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Why old KB articles are missing?

i3v 51 Reputation points
2020-11-19T13:37:00.19+00:00

I noticed an issue, similar to 1,2 on my Windows 10 1909. One of those threads mention http://support.microsoft.com/kb/974524 .
However, effectively all old KB article links are broken.
I'm not the only one who mentioned this, e.g. here's a thread "KB974524 is missing." about this particular KB.
When I click on that link, Microsoft website is not even giving me the correct error message - it silently redirects me to an unrelated web page instead. (AFAIU, everyone hates such behavior.)
Luckily, Wayback Machine got this article saved: https://web.archive.org/web/20150311105802/http://support.microsoft.com/kb/974524 .

But I'm puzzled why Microsoft removes such articles? They are still relevant, even on up-to-date Windows versions.

Windows Server Setup
Windows Server Setup
Windows Server: A family of Microsoft server operating systems that support enterprise-level management, data storage, applications, and communications.Setup: The procedures involved in preparing a software program or application to operate within a computer or mobile device.
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  1. Dave Patrick 426.2K Reputation points MVP
    2020-11-19T14:32:19.163+00:00

    puzzled why Microsoft removes such articles

    In general because they have been superseded.

    --please don't forget to Accept as answer if the reply is helpful--

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  2. Jenny Feng 14,081 Reputation points
    2020-11-20T02:38:12.46+00:00

    @i3v
    Hi,

    Microsoft removes KB articles for retired products such as Windows Server 2003 since they are no longer supported or have been superseded.

    Hope above information can help you.

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  3. M G 1 Reputation point
    2021-10-28T00:02:21.577+00:00

    OK, based upon what I am reading here (last post by Eric Sten): https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/786cb147-f014-44b4-880f-f606107adf05/there-is-a-problem-with-this-web-page-contact-the-person-who-manages-your-server?forum=winserveressentials

    I really need access to KB article 2537508 (which while written for SBS2011) also provides the instructions to fix the same problem which just cropped up on a Windows Server Essentials 2012 R2 installation that has been running without incident for multiple years. KB 2537508 doesn't seem to exist at Microsoft or at any archive I have checked into.

    Please assist. Thank you!

    @Jenny Feng