Microsoft Explains and Defends Silent Fixes

Not true! One hour ago,i posted a question in Graphic cards forum and i rep. ed a gentleman for being "very accurate and helpful with his responses" Five min.back!

Regards,
Sreedhav

I think he meant you cannot REP in the News Forum. -WS

mr pc said:

Difference between a mechanic and MS sending blind updates/changes to an OS

The mechanic CAN see what he is working on

And Once again if MS is not required to prove that their actions did not cause the problem when they are the ones who did something unknowing to the end user then that is reason why end users should be concerned, they have NO defense and could very well lose a great portion of their lives (many adults nowadays have massive amounts of their lives invested in their computers) because of it.

It is bullshit that favors the ones who have the power period.

I have this error after running the IE9 update - coincidence? Why should I think that?
I know that the IE9 wasn't a secret patch - but it was labeled as important so I thought initially it would benefit the security of IE
I am now wasting a TON of my time backing up my system and contemplating what to do next.

Sorry for the off-topic post, guys, but I have to make this suggestion to Mr Pc, because I had a similar problem with my Seagate 1.5TB drive a few months back, and his screenshot shows that he is using a Seagate hard disk.

I download the Seagate SeaTools to confirm this error, and sure enough, it DID find an error. For the record, I used SeaTools for Windows and SeaTools for DOS, and both confirmed it.

By using SeaTools for DOS (via the disc I created using the ISO), I was able to determine that the errors was not being caused by a bad driver, or as in your case, a bad Windows update. In your instance, I think that perhaps the error only started coming up possibly because whatever updates you did install in fact fixed Windows' S.M.A.R.T error reporting.

I was able to confirm that the drive was beginning to fail, and that it was still under warranty. Together with my proof of purchase, and the information provided by SeaTools, I was able to return the drive back to the retailer from which I purchased it, and have it replaced.

I suggest you do the same...

For example - if this update just happened (which I did find 2 critical windows updates but have coincidentally also run into a NEW S.M.A.R.T HD failure

SMART Failures can not be caused by Files/ Applications/software of any kind, that I know of.

SMART failure is a mechanical Failure. It reports how many bad/problem sectors are on the drive.

So, if you start getting SMART failures after a Windows update, it is 100% pure coincidence.
And it means you have a bad drive that needs replaced. It can not be repaired, it is going to fail catastrophically.

If you see a single SMART Failure, you NEED to start backing up your data and prepare for a new drive.

EDIT: As stated above,, the software may be reporting a bogus error, but that does not mean that he drive is good or bad. If Windows is giving SMART error of any kind, best to start backing up data, to be safe, then run Manufacturers Hard Drive Diags to be sure. If they say SMART Failure, then you need to replace the drive.

Trust ONLY the Manufacturers Hard Drive Diags before any other software (ie. CrystalDiskInfo as an example) that reads/warns of SMART Failures. The Manufacturer will be correct.

Personally, I don't really have any problems if Microsoft is fixing things without fully disclosing them to me. Afterall, they don't fully disclose to me everything that their OS does.

I pretty much run all of the updates all of the time and apply them all. With home machines, i dont' recall any issues using this approach. As long as things like browser versions aren't being patched to a new version (ie7 to ie8, or ie8 to ie9), and a service pack isn't mandatory, i've got no concerns.

For security patches, I think MS has a responsibility to ensure that customers are running the patches in a timely manner. Just like gaming consoles (xbox360 and PS3). When you turn it on and connect online, you aren't given a choice...either you update what you are using, or you don't use it until you do. I think that would be perfectly suitable for home use. Perhaps give businesses a bit more latitude for keeping things following change control procedures and ensuring uniformity in the environment.