How to view detailed information about a given Windows update

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Here are two PowerShell scripts for viewing detailed information about Windows updates:

https://www.reddit.com/r/PowerShell/comments/5ftmnv/windows_update_with_powershell_how_can_i_tell/

https://www.mcbsys.com/blog/2015/11/print-detailed-windows-update-info/

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ch100, abbodi86

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Information about the meaning of the output of the scripts in the first post:

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee917301.aspx

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa386099(v=vs.85).aspx

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa386100(v=vs.85).aspx

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa826506(v=vs.85).aspx

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ee694841(v=vs.85).aspx

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ee694844(v=vs.85).aspx

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wavy

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AutoSelectOnWebSites=true seems to mean that the update has status Important.

BrowseOnly=true seems to mean that the update has status Optional.

(AutoSelectOnWebSites=false and BrowseOnly=false) seems to mean that the update has status Recommended.

 

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mcbsys

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Thanks for pulling together these references.

I run a daily script on all my machines to tell me what’s pending. Basically if the machine wants to apply updates (apart from Windows Defender), I want an alert.

Today I’m scratching my head about how the machine decides to NOT display Silverlight but it DOES display the pending Feature update.

Silverlight
AutoSelectOnWebsites: False
BrowseOnly: True
AutoSelection:  0 [asLetWindowsUpdateDecide]
AutoDownload:  0 [adLetWindowsUpdateDecide]

20H2 Feature Update
AutoSelectOnWebsites: False
BrowseOnly: False
AutoSelection:  1 [asAutoSelectIfDownloaded]
AutoDownload:  2 [adAlwaysAutoDownload]

And for comparison…

An “Important” .NET update (KB4601050)
AutoSelectOnWebsites: True
BrowseOnly: False
AutoSelection:  0 [asLetWindowsUpdateDecide]
AutoDownload:  0 [adLetWindowsUpdateDecide]

A “Critical” Cumulative Update (KB4601319)
AutoSelectOnWebsites: False
BrowseOnly: False
AutoSelection:  0 [asLetWindowsUpdateDecide]
AutoDownload:  0 [adLetWindowsUpdateDecide]

I read elsewhere that BrowseOnly is not reliable for distinguishing optional updates on Windows 10, so I’m now only alerting if AutoSelectOnWebsites = True. But that means I missed the Feature Update.

What combination of parameters does Windows 10 use to tell users in the GUI that an update is pending? I’m wondering if BrowseOnly = False is the better filter.

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abbodi86

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Feature Update show up as optional update?

Interactive property for Windows Update in 1903 and later has undocumented (or unidentified) behavior
if you create WindowsUpdate.log, you can notice it under * START * Finding updates

scheduled scans (initiated by WU and reflected in Update settings page) set the property Interactive = No

all other scans (usings scripts or update tools, or Check updates button) set the property Interactive = Yes

“Interactive = No” cause WU not to show certain updates
the only case i saw is not showing .NET Preview CU if the previous .NET Security CU is not installed

i think “BrowseOnly: True” cause WU not to show Silverlight update in this case (i.e. non Interactive scan)
because i can get Silverlight update wen doing scan with powershell

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I do not see an Interactive property in the UpdateSearcher results. I tried searching with an “IsInteractive” criterion, like this:

$SearchResult = $UpdateSearcher.Search(“IsInstalled=0 and IsInteractive=1”)

That returns an error.

So I’m not seeing an Interactive property that would help me determine if a particular update is offered in the GUI. It seems more like something that is logged to indicate how the update search was performed.

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It’s attribute of the search, not a property of the update
it cannot be set or specified/changed

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I decided to try “AutoSelectOnWebsites = True OR BrowseOnly = False” for identifying non-optional updates.

