Windows 11’s big 24H2 update includes an important revision of a driver display model which will usher in important benefits in terms of speeding up NPUs (Neural Processing Units) and GPUs.

This new Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) version 3.2 will come with the 24H2 update and a support document from Microsoft, spotted by Windows Latest, outlines various driver-related improvements that it’ll implement.

This WDDM update will have a weighty focus on NPU optimization, for devices that have an NPU on-board, of course, which includes Copilot+ PCs (a speedy NPU is a requirement for the latter). This will mean faster AI processing, so that features such as Recall - the controversial supercharged search functionality Microsoft has temporarily put on ice - or other AI workloads, will happen in a swifter fashion. It will also deliver GPU-related measures that could improve gaming performance.

Helping Copilot+ PCs fly higher

WDDM 3.2 is set to arrive with a lot of goodies in terms of taking strides forward in powering up the NPU. A range of features that Windows Latest highlights promises to beef up performance levels of some AI tasks, ensuring they run more smoothly, as well as achieving better power-efficiency for the Neural Processing Unit during these tasks. The latter could mean eking out a bit more battery life when it comes to a Windows 11 laptop.

Microsoft is also implementing a “dirty bit tracking” feature, which accelerates data transfer speeds when virtual machines are being migrated between two systems.

It’s not all about AI, though, and PC gamers have some GPU-related optimizations to look forward to with WDDM 3.2. Windows Latest again points out some possible benefits including a suggestion that it could help with lag issues (we’d take that with a heavy pinch of seasoning, though).

We can apparently expect smoother frame rates and overall performance to some extent when gaming thanks to WDDM 3.2, but it’s not made clear exactly how much impact to expect - temper your expectations, as ever. 

You can see the full details of all the changes related to WDDM 3.2, if you’re curious, as there are plenty of enhancements applied here. Windows Latest also created a handy table explaining how the various driver-related improvements for both AI and gaming will boost your PC’s performance when Windows 11 24H2 comes out. These may, however, turn out to be relatively minor improvements in many cases - we’ll just have to see when the time comes.

Note that, unfortunately, certain AI features (like Recall) will be for Copilot+ PCs only - although all Windows 11 PCs will get the 24H2 update and these WDDM 3.2 improvements, when the big upgrade rolls out later this year. Copilot+ PCs are, of course, the devices with the beefiest NPUs, and so will benefit the most from the AI-related tweaks that WDDM 3.2 applies - perhaps making a more convincing case for AI with these machines.

So far, Microsoft’s push with AI hasn’t been especially well-received by users, and Copilot has notably struggled to define itself on the Windows 11 desktop so far (and Windows 10, for that matter). 

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Windows 11 has finally crept over the 30% mark for market share according to the latest stats from an analytics firm.

Statcounter’s figures for July 2024 show that in the ranking of all Windows versions, Windows 11 is now at 30.83% (in second place), which is up just over a percentage point from the previous month. Windows 10 moved proportionately in the other direction, dropping a percentage point to 64.99%, but remaining in pole position, of course.

While Microsoft will doubtless be pleased to crack the 30% barrier, this has been a long time coming seeing as it was back in March 2023 that Windows 11 crested the 20% mark. So, getting this latest 10% increase has taken a year and four months, nearly as long as it took reaching 20% in the first place.

Whichever way you dice it, Windows 11 adoption has been sluggish (well, outside of PC gaming anyway). Indeed, the OS even dropped users earlier in 2024, according to Statcounter’s figures – but at least it has been picking up a reasonable pace of growth since April 2024. Indeed, in the last three months, it has gained over 4.5%, which represents a decent spike of users migrating to Windows 11.

As ever, this is just one set of stats for Windows market share, so add some seasoning (but other figures reflect a similar, if not identical, reality, by and large).

Analysis: A very slow ascent indeed

Could this be the magic of AI enticing folks to switch over to Windows 11? We doubt it, considering that not a great deal has been happening with Copilot in the OS of late. Indeed, Copilot is now in the process of being turned into an app (app-ified?) rather than a locked panel on the right of the desktop, and this has witnessed the AI taking some backward steps.

All the promises about Copilot being a super-smart assistant which can change Windows settings for you (maybe multiple settings in one fell swoop) seem to have gone out the, er, window – for now, this side of the AI’s functionality appears to be going nowhere. On top of that, Microsoft’s biggest new AI feature, Recall – for Copilot+ PCs – crashed and burned in remarkable fashion too. AI-wise, things aren’t going so well for Windows 11 right now.

