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Windows 10 "News and Interests" widget memory leak

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Software Windows 11 Home
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since i never use that, i can't comment. but this is the risk the OS that being more complicated with all of its features
 
I never use it either, but it was on by default.
 
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This is something I'd expect to see on my work computer, but I haven't.

Obviously I don't see this on any of my computers as they all run LTSC.

Though it doesn't surprise me as Microsoft isn't the best when it comes to clean and functional programming.
 
since i never use that, i can't comment. but this is the risk the OS that being more complicated with all of its features

It's not a theoretical risk, it is happening. Windows 10 uses more memory and CPU cycles compared to Windows 7. macOS Monterey uses more memory and CPU cycles compared to macOS Big Sur.

Some of this stuff one can turn off, some of it you cannot.

One of my biggest ongoing annoyances with Windows is all the bloat and junk that's installed and enabled from a fresh install. This isn't recent, it was the same issue back in the Nineties.

I spend a good hour cleaning up a fresh Windows installation ridding it of bloat, shutting down telemetry, disabling OneDrive, Cortana, etc. This chore also includes installing a bunch of stuff that should be there by default or at least prompted as an option before installation starts: common media codecs, DirectX, .NET frameworks/runtimes, Visual C++ Redistributables.

The News & Interests widget is one of those things I turn off immediately.

And then there's all the ongoing crap like background apps, services transmitting things to the cloud, incessant notifications.

Macs don't pile on this amount of bloat so clearly it's possible to implement a consumer grade operating system without shoving a bunch of garbage down a user's throat (or at least ask nicely first).

Every time I install a Windows Patch Tuesday update or a software package from a major vendor, I wonder if I'll stumble across some surreptitiously installed piece of skankware or end up having to turn something off again.
 
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Speaking to the crowd - I realize there are many that expect and demand Microsoft create perfection 100% of the time and there should never be any bugs in the ~50 million lines of code in Windows 10 and W11. So when one surfaces, these folks believe it clearly illustrates how stupid the developers at MS are. :rolleyes: Even when the bug only affects a tiny percentage of the 1.6 billion+ unique W10/11 systems out there, others, even those not affected. take the opportunity to chastise the folks at Redmond. It really makes no sense to me.

I used to have a boss who said, "Be a part of the solution, not the problem. Don't come complaining to me unless you have a possible solution or information that can help us resolve it!"

I wonder how many of the affected and complaining users did anything about it, like send feedback about the problem to Microsoft. Or did they just bash Microsoft? Most likely the latter. Which is sad because how is a developer going to learn how extensive a problem is if only a few are reporting it. How is a developer going to learn how to "duplicate on demand", the problem so they can effectively troubleshoot/debug and pinpoint the cause and, once and for all, develop and release a fix?

Now of course, if you are among the small percentage of users affected by this bug, then it certainly is a serious issue for you - especially if the leak as caused your system to grind to a halt. So for sure, I am NOT attempting to downplay the issue if it does indeed affect you. But if you see the problem, by all means, complain but also PLEASE send feedback to Microsoft so they can do something about it!

How to Provide the Windows team Feedback (so they can fix it)
1. On Windows 10 open the Feedback Hub app (hit the start button and search for feedback)​
2. Walk through the guided experience to provide "memory leak" feedback for "News and Interests."​

The more feedback Microsoft gets, the more clues and information they will have to resolve the issue. Microsoft will adjust the priority and add more resources if they can see it affects more users.

As I noted, the problem appears to have first been reported back in February. And MS did release a patch for it. But it seems to have resurfaced. Nevertheless, it is important to make sure our systems are current.

In the meantime, if you don't want to see News and Interest, or if affected by this memory leak problem and temporarily want to disable it, this is simple. First, if affected, please send feedback. Then, to disable News and Interests:
Right click the Windows 10 taskbar and click News and Interests.​
Select Turn off.​

Sorry - I don't have a W11 system in front of me to show how to disable that feature with that OS.
 
