back to article Microsoft begins automatic Windows 7 SP1 rollout

Microsoft will start the automatic rollout of Windows 7 Service Pack on Tuesday. The extensive software update will be handled via Windows Update, and will make its way onto PCs whose users have Automatic Update enabled. "Updating customers to Windows 7 SP1 is part of our ongoing effort to ensure continued support and …

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  1. Doug 3

    watch it they're going to throw Metro in your face

    lol, it would not surprise me if they did pull something like sticking Metro on everyone's Win7 PC and then say it was a programming bug that'll take 6 months to fix.

    1. DF118

      Re: watch it they're going to throw Metro in your face

      Methinks you might feel more at home in a slightly more hysterical comments forum. Engadget is thataway.

      1. Rukario

        Re: watch it they're going to throw Metro in your face

        @DF118... nah this is the right place. Slight rephrasing...

        lol, it would not surprise Eadon if they did pull something like sticking Metro on everyone's Win7 PC and then say it was a programming bug that'll take 6 months to fix.

        OBLIGATORY ALL-CAPS EPIC FAIL COMMENT.

  2. K
    Trollface

    move Windows to a yearly release cycle

    No matter how its explained - they want people to upgrade!

    But the effect is more people building their own deployment images.. Would not surprise me if Microsoft take a dislike to this and remove WDS.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Clarify

    Clarify Win 7 SP 1 released in Feb 2011?

    Why now in Feb 2013?

    Am I missing something?

    1. Dave 126 Silver badge

      Re: Clarify

      It was released in 2011, but the user had to go seek it out themselves. The news today is that it has been added to the Windows automatic updates.

    2. Mike Dimmick

      Re: Clarify

      Microsoft's Support Lifecycle policy for Windows is to support a service pack (or the original release if there has only been one service pack) for two years after the release of the following service pack. The actual end date is aligned to the next Patch Tuesday (second Tuesday of the month), which is 9 April. Future updates will only be installable on Windows 7 SP1 as a baseline.

      All this means is that if you reinstall Windows 7 from a disc or image without SP1 applied, Windows Update will first offer all the security and critical updates from RTM to this month, then it will offer SP1, then any updates released after SP1.

      Windows 7 *itself* is in mainstream support until 13 January 2015, and extended support until 14 January 2020. In the mainstream support period, you can call up for paid support, you can use any free incidents that you got when buying the product, you can get non-security hotfixes and if you really want to, you can make change requests. In extended support you still get paid support but the free incidents are no longer valid; you still get security hotfixes but other fixes require an extended support contract, which you have to take out within 90 days of the end of mainstream support; warranty claims and design change requests are no longer accepted.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    A small thing...

    but that software that lets your PC share its wired internet connection by WiFi requires SP1.

    I haven't noticed any difference since I installed SP1, though I can't remember my machine freezing on resume from standby, which it occasionally did before.

  5. Zmodem

    the retards should hurry up and fix security permissions not being inherited on any new folder and file created, its proper tedius having to set the permission yourself on everything new in the past 2 months

    1. LeeS
      Holmes

      I think we have found the retard here - do you have a mirror to hand?

      1. Zmodem

        microsoft are retards for breaking security, and want exterprises to update from XP to windows 7

        existing permissions work

        if you have

        full control on program files for administrator group, system, creator_owner, and read and execute for users, with replace and inherit permissions on all childs

        only old installer put the permissions on all new folders and files 100% of the time, its the same for most compressed archives, or any new file and folder that is created by system or program

        1. TheVogon
          Mushroom

          Files system permissions will only do exactly what you tell them to do. Nothing is broken, or something so major would have hit tech site news long ago.

          What you are basically saying is that you are too stupid to mess with something that you don't fully understand and you screwed it up.

