Cannot enrol in Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU)
Hello, I cannot enrol in Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU). I have Windows 10 version 22H2 installed, including KB5063709. OneDrive is installed. I have tried several times via: Open Settings → Update & Security → Windows Update. I can get to the screen that says "Enrol in Extended Security Updates to stay protected", but after I press 'next', I get a blank window with a wheel of death. After about a minute the window dies. Via a chat with one of the Microsoft support channels the problem may be relates to Windows Backup not working. I have tried several community articles to make this work, but cannot get it to work. I've also been told I need to go to Settings > Accounts > Windows Backup Make to make sure “Remember my apps” and “Remember my preferences” are turned on. but since I can't start Windows Backup, I cannot do this. Obviously with the deadline for registering for extended security deadlines approaching fast I am rather concerned... Please help.
Introducing Protection Unit Offboarding in Microsoft 365 Backup
We’re excited to announce that Protection Unit Offboarding (aka backup deletion) is now available! This feature empowers organizations to manage their backup data with greater precision, compliance, and control. Why does this matter? It’s been a popular request from customers and ISV partners to delete specific SharePoint sites or OneDrive accounts, particularly in scenarios involving compliance, cost management, and operational agility. Up until now, Microsoft 365 Backup only supported product-level offboarding—meaning you could discontinue the service or switch providers, but not delete backups at the individual SharePoint site, Exchange mailbox, or OneDrive account level. This posed challenges for customers needing to do the following: Meet regulatory requirements for deleting personally identifiable information (PII) when users leave. Correct accidental data inclusion due to automation or manual errors. Adapt to changing business policies, such as discontinuing Exchange backups while retaining SharePoint. Purge backups when transferring to a new provider. Manage licenses and costs by removing unnecessary protection units. What’s available in Protection Unit Offboarding (aka backup deletion)? Here’s a quick summary of what’s available in this new feature: Targeted deletion: Delete backups at the protection unit or policy level, reducing storage costs and supporting compliance. Error prevention: Avoid accidental retention of data from automation or manual mistakes. Business agility: Easily adapt backup configurations as your needs evolve. Admin overview Admins can initiate backup deletion for single or multiple protection units using Microsoft Graph APIs or PowerShell Cmdlets—enabling end-to-end automation and seamless integration into existing workflows. Guardrails for security and compliance Grace periods: All purge requests have a grace period (typically 30–90 days) for review or cancellation. Notifications: System-generated alerts keep admins informed at every stage. Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Only authorized admins can initiate offboarding. Audit events: Every action is logged for compliance and traceability. How to offboard a site, mailbox, or OneDrive Here’s a quick step-by-step guide to using this backup capability: Identify the protection unit: Use Microsoft Graph API or PowerShell to find the correct protection unit ID. Remove from policy: Unassign the unit from any backup policy to set its state to unprotected. Initiate offboarding: Use the offboard API or PowerShell cmdlet to start the process. Notifications will be sent. Monitor grace period: Review or cancel the request if needed. All actions are logged. Confirm deletion: After the grace period, the unit and backups are permanently deleted. Attempting to access deleted data will confirm successful offboarding. For detailed technical steps and troubleshooting, refer to Protection Unit Level Offboarding page and Protection Unit Level Offboarding Microsoft Graph APIs page on Microsoft Learn. What’s next? This feature is now generally available for all Microsoft 365 Backup customers. Haven’t set up Microsoft 365 Backup yet? Get started today! Future enhancements will include partial purges, bulk actions by department or region, exclusion lists, and improved notifications. Stay tuned! - Diksha Upadhyay Diksha is a Senior Product Manager on the Microsoft 365 Backup teamWindows OneDrive folder and file properties
Hello I use Windows 10. All the files in the OneDrive folder has the green checkmark. 1. Are the files with the green checkmark both in a local OneDrive folder and in the OneDrive online cloud? 2. If I "Unlink this PC" - what happens to all the files with the green checkmark? They are kept in the OneDrive online cloud? They are deleted from the local OneDrive folder? 3. If I download a file from OneDrive online browser then the files "Modified" date is being updated - bad. If I copy a file from the OneDrive folder in Windows to another local folder, then the "Modified" date is unchaged - good. I have only tried this on the same computer. But what if there is 2 computers: Computer 1 copy file A to the Windows OneDrive folder. Computer 2 (another computer) copies file A from Windows OneDrive folder to another local folder - is the "Modified" date unchanged or updated? I know the "Created" and "Accessed" dates are being updated / new when copying file A. Thank youDeleting an Immutable, vault-locking enabled Recovery Services Vault in Azure
Hey everyone, just wanted to share something I confirmed with Microsoft Support - could be useful if you're managing Recovery Services vaults with immutability and vault-locking enabled. Once immutability and vault-lock are in place, the vault can't normally be deleted until all backup data has passed its retention period. It's meant to protect data and enforce policies. However, if you have a special case where you really need to delete the vault early, you can submit a request through Microsoft Support. You’ll need to open a support case. Clearly explain the situation and why early deletion is needed (include vault details, customer consent, or strong justification). Microsoft reviews these requests individually — it’s not guaranteed, but it's possible. Also important: costs keep adding up as long as the vault exists. So if you think you might need help, reach out to Support early to avoid unexpected billing. Hope this helps someone!
Windows Server Backup - Not using all destination space
I administer a very small environment on the side. I am using Windows Server backup on a QNAP iSCSI target as the local destination with Azure as a cloud backup (immutable). The local backup is using 1336GB out of 1999GB, resulting in 18 copies. I am using Performance (VSS). Why isnt using more of the destination space? I am having trouble finding logs and such to look at.
How To Turn Off OneDrive for Business Backup If you Can't Login?
I have a friend who's laptop she used for both personal and work, she has now left the company and one drive for business she has installed on her machine will no longer login due to her works Microsoft account being closed. The issue I have is that she had chosen to backup her Desktop, Documents and Pictures folder to Onedrive, this means these folders have been moved from C:\Users\Username\ to Onedrive, Normally if I wanted to turn off Onedrive backup and restore these folders back to her local drive, I would open OneDrive Settings and Select Manage backup and then turn off backup for these folders, which would restore the Desktop, Documents and Pictures folder back to the Local Drive (ie C:\Users\username\). As I am unable to login to OneDrive I cannot get to the Manage Backup Option in Settings. Does anyone know how I can restore the Location of the Desktop, Documents and Pictures folder without going to Settings in OneDrive?Preventing and recovering from accidental deletion of an Azure Database for MySQL flexible server
Accidental deletion of critical Azure resources, such as Azure Database for MySQL flexible servers, can disrupt operations. To help avoid such accidental deletions, you can use a couple of options, including Azure Resource Locks and Azure Policy. This post explains how to implement these mechanisms, and how to revive a dropped MySQL flexible server by using the Azure CLI.
Clone a Windows 2016 Server HDD to a bootable SSD for replacement/backup
Does Server 2016 have an easy way to clone the HDD to an SSD, including replicating the drive partitions so that the drive can be simply swapped out of the machine? And a way to save a backup clone in case of that drive's failure? I saw articles about using Sysprep to prepare an image but that doesnt provide for making sure the recovery partition is cloned, nor does it ensure that the machine will be bootable. Can it perhaps take a hardware fingerprint to make sure its being used for one particular machine? If the solution is a 3rd party cloning tool, what is recommended? Thanks!
