Microsoft is now rolling out Windows 10 build 14942 for PCs enrolled in the Fast ring. This particular release includes a number of small features and improvements that users will be getting as part of the Windows 10 Redstone 2 update in early 2017.
According to the company in build 14942 there are a new few features, including an option to hide the app list on the Start menu, you can now extend Active Hours longer than 12 hours, the precision touch experience has improved, and there are new changes under-the-hood. This is in addition to various other fixes and improvements.
What’s new on Windows 10 build 14942
Start menu
Now on Windows 10, you can hide the app list on the Start menu. The new feature works similar to the Start screen on tablet mode, which means that under the hamburger button, you’ll see a button to see only tiles or the list of apps.
The new option is available on Settings > Personalization > Start and the option is called “Hide apps list in Start menu.”
Touchpad experience
Windows 10 Redstone 2 now includes additional gesture and click detection adjustments for precision touchpads. “This includes enhancing detection and disambiguation of left and right clicks, making two finger taps and clicks a bit easier, reducing false positives in our two-finger tap detection and improving our pinch to zoom detection.” There are also changes in the algorithm to reduce inadvertent zooming when panning.
Settings
In the Settings app, Windows 10 build 14942 now includes some minor tweaks to increase the default Active Hours range from 12 to 18 hours, but it’s only for Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, Education, and Windows 10 Mobile — Windows 10 Home will retain the default 12-hours range.
Additionally, there is a new Windows Update icon that matches the iconography of Windows 10. After installing new updates, you’ll now see the icon on Action Center.
You can manage the notification settings on Setting > System > Notification and look for Windows Update.
Internal changes
Service hosts are now split into separate processes on devices with 3.5GB or more RAM. While you’ll see an increased number of processes in the Task Manager, there is nothing to worry about.
In fact, according to Microsoft, with new releases of the operating system, the number processes have increased, and because of the dramatic increase in available memory over the years, the memory-saving advantage of service hosts has diminished.
Now breaking the group of services gives the operating system new advantages, including:
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Increase reliability: Currently, if one service host fails, all the services grouped in one process will fail. The change removes the case of single point of failure.
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Increase transparency: Now it’ll finally be possible to view what’s really happening on each process. You can now see how much processor, memory, disk & network individual services are consuming.
Services on Windows 10 Redstone 2 -
Reduce servicing costs: This small improvement will allow technicians to quickly pinpoint issues and get them resolve quickly.
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Increase security: Process isolation and individual permission sets for services will increase the security of the operating system.
Narrator
Starting with Windows 10 build 14942, Narrator introduces field navigation. Form Fields have been added to Narrator’s Search and Select feature to allow you to list items such as buttons, links, headings and other elements available in an app, webpage or document.
Windows 10 build 14942 fixes and improvements
Improved frame rates when Game Bar is enabled for full screen games.
Custom printer names will be preserved across upgrades after updating to this build. In addition, the company is fixing a number of issues, including sfc /scannow command failing at 20 percent. Settings app crashing when navigating certain pages.
Fixed an issue resulting in Windows Defender Antimalware Service Executable sometimes using an unexpectedly large amount of CPU.
Fixed an issue resulting in a small set of users seeing the NTFS partition of their external hard drive incorrectly showing up as RAW format.
Windows 10 build 14942 known issues
In build 14942 there is a problem with IIS World Wide Web Publishing Service (W3Svc), prevents the service to start successfully.
Microsoft is listing the complete set of the features, fixes, and known issues for build 14942 at the Windows Blog.
Alongside, the features and changes, Microsoft also is shipping an updated version of the Photos app adding a much improved user interface.
The new changes include a horizontal navigation bar, new light view mode, new animations for full screen mode, and you can see photos more quickly with your mouse.
Windows 10 build 14942 is available immediately through the Fast ring. It’ll download and install automatically on your PC, but you can always force the update from Settings > Update & security > Windows Update and clicking the Check for updates button.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].