Bug Bashing on the #Windows11 Beta Channel – join me in testing & sending feedback available July 20th to 25th (PDT) #WindowsInsiders #WIMVP #WIMVPBenelux @aavdberg @JamesvandenBerg @windowsinsider @JenMsft @NorthFaceHiker @brandonleblanc @amanda_lango 🪲🔨🎉🎊😎 pic.twitter.com/dOwo6IMzal
— Erik Moreau #WIMVP #MODERNDESKTOP 🇧🇪 (@ErikMoreau) July 23, 2022
Jul 23
Bug Bash Quests for the Beta Channel
Jul 23
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25163
Hi all, Last Wednesday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25163 to the Dev Channel.
Upgrades went smooth a fast here, the taskbar overflow needed an extra reboot before it appeared so if you want to test it, after upgrade do an extra reboot to trigger it.
Taskbar overflow is very nice, this was a missing feature for a long time.
The Share to OneDrive feature is a welcome extra too!
Happy Upgrades!
What’s new
Taskbar Overflow
We’re reintroducing taskbar overflow, with a newly designed experience for Windows 11. This taskbar experience has been thoughtfully crafted to offer you a more productive switching and launching experience when space is constrained. Your taskbar will automatically transition into this new overflow state when it has hit its maximum capacity. In this state, taskbar will offer an entry point to an overflow menu that allows you to view all your overflowed apps in one space.
The overflow menu will contain many of the current taskbar behaviors users are familiar with, such as supporting pinned apps, jump list, and extended UI. After invoking overflow, the menu will quietly dismiss once you click outside of it or navigate to an application.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Taskbar.
Improved nearby sharing
The discovery of devices under nearby share when sharing a local file from the desktop, File Explorer, Photos, Snipping Tool, Xbox, and other apps that use the built-in Windows share window has been enhanced by using UDP (Network needs to be set to private) along with Bluetooth to discover nearby devices. You will now be able to discover and share to more devices including desktop PCs.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Files, Folders, and Online Storage > File sharing.
Share local files to OneDrive
When sharing a local file from the desktop, File Explorer, Photos, Snipping Tool, Xbox, and other apps that use the built-in Windows share window, you can choose OneDrive as a target to directly upload the file to OneDrive and share it further along with access control options. All this can be done right from sharing local files in File Explorer without any context switches or opening the OneDrive app.
(Please note this feature is currently only available for Microsoft accounts. A user will need to switch to their Microsoft account via the top right profile icon in the share window if logged in via AAD. AAD support will be added in a future update.)
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Files, Folders, and Online Storage > File sharing.
Fixes
[File Explorer]
- Fixed an explorer.exe crash when dragging tabs around.
- Did some work to fix a memory leak when using tabs with File Explorer.
- Fixed an issue where the preview thumbnail for File Explorer in the taskbar, ALT + Tab, and Task View might show the title of an adjacent tab and not the currently selected one.
- If “Show all folders” is enabled, the dividers in File Explorer’s navigation pane should no longer show. With this change, it should also address the issues where dividers were unexpectedly showing in some other folder pickers.
- Fixed an issue where Narrator wasn’t reading out the titles of tabs as focus moved through them.
- Fixed an issue where a closed tab might appear again in File Explorer after you dragged File Explorer across your monitors.
- Fixed an issue where the tab row might unexpectedly expand vertically, covering the command bar contents.
- Removable drives should no longer unexpectedly be displayed in a section by themselves in the navigation pane, which was breaking up the section with This PC and Network.
- Fixed an issue where the add new tab button wasn’t clearly visible when using Aquatic or Desert contrast themes.
- The add new tab button shouldn’t overlap with the minimize button in the title bar when using text scaling with a lot of tabs open anymore.
[Taskbar]
- Fixed a rare explorer.exe crash that could happen while on a Microsoft Teams call, related to sharing windows from the taskbar.
[Settings]
- Made a change to help fix an issue where using Windows Spotlight on the desktop might revert to a solid color background.
- Improved the padding around the uninstall button when using Apps > Installed Apps in grid view.
- Fixed a couple issues that could lead to Quick Settings crashing on launch.
[Input]
- Fixed an issue which was leading to certain apps freezing after a copy action if Suggested Actions was enabled.
[Other]
- Fixed a high hitting crash impacting suggested actions reliability.
NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.
Known issues
[General]
- We’re investigating reports that SQL Server Management Studio is failing to launch for some Insiders.
