Group Policy Service Debug Logging Updates

Microsoft released an emergency out-of-band update, KB5086672, on March 31, 2026, to resolve a severe installation loop bug affecting Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2. The issue stemmed from the March 26 non-security preview update (KB5079391), which triggered error code 0x80073712 and prevented devices from applying recent patches or maintaining security. The new cumulative patch restores update functionality, advances OS builds to 26200.8117 and 26100.8117, and includes AI component improvements. Users with automatic updates should receive it soon, while others can manually install via Settings or the Microsoft Update Catalog. Organizations are urged to deploy it promptly through Intune or Autopatch to avoid prolonged exposure to unpatched systems. https://lnkd.in/dau_b7ur

The service shows Running. Users say it stopped working hours ago. The Windows Service Control Manager only checks if the process is alive, not whether it's doing anything useful. FireDaemon Pro detects what Windows SCM misses: ✅ Resource Monitor (right-click any service): shows CPU%, Private Bytes, and Data I/O in real time for the entire process tree — not just the top-level process. Open multiple windows simultaneously, one per service ✅ Hang Detection (Lifecycle tab): uses the Windows IsHungAppWindow API to detect unresponsive message loops in GUI applications — configure to report the hang, or terminate and auto-restart after a set number of minutes ✅ Crash loop protection: Fail Detection in the Lifecycle tab limits total restarts across the entire service lifecycle — so a crashing service stops looping and writes a structured event rather than degrading the server indefinitely ✅ Events tab > After Program Crash disposition: FireDaemon Pro supplies the FD_PID environment variable automatically to any script you configure — invoke ProcDump with that PID before the restart and the developer gets a memory dump, not a bare timestamp Bottom line: a workload that looks healthy but produces nothing is the same as downtime. The monitoring has to match the reality. Free 30-day trial at firedaemon.com #WindowsServer #InfrastructureResilience #WindowsServerReliability #Monitoring #ITOperations

Wow, that’s an interesting insight👏. When we introduced a special event disposition for crashing programs, I never would have imagined that we’d be giving someone a tool they could use to generate a memory dump of a crashed program in order to investigate the cause of the crash and debug the program!

My SSD was failing — and still showed "Good (98%)". My ThinkPad started blue-screening. At first it felt random — until CrystalDiskInfo told the real story: 15 media errors.   732 by the end of the day. Health status? “Good — 98%.” The SSD had only written 39TB — about 8% of its 480TB rated endurance.   This wasn’t wear. It was failure — and the health indicator didn’t care. I focused on saving what mattered first: - Checked 60+ repos for uncommitted work   - Dumped databases   - Backed up SSH keys and secrets   - Exported Docker volumes  All while writing restore steps between crashes, knowing any reboot could be the last. When it came time to rebuild, I looked at my setup notes. Half of it was workarounds: - Portproxy scripts just to make SSH work   - Syncing Windows hosts files   - Docker Desktop sitting in between everything   - Fixing IPs every time WSL restarted  I’d accepted all that friction as “normal.” But every tool I use runs on Linux anyway. So I stopped compromising. New SSD went in. Ubuntu went on.   No Windows. No WSL. No workarounds. I booted the old drive one last time. 25,343 media errors. Health status: “Good — 98%.” Two takeaways: - Don’t trust the headline number — check what it’s hiding   - Sometimes it takes losing your setup to realise how much of it was never necessary

Many Windows device and driver vendors still see WHQL as a “nice-to-have” badge that can wait. Skipping ⚠️ Microsoft Hardware Certification can mean: 🔸 scary install warnings,  🔸 more support tickets,  🔸 and missed enterprise deals. We put together a WHQL readiness checklist  ✔ and testing guide to help teams understand what WHQL is, why it matters for your product, and how to know if you’re ready to take it. Check the detailed article via the link in the comments 🔗 #WHQL #WindowsDrivers #MicrosoftCertification #aprioritblog

So I was talking to an Claude about Windows update procedures and what not (inherited some technical debt). I mentioned a legacy, end-of-life component in a system we’re actively modernizing and this was edited excerpts of my conversation with it. C: Would you like help thinking through the specific GPO settings, or is the legacy component situation something you want to tackle next? That one is likely the more pressing risk. ........... I then talked to it more about the situation. It suggested different ways of hardening the component immediately — all reasonable, though not everything translates cleanly given how the system was originally designed. I also explained that we are in the process of transitioning the system into a more modern architecture. This was the next response: C: That context makes a lot of sense — and it's a very common "caught in transition" situation. On the rewrite project — this is your real risk mitigation. The modernization effort is the correct long term solution. The combination of legacy components + architecture is honestly the area I would prioritize from a risk standpoint. The timeline becomes the key question — how far along is it, and what's the expected completion horizon? .............. I know it was asking for more context to refine its advice, but the speed at which it pivoted priorities was… notable. Apparently I came in to talk about Windows updates and left with a reprioritized roadmap.

