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| Windows Update - Part 1 |
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PC support #11: Windows Update, part 1
31st December 2002
C O N T E N T S
----- INTRODUCTION
1. What is Windows Update?
2. Why is Windows Update needed?
3. My computer's working OK - do I need to use it?
4. How does Windows Update work?
----- USING WINDOWS UPDATE
5. What do I need to be able to use Windows Update?
6. How do I use Windows Update?
7. One of the updates is "exclusive". What do I do?
8. I'm running Windows 95. Can I get updates?
----- MANUALLY SELECTING WHICH UPDATES TO INSTALL
9 Why select updates manually?
10. The Windows Update menu
11. Adding and removing updates
12. Loading the chosen updates
13. Saving downloaded updates to install later.
----- CONTACT DETAILS
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----- INTRODUCTION -------------------------------------------
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-- 1. What is Windows Update?
Windows Update is a Microsoft Windows feature which enables updates for Windows to be downloaded onto a computer from the Internet.
-- 2. Why is Windows Update needed?
No computer software is perfect, and Windows is certainly no exception! As faults and problems are discovered, Microsoft creates fixes for them and makes them available over the Internet. New and improved versions of some programs and Windows components are also released from time to time.
-- 3. My computer's working OK - do I need to use it?
Some of the fixes released by Microsoft (normally identified as "critical updates") are security updates, which correct weaknesses and vulnerabilities in Windows. These vulnerabilities are sometimes used by viruses and computer hackers to attack a PC. If you use the Internet, it is wise to update regularly to
reduce your vulnerability to attack.
-- 4. How does Windows Update work?
There are two methods - manual and automatic. Which is best for you depends on which version of Windows you have and how often you use the Internet.
(a) With manual updates, updates are selected and downloaded from a special web page. You can choose when to update, and also which of the available updates you want to load.
Manual updates are appropriate if you only connect to the Internet for short periods (say to collect e-mail), or if you prefer to choose if and when updates are downloaded.
Manual updates can be used with Windows XP, Windows Me, Windows 98 and (to a limited extent) Windows 95. Windows Update no longer fully supports Windows 95, as this version is considered obsolete by Microsoft. See item 8 below for further information if you are running Windows 95.
(b) If automatic updates are enabled, Windows can automatically look for and download any new critical updates when you are connected to the Internet. This means that you don't have to remember to do anything to keep your computer up to date.
However, automatic updates are only appropriate if you spend reasonably long periods connected to the Internet on a regular basis - say 1/2 to 1 hour at a time. If you only connect to the Internet for short periods (say to send and receive e-mails), Windows will never get a chance to download the updates.
Automatic updates are only available in the newer versions of Windows (Windows Me and Windows XP). However, a notification service for critical updates is available for Windows 98, which provides some of the features of automatic updates.
The rest of this support note describes how to use the manual update method with Windows 98 and above. Automatic updates will be covered in the next support note. Note that you can use manual
updates even if automatic updates are enabled, so you can follow this procedure any time you want to be sure that your computer is up to date.
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----- USING WINDOWS UPDATE -----------------------------------
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Please note: the instructions below are correct at time of writing. However, Microsoft occasionally change the way in which Windows Update works, so you may notice some small differences when you use it.
-- 5. What do I need to be able to use Windows Update?
To use Windows Update, you need:
(a) A PC running Windows 98 or later (There is limited support for Windows 95 - see item 8 below).
(b) An Internet connection.
(c) A reasonable up to date version of Internet Explorer. Version 5.5 or above is recommended. To check which version you have, start Internet Explorer and click "Help", then "About Internet Explorer".
-- 6. How do I use Windows Update?
Some computers will have "Windows Update" on the start menu. If so, you can use this to start it. If not, the following method works for all versions of Windows. I've described it in some detail below, but once you have started it the steps are fairly obvious.
(a) Start Internet Explorer (the big blue "e"), and connect to the Internet. It doesn't matter which web page appears to start off with.
(b) On the Internet Explorer menu bar, click "Tools" and then select "Windows Update". The Windows Update web page should appear.
(c) Windows will next check that it has the latest version of the Windows Update software. If not, it will download it, which may take a minute or two. You may get some grey warning boxes at this point. If so, read them and then click "Yes" if you wish to continue.
(d) A page headed "Welcome to Windows Update" should now appear, with a button labelled "Scan for Updates". Click this button to continue.
