Articles about Windows 10

Recent Windows 10 Insider builds from the 20H1 branch (set for release next spring) have introduced quite a few welcome new features, and today’s new flight, Build 18980, is no different.

The previous release, Build 18975, came with Cortana and Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) improvements, and so does this one.

Continue reading →

The KB4512941 update for Windows 10 has already proved itself to be problematic, causing issues with high CPU usage. Now another bug has emerged in the update, with users complaining of corrupted screenshots.

The strange problem rears it head no matter how a screenshot is taken, with the resulting images exhibiting an orange tint. Other users complain that their screens are turning red.

Continue reading →

Work continues apace on the next major Windows 10 update due out next spring. Recent preview releases have all introduced big improvements, and today's new flight, Build 18975, is no different.

This release for Fast ring Insiders introduces the ability to move the Cortana window to anywhere on screen, and also makes improvements to Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL).

Continue reading →

Three-hundred-and-fifty-one in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on the Microsoft Store in the past seven days.

If you installed KB4512941 for Windows 10 version 1903 and noticed Cortana CPU usage going through the roof, you are not alone. Microsoft acknowledged the issue and plans to ship a patch later this month.

Continue reading →

A week after its release, Microsoft says it is working to fix a problem with the KB4512941 update for Windows 10. Users have complained of a spike in CPU usage by SearchUI.exe and said that search results are blank.

The company had been slow to recognize that there was a problem, but it did eventually acknowledge the issue on Twitter. Now Microsoft has provided more details about its work on a fix which is due for release later this month.

Continue reading →

It has been a little while since news broke that Microsoft was bringing back PowerToys for Windows 10 but four months down the line the company has kept its word.

Microsoft has just released the first preview of PowerToys, and you can download two new utilities right now. Kicking things off are FancyZones, a window manager which greatly enhances window snapping for improved productivity, and Shortcut Guide, which uses a screen overlay to reveal the keyboard shortcuts you can use at any given time. Sadly, however, there is no TweakUI for Windows 10.

Continue reading →

Following the release of KB4512941 for Windows 10 version 1903, users have noticed a huge leap in CPU usage by Cortana.

After installing the cumulative update, the Cortana process SearchUI.exe is making much higher use of the CPU for many people. The problem can arise on systems where Bing Search has been disabled, and a series of workarounds have been suggested while Microsoft works on addressing the problem.

Continue reading →

Happy Labor Day Weekend, dear BetaNews readers! Tomorrow, many of us "working stiffs" will get the opportunity to do nothing. We can sit around, watch TV, barbecue some meat -- hell, for one day, we can pretty much do whatever we'd like. Personally, I picked up some steaks from Costco, which are marinating now in anticipation. Sadly, not everyone will be off from work tomorrow, so if you will be at your job on Labor Day, please accept both my sympathies and respect.

If you want something fun to do tomorrow while relaxing at home, why not install Linux? Seriously, folks, what better time than Labor Day to look into replacing Windows 7 or Windows 10 on your PC with something better and faster? If your PC has been sluggish, or if you are wary of all the telemetry (spying) built into Windows 10, a distribution such as Linux Lite can breathe new life into your computer. Today, following a short beta period, Linux Lite 4.6 "Final" becomes available for download.

Continue reading →

Windows 95 has been enjoying a nostalgia-fueled revival in recent years. There have been concepts made for modern versions of the ancient OS on desktop and mobile and it’s even now possible to give an Apple iPhone a Windows 95 makeover.

Last year, developer Felix Rieseberg released Windows 95 as an Electron app and a few months later updated it to run gaming classics like Doom. Three months ago he gave the OS a welcome performance boost, and now it gets a smart new user interface and upgraded components.

Continue reading →

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

Microsoft is facing another European investigation over Windows 10 privacy concerns. Check out Mark's article for details.

Continue reading →

A number of previous Windows 10 Insider builds from the 20H1 branch have featured a new "Cloud download" option in the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) under Reset this PC. Despite the feature’s presence in these builds, Microsoft has yet to release a working version. That changes in the latest flight.

Build 18970 allows users to download Windows over a high speed internet connection when resetting a PC. The option reinstalls the same build, version, and edition that's currently on your device.

Continue reading →

Worries about privacy in Windows 10 show no signs of abating, with Europe expressing ongoing concerns about Microsoft's data gathering and telemetry.

Having already asked Microsoft to make modifications to Windows, the Dutch data protection agency (DPA) has since looked into what changes the company has implemented. Having found "new, potentially unlawful, instances of personal data processing", the agency is calling for an investigation by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), Microsoft's lead EU privacy regulator.

Continue reading →

We are frequently advised to ensure that all of the latest Windows updates are installed in the name of security, as well as to ensure that we have access to all of the latest features. But sometimes things go wrong, as the KB4505903 update for Windows 10 illustrates.

This cumulative update was released a little while back -- July 26, to be precise -- but over the intervening weeks, problems have emerged with Bluetooth. You may find that you're not able to connect your Bluetooth speaker, or that audio quality is terrible. Microsoft has a workaround.

Continue reading →

Three-hundred-and-forty-nine in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on the Microsoft Store in the past seven days.

Microsoft released two new builds of the upcoming Windows 10 20H1 version of the operating system.

Continue reading →

Last Friday, Microsoft rolled out an action-packed new build for Windows 10 Insiders on the Fast ring that included updates to Task Manager, Virtual Desktops, Optional Features in Settings, Notepad, account profiles, and Windows Search.

Today, the software giant brings out Build 18965 with one major new change.

Continue reading →