It's Patch Tuesday! You Know What That Means!

[MrMaguire]

It's May 13th, today is the first patch Tuesday after extended support ended for Windows XP. Some XP spin-offs and variants are still in extended support, some for one more year, and one for about five more years. Today is the day that we get to see as to whether or not Microsoft is actually going to keep their promises. Well, looks like they did.

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Note: I only put the links to the screenshots, instead of embedding them into this post. This is because I haven't figured out how to scale the images yet. So click the links to see the screenshots in full resolution.
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First up: Windows Embedded POS Ready 2009

http://s25.postimg.org/3rzpniuzj/POS_Ready_2009_May_Updates.png

http://s25.postimg.org/4611n4f33/POS_Ready_2009_May_Updates_3.png

This is the one we've all been waiting to see. Will POS Ready 2009 receive new updates? Yes, in fact, it has received the most updates out of all of the OS's tested here. Yes I do have Microsoft Office 2010 installed. It's nice to see some updates for that too.

That .NET Framework update (KB2833941) is being very stubborn for me and won't install. It goes through the process without error and then just shows up on the Windows Update site like nothing happened.


Next: Windows Server 2003 R2

http://s25.postimg.org/n0wsdjf4v/Server_2003_R2_May_Updates.png

It's good to see that Microsoft hasn't forgotten about Server 2003.


And now: Windows XP Professional x64 Edition

http://s25.postimg.org/tq3btk0gv/Windows_XP_Pro_x64.png

I'm not totally surprised. I remember reading somewhere that XP Pro x64 was quietly being retired, even though it's based off of Server 2003 and was supposedly going to be supported for one more year. I am disappointed, as this is what I use on my main computer. The optional update you see is nothing new, just a newer driver for my GeForce 8400GS.


And finally: Windows XP Professional x86

http://s25.postimg.org/xcdqjxw7z/XP_Pro_x86_May_Updates.png

No surprises here, except that there are some updates for Office 2010, which is nice. I honestly didn't know whether Microsoft planned to continue providing updates for it, since it's now installed on an unsupported OS of theirs. You can draw your own conclusions about what this means for the future of good ol' old Windows XP Professional x86.

The optional updates you see are nothing new, just some updates I didn't want, such as Windows Search 4.0, and Bing desktop (Who uses that?).

I find the presence of the 'Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool - May 2014' (KB890830) interesting. If Windows XP is now out of support, why would Microsoft bother themselves to provide that removal tool, unless this is a one-off?
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Edited June 11, 2014 by MrMaguire

[Dave-H]

I must say I was surprised to find the Malicious Software Removal Tool being offered to me by Windows Update this morning!

I wonder too if that will be an ongoing thing.

I suppose it depends on how different the tool is on later versions of Windows.

If it's the same for all Windows versions I can see no reason not to carry on offering it to XP users, if it isn't I suspect this will quickly stop as they're not going to carry on producing a special version just for XP.

[vinifera]

basically if you exclude useless .net, office and their malware app

you get 1 worthy patch 

Edited May 14, 2014 by vinifera

[niko32]

Well, it certainly appears, for us who are stuck with XP x86, things are not so gloomy after all.

 

I suspected as long as they provide updates for other variants of XP, it will not be so hard to patch them to install on XP x86, and of course someone has already done that for all 4 critical updates.

[dencorso]

Well, it certainly appears, for us who are stuck with XP x86, things are not so gloomy after all.

 

Us who, kemo sabe?

I, for one, remain with XP by deliberate choice (or by refusing to yield to FUD, which is to say the same thing).

And I'm sure I'm not the only one.

[jsc1973]

I've been lurking around here for years, and I figured I'd have to sign up to ask about this...

Anyway, I've got an older laptop that I installed XP Pro x64 on, and seeing as how it's basically the same as Server 2003 x64, I tried downloading yesterday's updates for that and installing them manually. MS14-029 and 026 installed with no problems at all, but 027 failed. A check of the .inf files inside the update revealed that Microsoft put in a block in "update_SP2QFE.inf" that prevents it from installing on XP x64:

[Prereq.XPAMDInstallBlock.Section]

PresentOp=CheckReg,HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ProductOptions",ProductType,0x00000000

NotEqualOp=CheckReg,HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ProductOptions",ProductType,0x00000000,!=,"WinNT"

Display_String="%WrongProductMessage%"

I can't figure out why they'd allow the other two updates and block this one. Is this one really not pertinent to XP x64, and blocked because it would break the system, or is it just Microsoft making things difficult? I'm sure someone here knows.

