Microsoft doesn't have any plans for a second Windows 7 Service Pack

[Arthur]

Only a rumour, but sad if true.

 

Source: The Register

 

Waiting for a second Windows 7 Service Pack? Keep waiting – it doesn't sound like Microsoft will be releasing one.

 

Sources close to Microsoft's sustained engineering team, which builds and releases service packs, have told The Register there are no plans for a second Windows 7 SP – breaking precedent on the normal cycle of updating Windows.

 

Instead, Microsoft will keep updating Windows 7 using patches released each month until support for Windows 7 comes to an end. That date is currently slated for 24 months after the most current SP – that’s SP1, which was released in February 2011 – and would put end of life at February 2013.

 

The decision not to release a second service pack for Windows 7 comes just at the time when Microsoft would typically be preparing to release the pack.

[Michael]

Maybe an Update Rollup then? At least it would be a lot smaller/easier to roll out

 

In saying that though, Microsoft did it with Windows 2000, but haven't as yet with XP or Vista for that matter...

[localzuk]

That's somewhat annoying - as that timescale of end of support means we end up with an out of support OS very quickly - and means businesses might end up forced onto Windows 8, which even people at MS have admitted is not going to suit businesses so well...

[SYNACK]

That's somewhat annoying - as that timescale of end of support means we end up with an out of support OS very quickly - and means businesses might end up forced onto Windows 8, which even people at MS have admitted is not going to suit businesses so well...

 

Oh, they'll keep updating it but it may just be through hotfixes, after the n'th screen of installing updates one of 50 you may just get the point they want you to update . This is what happens when marketing is above the engineering team on the food chain, a common problem in many companies now.

[dhoward_westexetc]

I think we need more cumulative updates for the key components for Windows 7, like cumulative security updates (akin to the IE ones) and update rollups. I did a test install of Windows 7 SP1 from RTM on Windows Update and it took over an hour! That's why I don't deploy it through WSUS - it would cause anarchy. We generally now either install SP1 separately or re-image the PC to an SP1 build. Having cumulative updates would prevent the number of updates for a clean SP1 install reaching sky high levels.

 

This would be fine if Microsoft would incorporate the ton of hotfixes for Win 7 SP1 that you currently have to separately request into tested update rollups.

Edited October 24, 2012 by dhoward_westexetc

[Theblacksheep]

Only a rumour, but sad if true.

 

That date is currently slated for 24 months after the most current SP – that’s SP1, which was released in February 2011 – and would put end of life at February 2013.

 

Supported is listed as 2015/2020 on MS website so not sure if el reg can be trusted.

[dhoward_westexetc]

Supported is listed as 2015/2020 on MS website so not sure if el reg can be trusted.

 

Backed up here from the Microsoft Support Lifecycle page: Windows 7 Support

Edited October 24, 2012 by dhoward_westexetc
fixed issue with URL link

[Michael]

There are something like 70 updates, or close to 90 if you have Windows 7 SP1 and Office 2010 SP1 installed. By 2015 there would be literally hundreds.... just as well we can image and update the number of hotfixes whatever Microsoft decided to do.

[jamesfed]

I can't belive that they wouldn't mash out another update - even Vista had a SP2 and there are so many hotfixes out there even for SP1 that should be included in a second service pack.

[tmcd35]

There's nothing stopping MS from supporting Win7 till 2015 without issuing another service pack. Just means the current service pack is supported until 2015 and you have to manage all future hotfixes yourself rather than wait for the SP. As linked above MS will continue producing hotfixes until 2015 and security fixes until 2020 regardless of whether or not there is another SP.

[dhoward_westexetc]

There's nothing stopping MS from supporting Win7 till 2015 without issuing another service pack. Just means the current service pack is supported until 2015 and you have to manage all future hotfixes yourself rather than wait for the SP. As linked above MS will continue producing hotfixes until 2015 and security fixes until 2020 regardless of whether or not there is another SP.

 

Plus I am sure that several of the current hotfixes could be rolled up into update rollup packs....

[dhoward_westexetc]

This is the sort of thing I am getting at:

 

Description of an update rollup for the printing core components in Windows 7 and in Windows Server 2008 R2

 

This update roll up for the print core components replaces several other updates that had been individual hotfixes. I am wondering if we will see more updates like this instead of service packs for Win 7?

