Microsoft dominates the world of operating systems. Windows has been a part of our lives for years and some of us can’t remember a world without it.
Each time Microsoft rolls out a new operating system, it is updated and patched for years for various reasons.
Over the lifespan of a Windows operating system, there are various security updates perhaps more than any other type of update.
There are fixes for issues, whether that’s problems with Windows itself or interaction with other hardware and software.
Then there are the outliers: Windows feature updates. These updates typically introduce new features or changes to the core function of the operating system. Feature updates can improve the user experience for many people.
Windows 10 launched in 2015 and, like all of its predecessors, did not launch with perfection. There have been numerous updates of all kinds since its launch. Those security patches, hotfixes, and even a handful of feature updates had rolled out by October of 2017.
That is when Microsoft released the Window’s Fall Creator update. This update was going to create a better user experience. Personal connections were going to be easier to make.
A new application allowing you to resume work or browsing started on a mobile device like a smartphone on your computer was introduced as well. There were a few security updates as well.
All in all, the Fall Creators Update was going to fix a few bugs and introduce some quality-of-life improvements.
In previous versions of Windows, the updates were able to be shut off and postponed.
Large scale feature updates are known to have some complications when rolled out.
That is why these updates are not “pushed” when initially launched, but available to download as an optional update at first.
Upon this introduction window, there were, as expected, reports of problems coming in. What was not expected was the range of issues and the severity of some.
The first issue arising from the release of Windows 1709, the Fall Creators Update, was the update failing to install.
Many people reported issues of an error when attempting to install the update. The initial portion would install, but the finalizing of the updates upon a restart would fail.
If that wasn’t frustrating enough, if the update did manage to install, it was reported that the applying updates portion could take two hours (and in some cases as many as ten hours).
Then, let’s assume you got that far. Maybe you want to use Microsoft Edge, the Microsoft browser of choice. With the 1709 update, many users found that Edge was essentially broken. It would crash repeatedly.
Then, bring in the numerous broken drivers. Imagine an update breaking your Ethernet adapter. It happened. Applications disappeared, began opening on their own, and in some cases just didn’t work. The problems continued to roll in.
Many of these issues were resolved in a timely fashion and some were not. In mid-January, Microsoft declared the Fall Creators Update ready for business. This means that the update would be pushed out to anyone that was not already using it.
After 3 months, many issues were still present and others would soon be discovered.
Many users of corporate software and other specialty software were surprised by software that no longer worked. In some cases, the suggested fix was to roll back the update, which will force itself to reinstall shortly after.
There have been some big patches to fix these issues since January and I’m hoping that in another three months Microsoft will have all of these issues resolved.