First Windows 2000 Hotfix Released

Microsoft released a hotfix for three critical bugs in Windows 2000 on the same day the operating system was launched. The fix (Q253934) addresses issues with the Wareki or Taiwanese calendar, possible corruption of Word and Excel documents, and a security vulnerability for systems running Windows 2000 Indexing Service. All three bugs affect Windows 2000 Professional, Server, and Advanced Server. Strangely, one was identified and fixed on Windows NT 4 nearly a year before Windows 2000 code was released to manufacturing. While Microsoft states publicly that it has carefully tested Windows 2000’s kernel code for bugs, its development and testing processes still aren’t rigorous enough to prevent a regression to a bug that was fixed on NT 4 nearly a year before.

Windows Update for Windows 2000

Although the bugs may have tarnished the release of the new operating system, they do give administrators an early introduction to the Windows Update feature, new in Windows 2000. Windows Update was first released in Windows 98 to simplify installation of bug fixes and feature updates on consumer machines. Although this feature may work well for consumers, it will likely prove to be an annoyance for companies if they don’t block it.