Windows Update: Preview version corrects annoying errors

Microsoft has started distributing the March update preview for Windows 11 22H2 and 23H2. The non-security updates mainly iron out a few annoying bugs. However, they also contain minor new features.

The developers list the most significant changes in the notes to the update preview KB5053657 for the older Windows 11 builds, which update them to 22621.5126 and 22631.5126 respectively. Printers that support both USB Print and IPP over USB will no longer unexpectedly print incorrect or unwanted text after the update. Some "Get help" troubleshooters may not have been executed if they were invoked in a remote desktop session. If user profiles are stored on a version 2 virtual disk drive (VHD(X)), the system could display a blue screen (of death).

Function distribution in stages

Not all corrections and functions are available immediately after the update; Microsoft intends to release some changes in stages. These include, for example, an improvement to the file system filter driver, whereby the filter manager should notify applications better about changes in directories and reduce input/output operations. In the "Settings" under "System" – "Info", so-called "Top Cards" will now be displayed, which show important system information such as processor, memory or graphics card and thus provide a quick overview of the PC properties.

The on-screen keyboard should be able to handle a gamepad layout in which the backspace key can be pressed virtually with X and the space bar with Y, for example. A new taskbar icon is intended to make emojis and other areas in Windows easier to find. A bug will also be corrected that causes ctfmon.exe to stop responding when data is copied from certain but unnamed apps.

Still waiting for Windows 11 24H2

The update preview for Windows 11 24H2 is still a long time coming – This has already been the case with previous update previews. However, updates have always been available for the latest Windows 11 builds on the following day. Meanwhile, Microsoft has already added in the Windows Release Health Notes for Windows 11 24H2 that further remote desktop problems have now been corrected with the official March security updates. For example, RDP sessions could abort or freeze after the January Update Preview or newer Windows updates were installed. The developers have also acknowledged a new issue in which devices with Dirac Audio with the cridspapo.dll library cannot output sound. Whether this can already be fixed with the update preview for these builds, which is expected shortly, is currently unclear.

(dmk)