Microsoft has stopped delivery of June 25th’s KB5039302 update. While the update had some interesting stuff in it, it turns out that it can cause Windows 11 PCs to restart in a continuous loop.

Specifically, Windows 11 version 23H2 and Windows 11 version 22H2 are affected by this bug. Windows servers are not affected.

Fortunately, KB5039302 isn’t installed on all Windows 11 computers because it’s an optional update. (It’s a preview of the standard update for all Windows 11 machines that will be released on Patchday in July 2024.)

In other words, KB5039302 will only be on your Windows 11 computer if you explicitly installed it.

Get Windows 11 Pro for cheap

Windows 11 Pro

Microsoft wrote the following:

After installing updates released on 26 June 2024 (KB5039302), some devices may not restart. Affected systems may restart repeatedly and require recovery operations to restore normal use.

The Redmond software company continues:

This issue is more likely to affect devices that use virtual machine tools and nested virtualization features, such as CloudPC, DevBox, Azure Virtual Desktop. We are investigating to determine the exact conditions under which this issue may be triggered. Windows Home Edition users are less likely to experience this issue as virtualization is less prevalent in private environments.

And further:

While our investigation is ongoing, this update is not being offered through Windows Update and Windows Update for Business. For this reason, this update may not be offered for your device at this time.

Microsoft is working on a solution to the problem and plans to release it with one of the upcoming updates.

What to do if you’re stuck restarting

If you’ve installed the update on your computer and it enters the never-ending reboot loop, you’ll have to wait until Windows 11 begins the Windows 11 recovery environment by itself.

When it does, select Troubleshoot, then Advanced Options, then Uninstall Updates, and finally click on Uninstall latest quality update. Then confirm removal of the update.

It will take some time for KB5039302 to be removed. Once it’s done, restart your computer and it should work properly again.

Microsoft has confirmed an annoying bug in Windows 10: users who right-click on the taskbar are shown an incorrect “Open with” dialogue with the meaningless “How do you want to open the file?” instead of the usual drop-down lists and program-specific context menu.

This problem is apparently caused by some of the latest updates that Microsoft provided for Windows veterans in recent months. Windows 10 version 22H2 and Windows 10 version 21H2 are both affected.

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Windows 11 Pro

Specifically, optional update KB5036979 from April 2024 is causing this misbehavior, as reported by BleepingComputer. Updates KB5039211 (June 2024), KB5037849 (May 2024, optional) and KB5037768 (May 2024) are also said to cause this problem.

Microsoft writes:

After installing the April 23, 2024 Windows update (KB5036979) and updates released after it, certain applications may display an “Open with” dialogue box asking you how you want to open this file. This problem can occur when you click with the mouse on an application icon in the taskbar or in the Start menu and right-click on the application to perform a task in that application. As a result, the “Open with” dialogue box may appear instead of running the selected task.

Microsoft continues:

This issue has been reported by users of Teams, the new Outlook for Windows, and Snip & Sketch. This issue may also affect other applications if you right-click on their icon to find a context menu with a list of tasks.

However, not all computers seem to be affected by the problem. On some, the right-click menu works as usual.

Microsoft says it’s working on a solution to the problem and will make it available with an update. Until then, you’ll have to select the desired tasks directly in the menus of their respective programs.

Windows 10 had a feature called Jump Lists that allowed you to open recently used files directly from the Windows Start menu. For whatever reason, this time-saving shortcut was removed in Windows 11—but apparently Microsoft wants to correct that.

According to a Microsoft blog entry, the test version “Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3785” (also known as KB5039319) will have new features for Windows 11 version 23H2, including:

When you right-click on applications that are pinned to the Start menu, you’ll see jump lists for applications that have them, such as PowerPoint.

Windows 11 will show you files in the Start menu that you last opened with certain applications. The prerequisite for this is that the application (e.g., PowerPoint) needs to support Jump Lists.

How to test jump lists in Windows 11

Windows 11 Pro

The final version of Windows 11 doesn’t yet provide Jump Lists. However, if you register as an Insider tester for preview versions of Windows 11, you can already test the returned Jump Lists feature.

To do this, register for the Insider program here (it’s free). Then, in Windows 11, navigate to Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program and choose Beta Channel.

