Microsoft Windows Update Overview, All You Need To Know ~ Premium-Downloadz

By Martin Brinkmann

Windows Update is a free computer service provided by Microsoft that provides Operating System (OS) patches and service packs to computers running the many versions of Microsoft Windows. These updates are either enhancements or corrections to OS features, or security updates meant to protect your system from malicious attacks and malware. Reliability, security and performance are the the most important reasons that all computers running MS Windows should use Windows Update. An option called Microsoft Update can be configured in this service to also provide updates for several other Microsoft software applications, such as the MS Office suite or the latest Internet Explorer browser.

Windows Update Details

Windows Update always downloads these vital updates automatically. But, you can set up the service to install all or some of the updates as they are received, or to let you review the pending updates before you decide on which to install. Windows Update will provide a Windows PC with:

The most recent security updates for your OS
OS updates to improve performance and reliability
Device drivers from both Microsoft and other companies

Upgrades are different from updates, in that upgrades are new versions of application software, or of the OS itself. Minor version upgrades may be available from Microsoft through Windows Update, but major version upgrades would likely involve a new software purchase, perhaps at a lower upgrade price.
The Microsoft Download Center is a website that contains all the elements of the Microsoft software updating, upgrading, and downloading programs that are both necessary and useful for the continuing operation of your Windows operating system.

The web site contains sub-sites for:

Microsoft Windows Update
Microsoft Download Notifications
Microsoft Store (for both Windows software and MS Office software)
Microsoft OS Service Packs
Microsoft Technologies (focusing on Internet Explorer, DirectX, and Windows 7)

Timeline for Windows Updates

Patch Tuesday, the second Tuesday of every month, is the day that security updates are globally distributed via Windows Update and the Internet. Emergency security updates, however, may be distributed any time it is deemed necessary because of a newly discovered exploit that targets MS Windows.
The Internet is the preferred avenue of distribution for Windows Update to PCs, but Microsoft also provides other means for updates to be received by computers with no Internet connection. However, the PC interface controlling receipt of distributions is different for the various versions of Windows:

Customer access at the MS Windows Update website (Windows 98, Windows XP, Windows ME, Windows 2000)
Control Panel applet (Windows 7, Windows Vista)

With any OS before Windows Vista, an update that required a PC reboot would display a dialog box every few minutes which would request that the machine be rebooted. In Windows Vista and Windows 7, the same dialog box allows entry of a time period, up to four hours, before another dialog box appears — however, some updates that require a reboot may create a displayed countdown, at the end of which the computer will reboot no matter what the current user on the PC is doing, causing possible problems if data is not saved or the user is in the middle of a game.
Tip: It is possible to prevent the forced shutdown manually with the command shutdown –a in the Windows command line.
If there is an unexpected PC shutdown in the middle of an update download, Windows Update makes use of a feature of Windows system files called Transactional NTFS to enable the system to recover cleanly and to ensure that partially loaded updates are fully loaded before being applied.

Windows Update Levels

There are three levels Of Window Updates: Optional, Recommended, and Important.
Optional Updates, are, of course, optional, that a user can review, and choose to install or not to install. Included are:

Offers for new or trial MS Windows software
Updated device drivers from non-Microsoft companies (a driver may be promoted to Recommended level if your system is missing that driver and needs it, or the new driver has major feature revisions)

Recommended Updates are those enhance the computing OS experience, improving performance. Included are:

Compatibility updates
Revised contents of Help files
New features for the Windows OS
New features for other Microsoft software

Important updates are oriented more toward security and reliability. Included are:

Security and privacy updates
Significant reliability updates
Updates for detection of non-genuine Microsoft software
Verification of copyright-protected media

Options can be set to download and install automatically both the Important updates (set as a default) and the Recommended updates — with Windows XP, however, only the updates that are classified High-Priority will be downloaded and installed automatically.

Disabling Windows Update

If you want to disable Windows Update, you can disable the service for the PC, or by user-name. For an entire PC, the Group Policy Editor is used to disable Windows Update in the general User Configuration.
For individual users, REGEDIT is used to disable Windows Update in a User Registry key:

In HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer, create a new DWORD key.
Make the Name of the key NoWindowsUpdate, and set the Value to 1.
Whenever this user attempts to start Windows Update, an error message will display.

Troubleshooting Windows Update Errors

Windows Update is an essential maintenance element for the optimum performance of your computer. However, errors can occur during the normal operation of this important service. Here’s where we describe what measures you can take if Windows Update stops working on your computer system.
Measure #1: Check Internet Connection
Windows Update depends a great deal on Internet connectivity. First step is to see if you have full Internet connectivity by connecting to several web sites — if able to do so, the next step is to check the reliability of the connection, by checking email, signing on to forums, and looking at videos. If connection seems reliable, wait fifteen minutes and try running Windows Update again.
Measure #2: Start Supporting Services
Windows Update depends on several other services that also must be running on your PC. Check for these other services by clicking on Start, typing SERVICES.MSC, and pressing ENTER. Check in the display of services at the right for the names:

Background Intelligent Transfer Service
Cryptographic Services
Automatic Updates
Event Log

For each one whose Status is not Running, double-click to make the General tab appear — Startup Type should be Automatic. Click the Start button to change the service to a Running status.
Measure #3: Check Firewalls
The next measure to make sure the Windows Firewall is running, and not a firewall from a company other than Microsoft. To ensure continuous firewall protection, turn on the MS Firewall before turning off any other firewall.

