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No Copilot, no ads, no bloat, no AI — and seven extra years of official support. It sounds too good to be true, but there's a reason most haven't heard of it. Microsoft won't advertise it, and you're highly unlikely to stumble across it by accident, but there's a version of Windows 10 that drops the ads, the AI, and will be officially supported for years to come — long after most are forced to upgrade to Windows 11. For those unaware, Windows 10 is due to be retired by Microsoft on October 14, 2025. Beyond this date, the operating...

Microsoft has confirmed that the Windows 11 version 24H2 update is now in its final rollout phase and will soon be delivered automatically to millions of Home and Pro users around the world. As of May 2, 2025, any unmanaged device running Windows 11 versions 21H2, 22H2, or 23H2—or even Windows 10—will see the 2024 Update download in the background. After the download completes, users can choose when to install the update or postpone it by going to Settings, then Windows Update.SNIPTo avoid disruptions, Windows Update offers a four‑week postponement option. Should you need more time, you can use command‑line...

Can someone help with getting the notification popup window at the bottom right of the screen to show the notifications again? For instance, I used to get the popup window notification to show immediately when a Youtube video was downloaded. Not getting the window anymore. Now, up at the top right on the Youtube page there is a bell that will show the number of new videos since the last time I checked but if I don't constantly check, I never know. Not to mention the bell has when the videos were loaded all messed up - 1 hour ago,...

Long story short – the problem began after Microsoft’s August 2024 Patch updates, which included a mitigation for a known GRUB2 vulnerability (CVE-2022-2601). The flaw allowed malicious actors to bypass UEFI Secure Boot protections using a compromised GRUB2 bootloader.To address this, Microsoft deployed a Secure Boot Advanced Targeting (SBAT) update (KB5041571) to block vulnerable bootloaders. Unfortunately, this had unintended consequences.While it was supposed to detect and exempt dual-boot configurations from being affected, this detection failed in several scenarios. As a result, many dual-boot users with Windows and Linux on the same machine suddenly found themselves unable to get into their...

We’re talking Windows 10, of course, which will soon retire from service. “On October 14, 2025,” Microsoft has just confirmed, again, “Windows 10 PCs will no longer receive feature or security updates, increasing security risks and operational challenges.” Microsoft is taking this opportunity to push Copilot+ PCs, complete with a raft of new AI tools including its controversial Recall. But the primary benefit is the upgrade to Windows 11, which combines with a compatible PCs security module to better protect against all those threats targeting the world of Windows.Those using Windows 11, Microsoft says, “have reported a 62% drop in...

With Microsoft ending support for Windows 10 in October 2025, millions of Windows 10 users will be left behind by the company. Upgrades to Windows 11 may be out of the question, due to stricter system requirements. While these can be bypassed, many Windows 10 users may lack the expertise to do so. This leaves Microsoft's recommendation to buy a new Windows 11 PC or subscribe to one year of extended security updates as the only options that Microsoft highlights in its recommendations. There are at least two additional options available to users, but Microsoft makes no mention of them....

Microsoft released security updates for Windows 11 and other company products earlier this week. If you have installed the security update on a Windows 11 PC, you may have noticed something peculiar after the mandatory restart. After opening the root of drive C in File Explorer, you may have stumbled upon the inetpub folder, a newly created folder. The creation date and time of the folder aligns with the installation of the update. When you open it, you will notice that it is empty. Update: Microsoft says here that the folder is created intentionally and that it should not be...

Never mind blocking workarounds to sign in with a local account, just give us a straightforward choice in the installation process. Microsoft just blocked a popular workaround to install Windows 11 with a local account Some people like to avoid having a Microsoft account linked to the OS due to privacy (or other) concerns While alternative workarounds remain, it’s likely they could be cut off too – and Microsoft is very much going down the wrong path here Microsoft appears to be moving to block Windows 11 users who want to install the operating system using a local account, meaning...

It’s official: after 10 years of noble service, Windows 10 will reach its end on October 14, 2025, and what a great decade it’s been. For many users, Microsoft redeemed itself after a run of disappointing operating systems – the mere mention of Windows 8 still sends some people into a rage – but Windows 10 got it right. That’s why the announcement of Windows 11 came as a shock. It felt too soon, too rushed – and unnecessary. Many believed that Windows 10 deserved more time to marinate. At least until it finally managed to migrate the whole Control...

Come October 14, 2025, Windows 10 support dies. Despite that, more users than ever are using Windows 10 rather than moving to Windows 11. I can't say that I blame them. Windows 11 sucks almost as much as Vista – remember that stinker? In addition, Windows 11 is less of a desktop operating system than it is a remote Microsoft client equipped with AI-powered Recall, telemetry, and data collection. You may see these as features. I see them as spyware. All this and more is why I use Linux for my primary desktop.True, I've been using Linux as my desktop...

