Strategem re:WU for newly set Win8.1 OS please.

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I’m very appreciative of the sound advice @askwoody by IT experts & regular
contributors here – valueable help all the time; always make time to read 🙂

Precisely, I am inquiring as the end of Win7 approaches, some might have decided to go with
Windows 8.1 This OS is around 5yrs old. Is there a legitimate Service Pack for Win8.1
for instance to take the load off the vast number of WU files to be installed?

On another thread someone updating a Win7 from 2017 was first advised to do the
Service Stacks. Does Win8.1 have Service stacks to be careful of?

I’ve purchased a nearly unused (mint) laptop win8.1 x64, 8gb/Hdd 1TB and
I hope to go with this until 2023, or hopefully until MS comes, out with a good OS again.
The thought of 100’s of files/patches is overwhelming 🙂 I’d hate to do system restores
& precautions in the process. This is a home pc btw, so LibreOffice or similar will do
as it did not come w. MSoffice product key, which is fine.

May I also ask just how cumulative are rollups (2016-Aug 2019) – I.E. and NETcumulative
as well please? Would particular programs be better acquired through Catalog?

The laptop model (2015) factory has 58 (2014) WU files + one Visual C++ Redistibutable.
Maybe install all files up to 2016, then certain rollups can take over…

Any clues as to do this correctly would be so welcome – – just a basic plan that someone
has realised. Thank you.

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Well, 8.1 is a bit of a bother if you now start from “clean” with Windows Update…

But, it’s a lot less painful if you can use another system to pull a base set with Wsusoffline. http://www.wsusoffline.net/ … that’s what I’m doing with a lot of systems that were sold with a 8.1 Pro license, factory-downgraded to 7.

So, checklist:
() 8.1 installer ISO/USB
() wsusoffline update package for 8.1
() drivers for 8.1 on the hardware in question

… also seems to be faster to just install predownloaded updates or autoskip unneeded, than wait for the updater to iterate online and pull this and that.

1 user thanked author for this post.

pinwheel.galaxy

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Hi,  all right mn-,  you are obviously well versed in computer systems
and can try wsusoffline packages – reading the page i’m not sure.
Btw, Win 8.1 Service packs online are bogus?

from Google:  (I had no idea Win8.1 had a feature like this…)
Click on “Change PC settings,” then select “Update and recovery.”
Select “Choose how updates get installed.”
Click on the dropdown menu below “Important updates,” then select
“Install updates automatically.”

I’ve found this, it might help too, https://m.wikihow.com/Update-Windows-8.1
[Choose how updates get installed.]

Okay i’m still just getting used to 8.1 features. Thank you, I do have alot of time
before the end of the year. 🙂
So, ” …  faster to just install predownloaded updates or autoskip
unneeded, than wait for the updater to iterate online and pull this and that.”

I might just do so.  Still, list chronologically and install Service Stacks or whatnot first?
Thanks for the reply.

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Your needs aren’t clear to me.  For creating a System Restore disk/backup, I use Acronis but others use Macrium Reflect.

If you want to build the installation from scratch, you can download the latest ISO from Microsoft.  I don’t know what the latest version is but the Win8.1 x64 ISO that I downloaded in 2017 appeared to have everything up to late 2016.  But downloading the updates still took time!

I like 8.1.  It is stable and runs beautifully.  Since 2014, the only time I have experienced problems was in 2017 when I thought it would be a good idea to test Win10 on a dual-boot system…  Never again…

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[pinwheel.galaxy]

Excellent to hear such a good review from someone who has run Win8.1 from the start, thanks. 🙂  So suppose you’ve not crashed recently to reinstall everything on WU.

For sure , all precautions taken especially before a big window update effort.
So no just a plain simple aim to catch up on everything offered that need to be there through WU on this pc that has an OS new to me. Glad it has a very nice interface
that has a choice to first install important security patches when you’re inundated after a fresh installation.

Recent Win8.1 ISO with lots of valueable file already in sounds great – only ppl itk
would know, but won’t redo as it’s all ready with the WU app turned off.
I just wondered if there was a best procedure from someone who had freshly done this recently.

Oh, I really would like to know the extent of how cumulative the monthly
rollups are – no point in redundancy.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 8 months ago by pinwheel.galaxy.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 8 months ago by pinwheel.galaxy.

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anonymous wrote:

Your needs aren’t clear to me.  For creating a System Restore disk/backup, I use Acronis but others use Macrium Reflect.

If you want to build the installation from scratch, you can download the latest ISO from Microsoft.  I don’t know what the latest version is but the Win8.1 x64 ISO that I downloaded in 2017 appeared to have everything up to late 2016.  But downloading the updates still took time!

I like 8.1.  It is stable and runs beautifully.  Since 2014, the only time I have experienced problems was in 2017 when I thought it would be a good idea to test Win10 on a dual-boot system…  Never again…

the Windows 8.1 ISOs from Microsoft contain Win8.1 + Update 3 (aka. November 2014 rollup KB3000850)
actually they have both Update 1 (KB2919355) and Update 3 (KB3000850) integrated or slipstreamed onto them

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These links to AKB’s will also help your preparation/ strategy:
AKB2000007  AKB2000010  AKB2000012

Windows - commercial by definition and now function...

