Microsoft Re-Re-Releases the Windows 10 October 2018 Update

It's deja vu all over again. Microsoft has made Windows 10 version 1809, also known as the Windows 10 October 2018 Update, available to everyone. This is actually the update's fourth release: it was released, pulled because of various problems, released to Windows Insider Program members, worked on, released to the public, blocked from certain systems, and now it's finally been made available to everyone once again.

There is still a caveat, though, which is that it's only available to people who manually check for updates via Windows Update. Microsoft is still working out some of the update's problems to make sure it's compatible with all systems, and it won't push the update to everyone until it's done.  Which means we'll probably get to write this story again when all of the problems have been fixed and Microsoft asks everyone to use the update.

Just in case you've missed our coverage of the Windows 10 October 2018 Update's problems: the original flaws that led to it being pulled involved a file system bug and issues with Intel audio drivers; then a separate file system flaw was discovered; and then incompatibilities with certain AMD graphics cards or Trend Micro software, iCloud and Intel display drivers led Microsoft to block the update from systems that rely on those products.

Microsoft has been cataloging these issues and its responses to them on a dedicated support page. That's where the company said the Windows 10 October 2018 Update "is now fully available for advanced users who manually select 'Check for updates' via Windows Update." (Which is found in the Settings app, in case Windows 10's aggressive update mechanisms have meant you've never had to look for an update on your own before.)

The company is tracking seven issues on that page. Of those, four still have an upgrade block in place, while three have been marked as resolved. Microsoft hasn't offered a timeline for when the four remaining issues will be fixed; the most it says is that it plans to resolve the problem in a future update. So if you want to install the Windows 10 October 2018 Update now, you can, but do so knowing that choice might have consequences.