How to get the Windows 10 May 2020 Update version 2004

[Porthos]

The May Feature update has been released.

https://www.tenforums.com/windows-10-news/157217-how-get-windows-10-may-2020-update-version-2004-a.html

Media creation tool below.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/software-download/windows10

 

[AdvancedSetup]

Well, I would not want to go to Australia for my download and I thought you were in the US too @Porthos

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

 

What’s new in the Windows 10 May 2020 Update
https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2020/05/27/whats-new-in-the-windows-10-may-2020-update/

How to get the Windows 10 May 2020 Update
https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2020/05/27/how-to-get-the-windows-10-may-2020-update/

 

Quote

Go passwordless. Did you know—for improved security and a simple sign-in experience, you can sign in with your face, fingerprint or PIN? It’s easier than ever to enable passwordless sign-in for your Microsoft accounts: just go to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options on your Windows 10 PC and select ‘On’ under ‘Require Windows Hello sign-in for Microsoft accounts’. Note that this is hardware dependent.

Please don't do this. Stop and think for a moment. How is linking your fingerprints or facial recognition more secure? That is simply being lazy and trading security for ease of use. In the long run using such methods may prove to come back and haunt you in the future. Then a PIN? really? I just spent a long time recovering a users profile remotely as they didn't even realize they had a PIN. The system was automatically logging them in. Then when the system got infected and was no longer auto logging in it became difficult to bypass the PIN requirement. I don't know if true or not but they said they were not able to get back into the computer because Microsoft wasn't able to help them. The tried an true method of using a Local account and password has worked well for billions of people for decades. Yes, there are probably tens' of thousands of people that have forgotten their password or had other issues and why Microsoft in my opinion has worked with others to find methods to bypass the password requirement or make it ultra easy. If you're the type that has trouble with passwords and want your entire support and reliance tied directly to Microsoft then by all means go ahead and follow along with the new methods. But for the rest that actually do care I would still recommend Local accounts and password not tied to the Cloud.

Its sort of like all the people rushing to do DNA tests for Family Trees and then finding out about the abuse it allows but now its too late to take it back.

 

[Porthos]

Microsoft is investigating ten Windows 10 2004 known issues

[AdvancedSetup]

Just now, Porthos said:

Microsoft is investigating ten Windows 10 2004 known issues

Nice, thanks

[Porthos]

4 minutes ago, AdvancedSetup said:

Well, I would not want to go to Australia for my download and I thought you were in the US too @Porthos

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

That link takes me to.

 

[Porthos]

I personally do not use the Media creation tool because I want a WIM based ISO not a compressed ESD based one.

The tool is good for the average user who wants an install disk to do a clean install or an in-place upgrade/repair install.

Edited May 27, 2020 by Porthos

[Porthos]

About to go do my 35th install so far with no issues.

Been doing it since I installed my main computer on

Quote

Operating system | Windows 10 Pro 64-bit Build 19041 Version 2004    Installed in 2020/03/30 13:30:15

 

Edited May 27, 2020 by Porthos

[Porthos]

Working on the data backup from the client's old drive and reading the forums. For the curious folks this Fab's Autobackup pro.

 

Edited May 27, 2020 by Porthos

[AdvancedSetup]

I don't know to be honest. Not that I've researched it a lot but I've now helped at least 2 people that using the MCT we were able to extract the Instller.wim file

I've not tried an upgrade with the image as I rarely do upgrades. If at all possible I try very hard to convince users (that have their install media and license information) to do a clean fresh install. It will take longer but the results will always be better in the long run for security, speed, and to ensure you don't bring the broken pieces of years of junk onto the new build. But I do understand that as a business owner you don't have that luxury and need to get updates done quickly.

I would try the MCT tool though and see if it works for an upgrade or not properly as it contains all the updates too unlike a static ISO image so no having to wait for or do massive updates either.

 

[Amaroq_Starwind]

My laptop has an outdated Nvidia GPU that stopped being updated a long time ago, so it's definitely subject to that compatibility hold...

