Nov 11

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23585 (Dev Channel)

Hi all, Last Wednesday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23585 to the Dev Channel.

Smooth upgdates on all my devices here nice to see the chat icon fixed again 🙂

Happy Upgrades!

Changes and Improvements

[General]

  • The Camera app, Cortana, Photos app, and People app, and Remote Desktop (MSTSC) client can be uninstalled.

Fixes

[General]

  • Fixed a few issues leading to explorer.exe crashes.

[File Explorer]

  • Fixed an issue causing the context menu to draw off screen when invoked using touch or pen on the side of your desktop.

[Taskbar]

  • Fixed the issue causing the purple Chat button to show up again on the taskbar after updating to Build 23580.

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

[Copilot in Windows*]

  • When first launching or after refreshing Copilot in Windows while using voice access, you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time.

Snipping Tool Update

We are rolling out Snipping Tool (version 11.2310.49.0) to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels improving HDR display support. Screenshots and screen recording on displays with HDR enabled should be able to better display colors.

source: Windows Blog

Nov 11

Microsoft Edge running in Windows Subsystem for Linux

Microsoft Edge is a popular web browser that offers fast performance, security, and compatibility with modern web standards. If you are a Linux user who wants to try out Edge, you can install it on Ubuntu running in Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). In this blog post, I will show you how to do that in a few simple steps.

First, you need to enable WSL on your Windows 10/11 machine. You can follow the official instructions from Microsoft here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install. Make sure you install Ubuntu as your Linux distribution of choice.

Next, you need to update your Ubuntu system and install some dependencies. Open a WSL terminal and run the following commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
sudo apt install curl gpg software-properties-common apt-transport-https

Then, you need to add the Microsoft repository for Edge and import the GPG key. Run these commands:

curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | gpg --dearmor > microsoft.gpg
sudo install -o root -g root -m 644 microsoft.gpg /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/
sudo add-apt-repository "deb [arch=amd64] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/edge stable main"

Finally, you can choose for stable, beta or dev

You can install Edge stable by running:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install microsoft-edge-stable

You can install Edge (beta) by running:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install microsoft-edge-beta

You can install Edge (dev) by running:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install microsoft-edge-dev

That’s it! You have successfully installed Microsoft Edge on Ubuntu running in WSL. You can launch it from the terminal by typing:

microsoft-edge
or
microsoft-edge-beta
or
microsoft-edge-dev

or from the Windows start menu under ubuntu

Enjoy browsing the web with Edge on Linux in WSL!

Nov 07

Microsoft Technical Takeoff

Add to calendar

Microsoft Technical Takeoff – Link on Techcommunity

Four days. Deep dives. AMAs. Windows, Intune, Windows 365, and Azure Virtual Desktop.

We’re excited to present the second annual Microsoft Technical Takeoff for Windows + Intune! This virtual technical skilling event takes you deep inside the latest features, capabilities, and scenarios for commercial organizations and the IT professionals that support them.

How do I participate?
Check out the link above, select the session(s) you want to attend, and select RSVP to save your spot, receive event reminders, and post your questions. Select the session name to add it to your calendar and see full details on what will be covered.

This is a live event. Engineering and product teams will be on camera and in chat answering your questions so post them early and feel free to post more than once! Can’t attend live? All sessions will be recorded and available on demand so you can catch up on your schedule. Q&A will be live during the sessions, we’ll leave it open all week so you can get the insights and answers you need to keep moving!

Nov 04

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25987 (Canary Channel)

Hi all, last Tuesday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25987 to the Canary Channel.

Upgrades when smooth on all my devices, happy to see more devices where Copilot showed up in the taskbar.

