TweakHound

Computer stuff...

Windows 10

Prepping For Major Windows Updates

By

It’s been a while since I’ve written about this and with Win10 22H2 coming soon I thought I would post this for new readers.
In the past I used Service Pack updates as an excuse to clean, tweak, and organize my computers as if it were a new install. Gone are the days of Service Packs as Microsoft has moved to a yearly major feature update (version 20H2, 21H1, etc.).
The end result for me is the same and I employ the same strategy as I did before.
* A note before we start, all my “backups” are disk images using a Macrium Reflect Free bootable USB drive.
See: Using Macrium Reflect Boot Media and Macrium Reflect Boot Disk In Action
[Read more…] about Prepping For Major Windows Updates

Block Windows 11 From Installing

By

A user contacted me this morning about this.

Use the registry
Copy/paste this into notepad and name it block11.reg ( not .txt):

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate]
“TargetReleaseVersion”=dword:00000001
“TargetReleaseVersionInfo”=dword:00002212

Download it: https://www.tweakhound.com/win10/block11.zip

Patch Tuesday

By

Win10 2004, 2012, 21H1 Updated
June 8, 2021—KB5003637 (OS Builds 19041.1052, 19042.1052, and 19043.1052)

Highlights
Updates to improve security when using input devices such as a mouse, keyboard, or pen.
Updates to improve Windows OLE (compound documents) security.
Updates for verifying usernames and passwords.
Updates to improve security when Windows performs basic operations.
Updates for storing and managing files.
This security update includes quality improvements. Key changes include:
Security updates to the Microsoft Scripting Engine, Windows App Platform and Frameworks, Windows Input and Composition, Windows Management, Windows Cloud Infrastructure, Windows Authentication, Windows Fundamentals, Windows Virtualization, Windows Kernel, Windows HTML Platform, and Windows Storage and Filesystems.

Win10 May 21H1 Is Out

By

The Windows 10 May 2021 Update is “available”. It is showing up on Windows Update for some but not for me.
I ran the Windows 10 Update Assistant here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10
It took about 20 minutes. All I’ve done so far is run O&O Shutup10 to undo the changes the update made.

From the Windows Blog: How to get the Windows 10 May 2021 Update
Bleeping Computer has a good article on the changes: Windows 10 is gaining these nifty enhancements in the next update

Patch Tuesday

By

Windows Updates
May 11, 2021—KB5003173 (OS Builds 19041.985 and 19042.985)
This security update includes quality improvements. Key changes include:
Security updates to Windows App Platform and Frameworks, the Windows Kernel, Windows Media, the Microsoft Scripting Engine, and the Windows Silicon Platform.

VLC 3.0.14
Fix double loading of slave input
Fix an issue causing the auto-updater not to launch the new version installer
Download (Windows) | Download All | Release Info

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC Updated
Version 21.001.20155 has 10 security updates.
Download (US) | Security Bulletin
[Read more…] about Patch Tuesday

Workaround For Another Botched Update

By

I’ve said from the beginning of Win10 that the “stable releases” of Win10 are beta quality software and that Windows Insiders are actually alpha testers.
This past weeks updates prove me right yet again. With printers causing blue screens, Microsoft has posted a “workaround” until they fix the issue.
If you have this issue, do yourself a favor and just uninstall the update. Microsoft’s workarounds tend not to be completely effective and sometimes cause other issues.
To uninstall KB5000802:
Elevated Command Prompt: wusa /uninstall /kb:5000802
or
Press the Windows + S keys > type Control Panel > click on Programs and Features > click on View installed updates >
find Security Update for Microsoft Windows (KB5000802) and double-click to uninstall.

Patch Tuesday

By

Windows Updated
One Cumulative Update and a 1 or 2 .NET updates depending on which version you’ve installed.
20H2 & 2004: February 9, 2021—KB4601319 (OS Builds 19041.804 and 19042.804)
1909: February 9, 2021—KB4601315 (OS Build 18363.1377)

Firefox 85.0.2
“Fixed a deadlock during startup”
Download | Release Notes

O&O ShutUp10 Updated
“FIX: Determining registry key permissions has resulted in fewer displayed settings on some NT domain systems.”
If you aren’t on a corporate network (domain) then don’t bother with this update.
Download | Changelog

Security update available for Adobe Reader
Download | Security Bulletin

Google Chrome will no longer support dusty old computers from the mid-2000s
“Though admittedly small, the user base for Chrome users on devices dating back to the early to mid-2000s still exists. A new policy document published by the Chromium development team states that they will be dropping support for processors that lack something called SSE3, or Streaming SIMD Extensions 3, in x86 Chrome builds.”
SSE3 from Wikipedia:
“Intel introduced SSE3 in early 2004 with the Prescott revision of their Pentium 4 CPU. In April 2005, AMD introduced a subset of SSE3 in revision E (Venice and San Diego) of their Athlon 64 CPUs.”
From Intel: Products formerly Prescott