But I definitely want that updated Notepad. Maybe I can get a friend who has that update to send me their notepad executable.

[Porthos]

3 minutes ago, AdvancedSetup said:

I try very hard to convince users (that have their install media and license information) to do a clean fresh install. It will take longer but the results will always be better in the long run for security, speed, and to ensure you don't bring the broken pieces of years of junk onto the new build.

Amen, Just what I am doing now to a new SSD.

4 minutes ago, AdvancedSetup said:

But I do understand that as a business owner you don't have that luxury and need to get updates done quickly.

I keep all cumulative updates on my external SSD for fast updates. I just wish I could do that with Store updates.

200 mb internet helps as well. As soon as Google Fiber is available in my neighborhood Spectrum is getting kicked to the curb so fast they wont know what hit them.

[AdvancedSetup]

But that's what I'm saying. The MCT will build you a bootable installer of Windows 10 with ALL updates at the time you created the USB disk or ISO image. I just don't know if it can be used for Upgrades or not as I never do it.

 

[Porthos]

4 minutes ago, Amaroq_Starwind said:

My laptop has an outdated Nvidia GPU that stopped being updated a long time ago, so it's definitely subject to that compatibility hold...

My old  Dell e6530 has a NVIDIA chip and I have never had issues. I will be upgrading that one manually this weekend so we shall see. Macrium image first of course.

[Porthos]

Just now, AdvancedSetup said:

But that's what I'm saying. The MCT will build you a bootable installer of Windows 10 with ALL updates at the time you created the USB disk or ISO image. I just don't know if it can be used for Upgrades or not as I never do it.

 

It can. Insert and run the setup exe.

[Porthos]

14 minutes ago, AdvancedSetup said:

I've now helped at least 2 people that using the MCT we were able to extract the Instller.wim file

I am building a MCT disk now just to see if it is ESD or WIM based for giggles.

[AdvancedSetup]

This link should be the official one from Microsoft on known issues with the 2004 build of Windows 10 - thanks to @AlexSmith

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/release-information/status-windows-10-2004

 

[Porthos]

The MCT does create a ESD based disk.

Total ISO size.

 

Edited May 28, 2020 by Porthos

[AdvancedSetup]

Interesting. When reading online it seems Microsoft is using the .ESD as it compresses to a much higher rate than .WIM but you can easily convert ESD to WIM - but I could swear I just had a user download and use the MCT for the fix. Now I'll need to see if I can find that and see what we did or what link I gave them as I don't recall converting esd to wim

https://theitbros.com/convert-windows-esd-file-to-windows-wim-file/

I even looked at my original purchase of Windows 10 ISO image that Microsoft sent me a few years ago and it too has the .esd file in it.

How or where did you get an ISO image that is using .WIM ?

Maybe I'm thinking about boot.wim

 

 

Edited May 28, 2020 by AdvancedSetup
updated information

[Porthos]

1 hour ago, AdvancedSetup said:

How or where did you get an ISO image that is using .WIM ?

Windows ISO downloader from Heidoc. Also can get it from UUP dump as well.

1 hour ago, AdvancedSetup said:

When reading online it seems Microsoft is using the .ESD as it compresses to a much higher rate than .WIM but you can easily convert ESD to WIM

Yes it is compressed. It is also the way it is delivered thru Windows update because of the compression.

I know it can be converted and during a DISM fix you can tell it to use the ESD instead of the WIM but I am lazy and like having the WIM version on hand.

Edited May 28, 2020 by Porthos

[AdvancedSetup]

Well, I view it as a bit different than lazy. Having to always perform updates takes much more effort and time. If I were doing as many as you do I'd get the MCT with all the latest dynamic updates. Then do the conversion and rebuild the ISO or USB stick installer using the convert ESD to WIM if wanted.

In the long run, especially if doing a dozen upgrades, it would have to save at least a few hours in time alone.

 

[Porthos]

1 hour ago, AdvancedSetup said:

Having to always perform updates takes much more effort and time.

