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Posts tagged "fixes"

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New Windows 11 update fixes a seriously frustrating bug that messed with AMD GPUs
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A bug that’s been frustrating Windows 11 users with AMD graphics cards (and CPUs to an extent) has been fixed in the latest update for Microsoft’s OS – or mostly fixed, anyway, going by reports.

This glitch was brought in with the Moment 4 update (it was first seen in the preview of that upgrade), and it messed with AMD profile settings. Every time affected users restarted their PC, those GPU settings (and reportedly CPU settings too, in some instances, like overclocking) went back to their defaults.

The good news is that the Windows 11 update for November (which began rolling out last week) cured this issue, albeit with some caveats.

As Windows Latest reports, the bug has been squashed according to its own testing. The tech site has also been talking to a selection of users hit by the bug and the majority said that this new patch from Microsoft fixed things – however, a few observed that their profile was still being reset.

It appears there are still minor gremlins kicking about, perhaps, though it should be noted that for the fix to work, as well as the November update for Windows 11, you also need to be running AMD’s Adrenalin graphics driver version 23.10.2.

Another slight caveat, too: the November update that resolves this issue has some vexing problems itself.

Analysis: A thornier problem for some?

This is a nasty bug. Having your settings reset and having to redo any customization from scratch after every single PC restart is going to get very annoying, very quickly. Especially if you’ve done a lot of tweaking on your AMD system.

Seeing the fix arrive is great news, although there’s the slight catch of apparently not everyone getting the benefit. Windows Latest doesn’t make it clear if those who found the bug still present after the latest Windows 11 update were using the mentioned version of AMD’s GPU driver (v23.10.2), but presumably they were, as the site would’ve surely clarified that if not.

The tech site suggests that those continuing to be affected may be suffering a profile reset from another cause other than Windows 11 updates.

Whatever wrinkles are left in the solution, if any, Microsoft will hopefully iron them out quickly – although the software giant hasn’t actually confirmed the presence of this fix in the new update.

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Windows 11 fixes this bewildering flaw that’s bugged PC gamers for a decade
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Windows 11 gamers rejoice, get out the party poppers, and crack the champagne open – for you can now specify a drive location to install your purchases from the Microsoft Store.

As you’re likely aware – if you have any truck with the store – if you buy a game, you’re stuck with having to install it on your system drive. Meaning that if you have a secondary drive, there’s no possibility of choosing to put a game on there at installation.

Until now, that is. With version 22310 of the Microsoft Store app, you can now select a drive to install your game, as flagged by a Microsoft engineer on X (formerly Twitter).

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As the engineer further points out, you can even specify an external drive, should you want to.

Analysis: Back to basics

This is a pretty basic option, of course, and one that could be very necessary if you don’t have much space on the main drive where Windows 11 sits. Or you don’t want to clutter that system drive with games, and would prefer to keep those separate from all the serious stuff.

Given that, it’s pretty jaw-dropping that it has taken a decade for Microsoft to make it possible to specify an installation drive and folder. (Yes, the store was first launched way back in 2012, before Windows 10 was even around).

Speaking of Windows 10, it remains to be seen if this upgrade will be visited on the older operating system – but you’d hope so.

Time will tell, as Microsoft has said it isn’t making any further feature updates to Windows 10 – just very minor tweaks (whether this install option counts as that, or not, well, we’ll see). Except, rumor has it, Copilot may be incoming for Windows 10, but perhaps not out of the goodness of Microsoft’s heart (there might be an ulterior motive for that move, if it happens).

Microsoft has been busy making the store better in recent times, as you may have seen, with one improvement of late being to massively speed up the time it takes the app to load.

Via Tom’s Hardware

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Microsoft fixes seriously annoying PC gaming bug with Windows 11 update
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Windows 11’s Moment 3 update has arrived, albeit only in preview form right now, and as well as new features, it comes with a whole lot of bug squashing – including the fix for a glitch that has been driving some gamers round the bend.

