Updating Windows Systems
This article explains how to perform updates for Windows systems. It is primarily written for users of Windows 2000 and Windows XP. The section about getting your updates using Windows explorer will also work for Windows 98 and Windows 95 systems. Example screen shots are from Windows 2000.
Emergency Boot Disk and System Backup
It is always a good idea to be sure you have an emergency boot disk and back up your data regularly. This is especially true before performing system updates since if something goes wrong during the update process you may need to repair your system. Even though Windows provides mechanisms to recover from errors that happen during system updates, there is no guarantee that the recovery process will always be successful. While your updates are being performed, if your computer loses power, it could cause harm which may or may not be recoverable. You can read about Making a Windows Emergency Boot Disk here and Backing up your Windows System here.
You should re-create your emergency boot disk whenever you install software on your operating system or perform updates. How often you back up your data depends on how much data you are willing to risk losing. If you back up your data once per week, then if you have a failure, you could lose up to one weeks worth of data.
Windows Update Methods
There are two primary ways which Windows 2000 and Windows XP systems may be updated. They are:
If you are using Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows ME, you will need to use the first method which is the Microsoft Windows Update site.
Windows Update Frequency
If you use the automatic updates, your system will check for updates when you are connected to the internet. If you use the Microsoft Windows Update site to perform your updates, I would recommend you do it about once per week.
Updating Your Windows System
-
Windows 95 - If your operating system is Windows 95, you should update it to Windows 98, 2000, or XP because Windows 95 is no longer supported by Microsoft.
-
-
Windows 2000 - Download and install the latest Windows 2000 Service Pack at Windows 2000 Service Packs
The latest service pack as of this writing is Service Pack 4. Review the critical updates at http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/downloads/critical/default.asp and install them. Windows 2000 also has an auto update utility which can be configured from the control panel. You can read about how to set this feature up at the page called Configuring Automatic Updates. It is said on the NTBugtraq email group that this is not always reliable however so it is wise to still check the Microsoft Windows update site from time to time.
-
-
-
Update your internet browser with the latest version on a regular schedule. If you use Internet Explorer, update it to version 6 or above by using Microsoft's Internet Explorer Downloads site.
-
Microsoft Office Updates - If you use Microsoft Office, you should keep it updated. If you are using Office 97, you should upgrade it to the latest version of Microsoft Office because Office 97 is no longer supported by Microsoft. You can read about how to update Office by reading the article Preventing Viruses in Microsoft OfficeŽ Products.
|
