Windows 10: KB5004296 is an optional update for Windows 10 with lots of fixes

Microsoft released optional updates KB5004296 and KB5004293 for Windows 10 versions 1909, 2004, 20H2 and 21H1 today that address gaming issues and other issues in those versions of Windows 10.

KB5004296, released for Windows 10 versions 2004, 20H2 and 21H1, and KB5004293, released for Windows 10 version 1900, are optional updates. Generally speaking, it is not advised to install these unless they do fix a critical issue on a device you are using.

You need to seek for the updates manually if you are using Windows Updates, or download the updates from the Microsoft Update Catalog website to install them manually. You find the update listed under optional quality updates in Windows Update.

Here are the update catalog links:

• KB5004296
• KB5004293

The updates will be part of the coming August 2021 Patch Tuesday, which happens on August 10, 2021.

KB5004296




KB5004296 is released for Windows 10 versions 2004, 20H2 and 21H1; the changes that the update makes are identical for all versions.

Microsoft changes the Timeline functionality in this release. Windows Timeline was introduced in December 2017 by Microsoft as an option to launch past activities. The change limits Timeline activity to the local device if Microsoft Accounts are used. The change does not affect Azure Active Directory accounts.

The update fixes several gaming related issues that gamers may have experienced in previous versions of these versions of Windows 10. The following issues are addressed:

• Fixes an issue that prevented unnamed gaming services from opening games in desktop environments.
• Fixes an issue that caused Game Mode and power plans to work incorrectly; this resulted in reduced performance while gaming.
• Fixes an issue that played sound too loudly when selecting "something" and using trigger buttons on a game controller.

The update addresses several other issues, all non-security related:

• Fixes a searchindexer issue that caused it to stop working and create duplicate profile names.
• Fixes an issue that prevented you from entering text using IME (Input Method Editor).
• Fixes a file deletion issue on network drives that stopped the process after reaching 99%.
• Fixes an issue that caused Group Policy extension processing to fail in the Group Policy Registry Telemetry.
• Fixes an issue that rebuild Windows Filtering Platform filters repeatedly.
• Fixes an MDM service issue that failed to apply certain junk mail rules correctly.
• Fixes an issue that caused the enrollment of the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) certificate to fail with the error, “0x80090027 NTE_INVALID_PARAMETER”. This issue occurs when the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) provider (the Microsoft Software Key Storage Provider) stores the key.
• Fixes a System Integrity memory leak issue.
• Fixes a wrong event template issue when auditing events 4624 and 5142 in Dutch.
• Fixes an issue that made "Network Internal Access" appear on the taskbar network icon when the Internet is accessed from certain domains.
• Fixes an Internet connectivity detection issue after connecting to virtual private networks.
• Fixes a printing issue that caused jobs to stop or print the wrong output.
• Fixes a "rare" performance issue in applications that call "Gdiplus.dll!GdipMeasureString in a tight loop with a new font on each call".
• Fixes an audio channel streaming issue.
• Fixes a display issue that displayed RemoteFX USB devices as Remote Desktop Generic USB Device instead of the actual name.
• Fixes an issue in which Set-RDSessionCollectionConfiguration did not set the camerastoredirect:s:value custom property.
• Fixes a memory leak in Local Security Authority Subsystem Service domain controller.
• Fixes a network drive hat maps to a Distributed File System (DFS) root after you sign out access issue.
• Fixes a reconnection issue to mapped network drives after signing in.
• Addresses an issue that prevented access to files on a Server Message Block (SMB) share when you enabled Access Enabled Enumeration (ABE).
• Fixes a Windows Server service starting issue when SrvComment was greater than 128 characters.
• Fixes an issue in Windows Network File System that could prevent the renaming of a file after mounting an NFS share.
• Fixes an issue with an unhandled Open File dialog critical exception.
• Adds a new policy that creates generic strings and removes branding-specific terms, such as “Windows” or “PC”, for IoT Enterprise editions.
• Fixes an issue which caused the Storage Sense page in Settings to report the size of some devices incorrectly.

KB5004293 shares many of the fixes, but not all of them.

Now You: do you install optional Windows updates?

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Windows 10 Tweaks

Pressing “Windows+Pause Break” (it’s up there next to scroll lock) opens the “System” Window.

Windows 10: In the new version of Windows, Explorer has a section called Quick Access. This includes your frequent folders and recent files. Explorer defaults to opening this page when you open a new window. If you’d rather open the usual This PC, with links to your drives and library folders, follow these steps:

• Open a new Explorer window.
• Click View in the ribbon.
• Click Options.
• Under General, next to “Open File Explorer to:” choose “This PC.”
• Click OK

credit to Lifehacker.

 

FIXED!! Windows 7 sp1 never ends searching for updates

Yeah, I've been noting it for months on the refusenik thread. They do NOT want anything older than 10 running.

I still have an HTPC on W7, and every other month I have to fix the update agent in order to get all updates. SMH....

You provided a good step by step fix. I've bookmarked it for future reference.

 

Windows 10 Update

Well just noticed a pretty large one pop up coming in at 914MB, seems it makes some pretty serous updates.

KB3172985
Cumulative update for Windows 10 Version 1511 and Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview 4: July 12, 2016

This security update includes improvements and fixes in the functionality of Windows 10 Version 1511 and Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview 4. It also resolves the following vulnerabilities in Windows:

• 3175677 MS16-094: Security update for secure boot: July 12, 2016
• 3174060 MS16-093: Security update for Adobe Flash Player: July 12, 2016
• 3171910 MS16-092: Security update for Windows Kernel: July 12, 2016
• 3170048 MS16-091: Security update for .Net Framework: July 12, 2016
• 3171481 MS16-090: Security update for Kernel Mode Drivers: July 12, 2016
• 3170050 MS16-089: Security update for Windows secure kernel mode: July 12, 2016
• 3170005 MS16-087: Security update for the Microsoft Print Spooler: July 12, 2016
• 3169999 MS16-085: Cumulative security update for Microsoft Edge: July 12, 2016
• 3169991 MS16-084: Cumulative security update for Internet Explorer: July 12, 2016