Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.7733 – What actually changed and why you might care
If you’re riding the Dev Channel train, this build brings a native Sysmon implementation, a few language tweaks for Voice Access, and some long‑overdue File Explorer polish. Below is a quick rundown of what works, what still needs a nudge, and how to enable the new features without breaking your setup.
Built‑in Sysmon – finally in Windows, but don’t expect miracles
Microsoft finally shipped Sysmon as an optional Windows feature. In theory you can now log process creations, network connections, and file writes straight to the Event Viewer without dragging around a separate .exe from Sysinternals.
If you already dabble with Sigma rules or hunt for ransomware footprints, having the data in the standard event log makes life easier – you can pipe it into your SIEM or ELK stack without extra parsing.
For most home users the extra noise outweighs any benefit. Sysmon writes a lot of events; unless you have a dedicated collector and know how to filter them, you’ll just fill up the log and wonder why Explorer is sluggish.
How to turn it on (and avoid a duplicate install):
Open Settings → System → Optional features → More Windows features.
Tick Sysmon, click Install, then reboot. This tells Windows you actually want the feature; leaving it unchecked leaves Sysmon dead‑weight.Open an elevated PowerShell or Command Prompt and run:
Dism /Online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:Sysmon
The DISM command is a safety net – it forces the component on even if the UI missed something.
After the reboot, finish the registration with:
sysmon -i
This writes the default configuration to the system. If you’ve previously installed Sysmon from the Sysinternals site, uninstall it first (sysmon -u) or you’ll get a conflict error.
Voice Access now speaks Dutch
The Netherlands locale finally made it into Voice Access. This is a small win for multilingual households or anyone who prefers Dutch commands over English. No UI overhaul – just a new language pack that shows up in Settings → Accessibility → Speech.
If you tried to say “open notepad” with a Dutch accent and got a blank stare from the OS, you’ll notice better recognition now. It’s not a game‑changing feature, but it eliminates one more barrier for non‑English speakers.
File Explorer polish you’ll actually see
Microsoft listed three fixes:
Keyboard navigation and access keys are more reliable.
If you’ve ever tabbed into the address bar only to have focus bounce back, that should be gone.Renaming folders with custom names now respects the new name instead of reverting to a generic “New folder”.
The fix should finally sticks.Missing icons and tooltips for “Add to favorites” are restored.
The little star icon used to disappear after the first use, leaving you guessing whether the shortcut actually saved.
These aren’t headline features, but they smooth out the daily grind.
Freeze‑free OneDrive/Dropbox handling
A handful of users reported apps freezing when accessing files stored on cloud sync folders. The update patches a race condition that caused Explorer to hang while OneDrive or Dropbox was indexing large batches of files.
Quick checklist before you jump onto Build 26300.7733
- Back up any custom Sysmon configs if you plan to replace the built‑in version later.
- Uninstall any third‑party Sysmon binaries first; otherwise the enable step will fail.
- Sync your OneDrive/Dropbox before rebooting, just in case the freeze fix still needs a clean slate.
That’s about it. The build is mostly incremental polish with one standout – native Sysmon – that could be a boon for security hobbyists but a nuisance for the rest of us.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.7733 (Dev Channel)
Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.7733 (KB5074178) to the Dev Channel.
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.7733 (Dev Channel)
