Microsoft Update Product Team Blog

Update to Windows Update, WSUS Coming This Week

Windows Update Team — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 19:02:00 GMT

Hello,

As part of the phased mitigation strategy we outlined on the MSRC blog, an update was released with Security Advisory 2718704 that prevents unauthorized certificates from being used to attack Windows systems. In an effort to provide additional protection for customers, the next action in our mitigation strategy is to further harden Windows Update as a defense-in-depth precaution. Now that we have seen broad adoption of Security Advisory 2718704, our deployment of the security hardening update to Windows Update and Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) infrastructures will begin to roll out over the next few days.

Our hardening introduces two defense-in-depth changes. First, we have further hardened the Windows Update infrastructure so that the Windows Update client will only trust files signed by a new certificate that is used solely to protect updates to the Windows Update client. Second, we are strengthening the communication channel used by Windows Update in a similar way. Details on the changes to the Windows Update client can be found at KB 949104. WSUS customers will also receive an update; more details can be found at KB 2720211.

As with past updates, this update will not change your current Windows Update or Automatic Updates settings. Anytime Windows Update (or Automatic Updates) is turned on, either set to automatically install updates or notify to install updates, Windows Update will take care of updating itself.

It’s important to keep your PC up to date with the latest updates to keep your PC running smoothly and safely.

WU/WSUS Team

Windows 7 Service Pack 1 available through Windows Update

muteam — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 00:18:00 GMT

Hi All,

Service Pack 1 (SP1) for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 is now available on the Download Center (DLC) and also through Windows Update and WSUS. On February 9th, we announced the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) of SP1. For Windows 7, SP1 will help keep your PCs well supported by delivering ongoing updates, many of which have been made previously available through Windows Update. It also includes client-side support for RemoteFX and Dynamic Memory which are two new virtualization features enabled in Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1. For more information on the changes with SP1, see the notable changes document on TechNet.

Here’s a short list of the tools and guidance that’s available for SP1:

• If you’re managing systems that connect directly to WU, you can use the updated Service Pack Blocker Tool Kit to prevent WU from offering SP1 to your client computers.

• For more information about SP1, refer to the SP1 Frequently Asked Questions on TechNet.

• For help with deployment related questions, you should read this blog post on the Windows team blog.

We hope this information helps you prepare to deploy SP1.

The MU Team

Windows Live Essentials on Microsoft Update

muteam — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 19:40:00 GMT

Hi All,

As you may have heard, Windows Live Essentials 2011 has been released. It will be available through Windows Update (WU) in the coming weeks, starting October 19th. This software upgrade will only be offered to users who have enabled updating through the Microsoft Update service. For more information about Windows Live Essentials 2011 and why you want it, click here.

Windows Live Essentials 2011 will be offered as a Recommended Update for users who have any one of the Windows Live software products installed, otherwise it will be offered as an Optional Update. If you have configured your computer to automatically download Recommended Updates then it will download automatically. After download is complete, WU will notify you of available updates, and you can start the upgrade. It will not install automatically.

Windows Live Essentials 2011 will be offered through WU for Windows 7 and Windows Vista SP2 computers. If you have not upgraded to Windows Vista Service Pack 2 then this would be a great time to take care of this task. Please note that you may need to install other available updates and Service Packs for Windows Vista before WU will offer Service Pack 2 for installation. Windows Live Essentials 2011 cannot be installed on Windows XP computers.

Thanks,

Microsoft Update Team

Windows Vista RTM and Windows XP SP2 End of Support

muteam — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 01:21:00 GMT

Hi All,

Here’s a reminder for people running Windows XP SP2 and Windows Vista RTM or SP1. Service packs are important for many reasons. They are a rollup of previously released Windows updates, and they typically contain software improvements that aren’t released in a stand-alone update. Service Packs are a part of Microsoft’s support policy. When a new Windows Service Pack is released, Microsoft will provide 24 months of support for the previous service pack. When support ends, we typically do not release new updates for the unsupported platforms. This includes Security Updates.

On April 13th 2010, support ended for Windows Vista RTM (no service pack installed). To continue getting updates and support, Windows Vista users need to install Windows Vista SP1, and we strongly recommend installing Windows Vista SP2. On July 13th 2010, support ended for Windows XP SP2. To continue getting updates and support, Windows XP users need to install Windows XP SP3.

