THE OFFICIAL BLOG OF THE SBS DIVA

http://msmvps.com/blogs/bradley/archive/2009/09/21/some-of-the-more-unusual-but-fortunately-uncommon-error-messages-and-issues-you-might-see-in-patching-on-the-2k8-platform.aspx In the comments to that post someone asked me if 2k8 was worth it given the potential for patching issues in that post.

First off that post is similar to those prescription ads you see on television.  "This drug cures the common cold, side effects could include death, dismemberment, living a life of poverty, or bad breath".  You know the ones I mean where the goodness of the drugs sound so good and at the very end the voice over speeds up as they rattle through all of the known side effects that sound so horrific to make you wonder why someone would want to even take the drug in the first place?

The reality is that I've never had a workstation hit with this.  Nor a server.  Nor have I personally seen the "black screen of death" with Vista.  Nor have I seen personally the stuck on "stage 3 of 3".  But I've seen people impacted.  I personally know a few folks that have gotten hit with the issue where a Server 2008 asks for a SP1 (which is impossible).  But then again, I see people just as impacted with normal security patch issues on the 2k3 platform.  I cringe at a SQL patch.  I wince at a .NET patch. 

The reality is that vast majority of us patchers go through the month of patching just fine. 

So please remember these issues you see are like those drug commercials.  A few of you just might die as a slight side effect.  The vast majority of patchers are just fine and live a long and very healthy life.