Windows update causes headaches
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Games and security programs are on a long list of software that does not work well with the Windows SP2 update.
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By John Torro, St. Petersburg Times, Fla.  Sep. 4--UNINSTALL UPDATES TO FIND SOURCE OF PROBLEMS: Microsoft alerted  me to nine critical updates Aug. 9. My computer is set up to accept these  automatically, and they were downloaded Windows XP Home.
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Microsoft Corp.'s decision to release a major upgrade for its flagship operating system in the same month that hundreds of thousands of students are reporting to college campuses across the nation is causing a major headache for some universities.
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update In order to get the next update of its Windows operating system out the door, Microsoft will delay some of the key improvements that had been planned.
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Responding to reports of endlessly rebooting PCs that flooded support newsgroups last week, Microsoft said on Tuesday it had pulled an&#160;update designed to prep Windows Vista for Service Pack 1.Although the update -- actually a pair of prerequisite files that modify Vista&#39;s install components -- has been temporarily pulled from Windows Update, Microsoft has not yet produced a fix for users whose machines either won&#39;t boot or reboot constantly.&quot;Immediately after receiving reports of this error, we made the decision to temporarily suspend automatic distribution of the update to avoid further customer impact while we investigate possible causes,&quot; said Nick White, a Vista program manager, in a post to the company&#39;s blog Tuesday afternoon.White downplayed the problem. &quot;So far, we&#39;ve been able to determine that this problem only affects a small number of customers in unique circumstances. We are working to identify possible solutions and will make the update available again shortly after we address the issue.&quot;According to White, Update 937287 was the cause of the problem. In a support document, Microsoft describes that update as one for Vista&#39;s installation software, &quot;the component that handles the installation and the removal of software updates, language packs, optional Windows features and service packs.&quot; Along with a companion update pushed to users starting Feb. 12 and another that was offered to machines running Vista Ultimate and Vista Business in January, the guilty update is required before Vista can be upgraded to&#160;Service Pack 1 (SP1).Shortly after the two prerequisites hit Windows Update last week, users began reporting problems on Microsoft&#39;s support newsgroups. Most said that the update hung as the message &quot;Configuring Updates Step 3 of 3 -- 0% Complete&quot; appeared on the screen. When users rebooted hoping to clear the error, their PCs went into an endless cycle of reboots. A smaller number of users said that their computers refused to boot normally.Some users have been able to regain control by booting from a Vista install DVD and selecting the &quot;Restore from a previous restore point&quot; option.What&#39;s it doing in there?It&#39;s uncertain whether Microsoft knows exactly why Update 937287 is hammering PCs. Even after White posted the company statement to the Vista blog, Darrell Gorter, a Microsoft employee, was asking users to send him system logs. &quot;I still need more log files for the investigations that we are doing,&quot; Gorter said in a message on the support newsgroup. Late last week, Gorter made a similar request on the same message board.Also unclear is the actual extent of the problem. Although White called the number &quot;small,&quot; the traffic on the Vista SP1 newsgroup is heavy. One thread had been viewed more than 35,500 times by late Tuesday.But the problem is not new. Computerworld has found messages describing the endless reboot problem dated Dec. 13, one day after it first offered a Vista SP1 release candidate to the general public. That build of SP1 also required the prerequisite updates, including 937287.Microsoft was not available for comment Tuesday night to answer questions about whether, and if so how, the snafu will impact its plans to start offering SP1 to most users next month. Currently, only beta testers, Volume Licensing customers, and subscribers to TechNet Plus and Microsoft Developer Network have been able to download legal versions of the service pack.That will change in mid-March when SP1 is set to land on Windows Update as an optional update, and again in mid-April when Microsoft said it would start installing SP1 automatically on most PCs running Vista.Computerworld is an InfoWorld affiliate.&#160;
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The stealth update that Microsoft recently delivered to customers blocks 80 patches and fixes from installing after Windows XP is restored using its "repair" feature.
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Windows users are being urged to download the latest batch of security updates from Microsoft.
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Nothing elicits fear and loathing across the land like the announcement of a major Windows upgrade. Grown men and women quake at the thought of hours of troubleshooting. Corporate IT departments don full battle gear and issue stern warnings against upgrading before they've tested for incompatibilities. Small children weep when their favorite computer games suddenly won't run.
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.NET patch trips up systems Early reports are suggesting problems after users apply one of the six patches issued by Microsoft on Tuesday.â¦
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Numerous applications, including some of Microsoft&#39;s own, have encountered compatibility problems with Windows XP SP2 (Service Pack 2).
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A glitch that causes endless rebooting prompts Microsoft to pull the software update that prepares Vista for SP1.
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Changing the balance on the frontline Poll Several weeks ago, I had a problem with a new HP desktop right out of the box. When I tried to install MS OS updates they were downloaded, but when the system rebooted it caused a permanent loop.â¦
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One in ten desktops will have problems with the Microsoft Service Pack 2 (SP2) update for Windows XP, claims an integration consultancy.
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Users of Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition are scheduled to begin receiving Service Pack 2 via automatic update starting today. But delivery of the Professional Edition has been delayed at least a week while Microsoft and its users grapple ...
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Microsoft's attempt to win over new users with a cut-down version of Windows has come in for strong criticism.
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Although OneCare does modify Windows' patch options, Microsoft says users are warned during install.
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Compatibility issues A delayed update to Microsoft's application development suite looks unlikely to fully work with Windows Vista.â¦