Update 01/07/2024—The update referred to in the original post, KB5039302, appears to be causing quite a few problems. For instance, on some systems, Windows may reboot every time, which basically means that the device can no longer be used without a recovery process.
This problem particularly affects devices using virtual machines and nested virtualisation features like CloudPC, DevBox, and Azure Virtual Desktop. Microsoft says on its website it is working on a fix. In the meantime, Microsoft pulled the update.
The update also causes the taskbar to no longer function properly for Windows N users. This is a Windows version without certain media apps, such as Media Player. The taskbar becomes invisible or does not work. Again, Microsoft is expected to release a fix soon. Those who have installed KB5039302 can uninstall it via Settings > Windows Update > History of updates > Uninstall update.
Original article 26/06/2024 – The latest update to Windows 11 allows users to compress files into formats other than .zip without additional software for the first time. Files can now also be shrunk using the 7-zip or Tape Archive (.tar) compression algorithms, for example.
The added functionality is part of the KB5039302 update to Windows 11 version 23H2, which is in preview and offered as an optional download through Windows settings. After installing the update, the right-click context menu in Windows Explorer should offer additional options for file compression.
In past decades, by default, this context menu only offered the option to compress files via the ZIP compression algorithm. Now, via the ‘Compress to…’ option it offers more options by default, as well as the ability to use different compression programs. Users can choose additional formats and edit details through ‘Additional Options’. For example, they can choose the compression level and the type of data each compressed archive should store.
Of course, the possibility to add additional compression options has been a staple in Windows for quite some time. However, these options were not enabled by default and required installing extra software by third parties.
Not immediately available to everyone
This option is part of a ‘gradual rollout’, meaning that the feature is not necessarily available immediately on all updated devices but will become available after some time. In any case, this editor’s Windows 11 version did not offer the option after updating.
It is not at all long ago that Windows natively started supporting other archive formats. Microsoft announced in May last year that Windows 11 22H2 would start supporting formats such as .rar, .gz and .tar.
Other features and additions Microsoft will gradually roll out in this update include easier account management, the default activation of the button on the far right of the taskbar to return immediately to the desktop, and, of course, more ads, such as a card containing Game Pass recommendations. This shows up in both Home and Pro users’ versions, but only for users who play regularly on their devices.
Innovations immediately available to everyone include a fix for a bug that occurred when using the snippet tool. Also fixed is an issue that made it impossible to “safely remove” USB sticks when task manager is active.
Also read: Windows 11 24H2 in the finishing phase