Recovering from 2018 Updating for Win 7, Group B

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Group B patching does need a little more effort than Group A. The number of patches, bugs, and fixes, and more bugs has been staggering in 2018. Some of us either paused, or uninstalled, to stay at December 2017 patching, and watched the chaos unfold… Some people may have made the jump to Group W permanently. After Total Meltdown was discovered, and I had rolled back to December patches, I considered that as a serious option. However, getting updated through April (which seems relatively safe at this point) is possible… if more complex than for Group A folks. I only have one 64 bit, i5, Sandy Bridge laptop to test, so I can only share what I’ve done… but I’ve considered all the applicable patches, bugs and fixes issued in 2018 (I hope… never totally confident).

I’ve completed the following, and all seems okay with my laptop… I can’t tell you if there was a performance hit. It did take a long time for my desktop to load after I rebooted, and watching the dark screen sit there, with nothing on it, made me worry I’d caused a BSOD… but I gave it time… and everything showed up, just like it was supposed to. Once the desktop was there, I waited for the CPU usage to settle down below 10%. Since then, everything has been working perfectly.

To get it done, I downloaded the appropriate updates. Then I turned off my internet connection, while installing them.

I checked for KB 4099950 in my installed updates. I couldn’t remember what I’d done about it before this. I didn’t have it installed. If you installed KB 4099950 before it was updated on April 17th, uninstall it. If you aren’t sure, uninstall it (Woody is telling all Group A to uninstall, too. Group B isn’t being picked on). I downloaded and installed the updated version from the Windows Update Catalogue. It comes with two files, an .exe, and a .msu. I made sure both are in the same place (example, desktop). Ran the .msu. It ran the .exe automatically (I saw a brief black cmd window). Group A doesn’t have to install it, because it is included in the April Rollup. It isn’t included in the April Security Only patch.

I installed KB4056897 (2018-01 security-only update). IMPORTANT: If you have an AMD processor, DO NOT reboot immediately once the installation finishes: install KB4073578 first, then Reboot. I don’t have an AMD processor, so I just kept going…

Next I installed KB4074587 (2018-02 security-only update), KB4088878 (2018-03 security-only update), KB4093108 (2018-04 security-only update) and KB 4092946 (2018-04 IE-11 cumulative update). Reboot.

Since the April Security Only patch contains fixes for the problems in previous patches, I didn’t want to re-boot after each of the previous months’ patches, and possibly trigger losing my connectivity, or a BSOD stop error… and I avoided having to apply the individual fixes for those problems… and all is looking good.

Thank you, Speccy, who reported testing here: #184664. It gave me courage to go ahead and try to get updated…

Issues I looked at:

Since I wasn’t relying on Windows Update to provide the updates, I didn’t worry about the Quality/Compat registry key. It is there, and I know my antivirus is compatible, and Microsoft is lifting the requirement with the April updates.

Only the most recent IE 11 update is required, because it is cumulative. That means I didn’t have to mess with KB 4088835 (IE 11 fix for MS Outlook Web App), or KB 4096040 (Replaces KB 4089187, fixed IE 11 doesn’t start), because those fixes are included in April’s update.

Total Meltdown was included in the January, February, and March Monthly Rollups, and Security Only updates (oh, Microsoft!). KB 4100480 the Total Meltdown fix has been superseded by KB 4093108. That means April’s Security only patch included the fix.

KB 4099467 fixes Stop error 0xAB when you log off a Windows 7 SP1 or Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 session. The bug was introduced by KB 4088878. The fix was included in KB4093108, so KB 4099467 doesn’t have to be installed independently any more.

Those were all the issues that I had in my notes… after reading through pages and pages of posts, and Microsoft support pages, the summaries of them don’t match my confusion and frustration at sorting through them. I’m posting this, so if I got something wrong (its happened a number of times before), somebody with more technical know-how can correct me. I want an updated, working laptop!

Thank you, PKCano, Abbodi, and MrBrian, and all the others willing to test and report and clarify what was going on.

