Two WSUS offline update related questions

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Thanks to ch100, who pointed out that WSUS Offline Update is a third-party tool that has nothing to do with WSUS. I’ve moved the questions and answers
[See the full post at: Two WSUS offline update related questions]

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To clarify for everyone, WSUS (formerly known as SUS) is the official tool from Microsoft, currently part of the server operating systems Windows 2008R2, Windows 2012 and Windows 2012R2.
WSUS is also used by a more advanced Microsoft product which is System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM).
On the other hand, WSUS Offline which is not related, only named so to attract attention, is a community based tool, not supported by Microsoft.
The OP makes inquiries about WSUS Offline which I don’t use and I think that other readers here can provide more insight.
The general recommendation for individual end-users and even for smaller businesses is to use Windows/Microsoft Update and forget about any other tools, due to additional complexity and advanced knowledge required.

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So THAT’s it. Thanks for putting two and two together….

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Here’s the original post….

I don’t use WSUS – basically don’t know anything about it, beyond the hand-waving stage. I’ve received a couple of questions in the mail about it. Any of you want to tackle them?

I’ve recently used wsus offline tool, which is contributed to by the community i assume. I had check-marked “Include Service Packs” option. Everything ran fine, computer ran smooth, no problems. Later on, i checked available compatibility modes & once again, i saw no Windows 7 service pack option, just regular “Windows 7”.

Should i try to get service pack installation files from somewhere? Or should i do as the saying goes “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”?

And

I have been using the Windows Off-line Update utility (WSUS), that was discussed on your Ask Woody web site a month or so ago. I posted some information on the process I used, got some snide comments from a few posters, responded to some of them, and then just let the subject drop.

In my case, the process is done with the systems NOT connected to the internet, and the local Windows Update function turned totally off. Anyway, on each system, using the WSUS app, it has never taken more than about 60-90 minutes of COMPUTER time to catch each of these systems up to date.

Then when I connect the system to the Internet, turn on Windows Updates in “Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them” mode, the systems have found the remaining few ‘important’ updates, and a bigger list of ‘optional’ updates in just a matter of minutes. The downloading process then takes a very short time, 5-10 minutes or so. I can actually just sit there and watch the percentage counter go up as they are downloaded.

The ‘roll-up’ update (with the speed up ‘fix’) is not installed as part of the big batch of KB’s downloaded by the WSUS Update Generator app. I might have installed the ‘roll-up’ patch on one system after the fact, just to see how it might work, can’t comment on that yet, no more updates since yesterday.

Using WSUS seems to work very well for a fresh install of Windows 7, and seems to leave the systems in a mode where they can find and download remaining updates in a rapid manner.

I’m finding that WSUS is a great way to get around messing with and waiting (and waiting…) on the standard Windows Update ‘service’ inside of Windows. And it also seems to be able to clear up some other update problems.

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Like perhaps the 2 question-submitters, I had noticed people mentioning WSUS here.
I had no idea what it was.

I’m always interested in safe tools that might help me keep my computer working well, even if they are a little off the beaten path, and even if I don’t have all the I.T. knowledge required to really get the most good out of them. For example: the TCP-UDP Endpoint Viewer which is offered by Microsoft.

However, when I saw a comment here saying something along the lines of “WSUS isn’t for the standard Windows user, but for I.T. professionals”, I realized that it was probably not a tool I’d ever be using, and I began to skim past the occasional references to it here.

I wonder if the question-submitters who confused WSUS (the official one that is provided by Microsoft) and the third-party program called WSUS Offline had, like me, noticed I.T. professionals here mentioning using WSUS, so they went off to find it for themselves to download and use, but all they could locate was the third-party program with a similar name, because WSUS (the official one) possibly requires having special programs, hardware, or knowledge that not everyone who has Windows automatically has on their computers?

I still don’t know what the abbreviation WSUS stands for, so I’ve looked the two programs up on Wikipedia, and I’ll copy and paste their descriptions here, in case it helps other non-techie readers like myself get a handle on what is being discussed:

A. WSUS (the official one):

“Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), previously known as Software Update Services (SUS), is a computer program developed by Microsoft Corporation that enables administrators to manage the distribution of updates and hotfixes released for Microsoft products to computers in a corporate environment. WSUS downloads these updates from the Microsoft Update website and then distributes them to computers on a network. WSUS runs on Windows Server and is free to licensed Microsoft customers.”

