Windows Update: FAQ

Note: If you’re looking for Microsoft Office update info, see Install Office updates.

In Windows 10, you decide when and how to get the latest updates to keep your device running smoothly and securely. When you update, you’ll get the latest fixes and security improvements, helping your device run efficiently and stay protected. In most cases, restarting your device completes the update. Make sure your device is plugged in when you know updates will be installed.

If other questions come up when you update Windows 10, here are some other areas that might interest you:

When you only want info about updating Windows 10, you’ll find answers to many of your questions here:

When the Windows 10 May 2020 Update is ready for your device, it will be available to download and install from the Windows Update page in Settings. Choose a time that works best for you to download the update. You’ll then need to restart your device and complete the installation. After that, your device will be running Windows 10, version 2004.

To manually check for the latest recommended updates, select Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Windows Update .

To get help updating to the latest version of Windows 10, go to the Microsoft software download page and download the Update Assistant.

Some updates may not be available on all devices at the same time—we’re making sure updates are ready and compatible.

To stay up to date, select Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Windows Update , and then select Check for updates.

If a feature update is available for your device, it will appear separately on the Windows Update page. To install it, select Download and install now.

Here are a few things you can try if you’re having trouble installing updates:

Make sure that your device is connected to the internet. Downloading updates requires an internet connection.

If you’re connected the internet, try to install the updates manually. Select Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Windows Update , and then view available updates.
Check for updates

Run the Windows Update Troubleshooter. Select Start > Settings > Update & Security > Troubleshoot . Under Get up and running, select Windows Update.

The time required to download updates primarily depends on internet connection speed, network settings, and update size. Make sure your device is plugged in and connected to the internet to download updates faster.

You can’t stop updates entirely—because they help keep your device safe and secure, updates will eventually need to be installed and downloaded, regardless of your update settings. Here’s how to temporarily pause updates from being downloaded and installed. Note that after the pause limit is reached, you’ll need to install the latest updates before you can pause updates again.

In the Windows 10 November 2019 Update (version 1909) or later, or in Windows version 1809 for Pro or Enterprise, select Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update . Then choose one of the following options:

Select Pause updates for 7 days.

Select Advanced options. Then, in the Pause updates section, select the drop-down menu and specify a date for updates to resume.

To finish installing an update, your device will need to restart. Windows will try to restart your device when you’re not using it. If it can’t, you’ll be asked to schedule the restart for a more convenient time. Or, you can schedule anytime by following these steps:

Select Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Windows Update .

Select Schedule the restart and choose a time that’s convenient for you.

You can set active hours to make sure automatic restarts for updates only happen when you’re not using your device. Learn about active hours for Windows 10.

Try deleting files you don’t need, uninstalling apps you don’t use, or moving files to another drive like an external USB drive or OneDrive. For more tips on freeing up disk space, see Free up drive space in Windows 10.

We recommend keeping devices like laptops and tablets plugged in when you’re not using them. This way, if updates are installed outside active hours, your device will have enough power to complete the installation. Windows updates don’t consume more battery than other typical system processes.

An update history is available so you can see which updates were installed, and when. You can also use this list to remove specific updates, although we don’t recommend this unless it’s necessary.

Select Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Windows Update > View update history .

For more info about what’s included in updates for Windows 10, see Windows 10 update history.

We don’t recommend that you remove any installed updates. However, if you must remove an update, you can do so in update history.

Select Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > View update history > Uninstall updates.

Select the update you want to remove, then select Uninstall.

Feature updates are typically released twice per year and include new functionality and capabilities as well as potential fixes and security updates. Quality updates are more frequent and mainly include small fixes and security updates. Windows is designed to deliver both kinds of updates to devices through Windows Update.

To double check that your device is up to date, open Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and see your update status and available updates.

To find which version of Windows you’re running, see Which version of Windows operating system am I running?

Reserved storage is not automatically turned on by Windows in any update scenarios. It is only turned on for new devices with the Windows 10 May 2019 Update (version 1903) or later preinstalled, or devices on which a clean install was performed.

Note: If you’re looking for Microsoft Office update info, see Install Office updates.

The best way to keep Windows 8.1 up to date is to turn on automatic updates. With automatic updates, you don’t have to search for updates online or worry about missing critical fixes or device drivers for your PC. Instead, Windows Update automatically installs important updates as they become available.

To turn on automatic updates:

Open Windows Update by swiping in from the right edge of the screen (or, if you’re using a mouse, pointing to the lower-right corner of the screen and moving the mouse pointer up), select Settings > Change PC settings > Update and recovery > Windows Update. If you want to check for updates manually, select Check now.

Select Choose how updates get installed, and then, under Important updates, select Install updates automatically (recommended).

Under Recommended updates, select Give me recommended updates the same way I receive important updates.

Under Microsoft Update, select Give me updates for other Microsoft products when I update Windows, and then select Apply.

Click the questions below to see answers about how Windows Update keeps your device up to date.

Note: If your PC is connected to a network where updates are managed by Group Policy, you might not be able to change settings related to Windows Update. For more info, contact your organization’s technical support.

Open Windows Update by swiping in from the right edge of the screen (or, if you’re using a mouse, pointing to the lower-right corner of the screen and moving the mouse pointer up), select Settings > Change PC settings > Update and recovery > Windows Update. To check for updates manually, select Check now.

An update history is available so you can see which updates were installed, and when. You can also use this list to remove specific updates, although we don’t recommend this unless it’s necessary.

To see your PC’s update history, open Windows Update by swiping in from the right edge of the screen (or, if you’re using a mouse, pointing to the lower-right corner of the screen and moving the mouse pointer up), select Settings > Change PC settings > Update and recovery > Windows Update > View your update history.

We don’t recommend that you remove any installed updates. However, if you must remove an update, you can do so in update history.

Open Windows Update by swiping in from the right edge of the screen (or, if you’re using a mouse, pointing to the lower-right corner of the screen and moving the mouse pointer up), select Settings > Change PC settings > Update and recovery > Windows Update > View your update history.

Select the update you want to remove, then select Uninstall.

Here are a few things to try if you’re having problems installing updates:

Make sure that your PC is connected to the internet. Some updates can’t be installed if you’re using a metered internet connection.

If you’re connected the internet and updates aren’t installed automatically, wait a few minutes and then try to install the updates manually.

See the Fix Windows Update errors guided walkthrough to try to fix the problem.

Support for Windows 7 ended on January 14, 2020

We recommend you move to a Windows 10 PC to continue to receive security updates from Microsoft.

Click the questions below to see answers about how Windows Update keeps your device up to date.

Searching, Downloading, and Installing Updates

The scripting sample in this topic shows you how to use Windows Update Agent (WUA) to scan, download, and install updates.

The sample searches for all the applicable software updates and then lists those updates. Next, it creates a collection of updates to download and then downloads them. Finally, it creates a collection of updates to install and then installs them.

If you want to search, download, and install a specific update that you identify by using the update title, see Searching, Downloading, and Installing Specific Updates.

Before you attempt to run this sample, note the following:

WUA must be installed on the computer. For more information about how to determine the version of WUA that is installed, see Determining the Current Version of WUA.

The sample can download updates only by using WUA. It cannot download updates from a Software Update Services (SUS) 1.0 server.

Running this sample requires Windows Script Host (WSH). For more information about WSH, see the WSH section of the Platform Software Development Kit (SDK). If the sample is copied to a file named WUA_SearchDownloadInstall.vbs, you can run the sample by opening a Command Prompt window and typing the following command at the command prompt.

cscript WUA_SearchDownloadInstall.vbs

Example

This script is intended to demonstrate the use of the Windows Update Agent APIs, and provide an example of how developers can use these APIs to solve problems. This script is not intended as production code, and the script itself is not supported by Microsoft (though the underlying Windows Update Agent APIs are supported).

4 Ways To View And Save List Of Updates Installed On Windows 10

Normally, Windows Update does not require any administration. Microsoft is making it much like a set it and forget it tool. But some applications require specific hotfixes and updates installed on your computer before they can run. For example, some applications require a specific version of .NET Framework, Visual C++ redistributable or Java, etc. And some apps require hotfixes instead of add-ons.

In this article, we will discuss how to view a list of all the Windows updates installed on your computer, whether they are feature updates, hotfixes or quality updates. There are several ways of doing this. We will discuss some ways of viewing and saving the list of installed updates in Windows 10. Each method has its own advantages. You can use whichever is suitable for your specific requirement. If you are a network administrator, you should pay attention to the command-line and PowerShell methods as these can be used to extract data from remote computers as well.

So let’s start with the visual option first.

Using Windows Update History

1. Go to Windows Settings (Windows key + i)
2. Go to Update & Security
3. Select Windows Update from the left-hand menu and click on View update history link on the right-hand side.

View update history in Windows 10

This will show you all the updates installed on your Windows 10 computer. The updates are categorized into the following categories:

• Quality updates
• Driver updates
• Definition updates
• Other updates

The only caveat in using this method is you can’t search for a specific update. You will have to go through the list of updates manually.

Using Command-line options – DISM/SystemInfo

There are two commands which can be used to extract Windows updates information from the system. Let’s discuss them one by one.

Run the following command to get all information about each hotfix installed on your computer.

wmic qfe list full

You can also format the output as a table so that it is easy to read and comprehend.

wmic qfe list full /format:table

If full information is not required, you can use the following command to get the summary:

wmic qfe list brief

And if you want to find a specific hotfix, run the following command:

wmic qfe list brief | find “KB4495667”

To save the complete output in a file, run the following command:

wmic qfe list full /format:table > C:\Users\Usman\Desktop\WindowsUpdatesReport.html WMIC command to list installed Windows updates

SystemInfo

If you only want a list of KnowledgeBase updates numbers, then you can use the systeminfo command.

1. Open Command Prompt
2. Run the following command
   systeminfo | find “KB”
   

systeminfo hotfixes installed

Using PowerShell

Getting the same information which we got from command-line is easier in PowerShell.

1. Open PowerShell with administrative privileges
2. Run the following command:
   Get-Hotfix
   
3. This will list down all the hotfixes installed on the computer and also show the installation date of each hotfix.

PowerShell get hotfix

Using WinUpdatesList

WinUpdatesList is a third-party software which can be used for the same purpose. Since it is a portable tool, it can be run from a network location. The biggest advantage of using WinUpdatesList is that it will list down every update possible from Windows Updates, hotfixes, Windows Defender definition updates, .NET Framework updates, driver updates, etc. You can also save the update as CSV file. It will give you a lot of information about each update like its name, installation date, installed by (if you are on a domain network), update type, link to the hotfix page online, uninstall command (if available), last modified, etc.

I hope these methods will be informative for you and it will become easier for you to view and save the list of all the installed updates and hotfixes in Windows 10 and even earlier versions of Windows including Windows Server. Which method do you prefer for your specific need and why? Your comments below will be highly appreciated.

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Usman Khurshid is a seasoned IT Pro with over 15 years of experience in the IT industry. He has experience in everything from IT support, helpdesk, sysadmin, network admin, and cloud computing. He is also certified in Microsoft Technologies (MCTS and MCSA) and also Cisco Certified Professional in Routing and Switching. Reach him at Twitter @usmank11

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