Now… finally… I am feeling better about updating…

Non-techy Win 10 Pro and Linux Mint experimenter

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Steve, Richard Allen, Lori, amraybt, OscarCP, jelson, HiFlyer, jburk07, byteme, Microfix, GoneToPlaid, woody, Pepsiboy, StruldBrug, Kirsty

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Microsoft cites two issues with the April Monthly Rollup, and the April Security Rollup, affecting both Groups A and B:

“After installing KB4056897 or any other recent monthly updates, SMB servers may experience a memory leak for some scenarios.”

and

“A stop error occurs on computers that don’t support Streaming Single Instructions Multiple Data (SIMD) Extensions 2 (SSE2)”.

 

The memory leak was introduced in January’s updates.

The stop error showed up with March’s updates.

They say:

“Microsoft is working on a resolution and will provide an update in an upcoming release.”

Non-techy Win 10 Pro and Linux Mint experimenter

9 users thanked author for this post.

jelson, OscarCP, jburk07, Microfix, GoneToPlaid, The Surfing Pensioner, woody, StruldBrug, Kirsty

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@Elly #188186

“Microsoft cites two issues with the April Monthly Rollup, and the April Security Rollup, affecting both Groups A and B:”

April Security Rollup?

 

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Elly

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Yeah, well… it rolls together all the security updates that once would have been issued individually… but it isn’t cumulative for prior months…Sorry to to confuse things any more than they already are. I try not to refer to it as a rollup because it further muddies the water between the cumulative monthly rollup and security only patches… so thank you for catching me on one of my own issues!

Non-techy Win 10 Pro and Linux Mint experimenter

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HiFlyer

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Win7, 64-bit, Group B.

I’m one of the Group B folks who chose to install KB 4100480 in late March, rather than roll back to December. But I didn’t install the March Win7 or IE updates, nor did I install KB 4099950.

I’ve just followed what I took to be the right steps for the March updates for a Group B-er in my position, and figured this thread was as good a place as any to file my report.

I started by downloading four files from the Microsoft Update Catalog, and putting them all in the same folder:

(a) The pciclearstalecache file (an .exe file) that’s offered along with KB 4099950:

http://download.windowsupdate.com/d/msdownload/update/software/updt/2018/04/pciclearstalecache_1c944f48bfb21d88a2054683abcd02327ecf6b37.exe

(b) The KB 4099950 msu:

http://download.windowsupdate.com/d/msdownload/update/software/updt/2018/03/windows6.1-kb4099950-x64_245d5aaf7d50587297825f9176be166c47ad10f7.msu

(c) The KB 4088878 msu:

http://download.windowsupdate.com/c/msdownload/update/software/secu/2018/03/windows6.1-kb4088878-x64_59e25abf3a0c18f9fab5128bad26d3311bedd2d6.msu

(d) The KB 4099467 msu:

http://download.windowsupdate.com/d/msdownload/update/software/updt/2018/03/windows6.1-kb4099467-x64_50cc1986b24d15e127748b11cf49b6afaecbac7e.msu

1. Then I kicked off the update process by running the 4099950 msu. It reportedly runs the pciclearstalecache file, but I didn’t see a little box flash on my screen at any point (maybe just due to inattentiveness), and when the msu was finished, and I checked the pci.sys file (in the Windows/System32/drivers folder), it remained a 2010 file with an old version number. So I took it upon myself to manually run the pciclearstalecache file, but there was still no change to my pci.sys file.

2. KB 4099950 doesn’t ask you to reboot afterwards, and abbodi86 suggested that it’s better to go straight to the March Win7 update without a reboot, so I didn’t reboot, and as Step 2, I ran the KB 4088878 msu (the March security-only update) — and I DID NOT REBOOT afterwards (although it asks you to restart), because as anyone who’s been following this story knows, the safe approach is to install KB 4099467 right after KB 4088878 (and before rebooting).

3. So I closed the 4088878 dialog without restarting, and as Step 3, I ran the KB 4099467 msu — which was a slower-than-usual msu to run at each phase of the installation (including “Searching the computer for updates,” at the beginning), and took around 10 minutes (not counting the reboot afterwards).

4. Then I rebooted, and that included the usual “configuring your computer” delays during both the shutdown and restart, but neither took very long. And then TrustedInstaller ran in the background for four minutes or so after the restart.

