How to locate core operating system fixes for Microsoft Windows CE Platform Builder products

This article describes how to locate core operating system software updates for Microsoft Windows CE Platform Builder products. Core operating system software updates are only supposed to be used by operating system implementers. Core operating system software updates are not intended for any one of the following:

• Branded Microsoft operating systems (PPC, Smartphone)
• Independent hardware vendors (IHV)
• Independent software vendors (ISV)

If you are not an operating system implementer, and you believe a core operating system software update may provide a solution to an issue that you are experiencing, contact the maker of your target operating system implementer.

An individual change that is made to a Windows CE Platform Builder product and then released to users of the product separate from the retail product package is referred to as an "update." A group of files for a particular update is referred to as an "update package." An update package contains several packages for the various operating system processor kernels together with an HTM file that contains the list of fixed components. The HTM file points to Microsoft Knowledge Base articles about the individual fixes that are included in the update package. These articles contain relevant technical information about the fix, including a list of the modified files.

An update is always developed by using the most recent source code for a single product. The update is only tested in a specified configuration. Therefore, an update is only supported when it is installed on a specific product version with all previously issued update packages already installed. Therefore, you must install the previous yearly updates and all the monthly updates before you install the update that you want.

Understand update types

An update may be found in one of the following update types:

• Monthly
• Yearly

The monthly update is a package that contains all individual changes in a particular month for a particular year. Monthly updates do not contain individual changes from previous months. To determine whether a change is contained in a monthly package, you must examine the article's "File information" section. The package file name contains the following information:

• The version, followed by a hyphen
• A numeric date tag, in year month day format (yymmdd)
• A tag that specifies the Microsoft Knowledge Base article number, followed by a hyphen
• The processor type

For example, the Wincepb50-060503-kb917590-armv4i.msi package is the ARMV4i Windows CE 5.0 Platform Builder fix that is documented in Microsoft Knowledge Base article 917590 and that is contained in the May 2006 monthly update.

The yearly update is a package that contains all monthly updates that are available at the time of release. Each package is provided separately for each processor kernel that is available in the target product. This is true except when a particular change does not apply to a particular processor kernel. Then, no package is required.

When a yearly update package is released, the monthly update packages are removed from the update site. The yearly update package can be quite large.

Determine fixes that are required

The installation packages are designed to install their components only if the components are newer than the components that are currently installed in the build environment. To most easily bring your system up-to-date, install all the currently available update packages. The build environment requires the installation of the following:

• The yearly update package
• All monthly update packages that are released after the yearly update package

After you install any monthly update packages or the yearly update package, you can determine the current update state by running the following tool on the build system: You can use the Ceqfecheck.exe tool to determine which packages are installed. Also, you can use the Ceqfecheck.exe tool to determine whether the actual binary product files match the current update state. You must have an Internet connection to obtain the latest package information.

Find update packages

Update packages are available at two different Web (HTTP) update sites:

• Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) downloads
  
  The MSDN Web site contains all the update packages for each version on an easy to read page. For more information, visit the following MSDN Web site:
  http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/embedded/Aa731256.aspx (http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/embedded/Aa731256.aspx)
• Microsoft Download Center
  
  This Web site contains all the update packages. For more information, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads)

To update a build system, locate the latest yearly update package and all the monthly update packages since the last yearly update package. Then, install the appropriate update packages. You can locate the update packages on the MSDN Web site listed above. If you choose to use the Microsoft Download Center, follow these steps:

1. Specify the following search words:
   <version> Builder Update
   Note The placeholder <version> is the operating system version number, for example 5.0, or 4.0 for Windows CE .NET.
2. After the search is complete, set the Sort Results By: field to Release Date.

Understand the availability of update packages and Microsoft Knowledge Base articles

Update packages and Microsoft Knowledge Base articles are published to the Web by using separate publishing systems. If the Microsoft Web site is missing either the Microsoft Knowledge Base article or the corresponding update package, you may find that the missing publication is available in a few days. If you have to have the Microsoft Knowledge Base article or the corresponding update package immediately, telephone Microsoft Product Support Services.

Each update package also has associated Readme files. You can view the Readme files after you install the update package to the operating system base directory of the build environment. The Readme files give a list of individual changes that are included in the update. The Readme files will associate the individual change with the related Microsoft Knowledge Base article.