How to Enable the New Secure Batch‑File Mode in Windows 11 Insider Build 26220.7934
The latest Beta Channel preview adds a handful of tweaks that most users will never notice, but a few actually solve real annoyances. This guide shows how to turn on the hardened batch‑file processing introduced in build 26220.7934 and highlights the other changes that might be worth toggling for power users.
Secure batch‑file processing
Microsoft finally gave administrators a way to stop batch scripts from being altered while they run. The fix lives in the registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor; creating a DWORD called LockBatchFilesWhenInUse and setting it to 1 forces Windows to lock the file for the duration of execution. Once enabled, signature validation happens only once instead of at every command line, which translates into a noticeable speed bump on long scripts. An admin who rolled out this setting across a fleet reported that a rogue update had been injecting extra lines into a maintenance batch just before it executed—after the lock was applied the script ran unchanged and the incident disappeared.
Shared audio (preview) gains individual sliders
The Bluetooth LE Audio sharing feature now shows separate volume knobs for each listener in the taskbar. Clicking the new icon opens a tiny pane where the left‑hand and right‑hand volumes can be tweaked without affecting the other party. This is handy when one person prefers their headset louder while the companion wants it softer. The trade‑off is that the UI feels half‑baked; the sliders are tiny and disappear as soon as you move away, so a quick tap is required to adjust them. If shared listening isn’t used daily, toggling the feature off saves a few clicks.
Narrator shortcut for status bars
A new key chord—Narrator key plus backslash—lets screen‑reader users hear the contents of an app’s status bar on demand. In Word it will speak “Page 12 of 34”, in Excel it can announce the sum of a highlighted range. The addition is subtle but eliminates the need to navigate through menus just to get that information, making the experience smoother for anyone who relies on Narrator.
Paint’s freeform rotate
Paint finally received a proper rotation tool after years of pleading. Selecting any shape, text block, or marquee now shows a handle above the object; dragging it rotates the item at any angle. For precise work there is also a “Custom rotate” entry where a numeric degree can be typed. The feature feels surprisingly capable for a legacy app and will likely replace quick‑and‑dirty tricks that involved copying to PowerPoint just to get an odd tilt.
Minor reliability tweaks
The update quietly improves the removal of old Windows Update files via Settings → System → Storage, which should cut down on the occasional “not enough space” warnings after a major patch. It also steadies typing on ADLaM keyboards—a niche improvement that only matters if that specific hardware is in use.
All these tweaks are optional, but enabling the batch‑file lock and trying out Paint’s new rotate tool give immediate value without extra bloat. Give them a whirl and see which ones stick around when the final release lands.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7934 (Beta Channel)
Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7934 (KB5077242) to the Beta Channel.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7934 (Beta Channel)
