# Is Windows 10 safe to update ?



## chaosmassive (Feb 13, 2019)

so I've been using computer with Windows 10 x64 1607 installed for almost 2 years now
I wondering is it safe to update to latest version? as Windows 10 tend to break something with each update


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## MrGenius (Feb 13, 2019)

I've not had any issues with 1809. Or, rather, issues I wasn't able to easily fix, of which there were maybe a few. So I'd say yes. It's safe. Nothing's perfect. Or ever will be.


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## c2DDragon (Feb 13, 2019)

Updates (are supposed to, at least) fix vulnerabilities.
I currently am using the 1809 build, the OS is more and more intrusive, to improve your needs as they say  I block the craps I don't want with w10privacy and the OS is working good.
Now, updating everytime, I remember there was only 1 time since W10 launch where I had a problem : my cheap USB microphone wasn't recognized as a microphone. I just rolled back to the previous version, just to permit my USB microphone to work, waited another update to install and I never had any other issue so far.


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## Ebo (Feb 13, 2019)

I have no troubble, so just rock on


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## Bill_Bright (Feb 13, 2019)

chaosmassive said:


> ...as Windows 10 tend to break something with each update


No it doesn't. Do some people have problems? Of course! There are over 700 million Windows 10 users out there - and virtually every single one of those computers is unique as users install their own security and other software, install and attach and configure their own hardware, setup their own networking, create user accounts, and modify Windows with their own personalizations. Frankly, I think it amazing how successful Windows Update is!

Even if just .1 of 1% (.001)  have problems (which would be an exceptional success rate in any industry) that would still amount to 700,000 upset users. And 700,000 upset users can make a lot of noise - especially when attention seeking bloggers and some in the IT press amplify those problems with exaggerated headlines.

The facts are, not even that many users have problems. But until Man can create perfection 100% of the time, someone will always experience a problem. But that's why be keep backups of any data we don't want to lose.

FTR, I have 6 computers here, and dozens more I am responsible for all running W10 (Pro and Home - all 64-bit). I keep them all current - with Windows Update in its default settings. Rarely has there been any problems and more importantly, not one has ever been broken by a Windows Update that was not corrected by a simple reboot.

It is also a fact if you don't keep Windows 10 current, you risk a security incident that could have easily been prevented. That reason alone is reason enough to keep W10 current.


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## Kursah (Feb 13, 2019)

I had one of my systems even get the original 1809 upgrade and I had no issues. But as always, with any major upgrade, it is best to perform a backup of your existing data. Both Macrium Reflect and Veeam offer solid free options for that. Just because I have had good experiences doesn't mean you will, and only you can make the choice to take the proper steps to ensure you don't lose a functioning system or your data. I would recommend this regardless of it being Windows, OSX or Linux.


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## er557 (Feb 13, 2019)

i even go as far as using insider builds for production(daily driver), but it sure requires third party apss to tweak security and features


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## FreedomEclipse (Feb 13, 2019)

There are still some bugs with the 1809 update.

If you had to do an install. Make sure its a fresh one.


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## Bill_Bright (Feb 13, 2019)

30+ million lines of code in W10. There will always be bugs. Fortunately, if they affect anyone, it typically is just one of those systems way out on the extreme .1 of 1% of the systems out there.


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## chaosmassive (Feb 13, 2019)

so, should I just  fresh install with latest build iso, or just update current build?


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## sneekypeet (Feb 13, 2019)

Building fresh is the way I go. As mentioned earlier, make sure to back up anything you want to keep.


