AnandTech: Windows 10 Anniversary Update: The Road To Redstone

[Puffnstuff]

Did you boot from the ISO or run setup from the ISO inside of Windows 10?

I ran the setup from inside Windows 10 after extracting the files from the ISO.

I ran from within windows. I've just discovered that the update has also broken office 2010 pro and word will no longer print any document. I've tried the spooler and repair installed office but each time I try to print it no longer works. I need my current setup so I can use visio, project and office simultaneously otherwise I'd reinstall office 2013 pro plus.

 

[Magic Carpet]

I updated using windows update under settings, I didn't have major problems,
but I really dislike this model of updates, basically a OS reinstall... it takes some time in mechanical hard drives, changes settings (and some drivers)... and MS is very keen on changing major features of the OS.
I can see that it will be a pain for some relatives on their slow laptops once this thing starts updating automatically.

can't say I noticed any positive changes.

Damn it, that's bad. Was hoping this to be as seamless as possible :/

Haven't bothered with it yet (have the defer option checked on all of my computers). Thanks for the news guys.

Too bad you can no longer opt out of updates.

I agree, annoying we have to swallow these changes as Microsoft wishes. I ONLY needed the newer WDDM graphics model anyway. Looks like it has to be every update or no updates. Sad. Does it mess with the system settings, software removal like the previous "major build" did?

 

[Dahak]

Does it mess with the system settings, software removal like the previous "major build" did?

Yes as it is essentially a new install from the previous versions. some setting may get transferred but not all

 

[Eug]

Pulse Secure version 5.2r1.1 (VPN client) works fine. This is a 2015 release for the original version of Windows 10. However, apparently, for Redstone I'm supposed to be using 5.2r4.1. Apparently using anything before 4.1 with Win 10 Redstone has the potential to cause Win 10 to throw up error messages. I haven't encountered that yet, but I have have not used the 5.1r1.1 VPN client much in Redstone.

Office 2007 works fine. With an SSD, application launch is instantaneous (and more so than 3rd party applications).

Quicken 2009 works fine.

AFAIK 4K is only supported on the 4K TV apps. I haven't seen any mention of getting 4K support to PCs yet.

Thx but I was wondering more about h.265 HEVC for 1080p (and other resolutions).

H.264 is actually better for me but I'm curious nonetheless.

It turns out I can test this myself when I get home, using a link that AnandTech posted here:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/9289/the-nvidia-shield-android-tv-review/7

Netflix has a special test stream that shows the characteristics of the currently playing stream.

Yes as it is essentially a new install from the previous versions. some setting may get transferred but not all

I guess it was a waste of time for me to install 1511 on my Win 10 machine last week. It had been running an old version of Win 10 but could never update to 1511 for some reason. So I downloaded the ISO and installed 1511 that way, but it turned out to be a near new install too, which I had to do again yesterday for 1607.

 

[Puffnstuff]

I just had to uninstall my hp laser printer and then reinstall it in order to restore the printer so my assumption that it broke office 2010 is not correct as it broke the printer. Nothing would print when I tried it but word was crashing when I attempted to print. Glad that I've got that issue resolved.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Yes as it is essentially a new install from the previous versions. some setting may get transferred but not all

Ah crap, I have tons of registry tweaks and what not. Oh well, will give it a try when I make some spare time. Thanks.

Office 2007 works fine.

I managed to get Office 2003 to work on 1511. Hope it stays the same

 

[Eug]

If you guys haven't upgraded to Windows 10 yet, and you don't have an absolute reason to stay on Win 7/8/8.1, it seems to me now is the time to upgrade.

My father in-law has complained bitterly about Windows 10, but I think that's because his Windows 10 install is borked. Either that or his machine is unstable. He has various issues including BSODs. However, he also installs a lot of junk and gets a lot of malware so that's probably the reason. Luckily I don't have to troubleshoot that machine, but if I did, I'd probably just install Redstone on it using the ISO DVD/USB method instead of re-installing Win 7.

Normally I say that if it ain't broke, don't fix it, but Win 7 is old enough that things are getting stale just because it's old, whereas Redstone refreshes those old machines with a modern up-to-date OS that costs no extra money.

This release reminds me of XP SP1 in its day, in terms of its significance and maturity.

I managed to get Office 2003 to work on 1511. Hope it stays the same

Did you have to do anything special to get it working?

BTW, I found this MS summary:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...icrosoft/6faf72ea-254a-4c8e-9982-2c36cdb1936c

The following versions of Microsoft Office with the latest Service Packs have been confirmed to be compatible with Windows 10:

Office 2016 Preview
Office 2013/Office 365
Office 2010 (exception Office Starter 2010)
Office 2007

Older versions of Office such as Office 2003 and Office XP are not certified compatible with Windows 10 but might work using compatibility mode.

Please be aware that Office Starter 2010 is not supported. You will be prompted to remove it before the upgrade starts.

 

[quikah]

Pulse Secure version 5.2r1.1 (VPN client) works fine. This is a 2015 release for the original version of Windows 10. However, apparently, for Redstone I'm supposed to be using 5.2r4.1. Apparently using anything before 4.1 with Win 10 Redstone has the potential to cause Win 10 to throw up error messages. I haven't encountered that yet, but I have have not used the 5.1r1.1 VPN client much in Redstone.

