Windows 10 2004, AKA The Spring or May Update is Live

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Windows 10 2004, AKA The Spring or May Update is Live

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Started 4 years ago by mikiem2
Latest reply from mikiem2

mikiem2
Moderator

microsoft[.]com/en-us/software-download/windows10

neowin[.]net/news/the-windows-10-may-2020-update-is-now-available-for-everyone

neowin[.]net/news/windows-10-version-2004-is-coming---heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-it

neowin[.]net/news/the-windows-10-may-2020-update-still-has-a-whole-bunch-of-known-issues

So, I've been running a copy or two for about 6 months now, and the biggest change I've noticed is that opening Control Panel from Windows Explorer closes the Windows Explorer window. *Eventually* when graphics drivers are available that support it, you *might* see some improvement in AAA type games. Otherwise I find little exciting about things like an improved Notepad. [sigh]

How long it takes to update/install in it's current form depends on the horsepower of the device you're installing it on. A Low powered Celeron with 8 GB RAM & an SSD took hours. Watching Task Mgr., the individual apps that do the actual updating are a bit different when you use Windows Update vs. running setup from the ISO. The update routine's bad habit when it comes to the Recovery partition has gotten worse... It used to *Sometimes* create a new Recovery partition no matter how many were on the disk -- I have a VM that had accumulated 5! I updated the copy of Win10 via Windows Update that I'd had problems updating earlier. Before performing the update I removed the Recovery partition, and expanded the Windows partition to take over that now empty space. In the past that would mean I'd get one new Recovery partition -- this time it skipped creating one entirely. SO what happens if you leave the existing Recovery partition in place? Did that with the miniPC, updated using the ISO, and now I've got 2 Recovery partitions. [again, Sigh]

RE: my problem copy of Win10... I'd tried a few time using the ISO that was released for the Insider's program, and had zero success. I tried with the download available when Microsoft released it to the Preview Insider ring, and again zero success. This time using the ISO it restarted several times, and twice I got a BSoD, so Now I finally had a file name to go by. Tracked it down to some old software, uninstalled it, and tried again using Windows Update, which worked. The update/installer routine still leaves much to be desired -- you're almost completely in the dark about what happens, e.g. the Internet connection went down so the update reversed itself, removing every trace. The Only clue I had was the Roku had a message that it lost signal.

One *to me* ominous note: when trying to update using the ISO, while it was having problems & having to restart, the screen showed the brand or manufacturer's logo while booting. I have that disabled, and checking the BIOS settings afterward, it was still disabled. I have no idea if it was trying to boot into the UEFI's mini OS, or temporarily popping the BIOS into a default setting or what, but the idea of the setup routine altering or accessing the BIOS is a bit scary to me.

That all said:
windowscentral[.]com/how-delay-windows-10-may-2020-update-without-losing-quality-updates

windowscentral[.]com/windows-10-may-2020-update-common-problems-and-how-fix-them

Note: previously when I had problems I got the most benefit from unplugging the network cable when it 1st restarted. It didn't fix anything, but it seemed to get further before it died. Every other tip I could find seemed to me to be BS, the logs seemed worthless, and if this hadn't worked I was prepared to give up & delete that copy of Win10. IMHO don't knock yourself out trying to get it to work -- if I hadn't gotten the BSoD, and thus got a faulting file name, that copy of Win10 would never have gotten updated to 2004. NOTHING anywhere else gave the slightest clue that file was the problem.

Good Luck & Good Night

Posted 4 years ago #
mikiem2
Moderator

petri[.]com/microsoft-announces-gpu-hardware-acceleration-and-gui-app-support-for-wsl-2-at-build-2020

Forgot to mention, Win10 2004 does include improvements to Linux in Windows.

Posted 4 years ago #
gergn
Member

Installed the official upgrade yesterday on a W10 1903 Pro. I cannot enter text in the search box anymore. And I cannot open Windows Defender any more, nor other settings. I need a new app for it, but the Microsoft Store does not have it?

My desktop has a queer problem since a few months: I cannot shut the machine off in the normal way. I have to switch off power, using the power switch at the back. When starting, the machine very often won't start when I switch the power switch at the back on and push the power button in the front. When it does not start in the normal way, I have to switch it off, using the power switch at the back and IMMEDIATELY switch it on again. I cannot get into the BIOS when starting. Nor can I choose the starting disk by pressing F11 during start-up. That is not a real problem since I went back to Windows 10 as only OS, after using Linux Mint 19.3 for some time.

Posted 4 years ago #
mikiem2
Moderator

Installed the official upgrade yesterday on a W10 1903 Pro. I cannot enter text in the search box anymore. And I cannot open Windows Defender any more, nor other settings. I need a new app for it, but the Microsoft Store does not have it?

