In this episode of Microsoft Weekly, we look at lots of confirmed bugs and issues in Windows 10, 11 and Server, some weird Windows 11 statistics, a new Windows 11 preview build with File Explorer improvements, new browsers for Windows, lots of Copilot news and more.

Table of Contents:

1. Windows 10 and 11 news
2. Windows Insider Program
3. Updates are available
4. Gaming news
5. Reviews found
6. Random fact about Microsoft

Windows 11 and 10

Here we talk about everything happening around Microsoft’s latest operating system in the stable channel and preview builds: new features, removed features, controversies, bugs, interesting findings and more. And of course, you might find a word or two about older but still supported (and even unsupported) versions.

Let’s start with some statistics as there are some interesting ones. Microsoft Edge is slowly increasing its market share and Approaching the 13% mark. Windows 11, on the other hand, is coming down. For the second month in a row, Statcounter reports a significant drop in market share for Windows 11. What makes the situation particularly odd is that Windows 11 is the first version to lose market share mid-cycle. Windows 7, meanwhile, is back over 70%, with disaffected Windows 11 users reverting to classic.

While Windows 11 is reportedly not doing great in the global market, things are looking pretty good on the gaming side. According to Valve, Windows 11 is now only 6 points behind Windows 10. In April 2024, Windows 11 crossed the 45% mark.

After the initial release of the remastered Tiny11 Builder script, its maker, NTDEV, released a new version with one important change: the ability to disable telemetry (shortly after another update brought ESD support). If you think Windows 11 wants to know too much about you, the latest Tiny11 Builder is just for you.

Plenty of updates have happened to the list of known bugs and issues in Windows 10, 11, Server and more. For starters, Microsoft confirmed that KB5036893 and KB5036892 broke VPN connections in Windows 10 and 11 (some important network-related changes are coming soon). Windows Server editions are also experiencing high NTLM traffic and LSASS crashes after KB5036909.

If you can’t update your profile picture after installing the Windows 11 April 2024 Cumulative Updates, rest assured that Microsoft is aware of the issue and is working to fix the 0x80070502 account picture error. You can also work around the bug and change your local profile picture without the Settings app.

Also, Microsoft has confirmed that it cannot fix “0x80070643 – ERROR_INSTALL_FAILURE” in Windows 10, which means users have to apply the necessary fixes manually.

As for more positive updates, Microsoft has finally fixed the BitLocker error 6500 in Windows 10 and 11.

Microsoft plans to unveil its new ARM-powered Surface Pro and Surface Laptop at a special event on May 20. It turns out that ASUS also has plans for that day. At 11 a.m. PT, the company will host an event that will feature “a collaboration between Microsoft, Qualcomm, and ASUS” to “celebrate the punch of new era ASUS AI PCs.”

Windows Insider Program

Here’s what Microsoft released this week for testing in the Windows Insider program:

	Windows 11	Windows 10
Canary Channel	–	Not applicable
The development channel	26120.461	Not applicable
Beta channel	22635.3570	Not applicable
Release preview channel	–	–

Windows Insiders recently noticed a mysterious “Global.WindowsMigration” app in the Start menu, which Microsoft says is just a bug. This is a component of the Windows Backup app, and should disappear from the Start menu in future updates.

To finish the Windows section, here’s Windows 8 that updates directly to Windows 11 without losing data and apps. Yes, it turns out it is possible, assuming your Windows 8 PC is compatible with Windows 11.

Updates are available

This section covers software, firmware, and other notable updates (released and coming soon) that provide new features, security fixes, improvements, fixes, and more from Microsoft and third parties.

More Surface devices received new firmware updates this week. Microsoft has released improvements to the network, audio and more For Surface Go 2 and Surface Studio 2 Plus. Also, the Intel-based Surface Pro 9 received fixes for the clipped cursor and stuttering Windows animations.

Microsoft 365 Insiders can try out the new Ink to Text feature in Excel. It allows you to type handwritten text with a stylus and convert it to plain text on the fly.

Microsoft also released a series of new features for OneDrive on the web. Customers with school and work accounts can now work offline and more. The company also confirmed that Copilot for OneDrive has been pushed back from April 2024 to summer 2024.

This week was full of other Copilot news. Outlook on iOS and Android received Copilot support, Copilot features are generally available in Viva Engage, Copilot for Microsoft 365 now supports more languages, and Copilot for Planner in Teams is now live. However, all this artificial intelligence news also has a dark side. Engineers at Microsoft (and other companies) anonymously report high attrition due to forced deadlines.

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For Teams users, Microsoft has released Long supporting document To describe all the changes made from the Microsoft Teams class to the new one. They include Windows notifications, settings, general appearance, search box commands and others.

