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Microsoft Operating Systems Upgrades Windows

Microsoft Bungles This Week's Windows 10 Anniversary Update (zdnet.com) 172

An anonymous Slashdot reader quotes ZDNet: Microsoft rolled out this week the seventh Cumulative Update of fixes to Windows 10 Anniversary Update since the Anniversary version of Windows 10 began going to customers on August 2...causing installation issues for some users. I don't know how many are affected -- it's definitely nowhere near "all" -- but reports are coming in on Twitter and in Microsoft support forums from those who can't install the update, resulting (at least for some) in an endless loop of repeated attempts...

But a few of those affected have pointed out that when Microsoft first delivered this update to its "Release Preview" ring of Insider testers at the start of this week, some testers reported the installation failure/reboot issue. Despite those reports, Microsoft still pushed this update out to those not in the Insider program... Unsurprisingly, this issue is triggering a round of "What's the point of Insider testing?" questions. It looks to some like Microsoft is just ignoring Insider feedback...

Paul Thurrott reports that the problems are "widespread... Microsoft is pushing the idea that you should always patch your machine on the day the update is released as they often release security patches that fix vulnerabilities. But, until the company can get a handle on their quality control issues...it feels like every time you run Windows update you are rolling the dice."
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Microsoft Bungles This Week's Windows 10 Anniversary Update

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  • Why not just wait? If you don't surf questionable sites, have an up-to-date av program, and everything's working ok, why not just leave well enough alone and let the suckers take the hit? You don't see businesses rushing to update for a reason - and that reason is the topic of this story - it often breaks sh*t.

    • by Anonymous Coward

      Just try to do no updates if you are using Windows 10 Home or Pro version (without pulling the network connection obviously)...

      Good luck with that...

      • by WheezyJoe ( 1168567 ) <fegg&excite,com> on Saturday October 01, 2016 @01:19PM (#52994525)

        NOT (quite) CORRECT. You can defer updates in the PRO version.
        Settings-->Update & Security-->Windows Update--> Advanced options-->Defer Upgrades
        Been working for me for months, whereas my one guinea-pig system that I didn't switch did upgrade eventually.
        Security updates continued to come through.

        Why they don't offer Defer Upgrades in the Home version is... I don't know. Cockiness. Force features on the Home-version Plebes.
        Why they don't vet these updates better is... bizarre.
        Apple pushed out five (I think) public betas before releasing Sierra, and the only thing I've noticed wrong is they yanked out PPTP VPN (they sent out warnings, but I didn't get the memo). Maybe the right thing to do, but it still messed me up. OTOH, I yelled at M$ through the Insider Program that their latest wasn't installing, and DID THEY LISTEN? If they'd only just do exactly what I tell them exactly when I say at all times... but noooooooooooo, 'cause we're Microsoft and we all went to Harvard we want to get into CELL PHONES 'cuz Uncle Pewterschmidt says that's where the money is!

        Hey, Microsoft, if you that CEO position becomes vacant again, gimme a call. Fix everything, for 1/10 what you pay Satya. Maybe 1/3. We'll talk.

        • by WarJolt ( 990309 )

          Windows 10 Enterprise is the only edition that supports LTSB. Basically, Microsoft wants everyone to pay an additional licensing cost and throw out their original Windows 10 license for the privilege of not being part of their continuous deployment. I believe agile can work for operating systems, but Windows 10 home/pro/IoT/Mobile editions are guinea pigs while Microsoft figures out how to do it. You will get burned until Microsoft adapts to this new methodology of development, deployment and testing.

          • Microsoft wants everyone to pay an additional licensing cost and throw out their original Windows 10 license for the privilege of not being part of their continuous deployment

            No they don't. You couldn't pay this license fee even if you wanted to. Enterprise editions aren't available for anything other than specific and large volume contracts. This isn't a money issue or they'd allow it for some pro users too since that would push home users up. It also wouldn't cripple their enterprise sales because those contracts are tied in volume licensing for an entire suite of MS software.

        • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

          by spire3661 ( 1038968 )
          Defer Upgrades is too nebulous to mean anything. I want more control over the process. Even if you have defer upgrades on, MS can override it for a critical security patch. The plain fact is we have lost complete control over the machine at this point. You can no longer use the consumer OS to run anything 24/7 without risking random reboots. MS decides when and how your computer updates now.
        • by wjcofkc ( 964165 )

          NOT (quite) CORRECT. You can defer updates in the PRO version. Settings-->Update & Security-->Windows Update--> Advanced options-->Defer Upgrades

          Thank you.

          Why they don't offer Defer Upgrades in the Home version is... I don't know. Cockiness. Force features on the Home-version Plebes.

          This is the sort of reason I replicate my work across three operating systems as best as is possible. This means I stick as close to possible as using Open Source even where the OS is not.

        • Comment removed based on user account deletion
        • Why they don't offer Defer Upgrades in the Home version is... I don't know. Cockiness. Force features on the Home-version Plebes. Why they don't vet these updates better is... bizarre.

          Microsoft has always broken systems with updates, from way back in XP days. There was no reason to believe that that situation would improve, and facts bear out that is the case, only worse.

          Automatic, no choice updates are the proximate cause, since system hosing is just something that goes along with using Windows. The user's only defense is to have control over the update process. I know something is going to break, so I need to do an update at a moment when I have the time to fix it.

          My Windows 10 s

      • So set the internet connection to Airplane mode. For those times you need the net, just boot linux off an external device. Or make it into a dual-boot (which you should be doing anyway, for your own safety). Problem solved. You're going to have to do it in a 2025 anyway (extended support ends) or 2020 (mainstream support ends).

        They've already said this will be the last version they sell - so unless you want to rent your operating system ...

        • This will be the last version they sell, and hence the rolling updates: there won't be any future updates. These anniversary updates are like Windows 11, 12, 13...
      • by Pax681 ( 1002592 )

        Just try to do no updates if you are using Windows 10 Home or Pro version (without pulling the network connection obviously)...

        Good luck with that...

        or you could you know hide the update until they fix that shit! [microsoft.com]
        with that wee app you can hide any update that doesn't play well until micrsoshite fix their crap. it used to be built in built now it's not

      • by MrL0G1C ( 867445 )

        Maybe this is a silly question but can't you simply disable the update service / alter tasks in the task scheduler, and/or disable related services that nothing else is likely to use.

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by wjcofkc ( 964165 )
      I saw all the "You don't have a choice with Win 10!". I have the option "Update and Restart". I guess because I dropped a couple extra $$ on pro? It's not exactly freedom but comparatively speaking. Anyway, if you want to jump through the computer nerd hoops it is possible to deactivate Windows 10 while keeping it functional (unless you really need to change your wallpaper) sit things out then reactivate and update.








      A bit offtopic: yes that show is tragically exploitative.
    • Why not just wait? If you don't surf questionable sites, have an up-to-date av program, and everything's working ok, why not just leave well enough alone and let the suckers take the hit? You don't see businesses rushing to update for a reason - and that reason is the topic of this story - it often breaks sh*t.

      Come on Barbara, the only place I've received malware on a pc is while going to consumer sites. Can't figure out what's questionable about garage door openers or concrete tips (yup, both of those were spreading malware) or surfing Forbes is a malware vector as well.

      As well, you buy a new computer these days - what comes on it? Yup, W10. Windows 10 downloaded without permission on computers, It had microsoft-ese on the popup screens that got people to "accidentally install it. On my W7 install, a blank s

      • by rtb61 ( 674572 )

        How does it make it feel though. How does it feel to fight your operating system for functionality, how does it feel to fight your operating system for privacy, how does it feel to fight your operating system for security, how does it feel to fight your operating system to be free of advertising and how does it really feel when you have to fight against the incompetence and corruption of your so called trusted supplier.

        Perhaps you should consider doing your level best let the Micro Softies how you feel ab

    • If you don't surf questionable sites,

      Yes, because no one has ever pushed a malicious ad into an ad network and got the ads published on big-name sites. [arstechnica.com]

      have an up-to-date av program

      Everyone knows that AV detection rates are all less than 100%.

    • by Anonymous Coward

      If you don't surf questionable sites, have an up-to-date av program...

      Can you recommend a good AV that will protect you against 0-days ?

