14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has just announced that Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 PCs will receive monthly update rollups including non-security fixes in an attempt to simplify the update experience on these two versions of the operating system.
Basically, this means that, every month, users who are currently running either Windows 7 or 8.1 on their computers will no longer receive multiple non-security updates, but just a single pack, which they can install in one shot without the need for multiple system reboots.
Only non-security fixes included
Microsoft says that it’s doing this “to improve the reliability and quality of our updates” and explains that, in addition to Windows 7 Service Pack 1 and Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, Windows Server 2012, and Windows Server 212 R2 are also included in this new release schedule.
“These fixes will be available through Windows Update, WSUS, and SCCM as well as the Microsoft Update catalog. We hope this monthly rollup update simplifies your process of keeping Windows 7, and 8.1 up-to-date,” Microsoft has explained today.
It’s important to note, however, that this monthly rollup only includes non-security updates, so you still have to get those security fixes that Microsoft launches every Patch Tuesday one by one.
Installing Windows 7 and 8.1 updates can often be a painful experience, especially because of the number of patches that Microsoft has released over time. For instance, a clean install of Windows 7 now has to install hundreds of updates without the recently released convenience rollup introduced today.
Although this decision comes a little bit too late, given the fact that Microsoft is now focusing more on Windows 10, it’s still a welcome change since nearly 50 percent of the PCs around the world are still running Windows 7. Support for this OS version ends in January 2020, and there’s no doubt that Windows 7 will continue to be the leading desktop platform despite Microsoft’s push for Windows 10.