This may or may not affect EQ2. Did you apply this Windows 10 patch recently? March 1, 2019—KB4482887 (OS Build 17763.348)Applies to: Windows 10, version 1809Windows Server 2019, all versionshttps://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4482887/windows-10-update-kb4482887"After installing KB4482887, users may notice graphics and mouse performance degradation with desktop gaming " Guess what? Windows 10 Update Causing Severe In-Game Performance Issues by Zak Storey March 7, 2019 at 4:24 AM https://www.tomshardware.com/news/microsoft-update-ruins-gaming-performance,38761.html "Another day, another buggy patch from the flagship gaming OS. Windows 10 Update KB4482887, has been confirmed by Microsoft to severely hamper performance in certain games.""From Destiny 2, to Sea of Thieves and beyond, the performance hits themselves are reportedly hardware agnostic, it doesn’t matter if you’re running AMD, Intel or Nvidia, you’ll likely fall prey to both frame rate drops in game, and severe input lag.Microsoft’s official statement reads: “After installing KB4482887, users may notice graphics and mouse performance degredation with desktop gaming when playing certain games (eg: Destiny 2). According to the company, it’s working on a resolution to the issue and should provide an update in an upcoming release. For the time being users can uninstall KB4482887 to regain the lost performance." A recent Windows 10 update is hurting game performance and messing with mice By Paul Lilly 2019-03-08T17:54:50Z https://www.pcgamer.com/a-recent-wi...rting-game-performance-and-messing-with-mice/ "If you've recently noticed that games are not performing as well as they once were, and neither is your mouse, it might not be just in your head. Microsoft confirmed there is an issue with a Windows update that is causing some wonky behavior." For those uncomfortable with uninstalling Windows patches, just wait. Microsoft promised a fix Real Soon Now. Windows 7 users should not feel smug. You know about the Chrome exploit right? Major Windows 7 zero-day discovered, enables privilege escalation in combination with another Chrome exploit Microsoft believes it only affects Windows 7 32-bit systems By William Gayde on March 8, 2019, 6:12 AM https://www.techspot.com/news/79089-major-windows-7-zero-day-discovered-enables-privileged.html "Why it matters: Google's Threat Analysis Group released details on Thursday of an exploit that allows privileged escalation in Windows when used in conjunction with a recently patched Google Chrome vulnerability. Google recommends that Chrome users restart their browser to ensure the patches are applied. Microsoft recommends that users update to Windows 10.Security researchers at Google and Microsoft have observed attackers using a combination of a patched Chrome vulnerability and an unpatched Windows vulnerability to take advantage of Windows 7 systems." That is all. Of course 'the day weekend is still early.'
Precisely why my gaming (home) computer is still running Win 8.1. I refused to upgrade (downgrade?) it to 10 because I did not like the way they pushed updates through without you being able to review them.
P.S. Microsoft support for Windows 7 ends January 14 2020. Something to think about, post-2019 expansion. Fortunately Microsoft support for Windows 8/8.1 will continue until January 10 2023. By then Windows 10 should be stable and less annoying ...... who am I kidding?
If you need an alternative, I just installed EQ2 (haven't played in a long time) on Ubuntu Linux 18.10 with Wine-Staging 3.18 and it seems to be working fine. I didn't have to do anything special -- just ran the installer. It wasn't quite happy until I did the full download, though.
What is that meme? Right. Forced Windows 10 updates, Windows 7 and earlier users can ignore this, sometimes have mixed results. To many of these updates cause voice chat and graphics drivers problems. Among other problems. But this coming May update will have some good news. Improving the Windows 10 update experience with control, quality and transparencyMike Fortin / Corporate Vice President, WindowsApril 4, 2019https://blogs.windows.com/windowsex...quality-and-transparency/#ddZkgmb9p6CgziOQ.97"Beginning with the Windows 10 May 2019 Update, users will be more in control of initiating the feature OS update. We will provide notification that an update is available and recommended based on our data, but it will be largely up to the user to initiate when the update occurs." ... "In fact, all customers will now have the ability to explicitly choose if they want to update their device when they "check for updates" or to pause updates for up to 35 days." Prior to the "Windows 10 May 2019" only owners of Windows 10 Pro ($199.99) could delay "updates for up to 35 days." That's good news for regular Windows 10 users. Why? When a rollout causes major problems, Microsoft will roll it back. When minor problems occur, Microsoft sends out patches. Usually all within the "35 days." Meaning you won't be immediately impacted, and can game on. When will this forced update occur? "I'm pleased to announce that the Windows 10 May 2019 Update will start to be available next week in the Release Preview Ring for those in the Windows Insider Program. We will begin broader availability in late May for commercial customers, users who choose the new May 2019 Update for their Windows 10 PC via "check for updates," and customers whose devices are nearing the end of support on a given release." Heres a short video version of the release. But you might want to back up your systems.
