A compatibility glitch with the latest versions of Windows has thrust the spotlight onto a little-known product from Microsoft's Dynamics line for midsize businesses.
Microsoft said on Tuesday that it was delaying the availability of Windows XP Service Pack 3 and halting automatic updates to Vista Service Pack 1 because of problems with Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System.
Just what is Dynamics RMS?
It's software that enables specialty retailers to handle cash register functions, process payments, and automate purchasing, inventory and other back-end processes, said Michael Griffiths, the group product manager for the retail part of the Dynamics business.
Dynamics RMS is used to manage about 38,000 different store locations, he said.
Perhaps its most notable customer is the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, who use it to handle all of their merchandising activities, in conjunction with Microsoft's Dynamics AX product.
Microsoft acquired Dynamics RMS as part of its 2002 acquisition of Southern California-based Sales Management Systems, and it last updated the product in January 2007.
Griffiths said the Dynamics team discovered the issue as part of its testing and realized that the problem could lead to data loss.
"The key issue is, there is a potential for data loss within the RMS solution itself, which is obviously something we wanted to make sure we address immediately," Griffiths said.
He didn't offer a specific reason why the company didn't catch the issue sooner. "It just happened this was the time and place when we did find the issue," he said.
Microsoft confirmed Tuesday that it has stopped automatic updates of Vista to Service Pack 1 in the wake of a newly discovered glitch.
The problem, which has also halted the availability of Windows XP Service Pack 3, prevents Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System from working with either operating system update.
"We are temporarily holding any additional automatic distribution of Windows Vista SP1," Microsoft said in response to an inquiry from CNET News.com. The company said it will continue to make Vista SP1 available for manual download. Microsoft had just started pushing out the Vista service pack last week via automatic updates.
"While we are recommending that customers running Microsoft Dynamics RMS should not install SP1, there are many other customers who can benefit from installing Windows Vista SP1 immediately, so we are maintaining availability via (Windows Update)," Microsoft said. "We are delaying the release of Windows XP SP3 and holding any additional automatic distribution of Windows Vista SP1 as a precaution and to help ensure that our customers have a great experience with Windows."
The company has not yet described the problem, beyond saying it is a "compatibility issue." I have also asked for data on how the problem was discovered, why it took until XP SP3 to find it, and how many users run Dynamics RMS.
Microsoft on Tuesday said it is delaying the release of Windows XP Service Pack 3 because of a newly uncovered glitch.
The software maker said there is a "compatibility issue" between the XP service pack and Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management System, a retail chain management program for small and midsize businesses.
Microsoft finalized the code for Windows XP SP3 last week and had planned to make it broadly available starting Tuesday.
"In order to make sure customers have the best possible experience, we have decided to delay releasing Windows XP SP3 to Windows Update and Microsoft Download Center," the company said in a statement.
The glitch also exists between Microsoft Dynamics RMS and Windows Vista Service Pack 1, though that product has already been broadly released. Microsoft started pushing out Vista SP1 last week via Automatic Updates.
"To help protect our customers, we plan to put filtering in place shortly to prevent Windows Update from offering both service packs to systems running Microsoft Dynamics RMS," Microsoft said. "Once filtering is in place, we expect to release Windows XP SP3 to Windows Update and Download Center."
Microsoft advised those running Microsoft Dynamics RMS to not install either service pack. The company said a "fix is currently in testing and will be available as soon as that process is complete."
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