That's not right -- something broken. Defender is baked into Win10, so there's nothing to add, and Settings should always work. Shutting down using the power off switch is not good either, since that doesn't give Windows the chance to write any changes back to the hard drive -- while Win10 is better at it than earlier Windows versions, that can still lead to corrupted files. Corrupted files could be why Win10 is broken, re: settings etc. You may have to install Win10 again to fix things, though I'd do a disk check/repair first -- in Windows Explorer right click the Windows partition [C: drive], select properties, then go to Error Checking on the Tools tab. To [re]install Win10 get the ISO using Microsoft's Media Creation Tool, right click the ISO and select mount, then run setup.

Many of the shut down problems I've read about concern Win10 set to go into a low power state instead of shutting down the system. Here are a couple of links -- Google on Windows 10 shut down for 300 M more.

howtogeek[.]com/349114/shutting-down-doesnt-fully-shut-down-windows-10-but-restarting-it-does/

zdnet[.]com/article/windows-10-tip-startup-and-shutdown-secrets/

A PC/laptop/tablet motherboard BIOS is designed to implement different power saving standards, which have evolved over the years. Not everything works on every BIOS, and that's when the motherboard is working perfectly, & the partial suspend rather than completely shutting down that Win10 uses by default may not work with yours. It might also be that the power savings configuration in the BIOS is set to enable a standard that's incompatible with Win10's power savings &/or suspend settings.

That *could* explain why you're not able to get into the BIOS during Post. I had a motherboard that didn't always like Win10 hibernation, and when it failed to wake up, powering off the PC, turning it on & restarting, it resumed the wake from hibernation rather than going through the entire boot up process normally. Usually when you start a PC/laptop the BIOS performs a self-check routine, and that's when you can enter the BIOS setup -- at that point there is no OS involved, everything's running on the BIOS itself, so there's nothing other than the BIOS itself to cause it not to work when you try to get into the BIOS settings. I say *usually* because we also have a laptop with a BIOS that's designed Not to let you into the settings using a hot key -- there's actually a separate button on the side that you're supposed to press.

Win10 also has a couple of ways to get into the BIOS -- one is by using the repair boot menu that comes up when Windows 10 doesn't start 3-4 times in a row.

rivernetcomputers[.]com/5-ways-windows-10-boot-options-menu/

Another way to do it: When I was having problems with a tablet I used the free EasyBCD to add a dummy Windows entry in Windows regular boot menu -- that menu is always there, but normally won't be displayed unless you have more than one OS installed. When that boot menu is displayed, you can get to the repair boot menu by just pressing the F8 key.

If you find the PC wasn't fully shutting down, that might fix the problem of not being able to get into the BIOS settings & not being able to call up the BIOS boot drive menu. However, there's another quirk to Win10 that can come into play re: the BIOS boot drive menu... I've seen some BIOS that, interacting with Win10's Boot Loader, removed every other choice besides that boot loader from the BIOS boot drive order list. In those cases restoring the BIOS defaults got the full list back.

And worst case, once you can set the drive to boot from, you can boot to a Win10 setup DVD or USB stick and install Win10 fresh. Assuming things work the way they're supposed to, Microsoft will see that Win10 was activated on that device, and automatically activate the newly installed copy.

Posted 4 years ago #
mikiem2
Moderator

Some additional thoughts...

Microsoft sent out a win10 update recently that was dated earlier this year, and when I Googled on the KB# it said it was an Intel microcode update. Microcode is the code that's used in the BIOS firmware. If your system uses an Intel CPU, that may be something you might want to research, e.g. Google for similar complaints using the make/model of your PC.

Also, is it possible that something else modified the BIOS firmware? Some manufacturers have auto updates -- could they have sent out an automatic BIOS update, & if so, are there problem reports? Some malware might also target the BIOS.

Bad software, internal & external drives, & drivers can break Windows shut down, though usually it will appear to be shutting down, but the rotating circle of dots that indicates it's working never does disappear, & it never does shut down. I have an older gaming mouse that won't allow Win10 to go to sleep automatically based on the Win10 timer [set in Power Config]. I suppose something similar *might* happen with some other hardware & shutdown. Safe Mode &/or Clean Boot [right click the Start Button -> Run -> msconfig] might help diagnose those problems -- if you run Windows with minimal drivers & services, and it works OK, then one of those drivers or services is a problem.

If there's a difference between the way Win10 2004 & 1903 behave, if you have a disk or partition image backup you could restore that. You might also try the Win10 version rollback, though I've had somewhat poor luck with that, and given the system isn't working properly, the odds of it working might be lower. There is also the possibility that Win10 2004 has an incompatibility with your hardware. Over the next several weeks, as Microsoft records more problems, they'll start to block Win10 2004 on problem hardware, but it's still early yet, and no one really knows what doesn't work so far. In that case it might be better to run Win10 1903/1909 until they come up with more fixes for 2004. If you bought your system pre-built, rather than assembled it yourself, it might have come with a reset disc, or one might be available from the manufacturer -- those put the PC back to the way it was when it shipped. Starting with a clean slate like that can sometimes help, though it wouldn't have any effect on the BIOS if something's changed there.