Hi,
10 & 11 are wear you down os's
MS always seem to undo and activate shitware disabled or removed and add more as some sort of a feature :laugh:
 
I really don't mind Microsoft adding more features to Windows. What I don't like at all is them adding new features when it is abundantly obvious the already existing, often buggy and/or unfished features still need more work. :(

I also don't like it when these added extraneous features - the ones that have no bearing whatsoever on security, HW/SW compatibility, or performance - cannot easily be disable (or enabled) by the user with a simple, easy to find, toggle/slider switch. No user should ever have to use Group Policy or dink with the Registry to disable a nonessential feature!

I've personally known a few MS developers over the years. And I know for a fact, in many cases, the developers, against their wishes, are forced by MS C-level execs and marketing weenies to push out new features NOW - ready or not - so those features can be used as marketing fodder. The first version of the MS Edge was a perfect, and probably the most flagrant recent example of that. It was clearly unfinished and so buggy, Microsoft was forced to abandon it completely for a totally different and new Edge. But not without first taking a HUGE PR hit that landed squarely on the developers who never wanted it released in the first place.

So I feel sorry for the developer at MS. They really are sincere, hard-working professionals and IMO, should not be judged by the actions of the bean counters (marketing and c-level execs).
 
How to Provide the Windows team Feedback (so they can fix it)
1. On Windows 10 open the Feedback Hub app (hit the start button and search for feedback)​
2. Walk through the guided experience to provide "memory leak" feedback for "News and Interests."​

Done; thanks for suggesting it.

It remains beyond me that such a serious bug was missed and then ignored.
 
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It remains beyond me that such a serious bug was missed and then ignored.
I don't think we should assume it was ignored. As I noted, it was first reported back in February and Microsoft released an update to fix it. And apparently it did fix it. But it resurfaced - or more likely was "reintroduced" when another update or modification came out.

But an update or mod to what? Who knows? It could have been an update to Windows, or some driver update by NVIDIA, the motherboard chipset maker or another HW maker, or a mod to the widget or to the code that runs the widget. IDK!

Again, we have to remember that essentially each and every one of the 1.6+ billion Windows machines out there are unique machines as we configure our own unique hardware combinations (from 100s of different makers), install our security and 3rd party apps, and well as our own Windows "Personalizations", changes to the defaults (a biggie!) and "tweaks".

Point being, it is unrealistic to expect that Microsoft, even with unlimited resources, could think of and prepare for every scenario possible, let alone test every possible scenario before releasing updates. And again, this apparently is only affecting a tiny percentage of people. AFAIK, this is the only thread at TPU on this topic.

Personally, with 50 million lines of code, I'm amazed more people don't encounter more bugs all the time!!! The Microsoft developers deserve some credit there, despite our personal feelings about the company itself.

"Serious bug", in this case, is a very relative term. Does this issue affect computer or user security? Apparently not! So is it really a "serious" bug? It certainly is not "critical" - at least not IMO because it is not a security issue. Nor is it (as far as we know) affecting [100s of, 10s of, or just] millions of users.

Now for sure, even if 0.1% of those 1.6 billion users are affected, that is 1.6 million users! And that would be a lot of upset users - users who deserve to be heard and NOT ignored.

So again, since you are one of those few impacted, then indeed, it "IS" serious for you! So in no way am I trying to downplay the problem. This is especially true if it causes your system to lock up, or worse, you lose data. That would be totally unacceptable. But I just don't think "serious" for a relatively few users (when security is not an issue) can, or even should constitute a top priority for Microsoft - not when there are armies (some state sanctioned! :eek: :mad: :mad: :() bad guys out there actively intent on conducting "serious" malicious harm.

Also, and I know you already are fully aware of this Andy (so speaking to the crowd), fixing problems is easy and usually quick too! It is the actual troubleshooting required to pinpoint the problem where the expert knowledge, training, experience and invested time consumes the vast majority of resources. And when troubleshooting unseen, obscure problems, if you cannot duplicate the problem at will, then pinpointing the defect/bug becomes a nearly impossible challenge. My point there is I believe if this was a simple-to-duplicate issue, Microsoft would have fixed it once and for all the first time around.

