Microsoft wants to update Windows 11 using Hot patching without a restart

Winuser said:

That's the only part that I'm concerned about. Someone's computer could all of a sudden start acting up and the user won't have any idea of what is causing it. I guess I'd be more OK with it if MS sent a notification that an update is going to be installed first.

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Yep... a notification would at least allow us to know the update is happening, and to halt whatever we're doing, until it finishes.

cereberus said:

Why all the negativity?

Most of the comments are basically just "fear of the unknown".

Sure, there may be teething problems (make regular image backups) but this is the way to go - hardly new on Linux.

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Because Windows breaks even with a reboot.

And then we have fast startup...we all know how well that works. Disable that and you have 99% less issues with Windows.

Also on XBox hot patching is a pain. The system does not run well until it's rebooted.

Ghot said:

Yep... a notification would at least allow us to know the update is happening, and to halt whatever we're doing, until it finishes.

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It isn’t suggested anywhere that I read, that Microsoft will just take it upon itself to install an update. I’d doubt very much that the process of Windows Updating will change, less not immediately having to reboot. It even says, rebooting is still required.

It’s simply giving the user the option to either reboot immediately or reboot later. Pretty sure it’s already like that anyway.

It seems to me that this is just one more step on the road to... Windows-as-a-Service. :/

Ghot said:

I don't like change "just" for the sake of change.

Change for a good reason is fine.

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Well clearly, this change is for a good reason - no need to mess around with booting pc interrupting work flow.

Once you get used to this, you would think it is so anti-deluvian booting just to install updates.

cereberus said:

Well clearly, this change is for a good reason - no need to mess around with booting pc interrupting work flow.

Once you get used to this, you would think it is so anti-deluvian booting just to install updates.

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yeah, IF they make it work properly, but I am quite confident this will only introduce even more corruptions to the system than was already happening before this...

Microsoft is in the business of fixing stuff that it breaks all the time. It’s going to break stuff will this new method or without it. It’s a part of the reason why this forum is here

cereberus said:

Well clearly, this change is for a good reason - no need to mess around with booting pc interrupting work flow.

Once you get used to this, you would think it is so anti-deluvian booting just to install updates.

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Yeah, that's what the marketing dept. says.
That ofc has nothing to do with MS's real motives.

New process plan:

Microsoft is testing a new update method for Windows 11 that will allow the OS to install critical updates without requiring a reboot.

Current process:

Microsoft installs updates and asks the user when they want to reboot with “pending restart” notification. User can ignore for as long as they want to or reboot, or allow windows to reboot depending on times allocated set by user.

What’s the difference?

antspants said:

Microsoft is in the business of fixing stuff that it breaks all the time. It’s going to break stuff will this new method or without it. It’s a part of the reason why this forum is here

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All the naysayers will be proved (mostly) wrong I am sure.

I presume this will be tested through Insider versions first.

It is funny how some people want to be Insiders and expect immediate perfection of new features at the same time. That is a ridiculous expectation. MS make it clear to Insiders that versions can be buggy.

If people do not want any development, no matter what, they should stick with Windows 10 or W11 23H2 release versions for a year or so until Windows 11 has ironed out the bugs in 24H2.

The negativists (aka wimps) can thank me later for being willing to help sort out the bugs before they dare to put their toes in the water LOL.

Well MS should stick to fixing what they already broke before making new problems...then we can talk again.

cereberus said:

I presume this will be tested through Insider versions first.

It is funny how some people want to be Insiders and expect immediate perfection of new features at the same time. That is a ridiculous expectation. MS make it clear to Insiders that versions can be buggy.

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That doesn't necessarily mean that Hot-Patching will be bug free when MS releases it to the general public. I'm not against it as long as MS does thorough testing and doesn't release it to the general public before it's ready. I also think users should get a notice before the update is installed.

Hotpatching is already available in Windows in Azure, specifically on Datacenter editions of Windows Server. Do you think folks that run servers in that environment, for that money, of that importance, would tolerate as buggy a platform as some of you make it out to be (with no practical experience, it seems)?

And if you’re against the notion of one process injecting code into other processes, because it’s unheard of in Windows land, I have bad news for you. It happens all day, every day.

cereberus said:

It is funny how some people want to be Insiders and expect immediate perfection of new features at the same time. That is a ridiculous expectation. MS make it clear to Insiders that versions can be buggy.

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Million percent agree.

antspants said:

It isn’t suggested anywhere that I read, that Microsoft will just take it upon itself to install an update. I’d doubt very much that the process of Windows Updating will change, less not immediately having to reboot. It even says, rebooting is still required.

It’s simply giving the user the option to either reboot immediately or reboot later. Pretty sure it’s already like that anyway.

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Yup, I already have the option to reboot right away or later. If I remember well, the popup gives me an OK option (or similar). Once I click that it no longer bothers me. When I decide to reboot, I just go back to the Windows Update option in Settings and reboot from there.

asturias7 said:

Yup, I already have the option to reboot right away or later. If I remember well, the popup gives me an OK option (or similar). Once I click that it no longer bothers me. When I decide to reboot, I just go back to the Windows Update option in Settings and reboot from there.

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Exactly, and I predict the only change is going to be that it doesn’t nag with a “Pending Restart”
It all just seems like a non-event.

from glasskuter above:

To my way of thinking, its MS taking even more control out of the users hands.

Yes. Android Google is even worse, if that's conceivable. Control is the underlying, unspoken, tenet.

With all this doom and gloom, be reminded there is choice...

Anyways, I restart my system at regular intervals as a matter of preventative maintenance. That's me.

Not an issue for me as I regularly turn off my PC when not in use and always restart after installing a new Windows update or graphics driver. It's a minute at most.

I half expect this hot patching method to potentially cause issues knowing Microsoft. It wasn't that long ago that they were pushing graphics driver updates via Windows Updates that would install without my prior knowledge or consent while I was playing a game causing the game to crash!

Even if Windows did hot patch updates on my system I would still be inclined to restart my PC anyway "just in case"...

This is exactly my fear too...