In addition to Jump Lists, KB5039319 also brings other improvements. Full details can be found in the Microsoft blog post.

Windows Recall is probably the most exciting new feature that Microsoft presented at its event in May (alongside Copilot+ PCs). This new tool runs locally on your computer (provided it has an NPU and is therefore a Copilot Plus PC) and logs everything you do on your computer with regular snapshots so that you can search for and retrieve all the content you’ve interacted with.

Microsoft describes the Recall function as follows:

“While you are using your PC, Recall takes snapshots of your screen. Snapshots are taken every five seconds while the content on the screen differs from the previous snapshot. Your snapshots are then saved locally and analyzed locally on your PC. Analyzing Recall allows you to search for content, including images and text, in natural language.”

This should enable you to find everything again. Recall should therefore become a kind of “photographic memory” for your PC and be able to remember everything you have done on it. Recall will also be available for German-speaking PCs at launch.

Further reading: Microsoft is killing a huge AI feature in Copilot Pro

You can start Recall either by pressing the Windows key + J or by clicking on the Recall icon on the taskbar.

Microsoft

Microsoft

Microsoft

However, Recall has been criticized from the onset due to potential data privacy issues. So, if you don’t want to be monitored by Windows around the clock, you only have one option: switch off Recall.

How to switch off Recall

If you want to switch off Recall completely, go to Settings > Privacy & security > Recall & snapshots in Windows and deactivate the Save snapshots option by moving the slider to the Off position.

Alternative: Only allow recall to record certain activities

If you want to leave the function switched on, take a moment to configure which apps and websites are allowed and which are blocked. Chrome and Firefox users should also switch on the automatic blocking of private browser windows (only Edge’s InPrivate windows are excluded by default).

Microsoft has published detailed instructions on how you can customize Recall to your wishes.

Switch off Recall for a short time

You can also quickly switch off Recall for a short time period. To pause Recall, click on the Recall icon in the taskbar and then select Stop/pause until tomorrow option. Snapshots are paused until they’re automatically resumed at 12:00 noon.

Microsoft has now released a preview version of Windows 11 24H2, this year’s major annual Windows update. But watch out: When Microsoft installs the autumn update on your Windows 11 computer, a number of older applications and features will be removed forever. Cortana, Tips, and Wordpad are perhaps the most well-known victims of this cleanup.

Microsoft said about Cortana:

“Cortana in Windows as a standalone app is deprecated. This change only affects Cortana in Windows. Your productivity assistant Cortana is still available in Outlook Mobile, Teams Mobile, Microsoft Teams Display and Microsoft Teams Rooms.”

And about the Tips app:

“The Tips app is deprecated and will be removed in a future version of Windows. Content in the app will continue to be updated with information about new Windows features until the app is removed.”

Windows 11 Pro

And about Wordpad:

“Wordpad will no longer be updated and will be removed in a future version of Windows. We recommend Microsoft Word for rich text documents such as .doc and .rtf and Windows Editor for text-only documents such as .txt. Wordpad will be removed from all editions of Windows starting with Windows 11 version 24H2 and Windows Server 2025.”

However, the full list of applications and features being removed in the upcoming update—or sometime thereafter, as Microsoft isn’t removing ALL features considered obsolete as early as autumn 2024 but instead says they “may be removed in a future release”—is significantly longer.

Microsoft justifies this by stating that some well-known applications will be removed with 24H2:

“Each version of the Windows client adds new features and functionality. Occasionally, new versions also remove features and functionality, often because they have added a newer option. This article provides details about the features and functionalities that are no longer being developed in the Windows client.”

Microsoft lists all “deprecated features for the Windows client,” including many that Microsoft has long since removed. Most are only of interest to administrators or professional Windows users, but some removed applications may affect private users.

The Steps Recorder is also marked for removal, so if you want to record problems or step-by-step instructions on your PC, you should use the snipping tool. Microsoft is also removing the scripting language VBScript. Learn more about disappearing Windows features.

This article was translated from German to English and originally appeared on pcwelt.de.

Microsoft has released a new version of its free Windows tuning tool, dubbed PC Manager.

