Microsoft is dropping yet another preview for version 1903, and this time around, the company is releasing Windows 10 build 18312 for devices enrolled in the Fast ring of the Windows Insider Program. This is the eighteenth build rolling out as part of the 19H1 development, and it delivers several new features and improvements.
Windows 10 build 18312 is still considered a minor update, and according to Microsoft officially introduces the “Reserved Storage” feature to reduce problems during updates. This flight introduces a new wizard design to reinstall Windows 10 using the “Reset this PC” feature. You’ll find new improvements for Windows Subsystem for Linux, and build 18312 is also increasing the slot allocation for Fiber Local Storage (FLS).
Windows 10 build 18312
Here are all the features and changes coming to the next version of Windows 10:
Reserved Storage
As previously announced, starting with build 18312, Windows 10 is introducing Reserved Storage, which is a new feature designed to set aside some disk space to be used by updates, apps, temporary files, and system caches.
Reserved storage will be introduced automatically on devices that come with version 1903 pre-installed or on devices where the April 2019 Update was clean installed.
Fiber Local Storage (FLS)
Also, in this preview, Windows 10 is increasing per-process Fiber Local Storage slot allocation. This change will positively impact any application that dynamically loads hundreds or thousands of unique DLLs that have statically-linked Visual C++ runtimes, or otherwise allocate FLS slots.
Reset this PC
If you use the Reset this PC feature, after installing this preview, you’ll find a new experience to reinstall Windows 10 with a new interface that is more consistent across devices with different configurations, and it now requires fewer steps to complete.
Windows Subsystem for Linux
Starting with Windows 10 build 18312, the Windows Subsystem for Linux introduces new functionalities and new options to make management easier:
- Consolidated command line options – The command line tool now includes options to manage your Linux distros that are included in the wslconfig command line tool.
- Import a distro for easy sideloading including to non-system drives – Use the “–import” option to imports a tar file as a new distribution. You can specify the distribution registry to the location of your choice including non-system drives.
- Export your WSL distribution for simpler environment management – Use the “—export” option to export a distribution to a tar file. Your distro will export to your default downloads location.
Additional improvements
Alongside the new features and changes, build 18312 also ships with a few other smaller improvements. For example, the title bar will also now use the dark color scheme when switching to the dark theme.
It’s now possible to disable the acrylic effect on the sign-in screen. This can be found in Group Policy Editor under Administrative Templates > System > Logon > “Show clear logon background”.
Microsoft is listing the complete set of improvements, fixes, and known issues for Windows 10 Insider Preview build 18312 at the Windows Blog.
Download Windows 10 build 18312
Although there are no ISO files for Windows 10 build 18312, the update is available immediately through the Fast ring. This preview build will download and install automatically on your device, but you can always force the update from Settings > Update & security > Windows Update, and clicking the Check for updates button.
You can also check out these resources:
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].