Articles about Windows 11

Microsoft continues to release the same preview builds of Windows 11 to Insider on the Beta and Dev channels, and has just pushed out Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7271. While the company focuses on the introduction of the Xbox full screen experience for PC – and this is certainly a big addition – it may not be the highlight for most people.

Certainly more useful is the arrival of the recently announced Point-in-time restore for Windows, and the expansion of the resume across devices feature. Also of note is a significant redesign of the context menu for improved efficiency.

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Microsoft has begun rolling out a new Notepad update to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels. The update introduces two big additions to the Windows 11 text editor: table support, and faster streaming-style output for its AI writing tools.

The update, released as version 11.2510.6.0, expands Notepad’s lightweight formatting features while also customizing how AI responses appear.

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If you have been waiting for Microsoft to make Windows 11’s taskbar flyout calendar useful, there is not much longer to wait. At Ignite, the company has provided details of a significant change that is coming in December.

The calendar flyout that appears when clicking the taskbar clock is in line for an upgrade. Now, in addition to displaying a quick-view calendar, there will be an agenda view.

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Microsoft’s Ignite developer conference is underway, and the company has used this as a platform to announce new recovery options for Windows 11. This is something which is being pushed not as an evolution of recovery, but a reinvention.

Having already released Quick Machine Recovery a few months ago, Microsoft is now switching focus. With Intune remote recovery via WinRE, the company enables admins to not only see the Intune console when a managed PC has entered recovery, but also perform recovery actions.

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Windows 11 power users will be pleased to learn that Microsoft is planning to bring the Sysmon (System Monitor) tool to Windows as a native utility. Usually part of the Sysinternals suite of utilities, Sysmon will be integrated into not only Windows 11, but also Windows Server 2025 starting next year.

The announcement was made not by Microsoft, but by Sysinternals creator Mark Russinovich. He says that by integrating the Sysmon utility into Windows, administrators will simplify deployment and bring additional functionality.

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Stardock has launched a new application for Windows called Connection Explorer, a beta tool designed to reveal and visualize every network connection made by a PC. Aimed at improving data transparency, it allows users to monitor, understand, and control how their devices communicate online.

The software maps out every connection a computer makes, transforming complex background activity into a readable visual interface. Stardock says the goal is to give users direct insight into how data flows between their systems and the internet, removing the guesswork from identifying unfamiliar or unwanted activity.

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Every so often, we get hints about Windows 12, but Microsoft has yet to announce it. Now that the tech giant is only officially supporting one Windows OS, perhaps that will change.

But as 2025 draws to a close, and with a new year on the horizon, it’s time to look forward to fresh beginnings and groundbreaking innovations. It’s time for a new Microsoft operating system. Let me introduce you to Windows 26.

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Over the last few years, Microsoft has gradually evolved the Snipping Tool from a simple screen-grabbing tool into something which is much more advanced and sophisticated than anyone could have first imagined.

Having added features such as the ability to create video, grab text from images using OCR, the company is now adding new text options to the app. While not officially available – or even announced – new capabilities have been spotted in the app that show how Microsoft is developing this increasingly essential tool.

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Microsoft officially ended support for Windows 10 last month, leaving most systems without regular updates. For users in the European Union, the European Economic Area, and Switzerland, the software giant offers free Windows 10 ESU (Extended Security Updates) patches to keep PCs protected. Unfortunately, for many who qualify, the ESU registration option doesn’t appear in Windows Update.

The missing registration prompt issue is typically the result of incomplete system updates, disabled Windows services, or files required for the registration process going AWOL. If your Windows 10 installation isn't fully up to date or certain services aren't running, the ESU registration won't automatically appear.

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It may not have been long since Microsoft finally released the Windows 11 25H2 update, but the company is already working away on the next big release. We know little about it, but Microsoft has – perhaps accidentally – released code that makes reference to Windows 11 26H1.

This is the first time that Microsoft has referred to this particular branch of Windows 11 development, lending some credibility to the rumors that this was the next feature update for the operating system. So, what do we know?

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Like many people, you’ve probably put off installing Windows 11 updates because you need to get on with something else. And if at the end of the day you have selected the “Update and Shut Down” option in the Start menu, you may well have questioned yourself when Windows chose to restart instead.

But this was not you; it was Microsoft’s fault. The company has just admitted to the long-standing issue while quietly fixing the bug that has irritated users for a surprisingly long time.

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After a period of testing with a limited number of users, Microsoft is finally making a key component of Bluetooth LE Audio available to more people. What does this mean? That you can send audio from your Windows 11 computer to two audio devices at the same time.

This can be used to transmit music or other audio to two sets of speakers, or it could be used to allow to people to listen to the same thing on individual pairs of earphones. While the rollout of this feature remains a little limited in availability, it marks an important step towards general release.

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If you have ever been confused by updates for Windows 11, you are not alone. Microsoft is aware that the mish mash of unclear and inconsistent names used for different types of updates has left many people confused – so it is doing something about it.

The company has announced a change to the way in which it labels updates, making them simpler, more consistent, and easier to understand. Here is how things are changing.

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In the most recent Windows Insider builds of Windows 11, Microsoft is testing a new feature that will make it quicker and easier to perform search based on text copied from other documents. The new Copy & Search feature is currently available in the new Dev and Beta channels, and it could be a real time-saver.

While it may not seem like much, Copy & Search reduced a three-step process to a two-step process. In the big scheme of things, it is not much, but it is something that feel significantly faster, even if the difference is quite small in reality. But this is not just a change that is about speed.

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Microsoft is a big fan of marking milestones and anniversaries by releasing wallpaper. Now the company is doing just that to celebrate the eleventh anniversary of the Windows Insider Program.

The program was designed with a dual purpose. Firstly it gives Microsoft a way to mass test changes to its operating system, and secondly it gives eager users the chance to test out and shape the future orf Windows.

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