Microsoft recently announced its plan to start force-updating users with Windows 10 2004, which is now approaching the end of support, to the latest version, 21H1. Upgrading the operating system might cause some headache if developers have not prepared their drivers. Luckily, NVIDIA now offers Game Ready drivers with official Windows 10 21H1 support.
OneDrive gets a simple built-in photo editor
OneDrive, a cloud-based storage solution from Microsoft, is a solid option for those who want to back up photos and videos. The service offers lots of different options to store and manage photo libraries from any of your devices. Moreover, it supports additional features, such as Apple's Live Photo, 8K video, etc. With the latest update, Microsoft introduced a simple photo editor for OneDrive.
Microsoft renames Performance Mode into Efficiency Mode in Edge
Back in April 2021, Microsoft shared details about the new Performance Mode coming soon to the Edge browser. It combines several performance-optimizing tools to help your browser run faster and consume less CPU/RAM resources. Although Performance Mode in Edge still hides behind a command (you can learn how to enable Performance Mode in Microsoft Edge in a dedicated post,) Microsoft has already renamed it to Efficiency Mode. Moreover, Efficiency Mode now has a dedicated button on the toolbar, allowing you to turn it on or off with a single click.
Microsoft starts force-updating Windows 10 2004 to 21H1
If your computer runs Windows 10, version 2004, prepare for the imminent update to the latest version, Windows 10 21H1. The company announced on its official Windows Health Dashboard page that it is now increasing the number of devices set to receive automatic updates from Windows 10 2004, which approaches the end of support.
RSS and Email subscribers of Winaero, I need to hear from you
Dear Winaero readers, I would like to collect some feedback from our existing RSS and email subscribers to learn how we should proceed. As you may already know, Google's FeedBurner service, which we use to deliver our post updates and emails, is going into maintenance mode in July 2021, and won't deliver emails any longer.
Windows Feature Experience Pack 120.2212.3920.0 landed in Beta and RP channels
Microsoft has released a new preview version of the Windows Feature Experience Pack. The new version 120.2212.3920.0 is now available to participants of the Windows Insider running the most recent Windows 10 21H1 in the channel Beta, or version 20H2 in Release Preview.
KB5003690 for Windows 10 released with gaming fixes
Today, Microsoft released cumulative updates for Windows 10 versions 21H1, 20H2, and 2004. They are part of the C/D releases for supported versions. This means that they are optional, and you need to install them manually if you are interested in getting them. Windows 10 won't install them automatically. The latter will happen on the second Tuesday of July, which Patch Tuesday updates to include today's fixes.
Windows 11 is getting a shiny new modern volume slider
We already know a lot of stuff about the upcoming Windows 11. A recently leaked build revealed some significant changes to the taskbar, Start menu, sounds, windows management, etc. Still, there is so much more to come. Microsoft is about to unveil Windows 11 and all the details about the operating system during the June 24 event, but users are already digging out new and hidden things in the new OS. One of such currently concealed things is an ill-fated volume slider.
PowerToys is getting a new tool to keep your computer awake
PowerToys, a set of advanced tools for Windows power-users, is getting a new utility to keep your computer from entering sleep mode. PowerTools Awake, formerly known as Espresso, will come as a part of release 0.39. Microsoft initially planned to ship version 0.39 in May 2021 but had to postpone it.
AMD no longer supports Windows 7 and 8 in its GPU drivers
Several days ago, NVIDIA announced its plans to cease supporting Kepler-based GPUs (the GTX 700 series) and old Windows versions, namely Windows 7 and 8. Now Advanced Micro Devices follow suit. But unlike NVIDIA, which is to drop updates for Windows 7 and 8 in October 2021, AMD has already released a driver that only works on Windows 10. Beginning with Radeon Software 21.6.1, AMD's GPU drivers no longer support Windows 7, 8, and 8.1.
