Windows Update (part 2) - Automatic Updates

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As you can see in Figure 3, you can configure four levels of automated updates:

• Install Updates Automatically (recommended)— Configures Windows Vista to automatically check for, download, and install only Important updates. When you select this option, you must configure the system to perform this task every day, or once a week, at a specified time. Important updates are also called Critical or High-priority updates.

• Download Updates but Let Me Choose Whether to Install Them— Checks for updates (every 22 hours by default), downloads them to your computer, but then lets you know that there are updates available. You must manually select the updates to install.

• Check for Updates but Let Me Choose Whether to Download and Install Them— Checks for updates (again, every 22 hours by default), but then lets you know that there are updates available for download and installation. You must manually select the updates to download and install.

• Never Check for Updates (not recommended)— This setting is for manually updating the system. Your computer does not automatically check for, download, or install any updates.

If you want or need to have the recommended updates included in the automated updates, you must check the Recommended Updates check box to include them.

The last option on this dialog box is the selection to use Microsoft Update instead of Windows Update. Microsoft Update includes updates for Microsoft applications, as well as updates for the operating system.

For scheduled updates to complete, the computer must be powered on at the scheduled time. If the computer is in Sleep or Hibernate mode (and plugged into AC power), the update process wakes the computer long enough to install the updates and then returns to the proper power-saving state.