Of course, I could be wrong. :(
 
Low quality post by P4-630
"Serious bug", in this case, is a very relative term. Does this issue affect computer or user security? Apparently not! So is it really a "serious" bug? It certainly is not "critical" - at least not IMO because it is not a security issue.

Not to argue, just discuss.

My hard drive goes into excessive paging when most of the 16GB of RAM is in use and the computer is no longer usable till rebooted, which is hard given how unresponsive the machine becomes; that was before I knew what was leaking memory.

Now if I had shut down the computer at the end of each day, I would probably not have even noticed the issue.
 
I just checked mine, "News & interests" was switched off thankfully although I have never turned it off as far as I can recall.
 
I did a recent install of Windows 10, so I am guessing it gets turned on with recent build installations.
 
Says it's been fixed for months now?
 
I wish... I keep my Windows 10 up to date and saw the leak recently, but since I have now turned off the widget I will not see when it is fixed.
 
I just leave this here
As I said in my first post above,
I realize there are many that expect and demand Microsoft create perfection 100% of the time and there should never be any bugs in the ~50 million lines of code in Windows 10 and W11. So when one surfaces, these folks believe it clearly illustrates how stupid the developers at MS are. :rolleyes:
Contrary to what many believe and want everyone else to believe, Microsoft knows they are not infallible. They are not perfect. They clearly make mistakes too. Do they want to admit their mistakes? Of course not. Who does?

I will also note in essentially every industry that involves any type of security - whether as security providers, or security users, it is common practice (for security reasons!) to avoid announcing security vulnerabilities, weaknesses and flaws to the public - especially before they have been fixed.

"Hey badguys! The lock on the back door to my house is broken!"

My house is safe, right? :rolleyes:

Is that frustrating for us users/consumers? I sure know when Equifax was hacked and the personal information of 143 million customers, including mine :mad:, was compromised due to total incompetence of the IT and security administrators, I was frustrated and mad. And when I learn (1) they knew of the problem, had the patch already but were too lazy to apply it, and (2) the company knew about the [preventable] breach for months and said nothing, I was furious! :mad:

Not to argue, just discuss.

My hard drive goes into excessive paging when most of the 16GB of RAM is in use and the computer is no longer usable till rebooted, which is hard given how unresponsive the machine becomes.
And for sure, if that was this computer, I would consider it a serious problem too. No argument from me, Andy.

but since I have now turned off the widget I will not see when it is fixed.
Since most bugs don't affect most users, most users don't see when bugs are fixed. That said, hopefully - though probably should not count on it - when Microsoft does fix it, the KB article for the update will state it fixed that problem too.
 
Hi,
I just disable with reg file ezpz

 
MS still hasn’t fixed the wallpaper rotation issue with Explorer.
 
MS still hasn’t fixed the wallpaper rotation issue with Explorer.
Can we keep on the subject issue? This isn't a generic "all MS issues" thread.
 
Unix-like systems are much less likely to use a lot of RAM because there is simply much less bloatware running in the background. I think this explains why so many windows11 users complain that more than 4GB of RAM, and sometimes more than 5GB of RAM is used at idle.

Screenshot_2022-10-23_11-17-38.png


Xfce is many times heavier than Openbox, PeKWM, xmonad, awesome, dwm, Fluxbox, etc.
It's really child's play for a company with more than 2000 employees to develop a fully functional Linux distro with a modern desktop environment, using around 80 MB of RAM in total.
 
If you feel the need to uninstall any Windows app, you can use Powershell.

Code:
Get-AppxPackage | select Name, PackageFullName | Format-List

Will show you what apps are installed. From there...

For the record, a serious bug classification is below Critical. When a possible bug result ends with the PC being unusable, its serious at least.
 
This is something I'd expect to see on my work computer, but I haven't.

Obviously I don't see this on any of my computers as they all run LTSC.

Though it doesn't surprise me as Microsoft isn't the best when it comes to clean and functional programming.
Can I get a copy please?? :)
 
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