Home windows 10 is approaching its tenth anniversary in a few days, and to rejoice this event, now we have been publishing content material that reminisces the last decade that now we have spent with the working system. To this point, now we have talked about 10 options in Home windows 10 that simply by no means took off, in addition to Home windows 10 being the first purpose why we’re so aware about privateness now. Now, we’re looking at our Home windows 10 protection from the previous 10 years, highlighting the ten tales that have been learn essentially the most by our viewers.

Please be aware that this checklist is sorted in ascending order, which implies that out of this assortment of 10 tales, we will likely be shifting from least views to most views. Additionally remember the fact that a further criterion for the tales on this piece was that whereas they’ll comprise details about different subjects too, the core focus must be round Home windows 10. With out additional ado, let’s start!

10. Home windows 10 Could 2021 Replace is stay – here is what to anticipate

It is a reasonably fascinating piece as a result of background surrounding it. Whereas Microsoft solely releases one characteristic replace for Home windows now, it used to roll out two again within the day; H1 and H2. The H1 replace was usually a serious replace with a number of new options, whereas H2 was a comparatively minor launch that was principally an enablement package deal to gentle up sure disabled capabilities.

With the Home windows 10 Could 2021 Replace, additionally know as Home windows 10, model 21H1, Microsoft flipped the script a bit, and made this supposed characteristic replace an enablement package deal too. At the moment, this grew to become the working system’s smallest characteristic replace with solely three enhancements revolving round Home windows Hi there, Home windows Defender Software Guard, and Home windows Administration Instrumentation (WMI). Not notably fascinating.

Nonetheless, loads of you learn this piece, these have been thrilling occasions as Microsoft was reportedly engaged on Home windows 10X too. Nonetheless, the corporate ended up canceling the OS inside a month inside a couple of weeks following the discharge of the Home windows 10 Could 2021 Replace.

9. Clear put in Home windows 10 22H2 vs Home windows 11 23H2 benchmarked for efficiency

Our readers are usually fairly involved in efficiency benchmarks and whereas we usually cowl outcomes from third-party testing in our information stream, we determined to conduct our personal testing on this explicit event. We primarily pitted the newest accessible variations of each Home windows 10 and Home windows 11 on “clear” programs.

Our findings throughout numerous CPU and GPU benchmarking instruments revealed that Home windows 10 and Home windows 11 are fairly shut when it comes to efficiency. Whereas one generally tops the opposite in a specific class, the distinction could be very negligible. This conclusion was necessary for a few causes. It emphasised that regardless of Microsoft’s makes an attempt to persuade you in any other case, Home windows 11 would not sport a serious enhance in efficiency. However extra importantly, it additionally served as proof to our readers that Home windows 11 is not worse off in gaming both, so this should not be an element when you find yourself contemplating upgrading.

8. Microsoft’s app that guarantees Home windows efficiency enhancements has some shady stuff inside

Over a 12 months in the past, Microsoft launched a PC Supervisor app within the Microsoft Retailer as a method to optimize and enhance the efficiency of your Home windows 10 and Home windows 11. Nonetheless, an investigation from our readers revealed some reasonably shady stuff. For one, the Deep Cleansing choice within the app was reasonably aggressive and would find yourself deleting the Home windows Prefetch folder, which is one thing that even Microsoft would not suggest that you just do.

Secondly, the app contained affiliate hyperlinks with trackers to some Chinese language software program web sites that have been providing utilities. It is reasonably odd {that a} first-party official Microsoft app wasn’t polished on launch, however it as soon as once more cemented the assumption that “optimizers” aren’t preferrred.

7. Save your laptop from Microsoft’s Home windows 10 end-of-life deliberate obsolescence

That is certainly one of our newer items surrounding the upcoming end-of-support deadline for Home windows 10. This editorial penned by our Information Editor Paul Hill talks concerning the affect that this deadline may have on the atmosphere as previous PCs are finally dumped in landfills. Though Paul does spotlight the methods in which you’ll be able to formally or unofficially lengthen assist (ESU, 0patch, Flyby), he believes that the most suitable choice proper now could be to change to a Linux distribution.

Paul lays out a number of choices together with GNOME, KDE, Cinnamon, Mint, LXQt, Fedora SilverBlue, Lubuntu, and extra. Regardless of Neowin being a Home windows-focused web site, this text obtained loads of views and pretty constructive suggestions too.

