Posted on 12/14/2016 2:51:10 PM PST by dayglored
Microsoft has sneaked out a patch to get Windows 10 PCs back online after an earlier update broke networking for people's computers around the globe.
Since the end of last week, systems in the UK, US, Europe and beyond have automatically installed software from Microsoft, via Windows Update, that broke DHCP. That means some computers can't obtain their LAN-side IP addresses from their broadband routers, effectively randomly kicking them off the internet and their local network. That's confused the hell out of a lot of netizens.
It's not clear which Windows Update patch caused the cockup, as Microsoft is deliberately vague about the contents of each upgrade on its website, and the Redmond giant refused to say which download was the culprit.
In any case, we spotted that KB3206632, released on Tuesday this week as part of December's Patch Tuesday, contained the following bug fix:
Addressed a service crash in CDPSVC that in some situations could lead to the machine not being able to acquire an IP address.Well, that sounds like the ticket. CDPSvc is the Connected Devices Platform Service. We asked Microsoft if that particular patch corrects the earlier issue, but as usual, the software goliath is allergic to saying its own patch ID numbers so, in the absence of any hard confirmation, we were left to assume KB3206632 is the fix.
“We released an update on December 13 that will automatically install and resolve connectivity difficulties reported by some customers," a Microsoft spokeswoman told The Register.
"To receive the update, customers may need to first restart their PCs by selecting Start on the taskbar, clicking the Power button, and choosing Restart (not Shut down). Additional guidance can be found on our support forum here."
As we were just about to publish this article, Microsoft updated its website to confirm KB3206632 is the patch you need to install to cure the networking connectivity headache, provided you follow the above steps. So, after some not-so-gentle persuasion by El Reg this week, there's finally a solution in sight: get KB3206632.
The documentation for the '632 update mentions the download replaces the KB3201845 update issued on December 9 that was thought by some to be the root cause of the broken DHCP support, although we've yet to see any conclusive proof it is the culprit. Isn't it fun riding Microsoft's operating system updates rollercoaster?
[Links at the article
Microsoft’s tentacles are dug into us like an Alabama tick on a fat cow’s neck...
“”I don’t have that much faith or trust in Microsoft.””
They haven’t given us any reason to...When I ran into the problem after the November updates, I found the internet is packed full of problems their updates have caused. It just goes on and on...I couldn’t send or receive any emails IMMEDIATELY after the updates UNTIL I installed whatever the heck their message said. I didn’t write it down but called my computer guy and he said if it looked like a legitimate message, to go ahead and install it. I did and the email (WLM) straightened right out.
Exactamundo!
Windows 10 -- the new modern operating system that sets the clock back 20 years to 1996 when you had to assign static IPs because you couldn't depend on DHCP...
The least Microsoft could do is 'fess up and start calling them "Windows 10 Rolling Beta Releases".
One of the reasons why I will stick with Windows 7.
I finally downloaded Win 10 and it is a mess. I cannot get on line through EDGE at all. Lost my DVD player, cannot make disks. I had to download Mozilla on another computer, put it on a thumb drive and install it on my computer just to get on line. Still cannot use the Windows or the DVD player.
Windows 10 cannot make up it’s mind if I am in America or Denmark!
Please add me to the ping list.
Thank you
Slipper
My Nokia Lumia 950XL updates just like my Surface. It has no SIM card.
Useful link for W.10 pro users:
Use Group Policy to Disable Automatic Updates (Professional Editions Only) http://www.howtogeek.com/224471/how-to-prevent-windows-10-from-automatically-downloading-updates/
Also for other things,
With XP and Win7 I frequently made an image backup, if I had not done it in a while or had new software installs and updates.
Image backups have saved me many times when Windows or the hard drive started having flukes.
The one I currently use is the Free for Home Use Macrium Reflect.
I recommend learning and using an imaging program. There are many free and pay versions on the market. Also, I backup my images to an external 3.0 USB hard drive. I have my OS drive/partition at about 500 Gb. It takes about an hour to make an image backup and about 40 minutes to restore.
The beauty of image backups is that you only have to reinstall any new software programs/updates since the last image backup.
I also keep my data files on a separate partition/drive in case the OS partition/drive dies.
Reason 47 I’m glad to have stayed with Win 7.
> Please add me to the ping list.
Done. Welcome!
> Reason 47 I’m glad to have stayed with Win 7.
Aye-yup!
The ‘breakover point’ was reached long ago when tech headlines ie those appearing in industry publications became national headlines ie mainstream headlines.
Microsoft, Apple et al got so hypersensitive to criticism about bugs, security breaches, etc. that they began to pump out patches without even testing the patches. ‘Push’ updates allowed them to buffalo people into downloading/updating without a clue as to what was being patched and why. It also allowed the tech companies to mask the fact that they had broken their own software in the previous patch.
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