Microsoft Eases The Pain Of Fresh Windows 7 Installs With Mammoth Patch Package

Installing any operating system from scratch can be a tedious endeavor, but at this point in time, installing Windows 7 can be downright frustrating due to one little problem: there have been a ton of updates rolled-out since Service Pack 1 was released in 2011. Fortunately, Microsoft realizes this and has now done something about it.

Windows 7’s new “Convenience Rollup” encompasses all of the patches that were released for the OS since SP1 launched. That means it covers literally hundreds of bug-fixes and security updates, dramatically hardening what would be a very insecure base SP1 install.

There are a couple of scenarios where this convenience rollup package would prove useful, and none of them include those where folks keep their Windows 7 install up-to-date. Who this would benefit the most are those who need to install Windows 7 fresh, or those who are having issues with Windows Update and need to be up-to-date (which, for the record, is everyone).

This massive collection of patches is being made available outside of Windows Update, simply because it’s not one that most people would need (not to mention the download is likely to be rather beefy). Instead, you need to go here, and make sure you install KB3020369 through Windows Update before the convenience rollup is installed. If you happen to run into any issues, just head here.

If you’re a really enterprising user, Microsoft also gives you the option to inject all of these updates into SP1 install media, making the overall installation process even easier.