Understanding the Windows Update Service

Overview of Windows Update Service

Windows Update is the online extension of Windows that helps you to keep your computer up-to-date.

You don't need to know if you need an update! When you connect to the Windows Update web page and choose "scan for updates" Windows Update scans your computer and provides you with a selection of updates that apply to your computer based on the operating system you are using, and the updates or service packs that you have already applied.

During the scan, a list of categories appears under Welcome to Windows Update and the number of updates that are available in each category is noted in parentheses.

Manual or Automatic updates

Depending on the operating system 98, millennium, 2000, XP, 2003 you are using it is possible to either manually update you computer (always possible) or to configure your computer to automatically receive updates. If you have Windows XP, 2003 or Windows 2000, you can use Automatic Updates to receive the latest patches as Microsoft releases them. For other versions of Windows you must perform a manual Update.

The automatic update feature is enable by default in windows XP and windows 2003. Windows 2000 requires service pack 3 to be installed before Automatic Updates can be implemented or you must manually install the automatic update feature from the Windows Update web site.

Quick Guide to Manual Windows Update

Manually updating your system is a simple four-step process to get the updates you need to keep your computer up-to-date:
1. Go to the Windows Update web page by selecting windows update from the start menu.
2. When you enter Windows Update, click Scan for updates.
3. Browse through the available updates in each category, click Add to select the update of your choice and add it to the collection of updates you want to install.
You can also read a full description of each item by clicking the Read more link. Any update that is critical to the operation of your computer is considered a "Critical Update," and is automatically selected for installation during the scan for available updates.
Critical Updates are provided to help resolve known issues, and to protect the computer from known security vulnerabilities. Critical Updates should always be applied if they apply to your operating system and applications.
4. When you have selected all the updates you want, click Review and install updates, and then click Install Now. If you have questions about a particular update click Read more at any time to view information that is specific to each update. Included in this information are system requirements and, if applicable, instructions on how to use and how to uninstall the update

Note: Most updates are chained which means that only a single restart is required. However, some updates Internet explorer 6.0 SP1 need to be installed separately and will require multiple restarts. Don't forget to save your work and close any open programs before beginning the installation process.

 

Automatic Updates

There are many possibilities with automatic updates such as scheduling, automatically applying updates, update prompting these are covered in the following Microsoft knowledge based articles:

HOW TO: Schedule Automatic Updates in Windows XP, Windows 2000, or Windows Server 2003

306525 HOW TO: Configure Automatic Updating in Windows XP

327850 HOW TO: Configure and Use Automatic Updates in Windows 2000

NOTE: For Home users any references to using group policy should be ignored as group policy is meant for medium to large companies with active directory.

Related Resources :

	Web www.oeupdates.com