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).
New Microsoft Store update just dropped, v22310. Available for all users. You can now select which drive to install games like Starfield, Halo, and Minecraft 🎮Worked great when I installed Sea of Stars, one of my GOTY 🥰Hope you like it. Send feedback! Team is listening 💪🏽 pic.twitter.com/N2J1z5ouKDNovember 14, 2023
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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.
Namely that those who have previously taken the free upgrade offer in years past have reportedly found that their license key is suddenly deactivated.
Let’s outline a quick example to make the situation clearer. Say you owned a PC with Windows 7 way back when, then took the free upgrade to Windows 10 when it emerged. And down the road, you further upgraded to Windows 11.
So, you’ve been happily carrying on with your Windows 11 PC, but last week – since the mentioned loophole was closed – you decided to upgrade your graphics card.
After that upgrade, you found that Windows 11 is telling you that your license key isn’t valid – so you have to buy a new one.
That’s what has happened to The Verge, and some of its readers, and other folks who have been complaining about the situation on Reddit and other online platforms.
Okay, so it’s not clear how many Windows 11 and 10 users this is happening to, but it’s certainly occurring in some circumstances. It may arise without a hardware component upgrade, The Verge suggests, and the deactivation of the license could even take place due to a simple BIOS update.
Reader Daniel Mittelman tells a story of having his activation blocked after upgrading some hardware in his PC, and he contacted Microsoft customer support about the problem.
Mittelman observes: “They told me because my Windows 10 license had been upgraded from Windows 7, and that they had discontinued support for Windows 7 product keys, that they could not continue my license for Windows 10 Pro after the hardware change.
“They also acknowledged that changing the hardware is not a violation of the Windows license so there is no reason my Windows 10 license should be revoked or altered in any way.”
Analysis: Microsoft is investigating, thankfully
That’s the key point here, of course. While you can’t get an entirely new PC and use a Windows license from your existing computer – it’s tied to one machine – upgrading components should not mess with your license (it’s still the same PC, just with a bit of it swapped out, or maybe several bits).
So, this shouldn’t be happening, and as theorized it may be something to do with Microsoft squashing the upgrade path from Windows 7 or 8 to Windows 10/11. That free offer officially expired a year after the launch of Windows 10, but remained an unofficial route until just recently when Microsoft finally did away with it.
Microsoft is looking into this issue, you’ll be glad to hear.
Principal product manager of Windows at Microsoft, Bill Babonas, told The Verge: “Microsoft is aware of these customers reports and is investigating. Customers who are experiencing technical difficulties should contact customer support.”
You can use Windows without activating the OS, it should be noted, but there are a sizeable number of limitations including not being able to customize the operating system, and indeed not getting updates (except critical security patches). There are other annoyances such as a watermark and pop-ups nagging to activate Windows, too. In short, it’s far from ideal to be limping along in this manner…
Windows 11 is slowly but surely getting more streamlined, with Microsoft cutting and pruning away some of the bloat in the OS.
The most recent move, as highlighted by Windows Latest, is that the Steps Recorder app is getting its marching orders.
What’s that? We wouldn’t blame you if that was your first thought, because it was ours, as we’d forgotten about the existence of this app, which was brought in with Windows 7.
Steps Recorder, as the name suggests, allows you to record something happening on your screen, and the steps you take when running into a problem – so you can send it to an expert (or support team) who can see exactly where you’re going wrong (hopefully).
As Microsoft notes, Steps Recorder won’t be updated any longer and will be “removed in a future release of Windows.”
The reason is that it’s pretty much redundant now with other options present in Windows 11 for screen recording duties. Microsoft points to the Snipping Tool, Xbox Game Bar, and Microsoft Clipchamp as alternatives, though some will miss the lightweight nature of Steps Recorder perhaps.
Analysis: Getting serious about streamlining
As mentioned, this is just the latest move to declutter Windows 11 somewhat, including getting rid of the Tips app as recently announced.
On top of that, we have other supplementary debloating moves afoot in Windows 11, such as the introduction of the RGB hub to avoid the need to install separate apps to control your peripherals with fancy RGB lighting. That feature is now live in Windows 11 and came in with the update at the end of September.
