The Windows Servicing Guy
Tips and tricks from a Windows support engineer on issues related to servicing
Why am I being reoffered updates on the latest VL media?
Update: The blog for this is now public: https://support.microsoft.com/kb/3037986 Update #2: The new...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 02/11/2015
What to do if you experience a rollback when installing KB3000061
We've seen reports of some systems rolling back their serivicing operations when attempting to...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 11/10/2014
RSAT tools for Windows 8.1
With the rollout of Windows 8.1 now underway, many of you may be looking for the RSAT tools for 8.1...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 10/18/2013
Servicing changes in Windows 8.1/Server 2012R2
I've received a couple of emails asking when I would be writing about the changes in servicing in...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 07/29/2013
A couple of Surface Pro related items you might not be aware of
I wanted to draw awareness to a couple of recent Surface Pro releases that folks might not be aware...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 06/06/2013
Features on Demand (Part 2)
In part 1, I talked about how to remove a Role/Feature using Features on Demand. In this blog, I...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 03/29/2013
How to troubleshoot error 0x800F081F when installing roles and features
I’ve seen a couple of issues now where customers are having issues installing roles and features,...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 11/30/2012
Features on Demand in Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012
This was written by a co-worker of mine, Jim Collins. Features on Demand is a new feature in Windows...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 11/20/2012
How to update local source media to add roles and features
I’ve talked in the past about the new Features on Demand option in Windows 8 and Windows...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 11/14/2012
More on Minimal Server Interface
Quick post today following up on my prior post about Features on Demand and role...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 10/09/2012
Fixing component store corruption in Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012
One of the most used tools when fixing corruption for Windows Vista, 7, 2008 and 2008 R2 was the...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 09/26/2012
Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) for Windows 8 are now available
The RTM version of the Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 8 is now available here:...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 09/14/2012
Understanding Features on Demand and role persistence in Windows Server 2012
A new option in Windows Server 2012, Features on Demand, allows for the removal of unwanted feature...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 08/20/2012
Now that we've RTM'd, what you can expect from the blog
As many of you probably heard, we RTM'd Windows 8, Windows Server 2012 and Windows RT yesterday. In...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 08/02/2012
A dying breed
Recently, I interviewed for a new role within Microsoft. As is the norm here, the last 15 minutes of...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 05/07/2012
Want to know more about Windows 8 Consumer Preview or Server Beta?
Then check out the Understand and Troubleshoot Guides we just released. These were written by myself...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 02/29/2012
Can you safely delete files in the %windir%Installer directory?
Along the same lines as removing items from the Windows component store to save space, we have...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 01/18/2012
Troubleshooting Error 800B0100, CBS_E_IDENTITY_MISMATCH, during Service Pack 1 installation on Windows 7 or Windows 2008 R2
I wanted to bring everyone's attention to a recent blog I worked with on a co-worker of mine...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 12/14/2011
How does Windows choose which version of a file to install?
An engineer on my team, Jim Collins, worked on this blog entry and I know its something that we see...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 11/30/2011
So about Windows 8 .....
I've gotten quite a few emails to me via the blog now that the developer preview for Windows 8 has...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 09/28/2011
More on hard links
After posting my original entry on how hard links work, a number of comments were made requesting...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 08/26/2011
How to get individual driver files from Windows Update
Customers ask from time to time how they can pull down driver files that they see on the Windows...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 08/23/2011
Alleviating pressure caused by component store size
I just wanted to make you all aware of a new KB article myself and a couple of teammates put...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 08/12/2011
How branching works for installing updates
I was asked this question the other day and I thought it would make a good quick entry in the blog....
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 07/28/2011
Support ending for Windows Vista SP1
In case you missed it, support for Vista SP1 officially ends on 7/12. More information on this can...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 07/07/2011
Supported workaround for torn state installations on Windows 7 SP1
I have an update for those of you with systems in a torn state. To clarify, torn state systems are...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 05/10/2011
New fix released to prevent 0xC0000034 errors during Windows 7/2008 R2 SP1 installation
Quick update today for one of the issues seen during SP1 installation on Windows 7 and 2008 R2...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 05/05/2011
New fix released for Windows 7 SP1 0xC000009A language pack issue
Some of you hit the 0xC000009A exit code when installing Service Pack 1 for Windows 7/2008 R2 on...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 04/27/2011
Update on torn state systems
Rarely do I completely delete a posting but I am going to in this case. If you have a torn state C34...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 04/25/2011
RSAT tools for Windows 7 Service Pack 1
Many of you have asked about when the RSAT tools for Windows 7 Service Pack 1 would be available for...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 03/28/2011
New information on error code 0xc0000034
We have updated the KB that deals with this error to include a new script to get users out of the...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 03/16/2011
Why you don’t want to edit your pending.xml to resolve 0xC0000034 issues
I know that one of the workarounds everyone is using is editing the pending.xml file and rebooting...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 03/11/2011
Error 0xC0000034 during Service Pack 1 installations for Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2
UPDATED BLOG INFORMATION FOR THIS ISSUE IS NOW LOCATED HERE:...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 03/09/2011
General guidance before installing Service Pack 1 for Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2
Now that we’ve had the service pack available for a couple of weeks, I wanted to post a quick...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 03/08/2011
WSUS Service Pack 1 availability for Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2
I’ve seen a lot of different threads on the newsgroups and internally from customers asking...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 03/02/2011
Error 0xC000022 when installing Service Pack 1 for Win7/2008R2
You may receive the following error when installing Service Pack 1 for Windows 7 or Windows 2008 R2:...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 02/28/2011
You receive 0x800f0904 - CBS_E_MORE_THAN_ONE_ACTIVE_EDITION when installing SP1 for Win7/R2
During the installation of Service Pack 1 for Windows 7/2008 R2 you might encounter the following...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 02/25/2011
CheckSUR has been updated for Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2 installations
I know I've mentioned CheckSUR a lot around here and its a really vital tool for troubleshooting...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 02/24/2011
Windows 7 Service Pack 1 fails to install with 0x800f0a13 or 0x800f0826
Windows 7 Service Pack 1 may fail to install properly on systems which have had the Driver Sweeper...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 02/24/2011
Windows 7 Service Pack 1 fails with error code 0x8004a029
When installing Service Pack 1 on Windows 7 installations, you may enounter the following error code...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 02/21/2011
More SP1 information from the Windows Team
Just a quick post this morning, the Windows Team blog has more information on SP1 including another,...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 02/18/2011
Windows 7/2008 R2 Service Pack 1 fails with 0x800f0a12
You might encounter an issue during the installation of SP1 for Win7/R2 where the installer exits...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 02/17/2011
How to reclaim space after applying Windows 7/2008 R2 Service Pack 1
An often asked question is how to reclaim space after a service pack installation. We've talked...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 02/15/2011
You receive exit code 0x800f081f when attempting to install SP1 for Win7/R2
I've seen this a couple of times already, enough that I thought we should have some quick content on...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 02/14/2011
Installing the RSAT tools on Windows 7 SP1 installations
We currently have a known issue with the RSAT tools...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 02/11/2011
Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 has RTM'd
Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 SP1 has shipped. Here’s the bottom line: Volume Licensed,...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 02/10/2011
We need your feedback
I wanted to get this out as a link so that we can elicit some feedback from the product group. Many...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 01/26/2011
Servicing related questions I have seen this week
I know I havent written anything in a little bit, sorry about that. I wanted to do a quick run down...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 01/26/2011
Is editing Windows component and package manifests supported?
I've been asked about this twice this week so I wanted to write something quick on the topic. The...
Author: joscon [Microsoft] Date: 01/12/2011