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## er557 (Feb 13, 2019)

you could update, depends if you are tech savvy enough to squash issues


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## Boatvan (Feb 13, 2019)

+1 for a fresh build. For some reason, every time I have tried an in place feature update, I have to boot into the recovery environment and re-mark my boot partition. Plus in my mind it is a lot "cleaner"


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## er557 (Feb 13, 2019)

cleaner but torture to install all apps and games. regarding the boot partition you could convert to uefi using mbr2gpt command


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## eidairaman1 (Feb 13, 2019)

chaosmassive said:


> so I've been using computer with Windows 10 x64 1607 installed for almost 2 years now
> I wondering is it safe to update to latest version? as Windows 10 tend to break something with each update



Here for your knowledge, if its working, dont fix it.

https://www.askwoody.com

Https://www.askwoody.com/ms-defcon-system/

This is a new addition to the page.

https://www.askwoody.com/patch-list-master/


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## Deleted member 67555 (Feb 13, 2019)

The only update issue I had was with 1809.
It was with the Continue where you left off feature.
Apparently Chrome was updating when I needed to restart and it got caught in a glitch because something just didn't finish.. every time I'd go to Chrome there would be a restore session message and chrome would lock up... In the end it was fixed by uninstalling chrome and reinstalling it.


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## Bill_Bright (Feb 13, 2019)

I say update. You only need to do a fresh install if the update fails catastrophically. Even if it has been a couple years since W10 was last updated, WU can sort through the available updates and figure out which ones are still needed, and in what order to install them.


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## sneekypeet (Feb 13, 2019)

Bill_Bright said:


> I say update. You only need to do a fresh install if the update fails catastrophically. Even if it has been a couple years since W10 was last updated, WU can sort through the available updates and figure out which ones are still needed, and in what order to install them.



Sure, if you like sitting around clicking on Windows Update for days on end until they feel it is the right time to allow you to download them. Just had this the other day. Grabbed a thumb drive with 170x on it, installed it, five days later, still no 1809. Hence why I say it is better to install fresh


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## TheoneandonlyMrK (Feb 13, 2019)

eidairaman1 said:


> Here for your knowledge, if its working, dont fix it.
> 
> https://www.askwoody.com
> 
> ...


 There are security reasons to patch though and stability too , a lot of features have been added too so personally i keep upto date in all software i can.


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## dcf-joe (Feb 13, 2019)

I've been running 1809 for a little bit now without issues. I also manually run Windows Updater every evening and let it install whatever it wants to install, and I have had no issues with that either.


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## Toothless (Feb 13, 2019)

Not updating is the unsafe way.


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## Bill_Bright (Feb 13, 2019)

sneekypeet said:


> Sure, if you like sitting around clicking on Windows Update for days on end until they feel it is the right time to allow you to download them


Yeah right. 

Come on, SP, it is not helpful when you cannot even be realistic.


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## eidairaman1 (Feb 13, 2019)

theoneandonlymrk said:


> There are security reasons to patch though and stability too , a lot of features have been added too so personally i keep upto date in all software i can.



Utilize that Site, its good for finetoothing the wholesome from the chaff


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## sneekypeet (Feb 13, 2019)

Bill_Bright said:


> Yeah right.
> 
> Come on, SP, it is not helpful when you cannot even be realistic.



I'm serious as a heart attack Bill. Keep your assumptions to yourself!


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## ArbitraryAffection (Feb 13, 2019)

I usually wait a couple months after each big update but apart from that I update whenever i can. Not had any major issues that I have noticed.

Version;





So I would say yes, it's safe now.


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## Punx223 (Feb 13, 2019)

Bill_Bright said:


> Yeah right.
> 
> Come on, SP, it is not helpful when you cannot even be realistic.





sneekypeet said:


> I'm serious as a heart attack Bill. Keep your assumptions to yourself!



I am with Sneeky on this... the update path while I have had success is not without risk...

I am now after all of the issues I have seen and have seen Sneeky have as well of the mindset that I simply refresh my system with a new media creation tool image when a new major update comes out..

I've had far too many issues on many of my systems with random ass problems.

Sneeky is being realistic, as I saw some of the issues updating was... it was a hot mess.


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## 27MaD (Feb 13, 2019)

Since i started using Windows 10 1 year ago , it became a habit for me to hit the check for updates button literally everyday before i go to sleep , and i've never faced any issues , not even one.


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## Kursah (Feb 13, 2019)

If you don't see 1809 come up in Windows Update, which isn't a surprise as they still do rolling releases and with 1903 pending in the next couple of months it'll be harder to get 1809, you can go here and use the Update Assistant to get that rolling as well: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

Go there and click Update Now to download the update assistant which should help with this process, it works well and I've used it many times.