It’s been a while but finally got a GSOD on 1 device, while dragging an Edge tab to a different monitor the video driver gave up it seems: VIDEO_SCHEDULER_INTERNAL_ERROR

only happened 1x so far

Feedback Hub: https://aka.ms/AAncijv

What’s new in Build 25987

Changes and Improvements

[General]

  • During setup (OOBE), when you need to connect to a network and there’s no Wi-Fi drivers, you’ll be given an option to press an “Install Drivers” button to install drivers you have previously downloaded. You will see this change using the ISO for Build 25977 provided here for download and higher.
  • Starting with this build, the Windows Maps and Movies and TV apps will no longer be installed after doing a clean install of the OS. The Windows Maps and Movies and TV apps will not be removed on upgrade for Insiders in the Canary Channel and continue to be available and updated via the Microsoft Store.

[Settings]

  • We’ve designed the settings page for Delivery Optimization under Settings > Windows Update > Advanced options > Delivery Optimization to match the Windows 11 design principles.

[File Explorer]

  • PNG files now support viewing and editing metadata – for example, if you’d like to set a star rating in Properties, edit the description, or add keywords.

Fixes for known issues

  • Fixed an issue causing File Explorer to crash in Windows Sandbox when using a non-English display language.

Known issues

  • [REMINDER] Some popular games may not work correctly on the most recent Insider Preview builds in the Canary Channel. Please be sure to submit feedback in Feedback Hub on any issues you see with playing games on these builds.
  • [NEW] There are blank options showing on the Personalization and Privacy & Security settings pages where if clicked on will crash Settings.
  • [NEW] We’re investigating reports that attempting to reboot into safe mode hangs on the boot logo.

Microsoft Store Update

Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels running version 22310.xxxx.x of the Microsoft Store and higher will see the following improvement rolling out:

Customize the install location of your games: When downloading games like Starfield, Halo Infinite, or Forza Motorsport, you will now be able to specify the installation drive. For example, when clicking the install button from Starfield’s page, you’ll be greeted with a new dialog providing you a chance to select a drive. You can change your default drive from the Microsoft Store’s settings page. Also in the settings page, you can specify the folder location of your games within that drive. These settings are synchronized with the Xbox app on PC to ensure a consistent gaming experience.

Game installation options in the Microsoft Store.
Game installation options in the Microsoft Store.

source: Windows Blogs

Nov 04

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23580 (Dev Channel)

Hi all, last Tuesday Microsoft released  Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23580 to the Dev Channel.

Smooth upgrades here on both local and Windows365 devices

Easier options to change the location where the store installes games is a nice update

Enhoy Upgrading!

Changes and Improvements

[Copilot in Windows*]

  • Starting with Build 23580 in the Dev Channel, users with local accounts will be able to access Copilot in Windows for a limited number of queries before needing to sign in.

[Windows Share]

  • We have significantly improved nearby share transfer speed for users on same network. Before these changes, users had to be on the same private network but now users just have to be on the same network, which could be public or private. You can quickly turn on nearby share via Quick Settings and simply right-click on a local file in File Explorer, choose “Share”, and choose to share to a device listed under Nearby Share in the Windows share window.

[Emoji]

  • [ADDED] We are temporarily disabling the update of our color font format to COLRv1 (first introduced in Build 23506) that displayed richer emoji with a 3D like appearance to fix some bugs. We plan to re-enable this in a future Dev Channel flight.

Fixes

[File Explorer]

  • Fixed an issue where using mouse back and forward buttons didn’t react when hovering over the Recommended Files section of Home.
  • Fixed an issue where Gallery would stop displaying correctly if you applied Group By to all folders.

[Desktops]

  • Fixed an issue that made the desktop tooltips in Task view hard to read in contrast themes.
  • Fixed an issue that was causing taskbar icons to disappear after switching desktops.

[Search on the Taskbar]

  • Fixed an issue where if your taskbar was close to being full of icons and you used the search box, clicking the search box would open search and then it would immediately close.

[Windows Spotlight]

  • Fixed an issue which was resulting in Windows Spotlight wallpapers not showing correctly in the desktop thumbnail in Task View.

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

[Taskbar]

  • [NEW] The purple Chat button may show up again on the taskbar after updating to this build. This is unintentional. We’re working to resolve an issue where the button is incorrectly showing again.

[Copilot in Windows*]

  • When first launching or after refreshing Copilot in Windows while using voice access, you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time.