          To fix your incompetence, just run the following in a elevated command prompt:

          secedit /configure /cfg %windir%\inf\defltbase.inf /db defltbase.sdb /verbose

          1. Zmodem

            @TheVogon

            secedit is pointless, setting the permissions on the folder lets you take full ownership of your hard drive and you can copy and edit any file when you like without running anything in admin mode,. admin mode is there because windows 7 is crap

            if you rightclick on a folder and set the security persmissions, and replace permissions to inherit parent permissions,. to this folder, subfolders and files, the persmission should be applied to all new files when a program gets installed

            which happen when you first install windows 7, when you update windows 7 from the past 3 months, the perssions dont get applied to most folders and files

            windows 7 is as crap as linux, and the lameness will just start to kill of pc`s, because of retarded security permissions and not being able to do anything on your own drive

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      ???

      Zmodem I don't give a darn about Windows, but I am curious to what you mean exactly. There is quite a few answers and questions I have in mind, but I'm not sure how you are implying "inherited" in this case.

    3. WatAWorld

      I haven't had any problem with that

      Are you sure it is not something corrupted in your specific installation? Or maybe an incorrect setting?

    4. DF118

      @ zmodem ... What, were you not satisfied with the number of down votes you gathered with your desert eagle nonsense?

      1. jason 7
        Happy

        Ahhh c'mon the Desert Eagle bit was one of the funniest things I've read on here recently.

        1. DF118
          Pint

          Ahhh c'mon the Desert Eagle bit was one of the funniest things I've read on here recently.

          Yeah I admit it was pretty trainwrecktastic. Couldn't stop reading. In fact ISTR the missus having a right old go at me for reading it instead of jumping her bones and she's nowhere near as fugly as xboxzilla back there.

          Lol if she ever reads this I'm so dead.

          1. Zmodem

            why would`nt you want a desert eagle if your special ops if you have been in the army for a few years and can handle the weight and kick, instead of carrying your single main weapon of a shotgun when clearing villages

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    its proper tedius...

    having to mentally correct both punctuation AND spelling.

    1. Great Bu

      Re: its proper tedius...

      *Teadeearse.

      1. Zmodem

        Re: its proper tedius...

        some programs have 1000 files, you wouldnt want to spent a week setting the security permissions on every file and folder for visual studio so you can use it after spending £10,000

  7. wsm

    Discrete?

    Discrete regular patches sounds more like Apple charging for service packs. Is Microsoft so desperate for revenue streams?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Discrete regular patches...

      Tena lady?

  8. Bsquared
    Stop

    But will it remove all the previous patches?

    I have multi-Gb of patches in Winsxs filling up my SSD from two years worth of updates. Will SP1 remove all these, as it inserts its 1050Mb of goodness (plus a further 1050Mb of backup goodness) into my system?

    I'd really like that.

    1. cosymart
      Meh

      Re: But will it remove all the previous patches?

      Don't be silly, we are talking the kings of bloatware here! Stuff it all in!

    2. DuncanL
      Boffin

      Re: But will it remove all the previous patches?

      No - the point of side-by-side (WinSxS) is to keep old versions available so that programs can use the exact versions they were built expecting, rather than introduce issues with later updates. The approach these days is that "Disk space is cheap, let's use it". Whether you agree or not; that's the way it works.

      Assuming you don't want to ever uninstall the service packs and updates, you can use a combination of tools to reduce the amount of space taken up.

      Use CCleaner (http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner - remembering to go for the freebie version hidden at the bottom, not the pay links!) with the option to remove update uninstallers checked.

      Then open a command prompt and run this:

      dism /online /cleanup-image /spsuperseded

      It will take a while and won't make a massive difference but it does chop a few gig out of the Windows install size.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: But will it remove all the previous patches?

      http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2795190

      First link on Google searching for winsxs. It will tell you all about Explorer mis-reporting the size of the winsxs folder due to the NTFS hard links, and how you can make a SP install permanent.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Windows

    Seems a more logical move to me.

    Its easier to bug test a few updates at a (comparative) few megabytes as opposed to a beelion byte (sic) update thats depoloyed to 5 million PC's worldwide and then causes a quarter of them to baulk and fail.

