Windows 10 Build 14986 ships

Microsoft released Windows 10 Build 14986 to the Insider Preview Fast Ring. The new build introduces a massive number of new features, improvements and changes.
First, a word of warning. Since this is a preview build, there are things that may not work properly. It is recommended to run these preview builds on non-production machines. If you have important data on a system, make sure you back up the data before you install the new version.
You can check for the new version manually to pick it up early. Simply press Ctrl-I to open the Settings app, switch to Update & Security, and click on the check for updates button there to start the process.
Note: Microsoft pushes its own USB Audio 2 Class Driver in this build instead of an installed third-party driver. This is done to test the driver and sort out issues. You may install the third-party driver manually on top of the default driver using this method.
As always, run disk cleanup once you are sure the build works fine to free up disk space.
Windows 10 Build 14986
You can read Microsoft's blog post on the Windows Experience site for a full run down on what is new and changed.
This article gives you a quick overview of the changes:
- Cortana improvements: you may use the digital assistant to turn off the computer or change the volume.
- Cortana supports third-party music apps iHeartRadio and TuneIn Radio now.
- Cortana recognizes music for customers in China
- The digital assistant supports a new full screen experience when the PC is idle and unlocked.
- Cortana sign-in using Azure Directory (AAD) identity to sign in with your work or school account instead of a Microsoft Account.
- Enterprise Cloud Printing under Settings > Devices > Printers & Scanners to discover corporate printers when on Azure Active Directory joined devices.
- Windows Game Bar: support for 19 additional games added for full screen mode.
- Windows Ink enables you to continue previous sketches now. Other Ink changes include finer control over ruler rotation, hiding of the cursor while inking, and updated ink flyout visuals.
- Three new Microsoft Edge extensions: Ebates, a coupon and promo extension, Intel True Key a password solution, and Read & Write for Microsoft Edge, an extension to help with learning difficulties, dyslexia and ELL or ESL.
- Changed rendering technology for "many types of UWP app content".
- Narrator improvements: Use Caps Lock + F to hear information about fonts, colors, line spacing, margins and more. Press Caps Lock + F to cycle through nine categories of information, or Caps Lock + Shift + F to do it in reverse.
- The shortcut key to get advanced information about an item has changed to Caps Lock + 0 from Caps Lock + F.
- Narrator's default level of Context Awareness set to 2. This provides additional information as you move around.
- New Windows Defender Dashboard: Work in progress according to Microsoft. Can be launched by typing Windows Defender in Start, and selecting Windows Defender / Trusted Windows Store app from the results.
- Registry Editor improvements continue. Microsoft added two new shortcuts to the Editor which enable you to go up (Alt + Up arrow), backwards (Alt + Left arrow), or forwards (Alt + right arrow) in the Registry hierarchy.
- Improved update experience: Microsoft wants to make the restart to update process more user friendly, and may prompt users now when a restart is required to "restart now", "schedule a restart" or "remind later".
- Asia improvements: Wide range of improvements that include Chinese Input Method Editor (IME) improvements such as smart fuzzy matching, new context menu for IME mode, import and export of self-learned phrases, and user-defined phrases.
- The latest build supports line mode for Chinese handwriting.
- Japanese users may notice an improved Japanese IME conversion accuracy, may remove text prediction candidates, and get overall reliability and responsiveness improvements.
Other changes
Windows 10 Build 14986 ships with a big list of fixes on top of that. It would go too far to list them all here, as they are already in bullet point format on the Microsoft site.
The one that I'm most excited about is a fix that resolved Windows Hello being stuck in "looking for you" with nothing happening (I use Hello on my Surface Pro 4). Windows Hello improvements may require you to "improve recognition". This is done under Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options > Windows Hello and Face Recognition.
Surprisingly, the warning that Windows 10 may not work properly with third-party antivirus solutions is gone.
Now You: What's your take on the new build?


What mental age of reader are you targeting with the first sentence? 10?
Why not write an article on how to *avoid* upgrading from W10 to W11. Analogous to those like me who avoided upgrading from 7 to 10 for as long as possible.
If your paymaster Microsoft permits it, of course.
5. Rufus
6. Ventoy
PS. I hate reading these “SEO optimized” articles.