Considering there appears to be some momentum building around this cleaning up of the operating system, we can likely expect more pruning of Windows 11 from Microsoft going forwards, which can only be a good thing in our books.
If you’ve stuck with Windows 11 22H2 since it was superseded, you might want to upgrade to 23H2 soon enough, as Microsoft has set a deadline for doing so, at least for those who want to get new (preview) features and fixes as early as possible.
As you likely realize, every version of Windows has an allotted period of time that full support is given and all updates are piped through, and the first stage of the cessation of that support has just been announced by Microsoft.
As Neowin noticed, we’ve been told by Microsoft that: “After February 27, 2024, there will no longer be optional, non-security preview releases for Windows 11, version 22H2. Only cumulative monthly security updates will continue for the supported editions of Windows 11, version 22H2.”
The preview (optional) releases are pushed out near to the end of every month, and come with new features which are still officially in testing, and early fixes for problems with Windows 11.
As Microsoft clarifies, after next February, those on Windows 11 22H2 will still get the monthly updates pushed out on Patch Tuesday (these land on the second Tuesday of every month).
Analysis: So, what’s the big deal here exactly?
This is an important development, and to illustrate why, let’s sketch out a quick example. Say you’ve been hit by a really nasty bug that torpedoes your printer (a not unfamiliar scenario) and you’re desperate for the fix, of course.
Now, the preview update for that month is released, and it has the cure – except you won’t be able to download and use it, because you won’t be offered the optional update. You would have to wait another two weeks (maybe a bit longer) to get the fix, when you’d clearly want it right there and then – as any risks of using a preview update pale in comparison to the problem you’re suffering from already.
Eventually, Microsoft will pull the plug on updates for Windows 11 22H2 entirely, at which point you’ll have to upgrade, or run a vulnerable PC (with no security updates). Indeed, Microsoft will force upgrades at this point to keep the user base safe. That’s what happened with Windows 11 21H2 last month, and the same will be the case come October 2024 for version 22H2.
You can now get Windows on your Apple iPhone, iPad, or Mac – sort of – with Microsoft’s latest innovation for its operating system, although this currently comes with a sizable catch (more on that later).
Of course, we’re not talking about a full-blown installation of the desktop OS, but rather, the new Windows App from Microsoft.
The application allows you to stream a Windows 11 desktop from a remote PC to your Apple device (or indeed another Windows device, or anything with a browser). Or alternatively you can stream a Windows 365 instance, or other options like Azure Virtual Desktop.
The Windows App is essentially a hub to facilitate streaming whichever instances you want to a given device. It packs support for multi-monitor setups, and device redirection to allow for the use of connected hardware like printers, webcams, speakers and so on hooked up to the device that the app is running on.
The Windows App is currently in preview – so expect potential flakiness – and available for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and Windows itself. Those streaming a Windows desktop instance via a web browser don’t have to install any software at all.
Analysis: A business move, but that could change
(Image credit: Microsoft)
So, that catch we mentioned: as well as it being a beta, the Windows App only works for Microsoft business accounts, not personal accounts – yet.
But as The Verge, which picked up on the app’s release, points out, the login on the Windows version of the Windows app seemingly has an option to use a personal Microsoft account, it just doesn’t work yet.
That’s not exactly surprising as this is a beta, which is the other caveat here – not everything will necessarily work properly yet. This is a more than a hopeful suggestion that consumers will be able to use the app and stream a remote PC to their Apple (or other) device eventually, come release.
Of course, another omission here is the lack of Android support, and presumably that’s something else that will be in the pipeline.
Good news Windows 10 fans, the venerable OS will get another major update before its last hurrah, Windows 10 22H2 Build 19045.KB5032278. Microsoft announced that this new build, coming soon, will introduce Microsoft CoPilot to the OS, similar to how CoPilot currently appears in Windows 11.
Microsoft CoPilot is an AI-powered assistant that helps users across a wide berth of apps, features, tools, and programs on Windows 11. This includes programs like Paint, Snipping Tool, Photos, and more. It also works in conjunction with Microsoft's search engine Bing to, for example, help you shop online by taking a picture and having both tools identify where to buy it.
