Latest news with #Neowin
Forbes
23-05-2025
- Forbes
Microsoft's Emergency Windows Update—Stop Blue Screen Of Death
How to stop the dreaded BSOD Microsoft has issued an emergency update after users were hit by May's mandatory security update breaking Windows. 'Windows 10 might repeatedly display the BitLocker recovery screen at startup,' Microsoft confirmed, pointing any affected users the newly issued out of bounds update via its Update Catalog. Windows Latest was first to note the escalating issue, noting that 'the KB5058379 install starts, but ends up at 'Enter the recovery key to get going again (Keyboard layout: US)' screen, and there's a text field to add the recovery key.' There were some reports of the dreaded blue screen of death (BSOD) as well, albeit this was primarily a Bitlocker issue and only for Windows 10 users yet to upgrade. But those BSOD reports were timely, given Microsoft's update just a week earlier. Neowin was first to note that 'Microsoft has shared steps on how users will be able to troubleshoot and hopefully fix' BSODs when they hit. The company updated a support document, which before has simply advised users turn to 'Safe Mode troubleshooting and the Get Help app,' but which now offered much more of a guide. 'Blue Screen errors,' the company explains, '(also called bug checks, STOP code errors, kernel errors, or BSOD errors) can occur if a serious problem causes Windows to shut down or restart unexpectedly to protect itself from data loss.' What you'll see is a message warning '"Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.' It's the dreaded moment, Neowin says, 'most Windows users must have experienced once in their lives.' Microsoft breaks its guidance into two parts. First is 'basic troubleshooting' that should work for everyone, and comprises six fairly easy to follow steps: For more expert users, Microsoft also lists three 'advanced troubleshooting' tips: Meanwhile, if you've been hit with the latest issues, Windows Latest says 'once you've installed the update, you'll no longer run into BitLocker or Blue Screen of Death errors.' But for those 'stuck on the blue screen with automatic recovery failing,' the website has provided its own guidance to 'manually turn off Intel TXT from BIOS,' after which you can install Microsoft's emergency out-of-band update. 'To turn off Intel TXT and the BitLocker recovery screen loop, follow these steps:
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Yahoo
Microsoft Fixes Windows 11 Update That Broke Dual-Boot Linux Systems
A Windows security update released in August 2024, known as KB5041585, caused issues for users running dual-boot systems with Windows 11 and various Linux products like Ubuntu, Debian, and Linux Mint, as reported by Neowin. The update was meant to add new Secure Boot Advanced Targeting (SBAT) protections to block outdated and probable vulnerable bootloaders by checking the Secure Boot DBX, a database of blacklisted UEFI executables. However, Microsoft says the update did not always correctly detect customized dual-boot setups. As a result, some users saw their Linux systems fail to start, receiving a 'Verifying shim SBAT data failed: Security Policy Violation' error. Microsoft responded a few days later with a workaround that required users to change system policies and edit the Windows Registry. The company explained that the SBAT update should not have been applied to devices with dual-boot configurations, but the detection process missed some customized setups and incorrectly enforced the new security settings. Earlier this week, Microsoft released a fix as part of the May 2025 Patch Tuesday update, KB5058405. The update corrects the SBAT detection logic, restoring Linux boot functionality for affected users.
Forbes
12-05-2025
- Forbes
Microsoft Tells Windows Users—Do 6 Things To Stop Blue Screen Of Death
Don't panic — do this instead. No Windows user ever wants to see Microsoft's dreaded blue screen of death on their screen. Many will have fresh memories of the Crowd Strike plague of blue monitors adorning airports and railway stations last year. Albeit a fail at home or at work on your own PC is even more of a heart-stopper. Cue Microsoft's latest advisory. As spotted by Neowin, 'Microsoft has shared steps on how users will be able to troubleshoot and hopefully fix such a problem.' This comes courtesy of an updated support document that previously 'only mentioned Safe Mode troubleshooting and the Get Help app.' Not very helpful, ironically. But now stopping a BSOD should be easier. 'Most Windows users must have experienced [a BSOD] once in their lives,' Neowin suggests. 'When a PC is running into having BSOD woes, the difficult thing for the affected user is to troubleshoot the root of the issue. The BSOD screen although blue, is not completely blank as it provides information related to the issue.' In its support document, Microsoft first lists six 'Basic Troubleshooting Steps for Blue Screen Errors,' which should hopefully be all you need: Microsoft also lists three more advanced options for more experienced users — although you're best not going down these routes unless you know what you're looking for: Microsoft's updated advice is no doubt helpful and will be welcomed by all those experiencing that 'once in a lifetime' moment; if it's a lot more frequent than that, you might want to do something more drastic. We're in a big six months for the Windows-maker when it comes to updates, with the end of Windows 10 fast approaching. The news over the weekend that the company has surprisingly extended its support for Microsoft 365 apps on Windows 10 for three years will be even more welcome. Many of the 700 million WIndows 10 holdouts will be hoping for wider concessions for the OS itself before October's deadline.
