Windows 10 Insider build 20231 adds new option to customize your PC during initial setup

Microsoft has just released the Windows 10 preview build 20231 for the Dev Channel, which brings two new improvements that will only be available to select Insiders. First of all, Insiders doing a clean install of the build 20231 (ISOs are available here) may notice a new page during the out of box experience allowing them to choose how they plan to use their PC.

The current list of options includes Gaming, Family, Creativity, Schoolwork, Entertainment, and Business, and each of them will suggest tools and services during PC setup. “This is the initial wave of work for this feature, and Insiders may notice different options presented in OOBE depending on what they select, however at this time Insiders will not notice any other configuration differences after exiting OOBE,” the Windows Insider team explained.

The second new feature in this build is the ability for IT admins to change app default file associations on a per-user or per-device basis. This feature will only be available for a subset of Insiders installing this build, and you can find the testing steps below:

1. Generate Default Application Associations XML file by following this page.
2. Manually modify the XML by adding 2 new properties:
3. Add Version=”1″ to the DefaultAssociations tag.
4. Add Suggested=”True” to any Association tag.
5. Enable the group policy to set the default file associations by following this doc.
6. Reboot or log in as the user.

Starting with this build, some Insiders may also notice a change to enable displaying graphics card information listed under Settings > System > About. The build 20231 also brings various bug fixes and known issues, and you can find the full list below:

Fixes

• We fixed the vEthernet adapter disconnecting inside of the Windows Subsystem for Linux. Please see this GitHub thread for full details.
• We fixed an issue that could result in your ALT + Tab order changing unexpectedly and leading you to switch to the wrong window.
• We fixed an issue that could result in Action Center and notification buttons not being visible after switching between High Contrast Black and High Contrast White.
• We fixed an issue where the “Show audio alerts visually” option under Settings > Ease of Access> Audio wasn’t functioning for incoming notifications.
• We fixed an issue where if the PC was locked using with Narrator running, dismissing the lock screen wouldn’t announce the signed in username on the login screen.
• We fixed an issue when using Narrator and logging in with Windows Hello, Narrator wouldn’t announce the error message if your face wasn’t recognized.
• We fixed an issue resulting in audio and microphone glitches over Bluetooth for certain devices. As a reminder, when encountering issues in this space, please take a moment to capture a repro trace, as it helps the teams investigate. More details about capturing traces available .
• We fixed an issue impacting Task View reliability.
• We fixed an issue resulting in the Windows Hello setup camera preview in OOBE displaying in the wrong position if you rotated your device into portrait mode during setup.
• We fixed an issue resulting in Settings hanging on launch for some Insiders.
• We fixed an issue resulting in systemsettingsbroker.exe crashing for some Insiders.
• We fixed an issue where the HideRecentJumplists MDM Policy wasn’t taking effect.
• We fixed an issue that could result in duplicate cloud provider entries appearing in the File Explorer navigation pane.
• We fixed an issue resulting in PDF previews no longer displaying in File Explorer.
• We fixed an issue resulting in the touch keyboard unexpectedly dismissing after setting focus to the search box in File Explorer.
• We fixed an issue where when typing with the Chinese Pinyin IME, if your text included an apostrophe, then after finalizing your composition by pressing Shift the result would display a garbled character.

Known issues

• If you were one of the Insiders repeatedly entering a temp profile with the previous flight, please refer to the following forum post to get your profile back into a good state. If you were not impacted, this issue will not impact you in today’s flight.
• We’re looking into reports of the update process hanging for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build.
• We’re working on a fix to enable live preview for pinned site tabs.
• We’re working on enabling the new taskbar experience for existing pinned sites. In the meantime, you can unpin the site from the taskbar, remove it from the edge://apps page, and then re-pin the site.
• We’re working on a fix for an issue where some Office applications crashing or missing after updating to a new build.
• We’re working on a fix for an issue causing some devices experiencing a KMODE_EXCEPTION bugcheck when using certain virtualization technologies.
• We’re working on a fix for an issue where after taking this build some users receive a Compatibility Assistant notification that “Microsoft Office is no longer available”. Despite the notification, Office should still be there and working fine.
• We are working on a fix for an issue where selecting an IME candidate or hardware keyboard text prediction candidate may insert the candidate adjacent to the one selected.
• We’re investigating an issue reported by some Insiders wherein the taskbar is obscuring the Power button in the Start menu. If this is happening on your PC, you may need to use the Windows key plus X menu to shutdown for the time being.

Last but not least, the Windows Insider team said today that all Insiders in Dev Channel will soon see the new Skype Meet Now in the Windows 10 Taskbar, as well as the recent change to enable moving the text cursor via gestures on the touch keyboard. That’s it for today’s Insider news, let us know in the comments if you think these new options to customize your PC during the installation of Windows 10 are a good idea.