What do you need to do? Vista users should install Windows Vista SP1 & SP2 using Windows Update (WU). Windows XP customers should install Windows XP SP3 using Automatic Updates (AU) or the Microsoft Update site. You may need to install other available updates before a Service Pack is offered to you in WU or AU. Service Pack installation is always recommended through Windows Update, due to AU/WU’s ability to reduce the size of the download and manage the download process. Windows XP SP3 requires a 316mb download through the Microsoft Download Center and the typical download through AU/WU is ~70mb.

Thanks!

The MU Team

Reminder on upcoming update for Windows Update

muteam — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:04:00 GMT

Hi All,

Just a reminder, we are starting the Windows Update and Microsoft Update service upgrades today. The service upgrade will include updates to the online update services and the Windows Update (or Automatic Updates on XP) client code installed on your computer. As explained in our previous post, the upgrade will take several months to complete, and you don’t need to do anything on your own to complete the service upgrade. The client code will be updated automatically when needed, if your computer is configured to automatically check for updates, download updates, or install updates. If you have disabled updating and do not check for updates then the client code will not be updated automatically.

For more information, please refer to our previous post.

Thanks,

MU Team

Upcoming Update for Windows Update

muteam — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:49:00 GMT

Hi All,

Please be aware that beginning next month, we will start an upgrade to the Windows Update and Microsoft Update services. As a part of the service upgrade, an update to the Windows Update and Automatic Updates client code will be required. We will start this infrastructure update in late August, and it will take a couple of months to complete the rollout. Updates to the services and Windows code are required from time to time to maintain and improve service quality, reliability, and operations. The last update occurred in November of 2008.

This update will not change your current Windows Update or Automatic Updates settings. It will improve the user interface for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 computers running Windows Update, adding a more visible and detailed description of updates as well as improvements in how users are notified about service packs. This update will not change the look and feel of Automatic Updates.

The Windows Update or Automatic Updates client software must be updated, or you may not be able to successfully check for updates or perform other configured actions. If Windows Update or Automatic Updates is enabled to automatically check for updates, download updates, or install updates on your computer then the infrastructure update will be downloaded and installed automatically. Your computer will not be updated if you have disabled Windows Update (or Automatic Updates) and do not check for updates.

This infrastructure update is being provided in the same way as previous infrastructure updates. For more information about infrastructure updates and the last infrastructure update, please refer to last year’s infrastructure update post.

WU/MU Team

Update Notifications and Install-at-Shutdown Behavior

muteam — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:32:00 GMT

Hi All,

There have been some recent questions about how users are notified about updates and comments that sometimes customers aren’t being notified that updates are available when they shut down their computer. We are investigating the reports and trying to clarify with the community exactly what people are experiencing. We also want to make sure you understand how the update notifications work.

1. The tray icon should display when all of your available updates have been downloaded. If there are some downloads that haven’t completed, Windows Update (WU) and Automatic Updates (AU) will reschedule the “updates are available” tray notification until those downloads have completed. We wait to notify you after all available updates are downloaded, so you are not constantly interrupted with notifications while using your computer.

2. Upon shutdown, Windows Update and Automatic Updates will also notify customers if there are any available and downloaded (but not yet installed) updates. We do this by prompting customers via the shutdown button to install the downloaded updates. The shutdown and install updates button does not prompt users to install updates – like Service Packs, Internet Explorer, etc… – that require manual interaction (accepting a EULA or completing an installation wizard). It only prompts on updates that could otherwise be installed automatically, according to the user’s configuration. Customers can also choose not to install these updates at shutdown.

Please call Microsoft Support if updates are installed when you shut down your computer and the shutdown button did not inform you that updates would be installed. If you don’t want to be prompted to update at shutdown, you can disable this feature using the guidance provided in the Controlling the Install Updates and Shutdown Feature section of the linked TechNet article. Please note that if your computer attaches to a corporate network, your IT Administrator may be enabling this feature through Group Policy, and it may be turned back on the next time you connect to your corporate network.

Note: Some updates shown in the update list aren’t downloaded with the other updates, and you aren’t notified to install them (described in KB910340). Some customers call support believing that WU isn’t working correctly, because it isn’t downloading or notifying them about some updates. These updates are held back by WU. You can download and install them manually through WU, but WU won’t automatically download or notify you about these specific updates until the WU servers make them “available” for your computer. We gradually allow computers to start downloading larger updates, like Service Packs, because they are bigger downloads that require more network bandwidth to download. If an update is held back from your computer, it will not prevent WU from notifying you on the system tray after all of the “available” updates have been downloaded.

We hope this helps!

