Patch Lady – so what about the “B” patchers?

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To those of you out there in Patching land that are “B” patchers – that is you do a more Enterprise patching and only install the Windows 7 security o
[See the full post at: Patch Lady – so what about the “B” patchers?]

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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jburk07, abbodi86, SueW, Elly, AusJohn, woody, OscarCP

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I didn’t lose any NICs but sometimes they seemed to appear as new NICs, where Windows is asking you to choose Public or Private. I think the default is Public, so if you’re trying to connect through RDP and that’s only allowed on a Private/Domain firewall profile, it could appear that the card is offline. So: work at the physical console or have a secondary access method available (TeamViewer etc.).

Or you can change your firewall rules to all RDP on Public.

Or you can hunt down the group policy setting that changes the default for new NICs to Private, but I actually prefer a (potentially rogue) new NIC to _not_ be Private.

At the end of the day, I always like to have a secondary access method for key systems anyway.

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Group A, Win 7 Home Premium AMD.  Took the full   cumulative updates except since I`m a home user I never took the Previews. Never had a problem.

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HiFlyer

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To me, the directions on the Microsoft Support page for the May Rollup are confusing. When I run devmgmt.msc I just get the Device Manager, same as I would get going through the Control Panel. Fine, but how do I determine what NIC I have? When I choose ‘Network Adapters’, I get 6 entries, one of which is “RealTek PCIe FE Family Controller” (I also get 5 other entries, a couple of Bluetooth devices, a couple of Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport adapters and an Intel Dual Band Wireless – AC 3160.). Is this RealTek thing my NIC? If not, where else would I look to find the NIC?

If it is my NIC am I interpreting the instructions correctly that if I select it and click on ‘Scan for Hardware Changes’, that the necessary changes will be made and the issue “fixed”?

Thanks. Apologies if these are dumb questions, but the instructions seem pretty obtuse to a non-techie (not to mention the cloak and dagger wording like ‘third party software, etc. If I want a mystery, I’ll read a mystery novel.)

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@DrBonzo –

In your Device Mangler listings, it sounds like you have some extra listings you may not need to see at this time. You can hide those by going back into Device Mangler and clicking the menu item at the top of the window that says “View”. Now take a look at the item that says “Show hidden devices”. It will probably have a check mark next to it. Click that item to clear the check mark and you should see only one or perhaps two entries under the “Network adapters” listing.

BTW, “Device Mangler” is a slang term for Device Manager. It’s affectionately called Device Mangler because, without an appropriate amount of caution, devices can be rendered useless by mistakenly tweaking certain settings for those devices listed in Device Manager.

…but how do I determine what NIC I have?…

Easy! Just go into the Network and Sharing Center. Now, you should see the name of the network you’re currently connected to near the middle of the window. To the right of that you should see some very basic details about your connection to the network. Look for the listing that says “Connections:”. It should have a name such as “Local Area Connection” or perhaps “Wireless Connection” next to it and the connection’s name should be in blue lettering.

Click the name of that connection in blue lettering, and that will bring up another window/box. In that new window/box, click the button that says “Details…” in the middle of the box/window. That will then show you the connection’s details, including the exact name of the network adapter currently in use just to the right of the heading labeled “Description”, which should be the second item in the list.

Now go back to Device Manager under “Network adapters” to find its listing and right click on it. Select “Properties” from the menu that pops up and then click on the “Driver” tab at the top of the window that comes up. Finally, click on the button labeled “Driver Details” to get the exact name and location of all the drivers your NIC is currently using. Be sure to either write them down on a piece of paper or place them somewhere on the computer’s regular (internal) hard drive so you have access to the info without needing a network connection.

I hope this helps in the event you’re left without a NIC after installing this month’s patch(es) whenever we get to MS-DEFCON level 3 or higher!

14 users thanked author for this post.

Steve, Lori, Demeter, TonyS, cesmart4125, jburk07, samak, flackcatcher, HiFlyer, SueW, Elly, DrBonzo, Kirsty

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@bob99 – Thanks! That was very clear. Looks like I’ve got an Intel Dual Band Wireless – AC 3160 on my laptop. I’ll check out my other Win7 machines tomorrow.

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You’re Very Welcome!

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Can you please explain how having the driver name and location written down can help if you lose the nic? I feel like I’m missing something very obvious.

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cesmart4125

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The Workaround Instructions on the MS support page for the Rollup (KB4103718) have, as one option, “Browse my computer for driver software”. If you choose this option to recover the NIC and it’s drivers, you would presumably need to know where the drivers are located. The other option in the instructions is to have the NIC and it’s drivers recovered automatically, and while that should work, we are dealing with MS where oftentimes nothing seems to work, and it might be useful to have the manual method of NIC recovery available.

At least, that’s my 2 cents worth.