Forbes
11-05-2025
- Forbes
Microsoft Confirms New Free Update Deadline For Windows Users
Surprise new offer from Microsoft Getty Images No one saw this coming. Microsoft's campaign to push Windows 10 users to upgrade to Windows 11 had been heading in just one direction. Until now. The Windows-maker has suddenly and quietly changed a critical deadline, which will come as a shock to the hundreds of millions of PC owners yet to move to Windows 11. In January, I reported on yet another Microsoft deadline to push Windows 10 users to take the free Windows 11 upgrade. While some 240 million users don't have a new enough PC to run the latest OS, hundreds of millions can upgrade but are currently choosing not to — albeit that number is reducing month-by-month. This deadline hit apps rather than the OS itself. 'Microsoft 365 Apps will no longer be supported after October 14, 2025, on Windows 10 devices,' the company said. 'To use Microsoft 365 Applications on your device, you will need to upgrade to Windows 11.' In a support document, the company confirmed 'Microsoft 365 apps will no longer be supported on Windows 10 after it reaches end of support,' just as 'Microsoft 365 apps are no longer supported on Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 now that these operating systems have reached their end of support dates.' That particular support document had not been changed at the time of writing. But as spotted by Neowin, 'it looks like Microsoft has had a big change of heart. On a Tech Community blog post about Windows 10 extended security updates (ESU) it recently updated, the company has confirmed that Microsoft 365 apps will be supported for another three years till 2028. Neowin noticed this new addition while browsing.' That browsing hit on a different, newly updated support document, in which Microsoft says 'to help maintain security while you transition to Windows 11, Microsoft will continue providing security updates for Microsoft 365 Apps on Windows 10 for three years after Windows 10 reaches end of support. These updates will be delivered through the standard update channels, ending on October 10, 2028.' Microsoft warns that 'using an unsupported OS can cause performance and reliability issues when running Microsoft 365 Apps. More interestingly, although 'if the issue occurs only with Microsoft 365 Apps on Windows 10, with or without Windows 10 Extended Security Updates, and doesn't occur on Windows 11, support will ask the customer to move to Windows 11,' Microsoft also says 'if the customer is unable to move to Windows 11, support will provide troubleshooting assistance only; technical workarounds might be limited or unavailable.' That comers across as a direct shout-out to the 240 million Windows 10 users who don't have a TPM 2.0 PC and so can't accept the free Windows 11 upgrade today. The primary issue for those users is security, and this has now been resolved for Microsoft 365 apps. Unlike the current plan for a Windows 10 ESU, this update extension offer is free. 'To help maintain security while you transition to Windows 11,' Microsoft now says it 'will continue providing security updates for Microsoft 365 Apps on Windows 10 for three years after Windows 10 reaches end of support. These updates will be delivered through the standard update channels, ending on October 10, 2028.' This will come across as a soft three-year extension for those users to extend a move and to hold off buying a new PC. More critically, it also signals that Microsoft is bedding down for a prolonged period of Windows 10 users running PCs with no support. It will now be less of a surprise to see other concessions as October 14 approaches. Is there to be a critical security update reprieve for all those users without the need to pay $30? A change of direction to avoid the impending cyber nightmare? Let's hope so.
Forbes
20-04-2025
- Forbes
Microsoft's Free Upgrade Offer—Bad News For 240 Million Windows Users
Are you ojn the bad news list Microsoft's campaign to urge some 240 million PC owners to recycle their devices or consign them to landfill continues. The company has already told those users they do not get its free Windows 11 upgrade, and is now emphasizing why the new hardware so many must (but don't want to) buy is absolutely critical to staying safe. As spotted by Neowin, following Microsoft's suggestion that users 'dump their PC and get a new one with Windows 11,' the company is now explaining 'why that is and how it helps make Windows 11 a better OS than Windows 10.' Thankfully, it has done this 'in simple words so that most users can understand them.' This is TPM 2.0, the hardware security chip that is the dividing line between PCs that can upgrade to Windows 11 and PCs that can't. 'The Trusted Platform Module (TPM),' Microsoft says, 'is a specialized chip built into your computer's hardware. It's designed to protect sensitive data by ensuring only trust software runs on your computer. It also keeps your important information safe from unauthorized access.' The company provides four security related bullets to explain Windows 11's security benefits, which as is always emphasized, is a hardware/software combination: TPM 2.0 is not just chip, Microsoft says, 'it's your device's first line of defense against the ever-evolving world of cyber threats.' Microsoft has a fast-approaching problem as it 'tries to convince Windows 10 users that TPM 2.0 is worth the upgrade,' per XDA Developers. There is a hard red line between the PCs that can and can't upgrade, those with and without the TPM 2.0 chip. With workarounds being shutdown and the Windows-maker being clear than ineligible PCs should be be changed, we will hit a brake in those Windows 11 numbers. After trailing Windows 10 since its launch, Windows 11 now has almost the same market share as its predecessor, and the numbers of those switching is accelerating at long last. But at some point that will stop or at least drastically slow down. The current estimate of the number of ineligible PCs is 240 million — but there are fears there could be even more. And a vast number of those will neither update hardware nor pay $30 for a 12-month support extension. That will leave hundreds of millions of PCs exposed to the cyber threats that hit Windows PCs constantly. Bad news all round.
