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It's a patch bonanza as Microsoft showers its OS platforms with update love

Administrators really hate this one weird bug in Windows Server 2016, but MS plays nice with iCloud again

Microsoft issued a whole bunch of updates last night, including one to deal with an alarming bug in Windows Server 2016.

Tucked innocuously among a swathe of fixes ranging from dealing with Russian time zone changes to fixing wobbly Hyper-V servers is the text: "Addresses an issue in File Explorer that sometimes deletes the permissions of a shared parent folder when you delete the shared child folder."

Just think about that for a moment. Permission changes heading up rather than down the folder structure.

The problem was reported back in February, when a user in Microsoft’s TechNet forum came across some decidedly odd behaviour when deleting a sub-folder. Permissions of parent folders appeared to go AWOL when child folders were deleted.

Another user on Reddit shared a similar experience. He found that when a parent folder had an explicitly defined permission with a child folder with inheritance enabled as well as explicit permissions, deleting that child folder would remove the Read/Execute permission from the parent.

At least it was removing rather than adding anything, but still. It is at best counter-intuitive and at worst a pretty nasty bug.

The Redditor went on to document the 40 or so hours spent dealing with Microsoft's support team to be told initially that the behaviour was by design and introduced in Windows Server 2016. Interestingly, it only occurs when folders are deleted (or cut and pasted) using File Explorer. Using the command line makes things behave as one would expect. It also only occurred when using a local path. Deleting using a UNC path was fine.

The workaround over the last few months has therefore been to either remove any explicit permissions on the child folder before deletion or stick with UNC paths. Or there is always the command line.

KB4467684 purports to deal with the problem in Windows Server 2016, much to the delight of harassed admins.

Alas, the original poster in the TechNet forum, Rolf Berger, has reported that his issue "is still not solved", so your mileage may vary. We've contacted Microsoft for more information and will update if anything is forthcoming.

Patch once, patch often

Microsoft also emitted an update for Windows 10 1703, but only for those lucky users with Enterprise and Education editions. Anyone else clinging to April 2017's Windows 10 saw support end last month.

Windows 10 1709 and 1803 are both still supported by the software goliath and so received updates in the form of KB4467681 and KB4467682 respectively.

In all instances, the Media Player seek bar failing to, er, seek, is listed as a known issue for certain file types. So perhaps it really is time to retire the old thing once and for all.

The lucky few who have managed to get Windows 1809 (the October 2018 Update) installed have a bit longer to wait for their update. Showing some prudence, Microsoft released 1809's patch to the Release Preview ring where Windows Insiders can kick the tyres before it is unleashed on the world.

Two notable fixes in the release deal with the failure to reconnect mapped drives on login and the bug that stopped users setting Win32 app defaults for certain file types.

But of the venerable Windows Media Player, mention there was none.

You update iCloud and we'll lift the update block. Apple and Microsoft play nice

Microsoft also announced last night that it has lifted the Apple-shaped roadblock it put in place due to compatibility issues between Apple’s wares and the Update Of The Damned Windows 10 October 2018 Update.

In the announcement, the gang at Redmond pointed to Apple's update of iCloud for Windows to version 7.8.1 (which deals with synching problems in 1809) and recommended iCloud users take Apple's medicine before having a crack at getting the new version of Windows 10 installed.

You lucky, lucky people. ®

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