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Windows 11 Pro

Version 3.9.3.0’s main new feature is the improved “Files Cleanup” feature, as the US IT news portal Windowslatest reports. This is designed to give you more free space on your Windows computer quickly and easily. The new “Files Cleanup” cleans up downloaded files, searches for particularly large files, and removes duplicate files.

Microsoft’s PC Manager tool also brings Dark Mode to the app. There are also a number of detailed improvements to the interface as well as a revised desktop toolbar, which now integrates the Bing search. Update: On that note, be careful when using PC Manager’s Repair tools. After this update, it began saying you need to switch to Bing search to “repair” Edge to its intended use. If you’ve manually tuned Edge’s default to run Google, DuckDuckGo, or another search engine, ignore that PC Manager suggestion.

Further reading: How to use Microsoft’s free PC Manager for a digital spring cleaning

What Microsoft PC Manager does

Mark Hachman / IDG

Mark Hachman / IDG

Mark Hachman / IDG

With PC Manager, you can optimize the memory and storage space on computers with Windows 11 and Windows 10. Windows should also work faster by removing temporary files that are no longer needed and clearing the Windows update cache.

When cleaning up your computer, you can specify in PC Manager whether the tool should focus its cleaning and tidying work on downloaded files, large files, or duplicate files. For downloaded files, the software cleans up downloads from Edge, Chrome, and other applications that deposit files in the Downloads folder. If you let PC Manager search for large files, the tool will show you these. You can then decide whether you actually still need the file in question or whether you want to free up the storage space.

CCleaner Professional

Read our review

As already mentioned, the third option is to search for multiple files that are located in different places on your computer and therefore take up unnecessary storage space.

Microsoft’s PC Manager serves as an alternative to the iconic Ccleaner optimization app.

You can find the PC Manager download in the Microsoft Store. At least Windows 10 version 19042.0 or higher, or Windows 11, is required, with both x86 and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips supported.

Editor’s note: This article originally ran on May 13 but was updated May 17 to warn about the Bing Search “Repair” behavior.

Microsoft’s PC Manager is a cool, useful, and free tool for PC users who want to optimize Windows quickly and easily. But using PC Manager apparently can also have unwanted side effects.

Since the latest space-saving update, PC Manager has also been searching for very specific optimization requirements on Windows 10 and Windows 11 computers. If PC Manager recognizes that you’ve preset Google or another non-Microsoft search engine on Windows 11’s native Edge browser, it recommends switching to Microsoft’s Bing search engine, as Windowslatest reports.

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Windows 11 Pro

PC Manager says that the default settings for Edge have been changed and recommends restoring the original settings specified by Microsoft, with Bing as the default search engine. The whole thing seems a bit intrusive, as hardly any users are likely to have accidentally set Google as their search engine — especially as the suggestions appear under the heading “Repair tips.” That’s almost cheeky.

So don’t be put off by this repair tip. Apart from that, the PC Manager is definitely worth a look, though you can also use CCleaner or other tuning tools. Please note, however, that tuning tools can sometimes lead to undesirable consequences and even damage the operating system. Use them at your own risk.

Further reading: How to use Microsoft’s free PC Manager for a digital spring cleaning

Microsoft is packing more and more advertising into its Windows operating system. In Windows 11, ads now even appear in the Start menu (though Microsoft calls ads for apps or Windows services “recommendations”), and you’ll see full-screen ads for the Edge browser. You can sift through Windows settings and find individual options to turn them all off, but the flood of ads has encouraged resourceful programmers to develop tools designed specifically to eradicate them. Meet OFGB (“Oh Frick Go Back”).

After starting the small program, OFGB displays a selection menu (see the image above) that lets you select which Windows adverts you no longer want to see using checkboxes.

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Windows 11 Pro

For example, you can switch off ads in File Explorer or on the lock screen, and deactivate ads that appear in the Windows settings menu. You can also use it to banish the various welcome messages that appear in different places in Windows. The developer wrote OFGB in C# and it removes the ads by making the necessary changes in the registry.

Once you have made your selections, in most cases you will need to restart your PC for the chosen ads to disappear from Windows.

