Removing Updates

Despite following proper planning and testing procedures, problems can arise when you deploy an update to production computers. Before you deploy updates, have a plan in place to roll back updates from one, many, or all of the target computers. The main steps for the rollback and redeployment of updates are as follows:

1. Stop the current deployment. Identify any steps necessary for deactivating release mechanisms used in your environment.
2. Identify and resolve any update deployment issues. Determine what is causing an update deployment to fail. The order in which updates are applied, the release mechanism used, and flaws in the update itself are all possible causes for a failed deployment.
3. Uninstall updates if necessary. Updates that introduce instabilities to your production environment should be removed if possible. For instructions, refer to the section titled "How to Remove Updates" earlier in this tutorial.
4. Reactivate release mechanisms. After resolving update issues, reactivate the appropriate release mechanism to redeploy updates. Security bulletins issued by Microsoft will always indicate whether an update can be uninstalled. Because reverting computers to a previous state is not always possible, pay close attention to this detail before deploying an update that cannot be uninstalled.

When a simple uninstall process is not available for a security update, ensure that the necessary provisions are in place for reverting your critical computers back to their original states in the unlikely event that a security update deployment causes a computer to fail. These provisions might include having spare computers and data backup mechanisms in place so that a failed computer can be rebuilt quickly.