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laidbacktokyo
AskWoody LoungerApril 4, 2018 at 9:11 am in reply to: Is your machine running the latest Malware Protection Engine? #181225Oops, does anybody still use windows defender of win7?
I believe it’s very easy to disable this integrated but pretty much useless app completely thru services or control panel immediately next to any fresh install of win7.
Then you have no updates and therefore no headaches.
In my personal case a combination of N360 & MWB Premium on all win7 machines around performs just fine.
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laidbacktokyo
AskWoody LoungerApril 3, 2018 at 1:31 pm in reply to: April 2018 Office Non-Security Updates have been released #181027Plus another revision of never-dying trash for win7 – KB2952664 – today as optional.
Hidden as always.
5 users thanked author for this post.
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laidbacktokyo
AskWoody LoungerBTW, I believe that if m$ would be unexpectedly & surprisingly smart enough to change their current attitude to at least win7/8 patching to a bit more decent & comfort way towards its customers then they could completely separate the present line of its massive rollup patching from the odd & muddy Meltdown & Spectre protection one.
That is to create the independent patch concerning Meltdown/Spectre even if it will be temporary incomplete in part of Spectre protection for older hardware, and then update it upon further improvements readiness in same way as rollup patching line now, when every next patch installed replaces all previously applied ones.
I guess such approach will be very much welcomed by many windows uses worldwide.
Rgds,
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laidbacktokyo
AskWoody LoungerThanks for your kind confirmation of the current massive mess with yet all massive patches of 2018 even if this confirmation is some kind of a wet one.
This approach matches my personal attitude when now I have the last of massive patches installed as KB4054518 rollup of Dec2017 but of course along with all IE11 updates also installed in standalone manner up to the present revision 11.0.57 of KB4096040 linked to the latest Mar2018 rollup preview KB4088881.
The funniest point here is that as far as I remember there was similar mess with m$ win7 updating last year that is to say from late April2017 KB4012218 (first tested & then hidden by me personally) till June2017 KB4022719 (first deployed permanently after a couple of months of easy life with outdated win7).
Now awaiting for April patching fun.
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laidbacktokyo
AskWoody LoungerUPDATE:
Extra testing report:
1. Unfortunately I found that after install of KB4100480 both mentioned issues yet more or less chaotically occur with any possible win7 registry setting concerning disabling/enabling Meltdown protection:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\ DWORD ‘FeatureSettingsOverride’ value = 3 (disabled)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\ DWORD ‘FeatureSettingsOverride’ value = 2 (disabled)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\ DWORD ‘FeatureSettingsOverride’ value = 0 (enabled)
and even in case when both keys in charge are non-existed/deleted, i.e. their default status after KB4100480 install.
2. The best available combination of registry setting found to avoid dwm.exe errors in log is:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\ DWORD ‘FeatureSettingsOverride’ value = 2 (Meltdowm protection disabled in default way of InSpectre#7 Utility)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\ DWORD ‘FeatureSettingsOverrideMask’ value = 3
plus another extra registry key created manually:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM\ DWORD UseMachineCheck with a value of 0
However the above combination seems a pretty much fragile way of patching, especially when windows leftovers issue rarely but yet occurs in same chaotic way, so finally I’ve removed this KB4100480 from win7 with even more fragile hope for better patching fun in coming April.
Rgds,
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laidbacktokyo
AskWoody LoungerSorry it seems some little mess with posting here now.
I’ve posted a pretty long message. Then it first appeared posted, then vanished after a minor editing, and now if I try to post it again there is a notice of duplicate posting.
Please check for solution if any.
Thanks.
UPDATE: Thanks it’s resolved now!
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laidbacktokyo
AskWoody LoungerWell, well, well… I assume applying of this KB4100480 out-of-band patch as a good compromise if you wanna get win7sp1x64 kernel update regarding the Meltdown protection (and maybe the Spectre one but not for older CPUs!) option enabled but yet don’t wanna apply all these messy rollup and/or preview of rollup massive patches of 2018, so I gave it a try install onto win7sp1x64ultimate laptop without any of 2018 massive patches installed despite of the direct request of M$ to apply this patch only next to any of listed 2018 patches install.
1. 1st attempt of install took a real while then win7 boot just frozen/failed > then tried to repair win7 launch w/o restore and got no errors as all 0x0 > then got a luck to boot thru F8 in safe mode > then reboot to normal and found that this patch install failed with status 0x80070643 > then 2nd try was all normal & successful.
2. After install of this patch the InSpectre utility https://www.grc.com/inspectre.htm now of its revision #7 showed up Meltdown protection GOOD, Spectre one NO (no surprise with older CPUID 10676) & Performance SLOWER.