The AI assistant will initially be available for testing for those in the Windows Insider Program for Home or Pro-consumer versions, with some limitations. At first, CoPilot will only be available for Bing chat, with some skills added later on. Eventually, Windows 10 users with Pro Business, Enterprise, and Education versions will have full access to CoPilot.
Because Windows 10 has lower system requirements than Windows 11, Microsoft is specifying slightly higher minimum system requirements for using CoPilot on Windows 10: 4GB of RAM and a 720p display adapter. Of course, once CoPilot is fully rolled out, those requirements and available skills could change later on.
(Image credit: Microsoft)
Why bring the bleeding-edge CoPilot to a platform that, by Microsoft's own admission faces end-of-life (support-wise) on October 14, 2025?
Microsoft says it's because there’s an AI race and that it must ensure that AI features are available to as many of its customers as possible. Therefore, by making CoPilot a part of Windows 10, Microsoft will bring better value to the OS by giving it AI features that are vital to the company’s future. This will then improve engagement, retention, and satisfaction, to eventually incentivize the move to Windows 11.
From our perspective, though, this is an admission that, in order to get CoPilot in front of as many Windows users as possible, Microsoft has to integrate it with its most widely-used version of Windows, and that's Windows 10, which still has, according to StatCounter, almost 70% desktop market share.
And in another sign that Mictosot understands Windows 10's important place in its market portfolio, the company is bringing at least one Windows 11 feature down to Windows 10: a toggle for allowing for automatic updates, rather than having to manually enable them.
Speaking of that AI race, Microsoft has sowed a fair bit of confusion between Bing, Bing Chat, and now CoPilot and how these brands overlap (or are sometimes even the same thing).
In a briefing on the updates, Microsoft explained it's also working on its branding strategy, which it admitted initially created fragmentation due to too many names for various products. The tech giant is currently working on consolidating its brands to bring clarity. Though it’s been tight-lipped about how it will go about that change, Microsoft did state that CoPilot and Bing Chat are interlaced but not tied together, which could mean that even through consolidation, those two brands will remain separate.
If you’re looking to download CoPilot for Windows 10, this support page details the entire process. This official page details all the new features coming to Windows 10 once the update drops.
Why is Microsoft putting CoPilot on Windows 10?
Microsoft is still adamant about Windows 11 performing well above its expectations, with the OS closing in on half a billion active users by 2024. On the flip side, the tech giant is a little vaguer about admitting to the massive discrepancy between Windows 10 and Windows 11’s install base, with the former holding a market share of just under 70% and the latter with a market share of a little over 26%.
And it’s clear that discrepancy is what’s driving the tech giant’s decision to give Windows 10 the CoPilot makeover. In its own words, the goal is to give the OS more value through AI, which it believes to be the future of tech. By investing in AI for Windows 10, users will become accustomed to the many features it has and then theoretically switch over to Windows 11 once 10 reaches the end of its life in 2025. Microsoft clearly wants a huge chunk of that massive user base to migrate over to Windows 11 and bolster its numbers.
Will this bold strategy work? Or will users feel that they have less incentive to migrate over to Windows 11? That remains to be seen, but Microsoft is gambling big that it’ll pay off in the long run, which is important if the company wants users to also eventually support Windows 12, which will most likely drop in 2024 according to various reports and rumors.
Microsoft is giving users more control over what’s installed with Windows 11, and how its own services are embedded in the OS – but the catch is this is just happening in Europe (specifically the European Economic Area or EEA).
Windows Central stumbled across a blog post from Microsoft describing the changes being made, and noting that many of these are to comply with the Digital Markets Act in the EEA.
Furthermore, it’s possible to banish Bing results from the Windows search box in the taskbar. These are the web search results that pop up, whatever you’re looking for, and then fire up Bing in Edge if clicked.
On top of that, with the Widgets panel, Microsoft is allowing for the news and adverts feed to be switched off, so the board will purely play host to widgets (imagine that – and you’ll have to imagine it, sadly, outside of the EEA).