Run Dialog box is something that is one of the favorite utilities for an avid Windows user. Its been around since Windows 95 and became an important part of Windows User Experience over the years. While its only duty is to quickly open apps and other tools, many power users like us at TechCult, love the handy nature of the Run dialog box. Since it can access any tool, setting, or app as long as you know the command for it, we decided to give you the cheat sheet to help you breeze through Windows like a pro...pressing Windows +...

Despite Microsoft's push to get customers onto Windows 11, growth in the market share of the software giant's latest operating system has stalled, while Windows 10 has made modest gains, according to fresh figures from Statcounter. This is not the news Microsoft wanted to hear. After half a year of growth, the line for Windows 11 global desktop market share has taken a slight downturn, according to the website usage monitor, going from 35.6 percent in October to 34.9 percent in November. Windows 10, on the other hand, managed to grow its share of that market by just under a...

Microsoft has thrown a lifeline to Windows 10 users ahead of the OS going end-of-life, by offering an extra year of patches for $30. Support for Windows 10 ends in October 2025 and Redmond is pushing people to upgrade to Windows 11, with mixed success to date – as of last month, Windows 10 had 62.75 percent of Redmond's OS market share, compared to 33.42 percent for the newer version ago. Perhaps that’s why the software behemoth has decided to offer Extended Security Updates - previously only available for business, education, and government users - to anyone who wants them....

Its a small difference, but a real one.Go into your operating system and for all WiFi connections set MAC address randomization.For Windows 11 it is under Network & Internet -> WiFi right at the bottom -- "Random hardware addresses."For Android it is on by default for WiFi connections -- check all of them you use, and it should be on.I suspect IOS on Macs has a similar feature.Unfortunately for most systems there is no similar setting for hardware connections (e.g. cabled.)This didn't used to matter much in the world of IPv4 because MAC addresses do not travel beyond the local...

Tesla CEO compared incoming Recall feature to an episode of Black MirrorNew Recall feature will be coming to Copilot+ PCs from JuneIt takes screenshots of everything you do on-screenSnapshots are analysed by AI on-device so they can be searchedElon Musk has announced plans to disable the feature on his PCPrivacy campaigners have also flagged concernsUK privacy watchdog has launched an investigation into RecallElon Musk has criticised a controversial new AI feature coming to Windows 11 devices this summer. Known as Recall, it takes screenshots of everything on-screen so you can scroll back in time and resume work on anything from...

My wife's Windows 11 laptop is in an infinite loop trying to install an update that fails to install then immediately tries to install it again. This slows the laptop of so much that it is unusable. Below is a screenshot of the update screen displaying the offending optional update. I have searched and searched the Interwebs to find out how to make an update stop trying to install but have had no luck. Has anyone else encountered this problem?

ransomnote: Transcript below.Click to view the 1 minute video on X (watermarked @tsarnick)May 20, 2024 TRANSCRIPT BEGINS~~~~~~~~~~Satya Nadella (CEO of Microsoft): How do we introduce memory,right?Photographic memory into what you do on the PCAnd now we have it. So it's called Recall.It's not keyword search.It's semantic search over all your history.And it's not just about any document, we can recreate moments from the past essentially.WSJ’s Joanna Stern (interviewer, provides demonstration): Here's how it works.Windows constantly takes screen shots of what's on your screen, then uses a generative AI model right on the device along with the NPU to process all...

Microsoft will officially end support for its most popular operating system in October 2025. Here's what you should do with your Windows 10 PCs before that day arrives. In less than two years, Microsoft will draw the final curtain on Windows 10 after a successful 10-year run. That news shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. The end date is right there on the Microsoft Support document that lists "products retiring or reaching the end of support in 2025." The schedule is defined by Microsoft's Modern Lifecycle Policy: "Windows 10 will reach end of support on October 14, 2025. The...

These are the most popular computer operating systems from 1985 to 2024, based on market share. The latest numbers from 2003 on are readily available from Wikipedia and Statcounter. The first half of the video required a bit more research, which entailed finding and converting sales figures into market share. These numbers may be different based on what OSes are included in the stats, this is why different videos have slightly different numbers.

Your PC without this CPU feature won’t boot Windows 11 24H2 KEY TAKEAWAYS Windows 11 24H2 update requires the POPCNT CPU feature, making it impossible to run on super-old PCs. Modern CPUs support POPCNT, so if you recently bought a new PC, you won't have any issues. PCs older than fifteen years will be affected by this change and won't be able to boot Windows 11 without POPCNT support. Windows 11 24H2 is the next big update that Microsoft will roll out later this year, and it might finally put an end to the practice of running Windows unofficially on...