List of Available Hotfixes for Windows 7

Update for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems (KB2570791)

Date Published:8/8/2011

Overview:
Install this update to resolve issues caused by revised daylight saving time and time zone laws in several countries. This update enables your computer to automatically adjust the computer clock on the correct date in 2011. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.

x64bits:
Download Details - Microsoft Download Center - Update for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems (KB2570791)
x32bits:
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en....aspx?id=27059

-Article ID: 2578159 - Last Review: August 10, 2011 - Revision: 1.0
The logon process stops responding in Windows Server 2008 R2 or in Windows 7.

Symptoms:
When you log on to a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7, the logon process stops responding and a blue swirl is shown on the Welcome screen indefinitely. After some time, the computer stops responding to any network-related commands. You must forcibly restart the computer to recover from this issue.

Cause:
This issue occurs because of a race condition between the Windows Event Log service and the Event Tracing for Windows (ETW) tracing functions. When the race condition occurs, it causes a deadlock situation. This deadlock situation then causes the Winlogon.exe process to become unresponsive.

Review & request the hotfix:
The logon process stops responding in Windows Server 2008 R2 or in Windows 7


-Article ID: 2569601 - Last Review: August 10, 2011 - Revision: 1.0
Restore operation by using Backup and Restore may fail in Windows 7 SP1 or in Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1.

Symptoms:
Assume that you try to restore files or system backups by using Backup and Restore in Control Panel on a computer that is running Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) or Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1). In this situation, the restore operation may fail.

Note When the restore operation fails, the computer restarts automatically. Additionally, you receive the following error message after the computer restarts.
System Restore
System Restore did not complete successfully. Your computer's system files and settings were not changed.

Details:
System Restore failed while scanning the file system on the drive C:\.
The drive might be corrupt. You might want to retry System Restore after running chkdsk /R on this disk.
An unspecified error occurred during System Restore. (0x80070057)
You can try System Restore again and choose a different restore point. If you continue to see this error, you can try an advanced recovery method. For more information, see What is Recovery?

Review & request the hotfix:
Restore operation by using Backup and Restore may fail in Windows 7 SP1 or in Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1

-Article ID: 2546868 - Last Review: August 11, 2011 - Revision: 1.0
You cannot use interactive TV functions in Windows Media Center on a Windows 7-based computer.

Symptoms:
Assume that you use Windows Media Center to watch interactive TV on a Windows 7-based computer. You input a correct password in Windows Media Center. In this situation, the mouse pointer and the color settings button do not work correctly. Therefore, you cannot use interactive TV functions.

Cause:
This issue occurs because an incorrect password string is sent to the TV broadcasting station.

Review & request hotfix:
You cannot use interactive TV functions in Windows Media Center on a Windows 7-based computer

or direct download:
x64:Download Details - Microsoft Download Center - Update for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems (KB2546868)
x32:Download Details - Microsoft Download Center - Update for Windows 7 (KB2546868)



-Article ID: 2555428 - Last Review: August 17, 2011 - Revision: 3.0
The Windows 7 startup process is slow when you create many restore points.

Symptoms:

Consider the following scenario:

• You have a large hard disk installed a computer that is running Windows 7.
• You create many restore points on the computer.
• You try to start the computer.

In this scenario, the startup process may be very slow.

Cause:
This issue occurs because the boot plan for the ReadyBoot feature exceeds the size limit of 512 kilobytes (KB). Each restore point creates a snapshot of Windows that Volsnap.sys must validate during the startup process. When you create many restore points, the boot plan for the ReadyBoot feature eventually exceeds the size limit of 512 KB, and cannot be stored. Therefore, startup I/O operations are not precached, and the startup process is slow.

Note The boot plan is stored in the following registry entry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\rdyboost\Parameters\BootPlan

Review & request Hotfix:
The Windows 7 startup process is slow when you create many restore points

System Update Readiness Tool for Windows 7 (KB947821) [August 2011]:
This tool is being offered because an inconsistency was found in the Windows servicing store which may prevent the successful installation of future updates, service packs, and software.

x32bits: Download Details - Microsoft Download Center - System Update Readiness Tool for Windows 7 (KB947821) [August 2011]

x64bits: Download Details - Microsoft Download Center - System Update Readiness Tool for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems (KB947821) [August 2011]

-Article ID: 2561821 - Last Review: August 10, 2011 - Revision: 1.0
The F11 and F12 keys do not work when you try to install a 64-bit version of Windows 7 SP1 or of Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 on an EFI-based computer.

Symptoms:

Consider the following scenario:

• You try to install a 64-bit version of Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) or of Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1) on an Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI)-based computer.
• The F11 and F12 keys are assigned to an OEM-specific recovery sequence.
• You press the F11 or F12 key during the installation process.

