Build 9926 and the importance of Win10 feedback
Over the years, Microsoft has taken very different approaches to beta testing of software.
Gone for the most part are closed and cumbersome debugging processes; we can now vote for what we want in the next OS.
When discussing software, “beta” can mean many things. We speak of early betas, preview betas, pre-production betas, and so on. There are in-house betas, typically tested by a publisher’s staff or hired beta testers. There are semi-public betas, given only to a publisher’s largest clients. And then there are the public betas that anyone can download and examine.
However it’s defined or propagated, software beta testing has a long tradition. Obviously, its primary purpose is to point out bugs and deficiencies in the code. Sometimes those deficiencies can be show-stoppers — as when, for example, Bill Gates told all Microsoft engineers to stop product development and learn how to code securely.
Microsoft’s policy on beta releases was relatively consistent up to Windows 8. Windows 7, for example, had numerous unofficial and official beta releases, starting in late 2008 and continuing until the OS was formally released in October 2009. All these releases were called “Beta.”
Before the official public betas, Microsoft typically handed out private releases to its major customers: hardware vendors and other software developers who needed to make their products compatible with the new OS. But in most cases, the bits for these betas were soon leaked to all comers via BitTorrent and other download sites.
Those betas gave Windows users a preview of changes, letting Microsoft test the new OS on a wide range of PC configurations. There was also a bit of time for customer feedback. (It’s rumored that Microsoft did its official, in-house usability testing late in the development process — when the code was already locked down.)
During the Steven Sinofsky era, beta releases became a limited number of previews, the first of which was the September 2011 Windows Developer Preview. The Consumer Preview release came out in February 2012, and we received the finished Windows 8 the following August. The “previews” I could install and test were nearly polished builds, and there was no real means for giving feedback. (That Microsoft might want to limit the number of early comments shouldn’t be surprising. Given Win8’s radical changes, Microsoft must have expected more than the usual amount of public feedback. Ultimately, the comments on Win8 were more blowback than feedback.)
Obviously stung (and under new management), Microsoft’s Windows Group switched to “watch the sausage-making process” with Windows 10. It didn’t just release betas; it created a formal public-review system: the Windows Insider Program (site). This is new territory for Microsoft — a sort of crowd-sourcing for Windows development.
The key component of the Windows Insider Program is the downloadable Windows 10 Technical Preview release, currently on build 9926. Unlike previous Windows betas, Technical Preview includes mechanisms for both installing new builds and sending comments about the new OS directly back to Microsoft.
There are also ways to view Win10’s development without actually installing it. You can, for example, follow the ongoing tweets filed by Microsoft’s Gabriel Aul. One noteworthy topic came in the aftermath of the various updates needed to fix a start-menu problem in build 9926. (See MS Support article 3036140 for more info.) You should also check out the Windows Insider Program forum for interesting comments and problems encountered by Win10 users.
But nothing takes the place of hands-on use of the product. Microsoft has made following Win10’s development significantly easier than with Win8 by supporting build-to-build upgrades — all the way to the final release. And, unlike past Windows versions, you’ll get the final Win10 release for free. All users of consumer versions of Win7, Win8, and Win8.1 will receive an offer to install Windows 10 at no charge.
Keep firmly in mind, however, that Windows 10 Technical Preview (Win10 Preview, for short) is a work in progress. You really don’t want to install it on your primary, daily-use machine. Things will break, and there will be application-compatibility issues. For example, as noted in a Windows Insider Program post, third-party anti-malware products are not supported. Products such as Webroot (site) are blocked when you do a Win7-to-Win10 Preview upgrade.
Test Win10 Preview on either a spare system or in a virtual PC, as described in the Oct. 16, 2014, Top Story, “How to safely test-drive Win10 — step by step.”
Each new build will bring its own set of changes and problems. Here’s what you should know if you’re installing Win10 Preview build 9926.
If you’re starting fresh with build 9926, sign up at the Windows Insider Program website and click the Get started – PC link at the bottom of the page. After jumping through a few hoops, you’ll be allowed to either acquire Win10 Preview via Windows Update (Figure 1 and Figure 2) or download and install a large (around 4GB) ISO file. Note: If you’re upgrading to Win10 Preview from a working Win7 system, be sure to fully back it up first. There’s no easy way to undo a Win10 Preview installation. (Be sure your backup/restore works before installing Win10 Preview.)
Figure 1. The Windows Insider Program site lets you download Win10 Preview via Windows Update or via an ISO file.
Figure 2. Use Windows Update to upgrade a spare Win7 or Win8 system to Win10 Preview.
On virtual machines, Win10 Preview runs on Microsoft’s Hyper-V (more info), VMware (site), and VirtualBox (site; again, see the aforementioned Top Story for installing Win10 on a VirtualBox machine).
As an alternative, you can set up a dual-boot configuration (more info) made up of Windows 7 on one drive and Win10 Preview on another.
Again, be sure to fully back up your Win7 system first. If you have an OEM machine, you can’t get media from Microsoft; you’ll need to either restore a full backup or use recovery media from the PC’s manufacturer. For more information on system requirements and cautions, see the “Before you install” page.
