davidwr's Journal: Microsoft should do monthly security rollups

Problem:

When I install a machine from scratch I have to update dozens or over 100 items. This takes time and consumes network bandwidth.

Solution: Monthly security rollups.

The August 2007 rollup for XP should include every "important" XP base OS patch not included in SP2. Ditto for every other month since SP2 came out until the end of service for SP2. It would not include "important" updates to optional software or important updates to device drivers. It would include important updates to other important updates of course.

When run without options, it installs everything that is applicable to this machine or, for slipstreams, the target directory.

It would also have a "slipstream" option, an "unpack" option, and a "select" option.

The "slipstream" option would apply the service to a directory instead of the installed Windows.

The "unpack" option would create a mini-installer, one for each update.

The "select" option would limit which fixed got installed, slipstreamed, or unpacked.

The whole thing could be driven from a GUI or from a command line + response file.

Additional workload for Microsoft:

The package would be what you get if you take a base XP SP2 CD then run Windows Update again and again until there are no more important updates. As such, MS wold not be on the hook for much more in the way of testing. This is purely a packaging/delivery issue. The only real work would be resolving any dependencies that require more than one reboot.

If I had this, I could install:
XP, SP2, last month's security rollup, .NET 1.1, 2, 3, and their updates, IE7, MS Office, its latest service pack, and the latest version of Microsoft Update, all without getting on the network. Then when I finally did update, I'd have a much smaller number of updates to grab. If all I cared about was the base OS without optional updates, this would be a 2-step process: Install XP from the SP2-slipstreamed CD, then install the August updates.

Agreed

[Captain Splendid]

I was just saying today, that with all those updates, they really ought to roll 'em into SP3 already. Frigging PITA.