Speaking of Teams, check out a rundown of all the features Microsoft added to the service in April 2024.

If you use MSN Weather to plan your day based on the weather outside, you’ll be happy to know that Microsoft has developed some AI models that can help the company provide more accurate 30-day weather forecasts.

On the third-party side, Mozilla has released another update for its browser. This time, version 125.0.3 brought fixes for the blank 0.0.0.1 page appearing out of nowhere, broken fonts on Linux, and other bugs.

The browser war on Windows is heating up as a new player emerged this week. After several months of closed beta testing, The Browser Company has finally released Arc Browser to all Windows 11 users. Built on Chromium, it offers uncompromising compatibility and some interesting productivity features with a focus on minimalism.

If you’re also annoyed by the new “Overwrite with Copilot” popup in recent Edge updates, check out this article to learn how to disable it. Spoiler alert: a few clicks is all it takes.

By the way, a minor update for Edge 124 introduced a built-in internet speed tester and security fixes. Microsoft Edge 125 has reached the beta channel with improvements to sleep tabs, a new memory limiter and other changes. And for Dev users, they got the first Edge 126 update with new controls and media fixes.

Finally, Microsoft announced the deprecation of legacy features for high-contrast themes in the Edge browser.

Other notable updates include the following:

Finally, here’s the Microsoft 365 Roadmap Weekly with the latest additions, such as Copilot in Forms, Copilot in Loop, improvements to Teams, and more.

On the gaming side

Learn about upcoming game releases, Xbox rumors, new hardware, software updates, freebies, deals, discounts and more.

The Xbox and PC Game Pass catalog has new games. Recent additions include Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, and more. A few titles are leaving the show this month, then Check out all the details here.

sea ​​of ​​thieves Available now on PlayStation 5. In addition, Rare launched Season 12 with new weapons, ziplines and other content for the game that was released six years ago.

starfield, Another game owned by Microsoft, is getting a new expansion. The Shattered Space expansion is set to land this fall. While there are currently no details on it, you can expect to hear some news about it at the upcoming Xbox Games Showcase, which is scheduled for June 9. And by the way, you can win a trip to this show.

Speaking of showcases, check out our recap of ID@XBox’s latest digital showcase. We may post another showcase synopsis soon, as the THQ Nordic Showcase 2024 was recently announced. However, you’ll have to wait a little longer for that as it arrives on August 2, 2024.

Ninja Theory is gearing up to launch the long-awaited sequel to Hellblade. The Saga of Sanoa: Hellblade II Coming on May 21st, and if you’re planning to play on your PC, you’ll want to make sure it’s compatible. You can do that now, as the studio has released full PC hardware requirements.

Some interesting things happen with them hell divers, A popular third-person sci-fi game that launched to critical acclaim a few months ago. Sony is forcing all PC gamers to get a PSN account to keep playing, and these PC gamers are having none of it.

Nvidia has added a batch of new games to its cloud streaming service. GeForce NOW now supporter Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, Stromgate Closed Beta, Gray Zone Warfare, MotoGP24, FOUNDRY, INDIKA, and Orcs must die! 3.

Some Xbox Insiders can try improvements to the dashboard background. Alpha and Alpha Skip-Ahead ring members can set game art backgrounds for select Home games with any background, not just the default.

Another thing currently available to Xbox Insiders is the ability to remember up to ten Wi-Fi networks on their consoles. For reference, current Xbox consoles do not remember Wi-Fi networks at all.

Promotions

This week’s edition of Weekend Deals for PC Games covers special Star Wars Day deals, Farming Festival titles, total war, and other games in various stores, such as Steam, Epic Games, GoG, Humble Store and more.

Reviews found

Below are the hardware and/or software reviews published this week on Neowin

Steven Parker continues his journey into the world of minicomputers, and this week, The GEEKOM XT12 Pro has passed its testing labs. This tiny Windows 11 PC is a well-built metal brick with excellent connectivity, a fast SSD, and support for up to four monitors, but it also has some drawbacks, such as the lack of an SD or Type-C card reader on the front of the tablet.

After hearing several reports of mini-PCs shipping with malware, Stephen also ran a collection of AV tests on small form factor PCs from AceMagic, Beelink and Geekom. Check the results here.

Random fact about Microsoft

And here’s a randomly selected piece of trivia about the company, Windows, and other things made by Microsoft.

We all know and love the Start menu button, which was first released many years ago as part of a major user interface overhaul in Windows 95. Did you know that the iconic “Start” address may not have appeared at all? This week’s random Microsoft fact, courtesy of Windows on Windows on X, shows an early taskbar user interface with just the Windows logo on the Start button. Looks familiar, right?

In 2007, Microsoft released Windows Vista, which dropped the word “Start” in favor of a simple Windows logo.

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