You might want to try the Pulse Secure Client from the Windows store. That will allow you to use the built in W10 VPN client without needing the desktop client installed. Works great for me, but might require some specific version of software on the server side.

 

[Raduque]

I pulled the update through Windows Update on my laptop. No issues, except it took about 35 minutes on an SSD(!) to install. I like the new lock screen/login screen. Edge extensions! Slightly re-jiggered notification/system icon area in the taskbar. Notification Center seems slightly streamlined. New start menu puts all apps in a scrolling section that's always visible. Settings, Power, Documents, etc are icons on the far left of the start menu, and you can expand their descriptions by clicking the hamburger in the top left corner. Still looking for new things as I use my laptop normally.

Some settings were reset to default (task manager, search history is missing, little things like that), but most were kept. It also set my HDMI's audio output as the default audio, so I had to change that back to the analog out.

Also seems to have tamed some CPU usage - Winamp playing music and browsing in Edge while downloading/installing a game is about 7-10% CPU usage.

Edit: Forgot to mention on my HP x2 tablet, it wouldn't pull the update through WU - I had to get the update installer from Microsoft. Seemed to take less time on the tablet (Core m3, 4gb ram, 128gb SSD) than it did on my laptop (i7-4720, 22gb ram, 480gb PNY SSD)

 

[mxnerd]

Finally got system updated. The update make a copy of old system folders into Windows.old folders.

Including Windows folder & Program Files (x64 & x86), all Users folders, ProgramData, Recovery, 40GB total!

Hope it fix some quirky situation for my laptop: sometimes task manager not responding at all and have to restart.

 

[Eug]

Windows Media Player with AC3filter and Haali still work fine for h.264 MKV, although I'm probably better off just using MPC-HC since the latter is more efficient IIRC and is still getting ongoing support.

My Synology NAS works perfectly with Win 10 1607. It seems more consistent than with Win 7 actually. I'm running DSM 6, on a DS413. I also had some problems pre-1511 with this NAS (and running an older version of DSM I believe), but IIRC it was fine with 1511 too.

My encrypted hard drive also still works perfectly: DataLocker IronKey H300 Basic. It's a 1 TB drive formatted with exFAT. Too bad it's a bit flaky with OS X 10.11 El Capitan, whereas it works perfectly with OS X 10.7 Lion. DataLocker tells me El Capitan support for this drive is not official... yet.

You might want to try the Pulse Secure Client from the Windows store. That will allow you to use the built in W10 VPN client without needing the desktop client installed. Works great for me, but might require some specific version of software on the server side.

I tried the Windows app for Pulse Secure a few months ago with an older version of Win 10 (pre-1511) but it didn't work at all for me. I also tried manually configuring the built-in VPN client but that didn't work either. As you say, it's probably because the server side hadn't been updated to support it.

---

I'm still trying to update my laptop at work using the update method (not ISO) just because I don't have a USB stick or DVD burner handy. It failed yesterday, and it's at 70% downloaded this morning after 2 hours with the Windows 10 Upgrade Assistant. However, it's probably mainly because I'm on a flaky and slow WiFi connection.

 

[phreakwarz]

I tried to update and got the windows something went wrong thing. error 0x80070057. I've only had win 10 for a few days, so I'm still a noob. What I would like to know and understand is the ISO thing. Is this like the one I made when I got windws 10 a few days ago? Is this update to the aniversery version ? Any help would be apreciated.

 

[vailr]

I've found this "Dism++" software to be very useful:
https://www.chuyu.me/
It can clean out WinSxs stores, which saved ~600 Mb to ~1,200 Mb on various machines, disabling the little arrows on desktop icons, and dozens of other tweaks.
Can also convert .esd files to .iso files.

 

[mxnerd]

Though the MediaCreationTools exe file's name https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10/ downloaded from Microsoft stay the same as build 1511, the new file's size is different and will download the new ISO file.

Anyone who already had the old one should re-download the file since the old one will gets you 1511 instead 1607 anniversary file.

 

[Iron Woode]

this update has borked my system.

cpu is pegged at 90% all the time. I can't figure out why.

my 1511 was tuned perfectly and this update is horrible. nothing works right.

I am going to roll back and find some way to permanently block this update.

 

[nerp]

this update has borked my system.

cpu is pegged at 90% all the time. I can't figure out why.

my 1511 was tuned perfectly and this update is horrible. nothing works right.

I am going to roll back and find some way to permanently block this update.

It's probably "runtime broker" and other background tasks that go away. Looks like you got impatient. Perm block this update? Run Linux.

 

[Hugh Jass]

Pretty minor thing but make sure the "Show lock screen background picture on the sign-in screen" is turned on in order for the new lock screen to login screen transition to work properly.

For some reason mine defaulted to off which until I changed it was making the transition from lock screen to login screen very clunky.

I know some don't use the lock screen but I do so I posted this for those others who do as well.

