Windows 8 — streamlining the update process

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	TOP STORY Windows 8 — streamlining the update process
	By Susan Bradley It appears that Microsoft has heard our complaints about a tedious part of the Windows updating process. Changes in Windows 8 should make the never-ending task of installing patches a bit easier, by reducing mandatory system restarts.

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The full text of this column is posted at windowssecrets.com/top-story/windows-8-streamlining-the-update-process/ (opens in a new window/tab).

Columnists typically cannot reply to comments here, but do incorporate the best tips into future columns.[/td]

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Is “Windows 8” really neccessary or is it just an excuse to gather more money from Microsoft consummers? The same can be said about the forthcoming release of the latest office. It would be nice to read a review about Microsoft’s new releases that actually said that they were a waste of time and money for the consummer but I suppose that if a reviewer said that, then they would not be given anymore free software or am I just being cynical!

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Is “Windows 8” really neccessary or is it just an excuse to gather more money from Microsoft consummers? The same can be said about the forthcoming release of the latest office. It would be nice to read a review about Microsoft’s new releases that actually said that they were a waste of time and money for the consummer but I suppose that if a reviewer said that, then they would not be given anymore free software or am I just being cynical!

2012-02-09 22:23[INDENT] There’s this thing called an iPad. Perhaps you’ve heard of it? 😉 Seriously, Redmond needs an OS that supports a tablet platform. That’s the aim of Windows 8. And honestly because Microsoft has been EXTREMELY closed mouthed about Windows 8, there’s no one that can give an honest review right now. It’s too early, Microsoft is being too closed mouthed. [/INDENT]

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2012-02-09 22:23[INDENT] There’s this thing called an iPad. Perhaps you’ve heard of it? 😉 Seriously, Redmond needs an OS that supports a tablet platform. That’s the aim of Windows 8. And honestly because Microsoft has been EXTREMELY closed mouthed about Windows 8, there’s no one that can give an honest review right now. It’s too early, Microsoft is being too closed mouthed. [/INDENT]

Just release a patch (Microsoft are good at that) so that Win 7 will operate on a tablet platform and not “blackmail” companies and individuals into upgrading a complete OS..Simples!

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Just release a patch (Microsoft are good at that) so that Win 7 will operate on a tablet platform and not “blackmail” companies and individuals into upgrading a complete OS..Simples!

Where’s the blackmail? If you don’t need 8, don’t buy it; 7 will still work.

As for “just an excuse to gather more money”: it’s what companies do, sell new stuff; and not much different from new cars each year; only we can decide whether we need/want.

Bruce

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Where’s the blackmail? If you don’t need 8, don’t buy it; 7 will still work.

As for “just an excuse to gather more money”: it’s what companies do, sell new stuff; and not much different from new cars each year; only we can decide whether we need/want.

Bruce

the difference is that in a few years after release companies are forced to upgrade because Microsoft stops patching ie XP in 2014!

the difference with a car is that you don’t have to take it to the dealer every month for a patch to the CPU or the engine starts to malfunction!

I don’t have to breath but choose to do so……GROW UP!!!

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the difference is that in a few years after release companies are forced to upgrade because Microsoft stops patching ie XP in 2014!

Depends what your definition of “few” is; 13?

the difference with a car is that you don’t have to take it to the dealer every month for a patch to the CPU or the engine starts to malfunction!

Plenty of recall updates most years if we don’t want our cars to spontaneously combust or crash due to failing brakes, steering or automatic acceleration etc. Not many for cars which are decades old though.

I don’t have to breath but choose to do so……GROW UP!!!

Not sure of the relevance there; your computer won’t die if you don’t upgrade.

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I don’t have to breath but choose to do so……GROW UP!!!

Bog, that’s uncalled for here in this forum. As has been stated, just continue to use Windows 7 as it will be supported for a long time.

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the difference with a car is that you don’t have to take it to the dealer every month for a patch to the CPU or the engine starts to malfunction!

In 2014, XP will have the nice age of 13 years and many systems will keep working after that. One of the moderators here never patches his system and last I heard it kept working normally. Even with cars, after a few years, you may find it very hard to get parts and when you do, some come from third parties, and a car costs a lot more than an operating system.

Car manufacturers keep churning out new models, that are safer and incorporate newer technologies, just as Windows 8 will. That’s the nature of a business, they keep developing new products to keep generating income, no one can live from past sales. No one is forced to buy a new OS, as no one is forced to buy a new car. With a bit more thought, you will see that your analogy really fails where you thought it would not.

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Just release a patch (Microsoft are good at that) so that Win 7 will operate on a tablet platform and not “blackmail” companies and individuals into upgrading a complete OS..Simples!

You can’t patch your way onto a tablet/touch interface. Just like MacOS is not the same OS as an Ipad. It’s not that simple.

