Microsoft Releases Windows Activation Treatment for Windows 10 Cumulative Update Bug

Microsoft has finally released a workaround for a bug created by the January 2021 non-security cumulative update preview and later.

The organization explains that both Windows 10 version 2004 and Windows 10 version 20H2 are influenced by the glitch, including an assistance document that devices in which the problem occurred could no longer run the Windows activation, as the process fails with error code 0xC004C003.

“Windows 10, version 2004 and 20H2 devices that have the January 2021 nonsecurity preview release, or perhaps a later version, installed might experience Windows activation failures containing error code 0xC004C003. Please be aware the January 2021 nonsecurity preview release, also referred to as the “C” release, was released February 2, 2021 and it is outside of the January security release, also referred to as the “B” release, which was released January 12, 2021. This problem is not present on devices that are running the January security release or perhaps an earlier release,” Microsoft explains.

The fix

So what is happening? When you try to activate the operating you get the next error:

“We can’t activate Windows about this device since you don’t possess a valid digital license or product key. If you feel you do have a legitimate license or key, select Troubleshoot below. Error code 0xc004c003.”

The workaround isn’t necessarily probably the most convenient but is pretty much the only method to bring things back to normal.

Because of the glitch has been reported within the January 2021 non-security preview release, Microsoft says you should install the January 12 updates or even the earlier cumulative updates. In other words, don’t install these new updates, and when you already did, just remove them.

The organization claims it’s already focusing on a full fix that would be shipped to Windows 10 devices, but an ETA isn’t yet available at time of writing.

Microsoft Could Take Over Discord for Over $10 Billion

Discord is once more listed on the market, according to people familiar with the matter, and unsurprisingly, one of the parties currently involved with takeover talks is the one and only Microsoft.

The Redmond-based tech giant appears to be on a shopping spree lately. After taking over Bethesda, Microsoft has additionally attempted to buy the U.S. operations of TikTok, the Internet sensation that former President Donald Trump wanted to ban in the country.

The deal failed, as ByteDance eventually opted for a partnership with Oracle, however Microsoft is back available on the market looking for potential takeovers.

And based on Bloomberg, the software giant has set its eyes on Discover, with Xbox chief Phil Spencer himself negotiating a possible takeover as we speak. The only issue for Microsoft is that it’s obviously only some of the company thinking about buying Discord, though, in the first glance, it’s one of the ones ready to spend big on such a deal.

The report claims Microsoft is willing to pay over $10 billion just to make certain it’s getting its hands on Discord.

The way forward for Discord under Microsoft’s umbrella

Obviously, it’s far too early to go over how Discord would change once Microsoft takes it over, but it’s not hard to imagine the woking platform would end up deeper integrated into its platforms.

For example, offering Discord pre-loaded with Windows is one thing totally possible, especially as Microsoft positions its operating system as a platform targeted at all audiences, including gamers. And lately, Microsoft has focused a great deal on gaming so far as Windows 10 is concerned, so Discord becoming part of this offering certainly makes sense.

Obviously, Microsoft has remained completely tight-lipped overall thing, so for the time being, it’s better to take everything having a healthy dose of skepticism.

How to Change 24 Hour Clock to 12 Hour Clock in Windows 10

Should you don’t such as the 24-hour time format in Windows 10, follow these easy steps to alter the 24-hour clock to some 12-hour clock.

On Windows 10, the clock generally appears at the end right corner from the taskbar. Like with any operating system, Windows 10 enables you to choose from 24-hour and 12-hour time formats. Depending on where you live, Windows might set the default time format to the 24-hour clock. Should you don’t want to use the 24-hour clock, you can easily change the 24-hour clock to the 12-hour clock with just a few clicks.

Before proceeding, you should know that Windows uses two different formats called “Short time” and “Long time” to show the time. The “short time” appears around the taskbar towards the bottom right corner. The “long time” appears within the calendar flyout seems whenever you click on the taskbar clock. Since Windows treats them as two separate entities, you can configure them separately. For example, you can show the 12-hour clock on the taskbar and a 24-hour clock in the calendar flyout menu.

Without further ado, let me demonstrate how you can change 24-hour clock to 12-hour clock in Windows 10.

Change Round-the-clock clock to 12 hour clock

The Settings app causes it to be really simple to alter the time format in Windows 10. All you need to do is choose the 12-hour time format from a drop-down menu and you’re simply all set.