Namely Timeout Detection and Recovery (TDR) errors which crash the game and can lock up the PC. These have been around for a long time, and you can trace troubleshooting efforts all the way back to Windows Vista on Nvidia’s support forum.

Microsoft’s release notes for the Moment 3 preview (KB5027303) state that: “This update addresses an issue that might affect your computer when you are playing a game. Timeout Detection and Recovery (TDR) errors might occur.”

There are some thumbs-ups for this move on Reddit, though no reports that gamers who have been experiencing TDR crashes of late are no longer getting them – not yet, anyway. But we’ll take Microsoft at its word, of course, and this is an important step forward.

One user on Reddit did observe: “Funnily enough, Spider Man Remastered no longer crashes since I have installed this update. I never had TDR issues though.”

So maybe there are some overall stability fixes in the background here for PC games, as well as the TDR remedy? Perhaps.

Another useful facet of this update for gamers is that it improves performance with high polling rate mice (as seen before in testing), reducing levels of stutter with these peripherals (such as the models found in our best gaming mouse roundup).

Analysis: Bug fix bonanza

There are a bunch of other bug fixes delivered by KB5027303, too, including a solution for an issue that stops File Explorer working (that’s a big one, as File Explorer is the central part of the Windows interface which displays your folders and files).

There’s also a cure for flickering video in some apps, the virtual on-screen keyboard failing to open (after coming back from the lock screen), and some earbuds not working (for playing streaming music). That’s quite a bit of problem solving from Microsoft.

Remember, however, this is a preview update, meaning it’s an optional one. If you’ve been frustrated by those TDR errors crashing games, or another of the mentioned gremlins, then you might well feel this update is worth installing. Any risks of still undiscovered bugs in preview likely pale into insignificance compared to the problem you’re facing, anyway.

Otherwise, folks may want to wait for this update to get its full release, which will happen next month (on July 11 to be precise, so that’s not all that much of a wait).

As ever with optional updates, the choice is yours. Windows 10 gamers, however, are a bit miffed that the TDR fix is here for Windows 11, but not for the older OS – so they don’t have a choice, and are forced to live with any game crashing antics. With any luck, Microsoft has this resolution inbound for Windows 10 and it’ll be coming soon enough, fingers crossed.

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Microsoft finally fixes annoying Windows 11 file copying bug
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Windows 11 is about to get the full fix for a bug that causes serious aggravation to some users when trying to copy big files.

This problem has been around for some time, but Microsoft has finally got a handle on it, because as Windows Latest points out, the cure is bundled up with the freshly revealed ‘Moment 2’ update for Windows 11 22H2.

That update is already available as an optional offering – still in preview, in other words, but up for grabs to all Windows 11 users (not just testers) – and it’ll be fully rolling out with the final deployment of Moment 2 which happens next Tuesday (March 14).

So, if you’ve been hit by this bug, the resolution is imminent, thankfully. The issue badly slows down the copying of larger files, with some reports we’ve seen in the past saying that hefty copy operations can actually take twice as long as they should. Nasty indeed.

Windows Latest made this discovery thanks to readers who informed the site that file copying had reverted to normal speeds following the installation of patch KB5022913 (Moment 2 preview).

A tech consultant told the website: “We ran into this problem in December when we upgraded our 100 devices to Windows 11 22H2. The files were taking a lot longer to copy over than they should. We noticed some file transfers were almost twice slower. Our users confirmed this is no longer the case after the KB5022913 update.”

Analysis: A long time in the making

As mentioned, this problem has been around for a while – indeed a fix was applied in testing way back at the start of December 2022. That means it will have taken three and a half months for the test patch to actually reach the release version of Windows 11. (Assuming that it is included with Moment 2 and doesn’t get ditched at the last, erm, moment, if problems have been encountered with the optional preview update).

When we first reported on this, we were keeping our fingers crossed for a swift fix, but that didn’t happen, so presumably this was a knotty problem that took quite some untangling. Granted, the bug mainly affects those on enterprise networks, but folks running small office or home networks have also been hit.

