Submitted via IRC for Bytram
Don't press the red b-... Windows Insiders' rings hit by surprise Microsoft emission
Someone at Microsoft has accidentally parked a buttock on the big red button, emitting a surprise build of next year's Windows 10 to Insiders.
We saw the build, 18947, turn up over lunch where we didn't expect it and a glance at social media indicated that we weren't the only ones choking on a burrito in surprise.
Build 18947 is a 20H1 version of Windows 10, due to appear in the first half of 2020. The last "official" release of the preview code was 18941, which was so breathtakingly dull that the Windows team clearly thought it was time to spice things up by a surprise dumping onto the disks of Windows Insiders.
And, to be clear, it is only Windows Insiders that are affected.
The alarming aspect is that this build appears to be slithering its way onto a substantial proportion of Windows Insider PCs, regardless of the testing ring. Fast Ring users, who live life on the edge, expect to receive 20H1 code while Slow Ring users are currently testing 19H2. Release Preview Ring users are supposed to be on 19H1 (the May 2019 Update) for early access to fixes and patches.
Now, in an impressive levelling of the playing field, Microsoft has decided to offer 20H1 to all Windows Insider rings.
[Editor's Note: After this story was prepared for release but before it hit the front page, we received another submission explaining how the mistake occurred. Read on for more...]
Submitted via IRC for Bytram
Hey, Windows Insiders! Sorry about that whole 20H1 build thing. Won't happen again – honest
What happened? "A configuration change allowed this build to release to multiple rings simultaneously, including external rings."
What should you do? If you installed the thing, it's up to you to undo Microsoft's cock-up by rolling-back as soon as possible.
The clock is ticking.
The company warns that lucky users of build 18947 have around ten days to do so (possibly less if Storage Sense is enabled), otherwise getting rid of the accidental emission will be a good deal trickier. If the install is still pending, then a pause, reboot and unpause should deal with things.
To recap, the Windows Insider programme has three (sometimes four) rings. There is Release Preview, where users get to check out fixes for the current version of Windows 10 (in this case the May 2019 Update, aka 19H1). Then there is the Slow Ring, which is currently enjoying the next version of Windows 10, due to ship in October and known as 19H2. Finally there are the Fast and Skip Ahead rings, which are both toying with next year's Windows 10, 20H1.
On 24 July, Microsoft "unintentionally" sent out an internal, untested version of 20H1 to all rings, booting those on 19H1 and 19H2 into the year 2020 via the medium of flaky code. While some were happy to get a sneak preview of the interface ideas being bounced around in the bowels of Redmond, others were less than impressed. After all, while Windows Insiders understand that all builds are preview, those rings exist to mitigate risk.
The incident raises some awkward questions.
What change control, if any, is the team using that allowed someone to make the change? The Slow Ring is just supposed to be getting the equivalent of cumulative updates – how did a full build get on there? Could the same thing happen to the regular Windows Update channel? What, exactly, has been done to make sure this won't happen again?
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday July 25 2019, @07:08PM (2 children)
I'm still waiting for Windows XP to finish installing.
It's still spinning.
When it is done, I will do the upgrades to XP Service Pack 3.
Then this shiny cool new machine with 256 MB of memory and 4 GB hard drive will be ready to use.
It's still spinning.
I anticipate the installation will be done any time now.
Maybe this year will be the lucky one.
When trying to solve a problem don't ask who suffers from the problem, ask who profits from the problem.
(Score: 2) by srobert on Friday July 26 2019, @12:31AM
Absolutely. This will be the Year of the Windows XP Desktop.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 27 2019, @02:47PM
I did that with a 486 and Windows 95. With a 1TB drive that could only be partitioned to half its size.
Days later my father took pity and upgraded the motherboard to a pentium with a 100 chip. Not for Windows, mind, because it was time (tm) to upgrade (tm). Lucky thing, Quake seriously would not have been as good on the 486.