Microsoft Store Update

Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels running version 22310.xxxx.x of the Microsoft Store and higher will see the following improvement rolling out:

Customize the install location of your games: When downloading games like Starfield, Halo Infinite, or Forza Motorsport, you will now be able to specify the installation drive. For example, when clicking the install button from Starfield’s page, you’ll be greeted with a new dialog providing you a chance to select a drive. You can change your default drive from the Microsoft Store’s settings page. Also in the settings page, you can specify the folder location of your games within that drive. These settings are synchronized with the Xbox app on PC to ensure a consistent gaming experience.

Game installation options in the Microsoft Store.
Game installation options in the Microsoft Store.

source: Windows Blogs

Nov 04

Windows Clipboard History

One of the coolest features of Windows 11 is the clipboard history. This allows you to access and paste multiple items that you have copied before, without losing them. You can also pin items that you use frequently, such as your email address or phone number, and synchronize them across your devices. Here’s how to use the clipboard history in Windows 11.

First, you need to enable the clipboard history in the Settings app. Go to System > Clipboard and turn on the toggle for Clipboard history. You can also turn on Sync across devices if you want to share your clipboard items with other Windows 11 devices that are signed in with the same Microsoft account.

(or you can just type Windows key + V and select ‘Turn on’)

Next, you need to learn how to access the clipboard history. The easiest way is to use the keyboard shortcut Windows key + V. This will open a small window that shows your clipboard history, with the most recent item at the top. You can scroll through the list and click on any item to paste it.

To pin an item to the clipboard history, click on the pin icon on the right. This will keep the item in the clipboard history even if you restart your device or clear the history. To unpin an item, click on the pin icon again.

To delete an item from the clipboard history, click on the … on the right to reveal the delete button. To clear all items from the clipboard history, click on the Clear all button at the top.

The clipboard history in Windows 11 is a handy tool that can save you time and hassle when copying and pasting multiple items.

Easy to remember: Ctrl + v for single paste, Windows key + v for Clipboard History

Try it out and see how it works for you!

Nov 01

Windows 11 23H2 is now available

On October 31st, Microsoft released the Windows 11 23H2 update.

Copilot, built-in decompression, passwordless device options and lots more

What’s new for IT pros in Windows 11, version 23H2

  • Copilot in Windows [2] (in preview), an AI-powered intelligent assistant to help you get answers and inspirations from across the web, enhance creativity and collaboration, and focus on the task at hand.

  • The ability to go passwordless on day one using Windows Hello for Business or FIDO2 security keys. Enable workers to sign in to websites or apps using face, PIN, or fingerprint.
  • The ability to remove the option for password at device unlock and for in-session authentication for Microsoft Entra Join (formerly Azure AD Join) devices.
  • Enhanced Windows Firewall capabilities, including:
    • Application Control for Business (previously known as Windows Defender Application Control) app ID tagging with Windows Firewall rules through Intune. Target Windows Firewall rules to specific applications without an absolute file path.
    • The ability to configure network list manager settings to determine when a Microsoft Entra Join device is on your on-premises domain subnets, so firewall rules can properly apply. Use the network list manager settings for Windows Firewall for location awareness.
    • The ability to configure more granular Windows Firewall logging for domain, private, and public firewall profiles, as well as the ability to specify Windows Firewall inbound and outbound rules for Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) types and codes.
  • Greater control over the taskbar search experience across your organization and the ability to customize Windows 11 taskbar buttons using new policies.
  • Snipping Tool enhancements, such as:
    • Audio and mic support so workers can easily record a tutorial or demonstration for colleagues and customers.
    • Text extraction and redaction so you can easily copy text from an online article, conference call, or other source. Incorporate it into documents or presentations while also protecting privacy and removing confidential or sensitive information.

There are also a few additional enhancements in this scoped release, such as:

  • The ability to ungroup icons and show labels on the taskbar for easy access to open applications and files.
  • A more seamless File Explorer with native support for RAR and other file compression formats.
  • Recommended websites in the Start menu based on each person’s browsing history. (This feature can be managed using a policy.)
  • A new volume mixer to control the volume and audio output more easily for each application.