Posted 4 years ago #
mikiem2
Moderator

docs.microsoft[.]com/en-in/windows/release-information/status-windows-10-2004

Microsoft's adding to it's list of known issues, though it's not as helpful as in the past, mostly not giving the version numbers of incompatible drivers. Under the heading: "Issues using ImeMode property to control IME mode for individual text entry fields" they do post a workaround.

support.microsoft[.]com/en-us/help/4564002/you-might-have-issues-using-imemode-property-to-control-the-ime-mode-f

Some apps utilize the ImeMode property to control the IME (Input Method Editor) mode for individual text entry fields to increase typing efficiency. Some IMEs in Windows 10, version 2004 (the May 2020 Update) might have issues using the ImeMode property with certain apps. For example, the input mode will not switch automatically to Kanji or Hiragana

To work around this issue in the short term, either manually switch the input mode when typing, or by following the steps below to enable compatibility mode:

1)Select Start, type Settings and select it or press enter.
2)Type IME settings into the search box within Settings and select the IME settings that are appropriate to your language, for example Japanese IME Settings.
3)Select General.
4)Turn on Use previous version of Microsoft IME.

Microsoft has also started adding a notice if you check for updates and v. 2004 is currently blocked for the device due to compatibility issues.

Posted 4 years ago #
gergn
Member

Thanks for the tips. The desktop is a Paradigit (Dutch make) from early 2016. With an AMD processor, no Intel. The SSD (240GB) was replaced in the guarantee period, and recently I upgraded it with a 480 GB one. All six SATA connections are in use: one SSD and five HD's. 16 GB RAM. I bought a Windows 10 Pro licence just to see if Windows could offer an alternative to VirtualBox. In practice I run all my VM's on VirtualBox.I have been playing with the BIOS settings: originally automatic over-clocking, then for about a month the standard setting and lately in a low power setting. Fast boot disenabled. I only shut off the power manually after giving the rotating circle of dots ample time (several minutes) to shut down. When I do not switch it off manually, it will just keep on running.

As I had the same shutting-off problem when running Linux Mint, I do not think it is a Windows problem.

The W10 Pro 1909 (updated two days ago to 2004) is a FastBoot Pro clone from my Medion erazer laptop, dated April 20. I did not have to re-activate Windows, only MS Office. The laptop is still running 1909.

Two days ago I upgraded my laptop (12 GB RAM, 128 GB SSD, 1.5 TB HD, Intel I5) by removing the DVD player and putting a 1 TB SSD in its place. When the laptop was partly disassembled, I saw that it had two RAM sticks: one of 8 GB and one of 4 GB. As my wife has an identical laptop that she only uses now and then (she prefers her iPad Pro), I plan to swap my 4 GB memory chip with her 8 GB chip. For her 8 GB suffices and I sometimes need more than 12 GB, when running several VM's in parallel. And I have read somewhere that it is better to have the same amount of memory in both channels.
http://blog.logicalincrements.com/2019/09/unevenly-filled-memory-ram-channels/
https://medium.com/level-up-web/5-biggest-myths-about-ram-that-are-still-out-there-38cbe57ffbc4

Posted 4 years ago #
mikiem2
Moderator

As I had the same shutting-off problem when running Linux Mint, I do not think it is a Windows problem.

Based on observations -- I've never read any sort of confirmation -- I *think* PCs can have a hard time figuring out what you've got connected to the USB ports. Your desktop *might* be trying to shut down a drive that really isn't a drive, but something like a keyboard or mouse with a small bit of storage for settings or profiles. Anyway it'd be pretty painless to check. Having to switch it on & off to start up would be harder to diagnose. 1st two guesses would be the BIOS is encountering a problem during Post, when it sort of inventories what's connected and runs checks on that stuff, and you're skipping all or part of the Post routine, or it could be the power supply -- this PC's BIOS has a Power Loading setting to provide a dummy load so the power supply doesn't shut itself down.

And I have read somewhere that it is better to have the same amount of memory in both channels.

With a PC I don't think you have too much choice, and even then compatibility can be very iffy sometimes, but the laptop is probably engineered to work with the mismatch you have now. That said, your VMs Will like the extra 4 GB.

Posted 4 years ago #
mikiem2
Moderator

When starting, the machine very often won't start when I switch the power switch at the back on and push the power button in the front. When it does not start in the normal way, I have to switch it off, using the power switch at the back and IMMEDIATELY switch it on again. I cannot get into the BIOS when starting.

Just a quick note/reminder, during POST the BIOS can give beep codes, though some motherboards take it further with LEDs & sometimes even small LED displays.

computerhope[.]com/beep.htm

Posted 4 years ago #

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