Windows 12 delayed

Windows 12 has been shelved for a while. It was expected to be released this fall.

Instead, Windows 11 24H2 will be released this fall.

Windows 12 may not even be released in 2025.

I suspect that Microsoft wants to spread out major version maybe every [say] 5 years as they could of been supporting 3 Windows versions this fall if Windows 12 did come out.

For the OS share, Windows 10 still has about 67% with Windows 11 hovering at 28%.

Windows 10 bugs from the recent Patch Tuesday

Seems the latest Windows 10 Patch Tuesday update for all supported versions have issues that do not affect Windows 11.

Among the issues are:

• The Windows taskbar stops responding.
• Windows Explorer stops responding.
• The Weather or News and Interests widget or icons flickers on the Windows taskbar.
• Applications including Microsoft Word or Excel might stop responding if they are open when the issue occurs.

Of note, my Weather or News and Interest widget stopped working over a year ago saying it can’t connect to the Internet.

[Update: 2022/12/19:] Another bug. The update could produce a Blue Screen of Death with the error code “0xc000021a” on some systems due to a mismatch between HIDPARSE system files (hidparse.sys) in two different system directories.

Going to Windows 11? Here are some thoughts

So recently a friend ordered a new custom built system from a place locally and had Windows 11 installed on it instead of Windows 10.

Now just like I do not listen to any pre-released song from an upcoming music album that I will intend on buying, I never looked at Windows 11 before.

My computer hardware is too old, they are officially not compatible with Windows 11 [I’ll get back to that later].

Going back to my friend’s computer, so it already had Windows 11 installed. So I had to learn it on the fly and them show my friend.

First thing to notice is that the so-called Start menu is in the center of the screen and so are your pinned taskbar applications. Live tiles are gone. Now you have pinned applications. It also includes the shutdown/reboot button.

First things first is to get rid of the bloated pre-installed applications as well as remove the pinned items in the Start menu that my friend will never use.

When you look at the various options for a shortcut [right click on the icon], you are only given what could be called the core options. So if you want to see the shortcut properties or maybe send the shortcut to the desktop there is an option to see that but it looks like the same right click menu you saw in Windows 10 and prior.

Settings has been revamped and things moved around. So, instead of the [say] 13 sections, they are all on the left side of a Window just like each individual section was in Windows 10. They added more sections with additional options in each sections.

It should be one heck of a blast to support both Windows 10 and Windows 11 because the settings for some are in different locations.

And guess what? The Control Panel is still there!

Since I believe before Windows 10 came out, Microsoft wanted to ditch the Control Panel because of some limitation [number of icons in it?]. With Windows 10, the Settings section was created and has grown since then. However many portions of the Control Panel have not been fully migrated, such as the Power Options.

As with any newer operating system, some hardware and some software may not be compatible with the newer operating system.

For example, he has an HP P1002 monochrome laser printer. Windows 11 detected it but that was about it. I installed it with the Windows 10 drivers.

In another example, Open Shell [formerly Classic Shell] used by some who dislike the Windows 10 Start menu, isn’t compatible with Windows 11. A slightly compatible Windows 11 [beta] build has been sitting as the last version since July 2021.

For now, many have said to ignore Windows 11. Let it “mature” a bit. Some obviously gave proper reasons for it. Others just jumped on the bandwagon like they did with Windows Vista.

[Windows Vista actually wasn’t bad once it matured and proper hardware drivers and software were available. I used it for about 9 months until Windows 7 came out and even waited a bit before I installed Windows 7. One of the problems with Vista was the big jump in required hardware resources between Windows XP and Vista. Did the complainers seriously look at this before upgrading? And yes, people are complaining about Windows 11 hardware requirements (not resources). Excluding the hardware requirements (SecureBoot, TPM, CPU age), just about any computer running Windows 7/8.1/10 can run Windows 11.]

For those who are notified that their system can be upgraded to Windows 11, I wonder if Microsoft will limit the free upgrade option for a year like they did for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. I have yet to hear anything.

[You can go from Windows 7/8.1 to Windows 10 by wiping your hard disk and install Windows 10 with your Windows 7 license.]

Regarding my hardware, I have a top of the line Core i7 4th generation processor with 16 GB of RAM desktop and a 7th generation Core i7 laptop. But neither are compatible.

