phantomofearth 🌳

@phantomofearth.bsky.social

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I take a look at #WindowsInsider builds and older Windows betas, with some randomness and bad jokes here and there. Twitter: @phantomofearth

Windows 11 Experimental build 26100.9032 with versioning packages for "build" 26340 installed, causing the OS to show build 26340.9032.
Modern WinUI Print Management app in Windows 11 Experimental builds, in dark mode. The app is unfinished and shows a big white bar on the left.
Copilot key settings in Windows 11 Experimental build 26300.8935, with "Do nothing" set.
Concept claiming to show revamped Drive Properties in Windows 11.
File Properties in Windows 11. The dialog shown is a modern, WinUI version for a deleted file named "free minecraft 2027 no virus trust bro.exe". It is in dark mode, respecting the user's preference unlike the older version. Only one tab (General) is available, showing the file name, type, origin, size, date deleted, date created and attributes, alongside an option to restore the file to its original location.
Privacy & Security Settings in Windows 11 with "Core privacy settings" section at the top, housing options for Location, Camera and Microphone.
Windows Search results. A dialog box asking the user what they want the computer to do is present, with "Shut down" selected, saying it "Closes all apps and turns off the PC."
A balloon tip in an app displaying a message incorrectly, with generic boxes replacing all the characters.
Windows 11 desktop. The Start menu shows one notification from Twitter (X) for a tweet by techosarusrex with the text "@phantomofearth server is the best" sent 8 minutes ago. In the top right, a Phone Link window showing a toggle for "Notification previews" in app settings is present.
Two images of the Windows 11 Taskbar search box. The top search box is slightly shorter than the one on the bottom.
Two side-by-side photos of the Windows 11 login screen. Both have "Reset password" highlighted with a focus rectangle - however, on the left, the rectangle has sharp corners unlike the rest of the Windows 11 UI. On the right it has rounded corners, more consistent with said UI.
Accessibility quick settings in Windows 11, with a toggle for Screen Tint set to On and the description "Apply a color overlay to the screen".
XBOX mode settings in Windows 11, with a few toggles for enabling it, showing it in task view and showing accessibility control hints.
"Recent searches" in Windows 11, showing Paint and Notepad and when they were opened. Profile, feedback and settings icons are in the top right.
Windows Search in build 26300.8697, displaying no web results for "google". In the Search Settings page, the toggle for "Web Searches" has been disabled.
Notepad on Windows Server build 29602.1000 saying "Happy Server build day".
Screen recording of Windows 11. The user has Notepad open and repeatedly opens the dialog for opening a file, then the one for saving a file. Despite being in dark mode, white flashes occur as the dialog is opened, notably around the address bar and search box at the top.
Screen recording of Windows 11. The user has Notepad open and repeatedly opens the dialog for opening a file, then the one for saving a file. There are no white flashes observed.
AI Phi Silica settings in Windows 11, with a button to uninstall the AI component at the bottom. A specifications section is also present showing publisher, version, size, data and total usage info.
Windows 11 desktop with a small Start menu that has Recent and All (Apps) hidden. The name and profile picture are also hidden.
An empty Start menu telling the user that all sections are turned off, encouraging them to open Settings to pin apps, see recent files or see a list of all apps.
Release notes for Windows 11 build 29591, with an update on 19 May 2026 acknowledging that "Extended pause for Windows Update is not yet available for this channel. Thank you to Insiders for pointing this out." The aforementioned feature is mentioned with strikethrough below the "Windows Update" section.
A list of ISOs for Windows Insiders. Build 29591.1000 (Experimental Future Platforms), 26300.8493 (Experimental 25H2), 26220.8474 (Beta 25H2) and others are listed.
Screenshot of a rejuvenated "We'll repair components and system files" Settings dialog, as seen in internal Windows 11 builds.
Windows 11 Insider Experimental (Future Platforms) Preview Build 29591.1000 Release date: 15 May 2026 As a reminder, these release notes apply to those who are in the Canary 29500 series Channel. As we begin the transition to the updated Windows Insider Program, all new build release notes will be labeled under the new channel names, even though Insiders in the Canary 29500 series Channel may not yet find themselves having transitioned to Experimental (Future Platforms). See the Windows Insider Blog for more details. [Windows Update] We’re introducing new capabilities to enhance security and improve user control over the Windows update experience. This includes: Ability to skip updates immediately during the out of box experience (OOBE) Extend update pauses as many times as you need Always available options to shutdown and restart with updating More insight on available updates to make more informed installation decisions
Two feature flags listed in the Feature Flags Insider settings page: Alternate taskbar positions and Smaller Taskbar, both set to Enabled.
Windows 11 desktop with the taskbar made smaller and moved to the top of the screen (as seen in taskbar settings).
