[German]Does system restore refuses to work in Windows 10 (or other Windows versions) and stalls with error code 0x81000203? Here a few hints, what’s the reason.

Recently I stumbled upon a post in German Microsoft Answers Forum, where a user was facing serious trouble using system restore. Trying to do a system restore ends with error code 0x81000203.

Searching the Windows error data base ends with an unknown error for code 0x81000203. So I searched the web and identified two root causes for this error.

TuneUp blocks system restore

In most cases, AVGs TuneUp Utilities 2009 / 2010 / 2011 is causing this issue. I mentioned it in my old German blog post from 2011: TuneUp Turbo mode disables something (I guess the VSS provider), so system restore can’t be uses anymore.

So turn off Turbo mode in TuneUp Utilities and your system restore error should be vanishing. And if that’s the case, start thinking to kick TuneUp Utilities from your system (I have seen TuneUp as a ‘major problem bear’ for many Windows issues).

Microsoft Software Shadow Copy Provider service isn’t running

If TuneUp (nor other tuning tools) never has been installed/used on your system, maybe Microsoft Software Shadow Copy Provider service isn’t running.

1. Open Task Manager und go to Services tab – then check, if the service VSS is executable.

2. Press the Services button in the lower right corner of the Task Manager’s Services tab.

3. Search for the entry “Microsoft Software Shadow Copy Provider” and double click it.

Then check, it this service can be launched. Note also the answer of phantasma here about the settings for services.

If the service can’t be launched, check whether a system policy prevents this launch (see also). The steps below are only for Windows Pro/Enterprise systems, because Windows Home doesn’t have gpedit.msc.

1. Open gpedit.msc from Start/Taskbar’s search box.

2. Navigate to Computer Configuration\Administrative Template\System\System Restore.

3. In the right pane, set the “Turn off system restore” policy to “Not configured”.

After a restart the service shall be executable and the system restore should work. Because Windows Home doesn’t have gpedit.msc, I guess, the policy has been set by TuneUp and similar tools. So try the following steps.

1. Fire up registry editor regedit.exe using Run as administrator to execute it with administrator rights.

2. Navigate to the following key and check for the value mentioned below.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT

If there is a subkey SystemRestore, check, whether the subkey contains the DWORD value DisableConfig. If that value is present and set to 1, system restore is blocked (see also KB283073 (and this MS answers forum thread). Either delete DisableConfig or set it to 0 and reboot your machine. Then system restore error 0x81000203 should be gone.

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[German]Some users are facing a bad surprise during re-installing Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 on a machine. Setup fails and reports a “locked hard disk”. Here are a few hints, how to solve this issue.

I’ve been confronted with this issue in Microsoft Answers since Windows 8. Users are receiving the Message (see here and here):

„The drive where Windows is installed is locked. Unlock the drive and try again.“

Installing Windows isn’t possible at this time. I guess, some failed updates, third party tools or other incidents left the hard disk in a wrong state. So we need a cure to fix that issue.

Fix #1: Reset BIOS-/CMOS to default

In some cases, wrong CMOS data prevents accessing a disk via BIOS (or UEFI) calls. So try to reset your UEFI / BIOS to factory defaults. Press a function key (F2, F8, F12 etc.) to enter BIOS- or UEFI setup and search the option to set the default values. Details may be found in the device’s manual (see also this forum thread).

Also check your cables and disk configuration to avoid an improper setup. In case, that several disks are build in, remove all disks and use only the disk for the operating system install, to avoid conflicting hardware constellations.

Check your disk drive

A damaged file system can result in a locked disk (see here). Open an administrative command prompt (see Windows 10: Open command prompt window as administrator) and enter the command:

chkdsk C: /f /r /x

In worst case, this command needs to be executed unter Windows PE (after booting from a recovery drive or system repair disk). Note that the drive with the Windows install has to be included within the obove command (I uses C: for instance).

Reset your hard disk’s partitions

If a file system check doesn’t fix the problem, try to unlock a logical volume on your hard disk. Boot Windows and got to an administrative command prompt window (see Windows 10: Open command prompt window as administrator). Enter the commands:

diskpart
list disk
select disk x

The letter x stands for the drive with Windows. After the disk has been selected in diskpart, list and check the logical partitions, using the commands below.

list partition

The command shall list the Windows install partition – otherwise the wrong disk has be selected in previous commands. Now you can check the drive’s attributes:

attribut disk

The result shall show, whether the disk is write protect or not (see the following screen shot).

If a write protect is enlisted with „Yes“, try the following command to reset write protection:

attributes disk clear readonly

This command will work only within Windows PE. Afterward boot the machine and try to run setup again. If the issue is still present, check all logical volumes for a write protection using the following commands.

select disk 0
list volume
select volume 2

The commands given above selects disk 0 and logical volume 2 – I assumed, Windows has been installed on logical volume 2. The use the command:

attributes volume clear readonly

to reset a write protection on a volume. I’ve tested it, it also works in an administrative command prompt windows.

It’s also possible, that a missing active partition prevents Windows from booting. Use diskpart and the command active to set a partition as active.

Repair your boot configuration

Sometimes boot files or the BCD store is damaged and prevents installing Windows (see). Try to boot into Windows RE and use startup repair to fix the boot environment. If that doesn’t work, opens an administrative command prompt window and enter the following commands:

bootrec /fixmbr
bootrec /fixboot
bootrec /scanos
bootrec /rebuildbcd

The 3rd command lists all installed Windows copies and the last command rebuild the BCD store (see also). In some cases, the command below, issued within a command prompt windows, the BCD store.

bcdboot C:\Windows /s C:

The command suppose that Windows is installed on logical drive C: – see this blog post from Boyans.

