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Microsoft has sneaked out a patch to get Windows 10 PCs back online after an earlier update broke networking for people's computers around the globe. Since the end of last week, systems in the UK, US, Europe and beyond have automatically installed software from Microsoft, via Windows Update, that broke DHCP. That means some computers can't obtain their LAN-side IP addresses from their broadband routers, effectively randomly kicking them off the internet and their local network. That's confused the hell out of a lot of netizens. It's not clear which Windows Update patch caused the cockup, as Microsoft is deliberately...

Well my old windows 8 computer is slowly dying. I have a HP running windows 10 and want to have email like I used to. This new computer will not accept Win live mail or classic shell. Help needed. Thanks in advance.

Jesse Worley threatened to sue Microsoft. He’s not the first to take on the Redmond company, but his move to take legal action had a purpose. He wanted Microsoft to acknowledge that aggressively pushing the Windows 10 update was a problem. Customers weary of the Windows 8 disaster were unwilling to take the upgrade leap; Microsoft was, he reasoned, ignoring their fear of heights. ... I’m an IT tech whose grandfather’s computer was updated through subterfuge, which made life harder for him and his caretakers until it was fixed ... Privacy advocates dislike it, as Microsoft collects data such as...

It’s no secret that Windows 10 records all sorts of usage information, some of which it feeds back to Microsoft. To help with the smooth running of Windows 10, and to get an idea of how users interact with the operating system, Microsoft collects telemetry data, which includes information on the device Windows 10 is running on, a list of installed apps, crash dumps, and more. Telemetry data recorded by Windows 10 is, in a nutshell, just technical information about the device the OS is on, and how Windows and any installed software is performing, but it can occasionally include...

You read the title correctly. Microsoft just joined the Linux Foundation. Believe it or not, Microsoft has joined The Linux Foundation as a Platinum member. No, this isn't The Onion and it's not April Fool's Day. Microsoft has joined The Linux Foundation. Microsoft announced that it was joining forces with The Linux Foundation at the Microsoft Connect developer event in New York. Yes, yes I know. Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer once said, "Linux is a cancer". Yes, Microsoft still forces Android vendors to pay for its bogus Linux patents. And, yes, Microsoft and its cronies are still scheming to...

Microsoft today quietly put an end to sales of Windows 7 licenses to computer makers, marking a major milestone for the seven-year-old OS. According to Microsoft's rules, the Redmond, Wash. company stopped selling Windows 7 Professional or any version of Windows 8.1 to OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) as of Oct. 31. The end of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 left only Windows 10 as a long-term choice for OEMs that pre-load Windows on their wares. The original end-of-sales deadline for Windows 7 Professional was to be Oct. 31, 2014 -- two years after the launch of Windows 8 -- but...

Hello Windows Insiders! Today we are excited to be releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14951 for Mobile and PC to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring. What’s new in Build 14951 Refining the customization experience for precision touchpad (PC) Windows Ink Improvements (PC) We are also introducing Stencils [ADDED] Inking in Photos Simplified, more familiar camera interface (PC & Mobile) Simplifying your developer experience (PC) Narrator improvements Windows Subsystem for Linux: Official Ubuntu 16.04 support Windows / WSL interoperability Other improvements and fixes for Mobile (list) Other improvements and fixes for PC (long list) Known issues for Mobile Known...

Microsoft is set to unveil a bunch of new hardware on Wednesday, with the star attraction likely to be a new Surface PC to compete with Apple's all-in-one iMac.Microsoft is billing this event as the future of Windows 10. That's not surprising: The reason Microsoft got into the Surface business in the first place was to push Windows forward into a touchscreen future, whether PC manufacturers wanted it or not.But we're fast approaching a moment in time where Microsoft is going to have to do more than introduce new kinds of PCs if it wants Windows, first introduced in 1985,...

If you want a new PC running Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, you'll have fewer options beginning on Nov. 1. Here's what the end-of-sales deadline means.

Here's the message "A web page is slowing down your computer. What would you like to do? -stop it- -wait- " Nothing on what program, or time estimates. Never had it before. Is there something I can do. Thanks. BTW I turned on the computer.

Microsoft’s self-installing Windows 10 operating system has reached the 400 million mark, the firm announced at its Ignite conference in Atlanta this week, up from the previous high of 350 million in August. This adoption rate means the firm’s self-imposed target of a billion devices by mid-2018 looks increasingly unlikely, but the Redmond giant can take some consolation in the fact that business enthusiasm seems to be growing. The latest version of Windows hit its one-year anniversary on July 29, a date that also marked the ending of the free upgrade offer period for users of Windows 7 and Windows...

