Windows 10 - no updates this month?

[OJAS]

Hitherto I have spent the best part of the Wednesday after the second Tuesday in each month processing Microsoft's latest monthly round of updates on my laptop. It therefore came as a complete surprise to me to learn, after I had ran the update status check last Wednesday, that my device was still up-to-date!

 

I have just run the update status check again, which is still reporting that my device is up-to-date.

 

Might Microsoft, perchance, have reached the conclusion that Windows 10 is now so ultra-perfect that we no longer need to go through the tedious updating routine on a monthly basis at least? Or is the lack of information I've been getting on updates this month something I need to worry about from the security angle?

[maxpower]

Idea. Delete some updates then check for updates. This would fill in the gaps and maybe relieve some stress.

[Oxx]

There were major problems with the update, so it's been pulled for now.  Widely reported in the press.  For example:

 

http://www.computerworld.com/article/3170633/microsoft-windows/windows-update-issues-may-be-at-root-of-februarys-patch-delay.html

 

http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-to-delay-its-february-patches-to-march-14/

 

 

[KhunBENQ]

Why didn't I miss them until reading the reports?

[Pib]

Doesn't break my heart they are delaying a monthly update.  Waiting another month is fine with me.   I'm pretty sure this will not affect my mental or computer health.  

   

[bendejo]

Good to know.  I truly hate this business of the updates being performed without warning, I like to do a backup beforehand.  The only way I've found to avoid it is to shut down the update service, which I only enable when a new update comes out.

 

 

[Richard-BKK]

As Microsoft also provide the Flash player update for MS Windows 10 computers are open for attacks as Adobe already revealed the problems with the previous Flash plugin version used in IE and Edge browser. Therefore I still use Firefox on MS Windows, I can manually install and upgrade the plugins or easily disable them....

[OJAS]

On 2/17/2017 at 1:01 PM, Oxx said:

There were major problems with the update, so it's been pulled for now.  Widely reported in the press.  For example:

 

http://www.computerworld.com/article/3170633/microsoft-windows/windows-update-issues-may-be-at-root-of-februarys-patch-delay.html

 

http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-to-delay-its-february-patches-to-march-14/

 

 

Many thanks. Presumably the next round of updates will, in practice, show up here on 15th March (i.e. the day after they are released). Better steel myself for a mega-marathon updating session that day then!

 

As they say, beware the Ides of March,,,,,,,,,,,

[Pib]

MS did release a security update today....talked about at below weblink.  It installed today/22 Feb automatically on both my Win 10 machines.

 

http://www.infoworld.com/article/3172551/microsoft-windows/microsoft-rolls-out-kb-4010250-flash-player-update-for-windows-81-and-10.html

[Pib]

And today/23 Feb the monthly Malicious Software Removal Tool released/installed. 

 

Guess MS is only releasing the critical security and routine maintenance monthly type releases for Feb instead of not releasing anything at all.

[OJAS]

On 2/22/2017 at 7:44 PM, Pib said:

MS did release a security update today....talked about at below weblink.  It installed today/22 Feb automatically on both my Win 10 machines.

 

http://www.infoworld.com/article/3172551/microsoft-windows/microsoft-rolls-out-kb-4010250-flash-player-update-for-windows-81-and-10.html

 

14 hours ago, Pib said:

And today/23 Feb the monthly Malicious Software Removal Tool released/installed. 

 

Guess MS is only releasing the critical security and routine maintenance monthly type releases for Feb instead of not releasing anything at all.

And I noticed that neither required a complete reboot (unlike cumulative updates). 

 

Rebooting to implement a cumulative update has been proving, in my experience, to be the most tediously time-consuming part of the whole monthly updating routine. Assuming that all critical security issues are addressed by the updates which do not require a reboot, this, for me, begs the question as to what is achieved by cumulative updates apart from improved bells and whistles which we may not necessarily want (or need)?

Edited February 24, 2017 by OJAS

[Pib]

I expect the cumulative updates are more "hotfixes" that fix issues that affect some or all computers....many cases just affecting "some" computer brands/models.   I've seen so many cumulative updates described as fixing issues so-in-so that affects "some" computers....and when seeing the problem other computers were apparently having I thought to myself my computer didn't have that problem.  And of course cumulative updates sometimes do add/improve minor features....but I think it more just hotfixes.   Hotifixes usually require a reboot before they can be completely applied.

 

When significant features are improved/updated I think those occur during a major version upgrade....like going from -1511 to -1607 which is usually a download size of hundreds of MBs or even a gigaMB or two. 

[Chicog]

As the second Tuesday of the month, Valentine's Day should have been a day for patches in addition to lovers. There's a known and widely publicized crashing flaw in Microsoft's SMB file-sharing protocol, and a fix for this bug (and, no doubt, several others) is widely anticipated. A few hours before the patches were due to go live, Microsoft announced that they were "delayed" due to an unspecified "last-minute issue."

The company now says that this delay means that the patches won't be coming in February at all. Instead, they'll be rolled into March's update, which should arrive on March 14.

In addition to the SMB fix, the now-March update will change the way patches are delivered for Windows 7, 8.1, Server 2008 R2, Server 2012, and Server 2012 R2: Internet Explorer's updates will now be delivered in a separate package from the OS fixes.

