Microsoft’s Windows week delivered a heavy mix of stabilization, incremental feature rollouts, and operational housekeeping: official ISOs for Windows 11 version 25H2 are now available to Windows Insiders, Patch Tuesday delivered several quality fixes (including a restored clock in the calendar flyout), Microsoft published migration guidance for legacy web and scripting technologies, and the industry continues to wrestle with a handful of hardware and tooling edge cases—from SSD firmware scares to aggressive debloat projects for unsupported PCs. The story this week is less about dramatic new consumer-facing features and more about deployment, compatibility, and the practical questions IT teams and enthusiasts must answer now. (blogs.windows.com)
Windows 11 version 25H2 is arriving under Microsoft’s established enablement-package model: most of the binaries were already staged in the servicing stream for 24H2 and are flipped on by a small enablement package (eKB) for machines that are fully patched. That means most updated devices will see a fast, low-downtime transition, while the canonical ISO remains important for clean installs, imaging, and first‑boot/OOBE testing. Microsoft seeded the release into the Release Preview channel (Build 26200 family) and followed with ISO media for signed-in Windows Insiders. (learn.microsoft.com)
Why this matters: the eKB model reduces disruption for end users and simplifies large-scale rollouts, but ISOs still matter for OEMs, system builders, enterprise imaging teams, and security vendors that need reproducible offline media and installer-time telemetry. Expect 25H2’s visible consumer changes to be incremental—Start menu tweaks, File Explorer and Search refinements, and staged Copilot/on-device AI features—while enterprise-facing changes focus on deprecations and manageability (for example, removal of the PowerShell 2.0 engine and WMIC from shipping images).
Why the timing is meaningful: Microsoft initially said ISOs would follow the Release Preview seed “next week,” then delayed by a short interval before publishing them. That brief lag left some enterprise teams waiting for canonical install media; with the ISOs live for Insiders, imaging and validation pipelines can proceed. If you rely on reproducible artifacts for certification or EDR testing, download the ISO from the Insider portal and verify the file hashes you receive from Microsoft. (learn.microsoft.com)
Operational checklist:
Actionable next steps for readers: verify your update and imaging pipelines against the new 25H2 ISOs in a controlled pilot, inventory and begin migrating VBScript and WMIC dependencies, keep SSD firmware at vendor-certified production releases, and treat Copilot/AI features as productivity helpers (not replacements) until reproducibility and governance are fully addressed. The week’s news is simultaneously reassuring—Microsoft is continuing to ship incremental refinements—and a reminder that managing Windows in 2025 is as much about operational rigor as it is about feature checklists.
Source: Neowin Microsoft Weekly: new Windows 11 updates with new features, 25H2 ISOs are here, and more
Background / Overview
Windows 11 version 25H2 is arriving under Microsoft’s established enablement-package model: most of the binaries were already staged in the servicing stream for 24H2 and are flipped on by a small enablement package (eKB) for machines that are fully patched. That means most updated devices will see a fast, low-downtime transition, while the canonical ISO remains important for clean installs, imaging, and first‑boot/OOBE testing. Microsoft seeded the release into the Release Preview channel (Build 26200 family) and followed with ISO media for signed-in Windows Insiders. (learn.microsoft.com)Why this matters: the eKB model reduces disruption for end users and simplifies large-scale rollouts, but ISOs still matter for OEMs, system builders, enterprise imaging teams, and security vendors that need reproducible offline media and installer-time telemetry. Expect 25H2’s visible consumer changes to be incremental—Start menu tweaks, File Explorer and Search refinements, and staged Copilot/on-device AI features—while enterprise-facing changes focus on deprecations and manageability (for example, removal of the PowerShell 2.0 engine and WMIC from shipping images).
What landed in Patch Tuesday (September 2025) — practical fixes and a welcome clock
September’s monthly cumulative updates included LCUs that address a number of reliability and quality issues across Windows 10 and Windows 11. Notable items in this month’s rollout:- KB5065426 for Windows 11 (24H2) and corresponding KBs for other servicing branches include several fixes and improvements, notably a correction that restores the long-requested clock in the calendar flyout and a fix for audio issues affecting applications that use the Network Device Interface (NDI) when Display Capture is active (a problem that showed up after prior updates). (support.microsoft.com)
- The general update set also addressed installer and app compatibility regressions and security fixes inherited from previous cumulative packages. Administrators should verify their monthly update baseline and test the LCU on representative hardware before broad deployment.
