Microsoft releases Windows 10 19H1 build 18305 for Windows Insiders

Microsoft have released a new Windows 10 for Windows Insiders on the fast ring. The new build is 18305 and has a new default Start layout for clean installs which Microsoft say has been simplified into a “sleek one column design”

Also in the new build is Windows Sandbox a new virtual environment for running apps in isolation:

At Microsoft, we regularly encounter these situations, so we developed Windows Sandbox: an isolated desktop environment where you can run untrusted software without the fear of lasting impact to your device. Any software installed in Windows Sandbox stays only in the sandbox and cannot affect your host. Once Windows Sandbox is closed, all the software with all of its files and state are permanently deleted.

Windows Sandbox has the following properties:

Part of Windows – everything required for this feature ships with Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise. No need to download a VHD!

Pristine – every time Windows Sandbox runs, it’s as clean as a brand-new installation of Windows

Disposable – nothing persists on the device; everything is discarded after you close the application

Secure – uses hardware-based virtualization for kernel isolation, which relies on the Microsoft Hypervisor to run a separate kernel which isolates Windows Sandbox from the host

Efficient – uses integrated kernel scheduler, smart memory management, and virtual GPU

To install Windows Sandbox, go to Settings > Apps > Apps & Features > Programs and Features > Turn Windows Features on or off, and then select Enable Windows Sandbox.

Other changes to this build are a new look clipboard history, and the option to sign in to Windows using password less Microsoft accounts:

We’re pushing forward on eliminating passwords and keeping your accounts safe with another cool feature. Today, we’re announcing support for setting up and signing in to Windows with a phone number account, without having to create, or deal with the hassle of a password!  If you have a Microsoft account with your phone number, you can use an SMS code to sign in, and set up your account on Windows 10. Once you’ve setup your account, you can use Windows Hello Face, Fingerprint, or a PIN (depending on your device capabilities) to sign in to Windows 10. No password needed anywhere!

There is also an updated Windows Hello PIN reset experience which matches the web version of password reset. There are now Friendly Dates in File Explorer, and shadows are back in Windows:

You can read more about the changes on the Microsoft blog and here are the other fixes and known issues. Lookout for my hands on video soon:

General changes, improvements, and fixes for PC

• We fixed an issue resulting in bug checks with error “KERNEL SECURITY CHECK FAILURE” while creating/launching VMs or installing/performing scans with certain AV Apps.
• We fixed an issue where the Open Folder icon in File Explorer had a white background when using dark theme.
• We fixed an issue in the previous build where Settings was crashing when opening Speech Settings.
• We fixed an issue where the Action Center didn’t have an opening animation in the last few flights.
• We fixed an issue where the activities listed so you could easily pick up where you left off when opening search all had an unexpectedly old timestamp.
• We fixed an issue where the search box in the taskbar had a truncated dark border in light theme.
• We fixed a few scenarios that could result in the taskbar unexpectedly becoming transparent.
• We fixed an issue that could result in taskhostw.exe unexpectedly using a large amount of CPU for a long time.
• We fixed an issue where Settings would crash when clicking on the “View storage usage on other drives” option under System > Storage in recent builds.
• We fixed an issue where “Delete previous version of Windows” in Configure Storage Sense was not selectable.
• We fixed an issue resulting in Backup unexpectedly failing for some with a message saying the media is write protected (error code 0x80070013).
• When the Search section is visible in Settings it will now come before Update & Security.
• We fixed an issue where some pages in Settings had more space at the top than others.
• We fixed an issue resulting in ☆ and some other characters not appearing correctly in certain text fields.
• We fixed an issue where the Windows Ink Workspace was using the old Microsoft Store icon.
• We fixed an issue where the emoji picker might draw partially offscreen if invoked near the bottom of the screen.
• We fixed an issue where the second line of the input indicator in the taskbar, when shown, wasn’t legible in light theme.
• We’ve updated our message in the Snipping Tool to include a tip about using WIN+Shift+S to help improve discoverability – thanks folks that suggested this!
• We fixed an issue where in the Details tab of Task Manager you couldn’t sort by the “Shared GPU memory” column.
• We fixed an issue resulting in ShellExperienceHost.exe preventing the device from going to sleep with message “A Miracast Session is currently connected.” despite said session having already been disconnected.
• We fixed an issue from the previous flight where on some systems the High Definition Audio Controller failed to start with Code 10, resulting in no audio from the onboard speakers and microphone.

Known issues

• The hyperlink colors need to be refined in Dark Mode in Sticky Notes if the Insights are enabled.
• The Windows Security app may show an unknown status for the Virus & threat protection area, or not refresh properly. This may occur after upgrade, restart, or settings changes.
• The cmimanageworker.exe process may hang, causing system slowness or higher than normal CPU usage. This can be bypassed by rebooting the machine if it occurs.
• Launching games that use BattlEye anti-cheat will trigger a bug check (green screen) – we’re investigating.
• USB printers may appear twice in the Devices and Printers under Control Panel. Reinstalling the printer will resolve the issue.
• We’re investigating an issue where clicking your account in Cortana Permissions isn’t bringing up the UI to sign out from Cortana (if you were already signed in) for some users in this build.
• If you’re using Hyper-V and have added an external vSwitch in addition to the default, many UWP apps won’t be able to connect to the internet. Removing the additional vSwitch will resolve this.
• The Task Scheduler UI may appear blank even though there are scheduled tasks. For now, you’ll need to use the command line if you want to see them.
• Creative X-Fi sound cards are not functioning properly. We are partnering with Creative to resolve this issue.
• When attempting to update to build 18305, some S Mode devices will download and restart, but fail the update. We are working on a fix for a future flight.