Take care with Raid systems …

I’ve read several times, that drivers for raid systems are the cause for the hard disk lock issue.

Recovery or reformat your disk

If the fixes give above doesn’t helps, try to reset your machine to factory settings, using the vendor’s recovery solution (see your device’s manual). Or delete the “system reserved” partition in setup wizard and install Windows on a free, non partitioned disk space.

Within the MS forum thread Windows crash – Refresh – Hard drive locked, unlock hard drive a damaged BCD entry may be repaired using the following commands in command prompt window:

BCDboot c:\windows /s c: /l en-us i

The options for BCDboot are discussed within this Technet article.

Error code 0xC0000001

If an error code 0xC0000001 has been reported? This MS Answers forum thread, and the articles here and here are discussing this issue. The proposal is to use the automatic Windows startup repair to fix that issue.

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Microsoft has released this night Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 15002 for PCs in Fast Ring. This new build comes with many improvements – for instance “block updates for 35 days and stop driver updates”. More details may be found on the announcement page here.

Microsoft has released on January 10, 2017 (Patchday) a couple of security updates for supported Windows versions, for Adobe Flash and for Microsoft Office 2016/Sharepoint.

The Security Bulletins MS17-001, MS17-002, MS17-003, and MS17-004 for January 2017 are described at ms17-jan. Beside a security update for Adobe Flash Player and a security update for Microsoft Edge a security update for the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service in Windows has been released. Also a security update for Microsoft Office (Microsoft Word 2016, Microsoft SharePoint Enterprise Server 2016) is available.

Für Windows 7 und die korrespondierenden Server-Varianten wurden die Updates KB3212646 und KB3212642 freigegeben. Für Windows 8.1 wurden keine Sicherheitslücken gefunden, daher gibt es weder ein Sicherheits-Update noch ein monatliches Rollup Update (siehe). Lediglich Flash wird aktualisiert. Für Windows 10 erhalten alle Versionen ein kumulatives Update. Details finden sich nachfolgend sowie auf dieser Microsoft Webseite.

KB3212646 (Monthly Rollup) for Windows 7

Update KB3212646 (January 2017 Security Monthly Quality Rollup for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1) includes improvements and fixes from update 3207752. Also a vulnerability in Local Security Authority Subsystem (MS17-004 Security Update for Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (3216771)) has been fixed. Update KB3212646 is offered via Windows Update and is downloadable via Microsoft Update Catalog.

KB3212642 (Security-only update) for Windows 7

Update KB3212642 (January 2017 Security-only Quality Update for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1) closes a vulnerability in Local Security Authority Subsystem (MS17-004 Security Update for Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (3216771)).

Update KB3212642 is offered via Windows Update and is downloadable via Microsoft Update Catalog.

KB3213986 for Windows 10 Version 1607

Update KB3213986 enthält diverse Qualitätsverbesserungen for Windows 10 Version 1607 changes the build to 14393,693 and contains some improvements:

• Improved the reliability of Groove Music playback in the background, App-V, video playback and Remote Desktop.
• Addressed issue where after successful fingerprint authentication on a device with the screen off, the screen does not turn back on.
• Addressed issue where only one input device works when you connect two similar input devices to the same machine.
• Addressed issue in the App-V Connection Group that allows users to have access to pieces of functionality that they were not designated to for access.
• Addressed issue that prevents users from selecting multiple certificates simultaneously through the UI.
• Addressed issue where the Request Control function does not work with Remote Assistance if the user being assisted is on Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows Server 2012.
• Addressed issue that prevents a smart card module from pairing with a contactless smart card reader.
• Addressed issue with license conversion of Server Core from evaluation version to a retail version.
• Addressed issue that prevents users from opening Internet shortcut (.URL) files with Internet Explorer when Enhanced Protected Mode is enabled. 
• Addressed issue that prevents users from logging on if a device has been away from the corporate network over a period of time.
• Addressed additional issues with Microsoft Edge, clustering, Internet Explorer, Windows Update, input devices, facial recognition, Logon, Hyper-V, PCI bus drivers and Windows Kernel.

This update is available via Windows Update and via Microsoft Update Catalog. Known issue are delayed or clipped screens while running 3D rendering apps (such as games) on systems with more than one monitor. And the Cluster Service may not start automatically on the first reboot after applying the update (see).

KB3210721 for Windows 10 Version 1511

Update KB3210721 includes quality improvement, but no new OS functions. This update changes the build to 10586.753 and addresses security issues related to Microsoft Edge. Known issue are delayed or clipped screens while running 3D rendering apps (such as games) on systems with more than one monitor. This update is available via Windows Update and via Microsoft Update Catalog.

KB3210720 for Windows 10 Version 1507 (RTM)

Update KB3210720 is for Windows 10 RTM and includes quality improvement, but no new OS functions. This update changes the build to 10240.17236 and addresses security issues related to Microsoft Edge. Known issue are delayed or clipped screens while running 3D rendering apps (such as games) on systems with more than one monitor. This update is available via Windows Update and via Microsoft Update Catalog.

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Office-Patchday, Updates January 3, 2017
Microsoft Security-Bulletin and Updates December 2016
Microsoft Patchday November 8, 2016

Some Windows 10 users are facing  a curious issue: Windows reports after each login an offline Windows Defender and shows error code 0x80070578. Here a few hints how to solve this problem.

In part 1 of this article series I cover the case, where a user is still able to login to his user account.

The error description

I stumbled upon this issue within a Microsoft Answers post. A user reported a curious behavior.

Windows defender offline (win 10) shows error: 0x80070578.

After each restart Windows Defender offline drops the same error code. Windows can’t be launched! There is an endless loop.

How can I prevent my system from launching Windows Defender during Windows start?

