Windows 10 December 2021 updates: What’s new and improved. What is the latest windows 10 update

1) On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and type disk cleaning. Then click Disk Cleanup .

Solved: Windows 10 Update Takes Forever

Microsoft regularly releases update packages to fix bugs and add new features. While updates can improve system stability and increase PC performance, the slowness of the Windows update process can be really frustrating.

If you have been stuck on the update screen for hours and the percentage on the screen is not increasing at all, the update process is likely to get stuck. And Windows specifically says “Preparing Windows. Don’t turn off your computer ”, so you may be wondering what to do next.

Can I Turn off My PC during Updates?

Yes, you can restart your computer and it should be safe in most cases. You can long press the power button to turn off your computer or laptop.

Windows update takes time, so let it finish if you can. But if you’ve been waiting for an hour or so, it’s likely stuck and there’s nothing else you can do.

Though in most cases, hard shutting down during the upgrade process did not cause any problems. There is no guarantee that this works for you as well. Unfortunately, this is the only method to try if your PC gets stuck there.

If you have a device that is still running Windows 10 version 2004, a new notification will appear on the Windows Update page. A message will alert users that support for this activity has ended and users need to download a newer version of Windows 10 to remain supported.

Windows 10 December 2021 cumulative updates overview

The Windows 10 Patch Tuesday (December 2021) update should finally fix problems with a process called “SearchFilterHost.exe”. Fixed another bug that causes Windows Search Index issues where the operating system is unable to handle the per-user search database.

Fixed an issue where the Windows Search Indexer (searchindexer.exe) could stop working after creating duplicate profile names.

Microsoft is also making improvements to the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). According to the release notes, Microsoft adds the -cd argument to wsl.exe (Windows subsystem for Linux) to specify the Windows / Linux path as the starting directory

The Windows 10 update also fixes an issue where users were unable to automatically group policy objects at startup.

Build 19044.1415 for Windows 10 version 21H2

Windows 10, version 21H2 receives build 19044.1415 (KB5008212) and includes the following changes:

• Microsoft has resolved an issue where the operating system was unable to provide an event description for System Center.
• Microsoft has resolved issues with variable fonts.
• Microsoft has resolved an issue where Excel (32-bit) may have stopped working on devices.
• Microsoft has also fixed a bug that caused glyphs to appear at the wrong angle when using the Meiryo UI.
• Microsoft has resolved an issue that could cause pre-rendering issues in Microsoft Edge Internet Explorer mode.
• The Windows 10 update also fixes an issue that could cause the Settings page to crash when trying to uninstall a font.
• Microsoft has fixed an issue that affects the user interface of the File Explorer rename pop-up when using Folder View in File Explorer.
• Microsoft has dealt with the memory leak.
• Windows Game Bar is also receiving bug fixes in this release. As per the release notes, a bug has been fixed where the screen capture and recording functions do not work in the Windows game bar.

Windows 10 December 2021 Cumulative Update is now available to users, and it is the last operating system update in 2021. Unlike previous updates, December 2021 patch is a small release with some security fixes and many non-security fixes for Windows 10 version 2004 or later.

Latest Microsoft Windows Service Packs (Windows 7, Vista, XP)

The latest service pack for Windows 7 is SP1, but there is also a Convenience Rollup for Windows 7 SP1 (otherwise known as Windows 7 SP2) that installs all the patches between the SP1 release (February 22, 2011) and April 12, 2016.

The latest service packs for other versions of Microsoft Windows include Windows Vista SP2, Windows XP SP3, and Windows 2000 SP4.

The table below lists links directly to the latest Microsoft Windows service packs and major updates for each operating system. These updates are free.

The easiest way to install the latest Windows service pack or update is to run Windows Update.

Download links to Windows Updates and Service Packs
Operating system	Service pack / update	Size (MB)	download
Windows 7	List of amenities (April 2016) 2	316.0	32-bit
List of amenities (April 2016) 2	476.9	64-bit
SP1 (windows6.1-KB976932-X86.exe)	541.9	32-bit
SP1 (windows6.1-KB976932-X64.exe)	912.4	64-bit
Windows Vista 3	SP2	475.5	32-bit
SP2	745.2	64-bit
Windows XP	SP3 4	316.4	32-bit
SP2 5	350.9	64-bit
Windows 2000	SP4	588 (KB)	32-bit

1 Beginning with Windows 8, Microsoft began to release regular major updates for Windows 8. Service packs will not be released.
2 Windows 7 SP1 and the April 2015 Servicing Stack Update must be installed before Comfort Rollup is installed.
3 Windows Vista SP2 can only be installed if Windows Vista SP1 is already installed, which you can download here for both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.
4 Windows XP SP3 can only be installed if you already have Windows XP SP1a or Windows XP SP2 installed. If you do not have one or the other of these service packs installed, install SP1 available here before trying to install Windows XP SP3.
5 Windows XP Professional is the only 64-bit version of Windows XP, and the latest service pack released for this operating system is SP2.

The latest service pack for Windows 7 is SP1, but there is also a Convenience Rollup for Windows 7 SP1 (otherwise known as Windows 7 SP2) that installs all the patches between the SP1 release (February 22, 2011) and April 12, 2016.

Method 2: Restore Windows Update related services

If the Windows Update-related service is having problems, has been disabled, or has incorrect settings, it is possible that this is the cause of your errors. Luckily, you can just fix this by following a few commands that will reset your services that are running with update delivery.

