Articles about Microsoft

Microsoft has acknowledged a new issue affecting numerous versions of Windows. Everything from Windows 7 to Windows 11 on the client side of things, and Windows Sever 2008 to Windows Server 2022 may experience issues relating to the Microsoft Installer.

The problem causes the installer to run into issues updating or repairing apps, and it has been connected to KB5007215 or later updates.

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The Windows 11 development team and the one behind PowerToys are entirely separate entities, but it seems like one is being inspired by the other.

While the PowerToys utilities exist to improve on the features found in Windows -- as well as adding completely new options -- sometimes the utilities collection has an influence on the operating system. A good case in point is the new microphone-muting keyboard shortcut that has just been added to the latest builds of Windows 11.

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Four-hundred-sixty-five in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 and 11 on the Microsoft Store and elsewhere in the past seven days.

Microsoft released the Windows 10 November 2021 (aka Windows 10 version 21H2) update this week. The new version of Windows 10 can be downloaded right now.

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For Windows 10 users on the Release Preview channel, Microsoft has an important new update.

The KB5007253 update is available to testers of Windows 10 21H2 and Windows 10 21H1. It will be of interest to business and enterprise users thanks to a fix for a Window Hello issue.

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It is only fairly recently that Microsoft added a new utility to PowerToys -- the incredibly useful Find My Mouse. Now the company is getting ready to launch another addition to the new Mouse Utilities section.

While Find My Mouse makes it easy to locate your mouse cursor when you are unable to track it down yourself, the upcoming Mouse Highlighter takes a slightly different approach. It's a utility that will appeal to anyone who uses their computer to give presentations, and Microsoft has shared details of what we can expect.

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Microsoft has released the latest feature update for Windows 10, the November 2021 Update. Also known as Windows 10 21H2, this update boosts security with the addition of support for the WPA3 H2E (Hash-to-Element) protocol and more.

As is often the case with feature updates like this, Microsoft is performing a staged rollout meaning that if you wait for it to be offered to you, you might be waiting quite a while. You can, however, opt to manually download and install the November 2021 Update so you have the latest version of Windows 10 installed as soon as possible. Read on to find out what's new and how you can skip the queue and upgrade immediately.

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Back in December last year, Microsoft launched a preview of x64 emulation for Windows on ARM. The emulator makes it possible to run x64 apps on ARM devices, and at the time it was available to Windows 10 on ARM users.

But Microsoft has had a change of heart which means Windows 11 on ARM is needed for 64-bit Intel app emulation.

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Yesterday was a busy day for Microsoft. The software giant made the new Media Player for Windows 11 available to Insiders on the Dev Channel, and then began the official rollout of the Windows 10 November Update (21H2).

Today the company follows that up with a new Windows 11 build for Dev Channel Insiders.

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Microsoft has acknowledged an issue with compatibility between Windows 11 and audio drivers from Intel.

Some versions of Intel Smart Sound Technology (Intel SST) drivers are causing BSoDs, leading to Microsoft placing a compatibility hold on systems with affected hardware. This means that until the issue is addressed by either Microsoft or Intel, such systems will not be able to upgrade to Windows 11.

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While there are many people who are happy to stick with Windows 10 -- or even older versions of Windows -- there are plenty more who are eager to upgrade to Windows 11. Assuming your hardware makes the grade, there is some good news in this department.

Microsoft is speeding up the rollout of Windows 11, making it available to more people faster than it expected to do so. There are, of course, steps you can take to force the installation of the OS upgrade, but by increasing the pace of the rollout, the company is making things easier for people, helping to ensure that Windows 11 is on as many systems as possible.

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Feature updates for Windows are the updates which are supposed to be the most interesting. Rather than just improving security and fixing problems, they often include new features (hence the name) and are far more significant than regular monthly updates.

So significant are feature updates that they are considered to be new versions of Windows and for Windows 10, Microsoft has been releasing them twice a year -- in the spring and in the fall. But moving forward, after the release of Windows 10 November 2021 Update (21H2), Windows 10 will be brought in line with Windows 11, meaning feature updates will become annual events.

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You need a laptop, but don't know which to buy. Should you buy a Mac? Meh, those are good computers, but rather pricey -- the new notched screens are very ugly too. Chromebooks can be a great choice -- as long as your needs are fairly meager. Ultimately, many consumers are still wise to go with good ol' Windows. You know what? Windows 11 is shockingly good, so you should have no qualms about getting a computer with Microsoft's latest operating system.

Today, Dynabook (formerly Toshiba) launches not one, but two "Satellite Pro" laptops running Microsoft's excellent Windows 11 Pro. Called "C40-J" and "C50-J," the former has a 14-inch FHD screen, while the latter has a 15.6-inch FHD display. Both are designed with affordability in mind, but despite reasonable pricing, these thin and light laptops do not look like budget machines.

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If you’ve been waiting for the latest feature update for Windows 10 -- Windows 10 November 2021 Update (or 21H2) the wait may be over.

I say 'may' because although Microsoft is making the update available from today, it is taking its usual measured approach to the roll out, so you will likely have to wait a while to be offered it.

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Microsoft has tried for some years now to phase out Windows Media Player (WMP), replacing it with Groove Music and Microsoft Movies & TV for audio and video playback respectively.

Today though, it gives users what they really want -- an updated version of Media Player for Windows 11.

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Microsoft has released a slew of emergency updates for various editions of Windows Server following the discovery of an authentication issue caused by this month's Patch Tuesday updates.

The updates (KB5008601, KB5008602, KB5008603, KB5008604, KB5008605 and KB5008606) are available for Windows Server 2008 SP2 up to Windows Server 2019. Although these are emergency, out-of-band updates, system administrators will still need to manually download and install them on affected domain controllers as Microsoft is not making them available via Windows Update.

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