OFGB is free and of course ad-free. You can find the download here and a description of the tool here. You can read some background information about the motivations of the developer, who comes from the Linux scene, over at Tom’s Hardware. If you want options, Winpilot also removes ads from Windows 11 free of charge.

Microsoft has made it much, much easier to upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11 23H2, the last major update for Windows 11. From now on, all Windows 10 users can upgrade directly to Windows 11 23H2, as spotted by Windows Latest.

This eliminates the annoying and time-consuming intermediate step of first having to upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11 22H2 and only then being able to update to Windows 11 23H2.

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Windows 11 Pro

This cumbersome procedure was previously necessary for some, but not all, Windows 10 users. Microsoft introduced the streamlined process recently but has not communicated it publicly.

Microsoft is carrying out this changeover on the server side; Windows 10 users will therefore generally no longer be offered the upgrade to Windows 11 22H2, but will instead be offered the upgrade to Windows 11 23H2 directly. The company has already started the changeover, but it is possible that some Windows 10 users will still have to be converted. So if the direct upgrade to Windows 11 23H2 is not yet available on your Windows 10 computer, you’ll still need to update the system yet again after upgrading to Windows 11.

The end is nigh for Windows 10

Making Windows 11 upgrades as easy as possible is vital for Microsoft. Windows 10 reaches end-of-life status in 2025 but Windows 11’s market share has been stagnant (at best) for months now.

Shifting downloads to Windows 11 23H2 makes even more sense when you consider Windows 11’s support plans. Microsoft will end support for Windows 11 22H2 on October 8, 2024. For Windows 11 23H2, however, Microsoft will offer support until 11 November 2025. The Redmond-based company has published the exact support periods here.

While Windows 11 23H2 (also known as Moment 4) is the latest major version of the operating system, it is not the very latest version of Windows 11. That’s reserved for Moment 5, which Microsoft released in spring 2024. You’ll need to run a simple Windows Update to receive Moment 5’s quality-of-life improvements. Read more about this in 4 just-added Windows 11 features that make your life easier.

This article was translated from German to English and originally appeared on pcwelt.de.

In recent weeks and months, Microsoft has increased the pressure on Windows 10 users to finally upgrade to Windows 11, highlighting the impending end of Windows 10 support. However, this end of support is not until October 2025 and can even be delayed by three years for a fee with the “Windows 10 Extended Security Updates” (ESU). The end of support means that Windows 10 users who do not pay for ESU will no longer receive Windows updates after October 2025 and therefore no newly discovered security vulnerabilities will be closed on their Windows 10 computers.

How Windows 10 is currently annoying us with pop-ups

Windows 10 displays full-screen adverts for the upgrade, even on Windows 10 computers that do not meet the requirements for Windows 11. The annoying upgrade notifications are even appearing on Windows 10 PCs within companies. At the same time, Microsoft has increased the number of upgrade-eligible Windows 10 PCs. So far, however, none of this has been successful; on the contrary, Windows 10 has recently gained market share, while Windows 11 has lost market share.

The long history of end-of-support pop-ups

Such annoying (full-screen) pop-ups, with which Microsoft urges users to upgrade to the latest Windows generation, are by no means an invention in Windows 10. Microsoft has been presenting users with such upgrade annoyances since Windows XP.

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Windows 11 Pro

The YouTuber WindowsOSStuff has taken the trouble to put together a short, snappy video of all the “End of Support” pop-ups (also known as End of Life, EOL) that Windows has annoyed its users with and continues to annoy them with to this day. The video is a journey through time on Microsoft’s incessant pestering of satisfied Windows users.

The first of these end-of-support pop-ups appeared in Windows XP. It could still be easily switched off using a checkbox and was not aggressive. WindowsOSStuff didn’t find such a pop-up in Windows Vista, which was quite unpopular at the time. But in the very successful Windows 7, the pestering resumed: Several times, in fact, as Microsoft placed different pop-ups in front of Windows 7 users. What’s more, Microsoft became much more intrusive. The video continues with the unpopular Windows 8 and 8.1, followed by the end-of-support pop-ups for the ever-popular Windows 10, which is where we stand today.

This article was translated from German to English and originally appeared on pcwelt.de.

