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plencnerb
Premium Member
join:2000-09-25
53403-1242

plencnerb to Mele20

Premium Member

to Mele20

Re: [WIN8] How do I make WU obey my settings and keep history?

said by Mele20:

I also did not have the choices on the left like you show in screenshot 9. WU just wanted to install the updates. I don't know what I did just now but I finally got that screen that gives a link to the KB for each update. So, I let it install 2 important updates (but not three others that were just suggested). I checked it was still set to not install updates automatically. BUT when I checked Services, I found that WU, which I had DISABLED (along with BITS), was now ENABLED AND RUNNING. That's unacceptable.

I did some research / testing with the two services you mention above: "Windows Update" and "BITS (Background Intelligent Transfer Service)".

The first thing I noticed is that anytime you make a change to how you want windows to install updates, if these are not set the way Windows wants them to be set, they will be set back.

Next, with them both disabled and not running, Windows Update won't work. Kind of a "DUH" moment there, as Windows Update requires both of these to be running.

Finally, if you do have both of these services not running, you won't get asked if you want to install Microsoft Update. That option does not even show up on the screen.

So, if you want to not use Windows Update, I would suggest the following steps (in this order) to disable it

1) Go into Windows Update, and modify the settings so it is set to "Never Check for Updates"
2) Stop and disable the Windows Update service
3) Stop and disable the BITS service.

Personally, I like Windows Update, as it makes for an easy way to check for, and install updates for Windows. However, there is nothing wrong with not using it, if you have other ways to keep track of, and install, the updates.

I also don't know what else the BITS service is used for. You may run into other issues or problems with it not running. I'm not really sure here, just a guess on my part.

Speaking of updates, today is Patch Tuesday! Like clockwork, Microsoft always releases the monthly patches on the 2nd Tuesday of the month.

--Brian
Mele20
Premium Member
join:2001-06-05
Hilo, HI

Mele20

Premium Member

It appears to me that BITS on Win 8 doesn't have much to do with WU. On XP it does have to be enabled to use WU but not so on Win 8. I can use WU and even get those links on the left (still not sure how I got them though finally) with BITS still disabled.

I just downloaded each patch from Microsoft Download Center and saved them to disk. When I had all of them (already had installed latest Flash for plugin browsers and latest Java) I clicked on the first one to install it. I got an error message about the installer being disabled. I went to Services and started two Windows Installers that were set to "manual" and were not started. Then I tried again. I still got the error.

It appears that Microsoft Download Center is irrelevant as far as Win 8 goes because apparently one MUST enable Windows Update even to install patches obtained MANUALLY. I posted in the Security forum thread on Microsoft Security Bulletins for December and asked but it looks like we are forced to use WU unless you are lucky enough to still have XP.

Blackbird
Built for Speed
Premium Member
join:2005-01-14
Fort Wayne, IN

Blackbird

Premium Member

said by Mele20:

It appears to me that BITS on Win 8 doesn't have much to do with WU. On XP it does have to be enabled to use WU but not so on Win 8. I can use WU and even get those links on the left (still not sure how I got them though finally) with BITS still disabled. ...

You can find an explanation of BITS at About BITS (Windows) . Long story shortened, it appears that it provides download services for an ongoing download, even when the invoking application is exited. With something running in the background like WU under certain of its settings, that might become important.