MU Team

Get ready for Vista and Win2k8 SP2!

muteam — Thu, 21 May 2009 02:09:00 GMT

Hi All,

Just a heads up to prepare for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2. It will be available in the coming weeks on the Download Center (DLC) and also through Windows Update and WSUS. On April 28^th, we announced the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) of Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. SP2 includes all updates that were released since SP1. It also includes support for new types of hardware and other technology improvements. For more information on the changes with SP2, see the notable changes document on TechNet.

Here’s a short list of the tools and guidance that’s available for SP2:

· If you’re managing systems that connect directly to WU, you can use the updated Service Pack Blocker Tool Kit to prevent WU from offering SP2 to your client computers.

· For more information about SP2, refer to the SP2 Frequently Asked Questions on TechNet.

· For help with deployment related questions, you should read this blog post on the Windows team blog.

We hope this information helps you prepare to deploy SP2.

--
The MU Team

Windows IE 8.0 Installation

muteam — Sat, 09 May 2009 04:17:00 GMT

Hi All,

We’ve been hearing that there is some confusion with how Windows Internet Explorer 8 is offered through Windows Update (WU) and Automatic Updates (AU), so we thought we’d post a little bit of information regarding this update.

WU and AU will not automatically install Internet Explorer 8. It can be installed just like any other interactive update in WU or AU. The update will be offered to you, and you can choose Install, Don’t Install or Ask me later. If you choose Don’t Install then it won’t be actively offered to you again, and it will become an Optional Update which you can manually install at some point in the future.

Why is it classified as an Important (or High Priority on XP) Update? This classification is used for updates that protect you from security or privacy threats, significantly improve the reliability of your PC, etc. There are many new security features in IE8 that protect you while browsing the Web, and this update is offered like other updates that have similar security implications, like the Microsoft Software Removal Toolkit (MSRT). For more information about how we classify updates, please visit the Windows Update Website on microsoft.com.

Hope this information is clear!

MU Team

Upcoming updates for Windows 7 RC

muteam — Sat, 09 May 2009 00:33:00 GMT

Hi all,

Starting on May 12^th, we will begin a verification of some update scenarios on Windows 7 RC (build 7100), similar to the update verification we did for Windows 7 Beta (build 7000). We need to verify the update infrastructure to ensure that when we need to release real updates, the process will run smoothly. There will be at most 10 updates, and as before, they will not deliver any new features or fixes.

Many of the updates will install automatically, and a few will not. One of the updates will test a new update notification feature that provides detailed information about available updates that need to be installed manually. Windows 7 RC users will be prompted to install this update and provided more information about this feature –it will not install automatically.

Users will need to go to the Windows Update control panel and manually start installation of the updates that don’t install automatically, and the updates will be clearly marked as test updates. Click here, for more information about the Windows 7 Beta update verification process.

MU Team

Upcoming Expiration Reminders of Windows XP and Windows Vista SP Blocker Tools

muteam — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:01:00 GMT

Hi Folks,

Just a reminder, If you have used the Service Pack Blocker Tool for Windows XP or Windows Vista then make sure you’re prepared for the expiration of the blocker tool. The Windows Vista blocker tool expires on April 28, 2009. The Windows XP SP3 blocker tool expires May 19, 2009.

For those of you who haven’t used the blocker tools. They temporarily prevent certain updates or service packs from being offered to a computer through WU. The service pack blockers work for one year after general availability of the service pack. We provide them for business customers who don’t manage software updates using Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) or our System Center products and solutions.

For more information on the Service Pack Blocker Tool, please see the FAQ available through the Springboard Series on TechNet.

Thanks,

The MU Team

Office 2007 SP 2 .... coming soon

muteam — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 23:58:00 GMT

Hi Folks, Just a heads up that SP2 for Office 2007 will be available soon through MU. Be sure to check the Office Sustained Engineer team blog for the latest news on SP2 as it becomes available.

thanks,

The MU Team

Enabling Microsoft Update to keep Office 2003, Office XP, and other Microsoft Products Secure and Up-To-Date

muteam — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 12:07:00 GMT

Hi Folks –

We want to remind everyone that enabling Microsoft Update and keeping your computer up-to-date will give you the best possible experience with Windows. Are you wondering about the difference between Windows Update and Microsoft Update? Windows Update offers updates for Windows and drivers for your hardware and devices. Microsoft Update offers updates for Windows, other Microsoft software, and drivers. So, if you have any version of Microsoft Office installed on your computer, or any other Microsoft software, then you should enable Microsoft Update. Otherwise you won’t even get security updates for your other Microsoft software.