Press Win + I to spread out the Settings app.
Go to the “Time and Language” page.
Select “Region” on the sidebar.
On the right-panel, scroll down and click on the “Change Date Formats” link.
Select the 12-hour format time in the drop-down menu under “Short time”.
Next, select the 12-hour format time from the drop-down menu under “Long time”.

That’s all, you’ll instantly see the 12-hour clock around the taskbar.

When you are able click the taskbar clock, you will see that the very long time can also be changed to 12-hour format.

Use User interface to alter Round-the-clock Clock to 12 Hour Clock

You can use the great old user interface to change the time format from 24-hours to 12-hours. Fortunately that this method will work in most major Windows versions like 10, 8, and 7.If you want to use the Control Panel, follow this method.

Open the “Start Menu”.
Search for “Control Panel” and open it.
Select “Large Icons” in the top-left corner.
Within the User interface, find the “Region” option and click on it.
In the area window, select h:mm tt from the “Short time” drop-down menu.
Select h:mm:ss tt in the drop-down menu near the “Long time” option.
Click the “Apply” and “Ok” buttons in order to save changes.

That is all. The changes are saved instantly. You can see the alterations think about the taskbar as well as in time and date flyout seems whenever you click on the taskbar clock.

As you can see, it is quite simple to change the time format from 24-hour clock to 12-hour clock in Windows 10 while using Settings app or the Control Panel.

Windows 10 Cumulative Update KB5001618 Released for Insiders

Microsoft has released a brand new Windows 10 cumulative update for Windows insiders, which time, it is targeted at users signed up for the Dev channel.

Worth knowing in the very beginning, however, is that cumulative update KB5001618 doesn’t include any new feature, even though it offers the OS build number to 21337.1010, it’s only designed to help Microsoft “test our servicing pipeline.”

So in other words, Microsoft just wants to make sure servicing Windows via Windows Update is working as planned, so while you’re still recommended to obtain this update, don’t expect any change after the installation.

Windows 10 build 21337

However, Windows 10 build 21337 includes several important improvements, including support for changing the wallpaper of every virtual desktop.

“Virtual Desktops assist you to cognitively separate different tasks on your PC, including helping to create work-life separation. They may be swapped into view, allowing you to shift your projects in one desktop to a different. Rather than juggling multiple windows, you are able to switch between Virtual Desktops to multitask,” Microsoft explained a few days ago when it released this new build.

Another essential change concerns gaming, as Microsoft has finally brought Auto HDR to PCs with this particular new build. However, it’s vital that you bear in mind case a preview for the time being, with Microsoft promising further refinements within the coming builds.

“Today we’re excited to create you a preview of Auto HDR for your PC gaming experience and we’re searching for your help to check it out. When enabled in your HDR capable gaming PC, you will automatically get awesome HDR visuals with an additional 1000+ DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 games!” the organization said when the full build went live.

You can download the brand new cumulative update if you’re part of the Insider program from Windows Update.

Windows 10 Touch Keyboard Obtaining a Couple of New Customization Options

The touch keyboard is playing a big role in Microsoft’s long-term Windows strategy, especially because the company is pushing for additional form factors that include touch support.

With Microsoft itself betting big on 2-in-1 devices, the touch keyboard enables users to have interaction using their computers without resorting to a physical keyboard. And that’s why Microsoft must make sure the touch keyboard is working exactly as anticipated, while also providing users using the customization options they need.

The fact is, the organization is already working on a number of new tweaking options for the laptop keyboard, and they’re available in the latest preview build of Windows 10.

As per Albacore, these customization options aren’t enabled for the moment, so you have to do everything on your own. Once activated, the touch keyboard section within the Settings app is getting a handful of new options, including keyboard size, a background image, background opacity, and even key colors. Users can select from a selection of key colors or just configure a custom color.

No word on the release date

While these new choices are already obtainable in the latest preview builds, though they’re not activated by default, Microsoft has always been completely tight-lipped as to once they may go live for users out there.

Microsoft has two feature updates within the queue for 2021, with the next someone to go live when April or May. However, this next release would be just a small pack of improvements, with the focus to become totally on underneath the hood improvements and fewer on additional features.

The fall update, however, could be more massive and include several other new features, so time will inform when Microsoft wants to release these touch improvements for everyone.

Windows 10 Notepad to Receive More Frequent Updates With the Store

The most recent Windows 10 preview build comes with several notable changes, one of which concerns Notepad, the app that still has a lot of users all over the world.

Notepad has therefore been moved to the Microsoft Store for more frequent updates, with Microsoft explaining that this change allows the company to release improvements for that app without resorting to major OS updates shipped via Windows Update.