- Some games that use Easy Anti-Cheat may crash or cause your PC to bugcheck.
[File Explorer]
- The up arrow is misaligned in File Explorer tabs. This will be fixed in a future update.
- We’re working on a fix to address reports that launching File Explorer in certain ways when using dark mode (for example, from the command line) is showing the body of File Explorer unexpectedly in light mode.
[Widgets]
- Notification badge number may appear misaligned on the taskbar.
- In some cases, the notification banner for some badging will not appear in the widgets board.
- We’re working on the fix for an issue causing Widgets preferences (temperature units and pinned widgets) to unexpectedly get reset to default.
[Live captions]
- Certain apps in full screen (e.g., video players) prevent live captions from being visible.
- Certain apps positioned near the top of the screen and closed before live captions is run will re-launch behind the live captions window positioned at top. Use the system menu (ALT + Spacebar) while the app has focus to move the app’s window further down.
For developers
You can download the latest Windows Insider SDK at aka.ms/windowsinsidersdk.
SDK NuGet packages are now also flighting at NuGet Gallery | WindowsSDK which include:
- .NET TFM packages for use in .NET apps as described at aka.ms/windowsinsidersdk
- C++ packages for Win32 headers and libs per architecture
- BuildTools package when you just need tools like MakeAppx.exe, MakePri.exe, and SignTool.exe
These NuGet packages provide more granular access to the SDK and better integrate in CI/CD pipelines.
Microsoft Store Update
We are beginning to roll out a Microsoft Store update (version 22206.1401.2.0) with the following improvements:
Browse and search with updated price designs: We made it easier to understand the prices, so you have all the info you need when searching for a new app, game, or movie.
New ways to find game editions: We made it easier to find different editions of a game. View standard and deluxe editions so you can choose the game you want to play.
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Microsoft Store.
source: Windows Blogs
Jun 21
Retrieve Oem bios Windows License key (uefi)
Did a clean install on a device & Windows did not pick up the bios activation key? no 3rd party tools required, these commands will retrieve the key for you
Run this in PowerShell (Elevated) to retrieve the key
(Get-WmiObject -query 'select * from SoftwareLicensingService').OA3xOriginalProductKey
Retrieve & install: (run in elevated prompt)
@echo off
FOR /F "skip=1" %%A IN ('wmic path SoftwareLicensingService get OA3xOriginalProductKey') DO (
SET "ProductKey=%%A"
goto InstallKey
)
:InstallKey
IF [%ProductKey%]==[] (
echo No key present
) ELSE (
echo Installing %ProductKey%
changepk.exe /ProductKey %ProductKey%
)
Jun 19
Windows 11 Release Health Videos
The Windows 11 release health page found here: Windows 11 Updates
Has this great new feature, every month the Patch-Tuesday update changes are neatly bundled with a video explaining what’s fixed & what’s new in this month’s updates and even some tips!
Making them easier to understand even for less tech savvy end-users.
Here’s the June 2022 one: > Play Video <
These videos are very useful to get yourself up2speed and as material to refer you r end-users to
If you have any feedback for the release notes team, let them know in this survey here
Jun 18
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25140
Hi all, last Wednesday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25140 to the Dev Channel.
A quick & smooth update on all devices here,
WinRAR context menu’s that were re-enabled for Windows 11 with the build 6.10 are not working on this build, as a workaround enabling the legacy context menu option under settings / integration does restore them under the ‘show more options’ (thanks to Amir Dream for pointing out the issue https://twitter.com/keepingtdream) (FeedBackHub: https://aka.ms/AAh9tpz)
Changes and Improvements
[General]
- Euphemia typeface covers most languages that use the Canadian Syllabic script including various Cree orthographies, Inuktitut, and the Carrier/Dakelh script (dulkw’ahke). In the latest Insider builds, we’ve updated this font to improve the legibility and screen rendering of over 200 characters at various sizes. We’ve also added new glyphs to support Unicode 14 characters for the Nattilik language of the Canadian arctic.
Fixes
[File Explorer]
- Fixed an issue which was leading some people to unexpectedly see error 0x80070026 when copying files from network drives.
- Fixed an issue where the active tab color didn’t match the command bar below it.
- Fixed an issue where dragging to rearrange tabs wasn’t working sometimes.
- Fixed an issue which could cause artifacts in the windows thumbnail preview in the taskbar if File Explorer was maximized and you used WIN + M to minimize it.
