Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Application Compatibility Update through Dynamic Update: August 2010

The kinds of problems that are resolved by application compatibility updates

When you try to install and run certain legacy games or applications in Windows 7 and in Windows Server 2008 R2, you may experience one or more of the following symptoms:

• The game, the application, or the firmware is installed incorrectly.
• The game, the application, or the firmware causes system instability.
• The primary functions of the game, of the application, or of the firmware do not work correctly.

Applications that experience a change in behavior after you install this update

The following table under the "Applications that are included in the August 2010 update" lists the applications that are added to the cumulative update package. This table also describes the behavior of these applications after you install the update.

Application compatibility updates trigger several changes in Windows 7 and in Windows Server 2008 R2. The following are the three most common changes:

• Hard block
  
  The update puts a hard block on the application. A hard block prevents an application that is incompatible with Windows 7 and with Windows Server 2008 from running on the system.
  
  
  Note Microsoft enables Windows to put a hard block on a non-Microsoft application only if the manufacturer of the application gives its consent.
• Soft block
  
  The update puts a soft block on the application. A soft block notifies you when an application that is incompatible with Windows 7 starts to run.
• Update
  
  The update improves functionality of the application in Windows 7 and in Windows Server 2008 R2.

Applications that are included in the August 2010 update

For Windows 7 or for Windows Server 2008 R2

Update information

How to obtain this update

This update is available from the Microsoft Update website:For more information about how to download Microsoft support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

119591 How to obtain Microsoft support files from online services

Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.

Prerequisites

To apply this update, you must be running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2.

Registry information

To use the update in this package, you do not have to make any changes to the registry.

Restart requirement

You do not have to restart the computer after you apply this update.

Update replacement information

This update replaces the following update:

982520 Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Application Compatibility Update through Dynamic Update: June 2010

File information

The global version of this hotfix installs files that have the attributes that are listed in the following tables. The dates and the times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The dates and the times for these files on your local computer are displayed in your local time together with your current daylight saving time (DST) bias. Additionally, the dates and the times may change when you perform certain operations on the files.

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 file information

For all supported x86-based versions of Windows 7

For all supported x64-based versions of Windows 7 and of Windows Server 2008 R2

For all supported IA-64-based versions of Windows Server 2008 R2

For more information about software update terminology, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

824684 Description of the standard terminology that is used to describe Microsoft software updates