6. Home windows 10 model 20H2 is right here – here is what it is advisable know

Bear in mind after I mentioned earlier that the H1 package deal was once a serious characteristic replace for Home windows 10, whereas H2 was principally an enablement package deal? Properly, at the moment, we have been speaking about Home windows 10 21H1, which turned out to be a minor replace with solely three new options. This piece was concerning the previous replace, Home windows 10 20H2, which ought to now offer you some reference level of how small the subsequent replace was.

This roundup piece lined all the brand new capabilities and enhancements current within the Home windows 10 model 20H2 replace, together with Begin menu enhancements, theme-aware tiles, All Apps redesign, pill mode upgrades, the brand new Chromium-based Edge, and extra. At the moment, we referred to as this a minor replace, as a result of we did not know that Microsoft can be ditching its established conventions and making Home windows 10, model 21H1 even smaller.

5. Home windows 10 reaches 70% market share as Home windows 11 retains declining

Though Home windows 11 is nearly to overhaul Home windows 10 when it comes to market share based on the newest studies, this wasn’t at all times the case. The truth is, simply over a 12 months in the past in Could 2024, Home windows 10 stood sturdy at 70%, whereas Home windows 11 was limping at 25%. Nonetheless, with Home windows 10’s loss of life approaching quick, Home windows 11 has lastly turned a nook and each working programs now occupy roughly 48% every of the Home windows market. Issues can solely enhance from right here.

4. Microsoft admits it will possibly’t repair Home windows 10 KB5034441 “0x80070643 – ERROR_INSTALL_FAILURE”

Home windows 10 customers are sometimes greeted with error 0x80070643 when coping with the Home windows Restoration Atmosphere (WinRE). Though it may be manually mounted by clients, Microsoft says that it’s unimaginable to resolve it in an automatic method managed by the corporate itself. This explicit situation has been a serious annoyance for Home windows clients prior to now couple of years and in current months, Microsoft has been telling clients to simply ignore it and is reiterating that it will possibly’t ever be really mounted. You must surprise what the complexity of the issue is for Microsoft to situation such statements, however not less than it would not affect something crucial.

3. Microsoft lastly lifts two-year previous block stopping Home windows 10 customers from upgrading to 11

Though we just lately wrote an article about Microsoft lastly lifting a long-standing Home windows 11, model 24H2 block, the information story we’ll be discussing on this part is barely older. This piece is from April 2024 when Microsoft lastly resolved a two-year-old replace block surrounding the Intel Good Sound Know-how Audio Controller driver (Intel SST). It was notably annoying {that a} problematic driver model was what was blocking clients from upgrading to Home windows 11, and even I can relate because it impacted my every day driver too.

That mentioned, it is very important be aware that this was an exterior block for the reason that driver in query was manufactured by Intel. Luckily, Microsoft was capable of work with Intel to launch driver updates which lastly lifted this block.

2. Home windows 10 model 1909 is coming – here is what it is advisable know

As you might have noticed, our roundup articles do fairly properly right here on Neowin. This explicit piece is concerning the options current in Home windows 10 model 1909. This was a reasonably unfriendly naming scheme that Microsoft dropped later, however simply to provide you context, it refers to Home windows 10, model 19H2, which makes it nearly six years previous!

Since that is an H2 replace, this was an enablement package deal too, with enhancements in tow for notifications, lock display, desktop atmosphere, battery life, accessibility, and extra. Though Microsoft rolled out two characteristic updates at the moment, it looks like the corporate actually put effort into packing as many capabilities because it may into every launch.

1. Home windows 10 model 2004 is right here – here is what it is advisable find out about it

The magnum opus of our Home windows 10 protection prior to now decade is… one other characteristic roundup! This time, it is about Home windows 10, model 2004 (or 20H1), which is the model instantly succeeding the one which we simply talked about beforehand. Since this was an H1 launch, it was an enormous, large improve.

Prospects have been handled to a brand new Cortana app, Home windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL 2), Notepad enhancements, Home windows Search upgrades, Home windows Sandbox and digital desktop enhancements, and simply a lot extra. It is nearly unimaginable to recap all of them in a manner that offers justice to all of the capabilities in tow. No surprise our readers flocked to this text, making this our most-viewed Home windows 10 story of the previous 10 years.

This story is part of our “10 Years of Home windows 10” assortment, in celebration of the working system’s tenth anniversary, falling on July 29, 2025. Over the subsequent few days and weeks, you’ll discover extra content material on this matter in our devoted part accessible right here.