Solved Question about KB3004394

pokeefe0001

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I have seen lots of web pages about fix KB3004394 released last December. It sounds like a very bad, buggy fix. Well, I now see a KB3004394, published 2/10/2015 waiting to be installed on my PC. I can very few references to it. There's a description from MS. I don't have a copy of the 14/12/2014 description but the current description sounds like what was described in the December war stories.

Is it safe to install this fix? Do we need "Support for urgent Trusted Root updates"? (I've lived without it with no noticeable problems.)
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom built by Puget Systems
OS
Windows 7 x64 Pro
CPU
Intel i7 4771 3.50 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS Z87-A
Memory
Kingston DDR3 - 16GB
Graphics Card(s)
Intel HD Graphics 4600
Sound Card
M-Audio Delta Audiofile 2496
Monitor(s) Displays
Samsung SyncMasterr 2043 BWX
Hard Drives
Samsung SSD 840 PRO
WDC WD1002FAEX-00Z3A0
PSU
built in - part of case - 650 Watt
Case
Fractal Design R4
Cooling
Coolmaster Hyper TX3
Keyboard
Dell PS/2
Mouse
Logitech USB
Internet Speed
50 Mb Cable
Antivirus
Kaspersky Internet Security 2015
Browser
Firefox
It sounds as if MS have re-released the update (and I never noticed??)... Indeed they have!

This one appears to have been properly tested (and worked so smoothly in my machine that I never noticed it.
 

My Computer

Computer type
Laptop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Asus K52F or Lenovo B51-80
OS
Win 7 x64 Home Premium (and x86 VirtualBox VM)/Win10
CPU
i3 370M/i7 6500U
Motherboard
Asus/Lenovo
Memory
8GB - finally :)/8GB
Graphics Card(s)
it's an i3, dude!/dual Intel&nVidia
Sound Card
onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
15.6" built-in
Screen Resolution
1366x768/1920x1080
Hard Drives
750GB Seagate internal
Sundry external drives attached to other computers on the local network
1TB SSD on the Lenovo
PSU
n/a
Internet Speed
as much as I can get - usually on a dongle/phone, so <1MB/s
Antivirus
MSE/Defender
Browser
IE11/12/Edge/Chrome/FF(if I must)
I decided to try it on an old "backup" PC and nothing bad happened so I've now installed it on my work-a-day PC. All seems well.

Considering the notoriety of the first version, I would have thought they'd release an updated version with a new number. Oh well.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom built by Puget Systems
OS
Windows 7 x64 Pro
CPU
Intel i7 4771 3.50 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS Z87-A
Memory
Kingston DDR3 - 16GB
Graphics Card(s)
Intel HD Graphics 4600
Sound Card
M-Audio Delta Audiofile 2496
Monitor(s) Displays
Samsung SyncMasterr 2043 BWX
Hard Drives
Samsung SSD 840 PRO
WDC WD1002FAEX-00Z3A0
PSU
built in - part of case - 650 Watt
Case
Fractal Design R4
Cooling
Coolmaster Hyper TX3
Keyboard
Dell PS/2
Mouse
Logitech USB
Internet Speed
50 Mb Cable
Antivirus
Kaspersky Internet Security 2015
Browser
Firefox
This is really going to make my life hell for the next few weeks! :( - I'm still getting people with he first version installed and messing up their machines. The problem is that with only the version number to go on, it's difficult to work out how to explain to a newbie how to determine the version that's installed. (Sometimes they have problems finding the Update History...).

Oh, well...
 

My Computer

Computer type
Laptop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Asus K52F or Lenovo B51-80
OS
Win 7 x64 Home Premium (and x86 VirtualBox VM)/Win10
CPU
i3 370M/i7 6500U
Motherboard
Asus/Lenovo
Memory
8GB - finally :)/8GB
Graphics Card(s)
it's an i3, dude!/dual Intel&nVidia
Sound Card
onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
15.6" built-in
Screen Resolution
1366x768/1920x1080
Hard Drives
750GB Seagate internal
Sundry external drives attached to other computers on the local network
1TB SSD on the Lenovo
PSU
n/a
Internet Speed
as much as I can get - usually on a dongle/phone, so <1MB/s
Antivirus
MSE/Defender
Browser
IE11/12/Edge/Chrome/FF(if I must)
The "Published:" date of the new one is 2/10/2015. That's no help once it's installed, of course. And it might not be just newbies that would have trouble telling which version they have installed. I knew I had the new one installed and still had trouble. :( But I didn't know what I was looking for. I'd never had to do this kind of research before. (Oh. I guess that makes me a newbie after all.)

I could not find the folder named in "Location" in Installed Updates, so I searched my C disk for KB3004394. I found "windows6.1-kb3004394-v2-x64-express.cab" with a "Date modified:" of 1/28/2015. That "v2" is probably a clue, but I have no idea what the original fix file was named. The date "1/28/2015" is a definite clue since the original release date was earlier than that. And within that .cab folder many of the files have a "Modified" date of 12/15/2014.

So a search for KB3004394 is a good start for a newbie. It will at least show which version was downloaded.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom built by Puget Systems
OS
Windows 7 x64 Pro
CPU
Intel i7 4771 3.50 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS Z87-A
Memory
Kingston DDR3 - 16GB
Graphics Card(s)
Intel HD Graphics 4600
Sound Card
M-Audio Delta Audiofile 2496
Monitor(s) Displays
Samsung SyncMasterr 2043 BWX
Hard Drives
Samsung SSD 840 PRO
WDC WD1002FAEX-00Z3A0
PSU
built in - part of case - 650 Watt
Case
Fractal Design R4
Cooling
Coolmaster Hyper TX3
Keyboard
Dell PS/2
Mouse
Logitech USB
Internet Speed
50 Mb Cable
Antivirus
Kaspersky Internet Security 2015
Browser
Firefox
Thanks for the additional info!
yes, the v2 in the filename is sufficient to identify the version, but it's not conclusive, since the other version may have been installed previously (even if uninstalled now) and may still be present. It does at least show that the system has attempted to install the new patch.
 

My Computer

Computer type
Laptop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Asus K52F or Lenovo B51-80
OS
Win 7 x64 Home Premium (and x86 VirtualBox VM)/Win10
CPU
i3 370M/i7 6500U
Motherboard
Asus/Lenovo
Memory
8GB - finally :)/8GB
Graphics Card(s)
it's an i3, dude!/dual Intel&nVidia
Sound Card
onboard
Monitor(s) Displays
15.6" built-in
Screen Resolution
1366x768/1920x1080
Hard Drives
750GB Seagate internal
Sundry external drives attached to other computers on the local network
1TB SSD on the Lenovo
PSU
n/a
Internet Speed
as much as I can get - usually on a dongle/phone, so <1MB/s
Antivirus
MSE/Defender
Browser
IE11/12/Edge/Chrome/FF(if I must)
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