5. Interestingly, *after* the reboot, my pci.sys file had been updated. It now has a 2/10/18 date, and it’s version 6.1.7601.24056.

6. I’m not going to run the March IE msu, because I understand the IE updates are cumulative, so the March stuff is included in the April update (which I’ll be installing shortly). And I already installed the March Office updates and March MSRT back in early April.

Everything seems normal, and I plan to install the April Group B updates in the next day or two.

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HiFlyer, Elly, MrBrian

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KB4099950 does not update pci.sys.

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Elly, jelson

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Gotcha. Do I (now) understand correctly that it was 4088878 that updated my pci.sys file?

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Elly, jelson

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Correct :).

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Elly

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Group B, Windows 7 Pro SP1, x64, Intel I-7 “sandy bridge”.

Complementing Elly’s advice, for a special case applicable only to Group B:

I have followed both Abbody86 and MrBrian’s advice: if the earlier version of kp4099950 was obtained from the Catalogue, not from Windows Update, do not uninstall it or March’s security only; instead, install the April security only directly. So far, having tested all the application software I use normally, everything seems well. If that changes, I’ll be back with the corresponding tale(s) of woe.

According to the Patch’s Lady Master Patch List, the problem with memory leaks occurs if one has “symbolic links”, which are similar to shortcuts, but more versatile.
I do not have them, so no worries on that score, given that I never set up such links, relying instead on good old “cd” line command in either the DOS-like command console or in Cygwin (a Linux emulation for Windows), or else using Windows Explorer, or using scripts of my own making, with the actual executables given the full path in them.

NOTE: Before installing a new patch “by hand” (Group B style), one better creates, at least, a restore point to be able, if necessary, to return the System to its state before the trouble-causing patch install, when the computer was still running more or less well. Backing up one’s documents and data, before updating, while not essential (they are not supposed to be affected by the return of the System to a previous state), it is always a prudent move.

I write these comments in hope that others might find them useful.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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Elly, jelson

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Elly wrote:

Microsoft cites two issues with the April Monthly Rollup, and the April Security Rollup, affecting both Groups A and B: ….”

But what about the outstanding issue from Feb for Group B? Namely the SCARD_E error affecting systems with Smart card readers.  As PKCano pointed out here, “the  hotfix for it (KB4091290) is a Rollup. As a Group B patcher, you probably don’t want to install it.”

It seems to me that you can’t stay in Group B if you need Smart card readers to continue to work. Any word further information about this?

Edit to remove HTML. Please use the “Text” tab in the entry box when you copy/paste.

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KB4091290 is only an issue if you installed the buggy February security patch. Some of us thought twice about that. Others, who had installed it, subsequently rolled back to December 2017 as Susan Bradley suggested.

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jelson

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Okay, I fess up, I have no smart card reader or interest in one, so I did not pay attention to the problem when it first came up.

However, I went back and researched the issue, based on your question. Interestingly, Microsoft does not indicate that the “SCARD_E_NO_SERVICE” problem was present in the Security Only patches… ever.

It was first introduced in the January 19, 2018—KB4057400 (Preview of Monthly Rollup), and continued to be present in February 13, 2018—KB4074598 (Monthly Rollup), and in February 22, 2018—KB4075211 (Preview of Monthly Rollup). It was fixed by March 1, 2018-KB4091290, which replaced KB4075211.

I know this was discussed as a problem for Group B security only patching, and Woody did say that the Security Only patch was affected… but when I review Microsoft’s documentation, the “SCARD_E_NO_SERVICE” problem is never identified as an issue for Security Only updates.

There was no Security Only equivalent of KB4057400. The first Security Only patch, after the problem was introduced in the Monthly Rollups, is February 13, 2018—KB4074587 (Security Only Update). I checked the January and March Security Only documentation as well.

See for yourself and compare “Known Issues”:

February 13, 2018—KB4074598 (Monthly Rollup)

and

February 13, 2018—KB4074587 (Security-only update)

Maybe Microsoft never fixed the “SCARD_E_NO_SERVICE” in a Security Only update, because it was never introduced as a problem by a Security Only update? Or is the documentation screwed up, somehow?

This might be one case where I was thinking badly of Microsoft, when I didn’t need to be?

