The code for the next version of Windows 10 has been finalized -- any updates between now & its general release on the 10th will be included in an update at the time of install. I've seen nothing to indicate Microsoft won't be at least as aggressive pushing out this version as they were last time, & last time I saw the upgrade in Windows Update almost immediately on all of our devices. The Insider version ISO should be released any day now -- it can give you some added time to work with the new version, finding any issues before it's forced on you. Remember that the upgrade will require more disk space than the last one -- on a positive note this means that the time the device is unusable, when Windows shuts down to restart until you get the login screen, is shorter than previously. Good Luck to all running 10.
Get Ready For The Win10 Spring Creators Update/Upgrade
(18 posts) (6 voices)-
gergn
MemberI downloaded the iso this morning and installed it as W10 64 Home without activation in a new Virtualbox virtual machine. As expected, the default option for using a password for logging in has been changed into default logging in with a pin, that may contain letters. Note that the n in pin stands for number, not any character. The task bar is hidden by default. Classic Shell does not work, as its developer expected. That is why he stopped its development end last year. The virtual machine does take quite a long time to start and Virtualbox snapshots made before and after the daily AV-update did not work. No other updates available. The virtual disk is 50 GB with 36,4 GB free. A 2.5 GB video of a TV programme captured with FastStone Capture does not run as smoothly as on the underlying W10 1709 laptop.
Posted 6 years ago # -
mikiem2
ModeratorIt's reported that over the April 7th-8th weekend, Microsoft found a bug in the win10 1803 release that caused them to put a hold on its general release until fixed.
windowscentral[.]com/microsoft-holds-releasing-windows-10-version-1803-public
Meanwhile, still waiting for an official ISO, it seems Microsoft may not release one before the 1803 general release -- if they only found the bug over the weekend, then I'd think that they would have released the ISO by Friday if they were going to, but as always could be wrong.
Personally if they don't release the ISO beforehand, it's not an insurmountable problem for me, but it does make things a slight bit more inconvenient... have to start 10, immediately stop the update service, then once 10 gets done with all its normal chores when 1st started up, run setup from the ISO. The inconvenient part is that once 1803 starts getting pushed out, have to plan on not being able to use any of our devices that only have win10 installed until I upgrade them. I was reminded why I like to use ISOs over the weekend...
Unknown to me, the copy of 10 on my wife's PC was set up for the Insider Preview ring. It could be my error, but I'm 99% sure that I'd never set that up on that PC -- I've always been a bit curious about the Preview ring, because I don't recall ever being able to find that option. I've got VMs on the Insider Fast ring, which means they get all the preview builds as they become available. I've got a copy of 10 on this PC that's in the Insider Slow ring, that gets much fewer builds -- only builds that have proven stable are pushed out to the slow ring. The Preview ring OTOH only gets builds of 10 just before release -- *I Think*, because I've never found the option to try it. Anyway, here's what happened...
I fired up 10 on my wife's PC, to make sure everything was up to date before I backed it up, expecting to upgrade 10 at the beginning of the week. Going through software updates etc. it seemed to be running a bit slower than normal, so I checked Task Mgr., & had a WTF moment -- Windows was updating(?). To win10 1803. Looking to figure out how & why this was happening, I found out it was on the Preview ring, said some impolite things, and decided oh well, I'd let it run while I continued what I was doing -- after all, Microsoft makes a big deal out of you being able to continue using the device while 10 updates.
Well, checking the update progress from time to time, it failed & started over 3 times that I caught -- it could have failed many more times than that AFAIK. I got done what I could, and just let 10 do its thing... about 3 1/2 hours later it finally made it to the 1803 login screen, so I could sign in & shut it down -- I'd manage the busywork, making sure everything was set up on Sunday. That 3 1/2 hours is roughly 3 times the amount of time I'd have expected to spend using an ISO.
Posted 6 years ago # -
mikiem2
ModeratorBased on reports, Microsoft *may* not release the version upgrade to win10 in April, or it might be the very end of April. The bug [or bugs?] that they found in the version that was to be released is apparently not fixable with an update, but requires another build or version of 10. And that means another round of internal, followed by Insider testing, before Microsoft signs off on it as the new RTM build for general release.
neowin[.]net/news/windows-10-build-17133-is-no-longer-considered-rtm-for-the-spring-update
Posted 6 years ago # -
mikiem2
ModeratorThe official date that win10 1803 rolls out is May 8, Update Tuesday -- that's when it'll just start showing up in Windows Update & automatically installing. Microsoft has not yet released ISOs for downloading -- in the past they provided them on the Insiders download page, but not so far this time round. They have released a new MediaCreationTool1803.exe [~19MB] that will download the parts & give you an ISO or create an install USB stick. Something new with this version of 10, from now until 5/8, if you click the button to check for updates, 1803 is supposed to show up in Windows Update & get installed.
blogs[.]windows[.]com/windowsexperience/2018/04/30/how-to-get-the-windows-10-april-2018-update/
*So far*, and *in my own limited experience*, the update process is not too bad, whether you go the Windows Update route or use an ISO. When the numbers of people downloading 1803 starts to peak, my guess is that it'll take longer, but that's just common sense. For me, the download via Windows Update didn't take as long this weekend as version upgrades have in the past. Using the Media Creation Tool in a win7 VM, the downloads to create an ISO took *maybe* twice as long today as just downloading an ISO in the past.
