Apple's iCloud for Windows users can't get the latest Windows 10 update because of nasty b...

AppleInsider · November 19, 2018 1:59PM

Microsoft is actively preventing users of Apple's iCloud for Windows tool from updating Windows 10 to the latest build, with a new warning for version 1809 of the Microsoft operating system advising the iCloud software is not currently supported.

The status page for the re-release of Windows 10 version 1809 was updated with a new upgrade block on Friday afternoon, one that actively prevents systems running iCloud for Windows version 7.7.0.27 at all. As well as Windows 10, the block also applies to Windows Server version 1809 and Windows Server 2019.

Apple identified the incompatibility with iCloud for Windows, where users "may experience issues updating or synching Shared Albums" after migrating to Windows 10 1809. Microsoft claims it is working with Apple to produce a compatible version of iCloud for Windows 10 that works with the Windows 10 update.

For the moment, users who attempt to install iCloud for Windows on Windows 10 version 1809 will see the installation fail following a warning message that advises of the incompatibility. Windows desktops that have yet to be updated to 1809 are being blocked from upgrading until the issue is resolved.

Microsoft also recommends against users trying to manually update using alternate means, such as the Update Now button or the Media Creation Tool from the Microsoft website.

No timescale has been offered for the fix.

The re-release of Windows 10 version 1809 follows after the discovery the October update had issues where users documents and drivers were being deleted on their devices in some cases, an issue that was seemingly linked to OneDrive. A second problem relating to specific Intel audio drivers causing spikes in processor demand and battery usage, with a similar download block applied until the update could be fixed.

racerhomie3 · November 19, 2018 2:26PM

To those on Windows. Is this sort of random driver & battery life issue common?

rotateleftbyte · November 19, 2018 2:59PM

racerhomie3 said:

To those on Windows. Is this sort of random driver & battery life issue common?

The October 2018 Update for Window 10 has turned out to be a complete disaster area. The AFAIK, total lack of Q&A on it before it was released is an embarrasment to Microsoft. If this was Apple then it would be front page news and a 15% stock drop but this is MS and everyone seems to go 'Meh' and carry on. It is almost accepted that there will be issues with updates.

I gave up with Windows two years ago after 20+ years of developing software for the platform and have never regretted it one bit.

auxio · November 19, 2018 3:59PM

racerhomie3 said:

To those on Windows. Is this sort of random driver & battery life issue common?

These sorts of major Windows update issues seem to happen about once a year in my experience. And I barely use Windows.

philboogie · November 19, 2018 4:57PM

rotateleftbyte said:
If this was Apple then it would be front page news and a 15% stock drop but this is MS and everyone seems to go 'Meh' and carry on.

Apple did the root-thingy this year. That's a much bigger failure than, no that is THE biggest failure one can make in sw development. Wasn't front page news, since everyone loves Apple.

Rayz2016 · November 19, 2018 5:34PM

racerhomie3 said:

To those on Windows. Is this sort of random driver & battery life issue common?

I don't think it's common, but when it does happen, you are seriously screwed.

We had an update on MrsRayz2016's laptop that knocked out the Wifi because of some incompatibility that the update introduced with the WiFi driver.

Mrs Rayz2016's sister fixed it. She's a wizard with Windows (I don't spend enough time with it anymore). Still, she had to plug the laptop directly into the router, then hunt around for odd bits of system file to repair the damage. It took her about six or seven hours, but she got it working, and we have a set of files we need to copy over after each update to keep it running.

Her next laptop is a MacBook Air, or her sister is going to have to move in.

curtis hannah · November 19, 2018 5:43PM

Rayz2016 said:

racerhomie3 said:

To those on Windows. Is this sort of random driver & battery life issue common?

I don't think it's common, but when it does happen, you are seriously screwed.

We had an update on MrsRayz2016's laptop that knocked out the Wifi because of some incompatibility that the update introduced with the WiFi driver.

Mrs Rayz2016's sister fixed it. She's a wizard with Windows (I don't spend enough time with it anymore). Still, she had to plug the laptop directly into the router, then hunt around for odd bits of system file to repair the damage. It took her about six or seven hours, but she got it working, and we have a set of files we need to copy over after each update to keep it running.

Her next laptop is a MacBook Air, or her sister is going to have to move in.

I remember Hastings to do that when I first installed boot camp, it was a nightmare.