Non-techy Win 10 Pro and Linux Mint experimenter

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OscarCP, jelson

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The smart card issue was once documented by Microsoft as an issue in a Windows security-only update, but later removed.

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Elly, OscarCP, jelson

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Thank you, I was feeling a little crazy with the results of my research, because I know there was quite a discussion here about it, and someone would have noticed that it wasn’t listed before this (probably me, because I go and read through everything)!

Non-techy Win 10 Pro and Linux Mint experimenter

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Elly wrote:

IMPORTANT: If you have an AMD processor, DO NOT reboot immediately once the installation finishes: install KB4073578 first, then Reboot. 

This sounds logical to me, but I’m a bit confused by posts from abbodi86 (here) and from PKCAno (here) that they say that the “bricked AMD fix” (KB4073578) should be installed first — no reboot — followed by the Jan security only update (KB4056897)

Color me confused… can you help me out here? (I do have an AMD machine)

Note: abbodi86’s post was in response to a poster with a Windows 8.1 machine

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Are you kidding?

I put “non-techy” right there in my signature for everyone to see… I’ve learned a lot from PKCano and Abbodi86 and Woody and the other MVPs, but I’m the very least techy of the bunch… I’m just learning… I share what I’ve learned, and how it is working for me, and I’m opinionated about Group B values, but I am in no way an expert and often get corrected (part of learning, as far as I’m concerned)… just an old grandma with her feet up and time on her hands… go with them, every time! I do…

00ps… I must have edited non-techy out when I added the picture… but be assured that I’m a non-techy sort.

Non-techy Win 10 Pro and Linux Mint experimenter

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jelson

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KB 4073578 can be considered a replacement for KB 4056897. There should be no need to install both.

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Elly, jelson

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I can’t rationalise the patching strategy of others, who may well have more technical expertise than I. But I decided against installing both January and February’s security-only patches, having very mixed feelings given the information provided. Come March, I was enormously grateful not to have installed them. I am beginning to think now that the time may have come to move forward with my cautious Group B patching, but I sure ain’t going backwards! If my machine has been left with the odd vulnerability, it is nothing compared to Total Meltdown. And, given that I run a 32-bit ship, I’m not particularly worried about exploits yet to be found in the wild.

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Elly

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Dear Elly,

Windows 7 64 bit Home Premium, Group B,  Arrandale 32 nm chip

Thank you so much for your very excellent directions. I had exactly the same dilemma as you, as far as not having updated since December. Actually, I attempted over a 2 week period to update with the January 2018 KB4056897 msu, but continuously got a BSOD over that 2 weeks, then uninstalled it. So I’ve stopped, watched and waited since then.  Til now. I used your very easy to understand guide and followed it to a T (except for not using the January update KB4056897), and everything installed without a hitch. Even the wait time for my desktop to load after rebooting was very quick. Of course this happened only 30 minutes ago, but I think I can finally stop holding my breath. I still have to turn on Windows update to check for any more minor installs. There never has been any in the past. So Elly, may I just thank you again from the bottom of my very humble but happy heart for not only helping me, but for helping all of us in Woody’s computer haven.

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Elly

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Dear Anonymous at #188480,

Thank you for your kind words… and for sharing your experience with updating. If you notice, it was Speccy’s post that gave me courage… perhaps someone else will be encouraged by your experience. I can’t tell you how much I’ve learned and benefited from the patience and knowledge of the posters here. It is nice to return the favor.

It is unfortunate that individual computers can have problems shared by no-one else. I didn’t find any information regarding possible BSOD for the January Security update, or for your processor, when I tried searching for it on-line. Maybe someone else has had a similar experience, or knows more, and will speak up. The blessing is that you have your computer updated as fully as possible, and you know what initiated the problem and how to avoid it. I was anxiety ridden just waiting for my desktop to fully load… I can’t imagine, no matter how many backups or clean installs I’ve done, what it felt like having to recover from BSOD. My personal computer is personal… and I take things like that very personally. Good for you for getting through it and moving forward!