While the handful of articles describe specific problems, do not assume those are the only problems. These problems may be symptoms for other issues; cascade effect. For everyone else, the canaries has stopped tweeting. Keep in mind that this may not happen to you. Yet? Things like like this should really be presented by the community manager. Oh wait ... Windows 7 patch warning: Antivirus clash causing PCs to freeze Updates for Windows 7 cause startup problems for a second month in a row. May 22, 2019 https://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-7-patch-warning-antivirus-clash-causing-pcs-to-freeze/ Windows 10 May 2019 Update now rolling out to everyone... slowly 5/21/2019 https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/201...19-update-now-rolling-out-to-everyone-slowly/ "Unless you explicitly want it installed, you probably won't get this update." "Windows users are unlikely to see the update automatically installed for many months." And yet, here we are. Windows 10 Update Bricks PCs, Microsoft Offers Workarounds May 20, 2019 https://threatpost.com/windows-10-update-bricks-pcs/144897/ "Microsoft has acknowledged that a Windows 10 bug is causing some users’ systems to freeze after using their System Restore feature." "This latest advisory also comes a week after Microsoft released a patch for an elevation-of-privileges vulnerability rated important on Patch Tuesday, which it said was being exploited in the wild. That update also includes critical bugs that can lead to remote code-execution." Windows 10 May 2019 Update problems: how to fix them 24 May 2019(?) https://www.techradar.com/how-to/windows-10-may-2019-update-problems-how-to-fix-them Display brightness may not respond to adjustments Audio not working with Dollby Atmos headphones and home theatre Duplicate folders and documents showing in user profile directory AMD RAID driver incompatibility Error attempting to install Windows 10 May 2019 Update with external USB device or memory card attached Unable to discover or connect to Bluetooth devices Night light settings do not apply in some cases Intel Audio displays an intcdaud.sys notification Cannot launch Camera app Intermittent loss of Wi-Fi connectivity D3D applications and games may fail to enter full-screen mode on rotated displays Older versions of BattleEye anti-cheat software are incompatable with Windows 10 May 2019 Update Missing features after installing the Windows 10 May 2019 Update "If you're encountering problems installing Windows 10 May 2019 Update via Windows 10's update tool, don't panic." The quotes below are priceless. Windows 10 May 2019 Update installation is borking on some AMD systems And it's even breaking its own new feature 28 May 2019 https://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/3076370/windows-10-may-update-amd-sandbox-borkage "MICROSOFT HAS started to roll out the now-traditional borks that represent its latest attempts at improving the Windows 10 operating system. The May 2019 Update (Build 1903) began to roll out just before the bank holiday weekend, giving us all plenty of times to find the bits that it missed. One of the biggest issues affects anyone with an AMD processor - installation simply freezes on these machines as there's a compatibility issue between the RAID drivers and the update. " And you're thinking 'I don't need no stinking patches.' Why a Windows flaw patched nine days ago is still spooking the Internet 5/23/2019 https://arstechnica.com/information...nine-days-ago-is-still-spooking-the-internet/ "It has been nine days since Microsoft patched the high-severity vulnerability known as BlueKeep, and yet the dire advisories about its potential to sow worldwide disruptions keep coming." "Until recently, researchers had to take Microsoft's word the vulnerability was severe. Then five researchers from security firm McAfee reported last Tuesday that they were able to exploit the vulnerability and gain remote code execution without any end-user interaction. The post affirmed that CVE-2019-0708, as the vulnerability is indexed, is every bit as critical as Microsoft said it was. “There is a gray area to responsible disclosure,” the researchers wrote. “With our investigation we can confirm that the exploit is working and that it is possible to remotely execute code on a vulnerable system without authentication.""
Was elsewhere. Sorry for the delay. BlueKeep - Windows 7 Microsoft Operating Systems BlueKeep Vulnerability June 17, 2019 https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/alerts/AA19-168A "The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is issuing this Activity Alert to provide information on a vulnerability, known as “BlueKeep,” that exists in the following Microsoft Windows Operating Systems (OSs), including both 32- and 64-bit versions, as well as all Service Pack versions: Windows 2000 Windows Vista Windows XP Windows 7 Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2003 R2 Windows Server 2008 Windows Server 2008 R2 An attacker can exploit this vulnerability to take control of an affected system." Microsoft did provide notice. CVE-2019-0708 | Remote Desktop Services Remote Code Execution Vulnerability Security Vulnerability Published: 05/14/2019 MITRE CVE-2019-0708 https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2019-0708 "Windows 7 for 32-bit Systems Service Pack 1 Windows 7 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1" You have Windows 7? Do a security update. Now. And yes, to repeat, Windows 10 has a BlueKeep vulnerability. If you haven't performed a security update ... Before someone does the 'why use Windows when UNIX is immune?' shuffle/song and dance: StealthWorker Malware Uses Windows, Linux Bots to Hack Websites March 6, 2019 https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...are-uses-windows-linux-bots-to-hack-websites/ "Hackers are running a new campaign which drops the StealthWorker brute-force malware on Windows and Linux machines that end up being used to brute force other computers in a series of distributed brute force attacks."