With the latest optional update KB5036980 for Windows 11 version 23H2 and 22H2, Microsoft is adding ads for programs and Windows services that users can buy in the Microsoft Store to the Windows 11 Start menu. Microsoft euphemistically refers to this advertising as “Recommendations” (in the Start menu, this area is called “Recommended”), which sounds much nicer. Microsoft describes this innovation as follows:

Some Microsoft Store apps are displayed in the Recommended section of the Start menu. These apps come from a small group of selected developers. This will help you discover some of the great apps that are available.

Microsoft in the support document for KB5036980

But the better-sounding name doesn’t change the fact that many Windows 11 users don’t want to see ads in the Start menu.

How to switch off the new ads in the Start menu

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Windows 11 Pro

You are not helplessly at the mercy of the “recommendations” in the Start menu, but can easily switch them off. To do this, in the Windows settings go to Personalization > Start (this is where you configure the Windows 11 Start menu). There you will find an entry named as follows “Show recommendations for tips, app promotions, and more.” Now click the slider to the right of it to toggle the option to “Off.”

Important: Ads in the Start menu currently appear only after installing the optional update

KB5036980 is currently only an optional update that Windows 11 does not install automatically. KB5036980 will only be automatically installed as a cumulative update on every Windows 11 computer with the next Microsoft Patch Tuesday in May 2024. From then on, all Windows 11 users will find these intrusive recommendations in the Start menu of their operating system.

This article originally appeared on PC Welt and has been translated from German to English.

Microsoft will officially end support for specific versions of Office. The news comes from Mariana Prudencio, Microsoft’s senior product marketing manager, who made the announcement via a blog post. Below, you’ll find the versions of Office that will be impacted. Each one has a link to its support page at Microsoft, so be sure to check it out.

Microsoft will no longer be supporting the following versions of Office

• Office 2016 (introduced in September 2015), Office 2019 (introduced in September 2018): Access 2016, Access 2019, Excel 2016, Excel 2019, OneNote 2016, Outlook 2016, Outlook 2019, PowerPoint 2016, PowerPoint 2019, Project 2016, Project 2019, Publisher 2016, Publisher 2019, Skype for Business 2016, Skype for Business 2019, Visio 2016, Visio 2019, Word 2016, Word 2019
• Productivity Servers: Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2019, Skype for Business Server 2015, Skype for Business Server 2019

So, when is the cut off date?

Support will end on October 14th, 2025.

What does that mean for me?

After October 14th, 2025, Microsoft will no longer provide security fixes, bug fixes, or technical support. If you continue to use those versions after the end date, you’re opening yourself up to security threats, so please be mindful. In other words, there won’t be a monthly Microsoft patch day for Office 2016 and Office 2019.

How do I proceed?

Right now, you don’t have to worry about switching to a new version of Office. That said, when that expiration date hits, you shouldn’t use Office 2016 or Office 2019 anymore, at least not on computers that are connected to the internet.

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Windows 11 Pro

Microsoft Office Long-Term Servicing Channel

Microsoft also offers Office Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC). This allows you to use Office LTSC 2021 until October 13th, 2026. The company developed this version for devices that cannot accept feature updates or connect to the internet.

This article originally appeared on PC Welt and has been translated from German to English.

If you have a Windows 10 computer, Microsoft will offer you a free upgrade to Windows 11. Provided the hardware of the Windows 10 computer is compatible, otherwise Windows 11 will refuse the installation. Microsoft has now released a large number of Windows 10 PCs that were previously not allowed to install the upgrade for the Windows 11 upgrade.

Microsoft had been denying Windows 10 computers with an 11th-generation Intel Core Processor and Intel SST driver version 10.29.0.5152 or 10.30.0.5152 (the SST stands for “Smart Sound Technology”) the upgrade to Windows 11 since November 2021. With this hardware driver combination, recurring blue screens of death could occur after installing Windows 11.

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Windows 11 Pro

Resourceful Windows users could only solve this problem by updating the Intel SST drivers themselves. Those who did this independently were then able to switch to Windows 11 free of charge. However, Microsoft refused to upgrade all other PC owners with the described combination of CPU and driver.

As of today, however, this problem has generally been solved. From now on, all affected Windows 10 users with the chip and driver combination described above can download and install the latest Intel SST drivers via the Windows update function.

