Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Vista SP1 Update Locks Out Some Users

Posted by kdawson on from the lather-rinse-repeat dept.

Echostorm writes with word that Windows Vista SP1, which began rolling out via Automatic Update, has left some users' machines unbootable. The update loops forever on "Configuring updates: Stage 3 of 3 — 0% complete. Do not turn off your computer." "Shutting down"... restart and loop. Echostorm notes having found traces of what sounds like the same bug in early beta releases of SP1. It's unclear how many users are affected. So far there is no word on a fix from Microsoft.

7 of 410 comments (clear)

  1. Re:You can't make this stuff up. by CrazyTalk · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Actually, yes. In fact, those of us inside Microsoft (I'm a Vendor, and not on Vista team) have had access to SP1 for over a month.

  2. For those who say "Get a Mac" by Radhruin · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Something similar happened with the 10.4.11 update as well.

  3. Re:Regression testing, people by tlhIngan · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Seriously, sounds like a version issue. An SCM (Software Configuration Management). Seriously, I worked for smaller companies that were serious about versioning and regression testing. Is it my imagination or does MS seem more and more like a software organization that is out of control?


    It appears that each little division of Microsoft is their own little fiefdom. Take a common DLL - comctl32.dll (common controls). Windows ships with one version. Office ships with another version. Applications (using Visual Studio Redistributables) ship with a third version! Each has features that aren't in the others, so Windows apps get one look, Office another look, and 3rd party apps yet another look.

    In addition, the OS team forked the compiler they use from the development team. It makes sense in one aspect - all developers have a stable toolchain. However, if the dev team breaks something, instead of the Windows team making a big stink, people who use Visual Studio do.

    As far as anyone's concerned, Microsoft might as well be split up into separate companies - they more or less act that way anyhow. Code's taken from one team and forked, improvements aren't folded back in, etc.
  4. Re:It's not on windows update by nicklott · · Score: 4, Interesting

    In fact, all the posts to the thread in the article were made after this article was posted to slashdot and by posters with a post count of 1. They talk about SP1 on auto-update (which the original post didn't) yet that can't possibly be true because that's not the case. And oh look, echostormfury is one of the posters, could he perchance be related to the Echostorm who posted the story? I smell bullshit...

  5. Re:Regression testing, people by BUL2294 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Bullshit... The amount of hardware variability has declined over the past 15-odd years due to consolidation and Microsoft's insistence...

    * How many CPU makers are out there today? 2. (Transmeta is dead).
    * How many companies make chipsets (north/southbridges) today? 4(?)
    * GPU makers? 3.
    * BIOS vendors? 3(?)
    * Sound cards? 2 (Intel & Creative)
    * Expansion interfaces? 2 (PCI, PCI-Express)

    Now, look back to 1993-1995. How many no-name brand BIOSes caused problems? How many brands of VGA chipsets were there? CPU makers? (Think Intel, AMD, Cyrix, NexGen, C&T,...) How many expansion interfaces were there (ISA, VLB, PCI, MCA). How many brands had their own incompatible hardware, where Microsoft's HIMEM.SYS had special switches for (AST, Everex, IBM PS/2, etc.) All of these worked well with DOS/Win3.x and Win95.

    No, this is Microsoft's way of saying "we don't know what's wrong with Vista!"

    --
    Windows 3.1x calc: 3.11 - 3.10 = 0.00
  6. Re:You can't make this stuff up. by gallwapa · · Score: 4, Interesting

    A friend of mine works at MS... his entire job consists of setting up different lab machines for testing scenarios. All day. Every day.

    So, yes. They have quite a large testing environment going on. I know you were kidding, but...

  7. Re:Regression testing, people by AstroPHX · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Your funny math makes my brain hurt.

    The number of vendors is a horrible measurement. Try variants on for size:

    How many CPU variants does one of the two manufacturers currently support? Try over 125. http://products.amd.com/en-us/DesktopCPUResult.aspx?f1=&f2=&f3=&f4=&f5=&f6=&f7=&f8=&f9=& Oh, and that's just for the desktop.

    GPU? NVidia has 38 families of chipsets. At ~5 products for each chipset, you're over 190.

    What about all of the other hardware on a motherboard? Bluetooth, USB, Firewire, network drivers and modems are some of the largest contributers to OS development overhead/headache; tell me, have you ever tried to load up Feisty Ubuntu using a Broadcomm wireless device?!?

    By the way, this doesn't include all of the half-assed components people drop onto their computers like humping dog memory sticks or coffee warmers let alone all of the out of date drivers people have installed on their systems (have you checked your BIOS rev lately?).

    This isn't "Microsoft's way of saying 'we don't know what's wrong with Vista,'" it's Microsoft's way of saying, "we're trying our damnedest to clean this up, but you idiots keep pissing in the pool."