dslreports logo
Free Microsoft Critical Update CD
Updates Through October, 2003

Microsoft is taking orders for a free CD containing critical updates and patches through October, 2003 for Windows XP, Me, 2000, 98, and 98 Second Edition. The CD is aimed at users who have dialup connections or other difficulties in downloading files from Microsoft's website. "The idea for the CD had arisen through requests after the MSBlast virus from customers with narrowband connections who wanted help with patching."

view:
topics flat nest 
fartness (banned)
Donald Trump 2016
join:2003-03-25
Look Outside

fartness (banned)

Member

What about new bugs?

what happens when the latest thing comes out and messes everyone's computer? They would have to send out CDs every month, correct?

SRFireside
join:2001-01-19
Houston, TX

1 recommendation

SRFireside

Member

Re: What about new bugs?

More like you would to to Microsoft website and get the latest updates that aren't on the CD. The CD isn't the end all for Windows updating. It's just a way for dialup and non-Internet users to get all the current updates without having to download massive megs of data.

DrTCP
Yours truly

join:1999-11-09
Round Rock, TX

DrTCP

Re: What about new bugs?

said by SRFireside:
More like you would to to Microsoft website and get the latest updates that aren't on the CD. The CD isn't the end all for Windows updating. It's just a way for dialup and non-Internet users to get all the current updates without having to download massive megs of data.

It is also a convenient way to bring a newly installed PC (close to) up to date. You don't want to spend time or your bandwidth for downloading older patches for each one of your PCs right. I ordered one for myself.

SRFireside
join:2001-01-19
Houston, TX

SRFireside

Member

Re: What about new bugs?

You are absolutely right. I ordered one myself for the exact same reason.

brandon
Some truth included in this post.
Premium Member
join:2003-03-31
Ocean Springs, MS

brandon

Premium Member

Re: What about new bugs?

as did I.

GNXPower
Got Boost?
Premium Member
join:2003-12-18
Huntington Beach, CA

1 recommendation

GNXPower to fartness

Premium Member

to fartness
Of course it didn't take long for someone to bitch about Microsoft handing of free CD copies of the patches.

If you're worried about it, don't get one.

keyboard5684
Sam
join:2001-08-01
Pittsburgh, PA

1 edit

keyboard5684

Member

Re: What about new bugs?

True. Microsoft could start handing out free new computers will Linux on it and someone would find something wrong with it.

Wait till the responses build up. You will see post like "This must be another way for Microsoft to take over the world" or "it must be a way for Microsoft to install new spyware on your computer to report all your activities to major league baseball".
stlpmpnu
join:2001-03-13
Saint Louis, MO

stlpmpnu

Member

Re: What about new bugs?

i see something wrong with it microsoft is trying to cut costs

p.s. one of first posts on this forum

brandon
Some truth included in this post.
Premium Member
join:2003-03-31
Ocean Springs, MS

brandon

Premium Member

Re: What about new bugs?

since when is cutting costs a bad business practice?
Hellrazor
Bah Humbug
join:2002-02-02
Abyss, PA

Hellrazor to fartness

Member

to fartness
With the way things go with MS, my bet is the cd will have a virus on it plus the fixes. Good lucking figuring out which is which.
jram
join:2003-08-06
Albany, NY

jram

Member

Re: What about new bugs?

I have never never seen microsoft give anything away for nothing,there has to be a reason..Think how much this is costing them
millions of people will jump at this,their not even charging S+H..
I wouldn't trust them, I want to pick out my own updates,you don't know what's on that disk,people say that it's good if your buying a new machine,when I got my machine I had the latest updates ,any good place will do that. Mine was stamped the day they built it,updates the next day and shipped the following day..Of course I will get it to have,but won't use it..I'll wait for the same people that are saying how great it was getting something for nothing complain about it .In this world you don't get anything for nothing except spy-ware.Just my 2 cents.

MIABye
Premium Member
join:2001-10-28
united state

MIABye

Premium Member

Re: What about new bugs?

It's no different than AOL shipping out all those CDs, with no guarantee that anyone will sign up. Not to mention Microsoft is in a much better position to lose money. Besides, if they get nothing else from it, it's great PR. Look, Microsoft cares so much about it's users it will ship this out for free. I am sure that is what their marketing dept is thinking anyway.

Sarick
It's Only Logical
Premium Member
join:2003-06-03
USA

Sarick to jram

Premium Member

to jram
Yes there is a reason..

You will also receive a free antivirus and firewall trial software CD.

SRFireside
join:2001-01-19
Houston, TX

SRFireside

Member

Re: What about new bugs?

said by Sarick:
Yes there is a reason..

You will also receive a free antivirus and firewall trial software CD.

And free trials always lead to an offer to buy. Sarick you might be onto something.
jram
join:2003-08-06
Albany, NY

jram

Member

Re: What about new bugs?

You will also receive a free antivirus and firewall trial software CD.