As soon as Windows 10 has installed the driver update, you can upgrade to Windows 11. However, Microsoft emphasizes that it could take another two days before Windows 10 offers the upgrade to Windows 11. You can find the official release of the Windows 10 PCs previously blocked for the upgrade on this status page from Microsoft.

It is not known why Microsoft took until April 12, 2024 to finally make the drivers, which have long since been adapted by Intel, available via Windows Update and lift the upgrade block.

However, if Windows 10 does not offer the driver update after all, PC owners should contact their PC manufacturer for the driver update.

Windows 10 is clearly in the lead

It remains to be seen whether this will significantly increase the market share of Windows 11. According to Statcounter, Windows 10 is still by far the most popular desktop operating system (March 2024: 69.05 percent market share among all Windows systems). Windows 10 even managed to gain market share slightly in March 2024, whereas Windows 11 lost market share slightly (March 2024: 26.68 percent market share among all Windows systems).

According to Statcounter, all Windows systems together had a market share of 72.47 percent in March 2024. MacOS is well behind with 14.68 percent.

This article originally appeared on PC Welt and was translated from German to English.

Every Windows user should know how to start the Windows 11 task manager: Press the CTRL + SHIFT + ESC keys simultaneously (there are also other options — for example, right-clicking on the taskbar and selecting “Task Manager” from the menu that then opens). Or press CTRL + ALT + DEL and then select Task Manager). You will then see the Task Manager in its current form, as it has been since Windows 11 22H2 .

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Windows 11 Pro

This current Windows 11 task manager is clearly organized: At the top left, you can minimize and maximize the left-hand menu using the burger icon. And on the right, you can see the actual contents, for example under “Processes” the running “Tasks.” If you want to end a program immediately — for example, because it froze — select it in the list and then click on the menu item “End task” at the top. The current task manager also supports the dark mode of Windows 11.

How to start the old task manager in Windows 11

But what about the old Windows task manager? It still exists, but you no longer start it using the key combination CTRL + SHIFT + ESC. Instead, open File Explorer and enter C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Taskmgr.exe in the address bar. The old task manager starts immediately.

It offers you the familiar view, so the burger symbol and the left selection menu are missing. Instead, it displays the running tasks centrally. The selection through the areas “Processes,” “Performance,” etc. is still made via the top menu bar. So overall less clear and visually less appealing, but just as useful. Ultimately, it’s a matter of taste which view you like better.

Important: You cannot use the new and the old task manager at the same time. So if the current task manager is already running, you cannot also start the old one (and vice versa).

This article was translated from German to English and originally appeared on pcwelt.de.

The rumors have now become facts. Recent speculation suggested that Microsoft would offer the latest version of Office (officially Microsoft 365) not only as a subscription, but also as a one-off purchase again. Well, Microsoft has made it official!

The next version of Microsoft 365 (aka Microsoft Office) will be released later in 2024. In addition to Microsoft offering it as a one-off purchase, there will also be a Mac version of the program and it will support both 32- and 64-bit versions. Here’s what we know about Office 2024.

Further reading: Get Microsoft Office for 33% off, no subscription required

Microsoft Office 365 Home Premium

In a blog post about the upcoming preview of Microsoft Office LTSC 2024, the company emphasizes that you can buy Microsoft Office 365 2024 and use it permanently. Of course, this only makes sense until the end of support after five years. Once support ends, you will no longer receive any security updates for Microsoft Office 2024, making it unsafe to use.

This statement only applies to Office LTSC, i.e. a variant of Microsoft Office that is intended for commercial customers and public authorities. For private users, however, the question of whether Microsoft will release Office 2024 as a non-subscription version is much more exciting. And the blog post does indeed address this:

“We also plan to release a new version of Office for home users later this year, Office 2024, which will also be supported for five years with the traditional ‘one-time purchase’ model. We have no plans to change the price of these products at the time of release. We will provide more details on the new features in Office 2024 shortly before general availability.”