[localzuk]

Well, we just have to look at the number of updates that you have to install in Windows XP after SP3. IIRC its about 130. Takes around an hour and a half.

 

Can we look forward to this with Windows 7 too?

[SYNACK]

Well, we just have to look at the number of updates that you have to install in Windows XP after SP3. IIRC its about 130. Takes around an hour and a half.

 

Can we look forward to this with Windows 7 too?

 

Probably, they have dropped the ball with updates too, you can't slipstream Office anymore, you can only 'kind of' slipstream 7 and the updates are still sequential. Faster than before but still annoying. If we are lucky they may magic something up for SCCM as they tend to do better for large businesses. Everyone else gets what is given, Apple is the opposite, consumers only and corp is the one getting the finger.

[zag]

Very interesting! I wonder how many updates there will be in 2015?? haha.

 

Personally I don't think any of the updates have made a blind bit of difference. They may fix obscure security vulnerabilities but assuming your using Google chrome or something there is very little chance they can cause any problems in the real world usage.

[ZeroHour]

You can at least offline service a lot of them into your images, I could also automate the build a fresh image with patches etc and recapture process with sccm 2007.

 

I also wonder if they will do smaller service releases like Windows 8.

[psydii]

When you need 40+ hotfixes just to get the basics working properly (kernel (BSODs and cache management), NDIS, tcpip, dchp client, smb (client and server), ntfs, csc, wmi, userprofiles, folder redirection, printing, usb (BSODs), shell32.dll), you know that another SP is required. We've got a large amount of services and componants running on the LDR branch - which is crazy for a production environment, with new fixes still being released on a regular basis... most of our deployed fixes are not available through Windows Update....

 

Have people forgotten how much random stuff that doesn't quite work right (but never gets to the top of your things to look at) gets fixes in service packs? If this rumour turns out to be true, Microsoft will have in my view, lost the plot......

 

Windows 7 SP1 + all Windows Updates is not a relaible platform in 'corporate' environment.

Windows 7 SP1 + a lot of GDR/LDR updates, + all Windows Updates is, almost.

 

SP2 would provide end users/developers/systems support teams with a 'known good' configuration standardised across the world. Hotfixes as you need them ensure that every site is different. How on earth can this be a good thing.

 

The rule used to be 'never deploy before Service Pack 2'..... somehow that got morphed into 'never delpoy before SP1'. I'm afraid to say that original rule still holds.

Edited October 25, 2012 by psydii

[tmcd35]

Meh, the last XP install I did had something like 105 updates, it wasn't a big deal. After the image was taken it was forgotten about. An SP is needed (would be nice though). You just need to think again about Patch Management. Do you use a WSUS server and continually role out updates so you don't get to the 100 at once stage? Do you look at how you keep OS images so you only need to update the patches from the last image?

 

Personally, I'm happy building fresh images once a year and putting all the patches on it then, regardless of how long it takes. We have a fast(ish) broadband connections and I can walk away and do other things while it is going on.

[psydii]

The point that most people seem to miss is that Windows 7 SP1 has serious data loss, data corruption, and performance issues in pretty common configuration corportate/enterprise scenarios, requiring the deployment of a selection of non-WU hotfixes. Depending on your configuration depends on which you NEED. This leads to a situation that different organisations are running significantly different versions of components, with significantly different performance characteristics.

 

This is hard for developers, hard for support, and leads to confusion and problems. For example a lot of the the problems of 'a nameless value-added provider in education' were/(are?) due to bugs in RTM/SP1 components. Much of what they say 'isn't possible' or doesn't work reliably can be resolved with the LDR releases - but they would disavow you if they were installed, and furthermore in some cases they have had to re-write/abandon features because the fixes have not made it into WU or a SP. If MS released SP2 (and then maybe even SP3) it would provide a new (better working) development target - which the VAP could use as their baseline requirement, finally delivering on their promises.

 

The ongoing lack of SP2 is BAD FOR EVERYBODY who interacts with 'corporate' IT.

Edited October 25, 2012 by psydii