I used Rufus to create an installer for a 6th gen intel i5 that had MBR. It upgraded using Setup. No issues except for Win 11 always prompting me to replace my local account. Still using Win 10 Pro on all my other PCs to avoid the bullying.
bit pointless to upgrade for the sake of upgrading as you never know when you’ll get locked out because ms might suddenly not provide updates to unsupported systems.
ps…. time travelling?
written. Jan 15, 2023
Updated • Jan 13, 2023
This happens when you schedule a post in WordPress and update it before setting the publication date.
Anyone willing to downgrade to this awful OS must like inflicting themselves with harm.
I have become convinced now that anybody who has no qualms with using Windows 11/10 must fit into one of the following brackets:
1) Too young to remember a time before W10 and W11 (doesn’t know better)
2) Wants to play the latest games on their PC above anything else (or deeply needs some software which already dropped W7 support)
3) Doesn’t know too much about how computers work, worried that they’d be absolutely lost and in trouble without the “”latest security””
4) Microsoft apologist that tries to justify that the latest “features” and “changes” are actually a good thing, that improve Windows
5) Uses their computer to do a bare minimum of like 3 different things, browse web, check emails, etc, so really doesn’t fuss
Obviously that doesn’t cover everyone, there’s also the category that:
6) Actually liked W7 more than 10, and held out as long as possible before switching, begrudgingly uses 10 now
Have I missed any group off this list?
You have missed in this group just about any professional user that uses business software like CAD programs or ERP Programs which are 99% of all professional users from this list.
Linux doesn’t help anyone who is not a linux kid and apple is just a fancy facebook machine.
Microsoft has removed KB5029351 update
only from windows update though
KB5029351 is still available from the ms update catalog site
1. This update is labaled as PREVIEW if it causes issues to unintelligent people, then they shouldn’t have allowed Preview updates ot install.
2. I have installed it in a 11 years old computer, and no problems at all.
3. Making a big drama over a bluescreen for an updated labeled as preview is ridiculous.
This is probably another BS internet drama where people ran programs and scripts that modified the registry until they broke Windows, just for removing stuff that they weren’t even using just for the sake of it.
Maybe people should stop playing geeks and actually either use Windows 10 or Windows 11, but don’t try to modify things just for the sake of it.
Sometimes removing or stopping things (like defender is a perfect example) only need intelligence, not scripts or 3rd party programs that might mess with windows.
Windows 11 was a pointless release, it was just created because some of the Windows team wanted to boost sales with some sort of new and improved Windows 10. Instead, Microsoft cannot support one version well let alone two.
Windows 11 is the worst ugly shame by Microsoft ever. They should release with every new W11 version a complete free version of Starallback inside just to make this sh** OS functionally again.
motherboard maker MSI has recently released a statement regarding the “unsupported processor” blue screen error for their boards using Intel 600/700 series chipsets & to avoid the KB5029351 Win11 update:
https://www.msi.com/news/detail/MSI-On–UNSUPPORTED-PROCESSOR–Error-Message-of-Windows-11-Update-KB5029351-Preview-142215
check out the following recent articles:
Neowin – Microsoft puts little blame on its Windows update after UNSUPPORTED PROCESSOR BSOD bug:
https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-puts-little-blame-on-its-windows-update-after-unsupported-processor-bsod-bug/
BleepingComputer – Microsoft blames ‘unsupported processor’ blue screens on OEM vendors:
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-blames-unsupported-processor-blue-screens-on-oem-vendors/
While there may be changes or updates to the Windows 10 Store for Business and Education in the future, it is premature to conclude that it will be discontinued based solely on rumors.
My advice, I left win 15 years ago. Now I’m a happy linux user (linuxmint) but there is Centos, Fedora, Ubuntu depending on your needs.
motherboard maker MSI has recently released new BIOS/firmware updates for their Intel 600 & 700 series motherboards to fix the “UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR” problem (Sept. 6):
https://www.msi.com/news/detail/Updated-BIOS-fixes-Error-Message–UNSUPPORTED-PROCESSOR–caused-BSOD-on-MSI-s-Intel-700-and-600-Series-Motherboards-142277