Latest news with #WindowsUsers
The Independent
3 days ago
- The Independent
Microsoft is replacing its iconic blue screen of death
Microsoft is replacing its iconic blue screen of death with a new black screen of death, nearly 40 years after its introduction. The change aims to streamline unexpected restarts, provide clearer information to users, and improve the recovery process for Windows systems. This initiative follows a major global outage last year that affected millions of Windows users, including airlines, hospitals, and banks, causing billions in losses. The new recovery system, featuring a simplified user interface, is designed to reduce restart wait times to two seconds for most users. The rollout of the updated system is scheduled for later this summer on all Windows 11 24H2 devices.
Forbes
5 days ago
- Forbes
Microsoft Confirms Windows 11 Updates Broken — Fix Now, Here's How
Scan for updates broken in Windows 11 — Microsoft issues fix. Microsoft isn't, to be honest, having a good month this June, as far as news headlines are concerned. With reports of a system takeover attack targeting Windows users, a secure boot bypass vulnerability being confirmed, and attackers known to be exploiting other Windows vulnerabilities in ongoing attacks, the advice given by Microsoft was simple: update now. But hold on, it seems that for some Windows 11 users at least, it may not be that simple after all. Microsoft has confirmed that 'an issue in Windows that can cause the scan for Windows updates to stop responding.' Here's what you need to know, along with the urgently required fix. Microsoft Confirms Scan For Updates Broken In Windows 11 A Microsoft support document has confirmed that, for users of Windows 11 version 24H2, the Scan for Updates function might not be working. 'This Windows configuration update addresses an issue in Windows that can cause the scan for Windows updates to stop responding,' Microsoft said, adding that the issue impacts those Windows 11 users who have yet to install the May Windows non-security preview update, KB5058499, or later. The support document update was first reported by the German publication, and suggests that 'restarting Windows should allow the scan for Windows updates to be completed.' All Windows 11 users are, however, recommended by Microsoft to update to KB5058499 as this includes a 'permanent resolution for this issue.' Alternatively, you can install the KB5062324 Windows configuration update, Microsoft said, by heading to Settings|Windows Update and setting the toggle for 'Get the latest updates as soon as they're available.' You will then need to restart your copy of Windows 11 and select 'Check for updates.' It should be noted, however, that Microsoft has also stated that the KB5062324 is 'gradually' rolling out globally, so you might have to wait for it to become available for your machine. I would certainly recommend doing one or the other of these things, as being able to check for updates is essential for the security integrity of your Microsoft Windows 11 system. What are you waiting for?
Forbes
22-06-2025
- Forbes
Microsoft's Free Upgrade Deadline For 400 Million Windows Users
Decision time for millions Another suggestion this week that the decision to keep Windows 10 may soon be impossible, with all users with eligible PCs forced to upgrade. That would put a deadline on the free upgrade offer, before it's taken out of your hands. As I've warned before, Microsoft's small print on recent Windows 10 updates has opened that risk. Earlier this year, the Windows-maker forcibly installed its new Outlook client on Windows 10 devices, and then did the same with Windows 11 24H2 for PCs running Home and Pro editions of Windows 11 'that are not managed by IT departments.' But the more critical confirmation came last year, when the company auto-installed the KB5001716 patch on Windows 10 PCs, warning that 'Windows may attempt to download and install feature updates to your device if it is approaching or has reached the end of support for your currently installed Windows version.' That affects 400 million Windows 10 users. As another wave of Windows 10 upgrade warnings floods social media, Windows Latest points out that 'Windows 10 support ends on October 14, and it can be extended for a year if you pay $30. Otherwise, Microsoft will force upgrade supported PCs to Windows 11 whether you like it or not.' There are two questions that will shape the next 100 days. First, how many eligible Windows 10 PCs will upgrade. On that note, this month has seen some surprisingly good news for Microsoft, as millions suddenly upgrade after months of inertia, meaning Windows 11 is poised to overtake Windows 10's market share for the first it's not there yet — alarmingly more than half of all users remain on Windows 10. Second, how many PCs are not capable of that free upgrade. Analysts think there are at least 240 million of those PCs, but there could be many more. These can't be forcibly upgrades and are not eligible for a free upgrade of any kind. Those users will need to pay Microsoft for a 12-month security update extension or will be left open to attack. That Windows 10 deadline is October 14. Microsoft and PC OEMS are pushing hard for those 240 million users — and plenty of those with eligible devices as well — to buy new Copilot PCs. This is all about 'securing your future' the company warns PC owners.
Forbes
11-06-2025
- Forbes
Microsoft Installs Emergency Update On Windows PCs
Emergency update is now being installed. Another month, another emergency update for Windows users. After issuing several out-of-band updates to address update fails in May (1,2), here we are again in June. Only now, 'this OOB update downloads and installs automatically,' Microsoft says. Per Windows Latest which was first to report the initial problem and the response, this follows the June update failing to install on some PCs, primarily those with Easy Anti Cheat gaming software. 'As we suspected, something seemed odd with Windows 11 24H2 KB5060842 when Microsoft had paused the rollout briefly.' That interlude allowed a patch to be applied to the standard update, but this didn't work. Instead Microsoft withheld the update from affected PCs, which will now receive the emergency update instead. 'Windows users likely didn't experience this issue,' the Windows-maker says, because the standard update was not offered to at-risk PCs. According to Windows Latest, users had reported that 'the update showed up, but kept failing with the message: 'Some update files are missing or have problems. We'll try to download the update again later. Error code: (0x80073712)'.' Microsoft then confirmed 'compatibility issues' and applied a fix. But when the fix also failed, 'Microsoft made the final call to yank the buggy patch (KB5060842) because it wouldn't install, and replace it with [the new emergency update] KB5063060.' It's now clear this 'major issue' with June's Patch Tuesday 'causes PCs to reboot unexpectedly when launching games using Easy Anti-Cheat, such as Fortnite.' The emergency replacement for the Patch Tuesday update includes all cumulative fixes as well as the compatibility workaround. Microsoft says the OOB update 'downloads and installs automatically from Windows Update and Microsoft Update on devices with Easy Anti-Cheat installed and on devices that have not installed KB506842 yet.'
The Verge
02-06-2025
- Business
- The Verge
Microsoft will finally stop bugging Windows users about Edge — but only in Europe
Microsoft's changes in response to the Digital Markets Act already included allowing Windows machines in the regions it covers to uninstall Edge and remove Bing results from Windows search, but now the list is growing in some meaningful ways. New features announced Monday for Microsoft Windows users in the European Economic Area (the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway) include the option to uninstall the Microsoft Store and avoid extra nags or prompts asking them to set Microsoft Edge as the default browser unless they choose to open it. That last one is one I'd like to have readily available in the United States, and according to Microsoft, it's already live in the EEA, starting with Edge version 137.0.3296.52 that rolled out on May 29th. Additionally, setting a different browser, like Chrome, Firefox, Brave, or something else, will pin it to the taskbar unless the user chooses not to. While setting a different browser default already attaches it to a few link and file types like https and .html, now users in the EEA will see it apply to more types like 'read,' ftp, and .svg. The default browser changes are live for some users in the beta channel and are set to roll out widely on Windows 10 and Windows 11 in July. Microsoft also explained that even after removing the Store app from Start and Settings, 'Apps installed and distributed from the Microsoft Store will continue to get updates,' and it can always be reinstalled. Other changes mentioned include automatically enabling third-party apps to add their web search results in Windows Search upon installation, and the option to move search providers around based on user preference. With updates rolling out in 'early June,' the Microsoft Bing app, as well as the Widgets Board and Lock Screen, will open web content with the default browser instead.