The downloaded upgrade does its thing in the background, copying files into place, but while it can consume most [or all] of the device's resources, making doing anything else impractical, it doesn't explicitly take over your device until you restart to apply the upgrade. Running setup from the ISO OTOH does take over, with a full screen dark blue setup window.
Microsoft has shifted more resources away from Windows development in a recent reorganization, with more cuts forecast in the future. As they focus more on maintenance & refining the Windows we have now, rather than on new features, one result is that the setup process works a bit better, and faster this time. That said, how long it takes depends on how much stuff you have installed, how big the registry has gotten, and the speed of the device's drive [or drives].
The relative power of the CPU has some effect, but perhaps not as much as you might think... my lowly miniPC, with a Celeron and a rather old SSD, but not much in the way of installed software, took quite a bit less time upgrading than this PC with a i7 CPU, but lots of software & a faster but still conventional hard drive. Mostly this upgrade is about copying files, with the CPU making a difference expanding or decompressing those files, and parsing the registry [so your stuff works with the new registry that comes with the new installation of Windows].
Upgrading to 1803 via Windows Update stores the downloaded files in a Windows sub-folder, and setup copies them into a $WindowsBT folder, including a new sub-folder that holds the new Windows & User files. Installing from an ISO works the same, except the ISO's files are used instead of the downloaded files. An earlier Insider build stored more than just the new Windows & User files -- it basically duplicated the disk as it would appear when finished. Microsoft's improved on that, so the stored folders only take up a couple of GB or less as far as I can tell. The ISOs themselves are smaller than prior versions too.
Posted 6 years ago # -
I don't have Windows 10 myself but it sure seems to be causing problems with print dialogs.
I'm an admin to a support site for a cross-stitch design program. In the past 24 hours, I've had 2 different users from totally different areas both report that just before the upgrade, they could print their designs easily. Now they get a system error just clicking to print before the print dialog comes up. It's not the print drivers because they aren't getting that far.
All I can do is tell the two to contact the owner/developer of the software about the issue and to suggest they find a Windows 7 or 8.1 computer to put the software on to try.
The software did not update. The only change in either case to their computers was a Windows 10 upgrade.
I debated about asking them to contact me via email so they could send me the patterns, I create their PDFs and then send them back. However, both are brand new users and don't have email ability yet (not enough posts) and I don't want to get stuck doing this on a general basis because Microsoft fouled up their printers.
Posted 6 years ago # -
mikiem2
ModeratorI'll try printing from 10 tomorrow & see if it gives me any problems. Microsoft didn't give anyone any warning that this was coming Monday, so I imagine as many software devs as regular users were surprised.
So far so good upgrading versions, with the exception of my one tablet. It only has one microSD plug, so I can either plug it in to charge, or attach a USB stick or hub. I opted to plug it in & let the upgrade download via Windows Update. Seemed to be going OK, did the restart when prompted, & when it rebooted it threw the same error a few times, asking me to plug in external storage. I did, & it had no effect, so I just canceled the error messages, winding up back in win10 with the old version still installed.
Back in Windows, the update/upgrade installer ran silently for a while according to Task Mgr., tyeing things up so I couldn't do anything. Eventually it calmed/quieted down, so I could plug in the USB stick with the setup files -- ran them & it upgraded fine.
I did notice in one of my VMs that setup from the ISO stalled looking for updates. Killed that process & ran it again, this time selecting No when it asked about looking for updates, & it worked OK. I figured it would find an update once installed, but it didn't, so checked No to updates from then on -- checking for updates takes a while, & if it serves no useful purpose, why bother?
Posted 6 years ago # -
mikiem2
ModeratorTried printing using a VM I just updated to 1803, because it's got Much less software so fewer logs. Printing seemed to work OK, & the only printer related logs I found in event viewer were errors for the Microsoft Print to PDF & Print to XPS drivers. Internet Explorer is still there, & print dialogs seem the same -- I was curious since Edge uses a separate app to print. That said, if the app they're trying to print from uses parts of Internet Explorer, they *might* want to just fire it up 1st, then close it, since it took a while to start for me, as if some parts were installing.