      And as for "questionable sites", how many times in the past few years have you heard of "legit" sites being hacked and serving up malware. I guess even the BBC must count as questionable to you ?

      Put the two together and your advice falls over.
      Once MS release a patch, it's quickly taken apart to find what holes MS have tried to close, new 0-days emerge to take advantage of people who haven't patched yet.

      I agree though, it's a matter of choosin

      • While it happens, it's not all that often, and I think it's worth the risk of "maybe" getting hit with malware but your computer still runs as opposed to definitely getting hit with the update and "maybe" being stuck with a non-bootable brick.
      • Windows 10 IS malware... The tricks MS used to infiltrate it on to everybody's pc that was still running an MS OS, ARE the textbook description of malware distribution methods. Then if you take the fact that EVERYTHING you do on *your* machine is hoovered off to MS, Windows 10 becomes even MORE the textbook description of malware... So glad all of my families systems are on Linux...

    • It is absurd to say this when you know many Windows users (Home version) cannot "wait". Stop making excuses for Microsoft's heavy handed, tin-eared, don't give a shit about customers attitude. There is no excuse for them taking all control away from users. If they did their jobs right, no one would even be talking about this, but they botch their updates virtually every time now. When you are batting zero, you should probably consider giving control back to customers so they can actually get work done on th

    • by thegarbz ( 1787294 ) on Saturday October 01, 2016 @02:22PM (#52994783)

      Why not just wait?

      Because living with security holes is risky.

      You don't see businesses rushing to update for a reason

      Which is of little comfort to the many millions of people who have their credentials stolen due to poor security practices.

      Now admittedly this won't fix everything. If anything it's fixes are minor. But the real solution is to ensure that you can roll out security updates that don't break shit and install without issue. Why is this a problem with Windows and not with Ubuntu? I've never had a security update hose an Ubuntu system or even fail to install.

      • Living with security holes is something you are going to be doing all the time, whether your system is patched or not. As for those who got their passwords, nude pictures, whatever stolen, c'est la vie - when you do stuff online you don't have control of what goes on at the other end. But you can avoid doing stupid stuff like storing nude pics of yourself online or sharing them with anyone (or just don't take them in the first place), and not spending your time at the less reputable sites.

        It's not 100%, bu

        • Living with security holes is something you are going to be doing all the time, whether your system is patched or not

          That doesn't mean I need to do it voluntarily for known holes with known solutions. I mean I know I'm very likely to die in a car accident so that doesn't mean I'm going to walk across a big empty field carrying an umbrella during a thunderstorm.

    • Ha nice try for the non enterprise edition crowd. I had defer updates turned on and still got it!

      This is bullshit. Third buggy update since August 1st. Just removed it from my system but MS surface pro 3 I have won't run 8.1. Worse new Zen and Krabylake CPUs won't support anything but 10 either!!

      • All you had to do was turn all updates off. Not just deferred updates. For greater certainty, you could have googled and found this [site2unblock.com] to turn off windows updates in Windows 10.
    • This. The update went fine on all of my computers that touch the internet or do internety things. Hooray for security patches. But the update failed on one PC that happens to do nothing more than run security cameras and record video. Nobody uses it for surfing or any other work. So the broken update is of no consequence on any PC where it would matter.

      ymmv but I'm not losing sleep on it.

  • by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 01, 2016 @12:40PM (#52994377)

    It's finally here.

  • by Anonymous Coward
    Sticking to the plan may be more important (for employee bonuses) than the fact that some small percentage of machines will be broken. It is not like there is a danger that users change their OS. MS Windows and MS Office are too entrenched for that. It is more probable that the machines which end screwed up will be replaced with new machines with Win10. And MS will even some new licenses that way.
  • Microsoft SOP (Score:2, Interesting)

    by NormAtHome ( 99305 )

    It's been Microsoft standard operating procedure for a long time, "we'll do what we want and the hell with customer feedback or anything the customers want". I was honestly amazed that they reversed course on the start button removal in Windows 8, the backlash must have been truly historic.

    • by retchdog ( 1319261 ) on Saturday October 01, 2016 @01:15PM (#52994509) Journal

      you mean kind of like systemd replacing SysVinit? </troll>

    • This is what happens when you have a monopoly. They stop having to care to keep the money flowing in.