Here’s what you can expect from the latest Microsoft Office 364:

• The next version of Microsoft Office 364 for home users will launch in 2024 as Office 2024
• Microsoft will provide updates for the next five years
• You can purchase Microsoft Office 365 as a one-off payment
• Office 2024 will also be released for macOS
• Office 2024 supports Windows 10, except on ARM devices
• Office 2024 supports 32-bit
• The price remains unchanged

Microsoft Office Home and Business 2021, price comparison

If you’re in favor of the subscription model with annual costs or the variant with a one-off payment and no follow-up cost, the new features are only available for the subscription model. The standalone version only receives security and repair updates.

The preview of Microsoft Office LTSC 2024 will be available for testers in April 2024. Microsoft is discontinuing Microsoft Publisher and Teams is missing because the company is making Teams available for download separately.

This article first appeared on PCWelt and has been translated from German to English.

Mozilla just released Firefox 124.0, adding some fresh features while eliminating several security vulnerabilities.

What’s new: “Caret Browsing” now also works in the PDF viewer. With Caret Browsing, which is part of the browser’s accessibility features, you can place a cursor in the text on a web page in Firefox and then control it with the arrow keys. You activate Caret Browsing in Firefox by pressing the F7 key. Click on “Yes” in the pop-up that opens, then click in the text with the cursor and use the arrow keys to move the cursor. Another click on F7 ends Caret Browsing again.

In the Firefox view, you can now sort open tabs either by last activity or by tab order. Sorting by the last activity is the default setting. Firefox now also utilizes the jump list of the Windows taskbar more efficiently, which should result in a faster browsing experience.

Exciting for Mac users: Firefox on the Mac now uses the macOS full-screen API for all types of full-screen windows. This should better match the expected macOS user experience for full-screen panes, menu bar and the dock.

In addition, Firefox 124 fixed at least 12 security vulnerabilities, including one rated as critical. You can read the complete changelog here.

How to get the update to Firefox 124

Firefox usually updates itself or installs the update after a restart. However, if you want to update Firefox yourself, you can do so. Click on the menu button at the top right and then on “Help > About Firefox”. Firefox will now show you the update and you click on “Restart Firefox” to complete the update.

This article was translated from German to English and originally appeared on pcwelt.de.

Microsoft may not plan on releasing any huge new feature updates for Windows 10, but that doesn’t mean it won’t necessarily receive new features from time to time. Among other things, Microsoft released the “2024-03 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version 22H2 for x86-based Systems (KB5035845)” for Windows 10 during March’s Patch Tuesday. This update actually adds a new feature to the veteran Windows 10: You can now share files (text documents, PDFs, images, videos, etc.) from the File Explorer of Windows 10 directly via Whatsapp and other services, as Windowslatest reports. Sharing takes place via the Nearby Share feature, over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

Simply right-click on the desired file and then select “Share” and then “Whatsapp” from the list that Windows 10 then displays. Then select the contact to whom the file should be sent via Whatsapp.

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Windows 11 Pro

Sharing via Gmail, Facebook, and LinkedIn is now also possible in Windows 10. Windows 10 does not yet support X aka Twitter. However, Microsoft is set to bring sharing via X/Twitter with one of the next updates, according to media reports.

In addition to files, you should also be able to share links via Whatsapp, Gmail, Facebook and Linkedin.

Further reading: It’s time to update to Windows 11, everyone

How to get Windows 10 Update KB5035845

KB5035845 installs Windows Update automatically on your computer. Alternatively, you can download KB5035845 here from the Microsoft Update Catalog. Make sure that you download the correct version for your system. The download is between 436 MB and 831 MB in size, depending on the processor type.

After installing the update, your operating system will have the following build number: Windows 10 Build 19045.4170.

This article was translated from German to English and originally appeared on pcwelt.de.

The new Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3212 for testers doesn’t bring any spectacular new features, but Microsoft has fixed an annoying problem that is causing problems for some Windows 11 users, as Betanews writes.

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Windows 11 Pro

Some users report that Windows 11 takes a loooooong time to finally display the taskbar and make it usable. While the Windows taskbar is missing, you don’t have the quick and important option for starting applications. In addition, the taskbar contains important setting options that are then also missing.

The new KB5034845 update is intended to cure the lame taskbar. Microsoft writes in the support document for Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3212 (Beta Channel):

“Fixed an issue which was causing the taskbar to sometimes be very slow to appear sometimes after booting up and logging in for the first time.”

