and in September, each of which with an 18-month servicing timeline. The Creators Update marks the first of the Semi-Annual Channel releases. Additionally, Microsoft is renaming the Long Term Servicing Branch (LTSB) to the Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC).
Of late, several customers I work with started deploying Windows 10 clients using an English base image and applying language packs in the process. They ran into a little snag involving localizing UWP apps.