How long does this take? Started updating at 10:00 am today. It is now 3:00 pm and I'm at the gray screen with the spinning dots. It already did the 'percent' screen and several restarts. Just wondering how much longer.

Get notified on your PC the way you want to (or not at all). The Windows 10 notifications system is still a work in progress -- universal-ish app notifications that appear on your lock screen, on your desktop and in your action center. In the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, Microsoft has added more notifications (Windows can now link to your Android phone via the Cortana app and mirror Android notifications on your desktop) and more notifications options, including the ability to prioritize certain apps over others. The notifications/action center is getting there, but it's still pretty confusing. Here's how to...

Want to find out the top tips and tricks to make Windows 10 faster? Read on... Despite (or perhaps because of) all the bells and whistles, Windows 10 can sometime run a little slower than other systems, particularly on older machines. If you're one of the new Windows 10 users who feels that they've had to sacrifice speed to get the latest version of Windows, here's how to speed it up. Topics include: Make starting up Windows 10 quicker Make shutting down Windows 10 faster Disable Startup programs in Windows 10 Remove bloatware in Windows 10 Make the Windows 10...

(Full title: "Microsoft pushing out Build 14393.105 cumulative update to Windows 10 Mobile devices on the Release Preview and Slow rings") Microsoft has today pushed out a new cumulative update to Windows 10 Mobile devices on the Release Preview and Slow rings, taking their build to 14393.105, the same as Windows 10 for PCs build in the Production ring. The update comes less than 2 hours after Dona said not to expect a new build this week, but she may have been referring to one of the faster rings. Being a Release Preview build we may see this build pushed...

(Continuing my series of pro-Windows articles... -dayglored) Happy birthday, Windows 10 Microsoft’s planning a big bash for Windows 10’s first birthday, and you’re the one receiving presents. On August 2, the company will push out the (boringly named) Windows 10 Anniversary Update to Windows 10 PCs, and the update’s chock-full of all sorts of new goodies for you to play with—some niche, some helpful, and all free. Windows Insiders who don’t mind living dangerously with unfinished software have been testing these new features in Windows 10 preview builds for months, and now it’s time for the Anniversary Update to hit...

Let’s not beat around the bush: Windows 10 is wonderful. It’s head-and-shoulders better than Windows 8.1, at least for traditional PC users. The fact that it banishes full-screen apps and the Metro Start screen, focusing instead on the tried-and-true desktop, should be reason enough to make PC purists smile. The massive Windows 10 Anniversary Update released on August 2, 2016, added even more features, functionality, and polish. The obvious desktop improvements are just the tip of the iceberg, though. If you’re fresh to Windows 10, these are the cool new features you’ll want to check out first.Editor’s note: This article...

A beginner's guide to installing and pushing a simple app to Windows 10 IoT Core running on a Raspberry Pi. Microsoft's ambition is for Windows 10 to run on every type of computing device, even the credit card-sized $35 Raspberry Pi board. The Pi doesn't run the same version of Windows 10 as a laptop does, but a far simpler, stripped-back release called Windows 10 IoT Core. This OS won't boot you into the traditional Windows desktop, but instead loads a bare bones menu from which you can set up the system, which can only run a single Universal Windows...

Microsoft is slamming the door on PC builders and upgraders who might have hoped to use the new Intel Kaby Lake or AMD Zen chips for Windows 7 or Windows 8 PCs. Sorry: Both chips are officially supported only by Microsoft’s Windows 10. Microsoft's mandate is discreet rather than secret. In January, the company tried to shorten its support lifecycle for Intel Skylake PCs running Windows 7 and 8, a policy the company subsequently abandoned after much outcry. But Microsoft’s statements have also consistently included a critical caveat: The latest generations of silicon—specifically Intel’s Kaby Lake chip, Qualcomm’s 8996, and...

Say hello to "Windows Update Delivery Optimization" Microsoft today updated the Windows 10 beta, switching on a controversial technology that commandeers users' upload bandwidth to shift some responsibility for updating from the company's own servers. Build 14915 was released earlier Wednesday to participants in the Windows Insider "Fast" track. The notable change highlighted by Dona Sarkar, the software engineer who acts as the public face of Insider, was the enabling of Windows 10's "Delivery Optimization" technology. Delivery Optimization, formally dubbed "Windows Update Delivery Optimization" (WUDO) by Microsoft, was part of Windows 10 from the get-go. But it was only switched...