Easy way to get ALL the security fixes

[PA Bear]

Nope. Windows Update is still your best bet, despite all the hoops.
--
HTH...Please post back to this thread

~Robear Dyer (aka PA Bear)
MS MVP-Windows (IE/OE)
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

 

[Bob Knowlden]

You can download most (all?) updates:

http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/en/default.asp?corporate=true

However, a lot of the ones there won't apply. Organized people (i.e., people
other than me) would prepare a list of installed updates (actually available
as a History listing at the online Windows Update site) and download all the
patches, preferably to be burned onto CD.

Windows Update is still the easy way, if you have a broadband connection,
and can stand the torture of a hundred reboots.

Or, wait for SP2. Reportedly, it'll be out in a year. (Pfui.)

HTH.

Bob Knowlden

Address altered to avoid spam. Replace nkbob with bobkn.

 

[GSV Three Minds in a Can]

Hello

I'm about to do a clean install of XP with SP1 on a new PC. Problem is,
there have been like a zillion security patches since Sp1 came out. The
last time I updated my brother's PC (which he'd neglected to update for
while), it was an ordeal because Windows Update would not do all the
fixes at once. Instead, it only did one or a few at a time. In between,
I had to reboot, then went back to the update site, redid the whole
"check for updates" routine, etc. I had to repeat this cycle for 5-6
times before I got them all. Ugh.

There must be an easier way of doing this?

You exaggerate slightly - there are only about 30 Post-SP1 hotfixes that
you actually need. It really is best to let autoupdate do it for you,
since applying them manually is an even bigger PITA.

What we really need is SP2 on CD, but MS has decided, apparently, that
a) it won't be out for several quarters yet, and b) even when it is,
magazines won't be allowed to put it on their cover CDs (which is the
usual easy source for huge patches).

Thanks a bunch, MS.

 

[darius]

Hello

I'm about to do a clean install of XP with SP1 on a new PC. Problem is,
there have been like a zillion security patches since Sp1 came out. The
last time I updated my brother's PC (which he'd neglected to update for
while), it was an ordeal because Windows Update would not do all the
fixes at once. Instead, it only did one or a few at a time. In between,
I had to reboot, then went back to the update site, redid the whole
"check for updates" routine, etc. I had to repeat this cycle for 5-6
times before I got them all. Ugh.

There must be an easier way of doing this?

 

[Jim Macklin]

As soon as you install XP w SP1 turn the firewall ON, to
keep Blaster out.
Then go to Windows Update and scan for the updates you need.
Make a list of the needed updates.
Then go to the Windows Update Catalog and set your computer
(preferably one on a broadband and with a CD-R drive. Maybe
you can get a download manager to help.
Download the required files. Install them on the target
machine.


| Hello
|
| I'm about to do a clean install of XP with SP1 on a new
PC. Problem is,
| there have been like a zillion security patches since Sp1
came out. The
| last time I updated my brother's PC (which he'd neglected
to update for
| while), it was an ordeal because Windows Update would not
do all the
| fixes at once. Instead, it only did one or a few at a
time. In between,
| I had to reboot, then went back to the update site, redid
the whole
| "check for updates" routine, etc. I had to repeat this
cycle for 5-6
| times before I got them all. Ugh.
|
| There must be an easier way of doing this?

 

[Lorne Smith]

oh yeah I forgot about that critter. Thank you.


I'm not sure what you mean by this (??)

He means that if you go to the Windows Update Catalog page (it's pretty easy
to find) after noting down which updates your computer needs, you can
download the individual updates manually for later burning to CD and
installing at your leisure... Still, you're going to have to do lots of
reboots as it's not a good idea to install more than a couple of critical
updates at a time...

Lorne

 

[darius]

As soon as you install XP w SP1 turn the firewall ON, to
keep Blaster out.

oh yeah I forgot about that critter. Thank you.

Then go to Windows Update and scan for the updates you need.
Make a list of the needed updates.
Then go to the Windows Update Catalog and set your computer

I'm not sure what you mean by this (??)

 

[Jim Macklin]

After Windows Update has scanned the new install for needed
updates and you have made a list of those updates, you can
use any computer with a working Internet connection, a CD-R
drive (if you need to download on a different machine and
carry the files to the target). A download manager should
work on the download catalog so you can set a number of
downloads to do as a batch. Also, if the download is
interrupted a manager will resume the download.


in
| |
| > As soon as you install XP w SP1 turn the firewall ON, to
| > keep Blaster out.
|
| oh yeah I forgot about that critter. Thank you.
|
| > Then go to Windows Update and scan for the updates you
need.
| > Make a list of the needed updates.
| > Then go to the Windows Update Catalog and set your
computer
|
| I'm not sure what you mean by this (??)
|
| > (preferably one on a broadband and with a CD-R drive.
Maybe
| > you can get a download manager to help.
| > Download the required files. Install them on the target
| > machine.
| >
|

 

[Bee]

I'm about to do a clean install of XP with SP1 on a new PC. Problem is,
there have been like a zillion security patches since Sp1 came out. The
last time I updated my brother's PC (which he'd neglected to update for
while), it was an ordeal because Windows Update would not do all the
fixes at once.....<snip>

Yes, it would. I have a dial-up connection --- broadband is not available
here yet, but there is a free service called Sky Alert, from the news
broadcaster, which sends me a notification, on screen, immediately when
there is a breaking news. This, switched on all the time, redials and
reconnects automatically after the internet connection times out when
computer has been idle for 20minutes --- set by the ISP. To take advantage
of that, here is what I did.

After SP1a (from CD), Windows Virtual Machine (from CD, pre-recorded) and
all the necessary protection setup before connection, similar to that
advised by Jim, I manually downloaded the first 8 security/critical updates
(822925 to 817287) in one session, not individually, then I restarted the
machine to install all at once. This took ~45minutes. The *manual*
downloader has no resume function. I turned up the loudspeakers to alert me
(a loud honk) every 20minutes to click the continuation confirmation to
avert disconnection.

Now for the remainder of all --- 29 for my setup --- the security/critical
updates, without any selection, again in one fell swoop, I downloaded, only
this time using the *automatic* downloader. Sky Alert was on, and I turned
to my news reader to peruse these pages. What made this worked was that a
resume function was designed-in in the automatic downloader. After another
hour or two, my reading was interrupted by a balloon notifying me the
download was complete.So now, to finish the procedure, the installation took
another few more minutes. This whole second session was entirely automatic,
and painless.

I suppose one could just have one continuous long session, but I did not try
that. I felt the first few updates were too important not to be watched
closely. It wasn't that intolerable when I listened to music and read these
news messages while downloading was proceeding in the background. A
drudgery, yes. An ordeal, no.