That said, Copilot+ PCs do still come with some nifty AI powers, and they went on sale in June, so the latest upticks for Windows 11 could well, to some extent, be helped by the arrival of these devices on shelves.

Taking the perspective of an overall level, though, it might be thoughts of the impending demise of Windows 10 next year – when it runs out of support – that really drives folks to jump on the Windows 11 wagon.

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Windows 11 users, take note: there’s a hidden feature which was recently introduced by Microsoft that allows you to kill an app that has become unresponsive (or isn’t working in some way) in a far quicker manner than the normal route.

The new piece of functionality is an option to directly right-click on the icon of any app in the taskbar and select End Task to kill it, there and then - in the same way you can nuke an app in Task Manager, but with much less hassle.

This traditional method of dismissing a crashed or unresponsive app in Windows 11 (or Windows 10) is to open Task Manager (pressing Ctrl + Shift + Escape is the quickest way), then you must scroll through to find the misbehaving software process. It’s then a case of clicking on the app and pressing the Delete key (or you can right-click and select End Task from the flyout menu). 

I find myself having to quit apps forcibly from time to time, and having to do it this way, via Task Manager, is rather cumbersome. Just clicking on the unresponsive app on the taskbar and killing it directly makes life a lot easier, but while this option is present in Windows 11 now, it’s not enabled by default. However, if you don’t mind delving into the menus of Windows 11 a bit, it’s easy enough to turn the feature on (or off) in the Settings app. 

How to enable the new task killer feature

Here’s how you can enable this ‘End Task’ right-click option on the taskbar - just follow these steps:

1. Open the Settings app - you can do this by pressing the Win + I keys at the same time, or search for it in the search box on the taskbar.

2. In the left-hand side menu, select System.

3. Scroll down to and click on the ‘For Developers’ section. (Bear in mind that these settings are intended for developers, but we’re only going to apply a slight tweak here - don’t be tempted to change anything else here, though).

4. Navigate to the End Task setting and switch it On by clicking the toggle.

5. Try the newly enabled option on an app running in your taskbar.

6. Right-click the app icon and select End Task - this should kill the app.

To turn off this feature, just follow the above steps, but switch the slider in step 4 to Off.

You might run into problems if you try this on larger apps or games because, as Tom’s Hardware points out, these can take a while to load - and they might lock up and freeze before the icon actually appears on the taskbar. In this case, there’s nothing to right-click on the taskbar, and you’ll be forced to head into Task Manager and find the relevant ‘background process’ to kill that.

All in all, this is a useful shortcut and I can see it saving me a good few moments of frustration in the future, plus it’s easy to turn it on or off. It’s a commendable introduction from Microsoft, and I hope to see more timesavers like this in the future.

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Microsoft’s most recent Windows 11 update introduced a number of changes, and one that’s caught some users by surprise is the addition of a noticeable black border around currently selected files and folders in File Explorer.

The change was highlighted by Windows Latest, who pointed out that it appears in File Explorer’s light mode, and it was so jarring to some users that they reported it to Microsoft as a bug in the cumulative update for July 2024 (KB5040442).

Windows Latest reached out to Microsoft to check if this was a glitch, or if it was a deliberate move, and the company has responded to clarify that it isn’t a bug, but an intentional change to improve user accessibility. In other words, the idea is to make it easier and clearer to see whatever is currently selected in File Explorer.

For those who aren’t so keen on this tweak to the interface, Microsoft did follow up to say that Windows 11 users can always submit feedback on the matter via the Feedback Hub.

A choice is good, as always...

Personally, I agree that this design change looks a little odd compared to the rest of Windows 11’s user interface. Before, selected files and folders were accented with a blue border, which many people (myself included) preferred. Making it black does increase the contrast and make your selection in File Explorer more noticeable, and that might well be useful on the accessibility front - but surely it’d make sense to have this as an optional change. Then, if you do find it jarring, you can turn it off, but if the black highlighting benefits you, then all well and good. 

Maybe further down the line we’ll see Microsoft introduce a toggle to adjust the option in the Settings app. Perhaps we could even get a toggle to turn off some of the adverts that are increasingly appearing in Windows 11, too (not likely).

Note that the cumulative update for July comes laden with some significant issues, including an unexpected BitLocker recovery screen appearing and worrying Windows 11 users. 

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Windows 11 users, watch out – a new Netflix app has arrived for the OS (as was previously promised), but sadly it isn’t a step forward for those who enjoy watching the streaming service on their PC.