On a note that may or may not be related is that I’m having external drive connectivity issues. Mac OS will not recognize them until it’s been plugged in for about 5 minutes. Windows will recognize it immediately but tends to disconnect and reconnect rapidly without heavy trial and error of keeping them connected on either OS.
i have tried multiple USB C to A adapters with a powered USB hub, so that can’t be the issue.

Mike Wuerthele · November 19, 2018 5:49PM

philboogie said:

rotateleftbyte said:
If this was Apple then it would be front page news and a 15% stock drop but this is MS and everyone seems to go 'Meh' and carry on.

Apple did the root-thingy this year. That's a much bigger failure than, no that is THE biggest failure one can make in sw development. Wasn't front page news, since everyone loves Apple.

Last year. It got wide, wide coverage well beyond places like AI.

https://appleinsider.com/articles/17/11/29/apple-issues-macos-high-sierra-update-to-fix-password-less-root-vulnerability

Rayz2016 · November 19, 2018 5:56PM

philboogie said:

rotateleftbyte said:
If this was Apple then it would be front page news and a 15% stock drop but this is MS and everyone seems to go 'Meh' and carry on.

Apple did the root-thingy this year. That's a much bigger failure than, no that is THE biggest failure one can make in sw development. Wasn't front page news, since everyone loves Apple.

What? You think that wasn't covered? You must've been drunk that week. It was everywhere.

auxio · November 19, 2018 6:10PM

philboogie said:

rotateleftbyte said:
If this was Apple then it would be front page news and a 15% stock drop but this is MS and everyone seems to go 'Meh' and carry on.

Apple did the root-thingy this year. That's a much bigger failure than, no that is THE biggest failure one can make in sw development. Wasn't front page news, since everyone loves Apple.

While bad, that root login issue was a security exploit which required someone to have physical access (and be logged in) to your computer. These Windows update issues just happen when you install a bad update. I'd wager that a much larger percentage of people are affected by a problem caused simply by updating your computer compared to one which requires you to leave your computer in a public space, unlocked, and have someone around who knows how to take advantage of the exploit.

kruegdude · November 19, 2018 6:12PM

Mike Wuerthele said:

philboogie said:

rotateleftbyte said:
If this was Apple then it would be front page news and a 15% stock drop but this is MS and everyone seems to go 'Meh' and carry on.

Apple did the root-thingy this year. That's a much bigger failure than, no that is THE biggest failure one can make in sw development. Wasn't front page news, since everyone loves Apple.

Last year. It got wide, wide coverage well beyond places like AI.

https://appleinsider.com/articles/17/11/29/apple-issues-macos-high-sierra-update-to-fix-password-less-root-vulnerability

At least they got the “everybody loves Apple” part right :-)

tenthousandthings · November 19, 2018 8:04PM

I doubt this is Microsoft going back to the bad old days, but it invokes a bit of PTSD in me. There was a Gatesian sort of calculus they used, to provide the minimum necessary to keep most Macintosh users from bailing, but not spending the money to actually get the software to be the equal of the Windows edition. Especially with regard to "international" (i.e., non-English language) features. Bugs were left in place just because.

Note that this wasn't just about Apple -- Microsoft under Gates and Ballmer used the same calculus with their Windows customers -- just doing the minimum required to maintain the Office monopoly and no more.

I'll also add here that the world has changed, and I don't think Microsoft can quite as easily afford to piss off large numbers of Apple customers like they could back in the day...

welshdog · November 19, 2018 8:07PM

My 87 year old Dad lives in a rural semi-suburban area and does not have broadband. He uses a Windows PC against my recommendation. Last year MS tricked him into upgrading to Windows 10 - actually doing it without his permission. Naturally it took forever since he is on some sort of microwave ISP service that is not much better than dial-up. Then there were issues that took a long time to fix. He uses iCloud for Windows and I have not yet heard from him if he has seen any warnings. I plan to back up his system on Wednesday as a precaution and then look into this BS.

I'd love to move him over to a Mac and I think I can since he doesn't really use any Windows only software. The learning curve would be difficult, but might be worth it me and him. I generally don't recommend life long Windows users switch to Mac OS unless I know them to be good learners and adapt easily to change. Windows people tend to have a comletely wrong idea of what Mac OS is - they literally think it is just a slightly different version of Windows. The often get a big shock when they try to jump in without doing any research first.