Enabling Microsoft Update gives you updates for more software, it doesn’t change how you get updates. If you use Windows XP, you can find the updates through Automatic Updates or by visiting the Microsoft Update Website. If you use Windows Vista, you can find all available updates in the Windows Update control panel.

So, you’re probably wondering how to "opt-in", or "enable" Microsoft Update, or check your configuration and stay up to date. It’s very easy, just follow the steps below:

1. To enable Microsoft Update and verify your update settings, click here: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=146977.

Note: If you’re a Windows Vista user, this link will take you to the Windows Update Control Panel “applet”.

A. On Vista, on the Control Panel App, if you have not enabled Microsoft Update your Control Panel Windows Update screen will look like this and you will see the Get updates for more products link in a yellow highlighted area. Simply click Get updates for more products, to start the Microsoft Update install and scan process:

B. On Windows XP, clicking the above link will take you to the Microsoft Update page. If Microsoft Update is already enabled you can check to see if you need updates for Windows, other Microsoft programs, or your hardware of devices from this page. If you have not yet enabled Microsoft update, you will see this page. Simply click Start now and follow the steps to install Microsoft Update.

2. Regardless of your Windows version or your automatic update settings, you can always check for new updates and new software available through Microsoft Update. If you are a Windows XP user click here: http://update.microsoft.com/. If you are a Windows Vista user (or Windows 7 Beta user), you can open the Start menu, click All Programs, and then click Windows Update.

Thank you!

The MU Team

.NET Framework 3.5 SP1 Package Clarification

muteam — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 02:55:00 GMT

Hi Folks,

We’ve been noticing some questions regarding the recent update for Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 titled “Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 and .NET Framework 3.5 Family Update (KB951847)”. This update includes a full family update for .NET Framework bringing versions 2.0 and greater, up to version 3.5 SP1, as well as a small compatibility update for .NET Framework 3.5 SP1.

If you already have .NET Framework 2.0 or higher installed, you will be offered this update as an Important Update. If you do not have .NET Framework 2.0 or higher installed, then you will be offered a Recommended Update. For those users who already have .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 installed, only the app compatibility update will be installed as part of this update; for all other users, .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 will be installed, followed by the compatibility update.

Hope this helps,

The MU Team

Upcoming updates for Windows 7 testing

muteam — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 01:37:00 GMT

Hi all,

Starting on February 24^th we will be offering some test updates to Windows 7 Beta (build 7000) computers. We do typically verify update scenarios during a Beta, and releasing these test updates will help ensure that when we need to release real updates, the process will run smoothly. There will be at most five updates. These updates test the Windows 7 servicing infrastructure. They will not deliver any new features or fixes.

The updates will be offered interactively. This means that users will be notified of available updates, but they won’t install automatically. Users will need to go to the Windows Update control panel and manually start installation. They will also be clearly titled as a test update. If you don’t want to install the updates then you can right click on each update and select “Hide update” to prevent it from being shown in the list of available updates.

MU Team

Keeping Windows 7 Beta up-to-date with Microsoft Update and Windows Update

muteam — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 05:16:00 GMT

Hi Everyone!

As you may have heard, we recently released Windows 7 Beta. We’re very excited about this release and want to make sure you know how we’re going to support Windows 7 Beta with Windows Update and Microsoft Update. The first thing we want to mention is that it is a Beta release. So, please make sure you take a backup of your data before migrating to safely preview Windows 7 Beta. You should also read the release notes before installing Windows 7 Beta.

We will offer updates for Windows 7 Beta and updated drivers through Windows Update and Microsoft Update. We strongly recommend that you keep your Windows 7 Beta computers up-to-date, because this will ensure you have the best experience previewing Windows 7 Beta. Here are some tips for keeping your Windows 7 Beta computers up to date:

1. Before you logon for the first time, you’ll see the prompt to “Set Up Windows.” Make sure you select the recommended settings for Windows, so Important and Recommended updates are installed automatically.

2. Go to the following Web site to configure Microsoft Update, http://beta.update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate. When you check for updates using Microsoft Update, you get the same updates available through Windows Update but you also get updates for other Microsoft software.

For the latest information on Windows 7 or to download the Windows 7 Beta, check out the Windows 7 Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/.

Thanks and happy previewing!!

The MU Team

Rollout start and client availability

muteam — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 23:54:00 GMT

Hi Folks - Noticed a little confusion from our blog post yesterday regarding the Windows Update Agent Update availability. Last night's blog post was to give you some lead time before we started rolling out and making our standalone WUA update available. We are on schedule to start the rollout Monday, 11/3/08. Hope this helps and sorry for any confusion.