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WildBill, pinwheel.galaxy

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I’m going to add my 2 cents in here since I just (2 weeks ago) went from years on Ubuntu(up to 19.04), to one day on exclusively win7(I had long dual booted so it was there), and then got an 8.1 Pro iso from MS(put on USB thumb drive) and key (ebay-$10 as I recall-key cane within an hour by email) and did 8.1 update under win7 to 8.1. No biggie. Win update wouldn’t go and I found “Windows8.1-KB3138615-x64.msu” somewhere and that fixed it. Note that I never do auto updates. Always set to never check. This is because I, as a rule, check for updates and update the rollups a week before “patch tuesday” (2nd Tues of a month).  So, yes, I had a hundred or so important updates (I NEVER do the optional updates!!!) but I don’t recall that it took more than a half hour – not bad for a 2.9ghz i5 and a 75mbs connection.  This is an old laptop(new to me a year ago) – Lenovo T530. Be sure BIOS is current!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Update chipset etc drivers after you’re on 8.1 .

So, VERY pleased with 8.1 but concerned about the latest woody talk about the upcoming re-added call-home “feature” (telemetry) in the -09 rollups so I added WPD to my system – this was all new to me so I started a thread on it and got some great help: https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/8-1-and-telemetry/

So in spite of MS’s best efforts 😉 , I feel safe for the next 3 years! It would be too much to hope that win10 gets dropped, but maybe it will be fixed a bit… but we will decide what to do in 2023.

I back things up with Macrium since it also gets the ubuntu partition which I had to restore since I forgot my TBird’s addressbook 😀 .  I also back up with easeus simply because I have a 2016 backup of my programs/and/junk on it. I think I also have some old easeus backups on other HDs.

Good luck!!!

also note that I use “open shell” for a win7 interface.

——– ThinkPad T530-2394-3J8, i5-3380M 2.9GHz, Win8.1 Pro x64, 8GB(15GB/s), Sammy 250GB SSD. ——-

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pinwheel.galaxy

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^ Hello, that’s a winding process to 8.1, glad you swam through it with ease. 🙂
And I’m always loving how everyone keeps caution on their update app and
prepare themselves each month. Great examples to be trouble-free.

Thanks, did not think about drivers at all, they might be old – must check
the maker’s driver download availability too!
So it was not an excruciatingly long Windows Updating process for you
even on an older pc – sounds alittle promising now.
Looking also into mn_’s Wsusoffline net suggestion, i did enquire about a
service pack, although wary of the unfamiliar i’m afraid.

Win 8.1 is pretty nice; had worried i would need classic shell – now open shell?
But it’s a win8.1update and a bit easier getting used to thankfully.
A little tutorial online never hurt either.

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[a]

Yes, classic shell became something else, and then open shell. it’s no different from using 7 for me.  I have experienced no problems with it.  I don’t like/avoid Metro. I hadn’t heard anything about SPs so didn’t think of them. Simply got the latest iso from MS and went with that. For me it was easy. I was up on 8.1 very quickly after I got the key. Lenovo is extremely good and gives me all the drivers I need for these old laptops, but if your company doesn’t, Intel has an update that you can install that scans your system, and that should take care of most of it. All you really need to worry about is chipset. 8.1 has the latest USB3. Make sure you’re okay on LAN and sound and the like. BIOS is probably the most important and do that before you update to 8.1 but I think that would have to come from the mfr .

I did indeed swim through it with ease, especially with @Microfix ‘s help with WPD(Windows Privacy Desktop). So now I have 3 years. With win7 I only had 3 more months.

edit: stuff like Unigine runs fine on this but a run on Sandra choked it and I had to reboot. My old games like stonekeep and nwn2 run fine. VERY pleased with it!!!

• This reply was modified 5 years, 8 months ago by a.

1 user thanked author for this post.

pinwheel.galaxy

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mn– wrote:

Well, 8.1 is a bit of a bother if you now start from “clean” with Windows Update…

But, it’s a lot less painful if you can use another system to pull a base set with Wsusoffline. http://www.wsusoffline.net/ … that’s what I’m doing with a lot of systems that were sold with a 8.1 Pro license, factory-downgraded to 7.

So, checklist:
() 8.1 installer ISO/USB
() wsusoffline update package for 8.1
() drivers for 8.1 on the hardware in question

… also seems to be faster to just install predownloaded updates or autoskip unneeded, than wait for the updater to iterate online and pull this and that.

Sorry to bring this up – i’ve been asking a couple of lame things…
So i’ve found [1]…Microsoft Windows 8 Service packs will not be released.

> wsusoffline.net, this is a good alternative, thank you.
There’s modifications in version 11.8.1,
providing Sept 2019 Servicing Stack update to supersede the prior one.
– so they do supercedence of service stacks in their downloads. – no
need eg. to install April 2015/July 2016 servicing stack for the July Rollup.
(Can this be said for a conventional WU install i wonder…)
If you know the KB# of a noteable telemetry file, i wonder if it allows
to faze it out of the download, we’ll see.

Guardedness here 🙂 ; “It’s more likely for a service pack to cause an error
for a program or operating system … lots of updates in one package, the
odds increase that one of them will interfere with another application or
driver that’s already on the computer.”
That can be said I suppose of a large WU automatic install. — putting
in forethought to try to avoid a rush job. 🙂
Thank you for a good option in any event, much appreciated.
It is funny how that site doesn’t entice it’s ware with diagram or review,
some searches.

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