Posted 6 years ago # -
I checked with the developer on the issue. He has also been receiving complaints. It's definitely Microsoft he said. He suggested the users roll back the update for the time being.
One user reported that she had some trouble before but was able to get the print dialog. Since the update, as soon as they click to print, the program crashes. NO messages.
I know that HP printers have problems with Windows. They say compatibility back to at least Vista but won't work with Windows 7. With newer drivers (within the past 2 - 3 years at least), the only things that I have that WILL print are Foxit and IE. Everything else just sits there - no messages, no print, no nothing. What I can do is a Print to PDF using Foxit and then open Foxit to print it. I've even taken advantage of that by print to PDF 2 separate files, use external software to merge the 2 PDFS into one file and then print both pages together. Much easier to duplex that way.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Note -- a user on the support forum has posted what may be the key. The problem appears to be the Microsoft Print to PDF feature. If she can get a pattern loaded that is not "recent", she can change the Print to PDF from Microsoft to Foxit or even physically print the pattern without a problem. It's only very recent patterns that default to Microsoft Print to PDF that blow the program out of the water without an opportunity to change it.
Again -- it very strongly appears that the problem is NOT PCStitch but is, in fact, Microsoft!
Posted 6 years ago # -
ChrisS
AdministratorIf the issue has been isolated to the "Print to PDF" feature then why not just turn it off and see if the problem is resolved? The article below doesn't include a reboot but I'd toss one in to unload the native PDF driver that might be causing the problem.
Windows 10: Turn On or Off Microsoft Print to PDF in Windows 10
Posted 6 years ago # -
Thanks! I posted that link in the thread discussing the issue. If that turns it off, it should be far easier for her to get her patterns working again. She's already got Foxit at my suggestion.
Posted 6 years ago # -
mikiem2
ModeratorFrom neowin[.]net
"Just stay away from Windows Update on this Patch Tuesday"
neowin[.]net/news/just-stay-away-from-windows-update-on-this-patch-tuesdayI haven't had any problems, *so far*, but the author of the article is one of their more senior writers, and he's had terrible luck. He, or one of the writers at Neowin, will post a link to the cumulative patch that will be released Tuesday, which can be downloaded & run without going to & through Windows Update.
Personally I've Never had good luck rolling back updates or version upgrades of 10 -- I always make sure I have a current disk image backup & restore that at the 1st hint of a problem with an upgrade or update.
Glad you've got what seems a handle on the print problem, Dragonlair -- guess it maybe makes sense, as the error messages I noted basically said the driver was broken, so when the app tries to load it it crashes. There are more directions & different ways to turn it off at the following link. I'd think it would also make sense to turn off Windows "Let Windows manage my default printer" -- 6 months from now there will be a new version of 10, the Print to PDF driver will likely be reinstalled, & by then users might have forgotten that they had to remove it. Maybe it'll work then, maybe not, but turning that option off should carry over to the new version, and **maybe** avoid a repeat of the issue.
winaero[.]com/blog/how-to-remove-print-to-pdf-printer-in-windows-10/
Posted 6 years ago # -
mikiem2
ModeratorStay Away (?)!
Seems Microsoft is having a Very Hard time getting it right. 1st they scrapped the version of win10 that was set to be April's update. Then lots of people had problems with the version they did release -- Microsoft was supposed to fix all that with an update Tuesday, the 8th. Well now That update is apparently totally breaking win10 for many of those that had already installed the April update, version 1803.
answers[.]microsoft[.]com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-update/windows-10-cumulative-update-kb4103721-version/42d672a5-9988-4327-a5fc-b4cf9a47768a
That said, this wasn't reported by the news sties I monitor until this morning, & not knowing any better, I updated 4 copies of win10 1803 yesterday, all without problems.
Posted 6 years ago # -
krypteller
MemberMy laptop updated OK to 1803. But my desktop keeps failing the update and restores 1709 after a few hours of agonizing waiting for the update to finish.
I discovered http://www.novirusthanks.org/products/win-update-stop/ a few days ago and now my desktop stays with 1709.
As Win Update Stop v1.3 als blocks the Defender updates, I installed the free version of AVG.
Posted 6 years ago # -
mikiem2
Moderator"... now my desktop stays with 1709."
From the problems some people are having, from what I've read anyway, that may be a good thing.
If it was a normal upgrade cycle, rather than Microsoft scrapping the version it intended to ship, I'd have downloaded the win10 Insider Enterprise ISO, & used that to create a 1803 Windows To Go drive, using the wizard in 10's Control Panel. Then I'd see if our win10 devices would boot & run that Win2Go drive before I tried the upgrade. Something like that might tell how serious the problem was with your desktop & 1803, if there was a compatibility problem with 1803 itself. But as of this moment Microsoft hasn't released Insider ISOs for 1803.