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Lori, cesmart4125, jburk07, Moonbear

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I have 3 PCs   Acer,Toshiba and HP. Win 10 PRO 1803 v48

All have crashed on the last cumulative update. One PC had Avast installed,

Avast was removed but still crashed

 

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Keep in mind this his post is just about Windows 7.  The issues with the 1803 and Avast and avg are separate issues.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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cesmart4125, OscarCP, HiFlyer, Elly, columbia2011

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Dear Patch-lady.

It seems the issue is not limited to Windows 7 systems.  I am using win 8.1 on a Toshiba Satellite running an Intel i7, 12 gb ram, with a Realtek NIC/wireless lan card (RTL8188 wireless lan card).  Installed the March rollout from Microsoft and started having issues with the NIC/Wireless card dropping out.  This started about 7-10 days after update installed, but machine was idle much of that time.  Initially thought it was due to some type of virus or malware but after downloading and scanning from anit virus boot dvd ‘s found one file in history and wiped it.  Re-scanned on reboot and came up clean.  Ran Norton Power Eraser a few weeks later when problem continued to persist.  Power Eraser ran and found no issues.

Tried uninstalling an unknown device which continues to come up in system devices each time I restart system.  I have tried to check for device driver files for it but none are ever found.  As long as device is removed after boot system runs fine for several hours, then NIC/Wireless drops again.    Got to love the quality control at Microsoft !

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columbia2011

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I have 3 Thinkpads (Sandy Bridge, Arandale, C2D) and a Samsung (Arandale) with Windows 7 64 bit that get the Group “B” updates.

My browser of choice isn’t  IE (excluded  as a program feature) and I have updated to April with no problems and no noticeable performance drops.

I will keep downloading security only updates from the MS Catalog but I plan to hold off updating May and might abstain for a few more months depending on what is offered.

As EOL approaches for Windows 7 I am worried about what MS might send down the pipe.

I probably fear MS/Intel more than  Spectre at this stage  and I have a BIOS update for the Sandy Bridge which I probably won’t install.

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I generally create images before I install the monthly Security only patches. I did that yesterday and installed 4103712, 4103768 (IE Cumulative Security only patch) and the .NET framework security patches for the different versions installed.

I have a mix of Intel and AMD computers running a mix of 32 bit and 64 bit Win 7 Home Premium and Pro.

I have had no issues on any of the four computers.

Note: I removed January and February updates after having issues and I did not install March’s patches. I did install April’s security only patches. I also did not update nay of the BIOSes nor did I search for NIC drivers.

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HiFlyer

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Thank you so very much, Patch Lady!

After some two and a half weeks of hearing only good reports from Group B-type users that have updated without problems and lived to tell their tales, I finally gathered my courage, shouted Geronimo! and, after backing up my data in an external HD, I installed:

All the patches I had received through Windows Update and were waiting for me to make up my mind: Office 2010, ./NET, the MS Malware Removal Tool (having, as usual, hidden the May Rolloup and June Preview as soon as they showed up in the WU list). Also, as usual, WU automatically created a restore point before installing those patches. Then I created my own restore point and installed the Security Only and the IE11 updates from the Catalog. Finally, I went through my usual Check List:

(1) No BSOD? Check.

(2) Peripherals (printer, external HD, external flash drives, etc. still recognized and usable? Check.

(3) Expensive software I need to do my work still working? Check.

(4) Internet connections, streaming video, etc. still working? Check.

So now I have more than than two weeks of blissful freedom from worrying about updating troubles ahead of me!

But wait!!! What was that thing about the FBI again?

Windows 7 SP1 x64, Intel I-7 “sandy bridge”

Be Group B or die! Never Rollup! Never Preview!

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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jburk07, wdburt1

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But wait!!! What was that thing about the FBI again?

If you’re serious about that question (i.e. if it wasn’t a rhetorical question), check out this thread here on AskWoody.com for more info.

For those following this thread about “B” patchers, the subject mentioned immediately above has its own place/own thread on this site, so please don’t post any further references to it on this thread. That will help us stay on topic here.

BTW, Congratulations to @OscarCP for a successful patching with this month’s releases!

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Bob99: Rhetorical.

(I got “Anonymized” because I was logged off and did not realize it!)

So, can one still post obviously rhetorical questions here? Irony not OK?

I just want to now, honest.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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I definitely thought it was a rhetorical question, but then I thought some folks wouldn’t think it was, so I decided to respond to it to help them out.

Rhetorical questions should always be welcome, as I think they can inject some levity to an otherwise very serious situation.

My sincerest apologies if you thought I misunderstood you.

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This post on May 27, 2018 at 1:28 pm about 4 up, was made by me. I did not realize I was not logged in. <sigh>

 

Got coffee?

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Elly

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I have just tried to install one security only update KB4103712 and got the blue screen of death. Computer would not start so had to do a system restore. Using windows 7 pro 32 bit with 8 GB ram.

First try at updating since Feb 2018 due to all the bad updates. Microsoft really are messing up windows 7 updates big time. If MS think they will get me to move to windows ten becasue of this, then they have no chance.

