Microsoft today released a new Windows 10 preview with improvements to the Notepad app and Windows Sandbox. The update bumps Windows 10 from build 18850 (made available to testers on March 6) to build 18855. These builds are from the 20H1 branch, which represents the Windows 10 update that will arrive in the first half of next year.
Windows 10 is being developed as a service, meaning it receives new features on a regular basis. Microsoft has released six major updates so far: November Update, Anniversary Update, Creators Update, Fall Creators Update, April 2018 Update, and October 2018 Update.
This build is for Windows Insiders who have chosen the Skip Ahead option, which only a small subset of Insiders can opt into. Normally, that would have meant 19H2 builds, since 19H1 hasn’t been released yet, but Microsoft has chosen to really skip ahead this time around. That said, Microsoft isn’t adding new features yet.
The main highlight for this build is actually for the most basic Windows app, but one that I use every day. Notepad now automatically restores unsaved content when Windows restarts after installing updates. That’s great, although it’s crazy we have to wait until 2020 for this.
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Windows Sandbox, meanwhile, is a lightweight desktop environment tailored to safely running applications in isolation. It’s where you can run an executable file you’re not sure about or what you might use as a clean installation of Windows without setting up a virtual machine. Any software installed in Windows Sandbox stays only in the sandbox, and once it is closed all its files are deleted.
The Sandbox improvements are the same as in a recent 19H1 build, so you’ll only have to wait until next month for those.
Bug fixes and known issues
This 20H1 build includes the following bug fixes and improvements:
- Notepad now automatically restores unsaved content when Windows restarts for updates.
- Enabled microphone in Windows Sandbox, which among other things will improve several accessibility scenarios.
- Added functionality to configure the audio input device via the Windows Sandbox config file.
- Fixed an issue in which the Windows Sandbox time zone was not synchronized with the host.
- Enabled the Shift + Alt + PrintScreen key sequence in Windows Sandbox which activates the ease of access dialog for enabling high contrast mode.
- Enabled the ctrl + alt + break key sequence in Windows Sandbox which allows entering/exiting fullscreen mode.
- Fixed a recent issue resulting in some Insiders experiencing bug checks upon lid close, monitor plug, or monitor unplug.
- Fixed an issue resulting in preferred region settings getting reset on upgrade in the last few flights.
- Fixed an issue resulting in the Chinese version of multiple games not working.
- Fixed an issue in memcpy that caused some drivers to hard-hang the system on load; this could manifest as a hang on upgrade, depending on the system.
- Fixed an issue from recent builds that could result in monitors being missing from the built-in Color Management application.
- Fixed an issue causing Explorer.exe to crash for some Insiders when Jump list content was updated.
- Fixed an issue where text scaling values did not persist across upgrades for Win32 applications.
- Due to a Narrator reading reliability issue, the “Change how capitalized text is read” feature has been disabled.
- Fixed an issue that could cause the touch keyboard to crash when switching from IME-based languages to another language.
This build has seven known issues:
- Launching games that use anti-cheat software may trigger a bugcheck (GSOD).
- The night light feature still has problems.
- When performing Reset this PC and selecting Keep my files on a device that has Reserved Storage enabled, you will need to initiate an extra reboot to ensure Reserved Storage is working again properly.
- Some Realtek SD card readers are not functioning properly.
- Creative X-Fi sound cards are not functioning properly.
- VMware cannot be installed or updated in Windows Insider Preview builds. Hyper-V is a viable alternative.
- If you install any of the recent builds from the Skip Ahead and switch to either the Fast ring or the Slow ring, optional content such as enabling developer mode will fail. You will have to remain in the Fast ring to add/install/enable optional content. This is because optional content will only install on builds approved for specific rings.
As always, don’t install this on your production machine.