Windows Insider builds and the 25H2 ISO release
25H2 ISOs: who needs them and how they’re being delivered
Microsoft published official ISOs for Windows 11, version 25H2 to the Windows Insider ISO download page for signed-in Insider accounts. The ISOs correspond to the Release Preview (26200 family) and are intended for clean installs, imaging, OOBE testing and other professional workflows that an enablement package cannot exercise. Reported x64 ISO sizes vary by edition and language (roughly 5.5–7.1 GB in community reports), so plan accordingly. (windowscentral.com)Why the timing is meaningful: Microsoft initially said ISOs would follow the Release Preview seed “next week,” then delayed by a short interval before publishing them. That brief lag left some enterprise teams waiting for canonical install media; with the ISOs live for Insiders, imaging and validation pipelines can proceed. If you rely on reproducible artifacts for certification or EDR testing, download the ISO from the Insider portal and verify the file hashes you receive from Microsoft. (learn.microsoft.com)
Insider feature highlights (brief)
- File Explorer improvements, small Start menu changes, and taskbar animation polish continue to be flighted in Canary/Dev/Beta builds. A number of Copilot integration points (e.g., Ask Copilot about this file and Copilot recommendations in Start) are being tested—some features are hardware‑gated to Copilot+ PCs.
- The Windows Insider releases also include more granular improvements to copy/paste dialogs (dark mode support, UI color alignment), fixes for HDR and temporary-file scanning issues, and ongoing reliability patches for taskbar behavior.
Deprecations and legacy tech: what’s being removed and how to plan
Microsoft formally consolidated a number of older web and scripting technologies into a deprecation and migration plan this cycle. The two most consequential items for enterprises and developers are the retirement of EdgeHTML-era web components and the phased deprecation of VBScript.Legacy Web Components and EdgeHTML-era artifacts
Microsoft is retiring a defined set of EdgeHTML-era web components and models, including:- Legacy Web View (the OS-integrated COM/Win32 renderer for EdgeHTML),
- Windows 8/8.1/UWP HTML/JavaScript apps (Hosted Web Applications / Windows Web Applications),
- Legacy PWAs that relied on EdgeHTML packaging,
- and Legacy Microsoft Edge (EdgeHTML) DevTools.
VBScript deprecation and VBA implications
Microsoft’s VBScript deprecation is a three‑phase plan. Over the next couple of years VBScript will shift from being enabled-by-default to being available as a Feature on Demand (FOD) and then ultimately to removal from future Windows releases. For teams that embed or call.vbs scripts or reference VBScript type libraries (notably VBScript.RegExp) from VBA, the practical impacts are real:- Phase 1 (current through ~2026): VBScript shipped as FOD and remains enabled by default for compatibility.
- Phase 2 (~2026–2027): VBScript FODs will be disabled by default; admins must enable them if needed.
- Phase 3 (TBD thereafter): VBScript will be removed from future Windows releases; calls to .vbs files or VBScript typelib references will break unless migrated.
Hardware and reliability: the Phison SSD scare — what really happened
A wave of alarming reports surfaced describing SSD failures after recent Windows updates; those reports triggered urgent community and vendor investigations. The controller vendor Phison concluded that the most severe observed problems were associated with engineering/preview firmware used in testing and in some reviewers’ hardware—not with consumer production firmware. Phison’s analysis indicates consumer devices running official firmware were not affected in the same way, and the company urged users and reviewers to update affected SSDs with vendor‑supplied firmware and avoid using preview engineering firmware for general testing. Microsoft also reported no causal link between its updates and consumer SSD failures after their analysis. If you manage fleets, verify SSD firmware levels via vendor tools and ensure updates are applied before full feature updates are rolled out. (theverge.com)Operational checklist:
- Inventory affected devices and identify SSD controller models.