Windows Latest noticed that the rejigged Netflix app is now available for download via the Microsoft Store, but it’s a downgrade in many ways.

For starters, instead of a proper app, it’s now simply a web wrapper – in other words, it just fires up the Netflix.com site in a standalone Edge container. So, you’re basically running the website (in Edge) in what looks like an app window.

The second major blow to be delivered with the new app for Windows 11 is that Netflix no longer offers the option to download content. That ability allowed you to watch your favorite shows later, when offline, but you can forget about that now.

Analysis: All in the name of consistency, apparently

The download ability was one of the major strengths of the Netflix app, and as you can imagine, it’s regarded as a big loss. What doesn’t help is that the app itself feels very barebones and indeed as Windows Latest points out, it’s shoddily put together. Right-clicking anywhere in the new Netflix app lets you access the menu to open a link in a new Edge tab, so it’s painfully transparent that this is all running in a web wrapper.

On Netflix’s part, the firm has previously said that the new app is designed for a “consistent, quality experience” and that the “new version will now include access to live events, compatibility with ad-supported plans, and more.” Well, if consistency is the key aim, why remove the feature to download and watch offline which is present on the Netflix mobile apps?

As you can guess, most of the feedback online has been pretty (consistently, ahem) negative. And if you were hoping to avoid the new app, and just stick with the old Netflix client complete with its download functionality – well, eventually the old app is going to stop working. In other words, you’ll be forced to update soon enough.

All in all, this is a bit of a mystifying one, particularly given the apparently shoddy implementation of the web wrapper here, which feels rushed through to say the least.

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Microsoft has reportedly added a new full-screen pop-up that’s effectively an advert (or as the company puts it, a ‘recommendation’) urging Windows 11 users to back up their PC with OneDrive, its cloud storage service. We’ve seen a similar full-screen nag panel that pushed Windows 11 users to switch to Edge, Microsoft’s default browser for Windows devices, and Microsoft 365 in the recent past.

Windows Latest observed that this new full-screen promo appeared following a Windows update, after restarting the PC to complete the update. As mentioned, the pop-up attempts to get you to use OneDrive, and looks like the out-of-box-experience for Windows 11 (the process when you first set up the OS on a PC). So, it’s quite jarring in that respect.

Windows Latest provided a screenshot of the pop-up, which is entitled ‘Let’s back up your files,’ and it talks about having “peace of mind” knowing that your files and folders are backed up in the cloud, in the event that something happens to your PC.

This is followed by a list of reasons that opting in for OneDrive will be beneficial for Windows 11 users, which runs as follows:

• Protect a lifetime of memories: Your files and photos will stay secured with OneDrive cloud storage.
• Easily collaborate with friends and family: Share files and seamlessly edit together so you’re all on the same page.
• All your information, when and where you need it: Your documents, desktop, and pictures folders will back up to OneDrive, so they’re available everywhere.
• File changes automatically update: Files automatically sync in the background, so you always have the latest version on your PC.

At the bottom of the notification screen, there are two options: ‘Next’ which takes you through to OneDrive setup, and ‘Skip for now’ to opt out (at least temporarily).

If you press Next, you’ll be taken to the Windows Backup app and the syncing of your files to your Microsoft Account’s OneDrive storage locker will start automatically. If you’re not aware, OneDrive is a subscription-based cloud storage service, though you do get 5GB for free. That won’t go very far for the vast majority of users, though, so they’ll be looking at paying to increase the basic amount of storage.

If you don’t want to go through this process, you can click Skip for now to continue to your desktop. As the option suggests, this probably won’t dismiss the notification permanently and you can expect it to reappear at some point in the future. Windows Latest reports that if you skip this pop-up, you may also get another notification (in the notifications center, on the right side of the desktop) that warns you about your PC not being fully backed up. 

Evaluating your options

Suppose the notification does persuade you to use OneDrive (and you probably decide to subscribe and buy some more storage space). In fairness, if this is the case, OneDrive is actually a pretty solid cloud storage service - you can check out our full review for more details. OneDrive along with Windows Backup enables you to sync files pretty smoothly and seamlessly, and to restore your old device’s settings and contents to a new Windows device or a clean Windows installation.

If you’re not going to take up Microsoft’s offer, and you don’t want to see this OneDrive notification again, well - you’re probably out of luck. Odds are you will see the pop-up in the future - though we can but hope Microsoft changes its tune. As Windows Latest noted, it’s not possible to dispense with these pop-ups if you live outside of the EU.

