It’s baaack – Microsoft starts pushing out the Windows 10 October 2018 Update Select Windows 10 devices are now automatically downloading Microsoft’s troubled 1809 update, according to the support page for the operating system. It is over three months since Microsoft first had a crack at releasing the Windows 10 update, before pulling it a scant few days later after users reported all manner of issues, …
Dear Lord in Heaven, now they've saddled a pseudo-AI to determine which computers should be "blessed" with the next upgrade.
I wonder what the criteria is ? Should it prefer machines that got borked last time, or the ones that didn't ?
Well, at least we finally have an excuse for all that telemetry - Microsoft is just trying to maximise its annoyingness.
In Microsoft's defense, the criteria are probably hardware/driver based, rolling out to machines with known good hardware/drivers and then expand it to include systems that deviate more and more from known good over time.
At least, that's how I'd go about it.
Again, to be fair to Microsoft they are tasked with rolling out a global update for a user base who are 80-90% computer illiterate, many of whom bought computers that were either built or upgraded by a 'mate who knows about computers' or the local back street 100% legal PC repair shop.
Think about the chances of all them 'genuine NVidia GeForce Ultra cards for £30 on ebay' working after the update, but they'll be the same 'know-it-all' teenagers that you'll see posting YouTube videos about how Microsoft programmers don't care and aren't listening.
In short - the fact that Microsoft have a development team that can release this stuff without destroying the world more often is a minor miracle (and anyone who works in software development would agree) - just ask which development environment is the world's best - Microsoft Visual Studio wins hands down - made by Microsoft developers for developers. (and yes I'm aware Eclipse is better for some use-cases)
If you are computer illiterate don't force the upgrade early, if you are running a corporate environment plan for the change and verify your backup routines - that's your job. Microsoft are not trying to destroy your world...
I think you may be a bit overzealous in your defense there.
"Again, to be fair to Microsoft they are tasked with rolling out a global update for a user base who are 80-90% computer illiterate,"
Good start. I agree that this is a major problem for Microsoft's engineers.
"many of whom bought computers that were either built or upgraded by a 'mate who knows about computers' or the local back street 100% legal PC repair shop."
Some of them are, but most of them are using computers that were built by the companies that build or sell computers, using the software environment that those companies came up with. Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc. have much more market share each than custom-built machines, especially when considering users who are tech-illiterate. Those machines have many of their own problems, and a great deal of the driver or hardware problems experienced by users can be laid at the feet of those companies, but it is not fair to classify most windows machines as built with extremely weird components.
"Think about the chances of all them 'genuine NVidia GeForce Ultra cards for £30 on ebay' working after the update,"
I don't think those are going to work, but the kind of person who goes to eBay and purchases an obviously not-genuine graphics card is the type who should expect problems. The type who buys a computer from the computer store and has done nothing at all to the hardware shouldn't expect anything like those using counterfeit graphics cards.
"but they'll be the same 'know-it-all' teenagers that you'll see posting YouTube videos about how Microsoft programmers don't care and aren't listening."
Those people are probably not the ones complaining here.
"In short - the fact that Microsoft have a development team that can release this stuff without destroying the world more often is a minor miracle (and anyone who works in software development would agree)"
They are not as hyperbolically bad as comments here might lead one to believe, but they have had times where they didn't do what they should have (the initial 1809 deleting files thing, for example, was purely their fault and could have been fixed when the Windows insiders found it rather than after it deleted standard users' files).
"just ask which development environment is the world's best - Microsoft Visual Studio wins hands down - made by Microsoft developers for developers. (and yes I'm aware Eclipse is better for some use-cases)"
Personal opinion, not necessarily one I agree with, either.
@Eddy42 - Only a small number of people build their own computers. The vast majority will a prebuilt Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc. from a well-known retailer. They are also highly unlikely to ever change out or add anything to the box once home. If anything is done is often by the local 'Geek Squad' equivalent. Otherwise the box is unchanged from the day they bought it. So the fact Slurp cannot release a version that is not problematic is a black mark as most of the boxes out there are using well-known components and some really esoteric card made by Fred in his spare time.
No one is accusing Slurp deliberating trying to destroy one's world. But their incompetence, negligence, and blithe stupidity has the same effect. And it is largely avoidable if Slurp cared enough to have a proper testing group. Most of Slurp's recent negative publicity is purely self-inflicted.
Calling VS the best IDE is pure shilling. It maybe the best for C# and VB but there are plenty of excellent IDEs available. Some are very language specific while others are more general.
@ Eddy42
Cobblers, W10 isn't that drasticly different from 8 or 7 apart from the usual aethetics and 'we've done things differently again...', yet they still manage to make a complete pigs ear of it all because they dont give a fuck about testing.
By the time MS has 1809 (which really should have been 1811 by the time they fixed the file deletion bug in the original release) more or less suitable for general use they will be churning out the next "big" update with it's new associated problems - 1903 or 19H1 or whatever they decide to call it.
This 6 month upgrade madness needs to stop. And, how about they go back to the proper "Patch Tuesday" system with Windows 10. Seems like every day of the week is patch day. I'm sure people have better things to do than sit looking at "Installing Updates - Do Not Turn Off Your Computer" all day.
I am stuck with 1803, and 1901 failed to install ... I have high hopes for 1903 or 1904, sure they will have it fixed by then!
Factual: Yes, when Windows Update failed, I did try MediaCreationTool1809.exe and that had to roll back as well ... I also downloaded all the latest drivers from HP's website earlier this month, to be on the safe side ...
