Office Update Confuses Users

An automatic update for Windows XP and Vista included the massive 200MB Office 2007 SP1, which according to Microsoft, won't be pushed out with Windows Automatic Update

Office Update Installs Automatically
Some Windows users are surprised to know they have gotten the massive Office 2007 SP1 update automatically, even though Microsoft said it would not use Windows Automatic Updates to push out the large upgrade; at least not for several months.

Users running a preview copy of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 will receive the Office 2007 upgrade automatically, as well as those users running Windows XP SP3, which is still in limited beta testing. The update weighs in at almost 220 megabytes.

"As noted to beta customers, if [they] are running Vista SP1 beta software, as part of the beta program, Office 2007 SP1 on pre-release Windows Vista SP1 will automatically install as planned for this beta program," said Bobbie Harder, a senior program manager with the WSUS (Windows Server Update Services) group.

Other users noticed tha automatic download and install of Office 2007 SP 1, and that even if the update was installed manually, Automatic Update later automatically installs, or reinstalls, the service pack.

Microsoft, when it unveiled the service pack, said Automatic Updates would not be used to deliver SP1 for at least three months, and maybe even six months. The corporation also promised to give a 30-day notice before pushing the update out using Automatic Updates.

Harder said that "On Vista in the Windows Update Control Panel Applet, the Office 2007 SP1 will appear as an available update to download and install, but it will NOT automatically download and install, regardless of the automatic settings" However, the update is checked by default, and users can easily miss the update information, countered Bradley. "If you are a bit asleep and just blindly approve all of the patches, you get a very large wait while SP1 for Office 2007 is downloaded," she said.

A Computerworld reader reported exactly that. "I received [Office 2007 SP1] last night Dec 11 as part of Windows Auto-update," said someone identified as 6monthVistaUser in a comment attached to a story about SP1. "Last night was the largest auto-update ever (230 MB download) filled with 11 updates. 1 was for IE v7, 6 were for Vista cumulative patches, 1 was the Office 2007 Service Pack 1, the other one was for Business Contacts Manager SP 1."

Harder defended the process. "For customers who want the benefits of Office 2007 SP1 now, we have made it available," she said. She also noted that users could choose not to pull in the service pack. "Download and installation of the Office 2007 SP1 via the Vista Windows Update control panel applet requires explicit user interaction, just as with the Microsoft Update site," she said. "Once the list of available updates appears, they can de-select or uncheck the box next to Office 2007 SP1 and choose to download and install other updates, or just close the applet."