Microsoft Update
| Microsoft Update | |
| |
| Status | Online! |
| Archiving status | In progress... |
| Archiving type | DPoS |
| Project source | microsoftupdate-grab, microsoftupdate-items |
| Project tracker | microsoftupdate |
| IRC channel | #windowfixer (on hackint) |
| Data[how to use] | archiveteam_microsoftupdate🔒 |
| Language(s) | English |
Microsoft Update is a service for download and installing updates of Microsoft products, such as Windows and Microsoft Office. It is an expansion of Windows Update, a service for updating Windows.
Windows Update is a Microsoft service for Windows, which automates downloading and installing Windows updates over the Internet. The service delivers software updates for Windows, as well as the various Microsoft antivirus products, including Windows Defender and Microsoft Security Essentials. Since its inception, Microsoft has introduced two extensions of the service: Microsoft Update and Windows Update for Business. The former expands the core service to include other Microsoft products, such as Microsoft Office and Microsoft Expression Studio. The latter is available to business editions of Windows 10 and permits postponing updates or receiving updates only after they have undergone rigorous testing.[1]
Removal of legacy drivers
On 2025-06-20, Microsoft announced a periodic cleanup of legacy drivers that are served through Windows Update.[2]
Removal of unwanted drivers from Windows Update
This blog post is intended to notify all Windows Hardware program partners that Microsoft has taken a strategic initiative to clean up legacy drivers published on Windows Update to reduce security and compatibility risks. The rationale behind this initiative is to ensure that we have the optimal set of drivers on Windows Update that cater to a variety of hardware devices across the windows ecosystem, while making sure that Microsoft Windows security posture is not compromised. This initiative involves periodic cleanup of drivers from Windows Update, thereby resulting in some drivers not being offered to any systems in the ecosystem. Further details of the effort are as follows:
What category of drivers are targeted in the first cut of the cleanup?
The first phase targets legacy drivers that have newer replacements already on Windows Update.
What does "cleanup" mean in this context?
Cleanup here refers to the process of expiring drivers so that they are no longer associated with an audience in Windows update, resulting in them not being offered to any system. Technically, expiring a driver means removing all its audience assignments in Hardware Development Center, which stops Windows Update from offering that driver to devices.
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What happens to the cleaned-up drivers?
After the expiry, Microsoft will publish a blog post mentioning the end of the first cut of driver expiry. After that, there will be a 6-month window for partners to get back with concerns (if any). If no action is taken, the drivers will be permanently removed from windows update.
Will this be a one-time exercise or will similar instances occur in the future?
This is meant to be a regular exercise to optimize what windows update has to offer. We are beginning with the above-mentioned category of drivers but will expand to cover more categories of drivers that Microsoft deems fit to be expired from windows update. Each time such a cleanup occurs, Microsoft will communicate broadly so that partners know what to expect.