Ok, the first question is, what is causing error 0x80070578? Error 0x80070578 stands for ERROR_INVALID_WINDOW_HANDLE. That isn’t too helpful – and also this Microsoft Answers post dealing with this error code doesn’t help to much. But searching the web reveals a few more details.

Missing Defender-Updates and third party AV software

The root cause for this issue seems to be caused from third party antivirus software. This software tries to deactivate Windows Defender, so Windows Defender won’t be updated.

Microsoft has announced a change in Windows 10: Limited Periodic Scanning in Windows 10 … allows two antivirus scanners running in parallel.

Fix #1 for the problem

The first solution is: Just uninstall your third party antivirus solution and run also a clean tool provided by AV vendor, to clean the system from install files/entries left after uninstalling. Then reboot Windows and check, whether Windows Defender is active again. Then let Windows search for Defender updates and let Windows install those updates.

Fix #2 for the problem

Another approach: Let Windows Defender update its signature files. Go to Settings app and then let Windows search for updates. Maybe, Defender-Updates will be found and installed.

If that doesn’t work: Open an administrative command prompt (see Windows 10: Open command prompt window as administrator) and enter the commands below:

„%PROGRAMFILES%\Windows Defender\MPCMDRUN.exe“ -RemoveDefinitions –All

This command removes the Defender signature files. The screenshot below shows this in my German Windows.

Then use the command below to fetch the newest Defender signature updates:

„%PROGRAMFILES%\Windows Defender\MPCMDRUN.exe“ –SignatureUpdate

After the Defender updates has been downloaded and installed, try a Windows restart. If that doesn’t help, repeat Fix #1.

In part 2 I will cover the case, where Windows 10 is locked in a Windows Defender Offline (WDO) boot loop, so the operating system can’t start.

Articles:
Windows 10: Windows Defender drops error 0x80070578 – Part 1
Windows 10: Defender Offline Scan boot loop – Part 2

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[German]In part 1 I’ve discussed, what’s causing error code 0x80070578 in Windows Defender. In part 2 I will discuss, how to fix Windows Defender Offline boot loop, that prevents Windows 10 start. 

What’s Windows Defender Offline (WDO)?

Microsoft provides Windows Defender Offline (WDO), to scan systems in an offline mode against malware. WDO has been integrated in Windows 10 since Anniversary Update (Version 1607). Here are the steps to use this mode.

1. Click to Start and then select the Settings icon to invoke the Settings app.

2. Within the Settings app go to Update & security and then to sub category Windows Defender.

3. Scroll down in the right pane and click the button Scan Offline (only available for administrator accounts).

Windows 10 will reboot and you may see the Please wait message.

The Windows Defender Offline will be loaded – you will see a progress bar.

If WDO is ready, you will see the Windows Defender GUI and a Defender scan runs in offline mode.

Windows Defender Offline uses always a quick scan. There is also an Update tab (see screenshot below), where you are able to load new definition file updates via Internet.

For previous Windows versions Windows Defender Offline (WDO) may be launched from USB sticks or optical media. Microsoft has described the procedure here. This Microsoft site provides download links for 32- and 64-Bit-ISO files for WDO.

A problem with Windows Defender Offline scan in Windows 10

Windows 10 comes with a build-in WDO mode (see above), that bears the risk of a boot loop (see Windows 10: Windows Defender drops error 0x80070578 – Part 1). There is a possible scenario, where WDO tries to scan the disks during boot, but can’t finish that. The user is advised to restart its machine. But after a restart the WDO scan starts again and ends in a reboot – the system is trapped in a boot loop. After I stumbled upon this error, I started searching the web. Here are a few hits from English Microsoft Answers forum.

My computer won’t boot to windows from windows defender offline
My Windows 10 is not able to Login Due to Defender
Windows Defender Offline for Windows 10
How do I get my computer to boot up regularly after running the WDO scan?

Then I tried to provoke this behavior within a virtual machine – but I failed. I terminated the scan, did multiple hard reset of my VM and also installed a third party AV software. Nevertheless Windows 10 was able to boot.

What could be the reason for the boot loop?

Within part 1 (see Windows 10: Windows Defender drops error 0x80070578) I mentioned Windows Defender error 0x80070578, that is based on outdated Windows Defender signature files. As mentioned above, Windows Defender Offline (WDO) is able to load new signature filtes via internet. I suppose, that third party antivirus software (Mc Afee, Norton, Kaspersky and so on) deactivates Windows Defender. So WDO isn’t able to update his signature files. Maybe non compatible versions of antivirus software are responsible.

If the user tries a WDO scan in Windows 10, the system is at risk for the boot loop. But my experience made within a virtual machine stands in contradiction to my first theory. First, I thought, it’s a kind of “broken by design” WDO issue – but there is an option in WDO to terminate offline scan. Gladly I stumbled upon another scenario, that could explain the behavior. The German user facing the problem with WDO scan boot loop tried to do a Windows 10 reinstall and ended with a “hard disc locked” error. So the explanation is simple: A damaged system/boot structure causes the boot loop – because WDO can’t reset the boot option to a Windows 10 boot.

First step: Safe important data

My first recommendation is to safe important data, before trying to repair the system. It’s possible to use an offline backup software (like Paragon Disk Director Suite 15) and boot the machine with an emergency media (DVD, USB stick). Then create a system image backup and safe important user files.

An alternative is: booting the machine in Windows PE (using a system repair disk, CD, as recovery drive, USB stick, or a Windows 10 install media and entering computer repair option). In Windows PE it’s possible to copy user files via command prompt windows from the Windows disk to an external media (USB stick or USB drive).

