W10 January 2019 Update - What's Going On....?

Tabvla · 28 Jan 2019

Most of Saturday was wasted while my W10 computers were being updated - it took a really long time - most of the day.

After all was done, Windows starts with "Welcome to the October Update".

All my W10 computers were updated to Version 1809 during October and November 2018. So why have they all been "updated" yet again..?

And what a mess this "update" has delivered. First, all my personalized Start Menus have gone and been replaced with Microsoft-specific Apps, such as Edge; Groove; OneNote and so on.....all the junk that I don't use. Second, the Taskbar has been modified in that Icons have disappeared from the Taskbar. And third, and most annoying of all, all the settings have been reset to Microsoft default - so now every setting has to be checked and probably changed.

I spent hours yesterday, reestablishing the Start Menus only to find this morning that once again the personalized Start Menus have been removed and have been replaced with Microsoft-specific Apps Start Menus

What is going on.....?

T.

dalchina · 28 Jan 2019

Hi, 1809 was initially released then rapidly withdrawn, not being released again until mid November:

Windows 10 October 2018 Update version 1809 Now Re-Released - Windows 10 Forums

Very few have received 1809 by Windows Update, it seems, so there may be few who have received both the initial and then any subsequent update.

Can you confirm your installed programs are unchanged?

I've not heard of anything quite like your unfortunate experience, though others may have. Could well be worth reporting this via the Feedback Hub app, ideally with both your original and current build numbers if possible.

I updated to 1809 from 1709 relatively recently, and manually.
Build number: 17763.292

What's your current build number? (Windows key + R, winver).

For interest/future reference:
Export and Import Default App Associations for New Users in Windows | Tutorials
Backup and Restore Start Layout in Windows 10 | Tutorials

Tabvla · 28 Jan 2019

Hi Dalchina, thanks for your reply and comments and the links provided.

I can confirm that all my computers were updated to 1809 in November 2018 and again on Saturday 26 January 2019. The current build on all of them is the same as yours 17763.292. The November 1809 update did not cause any issues, the update completed as expected and all computers remained virtually unchanged except for some new functionality and a few changes to Settings, which needed to be returned to my preferences.

As far as I have been able to ascertain, all installed programs are still listed. However, the odd thing is that many of them are now listed as "New" even though they have been installed for more than 12 months. Groupings appear to be different and there are a number of junk-Apps that have been installed and Apps that had previously been uninstalled have been reinstalled.

To get the record straight let me state that I have for many years been a big fan of Microsoft products and have been proactive with Microsoft in testing and evaluating software quality. So it is really annoying when updates are sent out that have not received the due care and attention that should be uncompromising in an OS update.

This is just sloppy work and those responsible should be severely reprimanded for their carelessness.

T.

dalchina · 28 Jan 2019

Odd - an in-place upgrade repair normally has no noticeable effect - and this - I would have thought- would have been similar.

I've not seen anything similar of the posts I've read.

Apps that had previously been uninstalled have been reinstalled.

- This always was the case along time back when an upgrade was done, then it seemed MS came to respect users' choice and not replace removed apps. But can we rely on MS for consistency? Hmmm...

Tabvla · 29 Jan 2019

Dalchina, thank you for your reply and comments. If you see any other related Posts please advise me.

UPDATE - TUES 29

If I do a Shutdown on a computer and then restart the personalized Start Menu has been removed and replaced with Microsoft-specific Apps and Junk-Apps. This has now happened 3 times, that I have personalized the Start Menu only to find that it has been replaced after the following Shutdown.

Other settings (such as Window sizes) have also been reset to Default.

There is something seriously wrong with this Update.

T.

dalchina · 29 Jan 2019

Hi, as an experiment, try making a small change to your start menu, disable fast startup, then restart and check if the change was retained.

I've not seen this reported personally- but it clearly has been elsewhere.

Searching for
start menu reset on restart
yields many results, which you may find worth researching. E.g.
Windows 10 tile layout in Start Menu resets after reboot - Super User
detailed

How To Fix Windows 10 Start Menu Resetting
just general advice

Start Menu resets on sign in Solved - Windows 10 Forums
Start Menu resets itself every restart - Microsoft Community
(reported, not resolved)

Windows 10 Start Menu Keeps Resetting Itself Back to Default Settings (Group Policy) : Windows10
Group policy comments - the first sounds like your experience
(Note: there will be a registry key equivalent to the Group Policy if you have Home).

Tabvla · 04 Feb 2019

Dalchina, thank you for your reply and the links provided. Apologies for not replying sooner..... just busy at this time.

UPDATE Mon 04 February

Windows Defender seems to also be affected by this update. Cannot do a manual update. Scanning is strange, WD will scan anything between 12K files and 60K files. That is different behaviour, usually WD consistently scans around 57K files, every time I do a manual scan.

My W10 computers all have 2 local (not MS) accounts, an Administrator and Standard User. The Administrator account was originally affected by this update but has now mysteriously been restored to exactly the way it was before this update. The Standard User account is still a mess.

Over the past several days I have been monitoring Task Manger more than usual. I can see from the processes that are running that updates are being downloaded and installed but when I go to Settings>Update and Security> Windows Update..... there is nothing waiting for a restart and nothing in History.

Right now Windows Update tells me that there are two updates being downloaded (WD definitions and Cumulative .NET Framework), but nothing is being downloaded.

What a mess..... enough to make me want to take up knitting or curling or train spotting...

T.

dalchina · 04 Feb 2019

Hi, not sure what you're seeing- it doesn't seem to fit a pattern.

Start Menu resetting
Have you carefully reviewed the links I provided? Have you found anything that helps?
How are you personalising it? Can you quote a couple of examples?
e.g. uninstalling apps, removing/adding tiles.....

Try creating a new user for test purposes. Log in as that user and make a change to the start menu. Restart and see if it is still there.

Please post a screenshot of your Update History.

I would imagine curling is less stressful, and better exercise. There was a full-sized curling stone in my grandparents' house- back in the days before global warming of course! (Reminds me of Henry Raeburn's odd picture of a minister skating on a Scottish loch 200 years ago.. clear and indisputable evidence of global warming !

)