Win10 1803 big bug bash KB 4462933 joins earlier versions, a week late to the party
Credit to Author: Woody Leonhard| Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2018 06:45:00 -0700
Back on Oct. 18, a “C Week” Thursday, Microsoft released hefty rounds of bug fixes for Win10 1607, 1703 and 1709. At the time, I wondered out loud why the latest (unyanked) version of Win10, version 1803, didn’t get a similar dose. Now, on a “D Week” Wednesday, it looks like we’ve seen the deluge.
The late-to-the-party cumulative update KB 4462933 brings Win10 version 1803 up to build 17134.376. The patch is relatively unremarkable, except for the number of bugs that have been fixed — more than 50 are listed individually — and its odd appearance on a D Week Wednesday.
Here’s my theory. Microsoft is backporting bug fixes: When it finds a bug in version “n” and fixes it, it applies the fix to version “n-1,” once the patch has the kinks worked out. I think we’re seeing that play out big time with the ill-fated Win10 version 1809.
If my theory’s correct, the massive number of fixes just released for 1803 includes many fixes for 1809, no doubt discovered during the full-court bug press currently under way on 1809. Those bug fixes have been deemed to be good enough for 1809, and they’ve been tested thoroughly. If that’s the case, it bodes well for 1809 — when/if we finally see it released.
That theory’s seen an interesting example lately, by the way. The data-destroying Zip bug in Win10 version 1809 has been fixed. But the fix hasn’t (yet) appeared in 1809. Instead, it’s been fixed in the latest build of the next-next version of Windows 19H1, build 18262, on Oct. 17. That, too, bodes well for 1809.
I’ve seen a few reports of problems with KB 4462933 on TenForums. DaveWin, for example, has this observation:
I installed this last night and after a couple of non-responsive actions I just went back to the previous restore point.
One application wouldn’t launch and I could not show a drive’s folders in explorer.
As always, I would wait a while to install the 1803 cumulative update, until we’ve heard from more intrepid users.
When will Win10 version 1809 drop? Er, re-re-drop? Good question. Given the indications mentioned before, I think Microsoft is (finally!) taking quality more seriously. Whether that will result in the “October 2018 Update” being released in October is anybody’s guess. Don’t forget that the last version, the “April 2018 Update” — shipped on the last day of April.
The only hint I’ve seen comes from the sole Answers Forum post acknowledging the data-destroying Zip bug:
Microsoft is working on a resolution and estimates a solution will be available in early November for this issue.
Which would seem to indicate that 1809 isn’t coming back to haunt us in time for Halloween. That’s too bad because I really want to see an “E Week” patch.
I continue to recommend that you hold off on the October patches. See AskWoody.com.