Edited May 14, 2014 by jsc1973

[niko32]

Us who, kemo sabe?

I, for one, remain with XP by deliberate choice (or by refusing to yield to FUD, which is to say the same thing).

And I'm sure I'm not the only one.

Haha, me too, I didn't mean stuck in a bad way, well maybe a wrong expression anyway.

Edited May 14, 2014 by niko32

[niko32]

I've been lurking around here for years, and I figured I'd have to sign up to ask about this...

Anyway, I've got an older laptop that I installed XP Pro x64 on, and seeing as how it's basically the same as Server 2003 x64, I tried downloading yesterday's updates for that and installing them manually. MS14-029 and 026 installed with no problems at all, but 027 failed. A check of the .inf files inside the update revealed that Microsoft put in a block in "update_SP2QFE.inf" that prevents it from installing on XP x64:

I can't figure out why they'd allow the other two updates and block this one. Is this one really not pertinent to XP x64, and blocked because it would break the system, or is it just Microsoft making things difficult? I'm sure someone here knows.

Welcome jsc1973! I've been a member a long time, but just lurking around too.

Anyway, you should check thread "POSReady 2009 updates ported to Windows XP SP3 ENU" and maybe ask "harkaz" about it, he's been patching updates recently.

[jsc1973]

Thanks. He knew the answer. Just needed a patched version of update.exe that ignored MS's block.

[G8YMW]

Us who, kemo sabe?

I, for one, remain with XP by deliberate choice (or by refusing to yield to FUD, which is to say the same thing).

And I'm sure I'm not the only one.

 

Likewise, even though this machine has Win7 and Kubuntu as well (Not very good with the "Penguin Waddle)

[MrMaguire]

Behold, it's patch Tuesday again. So get ready for crash Wednesday everyone!

I just thought that I'd do a little update of the operating systems that we've been following in this thread.

First up: Windows Embedded POS Ready 2009

Windows Embedded POS Ready 2009 is still getting updates. And once again, it has received the most updates this month, out of all of the OS's tested here.

Note: The .Net Framework Update (KB2833941) isn't new. It's a stubborn update that my POS Ready 2009 machine refuses to install for some reason.

Next: Windows Server 2003 R2

Windows Server 2003 is also still receiving updates. If you compare the KB numbers of the updates that are for the actual operating system and Internet Explorer, you can see that they match between POS Ready 2009 and Server 2003 (With R2 in this case).

And now: Windows XP Professional x64 Edition

Windows XP Professional x64 Edition is basically in the same position as the regular x86 version, as far as updates are concerned anyway. As you can see, I have Office 2010 installed, and that is still being updated, fortunately.

Something different: Windows XP Professional x86 - With the registry modification applied

And now, the latest discovery of the Windows XP support fiasco. The registry "hack" that fools Microsoft Update into thinking that you have POS Ready 2009 installed, and thus allowing you to install the new updates for it. As you can see in the screenshot, the updates are the same ones that POS Ready 2009 and Server 2003 have received.

As of the time that I post this, this "hack" still works. Microsoft apparently have caught on, and may be working on a "fix" for it, but in the mean time at least, it works as a method to keep your XP machine patched.

And finally: Windows XP Professional x86 - Without the registry modification

Once again, we come to plain old Windows XP Professional x86. If you have chosen not to go fooling around with the Windows registry, this is where you stand. You'll get updates for Microsoft products that are still in support, such as Office 2010. And surprisingly enough, you'll also get the "Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool - June 2014". XP also received this update last month, and some were wondering if it were a "one off". It's looking like this is going to be a regular thing. So, if you use that tool, you should be okay.

[jsc1973]

 

And now: Windows XP Professional x64 Edition

http://s25.postimg.org/40zbb1tjz/June_10th_Updates_XP_Pro_x64.png

Windows XP Professional x64 Edition is basically in the same position as the regular x86 version, as far as updates are concerned anyway. As you can see, I have Office 2010 installed, and that is still being updated, fortunately.

All three of the updates this month for Windows Server 2003 x64 will install without any problem on XP x64 if you download them and install them manually. No need for the hacked update.exe to install anything this month.

[MrMaguire]

All three of the updates this month for Windows Server 2003 x64 will install without any problem on XP x64 if you download them and install them manually. No need for the hacked update.exe to install anything this month.

 

 

And that didn't work last month, I assume?