I think it's EZtrust Armor,it's free for a year..Then you have to pay..
I had it on my laptop at work,I kept getting a true vector error,come to find out it's the virus engine..Uninstalled the program,no more blue screen of death..I think the CD is mostly to help dial-up people that can't ever get it right downloading those big updates,the screensaver will come on, knocked off line,many reasons.
x23df93c0
join:2002-06-13
New York, NY

x23df93c0 to jram

Member

to jram
I got a free mouse from microsoft awhile ago

also the beta of windows xp 64bit edition
damox
Premium Member
join:2002-01-07
Olympia, WA

damox to fartness

Premium Member

to fartness
said by fartness:
what happens when the latest thing comes out and messes everyone's computer?
Well since the updates are only thru October 2003, any "new bugs" would be old bugs, and they've likely already been addressed. I am not sure when the CD came out, but it probably wasn't in October. According to Microsoft's information on the CD, the date of the CD seems to be February 20, 2004. That means that any bugs would have already been fixed. It would be unlikely for Microsoft to release a CD of updates through last October, that still contained bugs. The reason I say that, they could have well included November and December, on the CD, but it was probably in testing during that time. That's my take on it anyway.

Hayward0
K A R - 1 2 0 C
Premium Member
join:2000-07-13
Key West, FL

Hayward0 to fartness

Premium Member

to fartness
said by fartness:
what happens when the latest thing comes out and messes everyone's computer? They would have to send out CDs every month, correct?

This is still a great help to early XP adopters with ORIGINAL (Non SP) XP CD's and need to reinstall. Even with broad band and rebooting it can take HOURS to do.
Having all the patches to date on CD would be a great help.

AlkalineArmy
Premium Member
join:2002-03-14
Greenfield, IN

1 recommendation

AlkalineArmy

Premium Member

Excellent

Looks like mine will be arriving in the mail in 2-4 weeks. Not that I have dialup or anything, but this'll save me a lot of time whenever I format.

Stewy85
Premium Member
join:2003-01-16
Wisconsin

Stewy85

Premium Member

Re: Excellent

That's the same reason I ordered mine.:)

LetsRok4
join:2001-01-21
Lake City, TN

LetsRok4

Member

Re: Excellent

yep, this will really cut the time that it takes to do a fresh install

Yoda2009
join:2003-10-07
Toronto, ON

Yoda2009

Member

Re: Excellent

Yep I ordered 15 Cd's just in case 14 of them get damaged.

Ryan F
Take Back The Web
Premium Member
join:2002-10-18
Alexandria, VA

1 edit

Ryan F to AlkalineArmy

Premium Member

to AlkalineArmy
Same here. Downloading all the updates usually ends up taking more time than the installation itself.

Maxo
Your tax dollars at work.
Premium Member
join:2002-11-04
Tallahassee, FL

Maxo to AlkalineArmy

Premium Member

to AlkalineArmy
I've put in my order as well. Now when helping people out I can just pop in this CD and they will be reasonably updated.

C0deZer0
Oc'D To Rhythm And Police
Premium Member
join:2001-10-03
Tempe, AZ

C0deZer0 to AlkalineArmy

Premium Member

to AlkalineArmy
Yea, this will be great. Now if I could just figure out how to make an "updated" 98SE & XP disc with all these patches?

And for that matter, adding newer video/chipset/etc. drivers onto the slipstream process for an xp disc?

MIABye
Premium Member
join:2001-10-28
united state

MIABye

Premium Member

Re: Excellent

said by C0deZer0:
Yea, this will be great. Now if I could just figure out how to make an "updated" 98SE & XP disc with all these patches?

Install the OS, install the patches, then make an image. Try something like Norton Ghost.

C0deZer0
Oc'D To Rhythm And Police
Premium Member
join:2001-10-03
Tempe, AZ

C0deZer0

Premium Member

Re: Excellent

I was thinking more along the lines of slipstreaming the drivers and updates to the disc though... but I guess that could work too.

MIABye
Premium Member
join:2001-10-28
united state

MIABye

Premium Member

Re: Excellent

said by C0deZer0:
I was thinking more along the lines of slipstreaming the drivers and updates to the disc though... but I guess that could work too.

Picky aren't we?

C0deZer0
Oc'D To Rhythm And Police
Premium Member
join:2001-10-03
Tempe, AZ

C0deZer0

Premium Member

Re: Excellent

Yes!

dilettante
join:2002-01-01
Haslett, MI

dilettante to AlkalineArmy

Member

to AlkalineArmy
This wouldn't be a bad thing for anyone to have. I wish there was one that went back to Windows 95 for example.

At some point you may still want to install and use something creaky like Windows 98 and you might be glad you had all of the updates on hand after they aren't online anymore.

seaman
Premium Member
join:2000-12-08
Seattle, WA

1 edit

seaman

Premium Member

Long overdue

The shear number and size of patches needed to keep M$ products relatively secure have single handedly made dail-up service obsolete. I think they should offer a quarterly security CD subscription service at no cost to users from here on out.

••••••••••••••

haroldo
join:2004-01-16
USA

haroldo

Member

Wont SP2 replace the need for this disk?

Isn't SP2 due out sometime early 2004? If so, wont it replace a this disk so that on format, you would only need SP2, or am I mistaken?

••••
x_
join:2003-02-13
_

x_

Member

AV and Firewall trial?

