Your trivia is better than my best Google-fu. I bow to you on this one!
Posted on 09/03/2019 9:31:36 AM PDT by dayglored
Microsoft has just shipped Windows 10 KB4512941 to anyone who hits the ‘Check for updates’ button in Windows Update and click on the new ‘Download and install now’ option, which has been made available for optional updates or feature updates.
Windows 10 KB4512941 fixes the broken Windows Sandbox, black screen issue hitting Remote Desktop connections and several other bugs. However, some users have run into serious problems after installing the latest update that advances PCs to Build 18362.329.
According to various reports on forums (1, 2) and Feedback Hub, a number of devices may startup with a high CPU usage problem, degrading the overall performance of the systems. The culprit appears to be a botched version of Cortana that the firm has reportedly shipped in this release.
The Cortana (SearchUI.exe) process is generating CPU usage spikes for some users and the process has recorded a bump of around 30-40 percent in Task Manager, though the usage depends on the number of cores a processor has.
“After installing KB4512941 (OS Build 18362.329) the pop-out window with the search results stays blank, SearchUI.exe is constantly using CPU and ~200MB of memory,” a user documented the problem on Microsoft’s Feedback Hub.
“Cortana is consistently running above 35% CPU usage and 150 MB memory as reported by Task Manager, for at least one day now. Despite this fact, using the Search button next to the Start Menu pops up a dialog that will not display any items upon entering any search query, even after waiting for several minutes,” another user complained about the CPU usage on Feedback Hub.
It’s important to note that Microsoft actually tested KB4512941 with Windows Insiders in the Release Preview Ring for more than a week before shipping the update to the general public.
According to some posts on Feedback Hub, reports of high CPU usage were submitted multiple times by testers earlier this week, but the reports appear to have been ignored because they weren’t upvoted enough.
Some users have claimed that deleting a Registry key, which prevents the Start menu search from sending local search queries to Bing, resolves the CPU usage problem.
You can get MS Word for Apple Macs, using the Office365 version. The Mac App Store has a free read-only version that lets you open and read, but not create or edit, standard MS-Word documents. To get full functionality you need to open an Office365 account and pay Microsoft for it. In my experience it works very well.
My standard answer to "What kind of computer should I buy?" is:
"You, like all of us, are going to have issues with your computer.If you follow the Windows, Mac, and Linux threads here on FR, you will see that although the above is somewhat tongue-in-cheek, there's a lot of truth to it. Good luck! :-)
They're unavoidable, and how you solve them is your choice.
If you want to solve issues with money, get a Mac.
If you want to solve issues with time, run Linux.
If you want an unpredictable hybrid of the two, try Windows."
Your trivia is better than my best Google-fu. I bow to you on this one!
The problem that I had with this “update” is that it corrupted my system startup files when I tried to get rid of it using the lazy man’s way out with system restore. After a heck of a lot of messing around with the tools on the recovery media and using one command after another in Dism.exe in PowerShell I think that I finally have things back to normal.
I still don’t trust sleep mode after the laptop pretty much baked itself while running the battery down after being in its bag for only about an hour. The thing was so hot that I was surprised that it still booted up. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised now if some surface mounted components started coming loose on the motherboard.
I haven’t noticed any Cortana a related CPU issues, the update replaced drivers that I downloaded from HP, and AMD with generic Microsoft versions that I suppose were meant to be more compatible with Windows 10. This “minor” update is a serious F-up. Excuse my language after wasting a lot of time on this.
I was wondering why my laptop started slowing down so aggressively recently. Now I shall study the issue when I get home.
And I really need to shut down Cortana. I do not like it, subconsciously.
.
Thank Yehova for Never10!
.
I turn anything and everything associated to Cortana off even to the edge of Camera and Microphone unless I need to use it for a particular app. I have a built in microphone and camera in my laptop and they are off and I use a monitor in place of the built in screen for better viewing and from a camera standpoint preventing it being turned on to spy, and the internal microphone is turned off as well as other features that allow for un-tethered connection with MS at all
Thanks for the update. Spreading the word.
I loaded the update and, even with Cortana, Outlook, Skype, OneNote and Edge running, I’m at between 4% and 7% CPU usage.
Linux is your freedom. Yes it requires some learning but once you invest in your PC education, you will never go back to Windows.
Linux Mint is available in a DVD that you can burn and then boot from. In other words, try before you buy. You can go to the Linux Mint download page (https://www.linuxmint.com/download.php) and look for the version called Linux Mint 19.1 “Tessa” - Cinnamon (64-bit). It is available as a direct down load or as a torrent.
Once you have downloaded, burn to a DVD, pop it into your DVD reader and reboot. It will load and run from the DVD without altering your PC.
The distribution should include LibreOffice which parallels MS Word. All free. Try it, see what you think. If you like it, you can back up your files on your PC, install Mint and retore your files.
You can get Word and all other Office apps for Mac. There's a free reader version of Word for Mac if you don't want to create or edit Word documents.
However, as with anything else Apple related, there's a price. Apple makes good laptops and desktops, but they should be awesome because they cost an awesome amount of money. For about half to 2/3rds the money you can buy a Windows version that runs circles around the Mac version. And because it's so much faster than the Apple version, when Windows gives future updates that chew up resources (a legitimate gripe about Microsoft's OS), your Windows machine won't get bogged down any more than a Mac would on future updates. Basically a good Windows machine can handle the workload of a boogered up OS update that a cheap Windows machine can't.
It's when you buy the cheapest Windows machine (or hold onto an expensive one for many years) that future OS updates bog your machine down. So if you're not going to get a little tech savvy and go with Linux, go with a Windows 10 machine for about 1/2 to 2/3 the cost you'd pay for a MacBook or Mac. My year-old HP laptop with 8GB ram, 32MB cache and a 2.7Ghz 4-core processor didn't get bogged down by the update -- and it cost $500 a year ago. (Probably about $700 w/o my wife's employee discount.) Compared to the $1,200 MacBook Air from that time (2-core, 3.6Ghz "turbo speed" meaning combined both cores) 4GB RAM, 4MB cache. Note I picked the "cheaper" model of the MacBook from last year. If I had picked a higher end model I still could buy a Windows machine with much better specs for 1/2 or 2/3 the cost. This same kind of specs/price comparisons happens with desktops too. There's simply no reason to buy the Apple version unless you require niche software that Apple has cornered the market in.
She finally went rampant....
“One of the first things I do is turn Cortana OFF. Will this help those who may have issues?”
How do you get to do this permanently, I go on Task Manager and end it, and within 5 minutes is is back on, do you have another way?
I no longer use any Windows OS on the desktop or laptop.
Not since they started fouling Windows 7 with “security updates” that weren’t for security, but to modify it in preparation for Win 10 upgrade.
I go into Window Settings and then Cortana Permissions. It’s always turned off.
Is that available in Win10 HOME?
Yes, that’s what I use.
if a desktop is OL, then i’ve bought several desktops from this company and they’ve been fine, though i’ve had zero luck with their refurb laptops:
buy one of these and clone the HD onto a samsung evo 860 SSD and add RAM if they don’t come with 8GB
The only Cortana "option" is choosing language.
Thank you I will try that!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.