Category: Windows 11

In June 2021, when Microsoft announced Windows 11, the Software giant revealed a major strategy shift for the Microsoft Store. The new Microsoft Store now allows third-party browsers with various rendering engines; developers can publish unpackaged apps, utilize their CDNs and payment systems, and not pay fees to Microsoft. Finally, Microsoft now invites third-party stores to its store. That is right, you can now use the Microsoft Store to download other stores, such as Epic Games or Amazon.

The Media Creation Tool is a well-known utility from Microsoft to download "clean" Windows 10 ISO files and create a Windows installation media (DVD or USB). Each time Microsoft releases a new Windows version, it updates the Media Creation Tool to allow users to get the necessary files for the latest version. Some people might need to create installation media for older releases. That is where custom utilities come to play. MediaCreationTool.bat (extra points for a creative name) is one of such tools. It lets users download ISO files for any Windows 10 version, down to initial release 1507. Recently, a developer behind MediaCreationTool published a new version that can download Windows 11 ISO files and even bypass TPM requirements.

Earlier this month, Panos Panay, head of Windows and Surface devices, announced a redesigned Photos app for Windows Insiders. Shortly after that, the update reached Windows Insiders in the Dev channel. After brief initial testing, Microsoft starts rolling out the new Photos app for more testers. If you have already moved from Windows 10 to Windows 11 in Beta or Release Preview channels, the updated Photos app is now available for download from the Microsoft Store.

On September 22, 2021, Microsoft revealed the second-gen Surface Duo with major hardware improvements, such as the Snapdragon 888 CPU, 5G support, improved cameras, and high refresh rate displays. Alongside the smartphone itself, Microsoft teased a redesigned Your Phone app.

Microsoft has released the official ISOs for Windows 11 Insider Build 22000.194, which is currently being tested on the Beta and Release Preview channels. You can use these images both for a clean installation and for updating the existing OS on your device.

This article will show you how to free space on drive C in Windows 11 using the Cleanup recommendations feature. In Windows 11, Microsoft introduced a new "Cleanup recommendations" feature that pulls the information about unused, safe-to-remove files and apps. It can relatively quickly show you how much space you can reclaim by cleaning the system drive.

Microsoft has released a new Windows 11 preview build 22463 for Windows Insiders in the Dev channel. It comes from the active development branch (RS_PRERELEASE). Such builds no longer belong to the specific version of Windows 11. It is also important to note that development in this branch is at a very early stage, so the builds on the Dev channel will not always be stable. Sometimes you will run into problems that require specific actions or workarounds to solve. Be sure to review the Known Issues List for each Insider Build.

You can uninstall preinstalled apps in Windows 11 using one of the methods reviewed in this post. Windows 11 comes with a hefty list of stock apps some users may find completely useless. If you want to clean up your Start menu and get rid of unnecessary apps, this guide will show you how to remove stock apps in Windows 11.

Microsoft tries very hard to provide clarity regarding Windows 11 hardware requirements. Recently, the company revised some of its policies and decided to let users with older unsupported computers clean-install Windows 11 using official ISOs and Media Creation Tool (it also allowed a single Intel 7^th gen CPU in Surface Studio 2 to run Windows 11 officially).

You can now easily check whether your PC supports Windows 11. Several weeks ago, Microsoft released a new version of its "PC Health Check" tool that checks whether a PC is compatible with Windows 11 or not. The latest release provides more clarity and a better understanding of potential compatibility issues.