  • The ability to set up a multi-app kiosk on Windows 11 devices with a customized Start menu showing only allowed apps for each account type.
  • Federated sign-in for Education editions of Windows 11.
  • Dev Drive, a new form of storage volume designed to improve performance for key developer workloads. Gain more control over storage volume settings and security, including trust designation, antivirus configuration, and
  • administrative control over filters.

source: http://aka.ms/new-in-23H2

Group Policy templates can also be used to update your Active Directory central store

Download Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 11 2023 Update (23H2) from Official Microsoft Download Center

The update policy settings in intune are also ready for the rollout:

you can now select Windows 11, version 23H2 as target feature update

Oct 28

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23575 (Dev Channel)

Hi all, Friday Microsoft realesed Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23575 to the Dev Channel.

Smooth upgrades on all devices & Windows 365 Cloud PC

Changes and Improvements

[Start menu]

  • We’re trying out grouping recently added apps on your PC into a folder under the Recommended section of Start with some Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.
Grouping of recently added apps under the Recommended section of the Start menu.
Grouping of recently added apps under the Recommended section of the Start menu.

Fixes

[General]

  • Fixed an issue which was causing certain games to fail to launch with a 0x1 error in the last 2 Dev Channel flights.

[Copilot in Windows*]

  • Fixed an issue causing some Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel using the Home edition of Windows 11 Insider Preview builds to find Copilot in Windows has disappeared from the taskbar.

[File Explorer]

  • Fixed an issue where hovering over the first picture in Gallery would make a tooltip appear that would never dismiss.
  • Fixed an issue where closing File Explorer could cause an explorer.exe crash sometimes.
  • Did some work to improve the performance of opening the context menu.
  • Fixed an issue where the second time you opened dropdown menus in File Explorer, you wouldn’t be able to scroll it with touch.

[Settings]

  • Fixed an issue where Settings Home might show a prompt to sign into your Microsoft account, and fail to sign in if you tried to use it, even though Settings itself showed you were already signed in.

[Task Manager]

  • Fixed an issue where the dropdowns in settings would float up the screen if you scrolled.

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

[Copilot in Windows*]

  • When first launching or after refreshing Copilot in Windows while using voice access, you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time.

source: Windwos Blogs

Oct 28

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25982 (Canary Channel)

Hi all, last Wednesday Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25982 to the Canary Channel.

Updates went smooth, post update ‘please wait we got some new stuff’ part took a bit longer than usual, but I did get Copilot on my main device thnx to this build

Copilot in Windows* in Preview

We are beginning to roll out Copilot in Windows in preview to Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel. Rolling this out in the Canary Channel to Insiders in the select global markets mentioned below will be gradual, so some Insiders will not see it immediately.

Copilot in Windows on Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25982.
Copilot in Windows on Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25982.

As Yusuf mentioned in his blog post last month, you can use Copilot to get help with summarizing a web page, composing an email, changing your settings to dark mode, or generating an image for that unique idea in your head. Need to enable Bluetooth or connect a new pair of headphones? Copilot can help. Not sure of the best way to capture a screenshot? Ask Copilot to do it for you. Copilot in Windows can change the way you use your PC and inspire you to try new things that you may not have thought of before. It is where productivity and creativity meet.

To get started, look for the Copilot icon on the taskbar or simply press WIN + C to launch Copilot in Windows using the same Microsoft account (MSA) or Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) account that you use to sign in on Windows.

Just click the “…” icon at the top right of the side bar in Windows Copilot to submit feedback on any issues you run into.

[We are beginning to roll this out, so the experience isn’t available to all Insiders in the Canary Channel just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]  

Availability*: Copilot in Windows in preview is being rolled out gradually to Windows Insiders in select global markets. The initial markets for the Copilot in Windows preview include North America, United Kingdom and parts of Asia and South America. It is our intention to add additional markets over time.