[Settings]
- If you go to rename a drive label in System > Storage > Disks & Volumes, the current drive name will now be prepopulated in the dialog.
[Input]
- Fixed an issue where selecting English (New Zealand) in OOBE was unexpectedly leading to the Arabic (101) keyboard getting selected.
- Setting language bar hotkeys for switching input directly to specific non-IME input method should work now.
- Some languages don’t support the speech recognition FOD. When an admin user tried to install one of those languages using the new Install-Language CopyToSettings command, some settings such as new user account locale, Input (Keyboard), and UPLL (User Preferred Language List) were not getting updated. This issue has now been fixed.
- Fixed an issue causing Batang, BatangChe, Gungsuh, and GungsuhChe fonts to not render Korean correctly when using Office online apps when these fonts were not locally present on your PC.
[Task Manager]
- Fixed a crash that could happen when switching modes in pages other than the Processes page.
- We made a small adjustment to the intensity of the colors used in the heatmap on the Processes page.
[Other]
- Fixed an issue where calls to CopyAcceleratorTable and CreateAcceleratorTable would fail if the LPACCEL parameter was the address of an odd numbered index into an array of ACCEL structs.
- Fixed an issue with x64 emulation on ARM64 which could result in certain apps crashing on launch with error code 0xc0000409.
- Fixed an issue causing audio to stop playing in certain apps after a minute.
NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.
Known issues
[General]
- Windows Insiders on Surface Pro X devices will hit a black screen attempting to resume from hibernate on this build. You will need to power cycle (long power button shutdown) to get back into the device. It is recommended Insiders on these devices pause flighting until we release a build with this fix.
- We are investigating reports that the Mica material and Acrylic blur effect is not rendering correct in OS surfaces like the Start menu, Notification Center and other areas.
- We’re investigating reports that shutting down via the Start menu isn’t working for some Insiders and is unexpectedly rebooting instead.
- Some games that use Easy Anti-Cheat may crash or cause your PC to bugcheck.
[File Explorer]
- The up arrow is misaligned in File Explorer tabs. This will be fixed in a future update.
- [NEW] We’re investigating reports that launching File Explorer in certain ways when using dark mode (for example, from the command line) is showing the body of File Explorer unexpectedly in light mode.
[Widgets]
- [NEW] We’re working on the fix for an issue causing Widgets preferences (temperature units and pinned widgets) to unexpectedly reset to default.
[Live captions]
- Certain apps in full screen (e.g., video players) prevent live captions from being visible.
- Certain apps positioned near the top of the screen and closed before live captions is run will re-launch behind the live captions window positioned at top. Use the system menu (ALT + Spacebar) while the app has focus to move the app’s window further down.
source: Windows Blogs
Jun 13
Windows Update: Get me up to date
This new option in Windows 11 called ‘Get me up to date’ is located in the settings app, under Windows Update / Advanced options
Once turned on, Windows Updates will get your device updated as fast as possible restart as needed even if you’re in active hours, a great option to use when going out for lunch or a meeting. It will still prompt you for rebooting to give you time to close app & plug in your device if needed.
The perfect catch up with updates now option!
Jun 13
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.160
Hi all, Today Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.160 (KB5014770) to the Beta Channel.
Also possibly enabling the explorer tabs for you… if you’re one of the lucky early deploy testers
What’s new
File Explorer Tabs & Navigation Updates
To help you work across multiple locations at the same time, the title bar of File Explorer now has tabs. We’d love your feedback on which tabs features you’d like to see next.
File Explorer is also introducing a refreshed layout of the left navigation pane which makes it easy for you to navigate to folders that matter to you. The updated organization provides easy access to your pinned and frequently used folders (Quick access) and your OneDrive cloud profiles added to Windows. OneDrive cloud profiles reflect the user’s name associated with the account. Known Windows folders which are available by default in the navigation pane are no longer displayed under This PC to keep that view focused for your PC’s drives. When you navigate to folders syncing to OneDrive such as Documents, Pictures, etc., the address bar displays the correct path to help bring clarity when your folders are on the cloud vs when they are local to you.
[We are beginning to roll this feature out, so it isn’t available to all Insiders in the Beta Channel just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]
FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Files, Folders, and Online Storage > File Explorer.
Known issues
[File Explorer]
- The up arrow is misaligned in File Explorer tabs. This will be fixed in a future update.
source: Windows Blogs