(e) Windows Update will now look for available updates, which may take several minutes. Wait until it has completed this.
(f) When it has finished, a page headed "Pick updates to install" will appear. The most important ones are the "Critical Updates" - it will tell you how many it has found.
(g) Click on the "Review and install updates" button. A detailed list of all the updates currently selected for loading onto your computer will be displayed. This is normally all of the critical updates.
(h) At this point you have two choices:
(i) The easiest (and safest) choice is to go with what Windows Update suggests. To do this, just click the "Install Now" button.
(ii) If on the other hand you wish to select which updates to install, you can do this. For more information on how to do this and why you would want to, see items 9 to 13 below.
NOTE: "Internet Explorer 6 Service pack 1" may be listed as a critical update. If you are using Internet Explorer 5.5 and do not wish to upgrade to Internet Explorer 6, click "Remove" next to this one.
(i) Next you will be presented with a dialogue box showing you the license agreement for the updates(s). You must click on "Accept" for the updates to be downloaded.
(j) Once you have accepted the license agreement, the updates will be downloaded and installed. You may have to restart your computer once the updates have been downloaded - if so, you will be prompted to do so.
-- 7. One of the updates is "exclusive". What do I do?
If you get a message saying "Your total selected updates include an exclusive item that must be installed separately from other updates..." then click "Install Now" to load that item. You can then run Windows Update again once it has been installed to load the other updates.
-- 8. I'm running Windows 95. Can I get updates?
You can still run Windows update if you have Windows 95. It won't have all the latest updates, but it's still worth doing if you haven't used it before as it will load some worthwhile updates.
An older version of Windows Update is used for Windows 95, so it won't exactly match the instructions given above, but it should not be too hard to follow.
There are other updates (such as Internet Explorer updates) which you can apply to Windows 95 if you wish, but you will have to download these manually, which is outside the scope of this support note.
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----- MANUALLY SELECTING WHICH UPDATES TO INSTALL ------------
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-- 9 Why select updates manually?
If you follow the instructions in item 6 above, you will download and install all of the critical updates. These are the most important, and for most users that is all they will need to do.
However, Windows Update also offers other updates which you can select if you wish. You can also choose not to install some of the critical updates if you need to (e.g. you don't have time to load them all). This section tells you how to choose which updates to download.
-- 10. The Windows Update menu
Follow the instructions in item 6 above as far as step (f). At this stage you should have a menu to the left of the screen. The top part will normally look something like this:
[.] Welcome
[-] Pick updates to install
[.] Critical Updates and
Service Packs (1)
[.] Windows XP (7)
[.] Driver Updates (1)
[.] Review and install updates (1)
(the exact wording will depend on your version of Windows). If, however, the top part of it looks something like this:
[ ] Welcome
[+] Pick updates to install
[ ] Review and install updates (1)
then click on the + sign to the left of "Pick updates to install". It should then resemble the first example.
-- 11. Adding and removing updates
Clicking on one of the categories listed under "Pick updates to install" will bring up a list of all available updates in that category. Each will have an "Add" and "Remove" button next to it, but one or the other will be greyed out.
(a) If "Add" is greyed out then that update has already been selected - click "Remove" if you don't want it.
(b) If "Remove" is greyed out, then that update has not been selected - click "Add" if you wish to choose it.
You can select updates from multiple categories at the same time as long as you don't choose one which says it must be loaded separately.
-- 12. Loading the chosen updates
Once you have selected which updates you want, click "Review and install Updates". A list of the selected updates will appear, along with a final chance to remove any you don't want. Click "Install Now" to download and install them.
-- 13. Saving downloaded updates to install later.
It is possible to select and download updates to install at a later date, or on another computer. This is particularly useful if you have a slow internet connection and several computers to update. The details of this are beyond the scope of this support note, but in outline the procedure is:
(a) From the Windows Update menu select "Personalize Windows Update"
(b) On the personalization screen tick "Display the link to the Windows Update Catalogue..." then click "Save Settings"
"Windows Update Catalogue" will now appear on the Windows Update menu. Use this item to access the catalogue and choose which updates you wish to download.
This procedure is only recommended for advanced users as you need to manually select which updates apply to you.
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----- CONTACT DETAILS ---------------------------------------
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Chris Livingstone
e-mail: mailto:chris-l@ntlworld.com
web site:http://www.pcparamedic.org.uk |
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