The biggest problem for my Dad is cost. Even though he is fairly well off, at his age he has become even more of cheapskate and will flip out over the cost of any Mac. Probably should get him a Mini and be done with it.

macisit · November 19, 2018 10:12PM

welshdog said:

My 87 year old Dad lives in a rural semi-suburban area and does not have broadband. He uses a Windows PC against my recommendation. Last year MS tricked him into upgrading to Windows 10 - actually doing it without his permission. Naturally it took forever since he is on some sort of microwave ISP service that is not much better than dial-up. Then there were issues that took a long time to fix. He uses iCloud for Windows and I have not yet heard from him if he has seen any warnings. I plan to back up his system on Wednesday as a precaution and then look into this BS.

I'd love to move him over to a Mac and I think I can since he doesn't really use any Windows only software. The learning curve would be difficult, but might be worth it me and him. I generally don't recommend life long Windows users switch to Mac OS unless I know them to be good learners and adapt easily to change. Windows people tend to have a comletely wrong idea of what Mac OS is - they literally think it is just a slightly different version of Windows. The often get a big shock when they try to jump in without doing any research first.

The biggest problem for my Dad is cost. Even though he is fairly well off, at his age he has become even more of cheapskate and will flip out over the cost of any Mac. Probably should get him a Mini and be done with it.

Get your dad an iPad. Much easier to use than Mac or PC.

kaipher · November 19, 2018 10:58PM

Finally! Something to stop Microsoft from forcibly updating user's computers!

ajminnj · November 20, 2018 2:02AM

auxio said:

racerhomie3 said:

To those on Windows. Is this sort of random driver & battery life issue common?

These sorts of major Windows update issues seem to happen about once a year in my experience. And I barely use Windows.

Actually in the new Windows as a Service world, they are twice a year updates. And you though the annual update of macOS caused problems. One of our security software packages used at work has not even certified the Spring 2018 (Windows 10 1803) yet, never mind Fall 2018 (Windows 10 1809).

ascii · November 20, 2018 6:55AM

Even if you don't have iCloud for Windows software installed, 1809 still won't install on a BootCamped MBP 2017.

I think Boot Camp also need an update, not just the iCloud software.

auxio · November 20, 2018 3:50PM

ajminnj said:

auxio said:

racerhomie3 said:

To those on Windows. Is this sort of random driver & battery life issue common?

These sorts of major Windows update issues seem to happen about once a year in my experience. And I barely use Windows.

Actually in the new Windows as a Service world, they are twice a year updates. And you though the annual update of macOS caused problems. One of our security software packages used at work has not even certified the Spring 2018 (Windows 10 1803) yet, never mind Fall 2018 (Windows 10 1809).

I wasn't talking about the frequency of major Windows updates, I was talking about my experience with Windows updates causing major problems for people. Which has thankfully only happened to me once (and that was enough), but I hear about them from coworkers who use Windows about once a year.

auxio · November 20, 2018 4:01PM

macisit said:

welshdog said:

My 87 year old Dad lives in a rural semi-suburban area and does not have broadband. He uses a Windows PC against my recommendation. Last year MS tricked him into upgrading to Windows 10 - actually doing it without his permission. Naturally it took forever since he is on some sort of microwave ISP service that is not much better than dial-up. Then there were issues that took a long time to fix. He uses iCloud for Windows and I have not yet heard from him if he has seen any warnings. I plan to back up his system on Wednesday as a precaution and then look into this BS.

I'd love to move him over to a Mac and I think I can since he doesn't really use any Windows only software. The learning curve would be difficult, but might be worth it me and him. I generally don't recommend life long Windows users switch to Mac OS unless I know them to be good learners and adapt easily to change. Windows people tend to have a comletely wrong idea of what Mac OS is - they literally think it is just a slightly different version of Windows. The often get a big shock when they try to jump in without doing any research first.

The biggest problem for my Dad is cost. Even though he is fairly well off, at his age he has become even more of cheapskate and will flip out over the cost of any Mac. Probably should get him a Mini and be done with it.

Get your dad an iPad. Much easier to use than Mac or PC.

While I'd agree in general, it really depends upon how invested one is in the "Windows PC experience" and how open to change they are. Which typically gets less and less as one gets older.

Even on this forum, you see so many people who just can't get over the fact that the filesystem access on an iPad isn't the same as it is on a PC. It requires a new mental model which understands that individual apps host the documents (files) which they create/edit, and that you can use the share sheet to move those documents between apps, or send them to people. But if you're used to manually organizing your files into folders and searching for them using a file browser, then it takes being able to change your mental model.

Apple's iCloud for Windows users can't get the latest Windows 10 update because of nasty b...

Comments