

If you have an antivirus installed, it’s probably set the registry key for you so you can receive updates. Microsoft’s support site explains everything, but most Windows users probably haven’t heard about this policy. But Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 8.1 users still need the registry key. All Windows 10 users will get security updates, whether or not they have the registry key set. On March 13, 2018, Microsoft lifted this limitation for Windows 10 users.

That’s supposed to motivate antivirus companies to update their software and make life easier for Microsoft in the future. Having the registry key present is mandatory for updates. Windows PCs without the registry key won’t get any future Windows security patches, either. If the key isn’t, the patch won’t install-that gives antivirus companies time to update and test their software.īut Microsoft actually went further than this. If the key is present, the patch will install. Microsoft told antivirus companies that they had to set a registry key that flags their antivirus as compatible with the update. To prevent Windows systems from becoming unstable, Microsoft decided to withhold this security patch from all Windows systems by default. Microsoft noticed that many antivirus applications were incompatible with the update and caused blue screen errors. This is all thanks to the patch for Meltdown and Spectre that rolled out via Windows Update. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.RELATED: How to Check if Your PC or Phone Is Protected Against Meltdown and Spectre Please remember to click “Mark as Answer” on the post that helps you, and to click “Unmark as Answer” if a marked post does not actually answer your question. How do I reset Windows Update components?ĭescription of the System Update Readiness Tool for Windows Vista, for Windows Server 2008, for Windows 7, and for Windows Server 2008 R2Īdvanced guidelines for diagnosing and fixing servicing corruption

For the detailed steps, please refer to the following Microsoft articles: If the above suggestions cannot fix the issue for you, please try to reset Windows Update components and run System Update Readiness Tool to repair the You still can run other virtual machines in Windows 7 with Windows Virtual PC. In Windows Server 2008 R2, but you cannot run Hyper-V in Windows 7. Windows Live Security Essentials cannot be installed in Windows Server 2008 R2, but you can install it in Windows 7.