  • Once again I got to waste part of my morning listening to Mother complain that her laptop is broken, and now I know why.

    • Linux is your's and Mom's friend. My wife absolutely loves it, and she can even do the updates just by clicking on the little checkmark shield. She feels like a real computer jockey now, and her machine always works. It's been 100 percent uptime since installation. Mint is good for noobs and experienced people alike.
  • that's how i feel whenever there's a Linux kernel update. nice to see Microsoft catching up finally!

    • by SeaFox ( 739806 )

      Is there a specific reason you're updating your kernel? Those aren't automatic.
      You should treat it like PC firmware -- if it's working fine don't replace it until required. If it's not working fine don't update unless the update is supposed to fix your specific issue.

      • yes, i refuse them, but ubuntu at least nags you constantly about it.

        i'm using ubuntu because my time isn't completely worthless. don't bother telling me to use something else. i tried centos because it's supposed to be more stable, but the installer couldn't even finish booting because (apparently) it uses different disk device identifiers for loading the kernel and for the userspace environment, so it loses the disk and shits itself before even getting into runlevel 3. hilarious...

        at this point, i'm serio

        • by SeaFox ( 739806 )

          Just go to Mint instead. Cinnamon's interface is similar to older Windows, the software repository is the same, they pretty much recommend you don't update your kernel unless you know what you're doing.

      • by lgw ( 121541 )

        As the sibling post says: Ubuntu blows goats. Ubuntu nags me constantly to reboot, far more than MS's traditional once-a-month. With Win10, MS finally catches up to Ubuntu's almost-weekly reboots.

        (Of course, you can just ignore the Ubuntu nagging, unless your company has a policy requiring you to reboot when nagged.)

  • If you are using Windows 10 - Welcome to your future! This is exactly why I abandoned it.

    I once said Windows 10 wasn't ready for prime time. I was wrong.

    Windows 10 simply does not work, and if you haven't been boned by it, it only means you haven't been boned by it yet.

    Since Microsoft is now the leading malware vector, they seriously must allow everyone to turn off their Bohica updates. It's the only way that people can have at least some assurance that their computers will work.

  • ...nevermind.

  • Problems (Score:4, Interesting)

    by mwvdlee ( 775178 ) on Saturday October 01, 2016 @02:02PM (#52994711) Homepage

    Lost network sharing on all updated computers.
    Printer automatically uninstalled (had Win10 drivers).
    Lost most file associations.
    Reboot problems.

    Yup, the 1607 update was really great!

    Atleast my start menu is a lot messier now.

    • Lost network sharing on all updated computers.
      Printer automatically uninstalled (had Win10 drivers).
      Lost most file associations.
      Reboot problems.

      Yup, the 1607 update was really great!

      Atleast my start menu is a lot messier now.

      I was a few revisions behind on my Win 10 Pro so I've missed all of the fun until now.

      I was on 1511.494 and the 1511 patches refused to install. Spent Thursday "fixing" it. The problem turned out to be MSSQL services need to be disabled during the update and the driver for my Audigy 2ZS would cause an IRQ bluescreen during install. Both of these were blocking upgrades. I installed 1607 at the same time as patch 4496 had just been released.

      The upgrade itself went fine, no problems on reboot.
      - No problems

      • That's the problem.

        What is odd is my support buddies who do small business get weird tickets for all pcs with same hardware and software stack every 3 weeks when an update hits. Stuff like 6 out of 25 pcs looped rebooting for 6 hours while others worked fine?!

        The problem is they are losing customers and one wants to sue! Basically all the computers with XP worked fine before YOU came and cost us $5000 in lost business! They are now viewed as incompetent all thanks to Windows 10.

        True XP doesn't have these pr

        • by theCoder ( 23772 )

          The problem is they are losing customers and one wants to sue! Basically all the computers with XP worked fine before YOU came and cost us $5000 in lost business! They are now viewed as incompetent all thanks to Windows 10.

          Maybe they should recommend that their customers migrate to systems that are more in their control. The one who wants to sue would hurt MS a lot more if he was able to move customers to Linux. And while there would be short term costs, the long term costs (especially in TCO) would proba

  • Are you enjoying being a perpetual beta tester?
    ...
    Oh no, my glass house! What have you monsters done?!