1. Press the Windows + R keys on your keyboard to launch the Run utility. Type “cmd” and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter. This will launch the command prompt with administrative privileges.
2. If prompted, allow the Command Prompt to make changes to your device. This means that you may need to log into an administrator account.
3. Then you need to stop the services related to downloading and installing Windows Update files. At the command prompt, enter the following lines, pressing Enter between each new line:

• net stop bits
• net stop wuauserv
• net stop appidsvc
• net stop cryptsvc

4. With the services stopped, enter the following two commands, pressing Enter after each line:

• Ren% systemroot% \ SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old
• Ren% systemroot% \ system32 \ catroot2 catroot2.old

5. Finally, restart Windows Update related services using the following commands. Press Enter again after each new line to execute the command:

6. Close Command Prompt and check if Windows Update has been fixed after executing these commands.

Method 3: Run the System File Checker (SFC) scan

System File Checker is a utility that comes by default with Windows 10. It is also called “SFC scanning” and it is the fastest way to automatically fix damaged system files and other problems.

Some users reported that running this scan fixed their problems with errors, stuck, or not starting Windows Update.

1. Press the Windows + R keys on your keyboard. This will launch the Run utility.
2. Type “cmd” and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter on your keyboard. This is how you run the command prompt with administrative privileges.
3. If prompted, click Yes to allow Command Prompt to make changes to the device.
4. At the command prompt, type the following command and press Enter to execute it: sfc / scannow
5. Wait for the SFC scan to finish scanning your computer and repairing any damaged files. This may take a long time; make sure you are not closing the command prompt or turning off your computer.
6. Restart the device after the scan is complete. See if you can update Windows 10 after the restart is complete.

Microsoft regularly releases update packages to fix bugs and add new features. While updates can improve system stability and increase PC performance, the slowness of the Windows update process can be really frustrating.

How to Fix and Avoid Broken Windows 10 Updates

If Windows 10 Update cannot be installed, try updating with PowerShell

If the problem you are facing with the new Windows 10 update is that its installation stops at a certain percentage or that the update cannot be installed in general, you can try to install the update from Powershell.

First, open PowerShell as administrator (you can just type it in the search in the Start menu.)

In PowerShell, type:

It may ask you to install and import the NuGet Provider. Press “Y” for Yes and let the package install.

You can then check for the latest Windows updates by typing:

Finally, after confirming that there are updates to be installed, type:

Then press “Y” or “A” to confirm you want to install the updates.

Install Optional “Quality” Update

If you go to the Windows Update screen (Settings -> Update & Security -> Windows Update -> Check for Updates), you may occasionally see an “Optional Quality Update available” option. These updates are designed specifically to troubleshoot recent Windows updates, and will become the “correct” updates a few weeks later when thoroughly tested.

These updates are still fairly stable though, so they can be worth a shot if a recent update broke something on Windows 10.

You can view a summary of the problems found after the scan was completed. If there is a problem, you’ll need to purchase the full version – with a 60-day money-back guarantee. Click START REPAIR to start the repair process.

Free up storage space and defragment your hard drive

Windows 10 updates often take up a lot of hard drive space, so you’ll need to make room for them to speed up installation. This means removing old files and uninstalling any software you no longer need.

You’ll also want to defragment your hard drive, the process that organizes how data is stored on your hard drive so you can create, open, and save files faster. Defragmenting a disk is as simple as pressing the Windows button and typing Defragment & Optimize Disks. From there, select your hard drive, click Analyze, and if the disk is more than 10% fragmented, hit Optimize.

Run Windows Update Troubleshooter

If damaged software components are causing installation problems, this tool can fix the problem and reduce download and installation times. Just press the Windows button and type in Troubleshooting Settings. This will open a new window with the Windows Update option.

Third-party applications that may be interfering should also be disabled before starting the update. To do this, press and hold the Ctrl, Alt and Del keys and then click Task Manager. In the window that opens, click the tab named Startup. This will display all applications that have permission to open when logged into Windows 10. Right-click any applications that are not important and select Disable (never disable Microsoft Tasks) to speed up the update installation process.

In fact, starting with Windows 8, the service pack as we know it from previous versions of Windows is essentially a dead idea. Like updates on a smartphone, Microsoft continues to add major features through automatic patching.

To Sum Up

This tutorial shows how long it takes to update Windows 10 and why it takes so long to update Windows 10. The six most useful solutions can help you fix Windows 10 update that lasts forever. Among them, freeing up disk space and defragmentation of the hard disk are very useful. You can complete the task with the help of EaseUS Partition Master Free.

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This free disk management program makes complex hard disk organization easier than ever, e.g converting MBR to GPT, converting FAT to NTFS, converting logical partition to primary partition or primary to logical partition etc..

Windows 11/10 Update Taking Forever FAQs

1. How long does Windows 10 update take 2019?

Major updates for the Windows operating system come out every six months, and the latest update is November 2019. Major updates may take a little longer. Installing the standard version only takes 7 to 17 minutes.

2. Why do Windows 10 updates take so long?

Why is it taking so long to update Windows 10? Windows 10 updates take so long because Microsoft is constantly adding larger files and features to them. The biggest updates, released in spring and fall each year, typically last over four hours. Besides, it is also relevant to low available space, hard drive fragments, software conflicts and other factors.

3. Can I stop a Windows 10 update in progress?

You can stop Windows 10 updates in progress in services.

Step 1. Open the Search Windows box and type Services in Windows 10. Right-click on Services and select “Run as administrator”.

Step 2. In the Services window, you will find a list of all background services. You need to find the Windows Update service.

Step 3. Right-click “Windows Update” and select “Stop” from the context menu. Alternatively, you can click the “Stop” link available in the Windows Update option in the upper left corner of the window.

3. How long does it take to update Windows 10 1903?

It depends. The time spent on different devices and in different network situations varies. Installing Windows 10 1903 takes approximately 30 minutes. It may take several times to configure and restart. Long story short, you’ll likely be transitioning to Windows 10 1903 in an hour.