Indeed, Notepad has previously been receiving updates only if the software giant presented major Windows 10 operating-system updates, also referred to as feature updates, which means the app got new improvements only up to two times each year.

The brand new Microsoft Store update system makes it possible for Microsoft to ship updates for Notepad when they are ready, pretty much just like the company does for the modern apps that include Windows 10.

“Notepad is now updateable through the Microsoft Store outside major OS updates. It also has a new icon and it has been promoted out of the Windows Accessories folder to its own place in the Start menu,” Microsoft explains within the release notes from the latest build.

Windows Terminal now an inbox app

Another notable improvement is that Windows Terminal becomes an inbox app, though the updates will continue to be shipped through the Microsoft Store, much like in the case of Notepad.

“Windows Terminal is a modern, fast, efficient, powerful, and productive terminal application for users of command line tools and shells like Command Prompt, PowerShell, and Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). Its main features include multiple tabs, panes, Unicode and UTF-8 character support, a GPU accelerated text rendering engine, and custom themes, styles, and configurations. Updates for Windows Terminal continues to come with the Microsoft Store,” Microsoft explains.

The organization hasn’t revealed if this intends to get this to change for production devices too.

Microsoft Releases Cumulative Update KB5000842 for Windows 10 21H1 Users

Microsoft has released a brand new build for Windows 10 insiders within the Beta channel, obviously included in a new cumulative update that is specifically supposed to further refine the experience in front of the 21H1 update due later this spring.

Windows 10 cumulative update KB5000842 boosts the OS build number to 19043.899, and according to the official changelog, which you’ll check out entirely within the box following the jump, the main focus continues to be specifically on improving the overall performance from the OS and resolving a few of the bugs in there.

For example, you will find fixes targeted at File Explorer, Microsoft Edge, and touchpads, in addition to improvements that avoid the explorer.exe from experiencing a heap leak that eventually causes high memory usage.

You should check out the full changelog in the box following the jump.

Windows 21H1 coming in the spring

According to Microsoft’s typical release calendar, Windows 10 21H1 is projected to be finalized in the spring before being pushed to the production devices in April or May.

Windows 10 21H1 will land like a minor update with the focus on under-the-hood improvements and fewer on new features, thus becoming the second update in a row to be shipped like a quality release.

“Based on feedback and learnings in the past year of extensive remote work, learning and play, version 21H1 will be delivered with servicing technology (like this employed for the monthly update process and just how 20H2 was delivered). Windows 10, version 21H1 will have a scoped set of features improving security, remote access and quality. The characteristics we’re releasing within this update are focused on the core experiences that customers have told us they’re counting on most right now. So, we optimized this release to support our customers’ most pressing needs,” Microsoft said recently.

You can test out Windows 10 21H1 early by enrolling in the Beta channel from the Insider program.

How to Tell If SSD is SATA or NVMe in Windows 10

Wondering in case your laptop or computer SSD is SATA or NVMe? Follow these simple steps to understand how to locate if SSD is SATA or NVMe.

For the past few years, SSDs are becoming much more common. Even if the system is not utilizing an SSD for mass storage, an enormous majority get it like a boot drive. For example, my three-year-old laptop includes a 2TB spinning drive for mass storage along with a 256GB SSD boot drive for Windows 10. This gives the finest of all possible worlds a the mechanical hard drives are quite a great deal less expensive than the SSDs for the similar capacity. In general, SSDs come with one of the two major interfaces. i.e, SATA interface or NVMe interface.

Compared to SATA which is older, a great deal slower, and clunkier, NVMe is a modern interface that offers better speed and reliability. Not only that but the NVMe SSDs are very a little small compared to the regular 2.5′ SATA SSDs. You can see the below image for convenient size comparison. Quite simply, for those who have an SSD in your computer or laptop, it will be either with a SATA interface or NVMe interface.

If you’re attempting to benchmark the SSD, knowing when the SSD is SATA or NVMe gives you a much better insight. In addition if you’re trying to switch the SSD inside your laptop or desktop, knowing when the SSD is SATA or NVMe can help you within the decision-making process. Fortunately, Windows 10 makes it much simpler to inform when the SSD you have is SATA or NVMe.

In this quick and short guide, let me share the different methods to find if the SSD is SATA or NVMe in Windows 10.

1. Find SSD is SATA or NVMe from Disk Management

The great old Disk Management tool lets you know exactly if the SSD inside your computer is of SATA or NVMe interface. All you need to do is open the disk properties and you’ll think it is under the Hardware IDs section. This is how to do it.

