- Windows 10 21H2 (build 19044.1200) releases to testers in the Release Preview Channel.
- The update includes three new features for security and WSL.
- Build 19044.1200 is also available for PCs incompatible with Windows 11.
As part of the Windows 10 21H2 development, Microsoft is now rolling out build 19044.1200 (KB5005101) for devices enrolled in the Release Preview Channel and those computers that are not compatible with Windows 11 and were moved from the Beta to Release Preview Channel of the Windows Insider Program.
Windows 10 build 19044.1200 is the second update available for testers, and according to changelogs, it delivers several new features secure and WSL, and it delivers a slew of fixes.
What’s new on Windows 10 21H2 (build 19044.1200)
Although the next version of Windows 10 is expected to be a minor release available as a cumulative update, it will include a number of new features, including:
- WPA3 H2E standards support for more enhanced Wi-Fi security.
- Cloud trust support simplified passwordless deployments and achieve a deploy-to-run state within a few minutes for Windows Hello for Business.
- GPU compute support in the WSL and Azure IoT Edge for Linux on Windows (EFLOW) deployments for machine learning and other compute-intensive workflows.
As for fixes, build 19044.1200 ships with:
- Fixed a problem that prevents users from tracking Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) activation failures.
- We fixed a threading issue that might cause the Windows Remote Management (WinRM) service to stop working when it is under a high load.
- Addressed an issue that causes the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) provider host process to stop working. This occurs because of an unhandled access violation that occurs when using the Desired State Configuration (DSC).
- Fixed a problem that causes file migration between Distributed File System (DFS) paths that are stored on different volumes to fail. This issue occurs when you implement the migration using PowerShell scripts that use the Move-Item command.
- Addressed an issue that prevents you from writing to a WMI repository after a low memory condition occurs.
- Fixed a problem that resets the brightness for standard dynamic range (SDR) content on high-dynamic-range (HDR) monitors. This occurs after you restart the system or reconnect to the system remotely.
- Addressed an issue that might cause an external monitor to display a black screen after Hibernation. This issue might occur when the external monitor connects to a docking station using a certain hardware interface.
- We fixed a memory leak that occurs when you use nested classes within VBScript.
- Fixed a problem that prevents you from typing any words in the username box during the out-of-box experience (OOBE) process. This issue occurs when you use the Chinese Input Method Editor (IME).
- Addressed an issue that causes applications that use a shim to stop working. This issue occurs on devices that do not have edgegdi.dll installed. The error message is, “The code execution cannot proceed because edgegdi.dll was not found”.
- Fixed a problem that might prevent you from minimizing an application that uses unthemed windows.
- Addressed an issue that might cause your device to stop working during a touch input gesture. This issue occurs if you bring more fingers into contact with the touchpad or screen during the middle of the gesture.
- Fixed a problem with resizing images that might produce flickering and residual line artifacts.
- Addressed an issue with copying and pasting a text box into Office 365 apps. The IME prevents you from inserting text into the text box.
- Fixed a problem that prevents USB audio headsets from working on laptops that support USB audio offload. This issue occurs if you installed third-party audio drivers on the laptops.
- Addressed an issue that prevents Code Integrity rules from working correctly when specifying Package Family Name rules in a Code Integrity policy. This issue occurs because of the incorrect handling of case-sensitive names.
- Fixed a problem that prevents the ShellHWDetection service from starting on a Privileged Access Workstation (PAW) device and prevents you from managing BitLocker drive encryption.
- Addressed an issue in Windows Defender Exploit Protection that prevents some Microsoft Office applications from working on machines that have certain processors.
- Fixed a problem that causes the IME toolbar to appear even when the Remote App is closed.
- Addressed an issue that might occur when you configure the policy, “Delete user profiles older than a specified number of days on system restart”. If a user has been signed in for longer than the time specified in the policy, the device might unexpectedly delete profiles at startup.
- Fixed a problem with the Microsoft OneDrive sync setting “Always keep on this device”. The setting is unexpectedly reset to “Known folders only” after you install Windows updates.
- Addressed an issue that provides the wrong Furigana result when a user cancels the Japanese reconversion.
- We fixed a rare condition that prevents Bluetooth headsets from connecting using the Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) for music playback and causes the headsets to only work for voice calls.
- We added the “Target Product Version” policy. With this, administrators can specify the Windows product they want devices to migrate to or remain on (for example, Windows 10 or Windows 11).
- We increased the default number of entries in the local security authority (LSA) Lookup Cache to improve lookup performance in high lookup volume scenarios.
- Fixed a problem that might create duplicate built-in local accounts, such as administrator or guest account, during an in-place upgrade. This issue occurs if you previously renamed those accounts. As a result, the Local Users and Groups MMC snap-in (msc) appear blank with no accounts after the upgrade. This update removes the duplicate accounts from the local Security Account Manager (SAM) database on the affected machines. If the system detected and removed duplicate accounts, it logs a Directory-Services-SAM event, with ID 16986, in the System event log.
- We fixed a stop error 0x1E in srv2!Smb2CheckAndInvalidateCCFFile.
- Addressed an issue that might cause transfer validations to fail with the error, “HRESULT E_FAIL has been returned from a call to a COM component”. This issue occurs when you use Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, or Windows Server 2012 as sources.
- Fixed a problem that might cause a system to stop working after a deduplication filter detects damage in a reparse point. This issue occurs because of deduplication driver changes introduced in a previous update.
- Fixed a problem when using the Robocopy command with the backup option (/B) to fix data loss. This issue occurs when the source location contains tiered Azure File Sync files or tiered Cloud Files.
- We stopped running queries against OneSettings APIs from the obsolete Storage Health feature.
- We enabled over 1400 new mobile device management (MDM) policies. With them, you can configure policies that Group Policies also support. These new MDM policies include administrative templates (ADMX) policies, such as App Compat, Event Forwarding, Servicing, and Task Scheduler. Starting in September 2021, you can use the Microsoft Endpoint Manager (MEM) Settings Catalog to configure these new MDM policies.
Alongside the new features and improvements, Windows 10 21H2 includes one known issue that may hang the Windows Update settings page after downloading an optional update.
Download Windows 10 build 19044.1200
The 19044.1200 preview is available immediately through the Dev Channel, and it will install automatically. However, you can always get it manually from Settings > Update & security > Windows Update and clicking the Check for updates button.
Update August 19, 2021: Microsoft has changed the build number from build 19044.198 to 19044.1200.