For more on setting up a dual-boot system and on its pros and cons, see the April 11, 2013, Best Practices article, “Setting up a Win7/Win8 dual-boot system,” and the Feb. 12 LangaList Plus column, “How to avoid Win7/Win8 dual-boot hassles.”
A note on hardware configurations: Many Win10 Preview/virtual-machine how-tos (for example, a Windows Insider post) suggest creating a 20GB virtual hard drive for the OS. But I recommend 30GB or more. There are reports that 20GB might be insufficient space for downloading and upgrading to future builds.
For a virtual-machine setup, you should also have more than 4GB of physical system RAM. A virtual machine is essentially a very large application. You’ll need room for the host system, the VM software, and the virtual machine.
Before installing a new build: If you haven’t installed all Windows updates for the currently installed build, you might not be offered a new build. Click Settings/Update & recovery/Windows Update. (Even if the window states that your system is fully updated, press the Check for updates link.)
Because Win10 Preview is beta software, you might run into problems with its built-in tools for downloading new builds. If that happens, you can download the latest ISO file from the Windows Insider site and do a fresh install. (Using a virtual machine makes doing a fresh install easier than any other method.)
Build 9926 has some limitations and bugs you should be aware of. For example, if you installed the English version of the OS, you’ll get a chance to interact with Microsoft’s digital assistant, Cortana. But to do so on a Hyper-V-based installation, you’ll need to access the Win10 system’s microphone and speaker through Remote Desktop Protocol and not via the Hyper-V Manager Console.
Once installed, Win10 Preview will request that you sign in with your Microsoft account. I recommend that you do so. But if you’d rather not, indicate that you want to sign up for a new account, scroll to the bottom of the window, and click Sign in without a Microsoft account (see Figure 3).
Figure 3. Like Windows 8, Win10 doesn't make it easy to sign in without a Microsoft account.
Build 9926’s known issues are documented in the included Insider Hub app or on the related Windows Insider post, “Compiled list of known issues in Windows 10 build 9926.”
One of the more confusing issues with this build is the two “Stores.” One is the familiar (to Win8 users) shopping-bag-on-a-green-background icon; the other is gray and is labeled Store (Beta).
The green-icon Store is the real deal. For Windows 8 users, it knows about your past purchases and updates them. The beta Store, on the other hand, provides a preview of some new MS apps such as the Universal versions of Word and Excel. (Note: the beta Store icon on the taskbar might not work. See the related Windows Insider post for a bit more info.)
Another important change: You won’t find Windows Update in the Control Panel. As noted above, you must click the Start button, select Settings/Update & recovery, and then select the Windows Update section. Under Advanced options, you’ll notice that you can no longer set manual updates (see Figure 4). As with the previous builds, version 9926 allows only automatic updates. (This window also includes the View your update history link.)
Figure 4. Windows 10 Technical Preview allows only automatic updating.
Another setting in Advanced options lets you choose whether you get fast or slow build releases. “Fast” delivers builds as soon as they’re posted; “slow” gives you builds only when you want them or when the build is validated for widespread release.
A build 9926 rollup update — KB 3035129 — hit some early testers with the annoying but benign error code 0x80246017, according to an InfoWorld article. I ran into the error once, but I’ve not seen it since.
Build 9926’s Start menu is a mix of the classic Win7 version and Win8. It has an expandable Start menu; right-clicking the Start button opens a power menu similar to Win8’s Windows + x. Earlier builds gave you the option of using the Start menu or the Start screen. (Surprisingly, some early Windows 8 adopters now prefer the Metro-style Start screen and search. If you’re one of those, you can re-enable the prior build’s resizable Start menu by using instructions in a Windows TenForums post.
If Microsoft is to be believed, the Windows Insider Program’s primary goal is to give Windows users a voice in Windows 10’s development (something that was obviously lacking in Win8’s development). Part of this is a crowd-sourcing method of finding bugs. PCs come in an infinite array of configurations, and no one company can test them all. Even without a Windows account, you can give feedback via the Uservoice forum. You can also urge others to “vote up” your favorite feature.
Keep in mind that to post comments via Win10 Preview’s Windows Feedback app (see Figure 5), you’ll need to be signed in with a Microsoft account. (If you flip a local account to a Microsoft account, you will need to know the second email account you entered when you set up the account — the process uses two-factor security.)
Figure 5. Win10 is the first Windows release with a formal public-feedback program.
I suggest that you regularly review the postings in the Windows Feedback app. If you like someone’s suggested new feature, be sure to add your vote — that will give Microsoft a strong clue that the feature is important to you and possibly to many others.
With previous Windows versions, beta testing was cumbersome — it focused more on bugs than on features most Windows users really wanted to see. Microsoft would then miss the mark when designing its newest software. (Like many others, I would ask: “Who did they get this from?”) The Windows Feedback process gives us a better picture of the level of interest in a particular feature — and puts more pressure on Microsoft to implement popular changes.
With that in mind, I’m challenging all Windows XP and Windows 7 fans to check out Win10 Preview and make yourselves heard. Join the Insider Program: download the software to a virtual machine, spare PC, or dual-boot system and join in the process of giving Microsoft the feedback it needs to create the next successful version of Windows.
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