Critics warn Microsoft to fix the interrupted update process

Critics advise Microsoft to repair the interrupted update process

For more: Microsoft Windows 10 Update Software Update Cycle Windows

The latest Windows 10 fiasco – Microsoft fired two weeks ago the upgrade of the Drop feature of the cast and invited those who already had a copy to not install it – triggered calls for the company to rebadure itself.

"Microsoft really needs to control the situation. They will soon run out of time, "said Chris Goettl, product manager at Ivanti, provider of customer security management and management solutions, following his response to the glaring problem of deleted user files. "If Microsoft wants to continue on this path of the Windows 10 model [rapid release] its upgrades and upgrades must be of better quality."

Four days after the release of Windows 10 October 2018 Update, also called 1809 Microsoft's digital format yymm the company has closed the access to the upgrade. The problem: On some computers, the upgrade process has erased all files in the Documents, Pictures, Music, and Videos folders.

Although Microsoft relaunched the 1809 tests with its Insider program participants on October 9th, it has not yet restored access. upgrade for manual download or started delivering it to customers through Windows Update or WSUS (Windows Server Update Services), the mainstream consumer and commercial quality distribution networks. Redmond, Washington, has not set a date by which the upgrade process will resume.

The debacle was the biggest ever recorded in the recent history of Windows 10. "This is an extremely unwelcome first for Microsoft, which raises the question of whether society is moving too fast and beyond the box," said Ed Bott, a long-time Windows observer, about the decision to end the 1809 release. Bott also described Microsoft's initiative as "unprecedented."

While feedback on the removal varied – and what it meant for Microsoft and customers – there were general themes, none of them really new in the Windows 10 debate. the operating system strategy of its manufacturer. It was the content of the reviews that seemed different.

Quality? What quality?
Calls Microsoft to improve the quality of its upgrades and updates have been developing for some time. Triggered by long periods of problematic monthly updates – ironically, Microsoft mentions them, including the famous "Patch Tuesday" security updates, "quality" updates – Redmond's commercial customers demand that # He does better.

In July, patches expert Susan Bradley, computer networking and security consultant, mailing list moderator PatchMangement.org urged Microsoft's senior executives to read the findings of the report. a survey she conducted with computer professionals. This survey revealed how much the IT staff was unhappy with the Windows patching process, especially the quality of the updates.

"Your system fix and maintenance customers are not satisfied with the quality of updates … keep it that way," Bradley wrote in an open letter to Microsoft executives, including CEO Satya Nadella . Of more than 1,000 respondents to their questionnaire, 64% were "very dissatisfied" or "dissatisfied" with the quality of Windows updates.

These opinions were only reinforced by the fall of 1809.

Quality updates and feature updates are dropping overall quality, "said Bradley in an e-mail response to questions. "I keep saying that Surface devices need the best patch experience. It seems that this year again, 1809 is stuck on some Surface devices because they need an Intel driver. "

Goettl nodded and executed a series of incorrect updates. more than a year ago, let's quote 1703, Windows 7 and Windows 10 1803 – the update of April 2018 – from the Windows 10 creator update – as examples Editions presenting recent flaws. "But losing customer data is pretty bad," he said about deleted files from 1809.

Concerns about the quality, or lack thereof, in Windows updates generate more than the immediate impact of crippled PCs or wasted time to deploy. releases. Poor quality updates scare customers, especially business customers, who fear to immediately install security patches or look for ways to avoid as many upgrades as possible.

"Many users and businesses have lost confidence in the whole process of updating." According to Bradley, who also writes for Askwoody.com the Windows-centric website and managed by Woody Leonard, editorial writer for Computerworld . "No company that I know personally does not immediately install the updates."

What happens to the tests?
When the conversation turns to Windows and the quality of its updates, users inevitably ask for tests. Why not try discovering this bug or fault? What happens with the tests?

For many, there is a straight line between the dismissal by Microsoft in 2014 of a large number of internal testers and the decline in quality. In response, Microsoft points to Windows Insider, the program that previews upgrades, but not monthly security updates and other updates, to a large pool of Windows 10 volunteers. According to the plan, the 15 million Insiders reported issues that Microsoft engineers resolved before the code reached production PCs.

Although some users reported the deletion of files prior to 1809, Microsoft hinted that they had been ignored the company had no idea of ​​their seriousness. "To help us better detect such problems … we've added a possibility for users to also provide an indication of the impact and severity when recording user-initiated comments." Said John Cable, director of program management in the Windows Maintenance and Delivery Group. a blog post on October 9th.

The outside observers were also shocked by the fact that Insider failed to produce a precise idea of ​​the program's concept itself.

"This was introduced by the initiates, " says Goettl. "How [1809] was not retained, how did Microsoft interrupt it?"

"The Insider program is an excellent marketing program, [but] it's not a beta test program," Bradley said. "Many, many comment elements have no details, no context, no good information about bugs, [so] Microsoft can do absolutely nothing but delete them. Currently, the Insider Program on this side of the wall resembles a [a] incendiary hurricane which, for the most part, is a waste of an engineer's resources to spend there.

"I also see many old beta testers say that they're no longer doing Insider compilations because of fan noise and lack of real beta interaction," he said. she concluded.

Microsoft
update strategy have reached a critical point – this seems unlikely for practical reasons, since companies have no other solution than Windows. But the number of voices calling for change has certainly increased.

"After the debacle surrounding the Windows 10 October / 1809 update, the perception that Microsoft has lost control of its Windows 10 update strategy is even more apparent," wrote Mary Jo. Foley, as Bott is a long time observer of Microsoft who writes for ZDNet.

Foley's advice to Microsoft: Take a break in Windows 10 with new features. "It's time for the company to release at least one – and perhaps most – Windows 10 feature updates that focus exclusively on reliability / fundamentals, not on features," Foley urged.

Others had different ideas. "Something like [1809] will happen again," Goettl said. "Microsoft needs a better breaking scenario." By that, he meant that society should have a quick response plan in place "to put those [systems] back into service" as soon as possible.

For his part, Bradley suggested to Microsoft to go back. "[Microsoft needs] an external SUVP test program that attracts more companies," she said, referring to the old software update validation program, which previewed security updates for a small group of invited organizations, including companies, to test the patches before were released to the public. "An insider is great to ask" So what do you think of that? ", [but] it's not good to find these release bugs."

Goettl only knew that things could not continue as before. "If we stay on the track, we will be on, it will be more painful in the future," he said, anticipating further problems ahead for 1809.

IDG News Service

More: Microsoft Windows 10 Patch Upgrade Cycle Windows Updates