At the weekend it was reported that Microsoft had removed Windows 10 November Update ISOs from general availability. The removal of this quick and convenient way to upgrade PCs to the newest current version of Windows 10 annoyed many PC enthusiasts and Microsoft's explanation at the time didn't give a good reason for the move. Now the November Update ISO is back with a much better explanation from Microsoft concerning the reason for it being pulled.
For many PC enthusiasts and IT professionals, having an ISO image of the latest version of Windows is a great time/effort/resources saver. We assume that is why Microsoft provided the ISO download via its media creation tool (MCT) in the first place. With the November Update ISO, users can upgrade many PCs to the newest version of Windows with much less fuss than installing older versions of the OS, configuring the machine, and then waiting for Windows Update to do its job. So it was irksome that the MCT tool seemed to be 'backdated' without notice on Saturday with the official explanation being "we've decided that future installs should be through Windows Update"…
As reported by The Register, Microsoft has now admitted that the reason for the removal of Windows 10 November Update ISOs at the weekend was due to a bug. "When the November update was installed, a few settings preferences may have inadvertently not been retained for advertising ID, Background apps, SmartScreen Filter, and Sync with devices," read an official statement. ZDNet bullet points the affected settings, reset to default values as:
- Let apps use my advertising ID
- Turn on SmartScreen Filter for web content
- Let apps run in the background
- Sync with devices
The update bug resulted in "an extremely small number" of Windows 10 users, who had previously altered various privacy settings, finding those settings were 'forgotten' after the update, explained Microsoft.
Privacy issues are a sensitive topic, so Microsoft pulled the affected update ISOs hastily. Happily it has finished trouble shooting and fixing the errors already. If you did manage to update your Windows 10 install before the ISO was pulled your system settings will be restored to how you had them set before the update (if necessary) via the Cumulative update for Windows 10 version 1511: November 24, 2015, which will be downloaded and installed automatically via Windows Update.
