Security Patch problems

[Shoya]

Okay, I installed the newest (in a very long line)
critical security patch and now my system is extremely
slow and unstable. I had to try booting four times before
the system actually booted and then it runs slow as
molasses and there are some functions that appear not to
work at all (e-mail; favorites; Office toolbar). I am not
sure how to resolve this issue. Of-course, Microsoft
itself will not supply any support for users, so I am
here asking if anyone can help to resolve this problem.
Also, is anyone other then me a little concerned that
these security patches are, themselves, flawed? It
appears to me -admittedly a non-tech person- that there
are an unconscionable number of flaws in Windows XP and
they appear not to be the normal flaws (or at least
normal for a company as arrogant as MS) but critical
errors. Is there going to be an end to any of this? Also,
if the patches are also flawed, how can a user assure
that the system will still function following the
installation of a patch? Thanks for any help.

 

[Mike Brannigan [MSFT]]

Okay, I installed the newest (in a very long line)
critical security patch and now my system is extremely
slow and unstable. I had to try booting four times before
the system actually booted and then it runs slow as
molasses and there are some functions that appear not to
work at all (e-mail; favorites; Office toolbar). I am not
sure how to resolve this issue.

If you tell us what patch you installed then someone may be able ot provide
some advice.

Of-course, Microsoft
itself will not supply any support for users, so I am
here asking if anyone can help to resolve this problem.

We provide a number of support options ofr home users.
If you require direct support that is available too for non OEM Windows XP
users.
See
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?LN=EN-US&x=11&y=15
for both self service support and paid for options.

Also, is anyone other then me a little concerned that
these security patches are, themselves, flawed?

Which pathc do you believ is "flawed" if you are talking about MS03-039 this
is not a flawed patch but is a replacement for MS03-026 - in that is
includes the fixes in the MS03-026 ( the original Blaster patch) aqs well as
addtional fixes for other RPC exploits that have come to light.

It
appears to me -admittedly a non-tech person- that there
are an unconscionable number of flaws in Windows XP and
they appear not to be the normal flaws (or at least
normal for a company as arrogant as MS) but critical
errors. Is there going to be an end to any of this?

Software engineering is a hugley complex process. Windows XP contains many
millions of lines of code written by a large devleopment team.

Also,
if the patches are also flawed, how can a user assure
that the system will still function following the
installation of a patch? Thanks for any help.

What "flaw" in what patch?? Without specific it is difficult to comment. I
can give you anecdotal evidence that of the machine I have in the 4
desktops, 3 laptops and 1 TabletPC all running regular Windows XP and 4
Servers running Windows Server 2003 have every single critical update
applied to them and have never experienced a single problem. These a mix if
home built and brand name devices and are running regular software.

Home users should apply all critical fixes offered by Windows Update, but as
with applying any software patch you should ensure that your system is
recoverable in the event of a problem. It is worth remembering that our
product has to support millions upon millions of combinations of hardware
and software on PCs, but problems are rare. You should not take what you
see in these newsgroups as indicative of any underlying problem, since these
are support groups and people are here with problems while the vast majority
have no issues.

--
Regards,

Mike
--
Mike Brannigan [Microsoft]

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