14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has released two new rollup update patches for Windows 7 and 8.1 in preview stage, in anticipation of the public launch taking place on next month’s Patch Tuesday.
The two updates, KB4015552 and KB4015553, are released for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, respectively, and are supposed to allow IT admins to test them out before all the computers in their networks are getting patched. This is a new approach embraced by Microsoft, as preview updates are shipped the third Tuesday of each month in anticipation of the release for everyone the next Patch Tuesday.
Obviously, these updates do not bring any new features, but only fixes and performance improvements, and you can check out the full changelogs in the box at the end of the article.
What’s new in these updates?
Among the highlights, the Windows 7 update comes with improvements for dual-controller storage systems, as well as bug fixes for time zone information - a problem with Windows system time has been reported recently, with some users being served an incorrect time, so this new update introduces additional fixes.
As for Windows 8.1, KB4015553 brings many more fixes, but most of them aren’t necessarily aimed at consumers, but at IT professionals who experienced issues within their organizations.
For example, the update fixes poor CPU performance when Virtual Switch Ports leak when a machine is migrated live from one host to another, as well as a problem where Active Directory servers become unresponsive and must be rebooted when they have a heavy load of services using group-managed service accounts (gMSAs).
Updates for the time zone information are available in this case too, so the old bug should no longer be experienced on Windows 7 and 8.1 after installing these updates.
You can download these two updates from the Microsoft Update Catalog now, as direct download links are the easiest way to test out the patches before the public release via Windows Update. The next Patch Tuesday takes place on May 9.