Right-click on the Start menu.
Select the “Disk management” option.
Right-click around the SSD disk.
Select the “Properties” option.
Go to the “Details” tab.
Select “Hardware Ids” in the dropdown menu.
If the SSD is NVMe, you will see “NVMe” under the Value section.
If the SSD is SATA, you will notice “SATA” underneath the Value section.

First thing, right-click on the Start menu and choose the “Disk Management” option. You can also open the Disk Management tool by looking it up within the Start menu. Within the Disk Management tool, right-click on the SSD disk and select the “Properties” option.

Within the properties window, go to the “Details” tab. Next, select the “Hardware Ids” option from the dropdown menu underneath the “Property” section. If the SSD is NVMe, you will notice NVMe underneath the Value section. If it is SATA then you’ll see SATA.

2. Know if SSD is SATA or NVMe from Settings

The Windows 10 Settings app presently has a built-in disk management section. Actually, as with most tools, this can switch the old Disk Management tool. As a result, you are able to tell if an SSD is SATA or NVMe from the Storage options in the Settings app. Here is how.

Open the Settings app.
Click on “System.”
Go towards the “Storage” page.
Click around the “Manage Disks and Volumes” link on the right page.
Click on the SSD disk.
Press the “Properties” button.
If the SSD is NVMe, you will see “NVMe” next to “Bus type.”
If the SSD is SATA, you will notice “SATA” alongside “Bus type.”

That is all. It’s that easy to find in case your SSD is of SATA or NVMe interface.

Microsoft Planning the Demise of Microsoft Store for Business and Education

We’ve noted for a while that Microsoft was likely to retire the Microsoft Store for Business and Education, and today it looks like the whole thing will probably happen rather sooner than later.

Beginning mid-April, Microsoft won’t allow users to purchase apps out of this store, and while the organization doesn’t say it specifically, it’s believed this is actually the initial step towards the full retirement from the Store for Business and Education.

Happening earlier than anticipated

As reported by Neowin, Microsoft has published a notification around the official store page to point that although paid apps would not be available to buy from the store, they would continue to run and receive updates normally. Free apps wouldn’t be influenced by the whole thing.

“Starting April 14, 2021, all apps that charge basics price above freedom no longer be available to buy within the Microsoft Store for Business and Education. If you’ve already bought a paid app, you can still use it, but no new purchases is going to be possible from businessstore.microsoft.com or educationstore.microsoft.com,” Microsoft explained.

“Also, you won’t have the ability to buy additional licenses for apps you already bought. You can still assign and reassign licenses for apps that you already own and employ the private store. Apps with a base cost of “free” it’s still available. This change doesn’t impact apps in the Microsoft Store on Windows 10.”

For the moment, Microsoft hasn’t provided every other details, but the change is seen by many as another step right at the end of UWP apps as a whole.

We’ve reached out to Microsoft for some information in connection with this and can publish a follow-up assuming we hear back. For now, it appears as though Microsoft has additionally started mailing users to tell them about the change, so an official announcement in this regard might not be too much.

Microsoft’s Next Build Event Will Take Place May 25-27

2020 forced all companies to move their events to the online world, thus allowing people around the world to watch their announcements in the comfort and safety of your home, and it appears like 2021 wouldn’t be too different either.

With the global ailment far from ending, Microsoft has become getting ready for a brand new round of events that will take place online.

According to a relevant video published by Microsoft leaker WalkingCat, the Redmond-based software giant would hold the next Build event on May 25 to 27, and once again, everything happens digitally.

Build is Microsoft’s flagship event, as well as in the prior years, it was employed for several big announcements, including new Windows 10 features and other releases. The 2021 edition will probably follow the same approach, only though we’ll all witness the announcements online due to the same awful reasons.

All digital this season

The fall edition of Microsoft Ignite is expected to occur on October 13 and 14, so the whole venue continues to be reduced to simply 2 days rather than five. Most likely, what this means is Microsoft is preparing for a digital form of the event, which to become completely honest, it’s actually disappointing since it means the organization doesn’t expect items to come back to normal by October.

Microsoft hasn’t released any official announcements regarding its next events, and also the aforementioned source does say this can be placeholder dates, but however, digital versions of those conferences is something that just is sensible at this time.

If anything, Microsoft is anticipated to announce the dates for the upcoming 2021 Build rather sooner than later, especially because May or June are the two months when the company is probably the most prone to hold its annual developer conference.