Description of the Arpidfix.exe tool (904630)

MORE INFORMATION

Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) and Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) added a new feature to the Add or Remove Programs item in Control Panel. This new feature changes the way that fixes are displayed to users. This new feature adds a Show updates check box to either hide or show updates. If updates are shown, they are sorted by the dates on which they were installed, with the oldest update at the top of the list.

The installed date functionality does not work for updates that were built by using Update.exe version 6.1. Instead, these updates appear at the top of the list before the sorted items. Update.exe is the Setup program for Windows software updates. Updates appear at the top of the list before the sorted items because packages that were built with Update.exe version 6.1 do not have the Installed On attribute in their registry keys. Without the Installed On attribute, confusion about installation of the fix may occur. This issue will be corrected in the next version of Update.exe. In the meantime, the Arpidfix.exe tool was created to enable updates to display correctly. This is specific to updates that were built by using the current version of Update.exe. The Arpidfix.exe tool is an extension of the Update.exe version 6.1 functionality and is integrated with packages that were built with Update.exe version 6.1. A benefit of the Arpidfix.exe tool is that it also sets the Installed On attribute for most previously installed Windows software updates.

The Arpidfix.exe tool is a stand-alone executable (.exe) file. When Arpidfix.exe runs, Arpidfix.exe adds the required Installed On values to the registry keys of installed updates. Therefore, when the Add or Remove Programs dialog box is opened, the Add or Remove Programs dialog box reads the appropriate registry keys and sorts the updates correctly by date.

Note

• The Arpidfix.exe tool adds the Installed On attribute for Windows software updates only. Other updates or programs might not have the Installed On attribute. Programs or updates that do not have the Installed On attribute are not corrected by the Arpidfix.exe tool.
• The Arpidfix.exe tool only runs when updates are applied. The Arpidfix.exe tool is not resident on the destination computer. The Arpidfix.exe tool is not available as a stand-alone tool. Instead, the Arpidfix.exe tool is only available with some updates that are released in the second half of 2005.