Newsletter Archives

  • Still no second-monthly cumulative update for Win10 1903

    It’s taking a long time. Sure hope that it’s worth the wait.

    If MS doesn’t fix the “vanishing Updates settings” magic trick, it’ll speak volumes about 1903 bugs.

    Günter Born has caught another bug in 1903 – this time with Sandy Bridge CPUs and Nvidia graphics cards throwing an error 43 in Device Manager.

    Microsoft hasn’t fessed up to that one, either.

  • Why I recommend pausing Windows updates every month

    WOODY’S WINDOWS WATCH

    By Woody Leonhard

    Yeah, I know I sound like a broken record. But the simple fact is that you have much to lose and little to gain by opening your system up to Windows’ automatic updating system.

    Rather than installing Microsoft’s patches as soon as they’re released, I believe it’s much safer to hold off, let the screams of pain die down, wait for MS to fix its problems, and patch a few weeks later.

    Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.23.0 (2019-06-24).

  • Win10 version 1903 disappearing Update settings described, but not explained

    Of all the problems with Win10 1903 – the version that’s being pushed onto unsuspecting machines right now – this one’s the worse.

    In Win10 1903 Pro, if you go into Windows Update, advanced options, you get a pane that looks like this.

    Several of you have noted that, if you specify deferral options as I have here (non-zero numbers in either of the two bottom boxes), the entire “Choose when updates are installed” part of the advanced options dialog disappears.

    @abbodi86 has undertaken some experiments with the settings. Here’s what he has concluded:

    Yep, the Feature Update deferral box disappears once i change the entries to non-zero.

    Maybe it’s an intentional move so the user cannot change the period frequently? 🙂

    Anyway, the Feature Update deferral period can be still controlled with registry setting

    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsUpdate\UX\Settings] “DeferFeatureUpdatesPeriodInDays”=dword:0000016d

    Group policy can be used to show you the feature update deferral period. The box will show up greyed, but at least you can know the period

    @abbodi goes on to say that he tested changing the Quality Update deferral period the same way, with the same result — if you set it to anything other than zero, the whole section disappears.

    Here’s what really galls me. This is a known bug (feature?), replicable on any Win10 1903 Pro machine. Microsoft has documented the bewilickers out of its new 1903 features that let anybody defer forced updates. (Ironic that the ability to pause forced updates is 1903’s most important new feature, eh?)

    Yet in this, the most fundamental way to control forced updates, we clearly have a bug (feature?) that severely limits your ability to control updating — and we haven’t heard a single squeal from Microsoft.

    I’ve been hoping that the second monthly cumulative update for Win10 1903 will fix this bug, but we haven’t seen it yet. And if it is fixed, it isn’t clear to me how Microsoft will install the fix. Will it obey the settings hidden in the user interface (but still accessible in the registry, and through Group Policy)? Or will it just push through the fix?

    Microsoft’s seeing the aftermath of one fundamental flaw: The beta test versions of Win10 1903 didn’t include the full “defer updates” regimen. Feature update deferral and Quality update deferral weren’t tested outside of Microsoft. And you can see the result.

    MS takes full control of updates on Windows Insider installations, so even if three million people are in the program, not one of them tests forced update deferrals.

    Sorry, folks, 1903 isn’t even half ready for prime time.

  • Microsoft releases out-of-band fixes for Win7 and Win8.1 on 6/20

    Microsoft has released out-of-band updates for Windows 7, and Windows 8.1, and IE11 to fix errors introduced by Patch Tuesday patches.

    Update for 7 SP1 and Server 2008 R2 SP1 KB 4508772

    This update for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 includes the quality improvements from KB4503269 (released June 11, 2019), in addition to these key changes:

    • Addresses an issue that may display the error, “MMC has detected an error in a snap-in and will unload it.” when you try to expand, view, or create Custom Views in Event Viewer. Additionally, the application may stop responding or close. You may also receive the same error when using Filter Current Log in the Action menu with built-in views or logs.

