Intel's Optane memory doesn't like the Windows 10 May 2020 update

midian182

midian182

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In a nutshell: Windows 10 updates that cause PC issues are nothing new, and it seems that with the Windows 10 May 2020 update, users of Intel's Optane memory modules are finding they’re repeatedly running into compatibility errors, but there’s some good news.

With the Windows 10 May 2020 update, Microsoft added a new system that informs users when their PCs can’t install the upgrade due to conflicts with certain hardware/software. As reported by Windows Latest, anyone sporting Optane memory in their PCs will be blocked from installing the update until Microsoft has addressed the issue, but some impatient owners might be tempted to force the update using the Media Creation Tool.

Those with Optane systems who do bypass the warning and install the May 2020 update can expect to experience performance problems while running into multiple error messages. These state that the ‘Intel Optane Memory Pinning’ couldn’t load the specified module—a result of Windows 10 removing Optane Memory Pinning during the update process.

If you have forced the May 2020 update and are running into these problems, the obvious solution would be to roll it back and wait until Microsoft fixes things. But if you’re determined not to go down that route, Windows Latest recommends uninstalling ‘Intel Optane Pinning Explorer Extensions,’ which can be done by going to the Control Panel, clicking on ‘Uninstall a Program,’ highlighting ‘Intel Optane Pinning Explorer Extensions,’ and selecting uninstall from the top bar.

Strangely, testers discovered the issue was present months before the May 2020 update was released to consumers, but it seems Microsoft missed the reports in the Feedback Hub.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/85497-intel-optane-memory-doesnt-like-windows-10-may.html

 
I wouldn't say niche issue. Optane memory is found in many lower and mid range laptops. Including mine. (2018 Pavilion x360 14" that I rarely use). They slap it into units that use mechanical drives for a "boost", supposedly.

I would suspect this actually affects a wide number of users with average, recent laptops that don't have SSDs.
 
Microsoft's language here is at best "imprecise." I'd go as far as to say it is untruthful.

Saying your device is not ready for the update means that your device needs to undergo some change before it will become ready. Yet the obvious reality is that these devices are not expected to change; it is the release that will change. The honest wording would be that Windows 2004 update is not yet ready for the device.

In casual conversation, this'd be a small thing hardly worth noticing. Yet this is a large company and it is not unreasonable to think this exact language was reviewed by several - or dozens - of people, including engineers, lawyers, and others who make a living of being precise in their facts and their speech. Yet somehow the company decided it was better to be intentionally misleading in their language here, for no real benefit I can think of.

What does that tell us about the internal values of the company as far as being straight forward? If they are willing to essentially lie over nothing, what are they willing to do when it really matters?
 
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SilentMarket said:
Microsoft as a software vendor knows **** about how hardware works.
Click to expand...
Not sure I buy that. I suspect they have significant, real, productive two-way discussion channels with all the major hardware players like Intel, AMD, Nvidia, as well as all the other less well known to consumers brands that are still essential in making a modern PC run. They are all dependent on each other. Certainly more than your average 3rd party software vendor.

They're also real players in certain hardware segments such as with their Surface models.
 
brucek said:
Not sure I buy that. I suspect they have significant, real, productive two-way discussion channels with all the major hardware players like Intel, AMD, Nvidia, as well as all the other less well known to consumers brands that are still essential in making a modern PC run. They are all dependent on each other. Certainly more than your average 3rd party software vendor.

They're also real players in certain hardware segments such as with their Surface models.
Click to expand...
Just saying Microsoft's code monkeys are entry-level, their coding skills are not even comparable to an Nvidia hardware engineer. There is an issue where two high-end G-sync HDR monitors lose signals at the same time when a PC is configured in NVlink and it turns out a Microsoft bug and Microsoft monkeys denied it for 3 quarters while not able to understand how a monitor works.
 
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MS knows the numbers of users that use Optane
they simply don't care, its a fraction of 0,(period)%
 
It's if you're using Intel's Optane in the memory configuration - I.e. it's being used as a HDD cache. If you're just using it as storage, albeit a very small amount, it should be fine. Given all the other glitches though, that's not a guarantee!
 
SilentMarket said:
Just saying Microsoft's code monkeys are entry-level, their coding skills are not even comparable to an Nvidia hardware engineer. There is an issue where two high-end G-sync HDR monitors lose signals at the same time when a PC is configured in NVlink and it turns out a Microsoft bug and Microsoft monkeys denied it for 3 quarters while not able to understand how a monitor works.
Click to expand...
I suggest you try to make an OS on this scale and not run into extreme niche compatibility issues. As a programmer I can assure you that cannot test for everything, it's impossible. Especially when reproducing a bug is inherently difficult.

I've done things that worked perfectly on one device and on another device (the same type and hardware) it just wouldn't work. I had to refactor/rewrite a huge portion of the code to avoid triggering that bug because it was unfixable, just a quirk of that configuration. Fixing the 0.1% always takes the most time and money. It's why it prolly took months for your very specific and niche bug to be fixed.

The programmers at MS at smart people, but they have much more important things to do and can only fix such things when the priority list shortens. And you can't just throw more money and people at the problem. This stands true for MacOS and Linux too.

This doesn't mean we should not expect serious bugs to not be fixed by MS in a timely fashion. The bugs that are not in the .1% should result in vocal critique against MS.
 
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Puiu said:
I suggest you try to make an OS on this scale and not run into extreme niche compatibility issues. As a programmer I can assure you that cannot test for everything, it's impossible. Especially when reproducing a bug is inherently difficult.

I've done things that worked perfectly on one device and on another device (the same type and hardware) it just wouldn't work. I had to refactor/rewrite a huge portion of the code to avoid triggering that bug because it was unfixable, just a quirk of that configuration. Fixing the 0.1% always takes the most time and money. It's why it prolly took months for your very specific and niche bug to be fixed.

The programmers at MS at smart people, but they have much more important things to do and can only fix such things when the priority list shortens. And you can't just throw more money and people at the problem. This stands true for MacOS and Linux too.

This doesn't mean we should not expect serious bugs to not be fixed by MS in a timely fashion. The bugs that are not in the .1% should result in vocal critique against MS.
Click to expand...
That is what I said, they know **** about how hardware works.
 
Your system work perfectly no issue detected no reason to be updated possibly until End Of Life no longer supported
 
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