The desktop lacks SecureBoot and TPM 2.0. It actually has a TPM 1.x slot but try and find the “card” I need in an eight year old system.
The laptop is actually just missing the processor generation. Microsoft has allowed a fix that [I believe] will allow Windows 11 to install on my laptop. However they will not support it. So if something buggers up like a cumulative updated, then that’s it. In any case I would have to enable TPM and the SecureBoot – which would make my current installation useless. So a re-install. See here for the link for the fix. [Use the fix at your own risk.]

Note that you have until October 2025 for Windows 10 support. After that, nothing.

[Some novice said “he” would wait for Windows 12. Good luck there! Microsoft has not announced a Windows 12 and wouldn’t in any case after Windows 11 just came out. That novice can spread all the rumors he wants! And since it took about 6 years between Windows 10 and 11, don’t assume a Windows 12 version within the next 4 years. Of course Microsoft did say when Windows 10 came out in 2015 that it would be the last version of Windows.]

Windows 11 released

At the beginning, when Windows 10 came out in 2015, Microsoft announced that Windows 10 would be the last Windows operating system.

They lied. 🙂

Windows 11 has been released today.

It basically “forks” Windows 10 going one way and Windows 11 going a different way.

First Windows 10:

It will continue to be supported until October 2025. Unsure if there will be many new features though. Microsoft will want to entice you to go to Windows 11.

Windows 10 21H2 is about to be released. Like the previous two “major” updates, it is a short installation that enables various new features [mostly not big].

Now Windows 11:

You will not get notified of upgrading to Windows 11 from Windows 10 if you are running a 32-bit version of Windows 10. Almost likely you don’t have this but I wanted to mention it.

If your computer is at least 4 years old, your computer probably won’t be able to upgrade to Windows 10. Part of the reason is extra security that has been added to newer systems [TPM 2.0, Secure Boot] and part of the reason is that Microsoft will only support newer processors.

If your system is 4 years and older, you will most likely be using Windows 10 until that support dies out or your computer dies.

[Side note: I have a top of the line processor but is 7 years old. Too old to upgrade in addition to the security issues.]

Windows 11 Reminder

As previously announced by Microsoft, Internet Explorer 11 will cease to get any further support as of June 15, 2022.

Note: If you work in a company, Internet Explorer support may still function for a while longer. This will depend on whether your companies have applications that rely on Internet Explorer and whether they allow the web browser to be used.

As of June 15, 2022, Internet Explorer will fail to open. Instead, Microsoft Edge [already installed with Windows 10 and the future Windows 11] will open.

However, Edge has an “Internet Explorer Mode”. When it detects that a site you are using is [more] compatible with Internet Explorer than Edge, it will use that mode for best compatibility.

Note: Edge is based on Google’s Chrome browser but the Chrome browser doesn’t have an “Internet Explorer Mode”. If a site works with the Chrome browser, it should work with Edge. If you switch from Chrome to Edge, Edge can import your bookmarks/favorites and other settings.

If you switch to Edge from Internet Explorer, your favorites and settings can be imported.

Windows 11 is coming

[May not be as blood as Game of Thrones!]

Yesterday, Microsoft announced that the next version of Windows – to be released in the fall – will not be called Windows 10, but Windows 11.

There has been hints of the naming for the last few weeks.

There are a number of new features, such as the Start menu can positioned either be in its familiar location or in the center. As well, familiar icons that you see in My computer or My Documents have been update as well as other numerous changes. Some Android applications may also be installed in Windows 11.

Windows 11 upgrade from Windows 10 will be free of charge. Windows 10 [with the latest build release semi-annually (for now)] are expected to be supported until mid-2025. There will be an updated Windows 10 build coming this fall called v21H2.

Microsoft Teams will now be included in the installation, replacing the Windows 10 version of Skype. Skype will be available on the Microsoft Store.