Side note: I was checking around here and asking questions for many years… fully embracing the anonymous experience that Woody allows… and I recognize that there are valid reasons for doing so… There are a lot of new people coming to the Lounge, and a lot of different of anonymous posters. I would encourage anonymous posters to identify themselves in some way, at least consistently within a single thread, if they don’t want to register. It isn’t happening here, but it can get very confusing when multiple anonymous posters are responding to the same post. Just saying… besides, your thanks were very warm, and I’d like to reciprocate with the same warmth… and I have to admit that “anonymous” just isn’t that for me. I’m looking forward to hearing from you and your updating adventures in the future. Its all of us, sharing and helping each other, that makes the Lounge a great experience.

Wishing you a future that is free of BSOD…

Elly

Non-techy Win 10 Pro and Linux Mint experimenter

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Dear Elly,

Thank you for your kind response to my updating experience. I completed my Windows update search thanks to your, Woody’s and MrBrian’s advice with no problems. It’s such a relief to come to this forum where truth is the main value that is strived for, and Woody continues to make at least this tiny part of the world a safer and better place. I’ve always had an affinity for computers from the time I was in my teens. To try and teach what little I knew & understood to small children was great fun and a real learning experience for both them and me. I never learned the real ins and outs of the processing world, but I still enjoy reading about the newest trends and ideas and occasionally, bravely (for me), putting these ideas to the test. The fact that one of my main enjoyments has become a treacherous minefield of problems that can almost literally blow up in your face, is rather gut wrenching and migraine producing. So this forum has become one of my safe havens.
Well, thanks again, and thank you for convincing me to make an effort to become more proactive by putting a name to my comments. And, at least for today, it looks like my computer problems and worries have vanished.

(Win 7 Home, 64 bit, Group B)

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Steve, jburk07, Elly

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Hello Sue C!

Glad you decided to register… putting a name to your posts does make it easier, and more human. So thank you for taking that extra step.

Your experience in helping kids is great! I’m trying to help my grand kids get introduced to computing and coding (on a very limited budget). They are elementary school age, so if you have any ideas, please share. It’s hard, too, when they find gaming easier and more attractive. I want them to be computer literate and safe… There is a forum here, Outside the Box, that already has a coding section. It hasn’t been very active, but gave me a place to start for the little ones. They are going to outstrip what I know in no time!

I don’t have a local computer club nearby, so the AskWoody Lounge has become my go-to place too. I figure the more I know, and share, and others know and share, the less that we can be taken advantage of… and the safer we all will be… and the focus on what is really going on and how it works, from a personal computer stand point, is really helpful.

If you are interested in Group B, and a bit techier than me (yep, probably so), have you discovered Noel Carboni’s posts on how he sets up his computer with a firewall? I’ve tried the free version of the firewall he recommends, but am interested in getting the paid version when the budget allows. It is easier to configure than a lot of the ones out there. Microsoft and other programs have abandoned all respectable self control, and it looks like a good firewall may be the way to go. The patching mess this year just reinforces that we need to protect ourselves, and not just from the bad guys!

I bet there are a lot of people breathing a sigh of relief when they get done patching and their computer is still working. I know I did!

Non-techy Win 10 Pro and Linux Mint experimenter

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HanJohnJo, jburk07

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Hi Elly,

can you kindly point me to Noel Carboni’s post regarding his firewall recommendations that you mention? I’ve tried to google but couldn’t find them.

Thank you!

Frangar non flectar

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Try this one.
https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/patch-lady-how-would-you-like-to-mine-bitcoins/#post-176790

cheers, Paul

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jelson, HanJohnJo

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By clicking on the name below the avatar on any post (except anonymous) you will go to the profile of any registered user here. You can check out all of the replies or topics of that particular poster from their profile, if you are interested in their point of view.

See Noel Carboni’s : Sphinx Windows Firewall Control

You might also check out A Description of my Quite Effective Security Environment

There is a lot there, but it is the best description of how I want my computer to operate and how to get it that way that I’ve found. I’m coming from a non-techy background, so take his recommendations in little bites…

Non-techy Win 10 Pro and Linux Mint experimenter

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jelson, HanJohnJo, satrow

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@ Elly and MrBrian

Thank you so much for clearing up the last pesky Group B matters that were perplexing me. It’s greatly appreciated.

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MrBrian, Elly

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Same as Elly, I have not paid attention to the smart-card reader problem brought along with this month’s Windows 7 security patches, because I do not need to use a smart-card reader.