Context menu in Windows 11, offering options to Print and Create shortcut (among others) for a .txt file.
File Explorer in Windows 11, with the context menu open. "Refresh" is available for the Documents folder and highlighted.
Windows Insider ISO list, listing build 29576.1000 (Experimental Future Platforms), 26300.8276 (Experimental 25H2), 28020.1863 ("Beta" 26H1), 26220.8271 (Beta 25H2) and 26200.5074 (Release Preview 25H2).
Storage Settings in Windows 11. The Change Size dialog for a volume is open, showing the current size, max size, minimum size and a dropdown to let the user change between MB and GB units.
Windows Update settings in Windows 11. The "Available updates" section is expanded, showing one update: "Windows 11 Insider Preview Feature Update (26300.8289)" pending a restart.
Modern Run dialog in Windows 11. It is very simple, with the icon on the left, "Type the name of a command to run" text to the right of it, and a run button on the right hand side.
Windows 11 desktop. On the left hand side is what is supposed to be the "vertical" taskbar, but it displays incorrectly, with Start, date/time, and show desktop all taking up the same small space.
Accessibility settings page in Windows 11 with "Screen tint" hovered over, causing it to appear slightly dimmer than the other options.
Debug menu in Windows 11's taskbar settings context menu for taskbar location changes.
Windows 11 login screen, with the newer style spinning animation between the username ("Phantom") and the "Welcome" text.
Task Manager incorrectly displaying the small CPU graph on the Performance page. In the graph's place is "Name" text and some red pixel, leftovers from the Processes page.
Windows 11 signing out screen, with old Windows 8-style spinning dots above the text.
Windows 11 Notification Center. Two separate screenshots are in this one image - on the left is the notification center with the 3 dots button clicked to show a menu including the option to "Hide focus session". On the right is the notification center after doing so, with the little panel offering a Focus button and focus session time at the bottom no longer present.
Scroll & zoom touchpad settings in Windows 11. with options for automatic scrolling at edge, accelerated scrolling, scroll speed, single-finger scrolling and zoom speed among the options.
Windows Terminal in Windows 11 build 26300.8170, showing format being used to format a 150 GB volume with FAT32.
Windows Update settings in Windows 11. The calendar for Pause updates is open, allowing the user to select an exact date to pause until.
Windows Update settings in Windows 11. The calendar for Pause updates is open, allowing the user to select an exact date to pause until.
Improved the performance when navigating to see storage on large volumes via Settings > System > Storage > Advanced Storage Settings > Disks & Volumes.
Updated Windows Insider Program settings page, with options to "select your experience", advanced options, feature flags and device unenrollment.
System tray in Windows 11. The volume icon context menu is open, showing three options: "Troubleshoot sound problems", "Open volume mixer" and "Sound settings". The latter two have a small cog icon next to them, while "Troubleshoot sound problems" has no icon.
Advanced Settings in Windows 11. The "Turn on developer mode?" dialog box is visible, warning the user that doing so may expose their device and personal data to security risks. In the bottom right hand corner of the screenshot is a watermark indicating that the current build is 26300.8155.ge_prerelease_im.260326-1030.
Two screenshots of Paint. The first one, at the top, shows the app settings page with an option to "Include a watermark when content is AI-generated", set to Never. The second one below it shows a confirmation dialog prompting the user to include a watermark to indicate that the image has been generated or edited using AI.
Notepad app settings in Windows 11. At the bottom is a heading called "Advanced Features" with a toggle for "Writing tools", set to On.
Notepad in Windows 11. The "Writing tools" menu button is highlighted, with a tooltip stating its name.
Feature Flags settings in Windows 11, with greyed out buttons for "Reset all" and "Apply Changes".
Two screenshots of Windows Insider settings. The first, at the top, shows several options, among them "Feature Flags". The second, below it, shows the Feature Flags page, with a search box to find flags, a banner warning that features are in development and toggling them may affect performance/stability, and a section for inactive flags.
Printers & scanners settings page. There is one printer (Microsoft Print to PDF) listed, with a small shield and green tick icon next to it to indicate that it supports Windows protected print mode.
Windows 11 desktop with the mouse pointer and touch settings page visible. Pointer indicator is turned on, and to the right of the window is a large crosshair around where the mouse pointer (which was not captured) is located.
Part of IntegratedServicesRegionPolicySet.json in Windows 11, showing that "Xbox full screen experience" is disabled in several regions, all part of the EEA.
Notification center in Windows 11 with a large blank space where the agenda view should be located.
File Explorer Home in Windows 11, with quick access at the top and recent files below it.
Other Users settings page in Windows 11. Among the options for the user "Test" is one to change the account name, next to "Account details".