The Moment 2 update fixes a bunch of other bugs, as you might expect – including File Explorer glitches and a flaw with Bluetooth keyboards – and it adds a whole pile of features to Windows 11. That includes Phone Link for iOS (finally), improvements for touchscreen devices, and much more (we’ve got a deep dive on all the additions right here). Oh, and it’ll also usher in the Bing AI to the taskbar (sort of, from time to time – we talk about this further here).

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AMD fixes bug that freezes up Windows 11 PCs – but there’s still bad news
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AMD has fixed a nasty bug in Windows 11 (and 10) which causes all sorts of unpredictable issues, including the dreaded Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), with the cure coming as part of its latest graphics driver.

That would be the Adrenalin version 23.3.1 driver, which as AMD notes resolves a bug that triggers “intermittent driver timeout, system freeze or BSOD” with “select displays.”

The fix, however, is just for RDNA 3 GPUs at the moment (the RX 7900 XTX and 7900 XT). As Neowin points out, this issue also affects previous-gen AMD graphics cards (like the RX 6000 range), and because only RX 7000 cards are mentioned in the driver release notes, presumably the fix for older GPUs is still to come.

Meanwhile, there is a workaround of sorts for those who are still encountering this bug. In theory, the problem lies in the Multi-plane Overlay (MPO), which is part of the Windows Display Driver Module (v1.3), and Neowin explains that the issue has been around since January 2023.

The reason for that strong suspicion is that if you turn off MPO – sadly that requires  a Registry tweak, which is not for the faint-hearted – the problem appears to resolve itself (at least in some reported cases).

Analysis: MPO needs some serious attention?

One thing to note is that while this bug sounds seriously nasty – and it certainly can be, given the listed effects – at least the worst manifestations, namely those full lock-ups and BSODs, are relatively rare. (Timeouts are more likely, which are irritating, but not nearly as much of a blow).

Although of course, you don’t want any chance of a hard crash happening in an ideal world. Since Windows 10, the likes of system freezes or blue screens have become much rarer (thankfully). Gone are the days when full-blown crash and burns were a relatively common experience for Windows users.

As to when AMD will smooth things over for those who don’t own a cutting-edge RDNA 3 graphics card, time will tell. Hopefully folks in that boat won’t have long to wait, as the workaround is not really suitable for those who aren’t confident enough with PCs to head into the Registry and do some tinkering. (A wrong step in the Registry can lead to very bad things happening with your PC, so always bear that in mind).

On a broader level, MPO – a feature designed to take some load off the GPU and CPU – has experienced a rather rocky time of things, and been labeled as the cause of a good many other bugs and display-related oddities. It seems like a part of Windows that needs an overhaul, in short, or we could find more strange bugs like the one AMD has (partially) stamped out manifesting themselves down the line.

As a final note, if you are updating to AMD’s driver version 23.3.1, be very careful in the process, as in certain circumstances, a rare but truly dire problem can arise on installation – namely your PC getting bricked.

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Nvidia fixes a weird GPU driver bug that tanked CPU performance
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Nvidia’s GPU driver was recently found to have a bug that was spiking processor usage after quitting out of a game, but the good news is this problem has been fixed in a freshly released hotfix.

Neowin reports that the affected GeForce driver version, 531.18, now has a hotfix (531.26), and it cures two issues including the gremlin that was eating CPU resources.

This was an odd bug which saw an Nvidia Container process hang around after you’d stopped playing a game and exited. Going into Task Manager, gamers were seeing CPU resources being eaten up to the tune of 10% or even 15%, causing some slowdown to the host gaming PC.

If you didn’t open Task Manager and notice this process, then manually close it, your machine could run rather sluggishly and you’d have no idea why.

Still, the cure has arrived now, and if you were holding off updating to version 531.18 due to the presence of this bug, you can now go ahead.

Analysis: Notebook crashing blues also fixed

This fix has been deployed quickly, which is good to see. Nvidia chose the route of a hotfix because that can be pushed out immediately to those with GeForce graphics cards, rather than having to wait for a cure bundled with the next version of Team Green’s graphics driver.