Buying more storage for Windows File Servers shouldn't be the only solution for duplicate files! As an Infrastructure Engineer, I constantly see environments bloated with duplicate backups, media, and user files. Deleting them is risky, and expanding SAN/NAS storage is expensive. That’s why I built CloudShrink An automated engine that safely reclaims 30% of Windows Server storage. It scans for exact file duplicates (using SHA-256) and replaces them with native NTFS hard-links. ✅ Zero data loss. ✅ Files remain exactly where users left them. ✅ Built-in simulation mode & PDF reporting for safe auditing. I just launched it today on Product Hunt for early access! I would love the support and feedback of my network and fellow IT professionals. Check it out and request a demo here: [https://lnkd.in/g8e2Nms2] #WindowsServer #SysAdmin #ITInfrastructure #Storage #Automation #ProductHunt

🛠️ Practical Windows Commands Every IT Support Professional Should Know As an IT Support professional, these commands save time and solve issues faster 👇 🔹 When the PC is Slow or Freezing: • temp – Clear system temporary files • %temp% – Remove user temp files • prefetch – Delete cached program files • cleanmgr – Run Disk Cleanup • taskmgr – Check high CPU/RAM usage • services.msc – Manage startup services 🔹 When the Internet Isn’t Working: • ping google.com – Test connectivity • ipconfig – View network details • ipconfig /release & /renew – Refresh IP address • ipconfig /flushdns – Clear DNS cache • nslookup domain.com – Check DNS resolution • tracert google.com – Identify network path issues • netsh int ip reset – Reset network stack Mastering these basics makes troubleshooting faster and more efficient. IT Support is not just about knowing tools — it’s about knowing the right command at the right time. 🚀 #ITSupport #Helpdesk #WindowsCommands #Troubleshooting

🖥️ Save this before your next Windows headache. These 10 commands have saved me more times than I can count - and most people don't know half of them exist: 🛡️ sfc /scannow - repairs corrupted system files 💾 chkdsk /f - fixes disk errors before they kill your drive ⚙️ DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth - when sfc alone isn't enough 🌐 ipconfig /flushdns - the fix for half of all "website won't load" problems 🔌 netsh int ip reset - nuclear option for broken TCP/IP 📡 ping www.google.com - first thing I run on any network issue 🔗 netsh winsock reset - corrupted socket catalog? done. 🔧 msconfig - control what starts with Windows 🔍 chkdsk /r - finds bad sectors before data loss happens ⚡ bootrec /fixmbr - last resort when Windows won't boot All run from Command Prompt or PowerShell (as Administrator). Bookmark this. You'll thank yourself later.

A recent patchset merged into the nfs-utils repository introduces some highly pragmatic enhancements to the nfsrahead utility, significantly refining its execution profile and system resource footprint. For context, nfsrahead is a critical component within the Linux NFS ecosystem. Triggered via udev rules, its primary function is to dynamically tune the read_ahead_kb parameter for NFS mounts. By adjusting the read-ahead window based on the Backing Device Information (BDI), it directly optimises throughput and mitigates latency for sequential read operations across network file systems. The latest commits (since v2.8.7) deliver distinct architectural and hygienic improvements: - nfsrahead: enable event-driven mountinfo monitoring and skip non-NFS devices: We have transitioned to an event-driven model for /proc/self/mountinfo monitoring. Crucially, the execution path now preemptively identifies and skips non-NFS devices. - nfsrahead: quieten misleading error for non-NFS block devices: By failing gracefully on standard block devices, this stops superfluous warnings from polluting the system journal, eliminating red herrings for systems engineers parsing logs during root-cause analysis. https://lnkd.in/ewrky-RD https://lnkd.in/eEFCmprN https://lnkd.in/emNM-2tM #Linux #NFS