  • by thegarbz ( 1787294 ) on Saturday October 01, 2016 @02:31PM (#52994831)

    When this first hit the insider forums on the 28th there were quite widespread complaints and they were acknowledge by Microsoft people in the forum. It's not just a lack of quality control, the quality control is being done but no one cares anymore. Despite Microsoft reps asking for installation logs files from the many people who were reporting problems they released it anyway.

    I mean this is just getting stupider and stupider.

    • Agree. I read 70% somewhere when it was in insider still!

      What were they thinking? Does it really absolutely have to be released for a deadline?! No MS this is not XP here to say stop. MS is terrifyed that win 7 is going to be the XP but what they do not realize is they are causing this.

      MS needs to unbranched fixes so they can take out one buggy thing and add code that works to fix the others .... Please for the love of God test internally again with real hardware and VMS

  • by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Saturday October 01, 2016 @03:05PM (#52994975)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • It's never been this bad. The thing is there's a lot of people who get the update first. The insider program had this update 4 days ago. They complained in droves that the update was causing problems. This normally gets something withheld, after all the insider program is the beta testing program. But in this case they pushed through with the update despite knowing that it's caused major grief for a lot of users.

  • Ever since you did, you have been blowing something up almost monthly with your updates.

  • I went from anti MS zealot in 1998 to pro Freebsd to then pro MS by the time of Windows 7 ... To maybe back around.

    This is the first time in a long time that I am highly discouraging business use of MS. I know on slashdot this is a no duh moment, but for the rest of us used to MS Office, Active Directory, and things just working, this is big news.

    I agree with Hairyfeet that Linux historically has broken more with updates than Windows due to shit never changing in Windows and a strong abi that Linux lacks wh

    • Perhaps you can do something where you have the best of both worlds? Linux host with GPU pass through (dedicated hardware for Windows VM to run Steam). 95% performance. I use Apple stuff at work and really dig it for development, homebrew makes it amazing. Got 7 for a workstation at home (copy of 8 just waiting to migrate to when I do another hardware refresh) and a bunch of VMs and VPS for work. Here's one thread [reddit.com] on it, there are more guides out there.
      • It looks like I would have to stick with Intel graphics on the host and buy a new CPU. My i7 4770k supports vt-x but not vt-d for I/0 virtualization needed for the GPU

        • I likewise have a 4770K and am deeply annoyed that Intel's asinine product segmentation left the supposed top-of-the-line processor with a valuable feature missing.

          Swapping in a 4790K would give us VT-d but the prices on them are still too high for me to bother with this yet.

          • Dude it is an old now almost 3years old and soon to be 3 generations behind with Kaby Lake. Why is it still $325 wtf?

            I am guessing XP and 7 loyalists are bringing prices up? It makes no sense as you can get a new CPU for around same price.

            But both Hyper-V and VMware workstation and even vsphere run fine without iommu with the regular VT/X or vt-v instructions so I blame KMS.

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • For my primary computer I am already planning on moving to Enterprise to get back functionality, which will mean doing just that. I'll leave standard licenses on my other computers around the house.
  • it feels like every time you run Windows update you are rolling the dice

  • They can basically do whatever the hell they want and people still buy the stupid operating system. They're the Donald Trump of the software world.
  • "But, until the company can get a handle on their quality control issues..."

    So we're talking sometime in late 2055 or thereabouts?

  • I'd love a third party app that replaces the update with traditional pre-10 updates. I loved the "download and install later" option, where I could then select which stuff to install and when. It also allowed me to keep up to date on Defender data while taking my time on the patches. Regardless, I didn't have any issues with this patch. I still can't see my HFS partition despite Bootcamp.
  • At least you're not using Windows 10!!

  • The anniversary update is a crap update anyway. Since the release my machine just locks up after a while when not being used, a hard reset is necessary. It's very annoying.. Also the auto-restart (in the middle of the night) after an update is very annoying..
  • I really wish they had a "Stable" branch, The last updated literally killed my use of IE & Edge, both of which grew a "this web page has stopped responding" dialog that pops up and results in the tab being reloaded, which of course just pops the dialog box back up in 2 seconds or whatever the timeout is.

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