First published on TechNet on May 20, 2016
NOTE: This blog post was reviewed and approved by peers and program management of the team responsible for production and release of this convenience rollup. Hi everyone. Robert Smith here to let you know about a new convenience rollup for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1. Microsoft has released a one-time convenience roll-up for Windows 7 with Service Pack 1 (SP1) and Windows Server 2008 R2 with Service Pack 1 (SP1). This rollup contains security, non-security, and hotfixes going back to SP1 and up to April of 2016. Since SP1, there have been well over 1,000 updates released in one form or another, including security updates, “hotfixes”, and other Windows updates. Here are links to the details: Convenience rollup update for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 File information for update 3125574 This roll-up is currently categorized by Microsoft as "optional". This means that there is no means by which this update will be automatically applied to any computer. This update is available in the Microsoft Update Catalog at the following location: http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/Search.aspx?q=3125574 The term “convenience roll-up”, in this context, is not a technical term. The most recent example of a convenience rollup for Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 was the “Slow Boot, Slow Logon” roll-up; KB2775511 , (AKA " Enterprise Rollup "). Like KB2775511, KB3125574 carries guidance from Microsoft that is different than many updates released from Microsoft, which is as follows: “This article describes a convenience roll-up for Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1)-based and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1-based computers. This roll-up package is inclusive of all updates released after the release of SP1 for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, up through April 2016. This convenience roll-up is intended to make it easy to integrate fixes released after Service Pack 1 for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 computers. We recommend that you include this roll-up package in the image creation process to set-up a machine faster by integrating this roll-up package..” There are several reasons Microsoft has released this roll-up at this time: · To help customers “catch up” with available updates, including hotfixes, many of which are not available through any other means except direct download from KB articles, one-by-one. · To help customers get consistent code levels with Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 operating systems, both of which are in “extended” support until January 14, 2020 . · To help customers get the most consistent experience with the Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 family of operating systems as they evaluate the next platform. · In the event diagnostic efforts are needed in current production environments, there is less chance that an available update needs to be applied before analysis and/or remediation can begin. The goal is to reduce time-to-resolution for diagnostic or analysis efforts, and helping to reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO). · To ensure that Windows 7 SP1 / Windows 2008 R2 SP1 computers have the same updates used by Microsoft servicing team when testing What is included in the Windows KB3125574 convenience rollup: · Most of the servicing fixes that were released after the release of SP1 for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. · Most “hotfixes” released since SP1. · Updates to “core” .NET components only (no updates to .NET versions that were not released with Windows 7 and/or Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 at the time of SP1) · Updates for Windows client, Windows server, and most components of each. What is not included in the Windows KB3125574 convenience roll-up: · “Platform updates” to Windows, such as KB2670838 , are not included. KB2670838 was released through Windows Update and WSUS, so may already be installed. KB2670838 should be offered after the installation of this roll-up. · Updates to Internet Explorer 11 (IE11), which were not included with Windows 7 SP1 and/or Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, are not included. Microsoft releases cumulative security updates for IE11 roughly once per month. In addition, many enterprises have a complex testing matrix for IE11 updates, based on their catalog of applications, some of which are business critical. · Updates to .NET versions not included with the original Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 installation are not included. · Updates that require additional actions on the end-user such as registry changes are not included. Some issues that we have documented as part of the testing matrix for the KB3125574 roll-up: · When installing this roll-up to a new installation of Windows 7 SP1 and/or Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1: o “Servicing Stack Update” KB3020369 must be installed first, or the roll-up will report “the update is not applicable”. Update KB3020369 is a relatively small update and can be applied with no reboot. · This roll-up consumes approximately 2 GB of disk space after installation. o During installation, this roll-up may use approximately 4 GB of disk space. About ½ of the 4 GB will be released during the restart after installation, as the temporary disk space used by the roll-up installer is released. · The Disk Cleanup Wizard (DCW) can be used to reclaim disk space used by superseded updates on both Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1. Some notes on DCW: o On a brand new OS installation, with no previous updates installed there is no space to be reclaimed by using the DCW with Windows Update Cleanup option. o On an OS installation that has been in service for some time and has had a lot of updates installed previously, there is a potential to reclaim the disk space used by superseded updates. o On Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, the only supported way to get the DCW is to install the “Desktop Experience” feature, which adds the DCW. This may be a good option if preparing a server image. Running the DCW, especially with the “Windows Update Cleanup” option will ensure the disk space footprint will be as small as possible. o Charity Shelbourne published a great blog post that covers DCW in great detail here: Breaking News! Reduce the size of the WinSxS Directory and Free up Disk Space with a New Update for... · Third-party security software can potentially interfere with the installation of the convenience rollup. If during the rollup installation the installation stops and rolls back, it is possible something was blocked by the third-party security software. You can check the logs of the security software which should document if that is fact the case. There are good troubleshooting steps for this scenario in the following Microsoft articles: 2509997 You can't install updates in Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2008 R2 Troubleshoot problems with installing updates Windows Update: Frequently Asked Questions For those about to create a new image based on Windows 7 SP1 and/or Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 this roll-up may be for you. As always, test, test, test, and in as many different environments as possible. And finally, you may be interested in a blog post on Windows updates here because of some changes coming such as monthly rollups: Simplifying updates for Windows 7 and 8.1 There will be a new class of optional updates coming on the 3rd Tuesday of each month that should be reviewed, evaluated, and tested where practical (these will be made recommended patches on the following 2nd Tuesday (AKA Patch Tuesday) if no issues are found). These non-security updates will be applicable to Windows 7 SP1/Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, and Windows Server 2012 R2/Windows 8.1 operating systems. These updates will include non-security fixes only, and per the TechNet blog post are going to be roll-ups. NOTE: There are different rollups for the individual operating system families; ie, the convenience rollup for Windows 7/2008 R2 would not apply to Windows 2012 or Windows 8.1/2012 R2. Thank you for your consideration. Microsoft Premier Services and the Windows Customer Experience teams
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