I'm frustrated not only by these issues but by
my inability to bring
them directly to Microsoft's attention. Anyone
else run into these?
No, I've had no problems with updates.
Very frequently, many of my Desktop and window
settings have to be
reapplied (notably the "use small icons" and "no
text on buttons"
window settings). Is this due to Automatic
Updates?
Not IMO. It's possible of course, depending on
what strange things gaming etc. might be trying to
do. At any rate, settings not sticking has never
to my knowledge been as a result of an update.
I use two of my XP SP3 machines heavily for
gaming, and so I've
disabled Automatic Updates to prevent them
shutting down in the
middle of a game. Didn't work. Last night I
lost over eight hours of
preparation and much money when Windows shut
down, thanks to an
automatic update, and took my game down with it.
HOW DO I STOP THIS? HOW DO I GET MICROSOFT TO
FIX THEIR CRAP?
Since MS is obsoleting XP your chances of getting
any reaction are about nil. This group, BTW has
nothing to do with MS the company; it's just a
name.
Since you're too lazy to use the tools on your own
computer I did it for you: This should help you
figure out what you should do. Completely turning
off the updates IMO isn't good advice but it's
your system:
Options for setting up Automatic Updates on your
computer
To choose when and how updates will be delivered
to your computer, you have four options:
Automatic (recommended)
When you are connected to the Internet, Windows
finds and downloads updates in the background-you
are not notified or interrupted during this
process and the updates do not interfere with
other downloads. If you do not change the default
schedule, updates that have been downloaded to
your computer will be installed at 3 A.M.
If your computer is turned off during a scheduled
update, Windows will install the updates the next
time you start your computer. If you need to help
complete the installation process, Windows will
notify you. For example, you might need to accept
an End User License Agreement (EULA) before some
updates can be installed. If you need to restart
your computer for an update to take effect,
Windows will notify you and will restart your
computer at the scheduled time.
Download updates for me, but let me choose when to
install them
To receive alerts, you must be a member of the
Administrators group for your computer. When you
are connected to the Internet, Windows finds and
downloads updates in the background-you are not
notified or interrupted during this process and
the updates do not interfere with other downloads.
After downloading is complete, the Windows Update
icon appears in the notification area and an
alert pops up, letting you know that the updates
are ready to be installed. To review and install
available updates, click the icon or the alert.
You can install all or some of the available
updates.
Notify me but don't automatically download or
install updates
To manually download and install updates, you must
be a member of the Administrators group for your
computer. Windows checks for important updates and
notifies you if any are available; updates are not
delivered or installed on your computer until you
choose to do so. When Windows finds updates for
your computer, the Windows Update icon appears in
the notification area and an alert pops up,
letting you know that updates are ready to be
downloaded. After you click the icon or the alert,
you can select some or all of the updates to
download.
Windows downloads the updates in the
background-you are not notified or interrupted
during this process and the updates do not
interfere with other downloads. When downloading
is complete, the Windows Update icon appears in
the notification area again, this time to let you
know that the updates are ready to be installed.
You can choose to install all or some of the
available updates.
Turn off Automatic Updates
You will never be notified when important updates
are available for your computer, and you will
never be asked to download or install them. This
means that your computer can be vulnerable to
security threats and harmful viruses that can
damage your computer or your files. Viruses can
also spread over the Internet to other people with
whom you exchange e-mail, share files, or work
with on a network.
New viruses and security threats are continually
developed by attackers, so helping protect your
computer is an ongoing process. If you do not turn
on Automatic Updates, we recommend that you
regularly install updates from the Windows Update
Web site (
http://www.microsoft.com/).
Notes
a.. To open System, click Start, click Control
Panel, click Performance and Maintenance, and then
click System.
b.. Installing updates before you shut down your
computer is another way to keep your computer up
to date and more secure. This option is available
only in Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2
(SP2), Microsoft Windows Server 2003 with Service
Pack 1 (SP1), or an x64-based version of a Windows
Server 2003 or Windows XP operating system and
only if important updates have been downloaded but
not yet installed. Do not turn off or unplug your
computer while updates are installing. Windows
will automatically turn off your computer after
the updates are installed.
c.. Only users with administrator privileges may
add or remove programs, including Windows updates.
It is strongly recommended that you log out of the
computer administrator account when you are not
performing tasks that require administrator
privileges. If you are logged on as an
administrator when your computer is the target of
a virus or malicious user, the attack can cause
extensive damage. For example, it might be able to
reformat your hard drive, delete all your files,
or create a new administrator account so the
attacker can take over your computer. For more
information about user accounts and why you should
not run your computer as an administrator, see
Help and Support.
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