The MU Team

Windows Update Agent Update rolling out over the next couple of months

muteam — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 06:05:00 GMT

Hi everyone,

Over the next couple of months we’ll be rolling out another infrastructure update to the Windows Update agent (client code). This update makes it possible for users to install more than 80 updates at the same time. For more information about this update, please refer to KB949104 (section referring to the 7.2.6001.788 update).

As we blogged about in July, we need to periodically update the client code to provide improvements in reliability and service quality. For more information on infrastructure updates, take a look at our Upcoming Updates to Windows Update July blog post. If you’d like more information about Windows Update, and how the service works, please review the newly launched Windows Update information on windows.com.

Thanks,

- The MU Team

Windows Live OneCare category coming soon

muteam — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 02:09:00 GMT

Updated 10/30/08 : WSUS admins will be seeing a new product category under the Windows Live product family in the future. The new product category will be Windows Live OneCare.

Thank you,

The MU Team

Critical Security Update Released Today

muteam — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 22:31:00 GMT

Hello,

Microsoft has released a critical security update today, 10/23/2008 and made this update available via all update distribution channels. For more information see: Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-067.

Windows Update and Automatic Reboots

muteam — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 01:18:00 GMT

Windows Update plays an essential role in keeping your computer safe, and in order to do that, it sometimes has to reboot your computer. In this blog post, we want to help clarify how WU reboots your machine (including key differences between XP and Vista behavior), why it does it, and how you can change your WU settings to better fit your needs.

Automatic Rebooting

The goal of Windows Update is to always keep your computer as safe and secure as possible. Therefore, if you decided that Windows Update should Install updates automatically, an automatic system reboot may be a part of the process. Choosing any other option will disable automatic reboots, but we do recommend that you keep automatic updates enabled!

Why does Windows Update sometime require a reboot? Well, some updates require access to files currently in use by your system. Windows Update does not know if or when those files will be available to use, so your system requires a reboot to avoid any conflicts. For security-related updates, your computer is unsafe before that reboot occurs: it is vulnerable to attacks which exploit the issue(s) fixed by the update requiring a reboot.

For that reason, when Windows Update automatically installs an update that needs a reboot, it proceeds with an automatic reboot. In order to make the updating process more convenient for you by preventing disruptions to your work, WU defaults to installing updates (and subsequently rebooting your computer) at 3:00AM. Additionally, if updates are installed while you happen to be using the computer, and a reboot is required, Windows Update notifies you with this dialog:

The center countdown timer starts at 5 minutes. You can Restart now, or Postpone the reminder by 10 minutes, 1 hour, or 4 hours (In Windows XP, you can postpone for 10 minutes).

There is one exception – a system administrator can deny your rebooting privileges. For user accounts without rebooting privileges, Windows Update disables the Restart now button. You can still Postpone, or your system will automatically reboot after 5 minutes.

Update Deadlines

A system administrator can configure some computers behind a Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) server with update deadlines. When reaching a deadline, Windows Update begins an automatic install of those updates based on settings determined by the system administrator.

This deadline-based automatic install behaves identically to a Windows Update automatic install. Therefore, if one or more of the deadline updates requires a reboot, Windows Update presents the same dialog box to you with the same options and conditions. However, if a deadline update requires a reboot, then the reboot cannot be postponed – the Postpone button in the dialog will be disabled.

Policies to Change Automatic Rebooting Behavior

Two group policies allow you to configure how Windows Update handles automatic reboots. In order to edit these policies, you must own Windows XP Professional, Windows Vista Business, or Windows Vista Ultimate. The Group Policy Editor is not available in Home Windows versions.

To use the Group Policy Editor, follow these directions for both Windows XP and Windows Vista: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307882

In Windows Vista, there is another way to access the Group Policy Editor:

· Click Start

· Select Control Panel

· Type Group Policy into the search box

· Click Edit Group Policy, the only result that appears

Once inside the Group Policy Editor:

· Expand Local Computer Policy

· Expand Computer Configuration

· Expand Administrative Templates

· Expand Windows Components

· Finally, select Windows Update.

The Group Policy Editor with related Windows Update policies looks like this:

With Automatic Updates enabled, the two following policies help you configure automatic reboot behavior.