You could also download the latest ISO and do an in-place upgrade (run install from within Windows 10, choose Upgrade, follow prompts, is intended to keep your data intact and I've done this many times for OS repairs (running the same version installer to replace corrupted files otherwise not repairable), OS to OS upgrades, and Windows 10 version upgrades). 

One thing folks should be careful of by suggesting not updating/upgrading is security mitigations that you don't get by not staying up-to-date. Everyone's a target, and between spamming relays, DoS relays, and now cryptomining processing. That gets into an entirely different topic, but keeping AVAM, OS, firewall, etc. all up-to-date is critical.


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## Bill_Bright (Feb 13, 2019)

> I am with Sneeky on this...


Right - so in your opinion, it is realistic to say Windows Update regularly requires "_sitting around clicking on Windows Update for days on end_" to download a update? 

Sure, some of the big "creators" updates are "rolled out" over time. But those are not critical updates that leave you at risk if you don't update right away. And all you have to do is click it once. Your system will then join the queue. No one needs to sit around for days on end clicking on Wu.

The OP asked if it is safe to update to the latest? The answer is yes. There is no need to do a fresh install.

As just posted just seconds ago in a different thread, 





> How about we get back on the topic as it applies to the OP


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## theFOoL (Feb 13, 2019)

You Download the Windows ISO Downloader *LINK*  to download the latest version of windows


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## Punx223 (Feb 13, 2019)

Bill_Bright said:


> Right - so in your opinion, it is realistic to say Windows Update regularly requires "_sitting around clicking on Windows Update for days on end_" to download a update?
> 
> Sure, some of the big "creators" updates are "rolled out" over time. But those are not critical updates that leave you at risk if you don't update right away. And all you have to do is click it once. Your system will then join the queue. No one needs to sit around for days on end clicking on Wu.
> 
> ...



lol, Jack of online Arguments, master of none..tbh dude, I could not really care less if you agree with my viewpoint but I have spent most of my life working with PCs. 

at the end of the day, I am nto agreeing taht everyones experience will match Sneeky's..But why not refresh your rig if you are comfortable doing so instead of risking one of many documented issues such as data loss, driver failures and overall OS corruption.

It seems far more reasonable  that if you are capable and confident in doing so to refresh your OS as I had mentioned as it will le ave your system performing better and you will also know exactly whats there and can then have a fresh clean running OS vs whatever baggage MS decided it needed to trudge along with after an update.. (Just look at the size of your windows.old folder)


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## 95Viper (Feb 13, 2019)

Stop bickering, trolling, creating drama.
Get on topic.
No, side arguments.
*If you have nothing nice to say... don't.*

Thank You


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## c2DDragon (Feb 13, 2019)

Sometimes Windows Update will report there is no available updates but you can see there is a file building at the root of your system drive, hidden.
Your network will see there is activity too.
You insanely want to update NOW, well, update with the media tool, be sure to backup all you need in the Users files. Save what you know that will disappear.
Or else, Windows will update by itself depending the settings you've put in Windows Update, you don't even have to go check for updates. It's build like this.


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## MrGenius (Feb 13, 2019)

-1 more on the fresh install. 2 out of the 3 problems I had with 1809 were because I had to do a clean install, since I couldn't get my old install to update. ALWAYS better to update in my experience. There are advantages to a clean install. They just don't outweigh the potential disadvantages IMO. I'll never do a clean install of 10 ever again...if I can avoid it.

My biggest gripe was seeing my user folder renamed to "mrgen". Who the hell is "mrgen"? Whoever he is, I don't know him, and he's certainly not me. I don't know when they decided to change that. But I'd had the same user folder named "Mr. Genius" from way back when I upgraded 7 to the first pre-release preview build. And it totally rubbed me the wrong way to see that when I had to clean install 1809. I don't know who's idea it was to change that...but that guy needs punched in the mouth. Oh...and you'd think that's easy enough to fix. Just rename the folder to whatever you want...right? WRONG! It's a MAJOR PITA that requires all kinds of hoops to jump through. Jump through the wrong one, or right one at the wrong time? Guess what? Start over with your clean install. Because there's no fixing it once you foul it up either. NIGHTMARE!!! 