First, enable the Windows firewall by clicking Start…Run, typing FIREWALL.CPL in the Open box, and pressing ENTER.
Second, disable any other firewall that may be running on your PC.

Now, try running Windows Update again.
Measure #4: Check Anti-Virus
Start the Security Center applet in the Control Panel, and turn off or disable the anti-virus application listed under either ‘Virus Protection’ or ‘Malware Protection’ section. Try running Windows Update again, and then immediately go back to the Security Center and enable the anti-virus application that had been disabled. Be careful with this measure — temporarily turning off your anti-virus application may allow Windows Update to start up, but, at the same time, doing so will leave your PC vulnerable.
Measure #5: Check Accelerators
Check to see if your PC has any Internet accelerators installed to increase the performance of Internet access. Such software can interfere with the operation of Windows Update. Consult the documentation for those accelerators to either disable or uninstall the software. Check the operation of Windows Update again.
Measure #6: Reset the Windows Update Folder
A corrupt file within the Windows Update distribution folder may be causing a problem with Windows Update. The solution is to reset the folder.

Open a command prompt with the CMD, making sure the command is being Run as Administrator.
In the CMD prompt, type WuAuServ and press enter (this action stops the Windows Update service).
Wait for a response that the Windows Update service was successfully stopped.
Type %windir% in the OPEN box of the Start Menu, and press Enter.
Right-click the SoftwareDistribution folder, and select Rename.
Rename the folder to SoftwareDistributionOLD (saving the original contents so that you can revert to them if needed by renaming to the original name).
Back in the CMD window, type “net start WuAuServ” (without quotes). and press ENTER.
Use the same steps you used in Measure #2 to check to see if the Windows Update service is running.

Try to run Windows Update — if unsuccessful, rename the SoftwareDistributionOLD folder back to its original name of SoftwareDistribution.
Measure #7: Check System Files
System files may have become corrupted, and you may need to scan the Windows system files to see if they are still correct and accurate.

In a CMD box (started up in the same way as described in Measure #6), type “sfc /scannow” (without quotes), and press ENTER.
When the scan is done, close the CMD box, and reboot your PC.

Try running Windows Update when your PC comes back up.
Measure #8: Verify BITS Files
BITS stands for Background Intelligence Transfer Service, and these files are essential to the functioning of Windows Update. It is possible the BITS files on your PC may be corrupted. You can download a BITS repair tool at the MS website:
32-bit Windows
64-bit Windows
Once you’ve downloaded and installed the BITS Repair Tool on your PC, reboot and let the tool run.
Measure #9: Check Support Sites
Check these two Microsoft support websites for descriptions of problems that may be similar to yours, with possible solutions.
FAQ
Problems
If this last measure does not help you to restore Windows Update to its proper functioning, then contact MS Customer Support.

Other Update Tools

Windows Update takes care of the specific updates to the Windows operating systems, and those to other Microsoft software applications as well — but what about all those other software applications that you have installed on your PC that have just a great a need for up-to-date updates? Here are several update tools that will help you take care of the need for updates by your other software applications.
CTUpdate (WSUS Offline)
Supports all Microsoft operating systems and languages. Users just need to select their operating system and language from the list to download all updates for it. It is optionally possible to create an ISO image or copy the data to an USB device instead of a hard drive. The patches can then be applied once everything has been downloaded.
windows update offline

Windows Update Downloader
Only for pre-Windows 7 operating systems. WUD allows you to download all of the current Windows Updates using a simple interface. All of the updates are contained in Update Lists (ULs) which allows you to choose which updates you want for which version of Windows.
UpdateStar
Update Star is a freeware application that helps you keep track of all the software installations on your PC, checking that the latest patches, fixes, and updates are downloaded for whatever is installed on your PC. This software does not download anything, though.
Software-Uptodate
This monitoring tool checks with an online database to see what’s current for updates for many software packages, and displays a notification when there is an available update (although it does not do the download itself).
Personal Software Inspector
This monitoring software, from Secunia Company, uses a database containing information on over four thousand software applications to inspect your system for weak spots, such as missing critical patches for software installed on your PC. The software, however, does not download anything.

Author

Hi, Its me Hafeez. A webdesigner, blogspot developer and UI/UX Designer. I am a certified Themeforest top Author and Front-End Developer. I'am business speaker, marketer, Blogger and Javascript Programmer.