- Cross-reference firmware versions against vendor advisories.
- Update firmware via vendor-provided tools (do not install preview engineering firmware from unofficial channels).
- Test full backup and rollback scenarios before applying mass updates.
Unsupported PCs, debloat tools, and community projects
Two community projects drew attention this week:- Flyoobe (formerly Flyby11) — a popular hardware-requirement bypass and setup customization toolkit — received a major update adding AI-related blocks and new extensions. The repo briefly disappeared from GitHub after the update but returned with a new release. Flyoobe remains a powerful but unsupported workaround to install Windows 11 on older hardware; it is valuable for enthusiasts but inherently risky on production systems. If you use tools like this, treat them as experimental: run them in isolated test environments and never on critical production hardware. The Flyoobe project page and README remain the practical reference for usage patterns. (github.com)
- Nano11 — an extreme debloat/minimal-installation script derived from Tiny11 — can build a Windows image with a runtime footprint approaching 2.8–3.5 GB by stripping drivers, language packs, .NET precompiled assemblies and other components. The project is explicitly experimental and non‑serviceable: once created, those images may be impossible to update or extend. Use cases are narrow—VM testbeds and constrained experimental environments—not daily drivers. If you need minimal images for testing, nano11 is intriguing; if you need maintainable, secure endpoints in production, stick to supported images. (tomshardware.com)
Microsoft 365, Copilot, and Office workstreams: usable features and caution flags
Microsoft continued to fold Copilot experiences into Office and Windows in cautious ways this week:- Excel: the new =COPILOT function (the successor to earlier Labs experiments) allows natural‑language prompts inside cells to summarize, categorize, and transform ranges. It’s a powerful productivity booster for exploratory workflows and prototyping; Microsoft explicitly warns it is not suitable for tasks that require high accuracy or reproducibility (for example, regulated financial calculations). The COPILOT function currently uses a constrained model (e.g., gpt‑4.1‑mini in early rollouts) and operates within usage limits. Treat outputs as suggestions and validate critical results. (theverge.com)
- Word Online: Copilot in Word for the web gained a one‑click “Fix spelling and grammar” capability to apply multiple corrections across selected text, with an undo/review step. This is convenient but requires review for tone and intent. The feature has been rolled out to tenants per the Microsoft 365 roadmap entries. (techcommunity.microsoft.com)
Microsoft Store changes: lower barriers, more submissions
Microsoft officially removed the one‑time $19 registration fee for individual developers in many markets and introduced a simpler ID-based verification flow. This is a meaningful step toward lowering friction for indie and global developers and is likely to increase submission volumes to the Store. The Store team also clarified updated policies around child safety and generative-AI usage in apps. For app managers, this is both opportunity and a signal to revisit Store distribution strategies and packaging. (learn.microsoft.com)Browsers and extensions: Chrome’s Manifest V2 sunset
Chrome continues its multi‑phase Manifest V2 deprecation, which has made it progressively harder to run older MV2-based extensions like certain builds of uBlock Origin. Chrome’s developer documentation and the imminent removal of enterprise exceptions mean that many MV2 extensions will be disabled on modern Chrome builds (Chrome 138/139+ timeline updates). Users who rely on MV2 blockers should evaluate alternatives—either migrating to MV3 versions, switching browsers that still support MV2, or using standalone app blockers. Developers should finish MV3 migrations as soon as possible. (developer.chrome.com)Gaming and cloud gaming: controller UX tweaks and Blackwell arrives in the cloud
- Microsoft changed the Xbox button behavior on Windows 11 in Insider builds: a short press opens the Game Bar, a long press opens Task View, and press-and-hold still turns the controller off. This is a small but meaningful UX refinement for handhelds and controller-first workflows that brings Task View into easy reach for gamers and creators on Windows handheld devices. If you rely on custom controller mappings, verify these mappings in your test profile before deploying to users. (windowsforum.com)
- NVIDIA rolled out Blackwell‑powered RTX 5080‑class servers to GeForce NOW (the cloud update began rolling in September). The upgrade brings DLSS 4 Multi‑Frame Generation and claims of 5K/120Hz streaming in Cinematic Mode and higher frame-rate modes on supported devices. Early reviews find the cloud RTX 5080-class experience competitive with high-end local hardware at certain settings, though behavior varies by frame-rate/resolution targets and network conditions. For gamers and enterprise streaming scenarios, GeForce NOW’s upgrade materially increases the performance ceiling of cloud gaming. (nvidianews.nvidia.com)
- Weekly freebies continue: the Epic Games Store offered titles like Ghostrunner, Monument Valley 2, and The Battle of Polytopia during this window; claim‑and‑keep promotions remain a low-friction source of value for casual gamers. (pcgamer.com)
Practical guidance — priorities for IT teams and power users
- For imaging and deployment teams
- Download the 25H2 ISO from the Windows Insider ISO portal for lab validation (Insider account required). Verify hashes and test your imaging pipelines (SCCM/MDT, WUfB offline provisioning, Azure images).
