Microsoft is preparing to issue a package of 'updates' for Windows 7 beta testers. The updates won't contain any new features or fixes, but are 'test dummies' that will help Microsoft ensure that the Windows Update function is working properly with Windows 7.
In a Thursday blog post, the Microsoft Update product team said it'll start offering up to five of the faux updates on Feb. 24. The updates won't install automatically, and users don't have to download them.
Windows 7 beta testers that choose to download updates will have to manually start the installation process through the Windows Update control panel, where the updates will be listed as test versions, according to the blog post.
Microsoft has a history of update glitches that have befuddled legions of Windows users. In September 2007, some Windows users claimed that Microsoft was silently pushing out updates to users' PCs that interfered with the repair function of Windows XP and interfered with their attempts to install the latest patches.
In October 2007, several Microsoft customers and partners said their machines running Windows Server Update Service (WSUS) were downloading and installing an update package for Windows Desktop Search (WDS) and subsequently rebooting, even when users hadn't chosen the automatic update setting.
Microsoft subsequently issued an apology for the WSUS glitch and said it stemmed from carrying over permissions from an earlier version of WDS.
