Automatic update vs manual selection

  • Thread starter Thread starter James
  • Start date Start date
J

James

I posted under 'Update question' - and received fast and very helpful
replies [one more question].

Is one wiser to turn off 'Automatic Update' and opt for 'choosing' your own
updates? I'm remembering when WinXP SP1 made its appearance. Some PCs
slowed down to a crawl.

My question pertains to a new PC running WinXP Pro SP2.

Thanks - james
 
If you're concerned with your bandwidth, but don't want too much labor, go
into the Automatic Updates prefs page and select the option to just notify
you of updates. That'll scan your system and then reconmmand updates to you
after you click that little balloon in the tray.
 
Hi James,

I think it depends on the individual user. Some users just want to turn on
their computers and go--they don't really care about *how* a computer works,
malware, viruses, or security in general (my mother for example):-(
On her machine I have Auto Updates fully engaged, IOW she has no choice
about what is installed.
For those wishing more control over updates I would suggest "Notify me of
updates..." option.

I choose to turn Auto Udates off entirely, as I'm on dial-up, and have a
slow machine to start with. I *do* check into WU on a regular basis.

--
Curt

http://dundats.mvps.org/
http://www.aumha.org/


|I posted under 'Update question' - and received fast and very helpful
| replies [one more question].
|
| Is one wiser to turn off 'Automatic Update' and opt for 'choosing' your
own
| updates? I'm remembering when WinXP SP1 made its appearance. Some PCs
| slowed down to a crawl.
|
| My question pertains to a new PC running WinXP Pro SP2.
|
| Thanks - james
|
|
 
You're welcome.

--
Curt

http://dundats.mvps.org/
http://www.aumha.org/


| Thanks Curt, I appreciated your reply. I agree - james
|
| | > Hi James,
| >
| > I think it depends on the individual user. Some users just want to turn
| > on
| > their computers and go--they don't really care about *how* a computer
| > works,
| > malware, viruses, or security in general (my mother for example):-(
| > On her machine I have Auto Updates fully engaged, IOW she has no choice
| > about what is installed.
| > For those wishing more control over updates I would suggest "Notify me
of
| > updates..." option.
| >
| > I choose to turn Auto Udates off entirely, as I'm on dial-up, and have a
| > slow machine to start with. I *do* check into WU on a regular basis.
| >
| > --
| > Curt
| >
| > http://dundats.mvps.org/
| > http://www.aumha.org/
| >
| >
| > | > |I posted under 'Update question' - and received fast and very helpful
| > | replies [one more question].
| > |
| > | Is one wiser to turn off 'Automatic Update' and opt for 'choosing'
your
| > own
| > | updates? I'm remembering when WinXP SP1 made its appearance. Some
PCs
| > | slowed down to a crawl.
| > |
| > | My question pertains to a new PC running WinXP Pro SP2.
| > |
| > | Thanks - james
| > |
| > |
| >
| >
|
|
 
James said:
I posted under 'Update question' - and received fast and very helpful
replies [one more question].

Is one wiser to turn off 'Automatic Update' and opt for 'choosing' your
own updates? I'm remembering when WinXP SP1 made its appearance. Some
PCs slowed down to a crawl.

My question pertains to a new PC running WinXP Pro SP2.
Click to expand...

I prefer not to use Automatic Updates. I want to choose the time when
updates are done, I read about each one, decide what I want, download to
keep a copy for future needs, and install one at a time with a bit of
testing in between. I don't like the bubble notification telling me there
are new updates. I do go to the WU site regularly, but most updates come
out only once a month on the second Tuesday, called patch Tuesday.
Sometimes an important one will be issued in between monthly's but that's
not too common.

Of course if this is a fresh install of XP, then getting the 100 or so
updates this way from MS can be a real pain, that's why it's easier if you
keep up with it as you go along, and save a copy of the install files. I
keep an excel spreadsheet of what updates were installed when, the file
names, what updates they replaced, and what updates replaced them.

On the other hand for someone who doesn't want to go to this trouble,
automatic updates does have advantages. I would not, however, have it
automatically install them. I want to see what is being offered and decide
on it.
 
Thanks Rock,

James

Rock said:
James said:
I posted under 'Update question' - and received fast and very helpful
replies [one more question].

Is one wiser to turn off 'Automatic Update' and opt for 'choosing' your
own updates? I'm remembering when WinXP SP1 made its appearance. Some
PCs slowed down to a crawl.

