I can’t believe this recent Windows patch fiasco. I recently scored a side-gig at a local business with about 30 computers and no internal IT person. My task is simple, tune the desktops and fix all the problems that come with aging computers.

Well this recent round of Windows automatic updates managed to hose at least 4 of my computers! These machines are running Windows 2000 Professional with PCAnywhere installed. Apparently this last round of patches triggered something that caused PCAnywhere to interfere with Windows control of the display drivers. When you click the “Settings” tab in the “Display Properties” dialog box you get a “Stop” error in the VGA.dll. I managed to find a solution to the problem here. This support article was written in 2003. It’s very strange that these computers have been running just fine with PCAnywhere and suddenly, after this recent patch, they succumb to an issue discovered circa 2003.

This is totally unacceptable. My reputation with this company is being threatened due to Microsoft’s flub. And I have found myself in a position where I have to defend Microsoft and my decision to keep these machines up-to-date and patched. I’m tempted to setup Window Patch Manager and wait to install patches a few weeks after they’re released. I know there are probably many other professionals with the same thought.