Same error as woody talks about here.

https://www.infoworld.com/article/2833825/microsoft-windows/windows-7-patch-kb-2952664-fails-with-error-80242016.html

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Jumping from Dec to May, by one non-cumulative security only, isn’t a good idea, considering what went on in between. PKCano has been busy bringing folk forward from Dec for over a month now. Take a look at this thread to see how it worked for some https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/win7-group-b-havent-updated-since-may17-what-do-i-do-to-get-updated/

W7 Group B, current thru Apr, waiting for DefCon 3

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SueW

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Anonymous #194930, in the thread @StruldBrug mentions just above this post, there is talk that the security-only patches are NOT cumulative, only the IE patches are. Therefore, you will need to install the March 2018 (KB4088878), April 2018 (KB4093108) AND May 2018 (KB4103712) patches along with the latest IE security update.

As @StruldBrug says above, it’s not a good idea to just skip a month or two and then suddenly try to be caught up with installing just one security-only update. The good news is that per @PKCano ‘s post mentioned just above, you don’t need to reboot in between installing the security-only updates. BUT, if you haven’t already, please carefully read PKCano’s post in the thread mentioned above this post before proceeding.

Per AKB2000003, you have to install the updates in the order they were released, so you’ll need to start with the March 2018 security-only update.

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Why do you have 8GB of RAM on 32-bit? You’ll only ever be able to use about 3GB.

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Using 32bit/x86 Win7 on a PC with 8 gigs of RAM is a VERY BAD IDEA. that leads to certain BSODs and lots of RAM unused by the OS.
A 64bit/X64 version of Windows 7 MUST be used with that plenty of RAM.

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For anonymous #post-194930, to extend on points made by #post-194968, and @EP.

Have you checked on the specifications for your motherboard? It would be an old machine that has been very well kept that is not capable of running 64bit Operating Systems. That may indeed be your case. But you should check into it to be sure.

If your hardware is limited to 32bit, then you have provided more memory than it can adequately address. With software that may not notice the limitation, this has the potential to write to locations that latter cannot be read. This will cause unpredictable consequences that can make troubleshooting interesting and more difficult than it needs to be.

Perhaps you already know this, and have reasons for this unusual configurations that did not fit into your brief comment.

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just an FYI, for those with network connectivity issues and no ghosted nic, doing netsh i i r r resolves most issues.

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Group B – Win 7 Ult 64-bit (all machines)

I have a couple of boxes with Intel GbE LAN WGI217-V NICs. On one of the desktops (4790k Z97), I installed all Office patches on 5/9 and KB4103768 on 5/10. Bit the bullet and installed KB4103712 on Saturday.

I’ve experienced no problems whatsoever. Survived multiple soft and hard reboots. No errors in event viewer and NIC diags test OK. I’ll be dropping KB4103712 a machine with dual Realtec NICs (not teamed) tomorrow. If this box tests OK, I hope to have all clients fully patched by Friday.

Carl

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Nightmare 3718 on Win 7. Could not connect to the internet, restored previous version (pre 3718 patch and same) tried 10’s of different tips to reset internet connection, etc, same. Had to reinstall!

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jburk07

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@anonymous #195718:
Sorry to hear about the problems you had. If you don’t mind saying, what is your network card (or what are your cards)? My laptop uses an Intel card for wireless but a Realtek card for wired connections.

Linux Mint Cinnamon 21.1
Group A:
Win 10 Pro x64 v22H2 Ivy Bridge, dual boot with Linux
Win l0 Pro x64 v22H2 Haswell, dual boot with Linux
Win7 Pro x64 SP1 Haswell, 0patch Pro, dual boot with Linux,offline
Win7 Home Premium x64 SP1 Ivy Bridge, 0patch Pro,offline

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I patched my Win 7 Pro x64 box today with all of the current May patches.

Network adapter survived OK.  It is a Realtek PCIe GBE integrated on my Asus motherboard.

Windows 10 Pro 22H2

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Same as JohnW — Asus, Realtek, Win7 Pro 64.  No nic problem.

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@JohnW and anonymous #195743:

Did you install the security-only or the rollup? Just wondering since Susan Bradley suggested that the security-only update might not have the NIC problems. I realize this topic is about Group B, but some posters in this topic have referred to the rollup.

Linux Mint Cinnamon 21.1
Group A:
Win 10 Pro x64 v22H2 Ivy Bridge, dual boot with Linux
Win l0 Pro x64 v22H2 Haswell, dual boot with Linux
Win7 Pro x64 SP1 Haswell, 0patch Pro, dual boot with Linux,offline
Win7 Home Premium x64 SP1 Ivy Bridge, 0patch Pro,offline

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I’m in the “everything except the optional patches” group.  So I always just open up the chute for everything in the recommended tab.  I do take a disk image first though, in case a rollback is necessary.

This Win7 machine is fully patched with the May 2018 patches, LAN attached to my router via this ethernet NIC, and it is still working.

Windows 10 Pro 22H2

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jburk07

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