Microsoft releases second Windows 10 20H1 build for Skip Ahead Insiders

Microsoft surprised the Windows Insider community last week by skipping ahead to its 20H1 development branch for Skip Ahead Insiders. Today, it's following that up with the second preview build from that release branch, build 18841.

Because 20H1 isn't set to be released until early 2020, development is still in its early stages, so there aren't any big new features to check out. Rather, this release continues what Microsoft started last week, rolling out a wide range of general changes and improvements. There are also some known issues tagging along. Here's the full rundown.

General changes, improvements, and fixes for PC

• Windows Sandbox now supports configuration files! These files allow users to configure some aspects of the sandbox, such as vGPU, networking and shared folders. A blog post to explain this new feature is available here.
• Windows Sandbox now captures hotkeys in full screen.
• We fixed an issue where Windows Sandbox would not start on localized builds.
• We've done some work to improve error reporting in Windows Sandbox. Now the error dialog includes the error code and a link to the Feedback Hub.
• We fixed an issue where Windows Sandbox was unexpectedly throwing an error due to referencing a deleted file under Windows.old.
• We fixed an issue where if you unpinned groups from Start, apps might end up thinking their tiles were still pinned.
• We fixed a recent issue where if you hid the search icon in the taskbar, a number of win32 apps would unexpectedly redraw when opening the Start menu.
• We fixed an issue resulting in the Search pane becoming truncated if launched after rotating the device orientation from horizontal to vertical.
• We fixed an issue where Settings would sometimes crash when opening "Advanced Display Settings" from Display Settings.
• We fixed an issue where it wasn't possible to add a drive to the list of folders to exclude when setting up Enhanced Search in Settings.
• We fixed an issue where there were unexpected characters in the text under the Storage Sense listing for temporary files.
• We fixed an issue resulting in certain games no longer rendering UI updates (appearing visually stuck) after using Alt + Tab to quickly switch away and back to the game.
• We fixed an issue resulting in the taskbar blinking if an AC adapter was attached when the device had less than 20% battery.
• We fixed an issue resulting in the taskbar disappearing for a second when dismissing Start/Cortana/Search on a secondary monitor.
• We fixed an issue resulting in File Explorer potentially hanging when trying to rename, delete, or move MKV files in the recent flights.
• We fixed an issue that could cause Windows logon to forget the last logged on user, and instead would display the sign-in prompt for the default user from the list after dismissing the lock screen.
• We fixed an issue resulting in CDPUserSVC using an unexpectedly large amount of CPU for prolonged periods of time.
• We fixed an issue where the newly added popup window shadows might unexpectedly stop appearing after using your PC for some time.
• We fixed an issue impacting UWP apps resulting in entries under a "…" that launched other apps not working after the first time the secondary app was launched.
• We fixed an issue resulting in the left and right arrows on the touch keyboard inserting 4 and 6, respectively, in certain languages.
• We fixed an issue resulting in the game bar record and broadcast options unexpectedly not working in recent builds.
• We fixed an issue impacting Emoji Panel and Clipboard History reliability.
• We fixed an issue in Ease of Access's Cursor and pointer settings, mouse pointer size and color are now retained on upgrade. There is a remaining issue with mouse pointer showing white color instead of the selected color after signing out and signing back in.
• When using the Magnifier with larger pointers, it pans smoothly as the pointers change shape.
• We fixed an issue where navigation mode on Orbit braille display could not be changed.
• We fixed an issue where Narrator paused unexpectedly when reading through a PDF.

Known Issues

• Launching games that use anti-cheat software may trigger a bugcheck (GSOD).
• While we've done some work to improve night light reliability in this build, we're continuing to investigate issues in this space.
• When performing Reset this PC and selecting Keep my files on a device that has Reserved Storage enabled the user will need to initiate an extra reboot to ensure Reserved Storage is working again properly.
• Some Realtek SD card readers are not functioning properly. We are investigating the issue.
• In Windows Sandbox, if you try to navigate to the Narrator settings, Settings app crashes.
• Mouse pointer color might be incorrectly switched to white after signing out and signing back in.
• Creative X-Fi sound cards are not functioning properly. We are partnering with Creative to resolve this issue.
• You may experience an increase in Start menu reliability issues on this build – a fix will be included in the next flight.
• If you install any of the recent builds from the Skip Ahead and switch to either the Fast ring or the Slow ring – optional content such as enabling developer mode will fail. You will have to remain in the Fast ring to add/install/enable optional content. This is because optional content will only install on builds approved for specific rings.

To recap, Microsoft is getting a jump on 20H1 testing because certain aspects of the upcoming release "require a longer lead time," Windows Insider chief Dona Sarkar said in the release's blog post. As for 19H2, which isn't in testing at all yet, Microsoft says that it will start shipping those build "later this spring" after 19H1 (currently in testing on the Fast ring) is nearly ready.

For the full release notes, as always, check out Microsoft's full blog post for more.