Then having to fix the BS with it not recognizing me as the administrator anymore. Though I obviously still was. But apparently the damn thing is so stupid now it will insist you are on one hand, then turn around and deny you admin privaledges on the other. So you need to prove it by regediting the stupidity away. Why? Again...line up for the punch in the mouth you've earned jackass!


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## Jetster (Feb 13, 2019)

I've never had an issue with any update. Other than trying to locate some feature they moved


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## Deleted member 67555 (Feb 13, 2019)

Kind of forgot
I lost some of my saved games when I updated to 1809... Basically anything that doesn't do online saves.
Might have lost other stuff but it wasn't an old install so it wasn't much


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## John Naylor (Feb 14, 2019)

I have always waited a few days before installing any updates.   The turning point for me when was XPs patch shut down half the architecture and engineering companies for several days because the update broke Autodesks License Manager.  I spent 2 or 3 days making prints for colleagues wile their CAD operators were getting paid to twiddle their thumbs.  And of course on Win10s first one, a hardware patch "broke SLI".  the 1809 update has been an unpopular one

https://www.windowscentral.com/windows-10-october-2018-update-problems-complaints

Here's MS's own list of problems by date
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4464619/windows-10-update-history

One thing I always suggest is not letting Windows do any hardware / driver updates.
https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials...iver-updates-windows-update-windows-10-a.html

You can even stop it completely... tho unless you are an astute user, not recommended.

And yes, if Woody says it's OK ... it's OK.


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## Boatvan (Feb 14, 2019)

Kursah said:


> I had one of my systems even get the original 1809 upgrade and I had no issues. But as always, with any major upgrade, it is best to perform a backup of your existing data. Both Macrium Reflect and Veeam offer solid free options for that. Just because I have had good experiences doesn't mean you will, and only you can make the choice to take the proper steps to ensure you don't lose a functioning system or your data. I would recommend this regardless of it being Windows, OSX or Linux.



Regardless of your choice (which it is ultimately your choice), this above post is very accurate. I can recommend the Veeam agent for Windows. In case something goes haywire on the upgrade path you choose, you can have a full backup ready to roll on your external HD. It already saved me once. Good call @Kursah 

Also, my +1 for clean install comes from experience in the enterprise setting so for home use, it may not be the right choice. As you can see in the replies, the jury is out on the methodology, but if you feel upgrading is the right choice for your setup (I like updating for security and features), do some homework on the pros and cons on each method. Unfortunately, this may not be the place to discuss controversial topics that shouldn't be that controversial...


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## Arjai (Feb 14, 2019)

Who is "Woody?"


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## Melvis (Feb 14, 2019)

Upgrade at your own rick, just the sad truth when it comes to Windows 10, otherwise this thread wouldn't exist. 

The majority update without issues so in theory you should be fine, but to be safe, back up all your files, do the update if it works yay if not then no biggy do a fresh install and then put your backed up files back on.


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## Kissamies (Feb 14, 2019)

Not a single problem EVER. Used W10 Pro x64 since the release date.


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## arnold_al_qadr (Feb 14, 2019)

win10 x64 ltsc built 17763.316 user here,
I check for updates 5 to 6 times a day, every day,
never had any problem..


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## phill (Feb 14, 2019)

Whilst I've had problems with updates, leaving Windows 10 to it's own devices seems to work best for me.  When it tried to install the latest update 1809, it crashed out after an hour of downloading and doing whatever it was doing..  Even with an SSD it was taking its sweet time (the downloading I can't control but otherwise...) but as it's been mentioned by a few members, always and I mean ALWAYS backup your data before attempting any update and as it's been mentioned since you're using such an old version of Windows 10 (which I'm surprised it's let you, have you unplugged your network connection??!) I'd use another drive/SSD, just to install to just in case you forget anything from the current install 

Call me over cautious, but I'd rather have my old working OS rather than no OS and/or a broken one that you might not use


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## Vayra86 (Feb 14, 2019)

I had to clean install shortly after 1809 but it turned it wasn't the OS but my OC. Beyond that, the problems that plague Windows 10 updates are not due to its update systems, but due to the content of them. You don't lose most of the issues by clean installing at all - the conflicts coming from an update are often less problematic than those from a clean install, with the latter you run straight into 'Windows won't help you with anything territory', while with an upgrade its easy to use a fix or make one. Also, the quirks Windows 10 can have with clean install these days don't make me want to repeat that as eagerly as I used to with for example Win 7. Win 10 simply isn't very transparent in this.