It’s easy enough to guess that moves like this are only going to add to the growing frustration with Microsoft’s persistent advertising in Windows 11. Sadly, that isn’t likely to make much difference to the software giant’s tactics in the foreseeable future - not unless people start turning away from Windows in meaningful numbers.

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Microsoft has just released a new Windows 11 test build in the Release Preview channel, the final stage of testing for preview builds, and this is an exciting - or depressing, in some respects - look at what will eventually be the 24H2 update for the OS.

As you’re likely aware, 24H2 will be the next major update for Windows 11, and possibly the last version of the operating system before the next-gen incarnation arrives (whether that’s Windows 12, or something else entirely). 

Microsoft has published the usual release notes on this new build, which is version 26100.1297 for the Windows 11 24H2 preview. Microsoft clarifies that not all the features will be delivered to all testers straight away - some will, but others will be rolled out gradually. So, if you’re a tester in the Release Preview channel, you’ll have to be patient and wait for some functionality to arrive over time.

Let’s dive into some highlights of the documented changes - for the full list, check out Microsoft’s blog post - all the while bearing in mind that these are features we expect will be part of the 24H2 update later this year. (Although that’s not guaranteed, as Microsoft could still drop things, even at this relatively late stage of development). 

 Changes aplenty from Settings to the Start menu

To kick off, the Settings app is getting a number of changes, including an Xbox Game Pass ‘recommendation card’ on the home page which has been in the works for a while and hasn’t been met very positively. It’s also getting a dedicated ‘Linked devices’ page - to manage any linked hardware with, such as your Xbox, for example - and the ability to add a recovery email address for your Microsoft Account straight from the Settings app.

Windows Share is being revised to prevent accidentally closing its window (by clicking anywhere outside of it), and additional capabilities are being thrown into the mix, such as being able to swiftly generate and share a QR code for a web link.

Windows Backup is also getting beefed up, and will now back up the sound settings of your PC (including the sound scheme). Task Manager is also benefiting from some tweaks to make it more reliable, as well as numerous accessibility improvements (such as bringing in Tab key navigation).

File Explorer has finally been graced with its long-awaited drag-and-drop functionality for the address bar, and the Windows 11 lock screen is getting new widgets. Currently, there’s just a weather widget, but you’ll now get sports, traffic, and finance widgets as part of this update. Sadly, you can’t pick and choose from the new widgets separately - you get them all, or none of them (though Microsoft is working on changing that, we’ve been promised in the past).

Windows 11’s Start menu has also been the subject of some controversy for similar reasons to the Settings app, recently seeing the addition of more of Microsoft’s ‘recommendations’ (which are regarded as ads by some). In this preview build, it’s getting a new account manager that will show you the benefits of your Microsoft Account (or rather, remind you of what you’re lacking, and that you should subscribe to various Microsoft products), as well as allowing you to manage account settings. As we’ve seen before, apparently this account manager feature will obscure a part of the Start menu that offers shortcuts to actions such as signing out of, or locking, your PC.

Finally, it’s worth noting that the new take on 24H2 adds the PC Manager app to Windows 11 PCs in China - so, will this come to other regions eventually? It’s a PC file and storage management tool with performance tuning abilities, but it has been a vehicle for more Microsoft adverts in the past - even hilariously suggesting one viable system 'repair' was to change your default search engine back to Bing.

A rough ride in store for Microsoft?

If a lot of these features and changes sound familiar to you, that’s because most of them have already been aired and tested previously in earlier preview channels. (Canary, Dev, and Beta all come before the Release Preview channel, which is the final stage of testing before the finished version is deployed).

There’s good and bad here, certainly. However, Microsoft might be in for a particularly rough ride when people see that there are a few ad-related features apparently marching on through to 24H2 - which is on course for release later this year (though perhaps not quite as early as we thought) - as many people are already frustrated with Microsoft’s continued, persistent, jamming in of adverts in key parts of Windows 11.

Frankly, I think there’ll have to be some serious improvements with performance and features elsewhere to help Windows 11 users look past Microsoft’s continued badgering with adverts. Microsoft seems pretty confident that it has enough goodwill with its customers, or maybe that its adverts won’t be especially bothersome or distracting, but I’m curious to see how the features delivered in this update will be received - and the reception the additional ‘recommendations’ will get in particular.

