Articles about Microsoft

Some seven-and-a-half months after the original release, Microsoft has announced that Windows 11 is now "designated for broad deployment".

We use the word "announced" fairly loosely here; the revelation was made in a status change on the release health page for Windows 11. It means that any computer that meets the minimum requirements will now be offered the upgrade, and it lays the groundwork for the rollout of Windows 11 22H2 in the coming months.

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The updates released for Windows in May have been incredibly problematic. The KB5013943 update has been causing various issues, one of which has forced Microsoft to push out emergency to fix things.

There are several out-of-band patches fixes available as the authentication issue they address affect various versions of Windows. In all, there are no fewer than eight patches available: KB5014986, KB5014987, KB5014990, KB5014991, KB5015013, KB5015018, KB5015019 and KB5015020.

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A while back, Microsoft announced that it would be using the Insider Dev Channel to trial new, more experimental ideas in Windows 11. In the latest insider flight, Build 25120, we see a good example of this.

Insiders will now see a new search bar on the desktop that they can use to search the web. This won’t be something that appeals to everyone -- especially as it uses Bing to return results -- but it’s easy enough to disable.

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The apps section of the Microsoft Store has been an embarrassment since day one, and even now -- despite Microsoft’s efforts to improve it -- it’s still a dumpster fire.

Perhaps most embarrassingly of all, if you went to the app store expecting to be able to download Microsoft Teams, you’ll have drawn a blank as it wasn’t there. Today though, that finally changes. Well, changes for some users anyway.

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Four-hundred-ninety 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.

The KB5013943 update for Windows 11 is causing application start issues on some devices. Affected users may want to check Sofia's article, as it contains a workaround.

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Following the release of this month's Patch Tuesday updates, Microsoft has issued a warning that installing the KB5013943 update can lead to authentication issues for various Windows services.

The update was released on May 10, and was meant to -- among other things -- fix an issue with screen flicker in Safe Mode. But in addition to causing error messages for some users, the KB5013943 update has also led to authentication failures Windows domain controllers.

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It’s Wednesday, so that usually (with occasional exceptions) means a new Windows 11 test build. Not today though, today Microsoft rolls out two new builds -- one for the Dev Channel (Build 25115) and one for the Beta Channel (Build 22621).

The Dev Channel flight comes with one new feature, but there is some bad news -- it won’t be offered to ARM64 PCs.

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Windows users currently have a choice of two (supported) operating systems -- Windows 10 or Windows 11. While Microsoft would prefer users to be running the latest OS, adoption of Windows 11 has slowed dramatically in recent months.

When Windows XP first arrived back in 2001 it really shook things up with its revolutionary design and playful color scheme. If you were wondering how it might look if it was released today, we have the answer.

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While the vast majority of people are happy downloading software these days, there are some who still gain comfort from owning physical installation media. Microsoft has listened and you can now buy Windows 11 and install it without the need to download anything -- or even needing an internet connection.

Microsoft has not exactly shouted about the availability of physical Windows 11 installation media, but it does exist. You can buy an official USB drive containing Windows 11 Home or Windows 11 Pro.

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Wish and hope as much as you like, but the days of problematic updates for Windows are far from over. We now live in an age in which Microsoft releases patches for patches, and the latest example of this is the KB5013943 update for Windows 11.

This security update addresses a screen flicker problem experienced by some people who installed the KB5012643 update. It also fixes problems with .NET Framework apps caused by the same update.

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In recent days the yet-to-be-released successor to Windows 11's Outlook app leaked online. Called One Outlook, this unreleased beta version is known as Project Monarch.

This is not the first we have heard of One Outlook; it was originally scheduled for release last year, but the launch was delayed. But the leak was the first time anyone has been able to try out the app, but Microsoft has issued a warning saying that this is an "unsupported early test version" which is missing features.

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Last month, we wrote about problems experienced by some Windows 10 users who installed the KB5012599 update -- specifically 0x8024200B and 0x800F0831 errors.

While the problems are yet to be publicly acknowledged by Microsoft or added to the list of known issues with the update, the word is that a fix is on the way very soon. Sysadmins that have contacted Microsoft have been advised that a patch is "on track" for delivery this week, with the company blaming a "code defect" for the problems.

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It is not long since Microsoft released the KB5012643 update for Windows 11, bringing with it a lengthy list of improvements and security fixes. But, as has been the case with so many Windows updates, it also brought problems.

We have already seen issues with screen flicker in Safe Mode, although Microsoft has taken steps to address this. But now the company has issued a warning that Windows 11 users may experience issues with certain types of apps after installing the KB5012643 update.

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Microsoft has released a number of programs as open source over the years, and today it digs deep into its back catalog to make 3D Movie Maker freely available to all.

First released in 1995, 3D Movie Maker lets you put together animated scenes using 3D characters, props, backgrounds, text, sound, and special effects. This release also comes with a build of BRender from Argonaut software. While it’s a welcome move, you shouldn’t get too excited by today’s news because there is a catch.

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After what seems like an age -- in reality just shy of four weeks -- it is time for a new version of PowerToys! Microsoft has released PowerToys v0.58.0, complete with a lengthy list of fixes and improvements to numerous utilities. Many of the changes will be of particular interest to Windows 11 users.

Under the hood, native ARM64 support is progressing, and NET Core 3.1 has been ditched in favor of .NET 6. More interestingly, there are also important change to FancyZones, File Explorer, PowerToys Runs, Mouse Utility and more.

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