Microsoft is still silent on what the cause of the delay is. Sources have told Mary Jo Foley that there's some issue with the patch build system, but it's not at all clear why it should suddenly break, nor why Microsoft would only discover the problem at the last minute.

https://arstechnica.co.uk/information-technology/2017/02/microsoft-cancels-february-patch-tuesday-despite-0-day-in-wild/

[Chicog]

There hasn't been an insider preview for Win 10 for a while either, despite there being some obvious bugs in 15031.

[jacnl2000]

On ‎18‎/‎2‎/‎2560 at 5:41 AM, bendejo said:

[...snipped...] I like to do a backup beforehand.  [...snipped...]

Me too.

Will keep my backups up to date and ready in case the famous "spinning circle" or "back screen" shows up.

[Chicog]

The Creators Update just installed on my PC. And it's fixed the two most obvious bugs, which is nice.

[Pib]

Updates for March are out....just installed on my computer....no drama....went OK.

[JaseTheBass]

Lots of 32bit Office updates today. Odd, considering my home PC runs the 64bit version...

[Pib]

Maybe you are running a 32 bit version of Office. If using Office 365 it defaults to installing the 32 bit version.

[Aussie69]

The Creators Update just installed on my PC. And it's fixed the two most obvious bugs, which is nice.

What's the release number for the creators update?

[JaseTheBass]

Maybe you are running a 32 bit version of Office. If using Office 365 it defaults to installing the 32 bit version.

Not if you install the 64bit version.

Sent from my SM-T815Y using Tapatalk

[bendejo]

On 2/25/2017 at 11:01 AM, Chicog said:

The Creators Update just installed on my PC. And it's fixed the two most obvious bugs, which is nice.

 

Was this a voluntary choice, or part of the latest updates?

I just looked at a few articles about it, nothing I have any use for at the moment.  I'd like to give it a mess.

 

Has the holodeck been invented yet?  

 

 

[Digitalbanana]

On 15/03/2017 at 9:29 PM, Pib said:

Updates for March are out....just installed on my computer....no drama....went OK.

On the MS web site (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4013429/windows-10-update-kb4013429) it says under Known Issues:

Windows DVD Player (and 3rd party apps that use Microsoft MPEG-2 libraries) crashes when run.
    This issue is currently being addressed and a fix will be provided when ready.

 

I uninstalled KB4013429 and then my IPTV m3u player started working again. With the latest update the player simple crashes and the vendors solution was to uninstall the update!

Edited March 18, 2017 by Digitalbanana

[impulse]

18 hours ago, JaseTheBass said:

Not if you install the 64bit version.

 

 

I'd bet dollars to donuts that a lot of the updates are common to both the 32 bit and 64 bit versions, and since the 32 bit version is the default, that's what they call those dual version updates.

 

But that's just a guess based on what I'd do if I were them.

 

Edited March 18, 2017 by impulse

[Pib]

18 hours ago, JaseTheBass said:

 

Not if you install the 64bit version.

Sent from my SM-T815Y using Tapatalk
 

 

I'm talking the 32 bit version of Office.

 

You can have a 64 bit version of Windows installed but have 32 bit programs installed.  Like how Office 365 defaults to installing the 32 bit version even on a 64 Windows machine.    

 

When I recently installed a standalone version of Office 2016 (same a current Office 365) during the initial install it asked whether I wanted to install the 32 or 64 bit version.  I chose the 64 bit version.

 

[JaseTheBass]

I'm talking the 32 bit version of Office.
 
You can have a 64 bit version of Windows installed but have 32 bit programs installed.  Like how Office 365 defaults to installing the 32 bit version even on a 64 Windows machine.    
 
When I recently installed a standalone version of Office 2016 (same a current Office 365) during the initial install it asked whether I wanted to install the 32 or 64 bit version.  I chose the 64 bit version.
 

Me too. Hence my comment earlier.

[MikeWill]

Just now (23.03.17) install new update: Cumulative Update for Win10 v.1607 for x64 - KB4015438

[Pib]

Yea, that update installed on my my two Win 10 computers last night....it took longer to install than the normal cumulative update....but it did install successfully on both.

[tutsiwarrior]

do the updates apply to all versions of windows 10 (Home, Professional, etc) or are they different for different models?

[Pib]

18 minutes ago, tutsiwarrior said:

do the updates apply to all versions of windows 10 (Home, Professional, etc) or are they different for different models?

Pretty much, but updates will vary depending on which version number of Win 10 you are running.    By version number I don't mean whether it's Win 10 or Win 10 Pro, I mean whether it's version 1607 (a.k.a., Anniversary Release), 1511 (a.k.a., November Release), or the initial release which I think was 1507.   And I think when the Creator Release comes out over the coming months it is version 1703.

 

Everybody should be on version 1607 right now unless they somehow kept their machines from being upgraded from 1507 to 1511....and then about a year later 1511 to 1607.  

 

You can see  a list of the different Win 10 updates at this MS webpage.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4000825

 

When going into my setting to check on the version on my computer, here's what it says.   The OS Build Number will confirm whether you have the latest cumulative update installed, which I do.