Tip: You can launch notepad.exe via command prompt window in Windows PE. Go to File – Open and use the Open dialog box als a mini file manager. Set the file type filter in Open dialog box to All files (*.Ü). Then you may the dialog box to navigate to your Windows drive and use context menu commands to copy files to an external drive. But note, that the “file manager” don’t automatically refresh – so it seems, that file operations wasn’t successful. Just press F5, to refresh the content of the dialog box. Also hidden files won’t be shown.

Fix #1: Try an automatic startup repair

Interrupt the system boot process for 3 times (remove batteries from a notebook, switch power off), The the machine shall switch to Windows PE environment and tries to do a startup repair.

If the automatic repair message occurs, just follow the instructions given on the screen. In some forums I found the suggestion to keep the shift key pressed during forcing the system into a restart. This should force the system into Windows PE with its extended start options.

If automatic startup repair isn’t invoked, you can try to boot the machine using an install or recovery media. If an install media is used, try Computer repair option, offered in the 2nd setup screen to enter Windows PE. You need to select the language settings (below is the dialog box from a German install media).

Then use the hyperlink Repair your computer shown in setup dialog box (see also).

Then you will see the Windows PE environment – where you will see the page Chose an option.

Click Troubleshoot and go to Advanced options in the next page. Within the Advanced options page select the Startup Repair tile and let Windows PE try to repair your start configuration (see also Windows 10 hangs with error code 0xc0000034).

If it goes well, this repair is successful and your machine will boot into Windows 10.

Fix #2: Try a system restore

If fix #1 didn’t work, boot your system into Windows PE and go to Advanced options (see above). Select the tile System Restore. Maybe Windows System restore is able to fix the issue and the machine will boot Windows 10 again. But I’m not too optimistic that fix #1 and fix #2 will cure the system.

Fix #3: Try a System Image Recovery

If you have a system backup, boot into Windows PE and go to Advanced options (see above). Select the tile System Image Recovery and reload the system image backup. All data on your machine are lost.

Fix #4: Reinstall Windows 10

If the fixes mentioned above won’t help, grab a Windows 10 install media and try to re-install the operating system. All your data and installed programs are lost, but your machine should be back to life.

Fix #5: Repair a Hard Disk Lock error

If you try to reinstall Windows 10, perhaps a “Hard Disk Lock” error is reported, and setup refuses to install. This was the case within the German MS Answers-thread. This is also an explanation, why Windows Defender Offline can’t terminate and a boot loop occurs.  It you are facing this scenario, use my blog post How to fix Windows-Setup Hard Disk locked error to cure your system.

Ok, I hope, one of the fixes proposed above will help to end the Windows Defender Offline boot loop. If you come across another solution/root cause, please feel free to left a comment.

Articles:
Windows 10: Windows Defender drops error 0x80070578 – Part 1
Windows 10: Defender Offline Scan boot loop – Part 2

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Sometimes it’s mandatory to re-install Windows 7 SP1 on a machine. The question is, who to proceed to setup an up to date system with minimum efforts. Microsoft has published an answer to that question.

My MVP colleague Mike Halsey recently mentioned within a tweet this related Microsoft Technet article. All you need is a Windows 7 SP1-ISO install media. Then the following updates are required additionally.

• KB3020369 (April 2015 Service Stack Update)
• KB3125574 (April 2016 Convenience Update Rollup)
• KB3177467 (September 2016 Servicing Stack Update)
• KB3172605 (Juli 2016 Functional Rollup Update
• KB3179573 (August 2016 Functional Rollup Update)
• KB2841134 (Internet Explorer 11 – optional)
• KB3185330 (October 2016 Monathly quality update)

All links are pointing to Microsoft Update Catalog, where you can download the update packages. The Internet Explorer 11 update is optional.

If you plan to integrate the updates mentioned above into an install.wim shipped with the ISO image file, you have to extract the .msu filtes. After extracting, the .cab files should be present within a local folder.

Delete all files, except the .cab files shown in the screenhot above. The mount the install.wim obtained from an ISO file using DISM.

Dism /Mount-Image /ImageFile:C:\test\images\install.wim /Name:”Windows 7 ENTERPRISE” /MountDir:C:\test\offline

Then you can add the above .cab files using DISM commands like this:

Dism /Image:C:\test\offline /Add-Package /PackagePath:C:\files\Window7MediaRefresh\CABs\Windows6.1-KB3020369-x64.cab

Unmount the image using the following command:

Dism /Unmount-Image /MountDir:C:\test\offline /Commit

All steps are discussed in details within Microsoft’s Technet arcticle. Then you can insert the install.wim into the ISO install image using AnyBurn or similar tools.

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Microsoft has released this night Windows 10 Insider Preview, build 15007, for Insiders in Fast Ring for PC. This build comes with some new features, some bug fixes and also with a long list of known issues.

Here is what’s new to this build:

• Sharing your tabs (PC): Ability to share a set of tabs with many apps installed on your .
• Import data (PC): Bring your data over from another browser when you switch to Microsoft .
• Running faster (PC): Choose to “Run” a download link without first saving it – also a Save As button has been added.
• Web Notes improvements (PC): Updated Web Notes to now leverage the familiar Windows Ink experience you’ve come to know in Photos and Maps, amongst other places.
• Text scaling and zoom (Mobile): Microsoft Edge you can now zoom into a webpage regardless of zoom settings defined by the website.
• Apps for Websites: Clicking links to websites that support web-to-app linking will now open that page in the respective app.

Also theme downloads from Windows store will come (the icon is present but non functional). Cortana can help you pick up where you left off (PC) and some more features. There is also a long list of known issues. Some issues I noticed in build 15002 are confirmed by Microsoft in their announcement of build 15007. I had an upgrade error 0xc0000017 – not sufficient memory to create a ramdisk for Windows PE in an attempt to upgrade an existing build to 15002 or 15007.

