UPDATE: I am leaving this original message as I typed it. See my second post to the thread regarding what was really going on.
Got this annoying little stab in the back from micrososft when I finished installing Win98 on my wife's new (used) laptop:
<< The Windows Update Web site no longer offers updates for your computer >>
it then proceeds to give you links to other pages where you can apparently find updates for manual search and install. Searching google, I find this explanation from a
third-party web site:
<< Starting NEXT MONTH, Microsoft will begin pulling the plug on support for Win9x. Support, you see, is an expense for Microsoft. It can maximize its profits by shutting down support for older products and pushing everyone towards buying newer, supported Microsoft products. We've covered this momentous change earlier in the newsletter--- indeed, it's one of the main reasons underlying our XP coverage--- but I guess it slipped by many readers. So let me be as clear as possible: Next month (December 2001) Microsoft will cease to provide support for MS DOS, Windows 3.xx, and Windows NT 3.5x; and support will become limited for Win95, Win95 OSR1 and Win95 OSR2. Seven months from now, in June 2002, Microsoft will cease to provide full support for Win98, Win98SE, and WinNT4.x. >>
Since I have two other machines here still running win98 and able to access winupdate fine, what MS seems to have done as a first step to "limit" support is to not allow freshly installed/registered win98 machines to use the windows update feature, even as they apparently continue to allow already registered machines to carry on for a few more months (without warning of what is about to happen, I might add -- if you go to windows update you see no mention of the coming ceasation of support).
I will breifly summarize my reaction to all this: MICROSOFT SUCKS THE BIG ONE -- and then go on to some more constructive coments/questions:
1) if you are running anything from before WinME, get it up-to-date now, and consider backing up a stable system (if you haven't done it already)
2) a question -- given that windows update is still clearly available, but only for certain machines, is there any way to change the ID number (or whatever windows update is using) on a new installation to make it look like it is one of those machines ":grandfathered in" for continuing support for now? a reg file tweak or something? did a search on google (groups and web) so far have found nothing.
3) barring that, is there a way to perhaps utilize the windows update history/stored cab files from another machine to make the update process easiser than manually huniting down individual update cabs on the MS web site (and praying you do them all in the right order)? Or is there someone who has put togetehr a site with more helpful info than MS provides for its own product? (grr)
hope this info helps some prepare in advance for their coming "orphan PC" status, and thanks for any help anyone can give me on my questions. FYI I am running Win98 (original release, not SE) on my machines.
Mark:disgust:
Got this annoying little stab in the back from micrososft when I finished installing Win98 on my wife's new (used) laptop:
<< The Windows Update Web site no longer offers updates for your computer >>
it then proceeds to give you links to other pages where you can apparently find updates for manual search and install. Searching google, I find this explanation from a
third-party web site:
<< Starting NEXT MONTH, Microsoft will begin pulling the plug on support for Win9x. Support, you see, is an expense for Microsoft. It can maximize its profits by shutting down support for older products and pushing everyone towards buying newer, supported Microsoft products. We've covered this momentous change earlier in the newsletter--- indeed, it's one of the main reasons underlying our XP coverage--- but I guess it slipped by many readers. So let me be as clear as possible: Next month (December 2001) Microsoft will cease to provide support for MS DOS, Windows 3.xx, and Windows NT 3.5x; and support will become limited for Win95, Win95 OSR1 and Win95 OSR2. Seven months from now, in June 2002, Microsoft will cease to provide full support for Win98, Win98SE, and WinNT4.x. >>
Since I have two other machines here still running win98 and able to access winupdate fine, what MS seems to have done as a first step to "limit" support is to not allow freshly installed/registered win98 machines to use the windows update feature, even as they apparently continue to allow already registered machines to carry on for a few more months (without warning of what is about to happen, I might add -- if you go to windows update you see no mention of the coming ceasation of support).
I will breifly summarize my reaction to all this: MICROSOFT SUCKS THE BIG ONE -- and then go on to some more constructive coments/questions:
1) if you are running anything from before WinME, get it up-to-date now, and consider backing up a stable system (if you haven't done it already)
2) a question -- given that windows update is still clearly available, but only for certain machines, is there any way to change the ID number (or whatever windows update is using) on a new installation to make it look like it is one of those machines ":grandfathered in" for continuing support for now? a reg file tweak or something? did a search on google (groups and web) so far have found nothing.
3) barring that, is there a way to perhaps utilize the windows update history/stored cab files from another machine to make the update process easiser than manually huniting down individual update cabs on the MS web site (and praying you do them all in the right order)? Or is there someone who has put togetehr a site with more helpful info than MS provides for its own product? (grr)
hope this info helps some prepare in advance for their coming "orphan PC" status, and thanks for any help anyone can give me on my questions. FYI I am running Win98 (original release, not SE) on my machines.
Mark:disgust:
