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That was my thought as well. They're unlikely to ever remove it...but it's still not something I'd rely on if I were to put together a brand new app...or anything particularly important.
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Find out how many Microsoft Windows exe and services use them. That will help forecast longevity.
Olde Farte poste
I have not used “mail slots” but this name sounds suspiciously like “mailbox” and “network mailbox” from Digital Equipment Corp (DEC) VMS.
Some of the Devs that coded Windows NT kernel came from DEC.
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Yeah, I was going to comment on that too.
As such, I would consider it ancient tech and probably not equivalent to anything in UNIX.
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englebart wrote: Olde Farte poste
I have not used “mail slots” but this name sounds suspiciously like “mailbox” and “network mailbox” from Digital Equipment Corp (DEC) VMS.
Aye! Good ol' TMPMBX and NETMBX privs!
/ravi (worked at HLO, MRO, LMO, DLB and owner of Mass VAXVMS license plate)
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dandy72 wrote: need to broadcast simple notifications to other systems across my LAN
dandy72 wrote: been built into Windows for years, and both client and server
dandy72 wrote: It's using the standard Windows file share port,
dandy72 wrote: It's not inherently secure
Looking for a job writing documentation? Sharky (vkents) resigned so there might be an opening. Other than the 424 byte limitation you pretty much nailed it. 
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Randor wrote: Looking for a job writing documentation? Sharky (vkents) resigned so there might be an opening.
This is purely based on my own observations.
Randor wrote: Other than the 424 byte limitation you pretty much nailed it.
This is news to me. My messages are all pretty short, so this should never be a problem...may I ask what you're basing this assertion on?
[Edit]
Never mind. I just searched for 424 bytes and mailslot, and found a document from MS that spells that out exactly. Interesting. Thanks for that.
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dandy72 wrote: may I ask what you're basing this assertion on?
I might have learned a few things here and there over the years. I can't keep up though, I'm just going to drown myself in red wine. If I were religious I'd probably have a Dionysus pendant.
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dandy72 wrote: does anyone know of a reason to proactively avoid this mechanism?
Obviously if Microsoft announced they were going to remove it that would be of concern.
I usually look for 'end of life' for such concerns.
Example for google of one that does exist.
windows EntityFramework end of life
Searching for mailslots I found nothing that suggests they will be removing it. They evaluate that every year.
One suggestion I would make (and perhaps someone else already suggested this) is to make sure that the usage is very well compartmentalized. That way if it does go away then you can replace the layer without impacting the rest of the app. The general MS page for mailslots suggests named pipes or sockets as alternatives. Based on description of your usage straight UDP would work and there is no way that is going away.
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This is a known computer killer.
I just got a new rig and it has been running great for 1 week now. Installed this update, computer dead.
Microsoft apparently knows that this update is shite and still issues it for install. The only recommended workaround is to WinRE and uninstall latest windows update and then reinstall windows 11.
I am currently in the process of doing this and not sure it will even work.
Windows 11, version 22H2 known issues and notifications | Microsoft Learn[^]
EDIT: Used WinRE to reset my machine to factory install (Asus). All good now. Just won't install the offending windows update....ever.
Another Edit: the WinRE did not work. after a lot of internet research, discovered that the exact error code, was indicative of a conflict with NVidia Console App and G Force Experience apps and the Windows 11 graphics setup injection. Users had noted that after uninstalling those 2 apps, that the update worked. Well, it worked for me and I was able to update to latest Win 11. Re-installed G Force Experience and Nvidia Console app and all is good.
No fresh install needed.
modified 31-Dec-22 11:36am.
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Slacker007,
The December update also clobbered my personal Windows 10 Laptop. I had to go to a restore point prior to the update in order to get the PC operating again. I removed the update from my PC, but Windows keeps trying to reinstall it and have me apply it.
Very frustrating!
Best wishes from Minnesota - Craig
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I/we have seen a lot of crap from Microsoft over the long years, but I have never seen a Windows update to be this broken before.
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Consider this: Nobody at Microsoft these days hardly ever uses a version of Windows for any sort of realistic extended period of time. They wipe/reinstall/restore from preset images on a regular basis. Internally, their latest code never gets to run on systems that have been running for months/years or have been left to accumulate crud over time. As such, it deals rather poorly with anything that deviates from the so-called out-of-the-box experience.
I'm betting if you were to wipe your system, reinstall from a clean ISO and then went directly to the latest update, like most people at Microsoft, you'd remain completely oblivious to any problem of the type you're describing.
I'm not suggesting this is the solution and everybody should be doing this. I'm just stating why I think things are the way they are.
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I would not be surprised if you are correct 
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You are correct, sample size of one. Just took a system running W10 Home and trashed the hard drive. Installed Windows 10. Due to entries in BIOS (I think), it refused to install Pro, installing Home. Converted to Pro, did a gazillion updates and it is running fine (so far). I am now running clonezilla to back it up and will then install applications.
Probably a good idea to check Susan Bradley's advice before installing updates.
I find that my home made beer solves all the problems. Well maybe not solved but I don't seem to care. 
Happy New Year.
Lou
>64
Some days the dragon wins. Suck it up.
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You missed Windows Server 2008 R2 SP2 then. If this update installed when any other updates were pending you ended up having to reimage your entire server.
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obermd wrote: You missed Windows Server 2008 R2 SP2 then.
There was an SP2 for 2008 R2?
I maintain my own archive for all Windows versions (for dev testing and such, make sure I have all the latest that was ever published for each OS without having to hunt them down on the internet since they can disappear without any notice), and have never heard of an SP2 for 2008 R2. There is definitely an SP2 for 2008 (I'm looking at an ISO file with SP2 slipstreamed into it right now), but I don't have an equivalent for 2008 R2. I do have an SP1 for R2, but that's where it ends. A quick google search for 2008 R2 SP2 brings back results for 2008 SP2, but R2 is omitted from the results.