In this scenario, F11 and F12 keys do not work.


Notes

• The F1 through F10 keys work correctly during the Windows installation process.
• This issue does not occur if you install Windows in legacy mode.

Cause:
This issue occurs because Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 do not support the EFI_SIMPLE_TEXT_IN_PROTOCOL_EX protocol.

Review & request Hotfix:
The F11 and F12 keys do not work when you try to install a 64-bit version of Windows 7 SP1 or of Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 on an EFI-based computer



-Article ID: 2570170 - Last Review: August 17, 2011 - Revision: 2.0
Performance decrease in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2 when you enable the AuthNoEncap policy to handle large payloads in a network environment.

Symptoms:
Consider the following scenario. You enable the AuthNoEncap policy to handle large payloads in a network environment. You perform a network operation on a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 in the network environment. In this scenario, you may experience a significant decrease in network performance.

Cause:
This issue occurs because the TCP stack uses the IPsec slow path instead of the IPsec fast path when the TCP stack processes AuthNoEncap traffic. This behavior causes the decrease in network performance.

Review & request Hotfix:
Performance decrease in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2 when you enable the AuthNoEncap policy to handle large payloads in a network environment

-Article ID: 2581464 - Last Review: August 12, 2011 - Revision: 2.0
An update to increase the maximum transfer size of USB storage devices in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2.

Introduction:
This article introduces a new feature that enables you to update the maximum transfer size of USB storage devices in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2. After you install this update, you can increase the maximum transfer size from 64 kilobytes (KB) to 2 megabytes (MB) in the Usbstor.sys driver.

Note For some USB storage devices, performance can be improved if the maximum transfer size is increased from the default 64 KB. This update supports this change when the hardware vendor provides a device information file (INF) to set this value for the USB storage devices.

Review & request Hotfix:
An update to increase the maximum transfer size of USB storage devices in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2

NOTE: read the MS article carefully for registry settings.
Simply installing the hotfix won’t do users much good. This because they’ll actually need to increase the maximum transfer size of USB storage devices manually.

Since this requires them to perform a small registry hack, my advice is to make sure and back-up first, as such tweaks are always risky.

Microsoft described the entire process that customers need to go through once they deployed the hotfix:

For more information about software update terminology, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/824684/ ) Description of the standard terminology that is used to describe Microsoft software updates




After you install this update, to increase the maximum transfer size of USB storage devices, follow these steps:

1. Click Start Collapse this imageExpand this image
   
   
   , type regedit in the Start Search box, and then press Enter.
2. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
   HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\usbstor\VVVVPPPP
3. Click Edit, point to New, and then click DWORDValue.
4. Type MaximumTransferLength, and then press Enter.
5. Click Edit, and then click Modify.
6. In the Value data box, type a value to specify the maximum transfer size between 64KB and 2MB. For example, you select Decimal and type a value between 65535 (64K), 524280 (512K), 1048560 (1M) and 2097120 (2M).
7. Exit Registry Editor.

Notes

• VVVV represents device descriptor idVendor in hexadecimal.
• PPPP represents device descriptor idProduct in hexadecimal.

-Article ID: 2566584 - Last Review: August 10, 2011 - Revision: 1.0
The content of some DVDs cannot be read by Windows 7 or by Windows Server 2008 R2.

Symptoms:

Consider the following scenario:

• You use a Windows XP-based computer to write data to a DVD.
• You do not finalize the DVD.
• You try to read the DVD on a Windows 7-based or Windows Server 2008 R2-based computer.

In this scenario, the data may not be visible.

Cause:
This issue occurs because the DVD is missing internal session data. This causes Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 to treat the DVD as invalid.

Review & request Hotfix:
The content of some DVDs cannot be read by Windows 7 or by Windows Server 2008 R2



-Article ID: 2566191 - Last Review: August 10, 2011 - Revision: 1.0
Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 reports memory incorrectly on a computer that is running a chipset that has an integrated GPU.

Symptoms:
Assume that you have a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2. The computer is running on a chipset that reserves memory for an integrated Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) that does not support Aperture memory-mapped I/O (MMIO) range. For example, the computer has an Intel GMA 3600 GPU installed.

In this situation, Windows reports that less memory is installed on the computer than is actually installed on the computer.

Cause:
This issue occurs because Windows locks the primary surface, and then uses the CpuTranslatedAddress address to shadow the primary surface. Therefore, the primary surface is exclusively allocated from a segment of memory that is visible to the CPU.

Note Most Integrated GPUs have an Aperture MMIO range. In this situation, Windows must reserve memory at startup, and expose the reserved memory as a dedicated memory segment. By default, a primary surface must be located in a segment of memory that is visible to the CPU. This is a segment of linear memory space that the GPU has exposed by using a CpuTranslatedAddress address.