No auto-restart with logged on users for scheduled automatic updates installations

If you set this policy to Enabled, then your system will never automatically reboot when a user is logged on to it. After Windows Update automatically installs updates that require a reboot, it presents all logged-on users with the following dialog box:

With this policy Enabled, Windows Update never automatically reboots your system, so there is no 5 minute timer. You can Restart now, or Postpone the reminder by 10 minutes, 1 hour, or 4 hours (In Windows XP, you can postpone for 10 minutes).

Not Configured is the default policy setting and uses the 5 minute timer. Disabled works identically to the Not Configured setting.

Delay Restart for scheduled installations

This policy allows you to change the initial timer for automatic reboots. If you set this policy to Disabled or Not Configured, the default setting, then Windows Update uses the default wait time of 5 minutes. However, if you set the policy to Enabled, it asks you to enter a number which sets the initial wait time.

For example, if you set the number to 15, Windows Update presents the following dialog after it finishes automatically installing an update that requires a reboot:

Notice how the text following “Restarting in:” began with a 15 minute timer instead of a 5 minute timer. Other behavior remains the same.

There are a lot of tools available to help you set up Windows Update to act how you want it to. We hope that this blog post will help you to do so! If you want some more in-depth detail about how Windows Update works, the Microsoft Update team just posted a white paper on TechNet.

We’ll be paying attention to your comments, so please give us your feedback!

Thanks,

-WU Client Team

A New Resource about Windows Update is Available

muteam — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 02:19:00 GMT

Hi Everyone -

Want to better understand updating behavior and what Microsoft is trying to do with Windows Update? We've created a whitepaper called Windows Update Explained, which provides information about how Windows Update works, including how to check for, download, and install updates. It also talks about reboots, the information Windows Update collects in order to operate, and security protections in Windows Update. And there's a little bit about WSUS, and pointers to how you can customize it, for all your IT Professionals out there.

Here's a snippet to get you started:

"In spite of their high cost and the headaches they cause, many security breaches are easily avoidable. The security fixes are available, but users don’t get them installed quickly enough (or at all).

Have you ever wondered what Microsoft is doing to help? Or did you know that Microsoft® Windows® Update is an important part of the solution, but weren’t sure exactly what it does or how it works. If so, this paper is for you…"

Interest piqued? Go check out Windows Update Explained over on the TechNet Update Management Center today and let us know your feedback.

-MU Team

IE 8.0 Beta 2 on WU

muteam — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:26:00 GMT

For all you WU users who happen to be running Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 on a Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 system, we wanted to let you know that today we’re releasing IE8 Beta 2 to Windows Update so that getting the latest Beta is super easy and convenient for you (note IE8 Beta 2 will be made available to WU users running Windows Vista at a later date). If you have Automatic Updates turned on, Windows Update will automatically download IE8 Beta 2 and notify you when it is ready for install. You’ll then have the option to proceed with or postpone installation.

You can read more about the IE8 Beta and upgrade options here.

Thanks!

-MU Team

New Product Families - Windows 7

muteam — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 19:25:00 GMT

Yesterday a new product category for Windows 7 Client was published to Windows Update and was made available to WSUS (another one for Windows 7 Server should be appearing soon as well). As with all of our other new product categories, this is for Microsoft teams who are publishing Windows 7 beta drivers/updates in the near future. In the future, we’ll try to let you know about new categories ahead of time.

Thanks!

- The MU Team

Things to Know about Windows Search 4.0 installation...

muteam — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:02:00 GMT

Hey everyone,

Windows Search 4.0 has been available on WU for a few weeks now, and we've been getting some questions about installation failures and error code 0x643. We've done some investigation and found out that the installation failure in this case may actually be caused by the computer configuration, which in most cases can be easily changed to allow for successful installation and functionality of Windows Search 4.0.

In this case, when WS4.0 runs under Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP, it requires Terminal Services to be running. By default, Terminal Services are set to start automatically in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003; however, system administrator or third-party software may have chosen to disable them. In order to enable installation and subsequent functionality of Windows Search 4.0 on your machine, you need to have Terminal Services running first.

You can check the status of Terminal Services on your system and start the service, if needed, from the Start menu by clicking Run and entering “services.msc”. Locate Terminal Services – if the status of the service isn’t “Started”, right-click the service, click Properties, set startup type to Automatic, click Apply and then click Start. Now you can restart the installation of Windows Search 4.0 if it was failing before due to Terminal Services not running on the PC.

More information on how to manage services running on your PC is available here and KB940157 provides more information about Windows Search 4.0 and its prerequisites.

- Hope this is helpful-