However, this is not the only bug fix, as Microsoft also mentions another taskbar correction in the Windows 11 preview build. This is a problem that caused the search to open briefly and then close again immediately:

“Fixed an issue where if your taskbar was close to being full of app icons, when you tried to open search it would just open and immediately close.”

The new Windows 11 test build also brings improvements to the widgets by better pointing out missed notifications.

This improved taskbar is currently not only available in the build for the beta channel, but also for the development channel and the canary channel. However, it will certainly take a few more weeks before this improvement is incorporated into the stable versions of Windows 11 that are soon to be released in the final version. The next Microsoft patch day on March 12 could be a candidate for the final release of the improved taskbar.

This article was translated from German to English and originally appeared on pcwelt.de.

Update KB5034765, an important security update pushed as part of this month’s Patch Tuesday barrage, is turning into a nightmare for many Windows 11 users. It’s wreaking havoc on some Windows 11 machines that were previously working perfectly.

Many users who install this update on computers with Windows 11 22H2 or Windows 23H2 (the most current major versions of Windows 11) are horrified to see that the update or installation process hangs at 96 percent. The installation is then cancelled with the error code 0x800F0922. Microsoft has now confirmed this problem.

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The failed installation is part of an already long chain of problems caused by the Windows update KB5034765 since its release on February 13. For example, the taskbar sometimes disappears or File Explorer crashes after installing KB5034765. Some Windows 11 computers struggle with performance problems after installation.

But while Microsoft remains silent on all the other problems, the Redmond-based company has at least confirmed the installation failure and the error message 0x800F0922 here (for Windows 11 version 23H2 and Windows 11 version 22H2):

“Windows 11 devices attempting to install the February 2024 security update, released February 13, 2024 ( KB5034765) might face installation failures and the system might stop responding at 96%.

Resulting from this error, the following message might be displayed: “Something didn’t go as planned. No need to worry – undoing changes. Please keep your computer on”. This issue might be reflected in the Windows Event Viewer with error code ‘0x800F0922’.”

Microsoft is working on a solution to the problem and intends to provide an update. Until it is released (Microsoft is not giving a date), the company advises the following temporary solution:

“This issue can be prevented by deleting the hidden folder C:\$WinREAgent. A restart might be required. After following these steps, installing the February 2024 security update should succeed.”

Important: Before you’ll be able to see the hidden folder, you must first set File Explorer to display hidden elements. You’ll find it in File Explorer’s menu under “View > Show > Hidden elements”.

This article was translated from German to English and originally appeared on pcwelt.de.

Elon Musk recently did something that all of us have probably done at least once: He bought himself a new Windows computer, specifically a laptop. When he wanted to start using it, he realized that he had to create a Microsoft account to do so. Most people know this, but apparently it caught Musk by surprise — and raised his hackles.

Musk expressed his displeasure about Windows 11’s Microsoft accounts on X (formerly Twitter), which he has purchased. Musk wrote there:

“Just bought a new PC laptop and it won’t let me use it unless I create a Microsoft account, which also means giving their AI access to my computer! This is messed up. There used to be an option to skip signing into or creating a Microsoft account. Are you seeing this too?”

But Musk wasn’t satisfied with that. Instead, he vented his displeasure under a tweet from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. You can view this tweet here at Bluesky. Musk wrote:

“Satya, I don’t mean to be a pain, but please allow users setting up a new Windows PC to skip creating a Microsoft account.This option disappears when the computer is connected to WiFi.

Also, even if you do want to sign up, it won’t allow you to use a work email address, and I only have work email addresses!”

Musk’s criticism of the account requirement for Windows quickly made the rounds on social networks. One X/Twitter user quipped: “This will go down in history as the most famous tech support X post of all time.” Here are some more funny reactions to Musk’s dispute with Microsoft.

Musk later announced that he had managed to set up his Windows PC without a Microsoft account, thanks to instructions from a follower. Yes, you can still use Windows 11 without a Microsoft account, but doing so requires some arcane workarounds.

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This article was translated from German to English and originally appeared on pcwelt.de.