There are four major changes though:

• Monthly updates are expected to be up to 40% smaller than the current updates.
• Some processor that are older than 4 years old may not be supported.
• The end to the “old” 32-bit version of Windows. This shouldn’t be an issue to most users out there unless you have a cheap low end computer or one that could have been around since the early days of Windows 7 or before. [And in any case, they will have the next issue to figure out.]
• The biggest issue is for computers over 5 years old. There is a security technology called TPM 2.0. It is used to encrypt data on your computer and other features. Windows 11 requires TPM 2.0 [actually TPM 1.2 may work]. Already there are some enterprising people on the Internet who are figuring out ways to bypass this restriction. Most likely, this will require having the Windows 11 media to do any upgrade. This will also probably be an issue for any future major [yearly] updates.

As for what came with Windows 10:

• Various tools and applications that won’t be part of the installation but can be found on the updated Microsoft Store: 3D Viewer, OneNote [not the Office version], Paint 3D.
• Applications and options that are dead: Tablet, Timeline, Wallet, Math Input Panel, News & Interests [recently added but changed in Windows 11], My People.
• Cortana: Not enabled by default.
• Internet Explorer: Seems it will be disabled [can be enabled?] but not removed.

Information is subject to change.

Windows 11 is coming… Yes

Remember how, when Windows 10 came out, that Windows 10 builds [i.e. the RTM release and all those that came out up to at least including v21H1 just recently] would have ten years of support.

Well, that was sort of true.

Windows 11 [yes – eleven] will be released this fall. Whether or not it will be designated with build v21H2 is still to come.

Come to think of it, so is much of the release.

[Oh and it is just about 10 years from Windows 10 RTM to v21H1.]

I haven’t touched it, but there has been a leak of a build [unsure if by Microsoft to get a reaction or by someone else] and so far, the consensus is that it is basically Windows 10 with a modified Start menu, changes to the various icons used [i.e. folder, My Documents, etc.], and maybe some minor stuff.

And yet there are still quite a few remnants going back even before Windows 10. There is still the MMC application. Even during the OOBE {Out of Box Experience], at least one screen goes back to Windows Vista.

Of course, this build is early. Reports of some features not correctly or at all.

I would assume the upgrade will be free. Really I would figure this release would follow then current upgrade scheduling.

Microsoft is officially announcing the release at 11 AM EST [New York or Montreal time] on June 24th. Rumor has it there will be a mock funeral for Windows 10 in the presentation.

The (Near) Death of Internet Explorer

Seems that Internet Explorer will officially kick the bucket except if the following conditions on June 15, 2022:

• Windows 10 Long-Term Servicing Channel [LTSC]
• Windows Server Internet Explorer 11 desktop applications
• Windows 8.1
• Windows 7 with Extended Security Updates [ESU]

The latter two will not be supported once support ends for them [ESUs for Windows 8.1 if purchased].

In addition, support for IE 11 using Microsoft 365 and other apps end on August 17, 2021.

Note that Microsoft Edge – the Chromium based browser – supports all versions of Windows even Windows 7.

Windows 10 v21H1 released and another bug

Everything points to Windows 10 v21H1 [i.e. the spring release] has gone RTM [the good old days phrase for “released to manufacturing” except media isn’t really manufactured now].

Probably towards the end of the month or at the latest by next Patch Tuesday, we should be seeing some systems [the newest and most compatible] being offered the update as well as the Media Creation tools and other ways.

This is another “enabler” update – meaning those security updates you’ve been down from the past few months already included the few new and modified features but weren’t enabled.

You can wait for the “enabler” or search for “kb5000736 v21H1”. [Use at your own risk and make sure the link is from a Microsoft site.]

Meanwhile, the v21H2 update will be one of those big updates – not an enabler – when released in the fall. It expects to have some changes in icons as well as the “Start” menu and other “upgrades”.

Finally there is another bug in Windows 10 v2004 and v2009 that Microsoft is investigating. The bug has been around a few months but only now Microsoft is looking into it and is related to use 5.1 Dolby Audio. Doesn’t affect stereo setups.

See the KB and scroll down as bit.

Windows 10 is slow [here we go] again

If you have installed the April 2021 update for Windows 10 v20H2 [ KB5001330 ] you may notice some issues after the install. They include BSODs, choppiness in videos as well as other performance issues.

If you have installed it, you may want to uninstall it, reboot and then pause Windows updates for maybe a week.

If you actually haven’t installed it yet, then pause Windows updates for a week.

So far no word if it affects older Windows 10 versions.

PS – A little note that Windows 10 v1903 isn’t supported and v1909 goes out of support in mid-May.