The hotfix also comes packing a resolution for a second problem. Namely a random crash (stop error) happening with some laptops that have GeForce GTX 10 Series, or MX 250 / MX 350 mobile GPUs.

Both of these are quite nasty little glitches, so it’s good to see them stamped out by Nvidia in a swift manner. Indeed, because there was apparently some noticeable slowdown evident with the persisting Nvidia Container bug, slightly more paranoid types may even have wondered if something had happened malware-wise, as sudden system slowdown or lack of responsiveness can be a symptom of infection – so they may have worried unduly.

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Surprise Windows 11 update fixes some of our biggest issues – here’s how to get it
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Microsoft has just released a much-publicised Windows 11 update that finally brings Android apps to your PC, but the company has also slipped out a surprise update. Windows 11 Build 22557 brings some really cool new features – and addresses many of our complaints.

Unlike the recent update, which is available to all Windows 11 users, and had a blog post from none other than Microsoft’s Panos Panay, Chief Product Officer, Windows + Devices, Windows 11 Build 22557 has only been released on the Nickel Release branch. This is an active development branch that allows developers to get access to early versions of the operating system to help ensure their apps and products work well with the update.

Usually, we wouldn't pay attention to these kind of updates, but this one is noteworthy as it gives us an idea of what will be coming in Windows 11’s major update later this year, which is currently known as Windows 11 22H2.

It also brings some tweaks and fixes to Windows 11 that many of us have been waiting for since the operating system’s launch last year.

Start menu showing pinned apps organized into folders.

(Image credit: Microsoft)

New features coming to Windows 11

One of the biggest features that’s arrived in Windows 11 Build 22557 is the ability to drag and drop files onto an app in the Taskbar in order to quickly open the file in the chosen app. It’s a handy feature in previous versions of Windows that many people use every day, so the fact that it wasn’t included in Windows 11 frustrated a lot of users.

Adding app shortcuts to the Windows 11 Taskbar is also getting easier, as you’ll be able to drag and drop apps from the Start menu to the Taskbar, automatically pinning them there.

The Windows 11 Start menu is also getting updated, and will get support for folders. Again, this is a handy feature that has been present in previous versions of Windows, and its absence in the latest version was certainly perplexing.

Folders in the Windows 11 Start menu will can be created by dragging and dropping one app onto another, and these folders can be named for easier organization.

As we expected, Focus Assist is getting a big overhaul. In the new update, it’s now just called “Focus” and will allow you to easily mute notifications from some apps and start a “Focus Session” with a focus timer and calm music from Spotify. This allows you to minimize distractions when you need to focus.

Microsoft has also introduced a useful accessibility feature known as Live Captions which cleverly displays subtitles for any audio content you play.

Live captions (launched from Quick Settings Accessibility flyout) generating captions for a video playing in the web browser.

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Other tweaks include the ability to pin files to the Quick Access part of Windows Explorer (which yo can already do with folders), and integration between Windows 11 and services such as OneDrive and Office.com have been improved.

Snap Layouts for quickly organising your desktop have got a new design and animations, and the useful Task Manager tool has got a visual makeover as well to better fit in with Windows 11’s aesthetic.

Analysis: should you download this Windows 11 update now?

Windows 11 Build 22557 certainly sounds like a feature-packed update that will address many of our problems with the operating system. But how do you get the update right now – and should you?

As we mentioned earlier, this is a preview build for developers, and that means you can’t just go into the Windows Update tool and find it there.

Instead, you’ll first need to sign up to the Windows Insider Program and then choose to join the Dev channel. You can find out more about doing this at Microsoft’s Windows Insider website.

Once signed up, you should be able to download and install Windows 11 Build 22557.

However, we recommend that you think carefully before doing this. As exciting as the new features sound, because this is an early build there will likely be bugs and unfinished features that could cause problems for your computer.

So, for most people, we’d recommend holding on tight until the official release of Windows 11 22H2 arrives, which will be some time in the second half of 2022. This will hopefully give Microsoft a chance to iron out any problems, making the wait for these much-needed Windows 11 improvements worthwhile.

Via Windows Latest

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