Seems Like Only Yesterday

I wrote last week about the latest Windows 10 update, aka the Windows 10 October 2018 Update or Windows 10 Update Version 1809. This update has some great tools for IT administrators and seems like a good upgrade to install. But, as Murphy’s Law would have it, shortly afterwards Microsoft pulled the release. Microsoft found there were problems with unplanned file deletions and determined that the problems were sufficiently widespread to halt the release. Oops.

As of yesterday, Microsoft had reported that the file deletion problem had been fixed. Microsoft was resuming distribution, given this fix.

Are We There Yet?

Now this morning, we have reports of HP computers getting the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) error when attempting to upgrade to the Windows 10 October 2018 update. You can read about that here. Initial reports are that the issue is caused by a keyboard driver file supplied by HP. But the article above also quotes a source as saying that other computers brands may be affected.

I was once in charge of a project that involved extending a product’s Operating System (OS). From that experience, I can tell you that updating an OS is a very complicated effort. The code has been written by many people, sometimes over an extended time period. In order to tame this complexity, you have to have a well-defined system architecture. You also have to have a mature process for designing, testing and releasing software. I have no doubt that Microsoft knows how to update their OS. These issues with the Windows 10 October 2018 update are embarassing. But I don’t read more into them than that.

My advice is to hang back for another day, and see if Microsoft has this latest update under control or not. And if you know any OS developers, tell them that you appreciate their work!