Microsoft releases new Windows Server Insider and SDK preview builds

Hot on the heels the latest Windows 10 Fast ring build released late last week, developers can now get their hands on Windows 10 SDK Preview build 17095 to match. This is the second SDK preview build of February, coming nearly two weeks since the release of SDK Preview build 17083.

As with other recent SDK preview releases, there's not much to see here in the way of changes. The release notes contain the same C++/WinRT compiler and MIDL keywords that were present in previous releases. There are known issues, along with a workaround, to be aware of, however. From Microsoft:

Known Issues

  • Cannot deploy to a device: When attempting to deploy to a mobile device, it fails with the following error: DEP0001: Unexpected Error: SmartDeviceException – Class not registered [0x80131500]

To work around this issue:

  • Go to Administrative Command Prompt
  • Run REGSVR32 "\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\bin\10.0.17095.0\x86\SirepClient.dll"
  • The following tools are not included with this release: Filtdump.exe
  • JSConstraintDebug.exe
  • Regwindmd.exe
  • Topedit.exe

You can find a full list of API updates and additions in Microsoft's release notes. It's worth noting that this SDK preview build is only supported by Visual Studio 2017 and can be installed alongside previous SDKs. SDK Preview build 17095 can be downloaded from Microsoft now.

In addition to the new SDK, a fresh Windows Server Insider Preview release, build 17093, is available. There are no new features in this release, but there are a handful of known issues detailed in Microsoft's release notes. Here's a look:

  • On builds 17088 and higher, after Server Core OS installation, the user is requested to set the password – when the user does so, an error message is presented "The remote procedure call failed". The install will still accept the password as expected.
  • Upgrading a system to a preview build, starting with build 17088, may stall at 88% for 45 or more minutes before eventually being completed due to loading registry hives for each driver.
  • When BitLocker is enabled and a system is started, the system prompts the user for the BitLocker PIN. Upon providing the correct PIN the first time, the system says the PIN is incorrect; however, if the user presses Enter a second time, the PIN is accepted.
  • In‑place OS upgrade: BitLocker. Before performing an in-place OS upgrade, suspend (disable) BitLocker protection on any drives on the system. After the upgrade is complete, resume (re-enable) BitLocker protection.
  • In-place OS upgrade: Domain Controllers. During an in-place OS upgrade, Active Directory (AD) Domain Controllers (DC) might not be upgraded correctly. Back up any AD DCs before performing an in-place OS upgrade.
  • Using container images from Windows Insider Program on a Windows Server Core host will fail, and may crash the host. As a workaround, you can add isolation=hyperv when running or building the containers; for example: docker run -isolation=hyperv microsoft/nanoserver-insider.
  • When Hypervisor Code Integrity (HVCI) is enabled, a system may fail to start. On affected systems, firmware locates UEFI runtime services in memory described as Memory-Mapped I/O (MMIO).
  • Testing of the Windows core may fail because of a timeout while attempting to load the test libraries.

Windows Server Insider Preview build 17095 is available for download from Microsoft now.

Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl