Lesson 1: Updating Windows and Microsoft Office


Critical updates and security updates help keep computers protected from new vulnerabilities that are discovered (and threats that are created) after the initial shipping of an operating system or application. For both Windows XP and Microsoft Office 2003, Microsoft provides a website that can scan a computer, determine what is already installed, and list updates available for installation. For Windows XP, you can also configure automatic updating.

After this lesson, you will be able to

  • Configure Automatic Updates in Windows XP.

  • Explain the differences between critical, operating system, and driver updates.

  • Locate and install updates for Office.

Estimated lesson time: 25 minutes

Configuring Automatic Updates in Windows XP

Windows Update is an online update website provided by Microsoft to keep users’ computers up-to-date and protected from the latest security threats. Windows Update provides and distributes security fixes, critical updates, updated help files, newly released and signed drivers, and various other items. Anyone with valid administrator credentials on the computer and a genuine, licensed copy of the operating system can download and install these updates for free.

Encourage users to configure the Automatic Updates feature in Windows XP so that it routinely automatically downloads and installs new critical updates. If a user reports problems acquiring updates on a regular basis, verify that Windows Update is enabled and configured appropriately by following these steps:

  1. From the Start menu, select Control Panel.

  2. In the Control Panel window, select Performance And Maintenance.

  3. In the Performance And Maintenance window, select System.

  4. On the Automatic Updates tab, select the Keep My Computer Up To Date check box, as shown in Figure 10-1.

    click to expand
    Figure 10-1: Automatic Updates can be configured in a number of ways.

  5. Under Settings, you can specify whether the user should be notified before downloading and installation, have downloads happen automatically and be notified before installation, or download and install automatically according to a schedule. For the highest level of security (and the least intervention required by users), use the fully automatic option and configure a time when the computer will not be used. Click OK.

    Exam Tip

    Enabling Automatic Updates and configuring it to download and install updates automatically according to a preset schedule is the recommended way for handling critical updates for Windows XP. To obtain critical updates for Office, you must visit the Microsoft Office Online site at http://office.microsoft.com/.

Using the Windows Update Site

The Windows Update site offers a more hands-on approach to updating Windows than using Automatic Updates. If a user resists using the Automatic Updates feature, teach the user to frequently visit the Windows Update site and let it scan the computer and suggest updates. Even if Automatic Updates is enabled, an occasional visit to the Windows Update site is still a good idea because it offers other updates in addition to the critical updates managed by Automatic Updates.

There are actually three kinds of updates available: critical updates and service packs, Windows updates, and driver updates. Automatic Updates handles only critical updates. To download Windows and driver updates, you must use the Windows Update website. Each type of update is discussed in the next few sections. However, downloading and installing updates is the same for each type, so the installation of updates is covered only in the first section.

Critical Updates

Critical updates are crucial to the operation of the computer and should always be installed. These updates provide solutions to known issues, include patches for security vulnerabilities, and might contain updates to the operating system or the applications installed on it, among other things.

To obtain updates manually from the Windows Update site, follow these steps:

  1. From the Start menu, choose All Programs, and then choose Windows Update.

  2. On the Microsoft Windows Update website, click Scan For Updates.

  3. After the scan is complete (a process that is performed locally—no information is sent to Microsoft’s servers), select a category under Pick Updates To Install, and then click Add for each update you want to install. After the updates have been selected, click Review And Install Updates. Critical updates and service packs are selected automatically, but you must pay attention to the updates you select. Some updates can be installed only independently of other updates.

  4. When prompted, click Install Now.

  5. Click Accept after reading the license agreement. Wait while the updates are installed and reboot if prompted.

It is imperative that you install all critical updates. Figure 10-2 shows a healthy system report from the Microsoft Windows Update site.

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Figure 10-2: All critical updates and service packs are installed on this computer.

Windows Updates

Windows updates, which are less critical than the previously detailed updates, range from application updates for third-party software to updates for previously applied operating system service packs. Not everyone needs all updates, however, so a description of each is given with the update itself. You should read the descriptions prior to adding them to the installation list and add only necessary updates.

You download and install Windows updates in the same manner as critical updates and service packs; however, in most instances you can download and install multiple updates simultaneously. Figure 10-3 shows a download and installation in progress.


Figure 10-3: Windows Update shows its progress with a dialog box.

Driver Updates

Driver updates offer new and updated drivers for a user’s particular computer system and setup. When Windows Update scans the computer, it acquires information about the modem, network card, printer, and similar hardware; and if an updated driver is available for any component, it is offered. End users often find that driver updates enhance the performance of the computer.

