Two months ago, in an effort to fightback against the WannaCry ransomware, Microsoft took the 'highly unusual' step of releasing a patch for Windows XP, the ancient operating system it stopped supporting back in 2014 (even though, as it turned out, it was really Windows 7, not XP, that was to blame for the spread of the devastating malware).
Windows Installer installs and configures your products and applications reducing the total cost of ownership. The Microsoft Windows Installer is an installation and configuration service. May 14, 2019 If you’re still using Windows XP or Windows Server 2003, you should download and install these patches right now. This bug doesn’t affect Windows 10 and Windows 8 systems. Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 systems will receive a patch via Windows Update.
Then just two weeks ago, Microsoft included Windows XP and Vista -- another operating system it no longer supports -- in June's Patch Tuesday updates. Despite these recent actions, neither XP nor Vista are going to receive regular security updates from Microsoft, meaning users still running either OS remain at serious risk. However, the good news is there are a couple of tricks you can use to continue receiving security updates for both XP and Vista.
In the case of XP, the trick is to make use of updates for Windows Embedded Industry (formerly known as Windows Embedded POSReady). This is based on Windows XP Service Pack 3, and the security updates which are being released for it are essentially the same ones Microsoft would have pushed out for XP, if it was still doing so.
You can’t simply install the updates -- that would be too easy -- and you’ll receive a version mismatch error if you try. But a simple registry tweak is enough to fix that.
Create a text document, and call it XP.reg. You’ll need to make sure .reg is the proper extension -- so not 'XP.reg.txt'. If it’s not showing up as a registry file, open any folder, go to Tools > Folder Options, select View and uncheck 'Show hidden files and folders'. That should fix the problem.
Right-click the file, and select Edit. Paste in the following:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMWPAPosReady]
'Installed'=dword:00000001
Save it, and then double-click the file. That will make that change to the registry. That’s all you need to do. Windows should now automatically fetch updates designed for Windows Embedded Industry, ensuring XP remains protected until 2019.
This trick only works for 32-bit editions of XP, but there’s a workaround for 64-bit versions here.
As for Vista, the trick to getting updates is similar, except it uses Windows Server 2008's patches as that OS architecture is very close to Vista’s and Microsoft plans to keep supporting it until 2020.
To use this, you need to make use of the Microsoft Update Catalog.
The steps to follow are:
- Look for any Windows Server 2008 updates mentioned by Microsoft, and make a note of the relevant Knowledge Base ID, or browse the regularly updated list at BeepingComputer.
- Open the Microsoft Update Catalog and search for the ID, or click the BeepingComputer update link.
- Locate the Windows Server 2008 version of the patch.
- Download and install it.
Naturally there are risks associated with both these methods -- you are, after all, installing patches on an operating system they aren’t intended for -- so it’s worth making sure you’ve backed up all your important personal files or settings before proceeding.
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Patchmate XP, and its Windows Server 2003 counterpart Patchmate 2003, are ISO images that contain all Windows XP updates (Windows Server 2003 Updates) that have been released by Microsoft.
The developer adds new Windows XP updates to the ISO image on a monthly basis so that it will always include the latest patches issues by Microsoft (but requires a new download to get those).
There are several situations where an ISO image with all Windows XP updates might come in handy.
It is for instance possible to install Windows XP updates to a computer system prior to going online with the system. Another reason is easier distribution; think of multiple computers in a computer network. Instead of downloading and installing the Windows XP updates multiple times (once for every computer system) they could be downloaded once in form of the PatchMate XP iso and applied to all computer systems.
Note: Support for Windows XP has ended. This means that the distribution is no longer provided as well.
PatchMate XP
The download and installation is also faster. Users who downloaded and installed updates from Windows Update in the past have most likely noticed how slow the downloads and updates would be commenced even on modern computer systems with broadband connections.
Patchmate XP can be downloaded as an ISO image from the developer's website. It can then be burned to CD or DVD to be executed right from within the Windows XP operating system. The user interaction has been reduced to a minimum.
Patchmate XP will detect the Windows XP Service Pack that is installed on the PC, and install the Windows XP updates based on the detection. Only post service Pack 3 updates would for example be installed on a computer system running Windows XP Service Pack 3.
The patches will be installed even if they are already present on the computer system which is not the most optimal thing as it may prolong the overall installation of the updates. A restart is required at the end of the update.
Install All Windows Xp Update To Windows 7
Verdict
PatchMate XP speeds up patching of Windows XP systems. One downside is that you will have to download updated ISO images whenever new patches get released to have them included.
An option to exclude updates from being applied would be helpful to cope with scenarios where updates cause problems on a computer system. Another useful feature would be the creation of a system restore point prior to installing the Windows XP updates.
Windows XP Updates can also be applied by programs like Offline Update, Autopatcher or Windows Updates Downloader.