B. WSUS Offline Update (the third-party program)
:

“c’t – Magazin für Computertechnik (magazine for computer technology) is a German computer magazine.
[…] One of the numerous projects c’t initiated is the Offline Update, a set of scripts to download Microsoft updates, combine it with an install script, and create a CD image. With Offline Update burned to a CD or DVD, a technician can update Windows 2000/XP/Vista and Microsoft Office 2003/2007 without an Internet connection. This is especially useful for people with no or slow Internet connections, or not exposing a vulnerable system to the Internet.
[…] Offline Update (now [re-named] ‘WSUS Offline Update’)”

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You got it.

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I would expect that most of the I.T. professionals on this site would agree with commenter CH100’s advice to the two question-submitters, and would suggest that they do not continue to use “WSUS Offline Update”, but return to simply using Windows Update:

“The general recommendation for individual end-users and even for smaller businesses is to use Windows/Microsoft Update and forget about any other tools, due to additional complexity and advanced knowledge required.”

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What I actually said is that WSUS is an official Microsoft tool which was designed to be used in small to medium business, but it is also used by larger businesses due to its reliability. I don’t know much about WSUS Offline, which does not mean that this alternative tool is not good. Quite the opposite, there are good reports about it, only that I am not one of those who would be able to provide any useful advice about it.
The easy way is to use Windows Update, however due to the fact that many end-users decide not to follow Microsoft’s official line for various reasons, mostly because of the perceived snooping and the Microsoft’s push for the Windows 10 Upgrade, then the same users are looking for third-party tools which would make the experience better, or at least perceived as better.
At the end of the day, I think it is the end-user’s decision what is best for each individual.

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To start, this is the WSUS home site: http://download.wsusoffline.net/
It is indeed a community tool, with 2 GUI front ends:

1st is a definition part, where one selects the elements to be included, such as .net, IE11 and such. It is remembered from one run to the next.

There are sections to select for other MS products like Office.

Then, once the selection is done, the user presses the “start” button and the script downloads the various updates from MS servers. Everything is downloaded from MS, no 3rd party.

The 2nd GUI is the one that triggers the installation, and can be run at any time.

By default, non of the “black listed” updates are included in this tool.
It provides the criticals.

There’s also an option for users to provide the tool with a blacklist of updates, and these will not be installed or removed, until (if) the user decides.

This is a great tool, that exists for quite a few years, with friendly community and documentation and toturials.

With the horrors of MS updates, everyone should take a look and use this tool.

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@ch100,
I quoted the exact last paragraph from your first comment, so I’m not sure why you replied to my post by saying, “What I actually said….” as if I’d misquoted you.

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Sorry @poohsticks I only tried to explain a little bit more what I said before.

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Will this help Windows Defender? No matter what I do, I cannot get Windows Defender for Vista to update. I have gone directly on Windows Support for help, but nothing works.

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That’s a new one on me. Have you tried asking on the Microsoft Answers forum (link in the upper right on this page)?

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Thank you Woody. I did as you suggested and tried several items listed on Microsoft Answers. After two or three tries Microsoft Defender updated.

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Hi Woody, and other dedicated posters here.

Again I got stuck here with Vista update.
After the August (2016) hints (http://wu.krelay.de/en/) w.update “worked”; at least the check-search-time was acceptable.
Since the September updates check-search-time became infinite -so it seams-.
Then I succesfully used the WindowsOffline tool (http://download.wsusoffline.net/),
Many thanks to (“ch100”, I believe) and the other posters to gave this hint.

Yes I know, Windows Vista is due to disappear from the maintenance list //out-of-service, but still using it for simple things.
But why is it that am I forced to buy a new pc just for doing these simple things?.

M$ makes it a hobby to give people a hell of a time when they do not change to W10.
Pitty for these new-age policies of treating people.

regards Fred

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