"In addition, you will also receive a free antivirus and firewall trial software CD."

Anyone know who makes the antivirus and firewall software they're including?

••••

dfc888
Premium Member
join:2003-07-22
San Bruno, CA

dfc888

Premium Member

Um...

Is there any way I can get an ISO of this? I rather NOT have M$ mail it to me..

•••••••
bmn
? ? ?

join:2001-03-15
hiatus

bmn

As a systems admin...

I appreciate this CD and will certainly use it. Its a pity we don't have authorization in our department for an SUS server...

Nothing is worse than getting a fresh install of XP or 2000 on a system from a manufacturer and spending an afternoon doing updates.

BK3
join:2001-04-10
Geneva, IL

BK3

Member

It'll save me a lot of time.

I occasionally do work for people with older machines, running '98 or ME. They either don't have internet access, or at best have only a dial-up connection. This will save me a bunch of time by having it on CD, rather than downloading a ton of updates. Also, like said before, this will save a bunch of time with new installs at the office.

jmn1207
Premium Member
join:2000-07-19
Sterling, VA

jmn1207

Premium Member

Nice to Keep On Hand

This is great. I wonder how people who don't have an internet connection(they are out there) will find out about this? I suppose an arduous phone call to an Indian tech rep will eventually yield the mailing of this update CD.

If I ever have the need to use mine, I wonder if I'll have the option to disable the AOL icon installation that comes with it? I'm only kidding about the AOL thing. I hope.

ghordy
join:2002-06-03
Chicago, IL

ghordy

Member

Re: Nice to Keep On Hand

Don't think it will have AOL but rather MSN.

MEDIAN2k3
Your Ad Here
Premium Member
join:2002-12-04
Howard Beach, NY

MEDIAN2k3

Premium Member

About ISO

when i get the cd i wont mind making an iso for anyone here, leave me a pm with contact info ie email or aim or msn and i will drop you a line once i get it.
msanto
join:2001-08-13
Castro Valley, CA

msanto

Member

At least for XP ...

www.autopatcher.com is a viable alternative, and they update once a month.

Krytor
Reminiscing The Future
Premium Member
join:2001-07-07
Indianapolis, IN

Krytor

Premium Member

Re: At least for XP ...

»autopatcher.com/

The site also has Win2K and Win2K3 patches.
53059959 (banned)
Temp banned from BBR more then anyone
join:2002-10-02
PwnZone

53059959 (banned)

Member

excellent idea

a frown that microsoft hadn't done this sooner, but this is well appreciated from us windows users.

SrsBsns
join:2001-08-30
Oklahoma City, OK

SrsBsns

Member

Re: excellent idea

I clicked on order now and pg said. Connection Rejected: 131.107.101.43 - Microsoft Corp trackers 2 PGIPDB

no thx for me.

MyTechLife
Tech Guru
join:2001-01-17
Reno, NV

MyTechLife

Member

Window Update Catalog an alternative to the CD

Click for full size
Does the CD provide a way to install all the patches in one installation? I just made my own CD using the Windows Update Catalog (more information avaialable when you click "About Windows Update" on the »v4.windowsupdate.microso ··· ault.asp page). Unfortunately the Windows Update Catalog puts the updates into a series of multiple folders and sub-folders, so it's hard to find individual updates, and there is no executatble program to search your computer for the ones that are actually needed and install them all at once. I haven't installed anything from the CD I created yet, but if I have to install each update seperately and re-boot after each one, the Windows Update Catalog would be a waste of time. Anyone else use this method?

yeti34
RC Onroad racin
join:2001-04-12
Salt Lake City, UT

yeti34

Member

Seen it yet?

Has anyone who actually ordered it have it arrive in the mail yet? I ordered mine the 18th of Feb and no word yet as to where it is at. I get a tracking thing in my hotmail account but it does not work. So I can find nothing out about it. Just wondered if this is actually going to show up or what.

••••

MyTechLife
Tech Guru
join:2001-01-17
Reno, NV

MyTechLife

Member

slow in shipping too

OK, I got shipping confirmation 2 weeks ago and it still hasn't shown up in my mailbox. Are they shipping it on a slow boat from China????
MyTechLife

MyTechLife

Member

Troubles with Windows98 computers using Update CD

I finally got my Windows Update CD about April 15. I've so far used it on 5 different computers from Win98 to WinXP. On the Windows98 computers I've had problems with updates that stop responding, can't access the CD drive upon re-boot to finish installing other updates, and one computer wouldn't complete booting up in normal mode after the first round of updates including IE6 was installed. After hours of research, while in Safe mode I discovered a hidden folder "$Win98UpdateUninstall$" folder in the Windows folder that had been created at about the time I started the Update CD. Inside that folder was an "uninstal" folder with a uninstal.exe file. I launched that file, rebooted and I was able to successfully re-boot into Windows. The uninstal.exe removed or replaced several files (which went by pretty quickly), but one of them was "msinfo32".

From my expereince, I will no longer be using the CD to update Windows98 computers. I've updated dozens of computers from the website without a hitch.

Anyone else have bad experiences with the Update CD?