Win XP Update: A Quiet Start
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Little fallout reported from service pack, but maybe it's because everyone's being cautious.
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Microsoft is making its important security update for Windows XP available on auto-update servers today.
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Want a full-fledged Windows XP computer that's about the size of a Pocket PC? Tiny machine debuts after two years of delay.
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Service Pack 2 for XP represents a sea change in Microsoft's security posture. Here's why you should ignore the naysayers and start planning your upgrade.
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Microsoft has a massive patch for some of the many bugs and security holes in Windows XP. If you&#39;re using Windows XP, you might want to download the software patch and install it.
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Microsoft has issued a formal fix for a problem in Windows XP Service Pack 2 that appeared almost immediately after the update&#39;s release.
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With Microsoft spending most of its upgrade development time on Windows XP, it was only time before they announced plans to stop updating Windows 2000.
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(InfoWorld) - The contentious stealth update that Microsoft delivered to customers this summer blocks 80 patches and fixes from installing after Windows XP is restored using its "repair" feature, researchers said Thursday. Scott Dunn, who first reported the problem in a story posted Thursday morning to the "Windows Secrets" newsletter, said that users who reinstall Windows XP with the repair option cannot retrieve the full set of updates from Windows Update (WU). The problem, he said, has been traced to the so-called "stealth update" to WU which Microsoft has acknowledged sending to users beginning in July. Two weeks ago,Â Dunn broke the story of the background updates,Â which were sent to most non-corporate Windows XP and Vista users. The updates were delivered and installed without prior notification, even when the PC's owner had told the operating system not to download or install updates without notification and permission. The revelation launched a firestorm of protest from users, which in turnÂ prompted Microsoft to defend the practiceÂ as well as say it would think about ways to clarify its update policies. "Two weeks ago we said that the silent update was harmless," said Dunn Thursday. "But now we're saying it is a problem." That problem affects any user who restores Windows XP using the setup CD's "repair" option, sometimes also called an "in-place reinstallation" because it reinstalls the operating system files without disturbing the applications and data already on the disk drive. Because repair is essentially a roll-back to XP's original state, the OS must be updated with all subsequent patches and hotfixes using WU. A system bought soon after Windows XP SP2 was released, for example, would need to download and install about three years' worth of updates. After a repair, XP defaults to the "Automatic" setting for Automatic Updates, which means WU is immediately updated to version 7.0.600.381, the version pushed to PCs by the summer's undercover upgrade, said Dunn. Seven of the DLL (dynamic link library) files that make up 7.0.600.381, however, fail to register themselves with Windows. That, in turn, keeps XP from successfully installing approximately 80 of the most recent patches and fixes. In a normal, non-repair situation, there's no indication of a glitch, since DLLs by the same name have previously been keyed into Windows' registry. "On a repaired copy of XP, however, no such registration has occurred, and failing to register the new DLLs costs Windows Update the ability to install any patches," he said Dunn pointed out workarounds, which included installing an older version of WU over the top of 7.0.600.381. "Windows Secrets" has also posted instructions for creating a batch file that registers the seven DLLs. While the registration failure and the unsuccessful patch installations aren't directly related to the fact that Microsoft didn't disclose the silent WU updates, Dunn sees it as part of a bigger, and disturbing, picture. "It's part of the whole problem with the silent update, and all part of the pattern of Microsoft's sloppiness," he said. "They're keeping us out of the loop. They're not working well with the IT community." If anyone needed proof that stealth updates are a bad idea, Microsoft's defense of the practice notwithstanding, this is it, said Dunn. "IT needs to test updates for this very reason. It's why companies like to download and test updates before they install to the rest of the network," he said. It's not clear how long WU has prevented post-repair updates, but searches through Microsoft's support newsgroups revealed questions about similar behavior as long ago as June. Responses by other users, including some with Most Valued Professional (MVP) designation -- a honorific Microsoft gives to users who make major contributions to the Windows community -- offered advice much like Dunn's. Several of them pointed users to the support document KB916259. The earliest such postings, however, preceded the silent WU update to version 7.0.600.381. When questioned about the discrepancy, Dunn acknowledged the similarities, but in an e-mail said that the two issues were different. He cited several inconsistencies, including an error message called out in the support document that doesn't appear in his test machines. In fact, Microsoft has updated WU twice since late May: the July-August silent update and a visible update rolled out in June. That update was designed to fix aÂ long-standing problem with Automatic UpdatesÂ in which the PCs' CPUs maxed out at 100 percent. Microsoft was not available for comment early Thursday morning. ComputerworldÂ is an InfoWorld affiliate.
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Windows XP users have until early next year to update business systems and applications before the operating system&#39;s Service Pack (SP) 2 is fully unleashed.
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Microsoft is starting to ramp up distribution of its massive security update for the Windows XP operating system. But analysts say they still expect the company to move at a relatively slow pace to avoid widespread glitches.
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DecemberÃ¢ÂÂs Patch Tuesday finds Vista in the bad guysÃ¢ÂÂ sights. Plus: Get Office 2007 SP1, get your fix for Flash, and avoid an HP laptop disaster.
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Users of Microsoft&#39;s Windows XP computer operating system should be on the lookout for the latest round of updates and patches, which fix several security problems but lack any real security advancements.
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Computer giant Microsoft has fully rolled out its crucial security update to computers running its Windows XP. Last week, it &quot;soft launched&quot; Service Pack 2 (SP2) security update, making it available for some
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Windows can load quicker when you disable programs you don't need at start-up. Plus, stop Msconfig from opening automatically when Windows starts.
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Despite some confusion over a recent press release, the next major update for Windows XP is still on track for 2008.
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Microsoft apparently has started updating files on PCs running XP and Vista, even when users have disabled the operating systems' automatic update feature.
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Microsoft says it has distributed about 106 million copies of its major security update for the Windows XP operating system. Microsoft completed work on the update, called Service Pack 2, more than two months ago.