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2012-02-09 22:23[INDENT] There’s this thing called an iPad. Perhaps you’ve heard of it? 😉 Seriously, Redmond needs an OS that supports a tablet platform. That’s the aim of Windows 8. And honestly because Microsoft has been EXTREMELY closed mouthed about Windows 8, there’s no one that can give an honest review right now. It’s too early, Microsoft is being too closed mouthed. [/INDENT]

I don’t take Redmond’s word about Windows 8. Although I am not getting the whole Consumer experience of Windows 8, I have installed the Developer Preview alongside of Windows 7 Home Premium on my Toshiba Satellite core-i5 laptop, and I am doing my own “test drive”. This leaves me with no doubt about the supposedly “unavailable information” about how Win8 behaves, and what it’s like to actually use it. I am reading and hearing a lot of FUD about this and that features, only to find that in practice, there are very simple workarounds and tweaks which make Windows 8 reasonably easy to use. Many of the “missing features” are buried as “legacy features” and can be revived with only a few tweaks. I have yet to find a Windows 7 feature or setting which I could not restore in Windows 8 Developer Preview. Maybe there are some, but I have yet to find one.

One Windows 7 feature which is going away are the Desktop Gadgets, and I will miss them. But third-parties are already filling the gaps with gadgets and dashboard utilities of their own.

No, this isn’t the final Release Candidate, but I have a pretty good idea of what’s really in store, and the Consumer Preview should offer an even better picture of the work in progress which will soon become Windows 8.

-- rc primak

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Susan Bradley said

“I’m convinced few of those folks actually want that option (especially busy notebook users who want to quickly get up and go, then end up cursing Windows when it wants to install a dozen updates before shutting down).”

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I have solved this problem by setting my laptop to hibernate on closing the lid. At the end of a presentation, I don’t switch off but just close the lid. When I get back to the office (or home in my case), I can open up the laptop again and then shut it down properly when it’s convenient to me. I also have auto updates off and only connect to Windows update when I have time to do the updates.

JG

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Susan Bradley: “I’m convinced few of those folks actually want that option (especially busy notebook users who want to
quickly get up and go, then end up cursing Windows when it wants to install a dozen updates before shutting down).”

I’m one of the 39 percent who didn’t realize until reading this article that I had a choice when to reboot automatic changes being made by Microsoft. And, as she suggests, it’s most annoying when using a notebook, but I fixed that by buying a
Macbook Pro. I still have the problem with my DTPC.

Excellent summary of the Win8 changes in this regard.

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Susan Bradley: “I’d love to interview that 39 percent and ask them whether they really wanted to install updates at shutdown” I do not have that feature enabled on my laptops as that would be a nuisance. But I very much appreciate it on the desktops we have at home. We typically shut them down at night and so I can let Windows do its update at that time and head off to bed without thinking about it again. There is also the choice of clicking the appropriate button to say “no thanks, do not install the updates now, just shut down”.

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I wish MS would make auto update of Windows Defender as easy as other security vendors. The creation of a restore point seems unnecessary and time consuming.

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Great posting Susan! Thanks for your commitment on keeping us up-to-date on the issues.

I need all the help you can give for me to best serve my customers who will be migrating eventually to Windows 8 either on a PC or to some other device. The Windows reboot process after updates needs to be as flawless and unabtrusive as possible. Hopefully lots of dialog will come from Redmond describing how to make the process more seemless for users as possible. My only remaining concern is about the necessity of the various patches which you’ve detailed extensively before in other columns. Some patches get rushed out to the public before they’ve been tested enough. (I hate those situations.)

I get the impression that the whole update process is still very, very confused–critical updates vs optional vs problem updates vs unnecessary but useful if other software is installed, etc. As a techie I’ve become very cautious and only install the most critical of updates for Windows for my customers. The last thing I want is for my customers to have a Windows update that crashes their system. (I’m liable for that mistake if I recommended installing the patch.) Industry has lots of ways to test updates before installing them on critical computers. My customers largely only have one computer without that testing option and when the update fails, it can be terrible mess to untangle. It’s not good enough when Redmond pulls back the patch and issues a revision later because the damage is already done.

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@Boghound,

Using capital letters i.e. “GROW UP!!!” corresponds to shouting in speech. Let’s keep things civil in these posts.

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From the original story: “Windows 8 changes updating in two ways. First, Windows Update will consolidate updates that need a system restart (regardless of when they came out during the month) and synchronize that final reboot step with the restarts required by the Patch Tuesday (the second Tuesday of each month) security updates. Secondly, once updates are installed, Windows Update will warn users of an upcoming reboot over three days, via a message in the user sign-in screen (see Figure 1) and within Windows Update (see Figure 2). You should no longer receive those annoying restart popup messages.”

So why must this wait for Windows 8. What part cannot be applied to Win 7 or even XP?