SMB client encryption

Starting with this build (Build 25982), SMB now supports requiring encryption of all outbound SMB client connections. With this new option, administrators can mandate that all destination servers use SMB 3 and encryption, and if missing those capabilities, the client won’t connect. This enforces the highest level of network security as well as bringing management parity to SMB signing, which allows both client and server requirements.

For more information on configuring this SMB client encryption, review https://aka.ms/SmbClientEncrypt. For more information on SMB encryption, review https://aka.ms/SmbEncrypt.

Changes and Improvements

[Networking]

  • Discovery of Network-designated Resolvers (DNR) is an upcoming internet standard to discover encrypted DNS servers. Until today, Windows Insiders users had to find out the IP address of their desired encrypted DNS server and manually enter it to configure client-side encrypted DNS on their machine. DNR will enable Windows Insider users to use encrypted DNS protocols like DNS over HTTPS (DoH) and DNS over TLS (DoT) on the client-side without requiring manual configuration. Client-side support for DNR is now available in Windows Insiders Insider Preview Build 25982 and higher. For more information, read this blog post.

[Dev Drive]

  • ReFS filesystem Block Cloning Support is now available in the Windows copy engine. ReFS already supports Block Cloning, so this feature adds native support to copy actions and APIs on Windows. This feature improves the performance of ReFS volumes including Dev Drive volumes for build scenarios or any other copy intensive scenarios, the larger the files being copied the larger the savings.

[Remote Desktop]

  • We’ve updated Remote Desktop Connection (mstsc.exe) to now support zoom options of 350, 400, 450, and 500%.

[Settings]

  • If you’re in light mode, the show accent color on Start and taskbar toggle is greyed out by design and we now show an information bullet that makes it more clear the setting is only available in Windows dark mode.

Fixes for known issues

  • Fixed an issue causing voice access to crash for Insiders in the Canary Channel when dictating text.
  • Fixed a few issues which could lead to hangs when launching File Explorer.
  • Fixed an issue causing the print queue to be inaccessible and show an error if you tried to open it.

Known issues

  • Some popular games may not work correctly on the most recent Insider Preview builds in the Canary Channel. Please be sure to submit feedback in Feedback Hub on any issues you see with playing games on these builds.

source: Windows Blogs

Oct 22

How to use Microsoft Assessments to improve your cloud adoption

Are you looking for a way to assess your cloud readiness and optimize your Azure solutions? Do you want to get tailored feedback and best practices from Microsoft experts? If so, you should check out Microsoft Assessments, a free online platform that helps you evaluate your business strategies and workloads on Microsoft Learn.

Microsoft Assessments are interactive questionnaires that cover diverse topics such as Azure Well-Architected Review, Cloud Adoption Strategy Evaluator, App and Data Modernization Readiness Tool, and more. By completing a customized survey that addresses a wide array of operational and technical needs, you receive a tailored evaluation of your organization’s current strategies and processes, with specific guidance to help you achieve your goals.

Microsoft Assessments are designed to help you:

  • Assess your readiness: You can measure your current state and identify gaps or areas of improvement in your cloud adoption journey.
  • Get a score: You can get a numerical score that reflects your level of alignment with Microsoft best practices and industry standards.
  • Take action: You can review recommendations at your convenience and plan your next steps to improve your score and optimize your cloud solutions.
  • Track and share progress: You can save your assessment progress, create milestones, and share your results with others who can help you implement the recommendations.

Microsoft Assessments are easy to use and accessible from any device. You can start an assessment by choosing one that aligns with the business strategies or workloads you’d like to evaluate. You can then answer a series of questions that will help Microsoft understand your current situation and goals. Based on your responses, you will receive a curated and personalized guidance report that contains actionable recommendations, links to relevant resources, and tips to avoid common pitfalls. You can also compare your results with previous assessments or with other organizations in your industry.

Microsoft Assessments are a fantastic way to accelerate your digital transformation and get the most out of your cloud investments. Whether you are new to Azure or an experienced user, you can benefit from the insights and feedback provided by Microsoft Assessments. To get started, visit Microsoft Learn and browse the available assessments. You can also learn more about Microsoft Assessments by reading the frequently asked questions or watching the video tutorial.