    Update for Windows 8.1 and Server 2012 R2 KB 4508773

    This update for Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 includes the quality improvements from KB4503290 (released June 11, 2019), in addition to these key changes:

    • Addresses an issue that may display the error, “MMC has detected an error in a snap-in and will unload it.” when you try to expand, view, or create Custom Views in Event Viewer. Additionally, the application may stop responding or close. You may also receive the same error when using Filter Current Log in the Action menu with built-in views or logs

    Cumulative Update for Internet Explorer 11 KB 4508646

    This update for Internet Explorer 11 includes the quality improvements from KB4503259, in addition to these key changes:

    • Addresses an issue that causes Internet Explorer 11 to stop working when it opens or interacts with Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) markers, including Power BI line charts with markers.

    Important: The improvements in this update are not included in the Monthly Rollups released June 11, 2019

    Please note: Like the Security Only Updates and the separate IE11 Cumulative Updates, these Patches are MS Catalog only downloads. They are not available through Windows Update.

  • Dell: Recent patches break iSCSI login on Dell PS Series arrays

    There’s a thread on the Dell support site that says:

    There are currently three MS KBs that once installed result in iSCSI login failures with Dell PS Series arrays

    Server 2019 – KB4497934 – Released May 21
    Server 2016 – KB4499177 – Released May 23
    Server 2016 – KB4503267 – Released June 11

    At this time the only resolution is to remove the KB and iSCSI logins  will complete.

    Then there’s confirmation from a Dell engineer:

    Dell and Microsoft are aware of the issue and are working on it. For the time being all that can be done is remove the KBs in question and wait for Microsoft to issue the fixed update.

    I don’t have any further info about later cumulative updates including this bug. It isn’t listed on the Release Information Status page.

  • Third Tuesday patches are out, but not for Win10 1903

    As is common (but not obligatory), the third Tuesday in June brought a couple of non-security* patches:

    Win10 1809 gets KB 4501371, with dozens of bug fixes, including fixes for two bugs introduced in earlier security patches:

    • Addresses an issue that may display the error, “MMC has detected an error in a snap-in and will unload it.” when you try to expand, view, or create Custom Views in Event Viewer. Additionally, the application may stop responding or close. You may also receive the same error when using Filter Current Log in the Action menu with built-in views or logs.
    • Addresses an issue that may cause Realtek Bluetooth radio drivers to not pair or connect in some circumstances after installing the May 14, 2019 update.

    Win10 1803 gets KB 4503288, which also covers dozens of bugs including the Custom Views bug.

    There are also patches for the various LTSC versions that predate 1803.

    As of early Wednesday morning, there are no new patches for Win10 1903, or new Monthly Rollup previews for Win7 or 8.1.

    Of course you don’t want to install any of them. We’re still at MS-DEFCON 2.

    *To be clear: Microsoft labels these as “optional” because you only get them if you manually download and install them, or if you’re gullible enough to click “Check for updates.” Microsoft also calls them non-security updates when, in fact, they contain fixes for bugs introduced in earlier security-only patches.

  • Bugs with Win10 1809 June cumulative update and Realtek Bluetooth, Avast won’t play with 1903, and black screens on reboot

    We’re seeing all sorts of oddities with this month’s patches.

    From @EP we have news (if you can call it that) saying that Avast antivirus still doesn’t play well with Win10 1903.

    From @snissen there’s a report that the June cumulative update for Win10 1809 leads to a black screen on reboot. This sounds a lot like the acknowledged problem:

    We are investigating reports that a small number of devices may startup to a black screen during the first logon after installing updates.
    Affected platforms:
    • Client: Windows 10, version 1809; Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019; Windows 10, version 1803
    • Server: Windows Server 2019
    Workaround: To mitigate this issue, press Ctrl+Alt+Delete, then select the Power button in the lower right corner of the screen and select Restart. Your device should now restart normally.

    And Microsoft has acknowledged that the June cumulative update for Win10 1809 breaks some Realtek Bluetooth hardware:

    Devices with Realtek Bluetooth radios in some circumstances may have issues pairing or connecting to devices.

    Microsoft says it’s working on resolving the problems and will have a solution real soon now.

    Oh. And the apparent bug with setting Windows Update Advanced options clobbering all of the options still hasn’t been acknowledged, much less fixed.