    Either way, 8 will never make its prescence felt on any thing i own.....TIFKAM or otherwise...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Seems a more logical move to me.

      Nah - Just do it the Java Way (tm):

      try:

      # include pretty much the entire internet-in-a-jar to get this weeks favrite frameworks to do .. whateva, I forget!

      run stuff

      catch everything

      print OK

      Job done - off to check 4-chan.

  10. AOD
    WTF?

    Never mind SP1, what about IE10?

    Last night my Win 7 Pro laptop was automagically updated to IE10 which broke the 1 thing I use IE for, hosting my office remote access software.

    A quick trip to the System Restore sorted that one out but grr. I do so hate it when MS insist on labelling their browser upgrades as "essential" updates rather than optional.

    I know I could set Windows Update to show me the updates for approval prior to applying them, but it's still tres annoying.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Errm

    "In the past we've suspected this change in cadence could reflect a desire by Microsoft to encourage people to go to Windows 8 quicker."

    Most people don't want to go to Windows 8 AT ALL....

    1. Dave Bell

      Re: Errm

      Wild guess, maybe, but it might mean that Windows 8 doesn't exist, this time next year.

      I've noticed several things which Windows 7 does better than previous versions, mostly under the bonnet. Can we separate the in-your-face changes such as Metro from the hidden stuff? To be honest, I doubt that. Linux can do better, but it doesn't escape the concept that the designers know best.

  12. Sean O'Connor 1
    Unhappy

    App Store

    Why didn't they add an App Store?! So us independent devs could easily sell stuff for the first time ever on Windows. Are we meant to wait years until Windows 8 is the dominant OS? I'll just stick to iOS for now.

    1. M Gale

      Re: App Store

      "Why didn't they add an App Store?! So us independent devs could easily sell stuff for the first time ever on Windows."

      Erm, web host and a paypal merchant account? I hear Valve have this distribution thingumijigger too, something about water vapour, if you don't mind requiring a malware installation in order to use the games.

      Or maybe you want something like this?

      Though I still don't see what the problem is with a web host and a paypal account.

      1. Sean O'Connor 1

        Re: App Store

        > Though I still don't see what the problem is with a web host and a paypal account.

        Yes, that's what I do at the moment. It means that:

        - there is no central store where people can go look for your apps

        - users must have a PayPal account or go through all the pain of entering credit card details, their address, phone number etc...

        - there's no way to push out updates

        I don't think it's any surprise that the Apple and Android AppStores have been so successful for developers and customers and I just don't get why MS hasn't followed suit. My guess is that they assumed that Windows 8 would be such a massive success that they didn't need to bother with Windows 7.

        1. M Gale

          Re: App Store

          "- there is no central store where people can go look for your apps"

          You mean the Internet? Or one of the walled gardens where your app is buried under 400,000 others? A "central store" is not an advantage here.

          "- users must have a PayPal account or go through all the pain of entering credit card details, their address, phone number etc..."

          No more of a bind than creating a Play Store, Apple, or Steam account? I already mentioned Steam by the way.. that's the water-vapour based malware from the previous post. And what about people who don't want to create an account and for whom tapping in a card number is sufficient?

          Some people do not want one-click wallet depletion thankyou.

          "- there's no way to push out updates"

          You're going to put all of that effort into a game and not build in a patching mechanism? Plenty of others do.

          "I don't think it's any surprise that the Apple and Android AppStores have been so successful for developers and customers "

          So has the PC.

          "and I just don't get why MS hasn't followed suit"

          Because there's no need for it, unless you're turning a PC into a locked-down games console, which Microsoft seem to be trying hard to do with Windows 8.

          1. M Gale

            Re: Paypal

            Ah yes, before I forget, Paypal's integration is quite fully featured even before the recent upgrade plans I've heard about. Last time I set up merchant accounts, they had the facility to integrate them as merely a payment gateway, with your own systems managing the transactions, records and CRM stuff. You need an SSL cert and a server that will respond to PayPal's requests in, if I recall, two seconds.

