In a nutshell: Microsoft appears to be blocking individuals in Russia from downloading its fashionable working system, though one can simply get previous the restriction by utilizing a VPN service. It will likely be fascinating to see if this is sufficient to push customers to change to Linux.
Users in Russia are at the moment unable to obtain Windows 10 and 11 ISOs and set up instruments from Microsoft’s servers. People first began noticing the difficulty over the weekend.
If somebody with a Russian IP handle tries to obtain the Windows ISO recordsdata straight from Microsoft’s web site, they get greeted with a message stating there was an issue with their request.
Attempting to obtain the Windows Update Assistant, Windows Media Creation Tool, or Windows 11 Installation Assistant additionally would not work, with customers getting redirected to a webpage with an error message.
Additional affirmation: https://t.co/ROJawaNGS3
Unclear if it is intentional or only a server error, although.
— Catalin Cimpanu (@campuscodi) June 19, 2022
Some individuals in Russia have reported that they can obtain the Windows 11 Media Creation Tool. However, it crashes on startup, producing a 0x80072F8F-0x20000 error.
Users declare that utilizing a VPN service eliminates these error messages, permitting them to obtain the recordsdata. Ironically, Russia’s strict censorship legal guidelines block many VPN suppliers from working within the nation.
Microsoft hasn’t but issued an announcement on the matter, so it is unclear if that is only a server error or a deliberate choice taken by the corporate to protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In March, Microsoft stopped all new gross sales within the nation, becoming a member of dozens of Western corporations taking comparable motion. Earlier this month, the corporate introduced it is winding down its enterprise in Russia, leading to over 400 staff getting laid off.