This error has been dropped last time in April 2016 during upgrading build 14328. Needless to say, that my virtual machine with Windows 10 preview test install runs with 1,4 GB RAM – more than the Microsoft specs requires. BTW: After dropping error 0xc0000017 – all I could do was a reboot. Then Windows Update started to download the update to build 15002/15007 again – from scratch. So I wasted a ton of download volume. After I increased the VM’s RAM to 2,4 GByte, I was able to upgrade to build 15007. Well, that’s Insider Preview experience – let’s hope, the buddies in their cubicles down in Redmond will fix all those behavior until the final of Windows 10 Creators Update will be shipped to all Windows 10 users.

Microsoft has released the ISO files with the install image of Windows 10 Insider Preview, build 15002. This comes handy, if the previous preview fails to update to build 15007.

Build 15002 has been released on Monday this week for Windows Insider in Fast Ring (see my blog post Windows 10 Build 15002 released to Insiders). Also yesterday Microsoft has released build 15007 to fast ring for PC and mobile (see Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 15007 released). After my experiences with the new build my conclusion is “it’s not worth to install this preview – too buggy”. But if you like to get a clue, where Microsoft is going with Windows 10 Creators Update, you may give it a try as a test install.

Windows 10 Insider Preview ISO image files are offered at Microsoft’s Windows 10 Insider Preview download page. Accessing the downloads requires a login with your Microsoft account assigned to Windows Insider Preview program.

Then a wizard guides you trough the steps to select a build, a language and the 32 or 64 bit edition. The download links offered are valid for 24 hours.

Just a short note – Microsoft has released not only Windows 10 Preview build 15007 for Insiders and Windows 10 Preview build 15002 as an ISO file last week. Also a Preview of Windows 10 SDK Preview is available for download.

The build number doesn’t correspond with a public Windows 10 preview release. You need a Windows 10 preview with a build number 15003 or greater to use the SDK. According to the announcement from Microsoft made within the Windows blog, there SDK are also requires Visual Studio 2017 RC. Here’s what’s new:

• This Windows SDK includes updates and additions to the Windows namespace. See section API Updates and Additions below for the list.
• Debugging Tools for Windows has been updated with a few new features, including JavaScript scripting and extensibility. See the (old) blog post from 2016 here for more information.

In the “known issue” section of the blog post Microsoft mentions, that there is no Emulator with this release. And you cannot specify the new SDK version 15003 when creating a new project [in Visual Studio 2017 RC]. The new Preview SDK is a pre-release and cannot be used in a production environment. Please only install the SDK on your test machine. The Preview SDK Build 15003 contains bug fixes and under development changes to the API surface area.

Developer Helge Klein recently announced, that his two Windows tools SetACL and Delproof2 are now free to use, both for individuals and corporations (for commercial use).

Delprof2, delete user profies

Delprof2 is the unofficial successor to Microsoft’s Delprof which does not work with operating systems newer than Windows XP. Here are the main facts:

• Delprof2 is syntax compatible to the original Delprof, but more powerful
• Delprof2 lets you explicitly specify which profiles to delete
• Delprof2 bypasses security to delete profiles regardless of current permissions/owner
• Delprof2 supports very long paths
• Delprof2 works on nearly all versions of Windows
• Delprof2 is free for personal and commercial use

More details and the download link may be found on Helge Klein’s tool page here.

SetACL: Set permissions

Accoring to Helge Klein’s web site, SetACL Studio is a management tool for Windows permissions. It combines powerful features with an extremely intuitive user interface. It works with files, folders, registry keys, printers, network shares, services and WMI objects. It supports very long file system paths and bypasses security to display information about the remotest corner of the system. And it has undo. This web site also contains the download link.

Is Microsoft planning to lower license fees for Windows 10 for it’s OEMs? Windows 10 is already free for machines with display size below 10 inch. The Taiwan based Digitimes has published an article here, suggesting, that Microsoft has settled with notebook vendors. Windows 10 licensing rates for models to be launched in 2017, will be reduced for machines with display size under 14.1. The agreement shall be valid after March 1, 2017. Details are not outlined.

In Windows 10 Creators Update a new “Game Mode” is coming. Some rumors went public in December 2016. Now Microsoft has published some early information about that mode.

The announcement has been made last Friday (January 13, 2017) in Xbox Wire within this article. Microsoft writes about the Game Mode.

Our goal is to make Windows 10 the best Windows ever for gaming. With the Creators Update, we’re introducing a new feature called Game Mode. Windows Insiders will start seeing some of the visual elements for Game Mode this week, with the feature being fully operational in builds shortly thereafter. Our vision is for Game Mode to optimize your Windows 10 PC for increased performance in gaming. This is a big update for Windows; we’re looking forward to Insiders getting their hands on this new feature for further testing, and we’ll have much more to share on what it is and how it works soon, so stayed tuned.

[German]Microsoft will change how Security-only rollup updates for Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1 and corresponding server versions are delivered.

In a Technet blog post Simplified servicing for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1: the latest improvements, Nathan Meyer from Microsoft detailed further changes in Windows Updates. The changes of servicing model are for Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, and Windows Server 2012 R2. Customers using Windows Update and connected directly to Microsoft for updates (such as consumer PCs) will not be impacted by these changes, while enterprise customers using update management tools can benefit from these improvements.