Rebuilding the MCT takes time as well. I would have to test but if I remember correctly the MCT does not include the Cumulative updates. It still happens on the computer via updates when using the MCT drive. They want to keep the image small to fit on a 4 gig flash. Several months down the road before the next feature update the MCT would grow larger than 4 gigs if the CU's were included when building the MCT.  

It just "looks" like it has them because it is part of the install to check for updates if not specifically unchecked in the install options (an extra "hidden" click).

Edited May 28, 2020 by Porthos

[AlexSmith]

@Porthos I can help shed some light on ISOs vs MCT as well as WIM vs ESD. Plus, if needed I can deep dive in to the Windows Setup process, which is the process that installs Windows including Clean Installs and Upgrade Installs. I personally have a passion for Windows internals and dealing with OS installs, images, and updates. So this is right up my ally so to speak.

Windows 10 Media Creation Tool (MCT)
The Windows 10 Media Creation Tool (MCT) is a utility that builds up to date Windows OS installation media (USB, ISO, or a temporary store for an in-place upgrade) on-demand using the Universal Update Platform (UUP) . This installation media can then be used to install the latest version of Windows 10 on your device or another device. It supports clean installs, upgrade installs, or custom installs using DISM.

The overall structure of installation media created by the MCT is exactly the same to what you are used to seeing in traditional Windows OS ISOs and DVDs. In fact, this same structure is still used when Windows Update performs a "Feature Update" which is just a rebranded name for an automated in-place upgrade performed by Windows Update (via the UUP) on a Windows 10 PC. There is one difference though when compared to traditional ISOs, which is that the MCT stores the Windows OS images themselves in an ESD file (install.esd) in the Sources folder of the installation media rather than install.wim like you may be used to seeing. An ESD file (short for Electronic Software Distribution Windows Image File) is simply a more modern version of a WIM file (Windows IMage File) with a higher level of compression. ESDs can be used by DISM and even 7Zip for more advanced installations or extracting images or even individual files. Think of an ESD/WIM as almost a Zip file but built specifically for Windows Imaging (aka Windows OS Installation)

The other major benefit of the MCT is that it will slipstream the latest updates for the latest offical build of Windows 10. This can save you valuable time and ensures you have all the latest updates and fixes that apply to Windows Setup too.

Oh, and one more thing I like to call out that is awesome about the MCT - on top of making up to date OS media, you can select the option to create multi-architecture media. That means a single ISO or USB flash drive with both x64 and x86 versions of Windows. Add the fact that it uses ESDs and that will save some additional space if you like to collect Windows OS installation ISOs like me.

So what does the MCT actually do? From a high level, the MCT does the following:

1. Dynamically obtains a products.cab file which contains an XML list of the latest UUP and ESD components from Microsoft's UUP servers
2. Stages a temporary folder to build the installation media and stores a configuration profile based on the settings you provided the MCT (through the GUI or CLI)
3. Downloads the core OS component packages, applicable base OS ESDs, the latest applicable Servicing Stack Update (SSU), and the latest applicable Cumulative Update (CU).
4. Creates the installation media (using the same basic structure as an ISO) using the downloaded components. I can dive deeper in to this process if needed.
5. Outputs the finalized  installation media to an ISO, a USB flash drive, or a special local folder if running an in-place upgrade.
6. If an in-place upgrade/clean install via MCT is being performed, Windows Setup (setup.exe) is started from the temporary installation media store with the applicable automation arguments/CLI options

Windows 10 ISOs
This is the more traditional format of Windows OS installation media many are used to and is what was used to create those fancy Windows DVDs. Still, the basic structure of the ISO is still in use today and will likely never go away.  With that being said, there are some major differences with how Microsoft deploys and updates ISOs on top of the difference of how the Windows Installation Images are stored. Let's review...

