News

Microsoft Rolls Up Updates for Windows 8, Windows Server 2012

• By Kurt Mackie
• 10/12/2012

Microsoft released a cumulative update to Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 that includes improvements to performance, battery life, and application and driver compatibility. The update will be delivered automatically to some users of Microsoft's Windows Update service and is also available at the Microsoft Download Center .

The update is arriving even before some of the products are released. For instance, Windows Server 2012 was released as a final product in September, but Windows 8 is scheduled for "general availability" on October 26.

Microsoft's cumulative update, contained in Knowledge Base article KB 2756872, has updates to the components of both operating systems. However, new improvements to Windows 8 are included in the update, in particular:

• " Increased power efficiency to extend battery life;
• "Performance improvements in Windows 8 applications and Start screen;
• "Improved audio and video playback in many scenarios; and
• "Improved application and driver compatibility with Windows 8"

Microsoft pointed to one known glitch in the cumulative update. It's apparently associated with the Remote Access feature, requiring users to perform a system restart.

Steven Sinofsky, Microsoft's president of the Windows Division, noted that this release reflects a new speeded-up testing process at Microsoft. Typically, Microsoft fixes issues at the release-to-manufacturing stage when working with original equipment manufacturers. But others wanting to see those changes would have to wait for the first service pack to get them via software. With the new testing process in place, Windows 8 will be complete at general availability time, Sinofsky claimed, according to a Microsoft blog post.

"By developing better test automation and test coverage tools we are happy to say that Windows 8 will be totally up to date for all customers starting at General Availability," Sinofsky wrote in the post. "If you are an MSDN or enterprise customer, these updates will be available for your Windows 8 PCs via Windows Update as of today (October 9), following our standard cadence for Windows Updates on the second Tuesday of each month at about 10:00am.