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2020's Windows 10 2004
Susan BradleyBy Susan Bradley
Well, it's that time of year! Microsoft releases a new version of Windows 10 … and we promptly put it off for as long as we can.
Or at least until we know it's stable and thoroughly tested. As you might expect, I'm going to recommend that you don't install this latest feature update when Microsoft first offers it. Instead, I regard a new Win10 release as an occasion to take a brief time-out — a moment to take stock of what versions I'm running at home and at the office, and to decide whether it's time to upgrade to a newer but thoroughly vetted version.
A brand-new Win10 is also a reminder that I need to download and save the latest Win10 install/recovery ISO. Microsoft often makes it difficult to acquire any version other than the most recent one. In other words, once Win10 2004 is rolling out to users' machines, you might be unable to get the code for Version 1909 without jumping through hoops.
That's especially annoying for Win7/8.1 users who might want to upgrade to a known-good Win10 release. (It's just good policy to keep up-to-date installation media for the two or three most recent Win10 versions — just in case you need to do a full recovery or roll back to a previous release. More on that in a minute.)
Start by confirming that you're running the Win10 version you think you are. You might be in for a surprise: it's not always obvious that your machine has been upgraded. That's especially true with Version 1909, which is more like a service pack for Win10 1903 than it is a true upgrade. And in some cases, upgrades fail without any real warning.
In Windows Settings, click System/About and then scroll down the page to the Windows specifications section. For business applications, I recommend Version 1903; for home machines, I tend to stay one release newer than my work systems — in this case, Version 1909. That way, my personal PC becomes a sort of test platform/early-warning system, where any egregious flaws will hopefully surface before that version gets deployed in the office.
The next stop is Microsoft's Download Windows 10 site. Under the Create Windows 10 installation media section, click the Download tool now button and follow the prompts. On the What do you want to do screen, be sure to select Create installation media … . You'll then be offered two choices: USB flash drive or ISO file. I recommend saving an ISO to an external hard drive. If one of my systems chokes on a feature update, I can try an upgrade from the ISO. (I'm looking at you, my Acer Spin with the puny 32GB drive.)
This is also an excellent time to review your disaster-recovery strategies. Along with the ISOs, that includes ensuring you have a list of all product keys, usernames/passwords, and any other system information that isn't currently documented.
For businesses, the release of a new Win10 should trigger another task: checking in with their line-of-business software vendors. You want to know how and when they will support the next Win10 release. In my case, staying a couple of versions back at the office ensures that my vendors have had plenty of time to make their products fully compatible with all changes to the OS.
Cleaning house
I also use this time to make sure other components are fully up to date: primarily the bios and hardware drivers — especially graphics. Failed Windows upgrades are often tied to old graphics software. Ensuring your preferred antivirus software is fully up to date will also help raise the chances of a good upgrade experience.
Next, check your Windows health by running its built-in tools. Start with the System File Checker applet to find any corrupted system files. Here's the quick how-to:
Confirm that you have a recent backup. Then close all running apps and enter "cmd" into the Windows search box.
When Command Prompt pops up, right-click it and select Run as administrator.
Enter sfc /scannow at the prompt; when it finishes, review the results of the scan.
If the System File Checker reports issues it can't fix, try the Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) command. The service runs three health checks, but only the last one can fix errors. Still, I recommend running all three.
In an open command window with admin privileges, enter Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth at the prompt.
This command will run for a bit and then report any issues it finds. You then go to the next command to check for Component Store corruption. (Again, neither CheckHealth nor ScanHealth actually fixes anything.)
In an open admin-level command window, enter Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth at the prompt.
The final command — RestoreHealth — does attempt to automatically repair issues it finds.
Enter DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth at an admin-level command prompt (see Figure 1).
Windows health scans
Figure 1. In this screenshot, I've run four built-in tests to check Windows' health.
Repair versus restore?
If your system is still reporting problems, you have two options: continue looking for causes, or reinstall Windows 10. In most cases, I think the second choice is the fastest and easiest solution.
On occasion, I've opened a support ticket for a user whose Windows Updates wasn't … well, updating. Diagnosing the problem would often consume many hours of reviewing the case notes, digging through cbs.log files, and then trying to translate the information. If I was lucky, I might discover which patch didn't quite take properly and needed to be added manually to the machine using DISM.
It's always a painful process, one that you'd want to tackle only on a legacy machine that can't be fixed by reinstalling Windows 10. Bottom line: Restoring everything on a PC might seem painful, but attempting a detailed diagnosis and repair can be far worse. (The fastest way to get up and running is to keep applications and data in the cloud. Once Windows is reinstalled, you're essentially just a username and password away from a fully functioning system. But most of us simply aren't there yet.)
Fixing Windows Update: For the vast majority of Windows users, the monthly Win10 updating process goes smoothly — especially if they defer the updates for a few weeks. Severe patching problems typically strike a small minority of machines — something in their configuration is flawed, out of date, or odd. Here again, reinstalling the operating system will usually be far less painful than trying to diagnose the problem. (Of course, this assumes you have current Windows ISOs and good backups.)
What's new in 2004
Again, the move to Win10 1909 was generally fast and painless because it was more like a service pack for 1903. (In fact, the two versions share the same cumulative updates.) But Win10 2004 will be the real deal — a full operating-system upgrade.
Cortana: Microsoft's digital assistant will no longer be a component of Windows. It becomes a native application that can be updated more frequently or less frequently via the Microsoft Store. Fixes and enhancements are no longer tied to operating-system updates.
CPU temperature: This important system information will now show up in Task Manager — if your system supports it. Task Manager will also list whether drives are solid-state or hard-disk.
Speaking of storage, if your copy of Win10 is still running on a spinning-platter drive, I suggest it's time to bite the bullet and upgrade to an SSD — or purchase a new system with one. Crucial has a handy system for matching a new drive with your particular system.
There are, of course, lots of other small fixes and enhancements in Win10 2004. For example, current versions of Windows 10 let you control update downloads by percentage of bandwidth via Deliver Optimization/Advanced options. Version 2004 will add the ability to set a specific megabits-per-second limit.
Still, I don't see any new must-have features — cool things that would compel me to upgrade soon after the new OS is released. You can review some of the other expected features in a Fossbytes post.
Getting ready for 2020's 2004
The tea leaves suggest that the new release will appear sometime in May. If you have a test system, you can download its ISO now. The better news? If you're running Version 1903 or later, you won't be immediately shoved onto Win10 2004. Rather, at some point you'll get a prompt that the next feature release is ready for your machine; you can then pick a time to install it.
Now's the time to review your current Windows setup, check its overall health, and ensure everything is fully updated. When you do get around to installing Win10 2004, the process is more likely to go smoothly. Bottom line: We're all dealing with a major disruption in our lives. Don't add to it by upgrading to the latest Windows 10 right away.
Questions or comments? Feedback on this article is always welcome in the AskWoody Lounge!
In real life, Susan Bradley is a Microsoft Security MVP and IT wrangler at a California accounting firm, where she manages a fleet of servers, virtual machines, workstations, iPhones, and other digital devices. She also does forensic investigations of computer systems for the firm.
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sfc /scannow in Command Prompt has saved my hinney on several occasions often in conjunction with other elevated commands,
it's good to familiarize oneself with those or at least where to find them, they're fairly intuitive.
