Windows XP in a Nutshell, Second Edition

Name

Windows Update — \windows\system32\wupdmgr.exe

Synopsis

Use Internet Explorer to download updates to Windows XP over the Internet.

To Open

Start → Windows Update

Internet Explorer → Tools menu → Windows Update

Internet Explorer → open http://www.windowsupdate.com

Command Prompt → wupdmgr

Description

The Windows Update feature allows Microsoft to make updates to Windows XP available publicly. It also allows Windows XP users to download and install those updates quickly and easily.

When you open the Windows Update site in Internet Explorer, it looks like any other web site on the surface. In addition to links to other portions of the Microsoft web site, including a similar Office Update site, the main link of interest here is “Scan for updates.” When you initiate the scan, Internet Explorer retrieves a list of all available updates from the Microsoft web site, and then compares it to a list of already-installed updates. Any new updates are shown in the window, from which you can select items to download and install (see Figure 4-119).

Figure 4-119. Use the Windows Update tool frequently to make sure you have the latest bug fixes and security patches

There are three categories of updates: Critical Updates, which are typically new versions of shared files that fix problems and patch security holes; Critical Updates typically don’t contain newer versions of software, so it’s generally safe ...