Windows 7 SP2 to Deal with Intel Core and Xeon CPUs Reliability Issues ~ The World is Mine

Aug 22, 2011

Windows 7 SP2 to Deal with Intel Core and Xeon CPUs Reliability Issues

8/22/2011 01:35:00 AM

dannzfay

The second upgrade for Windows 7 will address reliability problems that customers running the RTM and SP1 versions of the OS have experienced in some scenarios on machines running Intel Core and Xeon CPUs.

According to Microsoft, the issues are limited to a small number of users, the reason why the company has not released an update to all customers.

Windows 7 Service Pack 1 and RTM as well as Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM and SP1 are affected by reliability glitches, the software giant said, but only when the platforms are paired with older releases of Intel processors, such as the chips belonging to the Core and Xeon families launched in 2006 and 2008.

“These issues are not common. These issues might affect processors that meet all the following conditions:

Designated as a Intel Xeon or Intel Core family processor that is based on the "Penryn" or "Merom" codenamed processors.

Has the Family, Model, and Stepping of family designations of 6, or a Model designation of 15, of 22, of 23, or of 29,” Microsoft explained.

The software giant indicates that Windows 7 Service Pack 2 (SP2) and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP2 will contain a fix for the reliability problems that customers with Intel Core and Xeon CPUs have been experiencing.

For the time being however, the Redmond company has made available a hotfix designed to deal with the issue.

KB 2493989 offers what Microsoft refers to as a microcode update for Intel processors. “This update improves the reliability of x64-based versions of Windows that uses certain Intel processors. This update fixes an issue in which the operating system might function incorrectly,” the company noted.

Despite being referred to as an update, the release is actually a hotfix and is only designed to repair reliability glitches and nothing more.

Customers running Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 should only deploy the KB 2493989 hotfix if they’re also leveraging Intel Xeon or Intel Core processors and have come across issues impacting reliability.

Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) RTM Build 7601.17514.101119-1850 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1) RTM are available for download on below link.