News

Microsoft Delays General Rollout over AU for Windows XP SP2

Microsoft has pushed back the general rollout of Windows XP Service Pack 2 over its Automatic Update delivery channel.

Last week, the company posted a schedule online showing that widespread distribution of the critical, security-focused service pack via the Automatic Update function of Windows Update would begin on Monday. An update to the page shows the release of SP2 via AU is now supposed to start on Wednesday, and even then only for customers running Windows XP Home Edition.

The schedule for SP2 to go out over AU for Windows XP Professional Edition customers is listed vaguely as "later in August."

Microsoft did proceed on Monday with plans to make SP2 available via Software Update Services. Last week, the company posted a network installation version of SP2 on its public Microsoft Download Center and made the service pack available over AU to customers who were already running pre-release versions of SP2.

The change to the schedule was posted to a document describing a tool allowing IT administrators to prevent Windows XP computers in their networks from using AU to automatically downloading and install the service pack. Many IT departments, including IBM's internal IT department, are eager to prevent users from downloading SP2, which is known to break many applications because of its new firewall. The document (available here) doesn't explain the reason for the delay.

The move makes sense in light of Microsoft's public apologies to IT customers last week for the short interval between the announcement of the tool and the date when computers inside corporate computer networks would begin automatically pulling the patch down from Microsoft and installing it.

Because most corporate computers run the professional version of Windows XP, the delay should give those customers more time to test the service pack or install the tool.

About the Author

Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.

Featured

  • Nebula

    Ahead of AGI, Microsoft and OpenAI Redefine Their Partnership

    In a recapitalization announced Tuesday, OpenAI has launched a new public benefit corporation (PBC) called OpenAI Group, giving Microsoft a 27 percent ownership stake valued at approximately $135 billion.

  • Veeam Acquires Securiti AI To Unify Data Resilience and AI Security

    Veeam Software is making a strategic move into AI and data security by acquiring Securiti AI for $1.7 billion.

  • Microsoft Adds 'Mico' Virtual Assistant to Copilot in Major Fall Update

    In a significant feature update, Microsoft on Thursday said it is reshaping its Copilot AI platform with features that deepen user personalization and enable real-time group collaboration, among other perks.

  • Nutanix Partner Central Rolls Out To Boost Channel Engagement

    Nutanix on Wednesday launched a new platform, Partner Central, to give its channel partners a unified digital workspace for managing sales, tracking incentives and collaborating more effectively.

Most   Popular