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Before installing Windows 10, please read this special post of mine.
Hi all -
A few days ago I had to reinstall W10 Pro on a desktop system at a client of mine.
As I was starting the install process, the client had a few quick questions which I answered for him.
Little did I know, that the "conversation" was going to screw-up the install badly.
Here's why...
When you reach the following screen in the W10 installer, it is time to make some selections for the setup.
I noted that the client had a webcam attached to the system, but paid little attention to it.
As most of us know, webcams have two parts, a camera and <smile> a microphone.
He also had speakers but they were turned completely off.
Now look at this picture and note where the Red Arrow is pointing to.
It's pointing to a small Microphone Icon that is set to on in it's default state.
Well, the OS (Cortana like voice recognition) was listening to our conversations and using that as input to make all the screen selections!
My client gazed at the screen a few times over my shoulder but said nothing.
Eventually, enough was said to change the country and keyboard type before I went to finish and install.
I had no idea!
Obviously, when Win10 was ready, I couldn't understand why things were not working they way they were supposed to and it took me some time to figure it all out and correct the configuration problems.
So Microsoft, hear this:
Change your setup routine to disable the microphone by default and have a short advisory displayed for people who have a microphone during setup.
Some desktop systems have a microphone attached and many, many laptops come with it as standard.
Yes, you could click on the microphone icon to mute it (as I now do) but what about those who have no idea what could really happen?
By disabling the microphone by default, this potential problem becomes a non-issue.
Anyone can re-engage it!
This was my experience which I duplicated in my test lab at home.
If you are doing a desktop/laptop install with a webcam, either mute the microphone icon on the setup screen or better yet, unplug it, if possible.
It's rare, but this shows how something so trivial can lead to big headaches in some cases.
Just wanted to share this wild experience with all of you...
Best,
Compumind
Last edited by Compumind; 18 Jan 2022 at 21:55.