European users will also be asked if they want to sync up their Microsoft account with Windows 11 (rather than it just happening by default).
And finally, in the EEA if you click a browser link, it will open in your default browser – meaning that Microsoft’s own software will no longer insist on firing up Edge regardless of your preference (which makes sense, as if you’ve uninstalled Edge, that could get tricky).
When will all this happen? The changes are rolling out in preview now for Windows 11, and will follow for Windows 10 too, with the aim being to achieve compliance with the European regulations and deploy to consumers by March 6, 2024.
(Image credit: TechRadar)
Analysis: Choices for everyone? Not likely
Clearly these are customization options which many Windows 11 users would love to benefit from. Especially the ability to have the widgets board with no distractions, just pure widgets, as well as having links open in your default browser always, without fail, and unhooking Bing from the taskbar search box.
Let’s face it, in the latter case, when you’re quickly searching for a Windows setting, you don’t want to be spammed with meaningless web search suggestions that try to get you to open up Edge (and Bing.com).
Will these choices – and other perks like the ability to remove the Edge browser – come to other regions outside of the EEA? Well, that seems very unlikely, seeing as Microsoft is having its hand forced here, and it’s about complying with regulations (that aren’t in place elsewhere) rather than genuinely catering to the wants and needs of users. So, a wider expansion of these options seems a forlorn hope, sadly.
Remember that Copilot is not available in the EEA yet, and this is due to regulatory issues – so these moves could well be tied up in Microsoft’s overall scheme of things for deploying the AI to Windows 11 users in this region.
As Microsoft puts it: “We look forward to continuing to work with the European Commission to finalize our compliance obligations.” And we take that to mean Copilot shouldn’t be too far off for the EEA, with any luck for those who live there.
The one positive for the rest of the world is that at least the streamlining of the default app roster in Windows 11 is happening for everyone. This is something Microsoft has been working on for some time, giving users the ability to remove the likes of the Photos and Camera apps, and the Tips app plus Steps Recorder are to be axed, plus the Maps and Movies & TV clients have been dropped. Thankfully those streamlining efforts count for everyone, and should be an ongoing drive, we reckon.
Those who use the Photos application in Windows 11 will be pleased to learn that another useful new feature is inbound for the tool.
It’ll allow you to strip away, or replace, the background in a photo, and it comes in the latest version of the Photos app in testing.
Microsoft has made the process dead simple – if you want to remove the background, you just click on a button, and it’s gone. You can then copy the foreground object that you’ve preserved to the clipboard for pasting elsewhere, or you can opt to just save the pic as is.
Alternatively, you can hit the replace button to take out the background and put in a solid color for a background instead. The color you want can be selected via a simple palette.
As Microsoft tells us in a blog post, as well as this capability, the Photos app now lets you easily share a photo that’s backed up on OneDrive. Simply right-clicking on the photo facilitates sending a link via an email (or you can copy that link to the clipboard for pasting wherever necessary).
Microsoft also notes that it has applied “various performance and stability updates to improve the Slideshow feature, navigation between tabs, and opening images.”
All of these changes and a few other tweaks are wrapped up in version number 2023.11110.8002.0 (or better) of the Photos app, with the update currently rolling out to testers (that’s all channels, from Canary testers onwards).
Not everyone wants a fancy image editor, and some are quite happy using the (relatively) basic apps Microsoft provides with Windows 11, doubtless because they’re pretty straightforward. So, adding an easy-to-use way to remove or swap out backgrounds, in just a few clicks, is definitely a nifty touch for those kind of everyday users (as is the convenient background blur option, too).
Windows 11 users have run into trouble with the latest patch for the OS going by some reports, and that includes nasty boot loops.
This is the cumulative update for November that Microsoft deployed last week, known as KB5032190, and Windows Latest has picked up on some problems with the patch.
As noted, the worst issue here is reports of people trying to install the update and getting stuck in a boot loop, meaning that their PC keeps failing during installation, rebooting, failing again, rebooting, and so on.
One Redditor reports: “I have tried installing this update twice now, only for it to get caught in an endless boot loop. It kept getting to 95% and restarting, then would try again. Now it just gives me the ‘Something didn’t go as planned. No need to worry – undoing changes’ message before going back into the endless reboot. At least I can do a System Restore.”
