#Windows 7 service pack install#
#Windows 7 service pack update#

MicrosoftвЂ™s own Technet forum post on this service pack includes a number of cautionary tales from users who have installed this update. Also, do not ignore MicrosoftвЂ™s admonition to backup your system and your data before proceeding with this Service Pack.

#Windows 7 service pack install#

If you do have any of the above hotfixes installed, you will need to follow MicrosoftвЂ™s instructions here if you want to install this service pack with a minimum of potential complications. A quick keyword search through this file (Ctrl-F) will tell you whether any of those three hotfixes is installed. In the resulting command prompt, I typed вЂњwmic qfe list full > patchlist.txtвЂќ without the quotes, and it quickly spat out a list of installed updates into a text file called вЂњpatchlist.txtвЂќ. There is probably an easier way to do this, but I wanted a text file listing all the updates installed, so I clicked Start, then in the text box typed вЂњCmdвЂќ. But paging through these updates and looking for obscure knowledgebase (KB) numbers is mind-numbing.

#Windows 7 service pack update#

If you mosey over to the Windows Update panel in Windows 7 (click start and type вЂњWindows UpdateвЂќ), you should be able to get a list of installed updates by clicking the вЂњView Update HistoryвЂќ link in the left side menu. Microsoft doesnвЂ™t exactly make it easy for you to figure out which hotfixes you have installed. For example, Microsoft says that systems with hotfixes ( 2406705, 979350 or 983534) will block the installation of the service pack and may experience problems as a result. If you decide to go forward with this Service Pack, there are several important considerations, particularly if your system has certain hotfixes installed (hotfixes are small patches designed to address specific - not necessarily security - issues). Otherwise, I would urge Windows 7 users who are up-to-date to ignore this offering, at least for now. In that case, Service Pack 1 would streamline the process quite a bit. My take? IвЂ™d say that the main benefit of this service pack for Windows 7 users would be if you were considering re-installing the operating system for some reason. If you are staying up-to-date in security patches, you are not going to gain much by installing this service pack, which contains a few uber-geeky feature improvements that are mostly a bonus for users of Windows Server 2008 R2 - not Windows 7. If youвЂ™re thinking about installing this update, read on for a few caveats and tips that may change your mind.ДЇirst off, this service pack is mainly a bundle of previously-released security updates. Microsoft is now offering Windows 7 users вЂњService Pack 1,вЂќ a bundle of security updates and minor feature improvements.