Microsoft® Windows® Desktop Deployment Resource Kit

Deploying Hotfixes

Hotfixes are files or collections of files that fix specific problems in Windows XP Professional. Microsoft provides hotfixes as self-extracting, self-installing cabinet files (.exe). Hotfixes that you install appear in Add Or Remove Programs, so you can remove them if necessary.

You can usually recognize a hotfix by its unique naming scheme. Hotfix names use the format Q######_WXP_SPX_ARCH_LLL.exe. In this chapter, I call them Qhotfix.exe, with hotfix representing ######_WXP_SPX_ARCH_LLL. Here’s a description of each placeholder you see in this name:

• ######. The number of the related Microsoft Knowledge Base article.

• X. The service level for the hotfix.

• ARCH. The processor architecture for the hotfix: X86 or IA64.

• LLL. The language ...