I've been playing around with Windows 10 on a test laptop for the time when I eventually have to look at migrating. By putting the LTSC build onto it (no feature updates, Cortana, MS Store or any of that crap), then using Open Shell (formerly Classic Shell) to replace the Start Menu, Blackbird or ShutUp10 to nobble the spyware, ONE (OldNewExplorer) to bin the ribbon from Windows Explorer, and Windows Update MiniTool to gain control over the updates, it was just about usable once I'd finished.
Of course, a pity that you need to dick about so much to get Windows 10 into a usable state (and using an admittedly pirated build due to MS not selling LTSC to ordinary fold), whereas Windows 7 manages all of the above out of the box, but hey-ho. I'll still be sticking with Windows 7 on my main machines for as long as I possibly can...
Windows Update MiniTool looks like a very useful accessory, if it actually prevents the automatic updates from occurring and gives back full control over updates. But someone asked them a q in 2017 about that -- since it is a standalone program, how does it stop Windows 10 from updating itself anyway?
I'm with you ... we're still on Win7 - have too many friends & associates who have had major problems with Win10. Last two PCs bought without OS and Win7 bought from eBay (I'm very careful about the vendors I purchase from).
But ... where can I get/how do I do a pirated LTSC (and what is it?). Need this as insurance for a future catastrophe.
Come on, laddie, you're Looking At It Wrong(tm). Think of Win10 as being guaranteed employment for life. And buy a Mac or use a Linux distro on your own stuff. That's what I did.
I _love_ Microsoft, I really do. Every time they screw something up, people come to me bearing dead/dying/zombified computers and begging me to fix said poor abused beasties. Which I do, for a fee. Keep it up, Microsoft, please.
I used the manual Windows update last week for both my desktop and my wife's tablet after reading somewhere that Microsoft were recommending people do that because of some new bug or other. It did take longer than average but I didn't realise it was that October update again or I might have declined. Last autumn my desktop was totally bricked after installing that. It was fortunate I had a full image backup on an external drive or I'd have been screwed.
Fortunately, my desktop is OK this time other than one of my apps stopped working and I had to spend a few seconds reinstalling it. My wife's Win 10 tablet is also OK other than that every time she switches it on now, the wifi connection has been disconnected and she has to manually reconnect. I haven't looked to see if I can correct that yet but it's not a big deal She only has to right click on the wifi icon at the bottom right of the screen and left click on the "connect" button.
Edit: forgot to mention it is Version 1809 Build 17763.253
"... the gang at Redmond have told users that it will only send the update to devices it believes “will have the best update experience based on our next generation machine learning model.”
Translation: "to devices we've managed to recover for testing, from the basement, where all the QA gear was dumped, following the sacking of all the QA team."
Redmond only sees that sales are increasing - nothing else matters.
--
"Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling! Forty years of darkness, earthquakes, volcanos! The dead rising from the grave! Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!" -- The Ghostbusters explain why not to buy or use any Microsoft products.
Did your mate do the right thing and say to him self enough is enough with these Windows 10 updates and do one of the following
1) Move to a more dependable version of Windows so it does not update its self during a demo
2) Move to Linux so it does not update its self during a demo
3) Move to MacOS so it does not update its self during a demo
4) Use an iPad so it does not update its self during a demo
or did he do nothing and continue to just put up with this behaviour that Microsoft feel is acceptable?
The ipad would not do what he wanted it to do for any money he can afford. Ditto MacOS.
As for changing to another windows OS he's one of these people that bought into computing is easy so he's not up for that.
I may offer to help him upgrade his machine to Linux but not until he's calmed down. He spent ages preparing his demo and getting the people together to watch it and MS takes over his PC and makes him look like a twat (or so he feels), Why cant they just have the common courtesy to say your machine needs updating and it will grind to a halt for a while is that OK or do you have a living to earn from this shit piece of software we made others put on your computer.
"... the best update experience ..."
The best update experience is no update experience. Except in the case of added features, the average user doesn't care and shouldn't need to know that anything has updated at all. The average Vulture reader shouldn't have much more to do than choose which updates to apply, and when.
I set up Linux Mint for family members with automatic updates for priority 3 and above. I manually install on my own machines, but that often takes longer to confirm my password than it does to complete the updates. Rebooting takes 30 seconds, every time there's a power cut.
Half my colleagues use Macs, which don't have a problem. The other half use school-supplied Windows laptops, and when it updates, their laptops are out of action for an hour - if they're lucky.
Just imagine walking into a class of 13-year-olds on Wednesday morning with your exciting lesson plan completely scrapped, and trying to engage Johnny Rotten with a hastily-photocopied worksheet from 1993 for an hour...
Still, props to MS for saying update rather than upgrade.
Oh, joy!! We “will have the best update experience based on our next generation machine learning model.”
isn't this just management speak for "we have given the computer a list of people who screamed blue murder loudest last time round, so please install updates in increasing order of dB plus number of obscenities used."
Alternatively, it might mean "go stick your head in a pig"
I'll be going. The one with the HHGTTG radio play cassette tapes in the pocket
Windows 10 v1809 ? Why so many problems? I've been running it since day 1, and the only issue I had was that it provided outdated NVidia drivers, but that was solved by installing the latest driver from the manufacturer's website. Why are so many people having so many issues? What other software are they running that may be causing their problems?
About Windows 10 update,it summarizes some common problems and solutions.
https://www.windows10passwordreset.com/windows-10-october-update-issue.html
At the same time, if you want to do the latest update of Windows 10, Microsoft has the latest method and you can visit its webpage.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/update-windows-10-3c5ae7fc-9fb6-9af1-1984-b5e0412c556a
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