Newsletter Archives

• Do you need to test cumulative updates?

  Posted on February 28, 2020 at 11:19 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  I just stumbled across this video made by Microsoft back in November, that discusses how Microsoft rolls out cumulative updates internally.

  It’s… stunning. Start around 16:00 into the broadcast and you can hear a discussion of this slide:

  

  Beginning with Windows 8.1 or thereabouts, Microsoft itself stopped testing cumulative updates before rolling them out to their own machines.

  To date, we haven’t seen application compatibility issues with this approach.

  That speaks volumes, methinks.

  I’m sure we live in a parallel universe.

  Windows Patches/Security Cumulative Updates, Microsoft internal patching

• The patch waiting game — September edition

  Posted on September 16, 2019 at 01:05 CDT by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  By Susan Bradley

  For those of us in the northern hemisphere, September can be a time when days seem to be noticeably shorter — the daylight hours more precious.

  Time has value, too, when it comes to patching our systems. As regular Patch Watch readers know, we need some time for the monthly updates to sort themselves out. In the days following Patch Tuesday, some updates get reissued due to significant issues, while others need clarification.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.33.0 (2019-09-16).

  Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Cumulative Updates, NET, Office updates, Windows Updates

• Windows 10 Enterprise: Does setting telemetry to zero disable cumulative updates?

  Posted on March 20, 2018 at 06:17 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  A very interesting post this morning from Günter Born. In a nutshell:

  • If you’re running Win10 Enterprise
  • And you aren’t connected to an update server
  • And you set the level of telemetry to “Security data only” (HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\DataCollection\AllowTelemetry set to 0)

  You don’t get any cumulative updates.

  Sounds like a bug to me. Can anyone out there confirm?

  UPDATE: @teroalhonen pointed me to the Microsoft documentation for the AllowTelemetry setting:

  Security level

  The Security level gathers only the diagnostic data info that is required to keep Windows devices, Windows Server, and guests protected with the latest security updates. This level is only available on Windows Server 2016, Windows 10 Enterprise, Windows 10 Education, Windows 10 Mobile Enterprise, and Windows IoT Core editions.

  Note

  If your organization relies on Windows Update for updates, you shouldn’t use the Security level. Because no Windows Update information is gathered at this level, important information about update failures is not sent. Microsoft uses this information to fix the causes of those failures and improve the quality of our updates.

  Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) and System Center Configuration Manager functionality is not affected at this level, nor is diagnostic data data about Windows Server features or System Center gathered.

  Sure enough — it’s not a bug, it’s a feature!

  Windows Patches/Security Cumulative Updates, telemetry, Win10 Enterprise

• The fallacy of fragmented patching in Win7 and 8.1

  Posted on September 2, 2016 at 09:10 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  So go ahead, Microsoft, bring on the new world of Win7 and 8.1 cumulative updates. But don’t blame it on fragmentation. Don’t blame it on folks who were trying to protect themselves from the likes of Get Windows 10 and the Diagnostic and Telemetry tracking service.

  InfoWorld Woody on Windows

  Windows Patches/Security Cumulative Updates, Windows patching

• When is a Service Pack not a Service Pack, KB 3081444, and other Windows 10 imponderables

  Posted on August 19, 2015 at 17:14 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  So what comes after RTM? A whole lot more than you might suppose.

  InfoWorld Woody on Windows

  Windows Patches/Security Cumulative Updates, KB 3081444, Service Packs, Service Releases, Win10 RTM