September 1, 2010

Since updates to Windows via the Windows Update service can, at times, cause problems, I think this would be a good time to discuss the best way to do updates.

First of all, the updates to Windows and other Microsoft software are necessary in order to fix problems Microsoft finds to make Windows run better and more efficiently.  The major need for Windows updates is , when Microsoft discovers security issues with Windows, Internet Explorer, or Office programs, they provide patches to correct the security vulnerabilities.

I don't recommend letting Windows automatically handle the updates for a couple of reasons.  The main reason is that sometimes one of the Windows updates does not work properly and sometimes when you reboot your computer it may not work properly.  If Windows is setup to run updates automatically, you don't know it did an update and you may not reason that the update is what is causing your problem.  Sometimes, if an update causes problems, you can simply uninstall the update, then reinstall it, then the computer will be OK.

I recommend you either setup Windows to notify you before it downloads and installs updates, or I usually set mine to download the updates, then ask to install them.  To setup how Windows does updates, start Control Panel, and then go to System and Security.

Now, click on Windows Update.

In the left column, click on Change Settings.

Set you checkboxes like the example below.  Click on the dropdown arrow to the right of the important updates box and select either Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them, or I usually us Download updates but let me choose whether to install them.  The whole idea behind this is to have a way to know that Windows is going to update your computer, in case something starts happening right after that, then you can uninstall the update to see if it fixes the problem.

Should you decide you want to see what updates are installed, click on the View update history link.

The next screenshot shows the list of updates which have been installed and when each was installed, so if you think an update is causing a problem, you can look at the dates and decide if the installation date coincides with you issue developing.

Should you decide to uninstall an update, click on the Installed Updates link on the upper right of the screen above, then go to the update you want to install, right click on it, then left click on Uninstall.

If you find an update which is objectionable, you can hide the update so that Windows will not install that update, and it will quit asking you whether you want to install it in the future.