- Audit scripts and automation for PowerShell 2.0 and WMIC usage. Replace or rework legacy logic before broad 25H2 deployments.
- For organizations with heavy VBA/legacy script usage
- Inventory all uses of VBScript and external .vbs calls. Prioritize migration paths (native RegExp classes in Office 2508+, PowerShell rewrites, or JavaScript equivalents). Microsoft’s dev guidance is explicit: plan for a phased migration. (devblogs.microsoft.com)
- For device and firmware managers
- Inspect SSD firmware across fleets and apply vendor‑provided updates. Avoid using engineering/preview firmware on production devices. Confirm boot and recovery behavior after firmware updates. (theverge.com)
- For security and compliance owners
- Evaluate Copilot/AI feature rollouts against internal data policies. Where Copilot functions can produce inconsistent outputs (e.g., Excel COPILOT in high-stakes calculations), require manual validation and gate usage by policy. (theverge.com)
- For developers and app owners
- Take advantage of the Microsoft Store’s no‑fee individual developer flow where available and revisit packaging for WebView2/modern PWA support in light of EdgeHTML deprecations. (learn.microsoft.com)
Notable strengths and potential risks
- Strengths
- The enablement-package model minimizes downtime for end users and simplifies rollout logistics.
- Microsoft’s provisioning of ISOs ensures image- and OOBE-centric testing remains possible for enterprise and OEM workflows.
- Clear, phased guidance for VBScript and EdgeHTML deprecations gives teams lead time to migrate critical tooling and automation.
- Risks & unknowns
- Rapid adoption of community bypass tools and extreme debloat scripts (Flyoobe, Nano11) poses a support and security risk when used on production hardware.
- Copilot and generative features are powerful but prone to hallucination or non-deterministic outputs; they’re not ready to replace audited, reproducible workflows for regulated tasks.
- Browser extension deprecations (Manifest V2) and cloud‑server hardware transitions (e.g., GeForce NOW) create transient compatibility and user‑experience fragmentation that requires user education and contingency plans.
Conclusion
This week’s Windows landscape looks like steady operations work—stability patches, controlled feature activations, and a concentrated effort to deprecate long‑standing legacy components responsibly. The availability of Windows 11 25H2 ISOs for Insiders closes an important gap for imaging and enterprise validation, while Patch Tuesday fixed several practical pain points (including the calendar flyout clock and NDI audio stutters). At the same time, the industry’s recurring hardware and compatibility episodes (Phison SSD firmware, extreme debloat scripts, browser extension phaseouts) reinforce the same rule: treat any change—especially at scale—with disciplined testing, clear rollback plans, and prioritized remediation of legacy dependencies.Actionable next steps for readers: verify your update and imaging pipelines against the new 25H2 ISOs in a controlled pilot, inventory and begin migrating VBScript and WMIC dependencies, keep SSD firmware at vendor-certified production releases, and treat Copilot/AI features as productivity helpers (not replacements) until reproducibility and governance are fully addressed. The week’s news is simultaneously reassuring—Microsoft is continuing to ship incremental refinements—and a reminder that managing Windows in 2025 is as much about operational rigor as it is about feature checklists.
Source: Neowin Microsoft Weekly: new Windows 11 updates with new features, 25H2 ISOs are here, and more