  • Are we ready for the new Windows 10 1903?

    A Microsoft tweet announced that the company is now offering Win10 Version 1903 — but only to those who specifically seek it.

    Opening Windows Update and selecting Check for updates should trigger the Version 1903 download. If you clicked the button but did not receive the update, you probably have some sort of blocking condition. You’ll just have to wait — and you should.

    Out today in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.22.0.

  • The case against knee-jerk installation of Windows patches

    I finally had a chance to put together a manifesto for a heretical position I’ve taken publicly for more than a decade:

    Windows Automatic update is for chumps

    Yes, you have to get patched sooner or later (although Group W holdouts will disagree), your Sainted Aunt Martha should be on auto updates, and a tiny number of patches have to go in right away. But in the vast majority cases, for the vast majority of people, installing patches as soon as they roll out just doesn’t make sense.

    Unless you have a staff charged with vetting patches, it’s much smarter to crowdsource patch beta testing. Don’t get pushed into blindly taking what comes out the auto update chute.

    Details in Computerworld Woody on Windows.

  • Reports that some update is clobbering LiteTouch.lnk, the restart shortcut for the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit

    At first I thought this was a one-off, but now I’ve seen confirmation that it’s happening.

    For unknown reason, after installing updates, the LifeTouch.lnk scheduled task is deleted, so MDT doesn’t know to restart itself. From Dan Jackson:

    Ends up he’s working with Win10 1607 LTSC.

    There’s a confirmation tweet from Ray Tiley:

    Ray’s running Win10 1809 LTSC.

    There’s also a post on the TechNet support forum from AdminSN:

    does one of you know the problem that the Bitdefender deletes the shortcut LiteTouch.lnk and classifies it as a Trojan (Trojan:Script/Cloxer.A!cl)?

    Can anybody else out there confirm this problem?

  • Microsoft’s getting better at documenting the most egregious bugs in Windows patches

    But there’s still a lot of grist to this month’s mill.

    Details in Computerworld Woody on Windows.

  • June 2019 Patch Tuesday is rolling out

    With Bluekeep patching behind us (hopefully), we are waiting for the June 2019 results to come rolling in.

    There are (only) 108 new entries in the Windows Update Catalog.

    The Security Update Guide lists 2,210new individual patches today.

    Martin Brinkman has his usual thorough summary posted on ghacks.

    Microsoft released security updates for all supported versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system on the June 11, 2019 Patch Day.

    • Microsoft released security updates for all supported versions of the Windows operating system in June 2019.
    • All client and server versions have critically rated vulnerabilities patched.
    • Microsoft released security updates for other products such as Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Office, Azure, Microsoft Exchange Server, and Skype

    Windows 7: 42 vulnerabilities of which 3 are rated critical and 39 are rated important
    Windows 8.1: 35 vulnerabilities of which 3 are rated critical and 32 are rated important
    Windows 10 version 1703:  41 vulnerabilities of which 4 is critical and 37 are important
    Windows 10 version 1709: 43 vulnerabilities of which 4 is critical and 39 are important
    Windows 10 version 1803: 45 vulnerabilities of which 3 are critical and 43 are important
    Windows 10 version 1809: 47 vulnerabilities of which 3 are critical and 44 are important
    Windows 10 version 1903: 42 vulnerabilities of which 3 are critical and 39 are important

    Internet Explorer 11: 7 vulnerability, 5 critical, 2 important
    Microsoft Edge: 14 vulnerabilities, 12 critical, 2 important

    Dustin Childs has his report of Microsoft released CVEs, 88 of them including an exploit for Windows Task Scheduler, for ZDI.

    Earlier today, Microsoft released a patch to address CVE-2019-1069, an escalation of privilege vulnerability in the Windows Task Scheduler. Bugs of this nature have existed since Windows XP, but this most recent version impacts the latest Windows 10 and Windows Server 2019 versions. Information about the vulnerability was publicly available prior to the patch being released…

    See the full report on ZDI.

    For those of you updating manually, there are new Servicing Stacks for Server 2019, Server 2016,  and Win10 v1809 and v1607.