Since October 2016 Microsoft has changed the servicing model for the operating systems mentioned above (see also my blog post Windows 7/8.1-Update: What to expect from October onwards). Updates for these versions of Windows have been released using a rollup model:

• Security Monthly Quality Update (aka the Monthly Rollup) – New fixes are rolled into a single update, which includes both security and reliability fixes, as well as all fixes from previous rollups. Each new Monthly Rollup will supersede the previous, so installing the latest Monthly Rollup will ensure you have all fixes since the start of the model in October 2016. For example, the December 2016 Monthly Rollup contained all the fixes in the October and November Monthly Rollups.
• Preview of Monthly Quality Rollup (aka the Preview Rollup) – New reliability fixes are first released in an optional Preview Rollup that enables early deployment of the new reliability fixes before they are included in the next Monthly Rollup.
• Security Only Quality Update (aka the Security Only update) – In an alternative option released to WSUS and Microsoft Update Catalog only, new security fixes are also provided in a single Security Only update, which rolls all the security patches for that month into a single update. The Security Only update does not contain fixes from previous months, and allows enterprises to download as small of an update as possible to remain secure.

For more information on these updates, and deployment scenarios, see Microsoft’s blog post. Both the Monthly Rollups and Security Only updates are available on WSUS and the Microsoft Update Catalog, and both are published with the “Security updates” classification, enabling enterprise customers using WSUS or other update management tools to sync and deploy both updates, depending on their settings. To further simply installation and deployment in this scenario, the servicing model was updated in December 2016 to better handle the Security Only update installation applicability (see also my blog post Windows 7/8.1/Server: New update schemes for WSUS/SCCM from December 2016 onwards).

Since December 2016, Security Only updates will not be offered on machines where a Monthly Rollup (from the same or later month) is already installed. AdditionallySecurity Only updates from earlier months (October and November 2016) were revised to leverage this applicability check, so it now applies to all Security Only updates released in the new servicing model. Finally, this applicability definition also checks for the installation of a Preview Rollup from the same or later month, which also includes the security fixes for that month.

The Security Only update contains new security fixes for the Windows operating system, which includes Internet Explorer. Before October 2016, updates for the latest supported version of Internet Explorer (IE11 for Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2012 R2; IE10 for Windows Server 2012) were provided in a separate monthly update. From October 2016 to January 2017 we included any Internet Explorer fixes for that month in the Security Only update to allow you to also remain secure for the latest supported Internet Explorer version for your operating system, all by installing the single Security Only update.

Starting with February 2017, the Security Only update will not include updates for Internet Explorer, and the Internet Explorer update will again be available as a separate update for the operating systems listed above. With this separation, the Security Only update package size will be significantly reduced. But you will need to deploy and install the Internet Explorer update to remain secure for the latest supported version of the browser. The following table, provided by Microsoft, details the update servicing model.

With these two modifications for the Security Only updates (installation applicability and the standalone Internet Explorer update), enterprise customers using update management tools such as WSUS or System Center Configuration Manager will now have increased flexibility and simplicity in their deployments. Systems using Windows Update will not be affected from these changes.

Similar articles:
Windows 7/8.1-Update: What to expect from October onwards
Windows 7/8.1/Server: New update schemes for WSUS/SCCM from December 2016 onwards

[German]Oracle has released Java SE Version 8 Update 121. It’s a critical security update, released on January 2017 patch day, that closes some vulnerabilities described in CVE-2017-3289.

The Oracle Critical Patch Update Advisory – January 2017 lists Oracle Java SE, version(s) 6u131, 7u121, 8u112” as vulnerable. Java SE 8 Update 121 for Linux, OS X, Solaris, and Windows is available for download on this Oracle page.

If you are using the JAVA updater or the JAVA offline installer, take care, that no PUPs are installed. I’m using the offline installer to receive a pure JAVA JRE.

The release notes may be found on this Oracle page. Installing the update offers an uninstall of an old JAVA version.

On my 64 bit Windows 7 the installer stalled after uninstalling. So I killed the installer in task manager (after selecting show processes of all users). Then the installation worked. If you don’t need JAVA under Windows, I recommend uninstalling JAVA JRE via control panel. And I recommend to deactivate the JAVA plugin in your browser.

Similar articles
Java SE 8 Update 111/112 available

[German]Oracle has released Virtualbox Version 5.1.14, which is a maintenance release of this virtualization software, for Windows, Linux and Mac OS. Here is what’s new.

The change log list the following fixes and improvements for Virtualbox 5.1.14.

• VMM: fixed emulation of certain instructions for 64-bit guests on 32-bit hosts
• VMM: properly handle certain MSRs for 64-bit guests on ancient CPUs without VT-x support for MSR bitmaps (bug #13886)
• GUI: fixed a crash with multimonitor setups under certain conditions
• GUI: allow cloning of snapshots when the VM is running
• NVMe: fixed compatibility with the Storage Performance Development Kit (SPDK, bug #16368)
• VBoxSVC: fixed a crash under rare circumstances
• VBoxManage: added a sanity check to modifymedium –resize to prevent users from resizing their hard disk from 1GB to 1PB (bug #16311)
• Windows hosts: another fix for recent Windows 10 hosts
• Linux hosts: Linux 4.10 fixes
• Linux Additions: fixed protocol error during certain operations on shared folders (bug #8463)

Virtualbox for Windows, Mac OS and Linux may be downloaded here. Note that also an updated version of Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack is required.

[German]Windows 10 is now released since 1,5 years, but Windows 7 still runs on a majority of desktop systems. Now Microsoft Germany announced in a press release “the end of life” for Windows 7 in three years (January 14, 2020) and recommend Windows 10. Here are a few details and thoughts.

I’ve published a German blog post Microsofts “Tschüss Windows 7”-Ankündigung … last Saturday, January 14, 2020, exactly three years from now, before Windows 7 reaches “the end of life”. This article was triggered by a press release An early Goodbye to Windows 7! Support endet in drei Jahren (Google cache) from Microsoft Germany, where they are pointing out, that it’s just 3 years until support for Windows 7 ends. That’s not a new fact and can be read within Windows lifecycle fact sheet. A few days ago neowin.net and other US sites published also articles about that topic and cited parts from German press release.

