Q. How can I obtain limited-release hotfixes?

A. In some cases, Microsoft doesn’t make a hotfix widely available because the fix is designed for specific installations that are experiencing a problem on their systems and isn’t an across-the-board OS or program fix. For such hotfixes, the update isn’t available through a link in a Microsoft Help and Support Knowledge Base article. Instead, you can obtain the fix in one of two ways: via a form or through Microsoft Support.

If the hotfix is available only from Microsoft Support, you’ll need to contact Microsoft to obtain the update. If the hotfix is available via an online form, you can access the form from a link at the top left of the Knowledge Base article page, as the following screenshot shows.

If you click the View and request hotfix downloads link, you’ll be taken to the following form, where you select the update you want and enter your email address and the confirmation code that’s displayed.

After clicking the Request hotfix button, in a couple of minutes you should receive an email from hotfix@microsoft.com that has a download location for the hotfix and the password needed to extract the file.

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