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Windows 10 Technical Preview Leaked Build (9901)

Windows 10 Technical Preview build (9901) was leaked online this past week. While it isn’t an official build, it’s fun to take a look at what’s coming.

If you’re a huge Microsoft enthusiast, you probably already know that build (9901) was leaked online this past week. While this is by no means what will be included in the final product, there are some interesting features that could make the final cut when Windows 10 is released to the public sometime next year.

Microsoft is holding its own event on January 21st to show off the “next chapter for Windows,” which, interestingly, is not at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), this year, where it will announce new features. And this leaked build will give you a bit of an idea of what’s to come.

I finally decided to install it on a virtual machine (VM), using VirtualBox, to be exact, and here’s a look at some features that might be available in the next official build.

Note: This is an unofficial leaked build of Windows 10 and is not part of the Windows Insider program. Don’t install this over the last official build – Windows 10 Technical Preview Build 9879 as it will cause problems when Microsoft releases an official build.

Leaked Windows 10 Build 9901

When checking out this build, I recommend using a new virtual machine or a new physical extra computer. Microsoft is giving the Windows Insiders “official builds” during the duration of the Technical Preview, and I’m not sure it’s wise to mess with those deployments.

The installation is the same as installing Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 Tech Preview on a fresh system. On the first screen, I did notice that it points out which build version this is, as you can see below.

version number.

Cortana has long been rumored to be part of the Windows 10 desktop, and you can play with it a bit in this build. Here I am setting up permissions for it.

Set up Cortana

You can either speak directly to Cortana via a connected mic, or you can simply type in your query.

Cortana Desktop

It looks like Microsoft is changing the “PC Settings” tile to just “Settings” and below you can see I was able to pin it to the Taskbar and Start menu. Of course you can always launch Setting on Windows 8 and higher with the keyboard shortcut: Windows Key + I

Also notice that the the Search box replaces that magnifying glass icon we had before which is where you access Cortana, but if you open the Search menu, its Search box is also there. Maybe an option with the Cortana box you have the ability to move it do a different spot on the Taskbar.

Settings

The Settings section is laid out differently, and actually looks like a modern Control Panel, although it would be cool to not just have every settings section a gear icon. Hopefully that is something evolves, but I guess I am nit-picking at this point.

Setting UI

Then when you do go in and try to configure some settings, you’ll be presented with the modern interface that is in Windows 8, like in the shot below showing Windows Update.

Windows Udate

Also the title bar of Modern apps contains a full-screen button – next to the so-called “hamburger menu”.

Full Screen Windows 10

There are also new wallpapers in this build and one that looks like a panoramic shot for a dual monitor setup.

Background and themes

This should give you an idea of some of the features that you might expect to see in the next official build. Currently, this build is very buggy. Still, it’s fun to get a glimpse of what’s coming.

As I dig into this build more, I will be posting screenshots and information in our Windows 10 Forum.

3 Comments

3 Comments

  1. Andre Grindstaff

    December 21, 2014 at 1:03 pm

    Looking forward for the next build!

  2. Diomorgan

    December 24, 2014 at 6:19 pm

    The searchbox (and cortana…) doesn’t works on 9901 on 2 PCs… :-(

  3. Christian

    January 19, 2015 at 2:25 pm

    Searchbox (and Cortana) not working for me, when i click on it it doing nothing. What shoud I do to make it work?

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