By default, ISOs from Microsoft are going to use an Install.wim file which is similar in function as a Zip file but is specifically used for installing Windows Images on a device. WIMs have been around since Windows Vista, so they can appear to be easier to utilize, but in today's world you can just as easily interact with ESD files with common tools like DISM and 7Zip. The biggest difference is that they are not as compressed as ESDs, so they take up more space and there are a couple of additional things you can do with them using DISM, but that's a story for another day.

The real difference though is how Microsoft makes and maintains ISOs. Generally speaking, ISOs are only updated with slipstreamed CUs and SSUs when Microsoft deems fit. In many cases, the ISOs are actually .1 or RTM builds. This can be great if you are doing custom WIMs/ESDs that you are personally slipstreaming updates or other customizations to, but for most users, including power users, this just means extra time after installation to install the latest SSU and CU.

Another difference is how to obtain the original ISOs. Generally speaking, Microsoft makes them available via the following channels:

• MSDN (Subscription required)
• Software Download Site (aka Techbench) - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10iso
  • Note - You'll need to change your browser's device type using Developer Tools (F12) or a Mac/Chromebook/Linux device to access this as it redirects Windows PCs to the Upgrade Assistant/Media Creation Tool

What is the Upgrade Assistant/Update Assistant?
Honestly, its just a stripped down and rebranded version of the Media Creation Tool. Rather than give you the option to create media, it just give you the option to perform an in-place upgrade or clean install. It obtains, stores, and creates the installation media the exact same way as the MCT and then starts an install via Windows Setup (setup.exe). Why a separate tool that does the same basic thing? You're guess is as good as mine. One would have to ask the PM at Microsoft.

Hey I Automatically got the latest CU using an ISO or MCT without it - What Gives?
This is normal and expected behavior since Windows 8.1 if you have internet access via a feature known as Dynamic Update. Windows Setup (the actual process that performs the OS install/upgrade - used by the MCT, ISOs, etc.) will by default utilize Dynamic Updates unless you are offline OR use a CLI argument to not use it. Dynamic Update will download the latest SSU and CU then stage them to be installed during OOBE (Out Of Box Experience - near the end of the whole process). If a CU/SSU is not flagged as a Dynamic Update by Microsoft though, then those will be offered up when Windows completes the OOBE and does a check for updates via Windows Update. So yes, you are likely to end up getting the latest OS build when things are all done, but it might take a little longer if the source WIM/ESD was outdated.

Edited May 29, 2020 by AlexSmith
added note about multi-architecture via MCT, fixed step 5, and added step 6.

[David H. Lipman]

Very informative @AlexSmith .
Thank you.

[Porthos]

56 minutes ago, AlexSmith said:

Hey I Automatically got the latest CU using an ISO or MCT without it - What Gives?
This is normal and expected behavior since Windows 8.1 if you have internet access via a feature known as Dynamic Update. Windows Setup (the actual process that performs the OS install/upgrade - used by the MCT, ISOs, etc.) will by default utilize Dynamic Updates unless you are offline OR use a CLI argument to not use it. Dynamic Update will download the latest SSU and CU then stage them to be installed during OOBE (Out Of Box Experience - near the end of the whole process). If a CU/SSU is not flagged as a Dynamic Update by Microsoft though, then those will be offered up when Windows completes the OOBE and does a check for updates via Windows Update. So yes, you are likely to end up getting the latest OS build when things are all done, but it might take a little longer if the source WIM/ESD was outdated.

Just a more in depth way of saying what I was trying to get across. The ISO or MCT build is the same at the base. The one downloaded today will be at its base even when remade 4 months from now  unless MS decides to update/re-release it if used on a offline system when installing. When you go back online after install it is going to install the updates just like normal.

The current released MCT built disk and the ISO direct from MS are the same except the ESD is smaller because it is compressed and the WIM based ISO is larger as it is not.

Next month it will still be the same build if the MCT is rebuilt.

Both properties are below.

 

[Firefox]

On 5/27/2020 at 6:25 PM, AdvancedSetup said:

I just don't know if it can be used for Upgrades or not as I never do it.

I use it for upgrades all the time, from Win7 and above.