Compatibility update is available for Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012

Update information

How to obtain this update

Windows Update

This update is available from Windows Update.

Note This update is available for the release version of Windows 8 and of Windows Server 2012.

Microsoft Download Center

The following files are available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:
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.

The kinds of problems that are resolved by application compatibility updates

When you try to install and run certain games or applications in Windows 8 or in Windows Server 2012, you may experience one or more of the following symptoms:

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

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

The following table lists the applications and devices that were included in this cumulative update package. This table also describes the behavior of these applications and devices after you install the update.

Compatibility updates trigger several changes in Windows 8. The following are the three most common:

Hard block

The update puts a hard block on the application. A hard block prevents an application that is incompatible with Windows 8 from running on the system.

Note Microsoft enables Windows to put a hard block on a non-Microsoft application only if the manufacturer is notified.

Soft block

The update puts a soft block on the application. A soft block notifies you when one of the primary functionality of the application is broken on Windows 8 or causes instability to application experience.

Driver Block

This action may block an existing driver on your computer. When the driver is migrated during the upgrade, an Inbox driver will be installed.

Applications and devices that are included in this update

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, about the performance or reliability of these products.

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 8 and Windows Server 2012 file information notes

• The files that apply to a specific product, milestone (RTM,SPn), and service branch (LDR, GDR) can be identified by examining the file version numbers as shown in the following table:

  Version	Product	Milestone	Service branch
  6.2.920 0.16 xxx	Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012	RTM	GDR
  6.2.920 0.20 xxx	Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012	RTM	LDR

• The MANIFEST files (.manifest) and the MUM files (.mum) that are installed for each environment are listed separately in the "Additional file information for Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012" section. MUM and MANIFEST files, and the associated security catalog (.cat) files, are extremely important to maintain the state of the updated components. The security catalog files, for which the attributes are not listed, are signed with a Microsoft digital signature.