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Availablity of MS updates for Vail
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Author:  lioninstreet [ Sat Oct 06, 2018 1:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Availablity of MS updates for Vail

I'm still pretty much a newby when it comes to Vail.

Does anyone know if the MS updates for Vail are still being pushed by Microsoft? I know you can get the w2k8 updates thru windows update. But are they still pushing the 4 Vail specific update rollups?

I'm presuming it comes with it's own server console & functionalities similar to what HP packaged on top of v1 (with it's own set of MS updates as opposed to HP updates), yes?

Author:  Ruben Rocha [ Sun Oct 07, 2018 1:32 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Availablity of MS updates for Vail

Can't help at all on this topic.
Never tried vail.

Author:  lioninstreet [ Wed Nov 28, 2018 10:15 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Availablity of MS updates for Vail

Thanks for the reply Ruben,

Most who are running Vail know that support ended in 2016. But at least it's root OS w2k8r2 and it's little brother w7 (collectively known as w6.1) are still in extended support until 1/2020.

These days a clean install of w6.1 involves a fair amount of hoop jumping. And with extended support ending in a year, I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to see if capturing and saving the OS updates for w2k8r2 and the Vail overlay would be possible.

Starting with a $15 clean, no error 300gb Velociraptor in a ex49x, my first update run was to record the URL's for the w2k8 windows updates using WUMT. Using the same tool to install the updates & capture the URL's, sadly the update process was fraught with update errors, Probably 20% of the updates failed to install. But I did get the Microsoft URL's for both w2k8 & Vail.

So I wiped the drive, and did a OS reinstall. This time I set windows to install automatically with no WUMT intervention. Problem is even on automatic updates, there were also many update fails. It looks like similar to w7, there are issues with getting the MS updates to successfully install.

Having just finished perfecting the off-line update routine for v1 and in expectation of w2k8r2 EOL, would it be valuable to anyone to have a off-line MS update routine for Vail?

Author:  lioninstreet [ Tue Dec 04, 2018 9:13 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Availablity of MS updates for Vail

(edit 12/19, revised based on further research of the MS update path)

Frustrated with how poorly Vail updated and all the updates that failed to install by just letting Microsoft Updates do it's thing unattended, I tried another fresh OS install and update. This time I got all the updates in without a fail. But for that to happen it required another terminal, a USB stick, a bit more hoop jumping, and holding your tongue right. Here's what it takes:

First, after doing the OS install, start by running Microsoft updates to find all the missing updates, just don't select all and run. Start the process by installing the updated drivers that come up. Restart, re-run Windows Update, and only install the critical updates that are w2k8 specific (no WHS, no .NET framework, no C++, etc.) and limit these to only the updates that are dated pre-2016.

Then restart & using a spare terminal and USB stick to download and do a manual install of the 10/18 service stack update kb3177467 found here: http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/search.aspx?q=3177467
This update was actually released 10/16 then re-released with updates 10/18. That is why you are using the newer date.

Turns out the 10/16 update was the first one that was cumulative and it contains the 9/16 update as well. It addresses the notorious update hang where after updating your restart is stuck on stage 2 of 3 or stage 3 of 3.

Then restart, run Windows Update again, and install the remaining critical updates that come up before 10/16. You should see the following functional updates: kb3156417 (5/16) kb3172605 (6/16-7/16) & kb3179573 (8/16) and some non critical updates as well. Once this is done, restart, run Windows Update again, install the remaining excluded critical updates for WHS, .NET, etc, and restart. Do not include any of the critical OS updates that may come up. They will be all installed using the next step.

Now you need the terminal and USB stick again, Go to https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4009469/windows-7-sp1-windows-server-2008-r2-sp1-update-history , find the most recent cumulative critical update listed that is not showing as a preview or a security only, download (it will be a big file) and manually install it on the server. Restart, run Windows Update again, and now install all the non critical updates. A final restart and Windows Update run should show the OS is now fully updated. If not go ahead and install whatever is showing that is left.

This worked pretty well but clearly is not ideal, especially once extended support ends. ](*,)

Author:  Jachin99 [ Thu Dec 13, 2018 12:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Availablity of MS updates for Vail

I can't help much with capturing updates, but I'm glad to see there are at least 2 of us still running WHS 2011!!! I tinkered around with hardening RWA & applying STIGS to the OS, and someday I'll have to share my notes on what was successful and what wasn't

Author:  lioninstreet [ Sat Dec 29, 2018 4:02 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Availablity of MS updates for Vail

Jachin99 wrote:
I can't help much with capturing updates, but I'm glad to see there are at least 2 of us still running WHS 2011!!! I tinkered around with hardening RWA & applying STIGS to the OS, and someday I'll have to share my notes on what was successful and what wasn't


Sounds good jachin99. Looking forward to hearing what you found is working and what isn't. Thanks for contributing!

Author:  Jachin99 [ Tue Jan 08, 2019 8:42 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Availablity of MS updates for Vail

See viewtopic.php?f=33&t=14798&p=105780#p105780 for the start of it. There is quite a bit to cover so this whole thing is going to take a lot of time.

Author:  lioninstreet [ Sun Dec 01, 2019 12:20 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Availablity of MS updates for Vail

I've been working on compiling the Vail updates and roll ups as s2k8 is nearing EOL.

It seems the updates MS is pushing to Vail only contains UR4. 1-3 is not installed. So either they are not pushing them any longer or it is cumulative? (edit 12.5.19, now confirmed UR4 is cumulative).

Initially, I'm planning to post a manual install path for fully updating both s2k8r2 as well as the WHS11 overlay so when MS pulls the updates, we're not left out in the cold.

Author:  drshock [ Sat Aug 15, 2020 5:13 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Availablity of MS updates for Vail

I presume it was you @lioninstreet who put this offline Windows Update ISO together here - https://forums.wsusoffline.net/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=9931

I had noticed that WHS 2011 stopped getting the usual Windows 2008 R2 operating system updates from Windows Update after the May 2018 ones. It continued with Windows Defender, .NET and other updates. But the key OS updates stopped so I had to start installing them manually after not finding any root cause for it other than WHS 2011 had a software defect in the Windows Update catalog or such and Microsoft certainly would have no interest fixing it as technically service ended back in 2016.

Anyhow, I mounted your ISO using the ISO Mounter 1.30 add-on and ran the installer which did find 13 KBs I had missed for the 16 months of manually running rollups thru the catalog. So thanks for putting the ISO together at that wsusoffline.net link above!

Author:  lioninstreet [ Sat Aug 15, 2020 6:07 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Availablity of MS updates for Vail

drshock wrote:
I presume it was you @lioninstreet who put this offline Windows Update ISO together here - https://forums.wsusoffline.net/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=9931 recently?

Well almost. Aker over in Germany actually authored the updater after a little arm twisting and we both beta tested it. Same with the offline updater for v1.

Your right about whs11 not receiving pushed updates after 2018-05. We never did figure out why. But the off line update tool takes care of all that. So your current thru s2k8r2 EOL.

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