Build 18917 arrives to Fast Ring insiders with download improvements and improved WSL with the second version

We are halfway through the week and Microsoft cannot miss the appointment to offer us new updates on time. This is Build 18917, an update that the American company has made available to users within the Fast Ring in the Insider Program

Build 18917 belongs to the 20H1 branch and is a new way to learn about some of the new features that will arrive in the next big update of Windows 10, the one that should arrive at the end of the year.

To announce the launch we have the well-known Dona Sarkar, who has once again used her Twitter account toannounce the availability of the new Build .

Enhanced Downloads

Microsoft has taken advantage of feedback from users who do not have access to high-speed Internet. For those who don't have a lot of bandwidth they have added a new option to reduce the used bandwidth with an absolute value.

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Stakeholders can set this parameter separately for foreground downloads (downloads you launch from the Windows Store, for example) or background downloads. This is an option available in Settings > Update & Security > Delivery Optimization > Advanced Options"

Narrator Improvements

Made improvements to optimize the information Narrator provides when navigating a table using the table navigation commands. Narrator now reads the header data first, followed by the cell data, followed by the row/column position for that cell. Also, Narrator only reads the headers when the headers have changed, so you can focus on the cell contents.

WSL Arrives 2

WSL 2 is a new version of the architecture that powers Windows Subsystem for Linux for running the ELF64 Linux binaries on Windows. This new architecture changes the way these Linux binaries interact with Windows and PC hardware providing the same user experience as WSL 1.

In addition WSL 2 offers much faster file system performance and full support for system calls, allowing run more applications like Docker. More info about WSL 2.

Windows Ink Workspace enhancements

Improvements are coming to Windows Ink Workspace so it now takes up less screen space. A link to the Microsoft Whiteboard application is added at the same time.

Other improvements

• Fixed an issue that caused some users to experience an error code 0x8007000E when downloading the build due to high RAM consumption.
• Fixed an issue where users were unable to use the “add a feature” option in Desktop Features on Demand.
• Fixed a bug that caused dragging of the emoji and dictation panels to be unexpectedly slow.
• Working to fix an issue where if the taskbar was set to auto-hide, launching the Start menu would first hide the taskbar before opening the Start menu.
• Fixed an issue that caused the Start menu and taskbar to be 100% transparent on secondary monitors or after projection.
• The new File Explorer search experience has been updated to now be dark when used in dark themes.
• Fixed an issue where Windows Security would crash if started from setup when using an Arabic display language.
• Fixed an issue where the audio service could hang on power off if spatial audio was enabled.

Known Issues

• This update may fail the first time it is attempted to download giving error code 0xc0000409.
• For Home editions, some devices may not see the “installed update” on the update history page.
• Also on Home editions, some devices may not be able to see the "download progress percentage" change on the Windows Update page.
• There are issues with older versions of anti-cheat software used with games where, after updating to the latest 19H1 Insider Preview builds, PCs may experience crashes. They are still working on fixing this bug. In the meantime, and to minimize the possibility of experiencing this issue, they recommend making sure you're running the latest version of your games before attempting to update your operating system.
• Some Re altek SD card readers do not work properly.
• Tamper protection may be turned off in Windows Security after upgrading to this build. You can turn it back on.
• We are aware of an issue with the Bopomofo IME where the character width is suddenly changed to Full Width from Half Width and is being investigated.
• We are investigating an issue where some users are reporting that the File Explorer search is rendering in an unexpectedly small area and clicking it crashes.

Known Issues for Developers

If you install builds from the Fast Ring and switch to the Slow Ring or Release Preview, optional content such as enabling developer mode will fail. The solution is to stay in the Fast Ring to add/install/enable optional content. This is because optional content will only be installed on builds approved for specific rings.

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If you belong to the Fast Ring within the Insider Program, you can download the update by going to the usual route, that is, Settings > Update and Security > Windows Update An update that is focused above all on improving the performance of the operating system."