What Microsoft recommends

Markus Nitschke, Head of Windows at Microsoft Germany, was cited in the German press release with:

Today, Windows 7 does not meet the requirements of modern technology, nor the high security requirements of IT departments. As early as in Windows XP, we saw that companies should take early steps to avoid future risks or costs.

Windows XP seems a night mare to Microsoft, because this operating system is still widely in use, although support has ended in 2014. So Microsoft intend to avoid this situation for Windows 7, and and advise business users to think about the Windows 7 end of life – which is still ok. Within the press release, Microsoft mentioned also, that Windows 10 has taken the lead over Windows 7 – according to statcounter – in January 2017 – but only in Germany.

Source: StatCounter Global Stats – OS Market Share

Microsoft recommends Windows 10, as an operating system “offering our customers the highest level of security and functionality at the cutting edge”. Microsoft also wrote, that “Windows 7 is based on out dated security architectures” and “business customers who use Windows 7 to host sensible data for another 3 years are running a high risk of cyber attacks”. Sound pretty scary, and it suggests, that companies should switch immediately to Windows 10.

And the reality check

Microsoft always cite the security aspect as an advantage of Windows 10. Of course, Windows 10 comes with many improvements in security. But I like to point to a CERT document from Carnegie Mellon University CERT, published in November 2016 (see also this ZDNET article). This article shows, that Windows 7 + Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET) is far more secure then Windows 10 without EMET.

(Source: Will Dorman, CERT)

Will Dormann from CERT has published the table shown above and pointed to some weaknesses in Microsoft’s arguments “Windows 10 is more secure”.

“Windows 10 does indeed provide some nice exploit mitigations. The problem is that the software that you are running needs to be specifically compiled to take advantage of them.

Well, the intension of this article was to keep EMET alive (because Microsoft intends to retire EMET in July 2018). But this should be noted, if someone says “Windows 7 is insecure, switch to Windows 10”.

Also Microsoft’s tech people are not “done with Windows 7”. A few days ago I’ve published the article How to create a Windows 7 SP refresh media. The article is based on a Technet article freshly published a few days ago, showing how to create an updated Windows 7 refresh media. And I have published the article No, you haven’t just a month to buy OEM-Windows 7 PCs … in October 2016 – that pointed out, that OEMs are still able to ship Windows 7 Pro machines till October 2017. The market obviously demands Windows 7 machines.

There is on argument from Microsoft that should be kept in mind: Newer hardware architectures based on Kaby Lake or similar CPUs may be not supported by vendors with Windows 7 drivers. But currently there are many hardware with Windows 7 driver support.

What’s the problem with Windows 10

Speaking for business customers, I feel, there is no Win-Win situation for users switching from Windows 7 to Windows 10. The ‘Windows as a service’ approach seems to me as a disaster. Windows 10 has been released in July 2015 as RTM. Since then we have had Version 1511 and Version 1607 – each of them brought many bugs and serious trouble.

We have cases, where software, hardware or drivers becomes non-compatible after a feature upgrade. Also features like auto-update brought administrators into serious trouble. And a lot of the features (Cortana, Apps, 3D, Gaming etc.), buried in Windows 10, are not worth for business users. Also it seems, that only volume license customers with Windows 10 Enterprise get the “full advantage” of group policies (see Microsoft axes Group Policies in Windows 10 Pro version 1607), LTSB and so on. Thinking about that, I don’t see a serious advantage for Windows 10, as long, as this operating system is “marketing driven and doesn’t fit the needs of business users”.

Final words

I was using Microsoft operating systems since 1983 (MS-DOS 1.x) and I wrote at least one book about each of those products since MS-DOS 2.x [except Windows 1.x, 2.x and NT 3.x]. I’ve also experimented since 1993 with Linux (0.x onwards). But machines with Windows XP and then Windows 7 has been a solid foundation for my SoHo business.

I’m running Windows 10 since early betas on test machines – but Microsoft’s CEO clearly says “cloud first, mobile first” – they are moving away from Windows. Windows 10 isn’t what I need as a SoHo business user. It’s focused on things Microsoft’s marketing identified as “good for the companies revenue”. So now I’m investigating how to move my SoHo machines to Linux till 2020 and have virtual machines with Windows guests for tasks that I can’t do under Linux (some bookkeeping/tax related things probably) – and for blogging of course. For more than 20 Years I could not imagine that this would happen. What’s your opinion about that matter?

[German]Windows 10 RTM (Build 10240, Version 1607) has been released on July 29, 2015. Now Microsoft mentioned, that support for this version will end on March 26, 2017.

Microsoft made several announcements in a blog post Windows 10 v1607 media now available published on January 19, 2017. Windows 10, version 1607 was declared the Current Branch for Business (CBB) on November 29, 2016.

Microsoft released yesterday updated media for Windows 10 Version 1607 (Windows 10 Anniversary Update) on Windows Update for Business, Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), and MSDN Subscriptions. Refreshed media for Windows 10, Version 1607 will be released also to the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) on January 26, 2017.

Windows 10, Version 1507 reaches End of Service

After the availability of Windows 10, Version 1607 to the VLSC on January 26^th, the 60-day grace period for Windows 10, version 1507 will begin. After March 26^th, 2017, Windows 10, Version 1507 will no longer be serviced as only the two most Current Branch for Business (CBB) versions are actively serviced.

What Microsoft didn’t mentions: Windows 10 Enterprise RTM LTSB (Build 10240) is still maintained (the end of life time is 10 years after release). So cumulative updates should be available after March 2017. We have to test, whether it’s possible to download cumulative Updates for Windows 10 Enterprise RTM LTSB (Build 10240) from Windows Update Catalog and install it manually under Windows 10 Home/Pro (Build 10240).