 

[Eug]

I'm still trying to update my laptop at work using the update method (not ISO) just because I don't have a USB stick or DVD burner handy. It failed yesterday, and it's at 70% downloaded this morning after 2 hours with the Windows 10 Upgrade Assistant. However, it's probably mainly because I'm on a flaky and slow WiFi connection.

Hah. Only took 6 hours for the download. 70% in the first 2 hours, and then 4 more hours for the last 30%.

Updating now.

 

[escrow4]

Windows Media Player with AC3filter and Haali still work fine for h.264 MKV, although I'm probably better off just using MPC-HC since the latter is more efficient IIRC and is still getting ongoing support.

<snip>

Why WMP and filters? Is this an XP box? If you have modern hardware that supports DXVA acceleration MPC-HC is it, its not as fat as VLC (half the size) and I suspect it decodes more accurately. LAV filters are lite too.

 

[Eug]

Kingston DataTraveller encrypted USB drive works fine still. Great. I'm set for work with that and my encrypted hard drive. Work is on Win 7, and only allows very specific hardware for moving files. We only moved from XP two years ago, to Win 7.

My laptop finally got updated, using the non-ISO upgrade path. The upgrade was direct to 14393.10. This is contrast to the ISO method, which took me to 14393.0 first, before a cumulative Windows Update brought me to 14393.10.

My Samsung SL-M3870FW works fine too. It's a business laser. Dunno if drivers updated but it Just Works.

---

So, far the Win 7 to Win 10 upgrade has been the smoothest for me yet. (Win 98 to Win 2000 was the hardest.) The upgrade process initially didn't work well, but that was with what essentially amounted to a mature beta back in July, 2015, and on drives with hidden recovery partitions and what not - making it hard to do clone backups. With 1607 and more standard drives, all the problems I had before are gone. And the driver support now is excellent, at least for me.

The one-year (effectively public) beta process is done now. Enterprise may want to wait a bit, but home users can feel comfortable upgrading. Too bad it ain't free anymore... Well it is I guess, but not officially.

Why WMP and filters? Is this an XP box? If you have modern hardware that supports DXVA acceleration MPC-HC is it, its not as fat as VLC (half the size) and I suspect it decodes more accurately. LAV filters are lite too.

It's a holdover from when I first installed them in Win 7, something like 5 years ago. Back then I preferred WMP with ac3filter and Haali because I preferred the look of WMP over MPC-HC. DXVA fully supported, but using the standard Windows player. However, ac3filter and Haali haven't been updated since 2013 and MPC-HC has leapfrogged them now. But with DXVA, it didn't really matter, since WMP worked fine.

 

[Eug]

It turns out I can test this myself when I get home, using a link that AnandTech posted here:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/9289/the-nvidia-shield-android-tv-review/7

Netflix has a special test stream that shows the characteristics of the currently playing stream.

5800 Kbps 1080p Netflix using the Win 10 metro app looks very good. This is also supported in Edge. I just tested this and it works fine in Edge. (Not supported in Chrome or Firefox.)

https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2016/07/13/get-better-quality-video-with-microsoft-edge/

This is on old AMD hardware. I can't even get this on my Core i7 iMac, since Netflix doesn't support this on any Mac that is older than from 2011. (Mine's a 2010.) It maxes out at 3000 Kbps 720p, and looks noticeably worse.

MS is also bragging that Edge has the lowest CPU utilization for streaming video:

Most importantly though, they are also saying they expect DRM'd 4K streaming support on Windows 10 in the fall. You'll want a recent machine with HEVC hardware decode and HDCP 2.2 / HDMI 2.0a support though.

EDIT:

How ironic. I even get 5800 Kbps 1080p in Netflix on my Atom 330 ION machine, and it plays perfectly smoothly, but yet my Core i7 870 iMac running 10.11 El Capitan isn't supported, limited to roughly half the bitrate and resolution. The Core i7 is literally an order of magnitude faster, and has an ATI Radeon HD 5750 too.

 

[Iron Woode]

It's probably "runtime broker" and other background tasks that go away. Looks like you got impatient. Perm block this update? Run Linux.

the system is very sluggish. app windows show up blank.

probably caused by the upgrade process. I will try a clean install.

posting from my win 8.1 system.

 

[quikah]

Most importantly though, they are also saying they expect DRM'd 4K streaming support on Windows 10 in the fall. You'll want a recent machine with HEVC hardware decode and HDCP 2.2 / HDMI 2.0a support though.

Cool, I must have stopped reading that blog halfway through, didn't know they mentioned it. I am guessing here, but I wouldn't be surprised if 4K support will require a TPM 2.0 chip and Secureboot to be enabled.

 

[nerp]

the system is very sluggish. app windows show up blank.

probably caused by the upgrade process. I will try a clean install.

posting from my win 8.1 system.

Good idea. Clean installs are the way to go. I'm sure the upgrade is related. Good luck. There is usually a period of time after a fresh install that the system does some chugging in the background but it generally doesn't take long and shouldn't cripple the system.

 

[SunnyD]

I knew I was getting a start menu update, but this new format is garbage compared to the original Win10 version. Wish it were able to be reverted.