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Microsoft pulled the latest version of its Media Creation Tool in the wake of its big November update for Windows 10. The software enabled users to upgrade their systems manually using an .ISO image, instead of waiting for Microsoft to push the new build on its staggered Windows Update schedule.
Currently, the Media Creation Tool’s Web page states that the “downloads cannot be used to update Windows 10 PCs to the November update (Version 1511).” In its place is the original release version.
The move, according to Microsoft, is intended to make Windows Update the preferred method of obtaining future builds of the OS. In a statement, the company said: “The November update was originally available via the MCT (Media Creation Tool), but the company decided that future installs should be through Windows Update. People can still download Windows 10 [Build 10240] using the MCT tool if they wish. The November update will be delivered via Windows Update.
“Microsoft has not pulled the Windows 10 November 10 update. The company is rolling out the November update over time—if you don’t see it in Windows Update, you will see it soon,” Microsoft continued.
Meanwhile, some users have taken to the company’s support forums and popular sites like Reddit to report numerous post-update bugs. Among them is the deletion of popular system profiling applications like CPU-Z and Speccy, along with video driver software suites like AMD Catalyst Control Center.
Regarding users whose settings may have been lost or altered, the company recently “learned of an issue that could have impacted an extremely small number of people who had already installed Windows 10 and applied the November update. Once these customers installed the November update, a few of their settings preferences may have inadvertently not been retained,” a Microsoft spokesperson told eWEEK today.
“For these customers, we will restore their settings over the coming days and we apologize for the inconvenience. We worked to resolve the issue as quickly as possible—it will not impact future installs of the November update, which is available today,” added the company representative.
Microsoft’s OS patch practices have come under fire before.
Recently, Susan Bradley, a security specialist and Microsoft MVP, started a Change.org petition calling on Microsoft to furnish users with more detailed information concerning Windows 10 updates and the alterations made to their systems. “People that care about their PCs have to know what is included in the updates, especially admins who need to validate and confirm updates,” Bradley told eWEEK at the time.
“Then we have numerous examples of where firmware and drivers have caused issues. We can’t just have control over after they update, we need control before they install,” she added. And it’s not just administrators and business users that deserve added transparency, she argued.