You might wonder about the difference between this emergency method and a regular restart. The answer goes back to the final term -- "last resort". As BetaNews explained in 2023, the method is "an alternative to a hard reset." It's the closest thing to holding down the on/off button on your PC without actually pressing it. This emergency restart is useful when your computer has frozen to the point where nothing works, and it doesn't respond to anything except CTRL + ALT + DEL.
Microsoft's .NET Framework 3.5 development platform, which dates back to November 2007, is no longer included as an optional Windows component. Microsoft has changed its deployment model to standalone installer status for future Windows versions. In a bulletin published February 5, Microsoft said that beginning with Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27965, .NET Framework 3.5 must be obtained as a standalone installer for applications that require it on newer major versions of Windows.
The optional KB5074105 patch, released on Jan. 29, resolved the missing password icon and marked the end of lingering issues from the August 29, 2025, KB5064081 update. Its optional status indicates the non-security update is designed to deliver stability improvements to users ahead of the next mandatory Patch Tuesday. The update includes 32 fixes and improvements, according to BleepingComputer. Its broad scope highlights Microsoft's attempt to improve overall system reliability.
It's hard to believe, but Windows 11 is nearly five years old, and it brought significant changes when it launched. Many of its core functions are similar to Windows 10, as Microsoft focused on other aspects, such as revamping the visual design, enhancing system performance, and introducing new features, including support for Android apps. Later updates expanded Windows 11 with interesting additions, such as the AI-powered Copilot.
Right now, the 24-inch Lenovo all-in-one desktop computer is down to just $400 at Amazon, after a whopping $199 discount. This bundle comes with everything you need to get started right away, including a pre-installed copy of Windows 11 Home, a wired keyboard, and a wired mouse. However, as you'd expect, the offer is only available for a short time. It's best to snap it up sooner rather than later, if you want to avoid paying the full $599 price.
But if you're like me and have a PC that would otherwise run Windows 11 just fine, don't give up so fast. There are workarounds, and we've covered them extensively at ZDNET. Senior Contributor Ed Bott wrote a comprehensive guide on how to upgrade your "incompatible" PC to Windows 11, and it's helped many of our readers (just take a look at the comments) upgrade systems that were initially deemed ineligible -- myself included.
The latter feature is aptly called "Coloring book," and lets you make blank coloring templates in version 11.2512.191.0 of Paint based on a text prompt. Users can access this feature by selecting the Coloring book option from the Copilot menu in Paint, and then describing what the design should be, such as "a cute fluffy cat on a donut." Paint will then generate four results that Paint users can click to add to their canvas. From there, you can presumably use Paint itself to color the image, or print it out to use traditional art materials.
When going through change, people need time to understand in their own way what exactly is happening and how it will affect them personally. Technical changes especially can bring about uncertainty for many people. Which means: It makes sense that people can become extremely concerned when we tell them that their ways of working are about to change, and they will need to build them up again from scratch.
It's hard to believe, but Windows 11 is nearly five years old, and it brought significant changes when it launched. Many of its core functions are similar to Windows 10, as Microsoft focused on other aspects, such as revamping the visual design, enhancing system performance, and introducing new features, including support for Android apps. Later updates expanded Windows 11 with interesting additions, such as the AI-powered Copilot.
Before you do any of those things, your top three priorities should be migrating your apps and files to your new device, expunging your personal data from the old PC, and resetting the operating system on the device you plan to recycle, so the new owner can be productive right away. As with all things Windows, there are multiple ways to accomplish these goals.
The biggest event of 2025 in the PC market has been the end of support for Windows 10. It was positioned as the last major release of the Windows operating system, which would be kept updated by over-the-air Windows updates. But when Windows 11 was launched in 2021, Microsoft set the date for the end of support for Windows 10 - October 5, 2025.
Microsoft has begun rolling out a public preview of native support for the Model Context Protocol (MCP) in the latest Windows 11 Insider builds, edging its much-touted "agentic OS" vision closer to reality. The update is rolling out to Windows Insiders on the Dev and Beta channels as part of build 26220.7344 and provides insight into where Microsoft is going with the technology.
Compressing files into a ZIP folder is a great way to bring order to your digital life. By bundling everything together into a small archive, you free up storage while keeping related content together. You can even safely delete the original, since a copy is preserved. ZIP folders also make sharing large files much faster. Instead of waiting minutes for multi-gig downloads or uploads, compression cuts down on those transfer times to a fraction of what they'd be otherwise.
You can't make this up. Microsoft shipped a Windows 11 update yesterday that is supposed to make dark mode more consistent, with dialogs in File Explorer finally getting a dark mode for actions like copying, moving, or deleting files and folders. You get all that, but Microsoft will also treat you with a giant white flash every time you open File Explorer.
Compressing files into a ZIP folder is a great way to bring order to your digital life. By bundling everything together into a small archive, you free up storage while keeping related content together. You can even safely delete the original, since a copy is preserved. ZIP folders also make sharing large files much faster. Instead of waiting minutes for multi-gig downloads or uploads, compression cuts down on those transfer times to a fraction of what they'd be otherwise.
A major selling point of the Xbox Ally and Ally X is that they ship with a full screen version of Windows that plays nice with handheld PCs. As part of the company's recent Xbox Partner Showcase, Microsoft has announced that the Windows "full screen experience" or FSE is finally rolling out to all other Windows 11 handhelds starting November 21.
It feels like Microsoft is blindly racing toward another Windows 8 situation. Windows 8 was arguably the most divisive release of Windows in its 40-year history, as Microsoft attempted to overhaul the operating system for a touch-first future. Spooked by the iPad, the company shipped a radical overhaul that ditched the familiar Start menu and left users frustrated and confused. They weren't quite ready for the future that Microsoft envisioned.
GPU giant Nvidia acknowledged that the update caused dips in gaming performance for some and has pushed out a hotfix based on version 581.80 of its Game Ready Driver. First spotted by Windows Latest, the hotfix is a quick and dirty (or, in official parlance, "run through a much abbreviated QA process") patch to address some specific issues. In this case, the Windows 11 October update is slowing down games.
