What is it?

This isn't too tough. It is in this category, of course, but it's not this. Or this.

What do you think it is? Let me know in the comments!

Also, let me know if you'd like to play a little game like this on a weekly basis. It might be fun and I could make them much more difficult. :)

My monthly blog post on Patch Tuesday gets a lot of attention. It quickly becomes one of my most popular pages and certainly gets a lot of comments.

Most of those comments concern an issue someone is having post-Patch-Tuesday and are somewhere between cries for help and threats to Microsoft.

Unsurprisingly, a lot of the questions and pitch-fork-carrying comments are similar and I find myself answering them over and over again.

So to avoid that, I wrote up this work-in-progress FAQ about Patch Tuesday and Windows updates in general:

Windows Updates & Patch Tuesday FAQ

Anything you think I should add?

NVIDIA has released GeForce drivers version 301.42, adding a number of new features, updates, and more.

This is the final, WHQL version of these drivers and the first certified release in the 300 series. You should install these new drivers if you have a supported NVIDIA GPU.

Here are some of the changes and fixes available in v301.42:

• Adds support for the GeForce GTX 670, GTX 680, GTX 690, and GT 600-series GPUs.
• Adds several improvements to the NVIDIA Surround gaming system.
• Added support for windowed 3d stereo.
• Added DisplayPort 1.2 compatibility.
• Added support for GPU control of more than two monitors.
• Added several additional new features and fixes, all of which are outlined in the PDF linked below.
• Updates or adds SLI and 3D Vision profiles for dozens of games
• NVIDIA PhysX is at v9.12.0213 and HD Audio is at v1.3.16.0 in this release.

A more complete list of the new features and improvements in this update are available on the NVIDIA driver download page for your operating system. For complete information, see the release notes here [PDF].

You can download the 32-bit version for Windows 7 and Windows Vista here. Versions of the 301.42 driver for 64-bit Windows, as well as for other operating systems like Windows XP, are available here.

Important: This NVIDIA driver was previously available as a beta release (version 301.24). If you installed the beta version of this driver when it was released, please update to v301.42 as soon as possible. It's almost always a better idea to have the WHQL certified version of a driver installed.

Note: If you're using a recent version of NVIDIA's GeForce drivers, just right-click on the NVIDIA icon in the system tray and choose Check for updates.... You can download and install the driver automatically from there. If you want to be prompted for beta driver updates, be sure to check the appropriate box in the Preferences tab.

Related Topics:

• What is a Driver?
• What Does Beta Mean?
• What Does WHQL Mean?
• How To Update Drivers
• How To Roll Back a Driver
• Am I Running a 32-bit or 64-bit Version of Windows?

Patch Tuesday usually comes and goes with little fanfare. You might wake up on Wednesday morning with a little notification on your taskbar saying all is well.

Every month, however, there is a relatively small group of folks who wake up to a different scene altogether. Maybe a Blue Screen of Death. Maybe Windows is stuck at the logon screen but you can't do anything. Maybe the updates are still running!

Regardless, it seems the patches automatically installed by Windows Update on Patch Tuesday were to blame.

There are several reasons Windows updates might cause problems and unfortunately, it's rarely just Microsoft's fault, in which case we could all just wait for another patch to fix the broken patch. Usually, these problems involve issues with your specific hardware and software configuration or preexisting conditions that are only now being brought to light.

So if you've ever had an issue after Patch Tuesday, or are now afraid of one occurring(!), take a look at my newest preventative guide:

How To Prevent Windows Updates From Crashing Your PC

From changing Windows Update settings, to testing System Restore, there are plenty of things you can do to help prevent issues as well as help make solving them easier if they do happen.

More About Windows Update & Patch Tuesday

What is Windows Update?
What is Patch Tuesday?
What is a Patch?
How To Make Changes to Windows Update Settings
How To Recover From a Frozen Windows Update Installation

Image © duchesssa http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1198063