OCPC Repair

I’ve used AutoPatcher for many years. As an IT professional, I have to install or reinstall new Windows operating systems all the time. If the workstations were all the same make and model I could use something like Symantec’s Ghost or Acronis True Image and Sysprep to clone the operating system, but what if they were different. I would need to install each operating system on each workstation then manually update them one by one. Easy? Only if you were working on 2 workstations. I manage servers, user support and escalated network/server issues. I cannot work on 2 workstations all day. That’s why I depend on applications like AutoPatcher.

AutoPatcher was developed in 2003 by Antonis Kaladis and Jason Kelly. AutoPatcher today allows a comprehensive collection of up-to-date patches, add-ons, and registry hacks/tweaks for Windows XP SP2, Windows 2000 SP4, Windows Server 2003 SP1, and Windows Vista. So instead of updating each workstation individually via the web; the files could be stored locally and retrieved, saving valuable time and money.

On August 29, 2007, the AutoPatcher team received an email from Microsoft request them to cease all distribution. As much as they disagreed, they complied and took all their download pages and mirrors offline. It was a truly sad day.

On November 9, 2007, Antonis released a new version of AutoPatcher called AutoPatcher Updater (APUP) v1.0.4 as of this writing, which is still beta. Basically Microsoft’s concern was: 1.) AutoPatcher was offering unlicensed copies of Microsoft’s work. 2.) AutoPatcher was redistributing copywrited material (the patches and add-ons) from Microsoft. So Antonis developed a work around, they would download all the patches and add-ons from Microsoft into the same structure as the previous AutoPatcher then download the AutoPatcher installer from AutoPatcher Servers eliminating the 2 concerns.

Determining authenticity:
Since the new AutoPatcher is still beta, I would recommend check the file size the MD5 hash to make sure it’s legitimate. To do this we need to compare the file size to the file size from AutoPatcher.

Right click the apup.exe file and select Properties – This will display its properties. Make sure it matches.
Next I use fsum by SlavaSoft to check the MD5 hash. This is a command line tool but don’t be afraid to use it.
By default if you use fsum without any options it will display the Checksum in MD5 or you can use the -md5 option.

FSUM how to:
Start >> Run >> cmd >> ok
Usage

c:\"<path>fsum.exe" -md5 "<path>apup.exe"

Example: “C:\Documents and Settings\administrator\Desktop\fsum.exe” -md5 “c:\Documents and Settings\administrator\Desktop\New Folder\apup.exe”

Using AutoPatcher
Double click the apup.exe
Select the product(s) you’d like to update.
After the you have select the product(s) the apup.exe will download scripts from AutoPatcher and download the necessary files based on your select.
Once it has finished downloading double click the autopatcher.exe to install the updates.

You can burn the files onto a CD or store it on a file server and go from workstation to workstation without having to download all the updates over again.

I would encourage all IT professionals to use AutoPatcher. Please remember to download AutoPatcher from http://www.autopatcher.com only and make sure the MD5 hash is the same. If the MD5 hash is not the same the authenticity has been compromised and I would not recommend using the compromised file.