3. Naturally I don’t wanna any performance lost against this fuzzy & yet incomplete protection at least due to its Spectre component is yet missed so I’ve disabled Meltdown protection by InSpectre utility. As it’s well known such disabling simply adds 2 keys to win7 registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\ DWORD ‘FeatureSettingsOverride’ with value 2 or 3 (if disabled) or 0 or 1 (if enabled back) and DWORD ‘FeatureSettingsOverrideMask’ with always 3 value.
By default this InSpectre utility now sets 1st key to 2 that differs from recommended by M$ value of 3 by default (at least for servers!) However this 2 value almost immediately returns me single entries of both 2 issues of dwm.exe as ‘The Desktop Window Manager has encountered a fatal error (0x8898009b)’ as well as the leftover of one of already closed application window in win7 taskbar. Please refer to my earlier report(s) here:
https://www.askwoody.com/2018/friday-night-patch-dump-kb-4088881-a-flawed-win7-monthly-rollup-preview-and-kb-4089187-an-ie-fix/#post-178425So I’ve manually changed this value to 3 and both issues seem gone.
Anyhow, at the moment this patch is left installed – at least for extra testing but likely as permanent deployment.
Rgds,
P.S. I guess I got a clear confirmation that both reported by me issues of 2018 are linked not to windows components’ updating like a graphics one but the Meltdown/Spectre protection deployment in particular (and likely its subsequent disabling in win7 registry!)
P.P.S. Also I didn’t apply the advised by M$ .vbs registry patch concerning HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\PCI at all!
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laidbacktokyo
AskWoody LoungerMarch 27, 2018 at 4:38 am in reply to: Friday night patch dump: KB 4088881, a flawed Win7 Monthly Rollup preview and KB 4089187, an IE fix #178425KB4088881 test install report:
Well no luck this time. The same 2 issues reported by me from Jan. 2018 are yet here.
Please refer to my late post concerning these issues below:
1. The chaotic ErrorID9020 – The Desktop Window Manager has encountered a fatal error (0x8898009b) is back in full;
2. The same chaotic leftovers of the already closed windows in win7 taskbar is also yet alive.
On the other hand Win7sp1x64Ultimate wasn’t visibly affected by any of 5 problems beyond AV registry key acknowledged by M$ itself.
Anyhow KB4088881 is removed & put to hidden list, although Internet Explorer 11 update v11.0.57 KB4096040 installed separately and seems acceptable.
Rgds,
1 user thanked author for this post.
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laidbacktokyo
AskWoody LoungerMarch 20, 2018 at 8:42 am in reply to: Windows 10 Enterprise: Does setting telemetry to zero disable cumulative updates? #177151Yep, this statement is correct. Unfortunately.
If you change setting of this Win10 registry key from its default 3 to 0 then a regular updates’ check returns nothing.
It has been tested by me personally on Win10 Enterprise x86 install a long ago when I’ve tried to arrange its settings aimed to minimize snooping.
Rgds,
P.S. I guess it’s correct for any edition of win10. Although I hardly understand what does it mean – you aren’t connected to an update server ?
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laidbacktokyo
AskWoody LoungerMarch 15, 2018 at 10:03 am in reply to: Buggy Windows 7 Monthly Rollup KB 4088875 — no acknowledgment from Microsoft #175909Well, as usual I gave KB4088875 a try install thru win7sp1x64 update center, and surprisingly towards a topic of this thread I must report that it seems performing better than all of its 5 predecessors of 2018 including KB4091290.
One of issues reported by me earlier here:
as dwm.exe irregular error in logs has expectedly gone due to some windows graphics component refresh included, but the 2nd one as the same irregular and annoying leftovers of the already closed windows in win7 taskbar is yet present, although again it occurs less frequently than before.
Also:
I use static IP but can’t report any issues here, and while I don’t use VMware VBox performs just fine.
KB4088875 doesn’t contain any microcode updates for older CPUs like Intel T9500 CPUID 10676.
Anyhow now it’s removed & put to hidden list but I bet that any coming March Preview of Rollup will likely be acceptable for a permanent deployment.
Rgds,
5 users thanked author for this post.
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laidbacktokyo
AskWoody LoungerMarch 2, 2018 at 8:25 am in reply to: Microsoft releases KB 4091290, a fix for the Win7/Server 2008R2 SCARD_E_NO_SERVICE bug #171682I gave KB4091290 a try of install thru win7 update center.
The issues are yet same as reported for KB4075211 (Preview of Monthly Rollup) in my post below as anonymous:
but both said dwm.exe errors in log and leftovers in taskbar of the already closed windows occurred less frequently than with KB4075211 installed and much less frequently that with its predecessors of 2018.
Anyhow it’s removed & put to hidden list, although it seems there is a slow progress of m$ here, and thus we have a tiny hope on maybe finally some rollup acceptable to be installed in March-April.
Rgds,
P.S. A bit of odd stuff – KB4091290 is listed in Win7 update center as 234.9MB but 234.6MB in m$ catalogue.
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