Configuring automatic updates or obtaining the updates manually helps make sure that a computer is protected from attacks on discovered security weaknesses and that the best possible compatibility with applications is maintained.

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Real World: Driver Updates

The driver updates that are on the Windows Update site are versions of drivers that have been tested by Microsoft and certified as being compatible with Windows XP. This means that the drivers you download from Windows Update are safe to use.

However, having only certified drivers on the site also means that the drivers on Windows Update are rarely the most recent drivers available for a hardware device. It also means that Windows Update probably will not have driver updates for the majority of devices because the majority of hardware manufacturers submitted drivers for certification when Windows XP was first released and have not submitted newer drivers since the release.

When you see that new drivers are available on the Windows Update site, check the version of the drivers and then compare it to the version that is already installed on the computer (you can do this using Device Manager). Often, the drivers already installed on your system are more recent than the certified drivers available on the Windows Update site, even if the Windows Update site suggests that it has newer drivers. Also, if you are thinking of installing drivers as a means of troubleshooting a device, trying to increase performance, or using new features, you should check the device manufacturer’s website to determine whether newer drivers than those available at the Windows Update site are available.

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Updating Microsoft Office

There is no automatic update function for Office that is equivalent to the Windows XP Automatic Updates feature. Instead, you must be proactive (or encourage users to do so) and visit the Microsoft Office Online website. Fortunately, the site works similarly to Windows Update; it scans your system, shows you the available updates, and lets you install them.

To locate and install updates for Office, use the following steps:

  1. From inside any Office application, on the Help menu, choose Check For Updates to open the Microsoft Office Online website in your default browser.

  2. On the Microsoft Office Online site, in the Office Update section, select Check For Updates.

  3. After the site has scanned your system, it displays the available updates, as shown in Figure 10-4. Select the updates to install and click Start Installation.

    click to expand
    Figure 10-4: Office Update scans the computer and lists available updates.

  4. If you are shown an end-user license agreement, click Next to accept the agreement and continue the installation.

  5. Confirm your selection of updates to install and click Next.

  6. The Office Update Installation Wizard informs you that you may need to have the Office product CD ready. Click Next.

  7. After the installation of the selected updates is complete, you are notified of the results. Click Finish.

Practice: Updating Windows XP

In this practice, you will use the Windows Update site to manually update Windows XP.

  1. Log on to Windows XP using an account with administrator permissions.

  2. From the Start menu, point to All Programs, and then select Windows Update.

  3. If you see a Security Warning dialog box, select Yes.

  4. The Windows Update site spends some time checking for updates to the site’s scanning software. When it finishes, on the Welcome To Windows Update page, click Scan For Updates.

  5. In the Windows Update section on the left, expand Pick Updates To Install, and click Critical Updates And Service Packs.

  6. On the Critical Updates And Service Packs page, click Review And Install Updates.

  7. Scan through the list of critical updates and remove any updates that are marked with an asterisk to indicate that they must be installed separately from other updates.

  8. Click Install Now to download and install all critical updates. If you see a dialog box asking whether you accept the end-user licensing agreement, click I Agree.

  9. A Windows Update dialog box appears and displays progress. After installation is complete, you might receive a Microsoft Internet Explorer message box asking if you want to restart the computer. If so, click OK (if the computer does not restart automatically, restart it manually).

Lesson Review

The following question is intended to reinforce key information presented in this lesson. If you are unable to answer the question, review the lesson materials and try the question again. You can find answers to the question in the “Questions and Answers” section at the end of this chapter.

  1. An end user reports that although he was able to install Windows Update files when he first purchased his computer two years ago, he now cannot install Service Pack 1. After a quick check, you discover that Windows Update is enabled in System Properties, and is configured to automatically download updates. You verify that the user can download Service Pack 1 but cannot install it. What is most likely the problem?

    1. The user has an unlicensed copy of Windows XP.

    2. The user is running Windows XP Home Edition and needs to upgrade to Windows XP Professional Edition.

    3. The user needs to register Windows XP with Microsoft.

    4. The user needs to activate Windows XP with Microsoft.

    5. Windows Update determined after scanning the computer that the user does not need to install the service packs.

Lesson Summary

  • You can download and apply critical updates for Windows XP automatically using the Automatic Updates feature.

  • You can use the Windows Update site to manually download critical updates, Windows updates, and driver updates.

  • You can use the Microsoft Office Online website to manually download all updates for Office applications.




McDst Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-272(c) Supporting Users and Troubleshooting Desktop Applications on a[... ]ystem)
McDst Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-272(c) Supporting Users and Troubleshooting Desktop Applications on a[... ]ystem)
ISBN: N/A
EAN: N/A
Year: 2006
Pages: 237

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