Another Windows 11 user replies to that post observing that they hit a few boot loops before their system rolled back the update – and that it was the same case with this update in preview (released in late October), noting that eventually they “got to the point the laptop wouldn’t boot” with that test update.
Ouch indeed, though that was the preview version, so hopefully any danger of having to reinstall Windows – which is what this user ended up doing – will now have been removed with the final release.
Needless to say, the user in question is not continuing to try to install the update, which certainly seems like a sensible precaution.
There are four reports of this problem in that Reddit thread, and it seems that the boot loop isn’t an endless one, and the system pulls itself out of the loop after a few fails – at least for most folks anyway.
Another problem that is bugging (literally) some Windows 11 users is disappearing icons on the taskbar.
Either the icons are vanishing – though the functionality is still present if you click the blank space on the bar – or there are reports of them being displaced by one, meaning that the icon for, say, Word will open Microsoft’s Edge browser (the icon next to it). Confusing, to say the least.
Analysis: Curious case of the invisible icons
The missing icons problem was introduced with Moment 4 (which ushered in all the new features that have come to Windows 11 lately, including Copilot). So, it has been hanging around for a while, and really annoying those who have encountered it – seemingly a fair few people judging from reports.
The good news is that Microsoft has actually fixed this glitch in the Canary preview build of Windows 11, so hopefully, the solution should be coming through testing soon enough to reach the release version of Windows 11.
Microsoft hasn’t said anything about boot loops, but there are far fewer reports of this from what we can see. Still, it’s a nasty problem, though as noted in most cases, it seems the looping will only run a few times before the system corrects itself and comes back to the desktop. (Still leaving the user unable to install the update, mind, so that’s not great of course).
It’s worth remembering that Microsoft itself has flagged up some known issues with the patch, including a bug whereby those with multiple monitors might see desktop icons shift between one display to another unprompted (or other icon alignment weirdness) when using Copilot. The software giant has pulled the AI assistant from those PCs, so if you aren’t seeing Copilot any longer on a multi-screen setup, that’s why. A fix is being worked on as we type this.
Microsoft could be giving its Copilot AI some new powers in Windows 11 (and maybe Windows 10 eventually), or at least this functionality has been spotted in test builds – including the ability to fire up the AI as soon as the operating system boots.
Windows Latest reported on some fresh options recently brought into testing for Copilot, and as mentioned one is a toggle to ‘Open Copilot when Windows starts’ (tucked away in the Personalization area of Settings).
In short, this means that when your PC first loads up the desktop, the Copilot panel will appear straightaway. This option carries some text notes explaining that this is primarily aimed at those with a wider screen (in other words, with the display real-estate to fit Copilot on as a constant companion).
Another move in testing for Copilot is unpinning the AI’s side-panel. This is a button present on the actual side-bar for the AI, and when clicked, Copilot collapses when you maximize another window.
As it is, the Copilot side-panel stays in place when you make another app full-screen, so you can still see the AI to the right of whatever program is running. When this switch is flicked, though, a maximized app will take up the whole screen, with the side-panel being hidden.
Finally, Microsoft is currently trying out the ability for users to resize the Copilot panel. This has been spotted in testing before, mind you. However, this time around Windows Latest shows us that as you enlarge the side-panel, at a certain point when the interface is big enough, recent activity and active plug-ins are shown.
Analysis: Some useful changes for tailoring the AI
If you’re a Windows 11 tester and you haven’t seen any of these options for Copilot, that’s not too surprising, as Microsoft is only trialing them with a limited set of Windows Insiders at the moment.
As ever with features in preview, they may or may not be carried forward, but if they are, all testers will get them eventually – and then they’ll debut in the release version of Windows 11.
The functionality to unpin, resize, and have Copilot appear by default after boot – if you want to, and perhaps have an ultra-wide monitor – are all choices that will prove useful and add versatility to the way Copilot’s interface works. And given that, we can’t see why they wouldn’t make the cut for inclusion in Windows 11 ultimately.
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