Windows 10: Unified Write Filter - does it track file changes

I am a developer, and we have a Windows 10 computer with our apps on it that is protected by the Unified Write Filter. I encountered an issue when installing an update to some of our apps. The way I did it was I took the SSD out and connected it externally to my development machine via a SATA -to-USB adapter cable, the drives then appeared in file explorer, and so I copied the new executables over the old ones in their respective directories. When I put the drive back in and started it up, one of the new apps just quit after a few seconds.So next I tried turning off the filter, rebooting and c

:)

 

Unified write filter servicing screensaver not showing up

Hi,

I suggest you to use the System File Checker tool to repair missing or corrupted system files:

Use the System File Checker tool to repair missing or corrupted system files - Microsoft Support

Run the Power Troubleshooter.

Power troubleshooter will automatically fix some common issues with Power Plans. Run the Power troubleshooter to adjust your computer's power settings. The Power troubleshooter checks things like your computer's timeout settings, which determine how long
the computer waits before turning off the monitor display or entering sleep mode.

• Press Windows key + W and type Troubleshooting.
• Select Troubleshooting and click on System and Security.
• Click on Power and follow the onscreen steps.

Hope this helps in resolving the issue. Keep us posted on unified write filter servicing screensaver not showing up. We will be happy to assist you.

 

Unified Write Filter (Win10LTSB) not working

Hi all

I'm currently trying to migrate from Windows Embedded Standard 7 SP1 (WES7) to Windows 10 LTSB (long term servicing branch). I'm having a major problem with the write protection layer in Win10 LTSB that I'm hoping someone can help with (I think it is a bug
but perhaps I'm doing something wrong).

Note that I have tried both Windows 10 LTSB 2015 and Windows 10 LTSB 2016. I have applied all Windows updates and the Unified Write Filter feature is enabled.

Question 1:

In WES7, the write protection was known as File Based Write Filter (FBWF). I used this to lock down the operating system but allow write access to a data folder on the same disk volume as my application collects and buffers data in real time - ready to be
copied across the network at a later time. This worked fine.

In Win10LTSB, I can't get the write protection (known as Unified Write Filter - UWF) working reliably. I've set up the UWF to protect the C: drive as I did with WES7. I've also set it up to exclude a folder from the write protection layer (lets call it C:\Excluded).
When I create files/data in this folder, they are correctly stored on the disk (as the folder is excluded from the write protection layer) and are still present after a reboot - as they should be. So far, this all works correctly.

The problem is that as files are being stored correctly in this folder, the size of the RAM (or disk) overlay reduces by the same amount. After a few minutes of successfully storing data in this excluded folder, the write protection overlay fills up and
the PC grinds to a halt.

In WES7, files created in an excluded folder did not affect the size of the overlay at all - which is correct. In Win10LTSB, files created in the excluded folder cause the size of the available overlay (RAM or disk) to reduce to the point where the PC will
fall over.

Does anyone have any experience in this area? Have I done something wrong or is this a bug? As it stands, I won't be able to migrate from WES7 to Win10LTSB for my product until this is resolved as I need to collect data dynamically into a folder that is
excluded from the write protection layer.

Question 2:

With WES7, I was able to see which files had been diverted to the RAM overlay using the command \Fbfwmgr.exe /overlaydetail

This permitted me to find out which files were consuming the RAM overlay and add those filenames/locations to the exclusion list as necessary. I can't find any way of looking at the files/folders that are currently consuming the RAM/disk overlay of the Win10LTSB
unified write filter.

Can anyone help?

 

Trying to configure Unified Write Filter on one machine to work across multiple machines.

Hi,

Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

We understand your concern, as you are looking for a way to Unified Write Filter to work with any drive that is the volume C: without it being tied to the Device ID of a drive.

In this scenario, we would suggest you to post your query in

TechNet forums, where we have experts and support professionals who are well equipped with the knowledge on Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019 to assist you with the appropriate troubleshooting steps.

Aditya Roy

Microsoft Community – Moderator