37. Windows Update
Windows Update is a way to connect to a
Microsoft database that has drivers, patches, security fixes, and so
forth to keep your OS installation up to date. Updates and software
from Microsoft for Microsoft products are free as part of its
maintenance and support services. If you choose not to configure
Windows Update (see Figure 20), a large red shield tries to persuade you to turn it on, as do warnings in the Action Center.
Figure 20. The large red shield attempts to persuade you to turn on Windows Update
If you share your computer with other users,
every user gets the same update, regardless of who uses them. Users who
are administrators by default can install updates. You can also allow
users with Standard User accounts to have permission to install
updates. This allows standard, non-administrator users to install
updates manually.
For a home system, you can configure your
Windows Update setting to connect to Microsoft and update your system
or you can do it manually. If you are a network admin, consider using
Group Policies to configure these settings for your workplace. And, if
you have a large enough environment and a small enough network
connection to the Internet, you might want to consider setting up a
Windows Update Server. This goes out and downloads updates and then
your network systems check in with the server and download from the
internal system. It’s a great way to ensure that all your systems are
protected with the latest security patches and fixes.
With Windows Update, you
configure your system to work on a schedule of your choosing (or none
at all if you prefer to handle checking for updates manually, which is
not recommended). What many disliked about Windows Updates in the past
was that updates usually required reboots, and these reboots pushed a
request box at you every 10 minutes until you complied with the
request. Now you can choose longer periods of time (up to four hours)
before that dialog box appears; the dialog simply is not as intrusive.
There are two different Windows Update classifications:
• Important—As the
name suggests, these updates are important. They can improve security,
privacy, and reliability. Generally, these updates should be installed
when they are available and can be installed manually.
• Optional—These can include drivers for your hardware or new software enhancements from Microsoft (such as language packs).
Windows Update delivers the following different styles of updates:
• Security Updates—These contain fixes for product-specific, security-related vulnerabilities.
• Critical Updates: These are broadly released patches for specific critical but nonsecurity issues.
• Services Packs—Consider
these as all of the above and more rolled up in one. Service Packs
could also have a few requested design changes or features.
The status of Windows Update can appear in
the Notification Area as a pop-up window letting you know updates are
available and what their status is. For most users, leaving the
settings on Install Updates Automatically works best. Advanced users
might want to set their update configuration to either Download Updates
But Let Me Choose Whether to Install Them or Check for Updates But Let
Me Choose Whether to Download and Install Them.
Configuring Windows Update to Download But Not Install Updates
The following steps show you how to configure
how Windows Update behaves. Upon completion, updates are downloaded but
not installed unless they are authorized by the user.
1. From the Start screen right-click on the screen.
2. Click the All Apps button that appears on the lower-right corner of the screen.
3. Select Control Panel.
4. Click System and Security.
5. Click Windows Update.
6. Click the Change Settings link.
7. From the Important Updates drop-down, select Download Updates But Let Me Choose Whether to Install Them.
8. Click OK.
Now when an update arrives, you can choose
whether to install it. You are notified when updates arrive and can
view and select which ones you want installed. Updates appear here as
well for Microsoft Office applications and can include Office Service
Packs, notifications, and more.
Every now and then, an update fails. This
occurs for a variety of reasons. A couple of steps must take place for
an update to happen. These range from scanning your machine for needed
updates to downloading and then installing the update. Failure to
complete any one of the steps causes an update failure. Before giving
up, try to install the update manually.
To review installed updates, go to the left
pane in Windows Update and click the View Update History link. Here you
will find listed Name, Status, Importance, and Date Installed (or
attempted install).
From time to time you might find your system
doesn’t react quite right after an update. Though rare, you might
occasionally need to uninstall an update. The following Let Me Try It
shows you how to do this.
Viewing and Uninstalling an Update
The following steps show you how to view past
Windows Update installations and then uninstall an update of your
choice. This exercise requires you to have first connected to Windows
Update and installed an update.
1. From the Start screen right-click on the screen.
2. Click on the All Apps button that appears on the lower-right corner of the screen.
3. Select Control Panel.
4. Click System and Security.
5. Click Windows Update.
6. In the lower-left of the page, click the Installed Updates link.
7. Click the update you want to remove.
8. From the top menu, click Uninstall. A dialog appears, asking you to confirm the uninstall.
9. Click Yes to uninstall the update.
In some cases, network users might
be unable to remove an update. It might be that your computer is
connected to a network where updates are managed by Group Policy. Or,
if an update applies to a security-related area of the operating
system, you might not be able to remove it. Get in touch with your
system administrator or your IT department if you think an update that
you can’t remove is causing problems.