This 2008 R2 lifecycle page mentions SP1, but not SP2.
Do you have a link for that 2008 R2 SP2?
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Running Windows 11 v22H2 just fine on my Dell XPS 15. I also have it on a pair of machines at work, one of which is a Surface Pro 8 and it runs fine. In fact on the Surface Pro 8 it runs better than Windows 10.
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Good for you.
Its working fine for my friend as well. But there are a few people I know at work where there laptops had the same issue as me. So, not so good for the rest of us.
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Generally Windows upgrades are fraught with peril. The reason is the registry collects garbage and sometimes the upgrades fail to install registry entries properly.
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I've used that version without any major problems. But I did a full install though. Learned many years ago to never, ever use an upgraded version of Windows.
Jeremy Falcon
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Super confused by your post. Perhaps I am not reading it correctly.
I have a brand new install of Windows 11 with the computer that I just bought and then as time goes on Microsoft pushes updates and you update your computer.
Are you suggesting I reformat the hard-drive with the latest version of windows every time Microsoft pushes an update? Please tell me you are not recommending this.
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Slacker007 wrote: Are you suggesting I reformat the hard-drive with the latest version of windows every time Microsoft pushes an update?
I don't think he is suggesting that...
I think he is suggesting to re-format and re-install every time a new update screws your system  
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Ha ha. That works too. lol
Jeremy Falcon
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If your PC has a single hard disk, so all your user files are on the C: disk, then regular re-installation may require too much work to be worthwhile.
I got myself an M.2 system disk (when I bought the MB, M.2 was not widespread, but fortunately the MB has an M.2 socket where I could insert an M.2 last year!) which holds Windows itself, along with supplementary .sys files for paging, hibernation etc. User profiles are of course there, but I have made it a habit to never use 'My xxx' directories. Nor do I put any user data files on my desktop. I set up my Thunderbird profile to sort all incoming mail into various folders on another disk. I keep all my user files on other disks. I consider <userprofile>\Downloads a temporary location, sorting out the downloads to some final destination (on another disk) as soon as possible after downloading.
Some applications insist on storing data in my user profile. In my last job, I was responsible for a developing and maintaining an internal tool, an application installation wizard taking a list of applications to install. I actually use it event to copy all such files to a temporary directory on another disk before reinstalling Windows. After reinstallation, the job list given to the wizard for reinstalling all applications will also copy back these files saved from my user profile. I keep the Windows installer on a USB3 memory stick. All application installers, and the temporary directory for those user profile files to be preserved, are saved on an 'old' 3.5" flash disk.
So I first use the wizard to save those user profile files I have chosen to preserve. Copying the files from an M.2 to a flash disk is a fast operation.
Then comes running the Windows installer from an USB3 memory stick to an M.2, letting the installer reformat C:. On an M.2, that takes some time, not much. There are a few questions to be answered in the beginning of the operation - not that much.
Then I use the wizard to re-install all applications. A few of them cannot be run unattended; they insist on interactive input of a few things such as license codes. I've put those first in the install list, to get all of those done with as soon as possible, before I leave the PC to itself to install all the rest. The last job given to the wizard is a list of .log and .tmp files left by various installers (including the Windows installer), empty the C: recycle bin, and clean various cache files/directories.
After running the reinstallation, I might do a manual Windows Update. The image you download with the 'Media Creation Tool' is at least partially kept updated with these, so every now and then, I refresh my Windows installer memory stick, to reduce the amount of work that Windows Update has to do.
With a setup like mine, refreshing the PC every couple of months certainly is no big hassle. In one sweep, it cleans out a lot of garbage, from temporary files to garbage registry entries to utilities I have installed just to check them out (so they are not in the wizard's install list) to unwanted cookies to whathaveyou. If some malware has come into my machine, it is likely to be wiped out. I think it is a great way of keeping my PC reasonably clean most of the time.
I have had a setup like this since the days when everything was run on magnetic disks. Then it took a lot longer. Of course it has been refined over the years. In the early years, I had not yet discovered the locations of all the setting files of the various applications, so it happened that I had to re-specify my preferences after a cleanup. Nowadays, I believe that I catch it all. I do look over C: before I start reinstallation to see if I have left some files there that should be preserved, but I rarely find anything.
If your configuration resembles mine, with M.2 system disk, installers on USB3 / flash disk, you have a decent application install wizard, and keep all your user data files on other disks, then I would certainly recommend every now and then doing a cleanup like I do. If your PC has a single, magnetic C: disk, you have no USB3 stick for Windows, and you do not have a good application install wizard, then I am not so sure.
(To answer before you ask: Sorry, that wizard I am using is the property of my last employer. It is not available outside the company, so I can not provide it to you.)
Note: My PC is too old to run W11, so I am on W10. I see no reason why my setup could not be ported to W11.
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More or less the same as you but without wizard.
C: System (M.2 gen 4)
D: (min. other partition, better another disk) Data to work with (M2 gen 3)
E: Warehouse (Long time storage) normal HDD high capacity
F: IT Staff (SSD)
Macrium Images every now and then saved in F: (FIFO of 5 last versions) with all installers of software I like / I use
If I have problems I go to the last backup and restore + re-install not permanent software. If still problems, back to an older version.
Every 3 to 5 years a clean install from media tool stick, because there is a point where backups will get crap inside if you wish it or not.
Doing it almost everything manually, I fully restore wihtin 4 hours
M.D.V.
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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