News Microsoft pulls Windows RT 8.1 over boot bug

(ellipses)

 

My Surface RT updated fine...

 

Really? You didn't even test the update on your own hardware?

I have zero confidence in any update distributed by Microsoft these days.

 

+ 1

 

You would think with the control that M$ has on both the hardware and software involved with RT that they would have picked up on this, are there to many RT devices to enable proper testing ?

 

Apple are no better, the amount of iThings that get bricked as a result of an iOS update... it's borderline comical...

 

For anyone experiencing this problem, Microsoft have released a recovery image.
Microsoft Releases a Surface RT 8.0 Recovery Image which helps recover bricked Surface RT devices
Direct link to the recovery image.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=40810

 

No, they just threw it out there on a wing and a prayer.

Well, DUH! Of course they tested it. Doesn't mean these things won't happen.

Let's look at iOS7. Only four models of iPhone to roll out on, right? Should be easy to test. What can possibly go wrong?

• Update causes some iPhones to not switch back on
• Update causes some iPhones to get stuck on boot sequence
• Bug allows lockscreen to be bypassed
• Bug disables WiFi and Bluetooth
• Bug causes apps to crash more often on iPhone 5S
• Bug causes blue screen of death (I know, irony) on iPhone 5S
• Bug causes iTunes to crash repeatedly
• Facetime does not work
• iPhone freezes randomly
• Apps keep logging out
• Speaker does not work
• Media controls do not work
• iPhone receives other people's messages
• iPhone can't send messages

Keep in mind, that the vast majority of iPhones updated without a hitch (mine did). But these glitches have been common enough to get reported. Moral of the story? Computer devices and their OS's are hugely complex, more complex than a human brain can understand. These sort of bugs are unavoidable.

 

To be honest, I haven't update mine yet as my son is using it for school. I'll give it a go tonight and report back.

 

I'm not saying Apple is any better or anything, it just made me wounder why these problems arise when the hardware and software is supposedly the same. Is it something like RAM, SSD, etc, etc being made by different company's, or slight changes in the manufacturing of hardware mid production ?
And if so wouldn't the people testing be informed of variations in the hardware and provided with more samples ?

 

These problems arise because operating systems are, like, really complex. The hardware is, like, really complex.

Even a simple resistor or capacitor has a precision tolerance. A tiny production change in a chip that has no consequence for its functioning can cascade into a problem when placed in a network with a bunch of other chips. Even chips of the same production batch can vary slightly in operating tolerances. Frankly it's a miracle that things generally work so well as they do.

I'm sure that Microsoft, like Apple, tested the new OS for months and months on multiple devices and had reason to think it was all good.

You guys have got to stop expecting instant perfection considering your average smartphone is more powerful and complex than a 1990's PC.

 

Thanks for the heads up guys... I'm actually planning to check and try it out this weekend.. thanks again.

 

Do i detect a hint of sarcasm
Just brushing of the recent trend for Microsoft to release buggier than usual updates by saying ohh they are relay complex mann, doesn't help those affected by these problems. And i would be surprised if slight variations in the production of electronics or silicon account for even one of the things on the long list of recent botched Microsoft updates.

Day by day the list of problems people are having with 8.1 is growing ever longer, the point of having a RTM is so manufactures can test their hardware and notify Microsoft of potential problems. But somewhere along the line this seems to have broken down, did the OEM's not test the RTM build ? did Microsoft not have time to fix the bugs ?

 

Apple and Google have also been releasing buggy software updates (see above for iOS7 examples); this is not a problem unique to Microsoft. And like with Microsoft, most machines are unaffected.

And yeah, slight variations in electronics do matter.

How about: the OEMs did test the RTM build, and Microsoft did fix the bugs, and yet, for a few users, the problem did occur? Because OS's are complex like that?

I agree that given the delicate position of Microsoft's OS, especially that of Windows RT, it should have made triple and quadruple sure that there were not going to be any hitches. But **** happens. And exactly what is the "long list of problems" with Windows 8.1, except: "I don't like it"?

 

So Apple knew they changed the supplier of the sensor, but failed to test the new sensor with their software. And changing supplier doesn't produce a slight variation in electronics, it produces an entirely different piece of hardware that would need to be tested for compatibility with the existing product.

Ahh that's OK then, its just a few users, OS's are complex, and **** happens, so we can just brush of these problems ? when someone says the latest Microsoft update bricked their £280 surface we can tell em **** happens.

And the list of problems people are having with 8.1 are not a simple "I don't like it", they are real problems like...
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2056292/windows-8-1-launch-weekend-plagued-by-some-show-stopping-installation-issues.html
"The Boot Configuration Data file is missing some required information"
"Couldn't update to Windows 8.1 - 0xC1900101 - 0x40017"
"Sorry, it looks like this PC can't run Windows 8.1. This might be because the Users or Program Files folder is being redirected to another partition."
"Error code 0x80240031"
"Secure Boot isn't configured correctly"
"Individual driver woes"
Then there are..
Gamers experiencing mouse lag in Windows 8.1
Internet Explorer 11 BREAKS Google, Outlook Web Access

 

Yes, and I can list you the same litany for any OS upgrades out there (including that all-time favourite Windows 7). I'm not brushing off these problems, but neither am I getting all wound up about it. With all the different configurations of PC out there, I'm impressed that Windows 8.1 has worked out OK on so many computers (including my old esoteric rig).

Apple changed supplier, but bought what it though was essentially the same part. Unfortunately its tolerances were slightly different. And yes, Apple did test iOS7 thoroughly. And yes, it only had four models of iPhone to worry about. Yet bugs happened. Nobody is asking for the head of Tim Cook. As I said: perspective.

 

So you are happy this faster release cycle that Microsoft has adopted from Apple and Google means less testing and buggier software ?

 

I am happy that it is no better or worse than Apple and Google's yearly upgrade cycle.

 

But worse than Microsoft have historically been with updates, a reliability some people have come to expect. I'm not sure the benefits of a faster release cycle outweighs the negatives.