Windows 8 Client and Windows Server 2012 General Availability Update Rollup

How to obtain the update

This update is available from Windows Update.

• This update is provided as an important update.

• If you select the Install updates automatically (recommended) Windows Update setting, this update is automatically installed.

• If you select other Windows Update settings, we highly recommend that you immediately install this update through Windows Update.
  

You can also obtain the stand-alone update package through the Microsoft Download Center. For more information, go to the Microsoft Download Center and then search for KB2756872.

Improvements

This update rollup includes the following performance and reliability improvements:

• Increased power efficiency to extend battery life

• Performance improvements in Windows 8 applications and Start screen

• Improved audio and video playback in many scenarios

• Improved application and driver compatibility with Windows 8

This update includes the Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 components for update KB 2749655. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

2749655 Microsoft Security Advisory: Compatibility issues affecting signed Microsoft binaries

Known issues

The following known issues may occur after you apply this update:

• KB7556872 cannot be installed and will not be offered on Windows Update if you have the following third-party software installed on your Windows 8-based computer:
  
  

  Kingsoft Internet Security / Kingsoft Antivirus (version 2012.SP4.0 or earlier)

• When you turn a Windows feature on or off, the computer may require a restart. For example, this action may be necessary when you turn Remote Access on or off.

• Setup may hang or stop responding if a currently installed driver is outdated or not fully compatible.
  
  To troubleshoot this issue, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  

  KB2777330 Troubleshoot issues installing KB2756872

• When the installation is complete, you may notice that some tiles and icons may be missing.
  
  To work around this issue, log off of your user account and then log back on. The Tiles and Icons will display correctly.
  

• When you try to play videos that have protected content in certain applications, the videos do not play.
  
  To resolve this issue, install update 2768703. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  2768703 Protected content playback errors on Windows 8 after you install KB 2756872

Prerequisites

To apply this update, you must be running Windows 8 or Windows Server 2012.

Restart information

You must restart the computer after you apply this update.

Update replacement information

This update does not replace any previously released update.

File information

For a list of the files that are provided in this update 2756872, click the following link:

File attributes tables for update 2756872For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

2771075 File information for update 2756872The 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.