14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has just shipped a new batch of Windows 10 cumulative updates, this time focusing exclusively on non-security fixes.
Somewhat surprising is that Windows 10 April 2018 Update, which is the most recent feature release for Windows 10, isn’t getting an update. Instead, Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (version 1709), Creators Update (version 1703), and Anniversary Update (version 1607) are provided with new updates today.
Changelogs are surprisingly rich in fixes, especially considering that these updates land only nine days after Microsoft published this month’s Patch Tuesday updates. You can read the release notes for all three updates in the box at the end of the article.
Without a doubt, the most important cumulative update rolling out today is KB4284822 for Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. Windows 10 version 1709 is right now the second most-used OS release after the April 2018 Update.
Windows 10 version 1709 cumulative update
First and foremost, KB4284822 bumps OS build number to 16299.522 and it fixes an issue caused by a previous cumulative update and leading to performance degradation. Microsoft explains:
“Addresses an application performance degradation issue in operating system functions. This degradation locks and frees large blocks of memory (such as VirtualLock and Heapfree) after installing KB4056892 and superseding fixes.”
Additionally, the same update fixes issues experienced when trying to resume from hibernating and resolves a problem preventing the editing of passwords fields using a touch keyboard. The update also increases the user account minimum password length in Group Policy from 14 to 20 characters.
There are two known issues in this update, but both are inherited from the previous cumulative update published on Patch Tuesday. These bugs cause certain strings to be displayed in English instead of a localized language, and Microsoft says that it’s still working on a fix and it should be published in an upcoming release.
We’re not aware of any failed installs so far, but we’ll continue to monitor the rollout and let you know should any bugs be discovered.