My question pertains to a new PC running WinXP Pro SP2.
Click to expand...

I prefer not to use Automatic Updates. I want to choose the time when
updates are done, I read about each one, decide what I want, download to
keep a copy for future needs, and install one at a time with a bit of
testing in between. I don't like the bubble notification telling me there
are new updates. I do go to the WU site regularly, but most updates come
out only once a month on the second Tuesday, called patch Tuesday.
Sometimes an important one will be issued in between monthly's but that's
not too common.

Of course if this is a fresh install of XP, then getting the 100 or so
updates this way from MS can be a real pain, that's why it's easier if you
keep up with it as you go along, and save a copy of the install files. I
keep an excel spreadsheet of what updates were installed when, the file
names, what updates they replaced, and what updates replaced them.

On the other hand for someone who doesn't want to go to this trouble,
automatic updates does have advantages. I would not, however, have it
automatically install them. I want to see what is being offered and
decide on it.
Click to expand...
 
You're welcome.

James said:
Thanks Rock,
Click to expand...
James said:
I posted under 'Update question' - and received fast and very helpful
replies [one more question].

Is one wiser to turn off 'Automatic Update' and opt for 'choosing' your
own updates? I'm remembering when WinXP SP1 made its appearance. Some
PCs slowed down to a crawl.

My question pertains to a new PC running WinXP Pro SP2.
Click to expand...

I prefer not to use Automatic Updates. I want to choose the time when
updates are done, I read about each one, decide what I want, download to
keep a copy for future needs, and install one at a time with a bit of
testing in between. I don't like the bubble notification telling me
there are new updates. I do go to the WU site regularly, but most
updates come out only once a month on the second Tuesday, called patch
Tuesday. Sometimes an important one will be issued in between monthly's
but that's not too common.

Of course if this is a fresh install of XP, then getting the 100 or so
updates this way from MS can be a real pain, that's why it's easier if
you keep up with it as you go along, and save a copy of the install
files. I keep an excel spreadsheet of what updates were installed when,
the file names, what updates they replaced, and what updates replaced
them.

On the other hand for someone who doesn't want to go to this trouble,
automatic updates does have advantages. I would not, however, have it
automatically install them. I want to see what is being offered and
decide on it.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
James said:
I posted under 'Update question' - and received fast and very helpful
replies [one more question].

Is one wiser to turn off 'Automatic Update' and opt for 'choosing' your own
updates? I'm remembering when WinXP SP1 made its appearance. Some PCs
slowed down to a crawl.

My question pertains to a new PC running WinXP Pro SP2.

Thanks - james
Click to expand...


I really don't like to see people use the Automatic Updates, unless
they take precautions to ensure that no patches get installed without
the user's express permission, given only after he/she has researched
each individual patch to ensure that it applies and is necessary. Due
to the nearly infinite number of possible combinations of hardware,
device drivers, and applications on any given PC, it's impossible to
guarantee that all patches will be 100% harmless. In a very small
number of cases, patches and hotfixes can cause conflicts or other
problems. So, as with all changes to an OS, caution is advised.

In the overwhelming majority of cases, all "Critical" updates
should be installed. These address serious issues that can affect a
large number of computers. There will be only rare occasions when a
Critical update will not apply. Of special importance are those that
address security vulnerabilities. If people had installed the available
critical updates in July of 2003, the Blaster and Welchia worms would
not have spread throughout the Internet the following month. In the
unlikely event that problems do develop, you can always use the Control
Panel's Add/Remove Programs applet or a System Restore Point to
uninstall the troublesome hotfix.

For the "Recommended" updates, simply study the information
provided to see if these updates apply in your specific situation. If
they don't apply, or you're not experiencing the problem(s) addressed,
you needn't install them. For instance, I have no use for WinXP's
MovieMaker, so I ignore any updates to it. Again, in the unlikely
event that problems do develop, you can always use the Control Panel's
Add/Remove Programs applet or a System Restore Point to uninstall the
troublesome hotfix.

In general, though, I've found it best *not* to download the
"Driver" updates from Windows Update, unless they're for a hardware
device originally manufactured by Microsoft. Device drivers provided
by each component's manufacturer's web site are likely to perform
better and offer more features than will the watered-down, "generic"
drivers that those manufacturers provide to Microsoft for distribution
via Windows Update.


--

Bruce Chambers

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