Microsoft releases Windows 10 Build 19603, integrates Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) with File Explorer

It’s been two weeks since Microsoft last rolled out a new Windows 10 Insider build to users on the Fast ring.

Today that drought ends though as Built 19603 arrives, bringing with it some new features, including a welcome addition for Linux lovers, and storage management improvements.

The main new addition is File Explorer integration in Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). In this build, when you open File Explorer you’ll see the Linux penguin Tux on the left hand side and clicking him will show you a view of all of your distros. Selecting one will take you to its root file system.

Elsewhere, Storage Settings now offers user cleanup recommendations. To help you clean up your system it will gather everything it thinks you’ll want to remove into the one place and you can make your choice there.

Other changes & improvements in this build are:

• Going forward, services that are implemented by binaries residing in the user profiles will be persisted on upgrades.
• Narrator will no longer automatically enable scan mode when interacting with the Ideas pane in Excel. In the new Microsoft Edge, Narrator now automatically enables scan mode and starts reading webpages.

Fixes include:

• Microsoft is removing the known issue for incompatibility issues due to changes in the operating system between some Insider Preview builds and certain versions of BattlEye anti-cheat software. If you run into issues playing games that use BattlEye anti-cheat software, please submit feedback on these issues to Microsoft via Feedback Hub.
• Fixed an issue causing webcams to not function correctly when attempting to make a video call in Microsoft Teams.
• Fixed an issue resulting in some Insiders experiencing a green screen citing an error with mssecflt.sys when starting safe mode on recent builds.
• Fixed an issue resulting in the WIN + PrtScn keyboard shortcut no longer saving a picture to file.
• Fixed several reported stability issues with Narrator, including a fix where it will no longer crash when selecting text in scan mode with new Edge when remote operations are off.
• Fixed an issue leading to the Narrator Quick Start guide crashing while traversing it with Narrator.
• Fixed an issue where the EXE property information was incomplete in Task Manager for EoAExperiences.exe.
• Fixed an issue resulting in some devices experiencing a bugcheck (GSOD) during the reboot to install an update.
• Fixed an issue resulting in some Insiders experiencing a sporadic bugcheck (GSOD) with the error CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED.
• Fixed a bugcheck with error KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED some Insiders were experiencing when trying to sign out from the current user.
• Fixed an issue resulting in some Insiders receiving driver compatibility warnings when trying to update to a newer build in certain virtual environments.
• Fixed an issue that led to inaccurate size estimates for disk cleanup when the option to clean up old Windows installation files was included.
• Fixed an issue where Storage settings would say the option to clean old Windows installation files wasn’t available, because it had been automatically removed after a certain number of days, when actually you had manually selected to remove it.
• Fixed an issue that could result in Settings crashing when navigating to Network & Internet for some Insiders.
• Fixed an issue where you would see a notification from the Shared Experiences page saying your account needed fixing, however the Fix Now option on the page wouldn’t work.
• Fixed an issue where if the Cortana icon was turned off on the taskbar, it might still partially display on secondary monitors.
• Fixed an issue resulting in not being able to drag and drop files into the root of a network share folder.
• Fixed an issue where the IME context menu wouldn’t appear when pressing Shift+F10 if the display language was something other than English.
• Fixed an issue that could result in IMEs created for Amharic and Sinhala to not input text until rebooting your PC.
• Fixed a crash some Insiders were encountering when switching window focus while an IME candidate pane was open.

Known issues are:

• Microsoft is aware Narrator and NVDA users that seek the latest release of Microsoft Edge based on Chromium may experience some difficulty when navigating and reading certain web content. Narrator, NVDA and the Edge teams are aware of these issues. Users of legacy Microsoft Edge will not be affected. NVAccess has released a NVDA 2019.3 that resolves the known issue with Edge.
• Microsoft is looking into reports of the update process hanging for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build.
• The Documents section under Privacy has a broken icon (just a rectangle).
• Sticky Notes windows can’t be moved on the desktop. As a workaround, when you set focus to Sticky Notes, press Alt + Space. This will bring up a menu that contains a Move option. Select it, then use either the arrow keys or the mouse to move the window.
• Microsoft is investigating reports that app icons in the taskbar are having rendering issues, including defaulting to the .exe icon.
• Microsoft is investigating reports that the battery icon on the lock screen always shows close to empty, regardless of actual battery levels.
• Microsoft is investigating reports of IIS configuration being set to default after taking a new build. You will need to back up your IIS configuration and restore it after the new build is installed successfully.
• Language packs may fail to install on this build. This is most impactful for anyone who chooses to reset their PC -- the language packs you have prior to upgrading will persist. Anyone impact by this may notice some parts of the UI don’t display in your preferred language.