News

Windows 10 October 2018 Update Rollout Resumes

• By Kurt Mackie
• November 14, 2018

Microsoft marked this month's "update Tuesday," Nov. 13, by rereleasing version 1809 of both Windows 10 and Windows Server, as well as Windows Server 2019.

These updates were originally released on Oct. 2, with Microsoft touting Windows 10 version 1809 as the latest "semiannual targeted channel" version for Windows Update for Business users. However, Microsoft later that week blocked the arrival of bits to individuals and organizations, along with the bits of Windows 10 IoT version 1809, after some users reported data loss problems.

In terms of Windows 10 version 1809 features, Microsoft is highlighting the dark mode in File Explorer. It also added zoom, text wrapping, Bing search, and find and replace capabilities to Notepad. The clipboard in Windows 10 version 1809 also now permits users to check the clipboard's history, including copied images. There's also a keyboard shortcut available in version 1809 that launches the new Snip and Sketch application for capturing and editing screenshots, according to a description in a Microsoft developer blog post.

Microsoft is planning a couple of venues where it plans to field questions from users of Windows 10 version 1809. There will be a Web presentation, "What's new in Windows 10 version 1809 for IT pros" at 10:00 a.m. PST on Nov. 28 (it's the same event that was rescheduled twice before). There also will be a Windows 10 IT Pro Ask Microsoft Anything Microsoft Tech Community forum session that'll field questions from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. PST on Dec. 13.

Revised Support Date
Nov. 13 was "update Tuesday," which is the second Tuesday of the month. It's when Microsoft typically releases its quality and security updates for Windows systems. Microsoft explained that because it is rereleasing Windows 10 version 1809 on this date, Nov. 13 will be the start of 30-month servicing for organizations using the Enterprise and Education versions of Windows 10 if they deploy according to the fall feature update cycle. That concept also applies to Windows Server 2019 releases, where Nov. 13 marks the "start of the servicing timeline for both the Long-Term Servicing Channel and the Semi-Annual Channel, Microsoft explained, in a Windows Server team blog post.

For those folks struggling to recall it, Microsoft had announced back in September that it had extended the support schedule for Windows 10 feature updates to 30 months (instead of 18 months), but the extension only applied to Enterprise and Education edition users. Home and Pro edition Windows 10 users still have 18 months of support between feature updates. If users don't jump to the next branch release after that period of time, then they risk not getting future security updates.

Here's how Microsoft expressed the notion of the revised start date for the rereleased Windows 10 version 1809, per a Windows IT pro blog post:

As noted in John Cable's blog post, we have changed the "born on" date accordingly and today marks the start of the 30-month support lifecycle for the Enterprise and Education editions of Windows 10, version 1809; and the 18-month support lifecycle for Windows 10 Pro and Windows 10 Pro for Workstation. For more details on currently supported versions and support end dates, see the Windows 10 lifecycle fact sheet and the Windows 10 release information page.

Version 1809 Availability
Microsoft won't offer the Windows 10 version 1809 updates to end user machines if those machines are deemed not ready for this feature update. Such users may typically get Windows 10 feature updates automatically from Microsoft's Windows Update service, but they won't arrive if the telemetry readings are off.

Windows 10 has a nasty habit of automatically applying feature updates to machines when end users use the "Check for Updates" option within the Settings menu of the operating system. However, even these so-called "seekers" will get blocked if Microsoft's telemetry indicates their systems aren't ready.

"If we detect that your device may have an issue, such as an application incompatibility, we will not install the update until that issue is resolved, even if you 'Check for updates,' so you avoid encountering any known problems," explained John Cable, director of program management for Windows Servicing and Delivery, in an announcement.

The Windows 10 version 1809 users who had experienced data losses last month were said to have been seekers that checked for updates. These downloads happen even if the intent of the user was just to look at the updates installed on a machine.

Windows 10 version 1809 also can be actively downloaded. It's also available to IT pros using "Windows Server Update Services, Windows Update for Business and System Center Configuration Manager's phased deployment," Cable noted.

Here are the avenues for downloading Windows 10 version 1809:

• Software Download Center ("via Update Assistant or the Media Creation Tool").
• Volume Licensing Service Center, although not all language editions may be available. Users can optionally get the "long-term servicing branch" version from this venue.
• Visual Studio Subscriptions (formerly known as "MSDN" subscriptions), although the bits will be arriving "by the end of this week."

The bits for Windows Server 2019 and version 1809 are currently available from the Volume Licensing Service Center. The bits are yet to come to the Microsoft Evaluation Center, which will provide 180-day trial versions of the new server.

Organizations using Windows Server as a Service (via channel releases) and that have Docker containers can pull any container image of Windows Server 2019 or version 1809 from the Microsoft Container Registry, Microsoft explained in a virtualization blog post. However, early observers weren't seeing those bits, according to an AskWoody blog post.

Microsoft's partner community will have to wait a day or more to get the Windows 10 version 1809 bits. Here's how Microsoft explained it:

Windows 10 Enterprise, version 1809 will be available on the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) on November 14th, with all other editions (including Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019) following on November 20th. Windows 10 Pro, version 1809 will be available to those with Microsoft Action Pack Subscriptions (MAPS) today, with all other editions following on November 20th.

Tools
Microsoft released updated tooling for IT pros, too. They included:

• Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit for Windows 10 version 1809
• Security Baselines for Windows 10 version 1809 and Windows Server 2019 at the "draft" stage
• Group Policy Settings Reference
• Administrative Templates (.ADMX) for Windows 10, version 1809, which apparently are either included with Volume Licensing Service Center downloads or are yet to come in a separate download "within a few weeks," according to a Reddit forum discussion.

Notably, Microsoft has moved the Windows Preinstallation Environment version of Windows 10 from the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit. It's now available as a separate download here. Microsoft explained that change as follows:

Starting with Windows 10, version 1809, Windows Preinstallation Environment (PE) is released separately from the ADK. To add Windows PE to your ADK installation, download the Windows PE add-on and run the included installer after installing the ADK. This change enables post-RTM updates to the tools in the ADK. After running the installer for the Windows PE add-on, the WinPE files will be in the same location as they were in previous installations of the ADK.

Microsoft also made its Remote Server Administration Tools a "feature on demand" that's accessible from Windows 10. The Remote Server Administration Tools can be had via the Windows 10 Settings menu, where it can be turned on using the "Manage Optional Features" selection.