How to check the Microsoft Update Catalog with Chrome or Firefox

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In spite of the Update Catalog’s antiquated design, you can find what you need using Chrome, Firefox – or any browser, for that matter. Thanks to Abbo
[See the full post at: How to check the Microsoft Update Catalog with Chrome or Firefox]

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The link doesn’t work.

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Woody, I assume there was supposed to be a link included here? 😉 btw … thanks to you and your respondents for all the good work. Keep it up!

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Yeah. I keep having trouble with the new WordPress interface. Sorry about that!

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🙂
you know, old Opera Presto (latest 12.18) is the best one that displays the results and handle MUC this way

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Abbodi86

April 24, 2016 at 9:51 am

You can use/search MU catalog site with any browser without the need for ActiveX
you just need to manually use RSS feed search url
http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/Rss.aspx?q=KB3103616&lang=en

change query string, you can use + sign instead of spaces, and you can drop &lang=en
http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/Rss.aspx?q=10+for+x64

All the best,

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This is useful… although I would still use IE at least for Microsoft sites.

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Although this works as claimed with Firefox, Google Chrome (Version 52.0.2743.116 64-bit) emits the message:

—
This XML file does not appear to have any style information associated with it. The document tree is shown below.
—

followed by a bunch-o-xml. You can visually scan through the mess and find the appropriate download link, cutting-and-pasting the needed one though.

I see this behavior with win10 and ubuntu 16.04, didn’t try any other permutations. Is this down to the version of chrome?

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Woody, your article was confusing to say the least to a person who is not very versed in the operation of computers. How do we none nerds out here get a grip on all this stuff?

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The results I get when I search for
http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/Rss.aspx?q=KB3177725 are a couple of your AskWoody article links.

That’s using Chrome…

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I used Chrome to search for “http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/Rss.aspx?q=KB3187022-x64″
It came back with various info including:

”

Update for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems (KB3187022)

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=116494&updateid=bc26a1db-b736-4b04-a59f-3687111ee9de”

This link gave me the .msu that it appears to be what I needed.

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Ach! Don’t search for the text. Just click on the URL. You’ll get there.

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I apologize. I try very hard to make my stuff accessible.

For now, you don’t need to worry about it. In the future, direct access to the Microsoft Catalog may become important.

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Weird. My version of Chrome works fine.

If you copy the link into some other browser – even Edge – does it work?

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Same bunch-o-xml with edge on win10 1511 (build 10586.545). Under win10 1607 (build 14393.82), edge emits the message:

—
You’ve stumbled upon some vintage web tech
This website runs on older technology and will only work in Internet Explorer
—

followed by an Open with Internet Explorer button.

The problem with chrome occurs even in an incognito window, so it’s not a add-on issue.

As I mentioned before, it works in Firefox under linux. But I don’t have anything but chrome, ie and edge on any windows machines.

No worries. It’s an interesting hack, but I’ll just stick to ie for the time being if I need to access the catalog.

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Thats good to know a workaround for the other none M$ browsers but as of 5 mins ago the much vaunted “flagship” of Win 10 too wit one “Edge” still just cant quite make it. What is happenning at Redmond?? certainly not what i would expect of a company at the cutting “Edge” of technology hehehe 🙂

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I’ll remember that. No idea what would cause Chrome to fail to read an RSS feed. Strange.

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I’m betting that if you go to Settings->Extensions, you’ll find that you have an RSS feed reader extension installed in chrome.

If I (temporarily) install ‘RSS Subscription Extension (by Google)’ then things work, more or less. Without the extension, it just displays the xml tree.

Open an incognito window and try it, and you’ll most likely see what I’ve been seeing. Unless, of course, you’ve explicitly allowed your RSS extension in incognito mode, but that’s not the default.

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Fascinating. That’s exactly it. Chrome requires an RSS extension. Firefox does not – it handles the RSS all by itself, whether in Private mode or not.

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In Google Chrome, I typed “search for MU Catalog” , hit enter and was sent to that site. There are web sites to tell you how to enter and download what you need. But I did notice that you must know ther KB # or #’s that you are looking for.

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The RSS Magical Mystery Trick works fine. Peace of mind should valuable patches be made available only on “The Catalog” (like a foreigner would call “The Castle” when searching for Dracula).