Microsoft has been changing the way their win10 Windows Update version upgrade works, & I think they're trying to collect more data to get it working better, judging by the lack of ISOs & their relative lateness compared to earlier win10 versions. With the exception of VMs running Insider builds, I've been sticking with the ISOs, feeling that they just work Much better.
I did the kb4103721 cumulative update for 1803 on my 2 tablets today, & with the older one, the one that's more prone to win10 problems with its win8 hardware, it failed to install -- running the downloaded kb4103721 patch however ran & worked just fine. And I learned 2 things... One, that Microsoft thinks that the problems people are having with this update are due to Intel drives, & 2, once the update failed, it wouldn't show up again in Windows Update -- the 1st time I've ever seen that. *If* Windows Update is going to stop showing & forcing updates that didn't work, to me that seems a big step forward. I say "IF", because Microsoft has had a few recent updates that they warned may not show that they installed correctly -- while I didn't see any Microsoft notices that kb4103721 is similarly broken, that may not mean that it isn't.
"... after a few hours of agonizing waiting for the update to finish."
Know that feeling all too well. And that's one reason I prefer ISOs -- the upgrade can still stall, but at least it won' stall during the download phase, or restart the preparing to install, preparing to download, &/or download process several times. The last Insider fast ring version wouldn't install when I tried it in a VM. The current build did, but instead of taking a few hours like normal, it took between 6 & 7.
Oh well, Good Luck. :)
Posted 6 years ago # -
mikiem2
ModeratorMicrosoft scrapped the win10 build that they originally intended to be the April Update, v. 1803, rushing to put out a new RTM build before the end of April, even though they wouldn't start pushing it out aggressively until May. With the shortened schedule Microsoft did not release Insider ISOs before the general release, & still hasn't as I write this. The recommended way to create a Windows To Go external drive is to use the wizard in win10's Control Panel, together with a win10 Enterprise ISO -- since that ISO hasn't happened, I upgraded win10 versions on my existing Win2Go drive this past weekend. It worked, but the problems I encountered hint that Microsoft has again changed the way that win10 version upgrades happen. I hope that pointing out those issues *might* be helpful to someone(s) troubleshooting problems upgrading.
What I believe has changed, & not necessarily for the better, is the way win10 1803 detects hardware, and determines which drivers to install. Originally win10 looked for the latest drivers, but getting the wrong &/or incompatible drivers caused problems, so the priority was changed to using existing drivers. Now with win10 1803 it seems the focus on finding new drivers has returned, at least somewhat, but hardware detection &/or finding & installing the correct drivers is sometimes broken.
Here's what I did to upgrade win10 versions... Windows 10 detects if it's running on an external drive or in a VHD,& if so, creates a registry key that prevents version upgrades, so to upgrade my Win2Go drive I had to 1st copy the external drive to a VHD that I could use as a V/Box VM. Running as a VM,once that key's deleted upgrading works the same as any win10 install, & then after the upgrade has completed, and the leftovers removed [Disk Cleanup], the Windows partition gets copied to the external drive.
And the problems I had were 1), the upgrade process failed at least once in the VM -- it may have failed & started over additional times that I didn't notice, as this was going on in the background. I *think* that it failed because of drivers installed on the version I was upgrading -- a Win2Go drive adds any needed drivers every time it boots on different hardware, so having run on several devices, this copy of win10 had more than the usual number of driver files & their associated registry entries.
And 2), the 2nd problem I had was booting the Win2Go drive on this PC -- it detected hardware & looked for & attempted install of drivers normally, but crashed [with a new style BSD] part way through. On the 2nd try it worked, but when it started, win10 showed a half dozen components in Device Mgr. that were not working. I want to emphasize that I've never seen that happen over dozens of win10 installs, plus dozens of times using Win2Go drives. These were all common things that worked fine once I updated drivers in Device Mgr., selecting the option to have Windows search the Windows Update database for drivers. That updating this way worked means that all of those drivers were available to start with.
Out of the 1/2 dozen, the one that surprised me the most was the Intel network adapter -- I've never had a win10 install, or even a bootable USB stick that didn't ID & work with it right off the bat. The networking that was installed was for WiFi, which neither this PC nor V/Box has. WiFi drivers & software had been installed when I used the Win2Go drive on a couple of other devices, & somehow Windows chose that driver over the Intel network adapters both V/Box & this PC use.
Considering that every failure to install or upgrade win10 that I've seen was caused by incorrect &/or incompatible hardware drivers, this doesn't bode well for 1803, at all.
Posted 6 years ago #
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