Pat Dennis

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From the original story: “Windows 8 changes updating in two ways. First, Windows Update will consolidate updates that need a system restart (regardless of when they came out during the month) and synchronize that final reboot step with the restarts required by the Patch Tuesday (the second Tuesday of each month) security updates. Secondly, once updates are installed, Windows Update will warn users of an upcoming reboot over three days, via a message in the user sign-in screen (see Figure 1) and within Windows Update (see Figure 2). You should no longer receive those annoying restart popup messages.”

So why must this wait for Windows 8. What part cannot be applied to Win 7 or even XP?

Pat Dennis

I guess that could be possible, but I doubt XP will ever see a SP 4 where this could be added. Although Windows 7 could see this in a SP2, I would say it’s not that likely that MS will do it. Those features will be among the many, many new features offered by Windows 8 and I suppose will add to the reasons for users to upgrade to the new system.

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I will only remind everyone of this one fact: historically, every OTHER version of Windows works correctly. Windows 7 works well, Vista was a piece of….. get my point?

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I will only remind everyone of this one fact: historically, every OTHER version of Windows works correctly. Windows 7 works well, Vista was a piece of….. get my point?

Maybe your memory is not too good. Windows 3.0, followed by Windows 3.11, which was quite good too, followed by Windows 95, which was great, followed by Windows 98, that some people still use! That’s 4 versions in a row. Windows ME was slight lapse, followed by the solid Windows 2000, which was then followed by the hugely successful Windows XP.

As you see, facts make it hard to get your point.

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My opinion is different from yours, but that’s why we are different people. Hope you have a nice day!:)

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My opinion is different from yours, but that’s why we are different people. Hope you have a nice day!:)

Absolutely. Hope you have a nice day too :).

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Susan Bradley wrote:

In the blog’s historical background on Windows Update, Microsoft provides an interesting peek into how most people install updates. For example (based on Windows users who have opted into Microsoft’s reporting system), 89 percent of Windows 7 users install Windows updates automatically. Of that group, 39 percent use the Install at shutdown option, 31 percent use the Interactive option, and 30 percent use Install-at-scheduled-time.

I’d love to interview that 39 percent and ask them whether they really wanted to install updates at shutdown — or just didn’t notice the Shut down and install updates notification when they turned off their computers. Based on the number of people in various Windows forums that complain about this behavior, I’m convinced few of those folks actually want that option (especially busy notebook users who want to quickly get up and go, then end up cursing Windows when it wants to install a dozen updates before shutting down).

But where’s the “Install at shutdown option“? In my experience that is only used for corporate desktops where the daily users are not administrators, so updates are initiated at shutdown overnight or for weekends because there’s no practical alternative. So the 39% of users who “use” that option have no choice except Shut down and install updates. And there’s no question of them not noticing it; there’s no alternative except not shutting down (which may be contrary to corporate policy).

If laptop users get that prompt at shutdown because they have uninstalled updates, they can bypass it and choose to just shutdown by using Alt-F4 on the desktop: Shut Down Windows Without Installing Updates

Bruce

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Susan Bradley wrote:

In the blog’s historical background on Windows Update, Microsoft provides an interesting peek into how most people install updates. For example (based on Windows users who have opted into Microsoft’s reporting system), 89 percent of Windows 7 users install Windows updates automatically. Of that group, 39 percent use the Install at shutdown option, 31 percent use the Interactive option, and 30 percent use Install-at-scheduled-time.

I’d love to interview that 39 percent and ask them whether they really wanted to install updates at shutdown — or just didn’t notice the Shut down and install updates notification when they turned off their computers. Based on the number of people in various Windows forums that complain about this behavior, I’m convinced few of those folks actually want that option (especially busy notebook users who want to quickly get up and go, then end up cursing Windows when it wants to install a dozen updates before shutting down).

But where’s the “Install at shutdown option“? In my experience that is only used for corporate desktops where the daily users are not administrators, so updates are initiated at shutdown overnight or for weekends because there’s no practical alternative. So the 39% of users who “use” that option have no choice except Shut down and install updates. And there’s no question of them not noticing it; there’s no alternative except not shutting down (which may be contrary to corporate policy).

If laptop users get that prompt at shutdown because they have uninstalled updates, they can bypass it and choose to just shutdown by using Alt-F4 on the desktop: Shut Down Windows Without Installing Updates

Bruce

According to Microsoft Technet (HERE), this option is a Group Policy. Group Policies are not available in the Home Premium editions. (Although there may be Registry Tweaks which will provide the same effects). The behavior of installing updates at Windows shutdown is only active when Automatic Updates are enabled. Nothing of the sort happens (unexpectedly) for me with my “notify but do not download” Windows Updates setting on all of my Windows installations (Win XP Pro, Win 7 Home Premium, and Win 8 Dev Preview).

But I do have to track the available updates with Susan’s Windows Secrets column, and AskWoody (Woody Leonhard’s site) to see when it’s time to download and install the Windows Updates which I choose to allow onboard.

-- rc primak

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