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## SoNic67 (Feb 14, 2019)

chaosmassive said:


> so I've been using computer with Windows 10 x64 1607 installed for almost 2 years now
> I wondering is it safe to update to latest version? as Windows 10 tend to break something with each update


You have no choice in that. Windows 10 will update sooner or later, you can delay that but not cancel it.


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## er557 (Feb 14, 2019)

sure you can, i beleive you might need win pro, but the tool to have is windows update mini tool


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## c2DDragon (Feb 14, 2019)

er557 said:


> sure you can, i beleive you might need win pro, but the tool to have is windows update mini tool


You don't need a tool, you can do it yourself with gpedit.msc : Computer Configuration => Administrative Template => Windows Component => Windows Update => Configure Automatic Update : Disable
I gave a try to confirm and got WU telling me : "your organization has turned off automatic updates" I can do manual searches still.

Edit : Bonus while you are in the group policies you can see and change a looooot of things you don't even know it could exist


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## chaosmassive (Feb 14, 2019)

SoNic67 said:


> You have no choice in that. Windows 10 will update sooner or later, you can delay that but not cancel it.



I disable windows update services, as soon as I have access to dekstop screen, so..


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## SoNic67 (Feb 14, 2019)

In my experience, Windows updates very seldom break things. The benefits outweigh the risk, to me I never got a truly bad update in 20+ years of Windows usage (Windows 95 era), so I do allow updates.


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## xtreemchaos (Feb 14, 2019)

take a big deep breath and have a _Exorcist_  on hand just in case  joking aside do a clean install after backing your data up. charl.


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## Boatvan (Feb 14, 2019)

Ironically enough I arbitrarily decided to upgrade to 1803 at work this morning (probably subliminally from thinking about this thread). Was on 1607, now on 1803. Clean install, done within an hour. No fuss, no muss. Still ultimately your decision my friends.


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## rtwjunkie (Feb 14, 2019)

Vayra86 said:


> Also, the quirks Windows 10 can have with clean install these days don't make me want to repeat that as eagerly as I used to with for example Win 7. Win 10 simply isn't very transparent in this.


This is why I use the business upgrade model, and add 200 days on top of it, at least on my main rig.  The less I have to upgrade the better.  On that system, the upgrade process never works.  It always needs a fresh install, which with microsoft’s Every 6 months effectively giving us a new OS it can get ridiculous.  

Other rigs in the house handle the upgrade process fairly painlessly.  My main rig this last time locked up within 2 minutes of upgrading to 1803.  No amount of driver replacements fixed it.  So I did a reset, which is close enough to a fresh install.  That did the trick and it’s good as new now after 10 days of aggravation.

So my answer on this is it’s a mixed bag, although mostly ok to upgrade W10.


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## erpguy53 (Feb 23, 2019)

c2DDragon said:


> You don't need a tool, you can do it yourself with gpedit.msc : Computer Configuration => Administrative Template => Windows Component => Windows Update => Configure Automatic Update : Disable
> I gave a try to confirm and got WU telling me : "your organization has turned off automatic updates" I can do manual searches still.
> 
> Edit : Bonus while you are in the group policies you can see and change a looooot of things you don't even know it could exist



but gpedit.msc is only available in pro, education & enterprise editions of Win10.  Win10 home users don't have that (home users are really at MS's mercy and will push updates at anytime they want) and will have to use something like windows update minitool to control the updates (and set any internet connections to "metered")

I use win10 v1803 education (the education edition is bundled in the consumer edition win10 isos since v1709), which is basically pro+ and gets 30 months support of updates for each build (unlike the home & pro editions, which get 18 months support of updates for each build)


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