How To Make The Most Of Windows Updates
Written on November 4, 2009 by Kay
Updating your Windows system is essential to eradicate bugs and to arm yourself against the most recent security exploits, not to mention updating important programs (sometimes a plus, sometimes not.) I’m lazy and forgetful at times, so I turn on Automatic Updates; then, I won’t have to worry about manually updating. But then I get angry at my PC when I’m in the middle of something (work, web surfing, Solitaire, etc.) and Windows continually informs me that it needs to reboot in order for the automatic updates that it just installed to take effect (maybe I should stop working at 3 in the morning).
Navigating the Windows Update Maze
I simply take a deep breath and look at it like road construction: The streets may be messy and traffic-riddled because of the temporary construction, but some countries don’t even have pavement roads, and here I am complaining that the city’s actually fixing mine! Bad form. So, while Windows Updates may be a minor annoyance, the annoyance is small potatoes when the end result (aimed for result, that is) is improvement of the overall system.
That said, Windows Updates isn’t exactly super user-friendly, and its messages are often cryptic, so many users simply install every update so that they can hurry up and get back to what they were doing. Let’s make Windows Update a little less mysterious, shall we?
Windows Update Details
Have you ever took the time to read the names of some of the updates? It’s obvious that a human isn’t naming these updates manually but rather a machine, because only a machine can label an update Windows XP (KB874212) and still make any sense of it. Thankfully, there’s a way to get an actual description of each update. On Vista, double-click the update in question and a pop-up window will give you more info. In XP, expand the “+” symbol next to the update’s name to get the same result. Now you won’t be in the dark when updating Windows.
Windows Update Levels
Microsoft assigns a level to each update, which helps you in deciding whether you need an update or not. Vista has three levels: Important, Recommended, and Optional. The Important updates are essential for security and bug fixes. You should always install all the updates listed in this category to keep your PC healthy and secure. Unfortunately, Microsoft has a nasty tendency of throwing updates into this category for their own personal gain (Windows Genuine Advantage, for example).
To use a car buying analogy, if the Important level is akin to buying a car with brakes thrown in (you don’t actually need a car with breaks in order for it to run, but it helps if you value your skin), then the Recommended level can be compared to buying a car with OnStar (not really necessary, but comes in handy). It contains updates that may help your PC to work optimally. The Optional level contains updates that may improve your computing experience slightly (new drivers, a fancy toolbar). It’s like buying a car with an iPod port.
XP’s Update service has two levels: High Priority (which is the same as Vista’s Important) and Optional (kind of like Vista’s Recommended and Optional categories combined.)
Service Packs
You should always install the latest Service Pack (a package of essential updates) for your version of Windows to acquire the highest level of security and stability possible. One of the things that really annoys me about Service Packs, though, is that you must install them incrementally. That means if you want Service Pack 3 for XP, and you don’t have Service Pack 2 installed yet, you must install 2 before you can do 3. This can eat up a lot of time. But, alas, Service Packs are vital and are very important for all versions of Windows.