Review & request Hotfix:
Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 reports memory incorrectly on a computer that is running a chipset that has an integrated GPU

-Article ID: 2528614 - Last Review: August 11, 2011 - Revision: 1.0
Operating system intermittently crashes with a "0x0000007E" Stop error message on a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2.

Symptoms:
On a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2, the operating system may crash intermittently. Additionally, you receive a Stop error message that resembles the following:

Stop 0x0000007E (parameter1, parameter2, parameter3, parameter4)
SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED



Notes

• The parameters in this Stop error message vary, depending on the configuration of the computer.
• Not all "0x0000007E" Stop error messages are caused by this issue.
• This issue usually occurs on a file server, and does not occur when Server Message Block (SMB) Version 2 is disabled.

Cause:
This issue occurs because of a race condition that is triggered when a NULL lease handle is accessed after the lease spinlock is released.

Review & request Hotfix:
Operating system intermittently crashes with a "0x0000007E" Stop error message on a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2



-Article ID: 2575077 - Last Review: August 10, 2011 - Revision: 1.0
Computer randomly stops responding because of a deadlock situation in Windows Server 2008 R2 or in Windows 7.

Symptoms:
A computer that is running Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7 randomly stops responding. The issue typically occurs when the memory usage is high and when the memory manager performs frequent paging in and paging out actions.

Note You can use the Memory\Page Faults/sec performance counter to track the paging in and paging out frequency.

Cause:
The issue occurs because of a deadlock situation in the Microsoft Filesystem Filter Manager (Fltmgr.sys).

Review & request Hotfix:
Computer randomly stops responding because of a deadlock situation in Windows Server 2008 R2 or in Windows 7

This one a list of available Hotfixes for GROUP POLICY only...mostly for Windows 7, Windows Vista, XP, Windows Server 2008 R2...some of them have been around along this thread, but actualy here they're all listed!!



-Article ID: 2590914 - Last Review: August 16, 2011 - Revision: 2.0
Recommended Updates for Group Policy in Windows Client and Server Products.

Summary:
This article summarizes the recommended hotfixes and updates for issues that occur in an Active Directory environment using Windows Group Policies or Windows Group Policy Preferences.

NOTE: The list below is not intended to act as a comprehensive list of all available hotfixes for Group Policy or Group Policy Preferences.
This list is an aggregate of common issues seen with Group Policy or Group Policy Preferences. Do not proactively install the following hotfixes unless needed. If you feel you are experiencing an issue listed below, install the hotfix for that specific issue.

The hotfixes and updates are arranged by component areas in Group Policy or Group Policy Preferences and apply to Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

• We recommend that you evaluate these hotfixes and updates to determine if they apply to your specific issue.
• Before you install a particular hotfix, we recommend that you review and assess the Service Pack level requirements mentioned in that article.

Recommended Updates for Group Policy in Windows Client and Server Products

This one appears to be a revision of the feb10, 2011 hotfix to version 2.0 valid for SP1 aswell.
Looks also not fully available at MS for all languages.


-Article ID: 2484031 - Last Review: August 31, 2011 - Revision: 2.0
A USB audio device stops playing audio in Windows 7.

Symptoms:
When you use a USB audio device to play audio on a computer that is running Windows 7, the USB audio device stops playing audio after some time.

Cause:
The issue occurs because the USB audio device is reset incorrectly when there is a missed microframe error. Therefore, the audio stream is interrupted and stops playing.

Review and request Hotfix:
A USB audio device stops playing audio in Windows 7




This one is particular as it had been around since a year (applyed to myself since then..) but it is only a registry setting (remember backing-up before any change!) to modify yourself. That's revision 4.0 about it.

-Article ID: 2022295 - Last Review: August 30, 2011 - Revision: 4.0
Context menus are shortened when more than 15 files are selected.

Symptoms:

The following items may be missing from the context (right-click) menu when multiple items are selected in Windows Explorer.

• Open
• Print
• Edit

Cause:
This is by design. These context menu items will not appear if selecting more than 15 items to avoid accidentally performing these actions on a large number of files.

Resolution:
The following registry value may be modified to choose the number of files that may be selected while maintaining the context menu options.
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
Name : MultipleInvokePromptMinimum
Type : DWORD
Default : 15 (decimal).

More infos:

The registry change will go into effect after logging off and back on, or after terminating Windows Explorer (Explorer.exe) and re-launching the process.
Note: a value of 16 is interpreted as "unlimited" for showing the options from the context menu, however it does not allow the actual opening of the documents selected if selecting more than 16. To allow the opening of more than 16 documents, set this key to a decimal value greater than the amount of documents you wish to open. Microsoft recommends only increasing this value to a reasonable number in a controlled environment and only where users really need this value increased.
Context menus are shortened when more than 15 files are selected