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Windows 11 users could be treated to a range of minor (but useful!) tweaks which have been spotted in recent preview builds, including some nifty taskbar-related changes. 

One notable change introduced with the latest preview of Windows 11 in the Beta channel (build 22635) is a taskbar tweak that means a jump list appears when you hover over an icon on the bar. This list pops up to allow you to access features in the app with a quick click - so for example, with the Snipping Tool, you can click to take a screenshot there and then.

Right now in Windows 11, to get these options you have to right-click the app icon on the taskbar (so having this work with just a hover is an extra bit of convenience, saving you an extra click).

Another new introduction spotted in this Beta build pertains to the ‘Continue from phone’ feature which has previously been spotted in testing with Windows 11. As the name suggests, it’ll offer some kind of functionality to allow you to continue a task from your Android phone on your PC. We don’t know how it’ll work yet - or how it will relate to the existing Phone Link feature in Windows 11 - because the ‘Continue from phone’ feature doesn’t do anything at all right now (later in testing it will, no doubt).

The fresh change here, first spotted by leaker PhantomOfEarth on X in the Start menu, is the addition of an option to have the ‘Continue from phone’ icon present itself on the taskbar when a ‘hand off’ is available (presumably meaning the ability to transfer something you’re doing on your smartphone to the Windows 11 desktop). In the new Beta build, you can turn this ability on or off under Settings (in Personalization > Taskbar).

Other useful tweaks for better mousing and more

Elsewhere in another preview version of Windows 11, build 26257 in the Canary channel, an option to duplicate a tab has been added to File Explorer in the right-click menu for the tab.

There’s also a smart tweak for the mouse scroll wheel - the ability to change the scrolling direction (so when you roll the wheel towards you, the page will move up, instead of down - you can have it either way, basically). It’s also possible to turn off ‘enhanced mouse pointer precision’ to boot, if you don’t like that functionality.

If you want to try these features out, you’ll need to join the Windows Insider Program as a tester. Otherwise, you’ll need to wait for them to make their way through the various test versions of Windows 11, until they get to public release.

There’s always a chance that features in testing could be pulled by Microsoft, but hopefully, the taskbar-related tweaks in particular will be available to all Windows 11 users soon. Windows Latest believes that they’ll roll out to everyone as part of the Windows 11 24H2 update. 

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A new bug is affecting some Windows 11 and Windows 10 users, and it’s been caused by the July cumulative update from Microsoft.

It’s an odd one, too, and what’s happening is that the BitLocker recovery screen is being presented to some users after booting up their devices, which must come as a bit of a nasty shock to those affected.

According to Windows Central, multiple versions of Windows 11 are affected by the issue, including Windows 11 versions 23H2, 22H2, and 21H2, and also Windows 10 versions 22H2 and 21H2, among others.

The monthly cumulative updates delivered by Microsoft - known as ‘Patch Tuesday’ updates, as they arrive on the second Tuesday of every month - impart quality-of-life improvements and security fixes for Windows 10 and Windows 11. And, of course, bugs on occasion - as with this July offering.

BitLocker is a tool that offers drive encryption to keep your data safe and secure. It can be configured on Windows 11 Pro (or business and education versions of the OS), but Windows 11 Home doesn’t have BitLocker support - it does, however, offer a Device Encryption option (a lightweight alternative, basically).

As a result, we obviously wouldn’t expect Windows 11 Home users to be affected by this bug, but those of you out there running Windows 11 Pro may need to be watchful when applying the July update.

Microsoft is looking into the bug, but what can be done in the meantime?

Microsoft is aware of this issue and has updated the Windows 11 release health dashboard with details regarding the glitch. The software giant advises that the bug is more likely to happen if you have Device Encryption enabled as well as BitLocker turned on. You can find this option in the Settings app, by going to the Privacy & Security section, and clicking on Device Encryption. If Device Encryption doesn’t appear for you, then it may not be available on your device. 

In any case, after applying the July update, if you are met with the buggy BitLocker recovery screen (when you’re not expecting to see it), there’s currently an available workaround - namely entering a BitLocker recovery key. This key is available through your Microsoft Account, and it can be retrieved by logging into Microsoft’s recovery screen portal. After you enter the recovery key, your PC should continue to boot up as normal. 

Unfortunately, this is currently the only known workaround for the issue, but Microsoft is on the case and says it’s investigating the bug, so hopefully a fix will follow in short order. If Microsoft can find the time while still helping to firefight the big CrowdStrike outage, that is.

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