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Based on this reply #176226 from @MrBrian

on Windows 10, because it’s always set IncludeRecommendedUpdates = True

Non optional update can be if one of the following criteria is met:

1- AutoSelectOnWebSites : True + AutoSelection: 0 + AutoDownload: 0

2- AutoSelectOnWebSites: False + AutoSelection: 1 + AutoDownload: 2

3- AutoSelectOnWebSites: False + AutoSelection: 0 + AutoDownload: 0 + BrowseOnly: False

Optional update is only:

– AutoSelectOnWebSites: False + AutoSelection: 0 + AutoDownload: 0 + BrowseOnly: True

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P.S. I see it is my WindowsUpdate.ShowDetails.ps1 script that you were using. Nice! Now if we could just figure out what the details mean :).

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From https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee917301.aspx: “AutoSelection: A value from the AutoSelectionMode (section 2.2.6) enumeration that describes the conditions under which this update is recommended to be selected in a GUI.”

More info about AutoSelection property:

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ee694846(v=vs.85).aspx

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ee694833(v=vs.85).aspx

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee916959.aspx

From https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee917276.aspx:

“When the value of the update’s AutoSelectionMode is asLetWindowsUpdateDecide, the update agent user interface automatically selects the update if one of the following criteria is met:

The value of the update’s AutoSelectOnWebSites ADM element is VARIANT_TRUE.

The system administrator has enabled automatic selection of recommended updates and the value of the update’s BrowseOnly ADM element is VARIANT_FALSE.

The system administrator has enabled automatic selection of recommended updates and the value of the update’s Type ADM element is utDriver and the value of the update’s DeviceProblemNumber ADM element is 1 or 28.”

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From https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee917301.aspx: “AutoDownload: A value from the AutoDownloadMode (section 2.2.7) enumeration that describes the conditions under which this update is recommended to be automatically downloaded by an update agent.”

More info about AutoDownload property:

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ee694845(v=vs.85).aspx

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ee694832(v=vs.85).aspx

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee916969.aspx

From https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee917276.aspx:

“When the system administrator has enabled automatic download of important updates and the value of the update’s AutoDownloadMode ADM element is adLetWindowsUpdateDecide, update agentautomatically downloads the update if one of the following criteria is met:

The value of the update’s AutoSelectOnWebSites ADM element is VARIANT_TRUE.

The system administrator has enabled automatic download of recommended updates and the value of the update’s BrowseOnly ADM element is VARIANT_FALSE.

The system administrator has enabled automatic download of recommended updates, and the value of the update’s Type ADM element is utDriver, and the value of the update’s DeviceProblemNumber ADM element is 1 or 28.”

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These scripts could be altered to use the following update search string, which is the update search string used by Windows Update itself for Windows 7 (according to info I found somewhere on the web): “IsHidden=0 and IsInstalled=0 and DeploymentAction=’Installation’ and IsAssigned=1 or IsHidden=0 and IsPresent=1 and DeploymentAction=’Uninstallation’ and IsAssigned=1 or IsHidden=0 and IsInstalled=1 and DeploymentAction=’Installation’ and IsAssigned=1 and RebootRequired=1 or IsHidden=0 and IsInstalled=0 and DeploymentAction=’Uninstallation’ and IsAssigned=1 and RebootRequired=1”

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I searched for updates today in Windows 7 and Windows 10. The windowsupdate.log file in both cases showed this search string was used by Windows Update:

"IsInstalled=0 and DeploymentAction='Installation' or IsPresent=1 and DeploymentAction='Uninstallation' or IsInstalled=1 and DeploymentAction='Installation' and RebootRequired=1 or IsInstalled=0 and DeploymentAction='Uninstallation' and RebootRequired=1"

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A script that I tested: https://github.com/jimbotten/VBScriptDump/blob/master/workstation/SearchForSoftwareUpdates.vbs. This script lists the bundled updates for a given update.

 

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Thanks for gathering them up
i have been using similar scripts for various occasions

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You’re welcome :).

I hope to create a script that contains the info from all of these scripts.

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Nah, that would be too much for my basic skills 😀

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