Office Systems Developer

Abstract

If you are active in the IT Pro or Enterprise community, this announcement will be important to you.  On January 29, 2009,  Microsoft will announce the Blocker Tool for Windows Vista SP1 and Windows XP SP3 will be removed on April 28^th and May 19^th, respectively. 

Our goal in announcing the removal of the blockers early is to provide IT Pros with an early notification to ensure they’re prepared to deploy the appropriate service pack when the blockers expire.  This also provides technical communities with early information so that they may plan accordingly to assist customers.

Background

Rationale

Service Packs will not automatically install on a machine even after the Service Pack Blocker tool expires. For service packs, you must accept the offering before installation will start. If Automatic Update is turned on, WU will alert you that it has an important update to install.  If you do not want to install the update (Service Pack) simply decline to install and/or hide the update.  If you do not have AU turned on, the service pack will not be offered until you open Windows Update and “Check for Updates.”

Effective dates

The expiration date for the Service Pack Blocker Tool for Windows Vista SP1 is April 28, 2009; for Windows XP SP3 the tool expires May 19, 2009.

Location

All Geographies

Who is affected

IT Pro and Enterprise customers

Actions Requested

Provide support for IT Pro and Enterprise customers who have inquiries.

Additional Information

For more information on Windows product support lifecycles, please visit the following site: http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifecycle#ServicePackSupport

Windows Resources:

Windows Team Blog: http://windowsteamblog.com/

Springboard on TechNet: http://blogs.technet.com/springboard/default.aspx