False Bug ID Causes 1809 Re-Release
I found a fascinating explanation for the withdrawal and re-release of Windows 10 1809 today at Windows Central. It’s entitled “How a major bug in the Windows 10 October 2018 Update slipped past Microsoft.” Essentially, it explains that MS was well-acquainted with a bug that caused apparent (but not real) data loss after an OS upgrade. This occurs when Windows 10 creates a temporary account into which users boot up when the upgrade completes. Of course, they can’t access their Documents, Downloads, and more. That’s because the (temporary) account has its own and different library folders. Unfortunately, users reported the 1809 bug the same way. But this time it involved genuine, sometimes traumatic data loss. According to WinCentral, it took MS some time to understand this. Only then did they withdraw the October 2 build. That’s why I aver a false bug ID causes 1809 re-release.
The original Winver information for the first, much-maligned and occasionally buggy 1809 release from October 2. Luckily, none of my 4 PCs running this version fell prey to that bug.
Correcting False Bug ID Causes 1809 Re-Release
Here’s how WinCentral explains Microsoft’s initial take on the bug:
. . . Microsoft at some point added a popup in the temporary account that explains to the user that they have been booted into a different profile and provides support for how to get out of that state. This is why Microsoft seemingly dismissed the reports from Insiders that actually had their files deleted after installing the October Update. Engineers assumed those reports were related to the temporary account issue, which had already been addressed.
A long time ago, I took my first management job (1984, if you must know). Early on, my manager wrote this on his whiteboard: ASSUME = ASS+U+ME. His voice-over stated “When you assume things, you make an ass out of you and me.” Indeed, this homily remains as true now as it was back then, and seems to have bitten Microsoft soundly on the hindquarters this time around. MS is, however, trying to learn from this mistake, as you can see in the many mea culpas implicit in this recent Windows Insider Program blog post from Corporate VP Michael Fortin: “Windows 10 Quality approach for a complex ecosystem.”
All I can wonder is: “Can MS put itself back into good repute with Windows users?” Still way too early to tell. Saying the right things is easy. Doing them can be a completely different story. We’ll see, I guess!