Microsoft Update Product Team Blog : Content

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

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

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

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

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-

Reminder - Windows Search 4 coming to WU soon...

muteam — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 02:14:00 GMT

Hi everyone –

Thought I’d drop a line and remind you that we’re planning to release Windows Search 4.0 (KB940157) via Windows Update sometime in late July. Windows Search 4.0 updates previous versions of Search in Windows Vista SP1, Windows XP SP2 and Windows XP SP3, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Home Server.

Windows XP users will see Windows Search 4.0 available as an Optional update, which means you must visit the Windows Update Web site to install it. Windows Vista users with SP1 installed will see the update as a Recommended update. This means that, if a Windows Vista user has set their machine to automatically install updates, Windows Search 4.0 will automatically install on PCs running Windows Vista SP1. The release of Windows Search 4.0 to Windows Update will be gradual for these users. If you’re running Windows Vista SP1, and you would like to install it right away, you can go to the Windows Update control panel and install it manually once it is made available.

One thing you should note: In order to make search functionality more efficient and reliable, the Windows Search team updated the structure of the search index in this release. This requires re-indexing users’ data. The re-indexing occurs in the background after the installation is completed and a reboot has been performed. The cool part? Windows Search will release most of the requested resources and slow down the indexing process as soon as it detects mouse or keyboard activity, or when another application requires computer resources.

If your organization is running Windows Vista Service Pack 1, has no update management solution, and would like to postpone the installation of Windows Search 4.0, the Windows Search team has provided guidance on how to do so here.

And, if you’d like to find out more about Windows Search 4.0, check out the Windows Experience Blog.

Reminder - Windows Vista SP1 RC Builds Expire soon!

muteam — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 06:59:00 GMT

Hi there -

Quick reminder for all of you out there who helped test Windows Vista SP1 and may still be running Release Candidate builds (any build less than 6.0.6001.18000). The RC builds will expire on June 30th - so if you happen to running one, be sure to uninstall it before the end of the month. More info is available in the SP1 Forum.

Thanks,

-MU Team

More on Windows XP Service Pack 3...

muteam — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:01:00 GMT

We'd like to provide more information and address reports you may have heard about "continuous reboot loops" occurring upon the update to Windows XP SP3.

After investigation, we’ve determined this problem occurs on AMD-based machines with Windows XP images that were originally captured by an OEM on an Intel-based machine. The problem is a registry value, present on images created w/ Intel processors, that causes a driver (intelppm.sys) to load at boot. When intelppm.sys attempts to load on an AMD-based system upon the install of SP3, it causes a blue screen and the continuous reboot. We’re planning to add a filter to prevent Windows Update from offering SP3 to affected systems and are investigating a fix. Any customers affected by this issue should contact Microsoft Customer Support Services for assistance. More information is available in KB88372 and here.

On a related note, we've heard a few questions about SP3’s distribution. To clarify our earlier post, SP3 is currently available as a High Priority update on the Windows Update website. This means that if you go to WU and do an express or custom install - you should see SP3 listed. We’re planning to begin automatic distribution (via AU) of SP3 sometime in early summer.

Hope this is helpful,

-MU Team

Windows XP Service Pack 3 Now Available on Windows Update

muteam — Tue, 06 May 2008 20:08:00 GMT

Hello,

Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) is now available on Windows Update (and the Microsoft Download Center)!

If you'd like to install it via WU today, you'll need to visit the Windows Update website. To do this, go to Windows Update and perform an express or custom install, make sure you see the service pack selected, and proceed with the install. After it downloads, you'll see a series of screens and you'll be asked to make a few clicks before the install will begin.

If you're not in a rush, we recommend you use Automatic Updates to install Windows XP SP3. It provides the best experience because the download will happen in the background. We're planning to begin automatically distributing Windows XP SP3 over AU sometime in the next few months.

You can find more information about the release here.

Hope you enjoy it!

-MU Team

P.S. You may have heard about an incompatibility Dynamics Retail Management System has with SP3 and Windows Vista SP1– we’ve added a filter to block WU from offering Windows XP SP3 or Windows Vista SP1 to systems w/ RMS for now and will make a fix available soon (details here). You may have also heard that we temporarily suspended automatic distribution of Windows Vista SP1 for this - we’re now also happy to report that we’ve resumed automatic distribution of Windows Vista SP1.

Windows Vista SP1 Prerequisite KB937287

muteam — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 20:12:00 GMT

Back in February, we posted about the release of a couple of prerequisites for Windows Vista Service Pack 1. While several million customers installed the updates successfully, you may have read that a few customers experienced an endless reboot cycle while installing one of the prerequisites: KB937287, the Servicing Stack Update (SSU), which contains the Service Pack 1 installation program.