Microsoft has released this night Build 15014 of Windows 10 Insider Preview  for PCs and Mobile devices in Fast Ring for Insiders.

The announcement has been made by Dona Sarkar within Windows-Blog. Microsoft has added a couple of new features to this Insider Preview build. There is the ability to buy and download ebooks from Windows Store for US customers for instance. Microsoft also managed it at least (in the third feature upgrade) to add a color picker to settings. Head over to Windows-Blog to read, what Microsoft think is important for Windows 10 users.

Much more interesting (in my opinion) is the bug list. The most annoying bug insiders are probably facing: The download progress bar is broken, so it seems it hangs at 0% – as Dona Sarkar wrote. Well, I got this incident – but instead believing Microsoft and hoping, the download will be finished after waiting a few hours, I glimpsed into the status of my Wi-Fi connection – no download traffic has been shown. So I used the old trick “have you tried to switch it off and on?” worked – I did a reboot and now the progress is now at 15%.

If this build will be installed successful – in a couple of hours – I will check, whether old bugs are gone. The one shown in the above screenshot indicating that some settings are managed by your organization. I will also check, if the nasty printing bug from Build 15002/15007 has been fixed. After German blog readers pointed me to this bug, I run a shot test within my SoHo network. It’s unbelievable: The Windows 10 machine immediately indicated, that the network printer was offline. But later on, I wasn’t also no more able, to print from my Windows 7 machines – the printer was offline. Switching the printer to online, didn’t cure the issue. I was forced to run a troubleshooter and to reboot my Windows 7 machine, to use the printer again.

For a list of other bugs – known to Microsoft – in Build 15014, head over to Windows-Blog an read. I will test also, if the “run as administrator” context menu entry works again.

Some Windows 10 users are facing suddenly the issue, that apps could not be downloaded from Windows Store anymore. This blog post analyses what’s the reason and how Xbox One account settings are affecting your Windows Store downloads.

Windows Store is a kind of “trouble maker” in Windows 10. I’ve read many forum posts, where users are reporting trouble accessing apps from Windows Store.

Just “another” Windows Store issue

I came across this store issue within a user post in German Microsoft Answers forum. The user wrote.

since 4 weeks I can’t load new apps from Store (for instance Surface App, and Nebo). I’m receiving a message “try later” App updates can’t be installed too.

I’ve re-installed Win10 Pro several times on my Surface Pro 4, and I use Windows Defender. Trying the troubleshooting methods suggested within the internet are not successful.

In normal cases, I would recommend a couple of fixes and diagnose steps to solve this store issue. But the statement, that the issue has been also observed after re-installing Windows 10 Pro made me thinking deeper.

There are many sources for Windows Store errors

Analyzing possible source for error during downloading apps from Windows 10 Store, gives me a bunch of possibilities. So I draw the schema below.

We need to separate local Windows 10 client related errors and errors related to Microsoft accounts (mentioned as Microsoft Konto in the schema shown above) during diagnose. And also the Microsoft Store servers can be out of order causing app download errors.

Client oriented troubleshooting strategies, that won’t help

The common suggestion to cure app download errors are “check the proxy settings and clean the store cache using wsreset.exe). I’ve outlined those diagnose steps within my blog post Windows 10: Store downloads causes error 0x80D05001 – but none of those steps will solve the case mentioned above.

Also checking Windows component store (see Check and repair Windows system files and component store) won’t solve the issue, because the user reported above, that he has re-installed Windows 10 Pro already. And Windows 10 “Windows Store Apps” troubleshooter (download) can’t cure the issue. Going back to the above schema brought me to the conclusion, that a Windows 10 client error isn’t the reason for app download problems discussed above. Also my hints given within my blog post Windows 10: Store error “Something went wrong” won’t help in the case outlined above.

XBox One account settings are the root cause for blocked app downloads

With the knowledge outlined above we can negate many error sources. If the store server doesn’t cause this issue (and other users did not have this issue), something with the user’s Microsoft account might be broken. This can be verified using a new created Microsoft account.

If that is verified, the user is in need to find the misconfiguration within his Microsoft account profile.

Within the German MS Answers forum thread someone mentioned, that “PCs are nowadays be associated to Xbox One accounts”. I don’t remember exactly, but an Xbox Gamer Tag has been assigned automatically to a Microsoft account since Windows 8 (or Windows 8.1). A user suggested to check the Xbox One account settings.

1. So fire up a browser, go to URL account.xbox.com and login with your Microsoft account credentials.

After login we need to go to the Xbox settings page shown above. If the page is not shown, click the user icon (the green ball) and select Xbox settings within the pull down menu.

2. Then select within the left column the hyperlink Privacy & online safety and confirm the additional login data requested for sign in.

3. After seeing the page shown above, select the category Xbox One Online Safety, and check your settings.

If within the column Buy and download (Decide what content to allow to buy and download on Xbox One) the option Nothing is checked, Xbox One account settings blocks also other Windows store downloads. Please check an option like Anything or Only Free. Then log off using the pull down menu in the user’s icon shown in the upper right corner of your browser window. Afterward Windows store downloads should be possible again.

Just my 2 cents

This case shows again, how difficult the new Microsoft approach is. It’s a kind of genius to include Xbox One settings. But if there is a download conflict with Windows store apps, we have another source for trouble. My impression is, that an ordinary user did not have a real chance to solve such issues. Hope, my blog post will help users of Windows 10, affected by this behavior, to solve the issue.

Similar articles:
Check and repair Windows system files and component store
Windows 10: Store error “Something went wrong”
Windows 10: Store downloads causes error 0x80D05001
Windows 10: Dropping App Store Error 0x803F7003
Windows 10 Store stalls with error 0x80131500