Wondering what Dracula is waiting for to perform his coming-out elsewhere than from his castle.

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Das Schloss?

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No idea how they’d call it in Transylvania, was it?! Anyway major companies undoubtedly comply to Dracula, Frankenstein, Mummy Man and other monstrous profiles . But who is who (besides our Microsoft featuring Dracula, of course)?! Frankenstein (aka Franky Boy) would fit with Facebook, for the face and for “SugarMountain” 🙂

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Firefox works for me on a Mac as well

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If you have NoScript addon/extension for Firefox, disable it – it causes the MS Update Catalog site to not function properly in Firefox as I’ve tested myself [or select “Allow Scripts Globally” option in Noscript, then reload the MS Update Catalog site in Firefox].

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And for Google Chrome browers, install the “Foxish live RSS” addon from the Chrome Web store site:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/search/foxish%20rss?hl=en-US
Then reload the MS Update Catalog RSS page in Chrome with Foxish live RSS addon installed & enabled and then you’ll get an MS Update Catalog RSS feed page on the bottom half of the page.

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Woody,

I just did some hacking about and think I have come up with a way to get to the correct page for the MS Update Catalog:

Procedure:

1) Click on / or input into browser search box:

http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/Rss.aspx?q=KBxxxxxxx

(I set this up in One Note, and am able to just click on this and it will go to Chrome).

2) This brings up a Search box. Delete the “xxx’s” and input the KB # you are looking for.

3) This brings up the XML document dealing with the KB.

4) Locate Security Update for Windows 7 (it’s 3/4 of the way down the page).

5) Highlight or Select the for http://go.microsoft.com (it’s right below the title line).

6) Right Click on the selection and choose “Go To”.

This will take you to the correct page for the download.

I have run this procedure a few times now and it seems to get me to the right spot every time. It is kind of odd, the XML document doesn’t allow any link activation per se, I have to select the and Right Click on that selection in order to go to the MS Update Catalog.

I hope this is helpful. Chip

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Heck, this even works in Firefox under Linux! I can download the MSU Archive, and it will transfer to any Windows installation.

Thanks for the tip, Woody!

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The url (the link) and the download work for me. Even in Linux, Firefox does indeed do this correctly.

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The Catalog is searchable. I get a search box in the upper right of the main Microsoft Update Catalog screen.

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NoScript may be a problem there, but other ad blockers don’t seem to bother the process. At least not Ghostery, Blur (Abine) or a cookie destroying extension. Privacy Badger is OK there too.

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That’s a neat approach!

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Woody;

re: https://www.askwoody.com/2016/how-to-check-the-microsoft-update-catalog-with-chrome-or-firefox/#comment-97156

Martin Brinkmann, ghacks.net, has posted a nicely illustrated, detailed article about this method with credits to you.

http://www.ghacks.net/2016/08/29/download-updates-from-microsofts-update-catalog-without-ie/

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That’s nice of him!

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Got the Noscript problem resolved by installing the newest version (2.9.0.14), which no longer interferes with Firefox’s built-in RSS Live feed reader. Note that I was using certain Firefox 49 beta, not stable Firefox 48 release. Now the MS Update Catalog RSS page works correctly with NoScript v2.9.0.14 (and greater) on Firefox 48 & newer.

From NoScript’s changelong page:
https://noscript.net/changelog

v 2.9.0.14
=============================================================
x Fixed live bookmarks in Firefox 48 or above

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Yup. Opera presto browser has a nice built-in RSS reader – using 64bit Opera v12.18 on some of my computers. Opera 15 & higher require the RSS Subscription Extension from Google to view RSS feeds from MS Update Catalog.

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Microsoft Update Catalog is finally updated to work with any browser
http://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com

tested opera (old) and chrome

even in IE, the above link gives similar new experience, where you get download link directly
the other link (without www) gives the old ActiveX experience
http://catalog.update.microsoft.com

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I just tested it in Firefox, using the search term “October x64” and, yes, it works quite well.

AWWWWRIGHT!

The interface is a little funky – in order to download a file, you have to click on “Download” and, in the resulting box, click a hyperlink to the filename – but it works.

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