As posted last month on the Windows Vista blog, we suspended automatic distribution of the SSU while we investigated the problem. Over the past few weeks, we’ve learned a lot more about the problem and have taken steps to address the issue. Today, we’d like to let you know that we are resuming automatic distribution of the SSU tomorrow and provide more clarity on what happened.

To clear up any concerns for those of you who have already installed the update: There is no problem with the files that make up the Servicing Stack Update (KB937287); the problem some customers encountered was with the installation process for the update. That means if you already have the update installed, you do not need to uninstall it or install the rereleased version of the update.

So what caused the problem? Well, the SSU has special code to check whether there are any pending reboots or other updates to install. If it sees either of these circumstances, it prevents the install from starting. During our investigation, we discovered that there were a few unknown and rare events during the middle of the installation of the update that could cause the update to think it needed a reboot to complete the installation. If this happened, the system entered a repeating reboot loop.

To address this problem for people who have not already installed the SSU, we are releasing a fix tomorrow which will install prior to the SP1 Servicing Stack Update. This pre-SSU update helps to ensure a smooth install of the SSU by working to prevent the system from rebooting during the SP1 SSU installation. We also made additional changes to the SSU installer code, so that it checks for and requires the pre-SSU (KB949939) before it will install.

These two updates should now install seamlessly through Windows Update, in the proper order, so those of you with WU set to “install updates automatically” who haven’t already installed the SSU don’t have to take any further action. For those using the standalone download of SP1, the issues we encountered do not affect that method of installing at all.

--MU Team

Reminder: Office 2003 SP3 Automatic Distribution Begins Today

muteam — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 05:52:00 GMT

Office 2003 SP3 has been available interactively on MU for many months now, but, as you may remember from our post last month, today marks the beginning of automatic distribution to MU users.

We've heard great feedback from customers who've already installed SP3, and feel confident in distributing it to the many users who rely on MU to keep their PCs secure, reliable, and up-to-date. Note: The automatic distribution process will be gradual, so some users may see it install today, and for others, it may take a little longer.

If you'd like more info on Office 2003 SP3, check out the Download Information and KB articles on Office 2003 SP3 or the Office 2003 SP3 Whitepaper.

Thanks!

The Office & MU Teams

Another note regarding KB935509...

muteam — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 06:33:00 GMT

We had a small number of early customer reports, that in some cases, this update (KB935509) was being offered for installation on all Windows Vista editions vs. just Ultimate and Enterprise. A quick adjustment of the applicability logic was released shortly there-after to refine the edition offering behavior. For systems set to download and install updates automatically, the update will not install even if it has already downloaded, so most people will not be affected by this at all. Customers who installed the initial release of the update on editions other than Ultimate or Enterprise should not be concerned as the update will have no negative impact on their systems – it was designed to install on all versions of Windows Vista, it is just not required on any of the others for SP1.

MU Team

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Note regarding KB935509...

muteam — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 01:50:00 GMT

Hi all,

Just dropping a quick line to let you know about one of the updates we're releasing this week to Windows Update (it's a little different than usual). The update, KB935509, is a prerequisite to Windows Vista Service Pack 1, which will be coming later this quarter.

The update is being released this week, for Windows Vista Ultimate and Enterprise editions, so that the required reboot will be bundled with other updates requiring reboots.

Check out the Windows Vista Team blog to learn more.

WSUS customers: you can find more guidance on this update specific to you on the WSUS blog.

MU Team

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

WSUS admins... additional updates from Windows Live (Photo Gallery and Toolbar)

muteam — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 00:10:00 GMT

Today, Windows Live will release two additional critical updates:

1. Update for Windows Live Photo Gallery (KB 944990)

2. Update For Windows Live Toolbar (KB 944786)

Update for Windows Live Photo Gallery (KB 944990)

This critical update will apply to the latest version of Windows Live Photo Gallery Beta users. The RTM version of this software fixes critical issues, performance issues, and bugs in the beta software. It is recommended that all beta users move to the released version of the software.

All WSUS admins are recommended to approve the update so that managed machines can move from beta to the more stable and secure released versions of the Photo Gallery software. This update will only update machines with the latest beta versions installed (Photo Gallery).

See KB article for more details - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/944990

Update For Windows Live Toolbar (KB944786)

This critical updates will move all Windows Live Toolbar 3.x users to Windows Live Toolbar 3.01.0000.0146. The 3.01.0000.0146 version of this software fixes critical and crash issues in previous 3.x version of the software.

All WSUS admins are recommended to approve the update so that managed machines can move to the more stable and secure 3.01.0000.0146 versions of the Toolbar software. This update will only update machines with the Windows Live Toolbar 3.x versions installed.

See KB article for more details - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/944786

MU Team

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.