            So you can get customers to create accounts with you, rather than Google, Valve or Paypal.. and you get all of that juicy data to yourself.

            Or, alternatively, you can give it to an app store along with 30% of the game price. Your call.

  13. wiggers
    FAIL

    WIll auto update succede where manual failed?

    I've spent days trying to get SP1 installed on a couple of computers without success. Just keep getting 'unknown error has occurred'. Ran all the trouble-shooters they suggested, but nothing, nada, rien.

    1. TheVogon
      Mushroom

      Re: WIll auto update succede where manual failed?

      There will be a more detailed error in the event logs.

      C:\Windows\WindowsUpdate.log

      C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log

  14. Norman Hartnell
    Stop

    Is ADO still incompatible?

    Have they fixed the problem (see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2640696) that programs using ADO compiled under W7 SP1 don't work on any other version of Windows and vice versa?

    1. JC_

      Re: Is ADO still incompatible?

      Fixed. Look here.

  15. Berny Stapleton

    Microsoft now doing a Citrix and releasing rollup packs

    Take a look here:

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2775511

    No SP2, but this is a good start.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Microsoft have started to email me about...

    "How to make best use of Windows 8."

    I've so far resisted a response email with "Don't bother, I'd rather s*ck off a corpse than use Metro. I've only installed it on a box, to reassure me that I don't want it."

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Microsoft have started to email me about...

      Love the open minded people I find here on El Reg!

      I don't have any Windows at home, just Penguin and OSX but even I dabbled with Win8 just to keep an open mind on what's going on out there in the big, wide world!

      1. Nuke
        Thumb Down

        @AC (13:28) Re: Microsoft have started to email me about...

        Wrote :- "Love the open minded people I find here on El Reg! ... I dabbled with Win8 just to keep an open mind on what's going on out there in the big, wide world!"

        I suggest you read the GP post again. He said that he HAD tried Win8 and did not like it. Sounds open-minded enough to me.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Proxy cache is your friend.

    I remember once setting up a proxy with forced infinite TTL for the entire microsft.com domain and 10gb cache and running windows update just once. You could drool in delight watching 50 odd pcs running wu all at once but the wan link flat dead. Kludgy as hell, but effective. Back in xp sp3 era...

  18. Field Marshal Von Krakenfart
    Meh

    Thanks for the heads up

    Now to turn off automatic updates until I find out exactly what the service pack is going to install.

    1. Cipher
      Holmes

      Re: Thanks for the heads up

      @Field Marshal Von Krakenfart

      With 5 major Microsoft update fails in 2012 alone, I would have thought turning off auto updates and doing a little research would de rigueur now...

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Thanks for the heads up

        That's just bs. There were a couple of very minor glitches.

  19. Electric Panda

    SP1 was released so long ago that I actually forgot I already had it. Interesting how they've left it this long.

  20. Scarborough Dave

    Annual updates and annual cashflow

    looks like MS are going for a subscription approach - hopefully they don't go all SimCity on us!

    1. Red Bren
      Trollface

      Re: Annual updates and annual cashflow

      "hopefully they don't go all SimCity on us!"

      Why not? If they screw up and no one can access their servers, they mighty give away a free copy of XP...

  21. Gartal
    Gimp

    Buzzzzzzz............

    Cadence seems to be the new buzz word........

  22. Mark Dowling

    Got asked to install VPN on a Win7 computer the other day

    Windows update was disabled, RTM Windows, RTM Office etc. etc. How is SP1 going to get to people like that?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Got asked to install VPN on a Win7 computer the other day

      Microsoft can't fix stupidity.

      I would suggest that once that PC becomes laden with so much malware and toolbars that it doesn't work very well, the Geek Squad, or similar numpties will get to reinstall and patch the OS....

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