Re: Q824143 -- how to get patch?!?

From: Mike Brannigan [MSFT] (mikebran_at_online.microsoft.com)
Date: 08/23/03 

Date: Sat, 23 Aug 2003 01:38:13 +0100

Will,

There are 2 sorts of patches.
There are public one that are written for a bug that effects a large number
of users and these are posted with the Q article for public download. These
patches are rigorously tested and are of a sufficient quality bar as to be
suitable for all.
Then there are "private" fixes. These are a hotfix written for a specific
client or clients that are have an issue. These hotfixes are still related
to a Q article so people can still find out about them - BUT they are often
not a deeply tested as the public fixes because they are written for a
specific set of circumstances and hardware/software etc.
They are available from product support if the engineer while working with
the client identifies that this fix will fix the specific problem the client
is having and the fact that the client has to contact PSS to make this
arrangements allows us to track who gets these fixes so they can be followed
up and also issued with later version of the fix as and when they become
available, they also receive the SP that contains the final version of the
fix as soon as possible.

The reason that a client "may" incur a cost for this is that they might not
actually have the precise issue that the fix is coded to fix and in these
cases we then open a regular support incident with the appropriate cost that
incurs. So this then becomes a regular support call to Microsoft which
can/may incur charges. 

-- 
Regards,
Mike
--
Mike Brannigan [Microsoft]
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights
Please note I cannot respond to e-mailed questions, please use these
newsgroups
"Will Denny" <wjd4444uk@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:%23a7Tl5NaDHA.1940@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
Hi Shawn
If Q824143 is needed then it will only be downloaded by those users who need
it.  Why make a mockery out of the MS support system by 'suggesting' that
certain 'patches' have to be referred via MS before those 'patches' can be
downloaded?
On who 'infinite wisdom' are these 'costs' based on?  Doesn't MS make enough
profit without having to charge the end user for the 'privilege of an
update'?
Will
"Shawn Rabourn (MS)" <shawnrab@online.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:u2K9oyNaDHA.1488@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl...
> You can call us and get the hotfix for free.  It only costs extra money if
> you need support beyond the patch.
>
> --Shawn
> This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties and confers no rights.
>
>
> "Susquehanna County Library" <sctylibrary@stny.rr.com> wrote in message
> news:38db461b.0308221034.6db47d45@posting.google.com...
> > OK, this may be a dumb question--how does one email MS to get the
> > q824143 patch without paying? I have 26 computers affected by this
> > problem. We're a public library system so this has a big impact on our
> > users, but we're also very poor and I can't justify spending $99 or
> > $245 (which "may be refunded"...don't want to count on that!) Failing
> > that, how soon can we expect a publically-available patch? Mucho
> > thanks for any feedback.
> >
> > --
> > Hilary Caws-Elwitt
> > Susquehanna County Library
>
>
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