Microsoft is rolling out Windows 11 Preview Build 22579 to Insiders on the Dev Channel. Leading the changes on this release is a feature that will help users avoid accidental encryptions on USB drives.
BitLocker – the in-built encryption tool on Windows – has the annoying habit of encrypting drives when the user doesn’t want to. Of course, this is an issue and not a feature Microsoft has purposely added.
As such, the company is adding a new policy in Window 11 that fixes the problem. Admins can now exclude devices from BitLocker.
“This will solve the problem of automatic or accidental encryption of storage built into specialized devices like video cameras, voice recorders, conferencing systems, medical devices and many more,” Microsoft explains in the release notes.
A list of external USB drives and other similar devices means admins can choose to “Deny write access to removable drives not protected by BitLocker.” Essentially, users will not be able to encrypt the storage on the drive across any device the admin chooses.
Well, eventually any device. As the moment, the policy only configures through mobile device management (MDM) solutions, such as Microsoft Intune.
Other Changes
That is not the only change of note landing with Windows 11 Preview build 22579. Microsoft is releasing an overhaul of the Print Queue tool. Specifically, it can now shows the “modern print dialog” for win32 apps on CPrintDialog.
On the developer side, Windows Terminal accessibility. A new WIN + X bind will send the user to Windows PowerShell is Terminal is not installed. Users can open PowerShell directly in Windows Terminal if they want but setting Terminal as the default app via Settings > Privacy & Security > For Developers.
Tip of the day: When Windows 10 or Windows 11 has issues, it’s not rare to run into startup problems. Corrupted Windows files, incorrect system configuration, driver failure, or registry tweaks can all cause this issue.
Using Windows startup repair can fix boot issues caused by the most prevalent issues. Though it may seem that all is lost when you run into startup problems, it’s important to try a Windows boot repair so you can at least narrow down the source of the issue. If it doesn’t work, you may have to reinstall the OS or test your hardware.