Those who do, may do so because they work for a government or private organization that requires their use for remote login (from home via the user’s ISP, or from the office via LAN).

In such case, my advice would be to bring the problem to the attention of the IT people at that organization, as they probably would know, by now, what to do about it.

As to others who may use a smart-card reader for their own private reasons, I really do not know anyone who does that, so I cannot offer any advice on their problem.

Finally: I have installed, every month, and by now all, the Group B, Windows 7 SP1, x64, Intel CPU patches while paying attention to the instructions offered here by PKCano, MrBrian, Woody, Kirsty, Elly, Abbody86 and several “Anonymous” contributors, among others. And have had no problems whatsoever (that I have noticed) after doing that.

As an added bonus, I have left with more nervous energy needed for doing things that really interest me (my work), or have to be done (taxes), instead worrying about the patches that I have not installed and what dangers I might be facing now because of that —  as I know I would.

But here is an important thing I want to bring to your attention: Once upon a time, last year, I had two vexing problems: (1) The system will invariably hang, and I had to crash it, fingers crossed, when trying to shut it down with a message that Explorer would not quit (not running it myself then, but E11 is often running also as part of the OS regardless of what I do with it); (2) when starting up, the OS will often forget my user profile and put me on a basic Desktop with a “temporary” profile, as if that were the very first time I had ever used Windows in my PC. And then I had to cross my fingers, again, and crash the system, so, on rebooting, I would be able to log in in safe mode and repair the system, or take it back to a previous state by using a convenient restore point, if there was any.

One kind MVP, forgot precisely who, told me to look at the Services NOT installed by MS and delete those that looked to me as unnecessary, or worse. I did that, and, right away, both my problems disappeared.

MORALE OF THIS LITTLE STORY: Not all problems due to updates or other installed software are  MS’ fault.

 

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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Cascadian, jelson, MrBrian, Elly

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Elly wrote:

KB 4099467 fixes Stop error 0xAB when you log off a Windows 7 SP1 or Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 session. The bug was introduced by KB 4088878. The fix was included in KB4093108, so KB 4099467 doesn’t have to be installed independently any more.”

Sorry, I’ve got one more pesky question vexing me. I was unable to verify that the Apr Security Only (4093108) and Apr Rollup (4093118) contains the fix for 0xAB Stop error. I checked the MS bulletin for KB 4093108 and noted that it doesn’t mention fixing this issue. However, it does mention fixing a different stop error that was introduced in Mar: involves 32-bit machines with PAE mode disabled.

But according to the bulletins for Mar Security Only (4088878)  and Mar Rollup (4088875) that’s a separate issue — 3rd listing in Known issues table notes that the PAE stop error is fixed by 4093108 / 4093118, respectively. And the Stop 0xAB is the last issue in the table says KB 4099467 remains as its resolution.

I recognize this is a bit nit-picky and probably academic… especially since I recall one of our Ask Woody MVPs posting that he was never troubled by the 0xAB stop error; so he never bothered with installing KB 4099467.

However, I’ve been trying to document the ins — and many outs — of Windows 7 updates since even before the GWX debacle began. And I’m sometimes asked to fix the machines of friends and family… I want to get it right the 1st time. Thanks for all your help Elly.

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I was just thinking that maybe we need a topic under Windows Patching for specific hardware outcomes with specific patch issues, especially those that are acknowledged by MS or referenced in Susan Bradley’s Patch List.

What triggered my thoughts were the reports of NICs being wiped in the April, May and June 2018 patches.  There have been published workarounds and fixes, but MS has not fixed it yet, and has not (maybe will not) provide specifics on what missing .INF file or what maker is primarily affected.

Folks who encounter the issues could post their affected hardware specifics (i.e. NIC maker and model number), and driver versions, and patch that caused the issue, and whether they were able to resolve the issue or removed the patch.  I do not mean to limit it to NICs, but that is an ongoing issue de jour.  I did not encounter the NIC issues on my 2 machines with Intel NICs.

To the MVPs, do you see this as useful, or would the vast number of specific system configurations make it too unwieldy, confusing, and/or unreliable, or duplicative?

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