updates for office are ready to be installed

Ironically, the fastest finish, hands down, was on a nearly seven-year-old Dell XPS 8700 desktop PC built in June 2013. On three systems equipped with SSDs as primary storage, the average time required was exactly 7 minutes. Instead of scheduling a restart, I chose the Restart Now option and timed how long the final phase of installation took from start to finish (fully signed in at the Windows desktop). On my test systems, the download took up just over 3 GB of disk space, and after the preliminary installation work was complete I saw this notification. Most of the process of downloading and installing a feature update now takes place in the background. To get some idea of how the update process will work, I spent last weekend connecting a half-dozen Windows 10 PCs to the Slow Ring so that they could get a preview of the upcoming version 2004 update. It's been available as a preview release for nearly a year, or roughly twice as long as normal, and the final major build, 19041, arrived in the Windows Insider Slow ring before the end of 2019, much earlier than usual. It appears that Microsoft is being ultra cautious with this update. Now, with version 2004 just around the corner, anyone responsible for managing Windows 10 PCs has to approach this new update with some trepidation. Version 1909 was a nearly invisible feature update, delivered as a tiny 'enablement package' for systems already running version 1903.Īfter finishing the preliminary installation of a new feature update, you'll see this prompt, which allows you to schedule the final phase.

Enterprise customers who install the H2 update (typically released in October or November) can take advantage of an extended support calendar of 30 months.

Those twice-a-year updates are no longer mandatory.Įach new Windows 10 feature update is supported for a minimum of 18 months. Since hitting that nadir, Microsoft has changed its ways, big time.įeature updates are now optional. It was five weeks before the update reappeared. The upgrade pain reached its peak with the November 2018 Update, version 1809, which earned the dubious distinction of being the only feature update to be pulled from Microsoft's servers as the company worked to fix a data-destroying bug. The first few Windows 10 feature updates turned out to be more like full-sized upgrades: time-consuming to install, disruptive to productivity, and difficult to postpone or manage, as my readers were not shy to point out. Windows 11: Everything you need to know (ZDNet YouTube).The ultimate Windows 10 information hub: Everything you need in one place.Seven Windows 10 annoyances (and how to fix them).Windows 10 privacy guide: How to take control.Here's how you can still get a free Windows 10 upgrade.Windows 11: Microsoft deletes these Windows 10 features and apps.What Windows 11 means: We'll be stuck with millions of Windows 10 zombies.

Updates for office are ready to be installed